Acts 20:24, commentary and pictures

Paul spoke these words as a farewell to the elders of Ephesus, after warning them of the bonds and afflictions awaiting him and that they would see his face no more. To be moved by none of these things means to remain unmoved by lack of sympathy and appreciation, by ignorance, suspicion, falsehood and accusation, even when left alone and opposed by nearly all. The ministry received from the Lord Jesus is to testify the gospel of the grace of God, holding back nothing profitable but teaching publicly and from house to house, declaring repentance toward God and faith toward Christ and all the counsel of God. Completing that entrusted work matters more than preserving life, requiring personal safety, convenience, enjoyment, honor and life itself to be put below faithfulness to truth and duty. That course is finished with joy by humbling oneself under God's hand and receiving His strength, valuing the souls Christ died for above one's own life, and persevering through suffering, prison and death as Christ, Paul, the Reformers and the martyrs did.

Context and Wording

The words were spoken as farewell to the elders of Ephesus at their final meeting together. They came after warning that bonds and afflictions were awaiting him and that he would not be turned aside by them or put his own life before the work entrusted to him. That warning that he would not see the Ephesian believers again makes the testimony part of what was shared at that last meeting.

The saying belongs to a longer outline in Acts 20:17-35 of the character of one Christian minister who faithfully performed his duty. Paul was an all-round minister and a Christian gentleman of the highest type. His toilworn hands detracted nothing from his appeals and bore testimony that he was not chargeable to any man for his support, for he worked day and night to avoid being chargeable, at times suffering hunger to relieve others, sharing his earnings and helping his fellow workers. His example shows that manual labor cannot be degrading, is not inconsistent with true greatness and elevation of human or Christian character, and does not necessarily lessen influence, and that working with the hands in honorable labor should not make a man coarse and rough and uncourteous. It is not obligatory upon ministers to do in all respects as Paul did in this.

None of these things move me means remaining unmoved by unsympathetic friends, lack of appreciation and understanding, and ignorance of spiritual things. It means remaining unmoved by evil surmisings and watching for evil, by duplicity and falsehood, and by accusations of having a devil or working by the power of the devil. It means standing alone in God with heart and mind open to heaven-revealed truth, trusting God alone to understand the work He gives and refusing to be moved from it. It means holding fast to truth received for more than fifty years against men of low and high degree and at times against nearly the whole church. It means continuing an unchangeable testimony in the God-given work without discouragement or yielding, because God renews, lifts up, and upholds, and continuing to declare the wondrous works taught from youth.

The ministry received from the Lord Jesus is to testify to the gospel of the grace of God, to bear witness to the good news of God's grace. Faithful service means pressing on through danger and hardship to complete it with joy rather than treating life as more important or as precious in itself. The aim is to complete the course with joy by faithfully carrying out that ministry and to leave no work unfinished.

Self-Sacrifice for Gospel

Completing the entrusted work matters more than preserving life, for the ministry received is to testify to the gospel of God's grace and calls for perseverance, love for souls, self-denial, and willingness to sacrifice life to save others for whom Christ died. Personal safety, convenience, and enjoyment are not to be put first, but the work of the gospel and the salvation of souls are to be put ahead of convenience and safety. Life itself and earthly honors are held as less valuable than faithfulness to the truth and to the work entrusted by God, so that bearing witness and defending God's word can matter more than personal safety even when faithfulness may cost life. Those who follow Christ are therefore expected to show this self-sacrificing commitment, living to do good and testify of Christ and proclaiming Christ crucified through self-denial and the cross.

The apostles lived this by accepting self-denial and the cross, sharing in Christ's sufferings, and seeking to do good and save souls for whom Christ died. They endured hardship and persecution, rejoiced to suffer for Christ, and were willing to spend themselves in proclaiming the gospel, relying not on their own strength but on God's power. Paul counted his life as nothing in comparison with completing the ministry entrusted to him of bearing witness to the gospel even amid persecution and death, and he and the other apostles faced persecution and contempt yet were willing to die so they could preach Christ and bear witness to the faith. His fellow apostles likewise risked their lives to preach Christ, carrying the message of the cross into hostile settings, and the martyrs' steadfast testimony showed their trust in God's power to save, while faithful witnesses gave their lives testifying to Jesus as the Savior.

