Paul's Trials, Journey to Rome & the Unstoppable Gospel | Acts 22-28

In this final episode of our study through the Book of Acts, we journey through the last seven chapters (Acts 22–28) as Paul stands trial, endures imprisonment, survives a shipwreck, and ultimately arrives in Rome.

Though Paul is bound in chains, the Gospel is not. Luke masterfully demonstrates that nothing can stop God's mission as the message of Christ continues to spread exactly as Jesus promised in Acts 1:8.

Join me as we discover how God's providence, faithfulness, and sovereign plan continue to advance—even through suffering, opposition, and uncertainty.

In This Episode

Acts 22 – Your Testimony Has Power

• Paul's defense before the hostile crowd
• His conversion on the road to Damascus
• Why your personal testimony is one of God's greatest witnessing tools
• How God uses transformed lives to bring hope to others

Key Verse:

"Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you." (1 Peter 3:15)

Key Takeaway:
Your story of God's faithfulness may become someone else's reason to believe.

Acts 23 – God's Providence Cannot Be Stopped

• Paul before the Sanhedrin
• Jesus encourages Paul: "Be of good cheer."
• The plot to kill Paul
• God's protection through unexpected people

Key Takeaway:
When God has a purpose for your life, no opposition can prevent His plan from being fulfilled.

Acts 24 – Pleasing God Over People

• Paul's trial before Governor Felix
• A clear conscience before God
• Choosing obedience instead of seeking approval

Key Verse:

Galatians 1:10

Key Takeaway:
Faithfulness to God is always more valuable than the approval of people.

Acts 25 – God Uses Unexpected Leaders

• Paul appeals to Caesar
• Festus and King Agrippa hear Paul's case
• God's sovereignty over earthly rulers

Key Takeaway:
God often works through unexpected people and circumstances to accomplish His purposes.

Acts 26 – Every Conversation Is an Opportunity

• Paul's testimony before King Agrippa
• "You almost persuade me to become a Christian."
• Why Paul continually shares his testimony

Key Takeaway:
Never underestimate the impact of faithfully sharing the Gospel. You plant the seed—God brings the increase.

Acts 27 – Peace in the Middle of the Storm

• Paul's voyage to Rome
• The violent storm at sea
• The angel's promise of protection
• Shipwreck on Malta

Key Takeaway:
Christ is present in every storm and remains our peace, our captain, and our hope.

Acts 28 – Finishing Well

• Paul's ministry on Malta
• Healing many who were sick
• Arrival in Rome
• Preaching boldly under house arrest
• The Gospel continues unhindered

Key Takeaway:
Nothing can stop the Gospel—not chains, imprisonment, persecution, or suffering.

Main Themes

• The unstoppable spread of the Gospel
• Courage in suffering
• The power of personal testimony
• God's providence and protection
• Obedience over public approval
• Faithfulness in every season
• Christ's presence in life's storms
• Finishing your calling with perseverance

Church Fathers Highlighted

• St. John Chrysostom
  • "Nothing is more persuasive than a life that has been changed."
  • The apostles' chains became instruments through which the Gospel spread.
• Origen
  • Earthly kingdoms unknowingly serve the Kingdom of God because God works all things according to His providence.

Key Scripture References

• Acts 22–28
• Acts 1:8
• 1 Peter 3:15
• Galatians 1:10

Final Encouragement

The Book of Acts doesn't truly end—it continues through the life of the Church today. Just as Paul faithfully carried the Gospel despite imprisonment, suffering, and uncertainty, we are called to continue writing the next chapter through our own obedience, witness, and faithfulness to Christ.

Welcome to The Bible Made Real.