When hearts and lives are governed by the truth, suffering for it can be counted as joy, so that even prison or martyrdom cannot deter from the work of testifying to God's truth. Serving Christ and bearing witness to the gospel is thus valued above preserving life, and devotion to the gospel makes a person willing to face hardship and even risk life without being deterred so the work can be completed. The apostles accepted suffering for Christ's cause without complaint and rejoiced to suffer for Christ, and Paul and Silas responded to imprisonment and physical pain with joyful songs of praise to God. Love for the Redeemer can turn suffering into joy, and when truth fills the heart and governs life neither prison nor martyrdom can stop the work.

Christ Himself exemplifies not counting life dear, for His joy was in uplifting and redeeming fallen people and He endured the cross and despised its shame for their sake. He did not hold His life dear but gave it up for others. His self-sacrificing service is the pattern His followers are to share, following Him through hardship and through good or evil report, serving the needy and friendless, denying self, and bearing the despised cross.

Faithful Gospel Ministry

Fulfilling the ministry received from the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God means holding back nothing profitable but showing and teaching publicly and from house to house. It means testifying to both Jews and Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and not shunning to declare all the counsel of God, so as to be pure from the blood of all men. It is the pattern for those who take God's loving voice in His Word home to their hearts and carry it out. Overseers are therefore to take heed to themselves and to all the flock to feed the church of God purchased with His own blood, because after departing grievous wolves will enter in not sparing the flock.

The ministry includes self-supporting labor after Paul's example as an all-round minister and Christian gentleman of the highest type, who worked day and night to avoid being chargeable, at times suffering hunger to relieve others, sharing his earnings and helping his fellow workers. His toilworn hands detracted nothing from his appeals and bore testimony that he was not chargeable to any man for his support. Honorable work with the hands cannot be degrading, is not inconsistent with true greatness and elevation of human and Christian character, does not necessarily lessen a minister's influence, and should not make a man coarse and rough and uncourteous but is compatible with courtesy and refinement. It is not obligatory upon ministers to do in all respects as Paul did, yet his example remains relevant to gospel workers who spread the knowledge of Christ while supporting themselves through their labor.

The good news is to be carried to the world through believers united in an organized, cooperative effort, with every agency guided by the Holy Spirit. It calls for having but one purpose in life and heart, to finish the course with joy and the ministry of the gospel that God has committed, doing the work the Master has for him to do, serving Him faithfully, and being lifted by the grace of God above personal considerations. The Christian's life and work are to be devoted to God so that the course may be finished with joy rather than grief. That requires consecrating body, soul, and spirit to the Lord, keeping self from taking center place, and faithfully carrying out the ministry Christ gives even when it costs labor or suffering.

Finishing Course Joyfully

Finishing the course with joy requires humbling oneself under the hand of God and receiving strength from Him even when very weak. It means preparing for the judgment, staying free from the blood of the flock and from the blood of one's own children, never boasting of endowments, position, or achievements, and rendering back to God with interest all talents and gifts received from Him. It is far better to give up credentials and step out of the work than to hinder God's work by a wrong influence. God's desire is that abuse of His blessings be seen and repented of before it is forever too late so the minister can complete the course with joy.

The joyful finish comes by walking humbly before God and having but one purpose in heart and life, to do the work the Master gives and to serve Him faithfully, lifted by grace above personal considerations. It belongs to a setting where time is very short, life is uncertain, and probation may soon close. Faithful endurance in the work received from the Lord takes courage to labor to the end from the hope of meeting again where sickness, pain, and death are gone.

Valuing the souls for whom Christ died leads believers to hold their own lives lightly and to persevere in their course with joy while subduing every sinful element of nature. A life of faithful service finished by God's grace offers a pattern for choosing and defending what is right. Finishing with joy means remaining faithful to the end after suffering for the truth and defending it even when old and gray-headed. Sensual practices and unlawful affection for a woman forfeit that joyful finish, turning days and years that might have been very best into worst, as in the case of Elder Himes who might have finished his course with joy when led away by his own lusts and enticed.

Holding God's work dearer than life itself removes worry over lack of means, so that finishing the ministry to testify the gospel matters more than personal security or riches. This leads to borrowing money to invest in the work, paying workers and running expenses, using what would be rent to pay interest, selling books not to be rich but to give solemn sacred truths to the people, giving all royalties from books translated and sold in foreign countries to the work, and using personal money for meetinghouses, schools, tents for camp-meeting work, and health institutions instead of self. Not counting life dear for God's work and cause is proved by works of greater zeal, devotion, and suffering for truth than others, investing everything in the cause and considering no sacrifice too great to advance it. It lets not even maternal love for nursing children, nor reproach, suffering, hardship, disease, or lack of means deter from duty, but labors when disease preys upon the body and friends despair of life, being carried to boat or cars, traveling without means and walking by faith, going as far as strength allows then kneeling to pray for strength to proceed and receiving strength to labor earnestly for souls, allowing no obstacle to separate from the work.

Witnesses Through History

Paul had learned to love the cause of Christ more than his own life, so that his course from persecutor of the church to apostle ended in laying down his life as a willing sacrifice for that cause. To count life as nothing means to count it as nothing in comparison with completing the ministry entrusted by Jesus, bearing witness to the gospel even amid persecution and death. That self-sacrifice carried the message of the cross into hostile settings, and faithful witnesses gave their lives while testifying to Jesus as Savior.

Luther counted his life as nothing beside the truth, holding life and earthly honors as less valuable than faithfulness to the truth and the work entrusted by God. He faced threats of death without treating his life as dear to himself, and would rather die than surrender the faith he was called to defend. The Reformers likewise counted their lives as nothing in comparison with vindicating the truth, with loyalty to Christ and bearing witness to the gospel taking priority over preserving life even under pressure and danger. Their courage and endurance in danger served the work God had given them.

Those who count not their lives dear value integrity of soul to God above ease, above property, above life itself. They are seen in the martyrs who perished in the Waldensian valleys, in mountains and caverns and clefts of rock, in rocky caverns, dungeons, caves, and hidden pits, dying in exile, some by starvation and others by the cruel hand of man, while walking with God. They will walk with Him in white because they are found worthy when the Life-giver calls them with the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God to come forth from their graves into life. The ground where they lie was cursed by the Roman power but sanctified by the blood of martyrs, and as the blood of Abel cried to God from the ground so their blood cries to God from the ground for vengeance.

Love for Jesus leads God's servants not to count their lives dear to themselves, making loyalty to God and the work He gives take priority over personal safety or life. They put their plans under God's law and make them subordinate to it, remaining firm in duty and faithful wherever God calls them. Like Joseph, Elijah, and Daniel they remain loyal in crisis and let the light of God's Word shine steadily to the world. That love makes them willing to risk their lives rather than abandon their duty.

Counting life not dear if sacrificed for the truth of God means holding tenaciously to present truth and yielding life rather than sacrificing faith. It holds firm in the face of opposition, torture, gaping prisons, and threatened torture and death. The truth in the present day is as important as in the days of the martyrs, so its principles must now be cherished just as sacredly in the face of the world and every species of opposition.

Valuing the knowledge of truth revealed in the Word of God above life itself means valuing it above earthly treasures, ease, and honors. One who lives it feasts upon the light from the Word as life more precious than all treasures of earth, knowing earthly treasures fail while the rich truths opened to the understanding, operating upon the heart and obeyed, live and lead to immortality. He trembles not though not safe anywhere, and stands undaunted for Christ and the truth against the ire of a fallen church and angry rulers. Life and honors are valueless to him if purchased at the sacrifice of truth, so flattery cannot silence him and intimidation cannot cause him to renounce faith. He is ready to die for his faith if God requires, but to yield it never, and God preserves his life, bidding angels attend him to baffle the rage and purposes of enemies and bring him unharmed through stormy conflict until his work is finished.

Counting life not dear is part of the cost of coming to Christ to inherit eternal life and the crown of life. It means being ready to cast all interests in with Him and to forsake all earthly treasures, houses and lands, wife and children, even life itself, in order to obtain the rich treasures of heaven and the life that measures with the life of God. Those who want heaven but are unwilling to surrender all go away sorrowful, like the rich young ruler.