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You can connect with Kathy on Instagram @kathyabidinglight and learn more at kathyabraham.com. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Bible Made Real Podcast. I'm Kathy Abraham, and today we are finalizing our study on the book of Acts. We are going over the final section. This is the last seven chapters, chapters 22 to chapter 28 of the Book of Acts. This is our final episode. Thank you for journeying with me this whole time. If you have been tuning in, I thank you for your patience and your perseverance. And I pray that you have really experienced this special dose of the Holy Spirit and the commissioning of the church. So this last and final section. So this last and final section is actually usually considered Paul's final trial and his journey to Rome. Saint Luke is intentionally showing us that although Paul is imprisoned, God's word is not imprisoned and is continuing to spread and extend, as promised in Acts 1.8, that the word of God will be preached to all of Jerusalem, Samaria, and the entire world. So here we are exploring now this last section of the growth of the church and the growth of the gospel. So chapter 22 begins with Paul's defense against this hostile crowd. He is telling them what has happened to them. He's explaining to him his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus and is really recounting this entire encounter and really giving his full defense and full testimony. And here we see the crowd really erupts when he mentions the Gentiles, and we see how people are beginning to worry and get scared when Paul mentions that he's actually a Roman citizen since birth. The key takeaway here for this chapter is that your testimony is one of God's most powerful witnesses. Peter tells us in his first epistle to always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is in you. See, when we keep our testimony and our story, how God has healed us, helped us, released our chains, set us free, transformed our lives, when we keep that to ourselves, we are doing God an injustice. People need to know about your transformation. People need to know how God has helped you and healed you. How will they have hope if they don't hear your testimony? How will the gospel spread if people aren't sharing it? You need to be able to share the good news with those around you. And don't be scared or timid to share what God has done for you because you are now allowing God to work in someone else's life. St. John Chrysostom reminds us, he says that nothing is more persuasive than a life that has been changed. Let your transformation and your testimony be a witness to others so that they can glorify God and experience their own transformation as well. Okay, let's move on to chapter 23. So here Paul is standing before the Sanhedrin, and the Pharisees and the Sadducees are now beginning to argue about the resurrection. While Paul is in the barracks, Jesus appears to him. And in verse 11, he tells him, Be of good cheer, Paul, for you have testified for me in Jerusalem. You must also bear witness for me at Rome. So Jesus is coming and encouraging him and saying, Good job, be of good cheer. Even though he's in chained, even though he is being persecuted, even though they are upset with him, Jesus is encouraging him. Continue on to see here that 40 men have plotted to kill Paul, but Paul's nephew intervenes and exploits his entire plan. We continue on here to see that 40 men are plotted to kill Paul, but Paul's nephew intervenes and exposes the entire plan. And Paul is safely escorted into Caesarea. Here we're reminded that God's providence is greater than any man's opposition. When God has work for his servant, no enemy can hinder it. Nothing can stop the work of the Lord working in you and me. Don't forget, greater is he that is in you than he who is in the world. Okay, Acts chapter 24. Here, Paul stands before Governor Felix. False accusations are made against Paul, but Paul calmly defends the faith. Felix delays judgment and trembles when Paul speaks about righteousness, self-control, and judgment. This message is very prevalent for us today. A clear conscience before God is way more valuable than public approval. When so much emphasis is placed on what people think and your approval and acceptance of others, Paul resists this urge and sticks to faithfulness over people's approval. Your obedience to God should be your number one priority, what pleases him, not other people. Paul actually states this in his epistle to the Galatians. Galatians chapter 1, verse 10, he says, For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. The Lord wants us to do whatever he's called us to do wholeheartedly unto the Lord and not unto men. When you seek to please God and put his will above everyone else's will and what everybody else wants, God grants you grace upon grace, gift upon gift, and strength to fulfill his will and his call for your life. Okay, let's move on to Acts chapter 25. Here Paul appears before Festus and the Jewish Jewish leaders again seek to destroy his life. Paul appears here before Festus and the Jewish leaders again seek to destroy his life. Paul appeals his case to Caesar, and King Agrippa now agrees to listen to Paul's appeal. We see that even with rulers or kings or those who have higher power or authority over us, God can often change the king's hearts, like it says in scripture, to favor you, to turn and accomplish the will that he wants to do in your life. God will often use unexpected authority figures to help accomplish his purpose for your life and his plan for the world. We see this even in the Old Testament. Pagan rulers became instruments in God's providential plan. Origin says this really cool. He says that the kingdom of men unknowingly served the kingdom of God because God uses all forces for good and his ultimate purpose. Okay, let's move on to Acts chapter 26. Here, Paul gives his defense before King Agrippa and shares his conversion story all over again. And in verse 28, King Agrippa says something so funny. He says, Paul, you almost persuade me to become a Christian. He really does believe him and he agrees to release Paul. Why is Paul repeating himself over and over again? Because every person, every opportunity is a new chance to share the gospel, to share your story. Because you never know. You never know who's going to be witnessing, who's going to be hearing the story. It's new people, it's new ears, it's new blood. Sometimes we feel like we're doing the same thing over and over again, right? We're saying the same things. We're continuing to encourage people, exhort people, teach them, love them, help them. And we feel like it's going to deaf ears. Like, what is the point? No, but we have to trust that we plant the seed, but the Lord brings the increase, right? The Lord is the one that's going to do the work afterwards. But you need to be faithful in your vocation. You need to be faithful in your calling. You need to be faithful in sharing the testimony of the good news of what God has done for you personally and the good news of this gospel with everyone around you every single day. If we really love Christ, we would desire that everybody would know him and that everybody would follow him. Okay, let's move on to Acts chapter 27. Here, Paul is beginning to sail to Rome and he is warning warning the sailors uh about the journey and telling them that the conditions are dangerous and that they should not set to sail. So what happens? A violent storm strikes them. They are 14 days at sea in this terrible, terrible storm. Paul comforts everybody and tells them about the vision he had of the angel who visited him and told them to take heart, for there will be no life life lost among you, but only for the ship, and that um and that they'd have to run aground on a certain island. There were 276 people on the ship, and they had not eaten for 14 days. Finally, Paul urges them to eat, gives them food, and it actually lightens the ship and they throw off the wheat uh overboard. They all become shipwrecked on the island of Malta, which is a small island off the coast of Greece, and everyone survives. Here we see that God is present in every storm, every trial, every temptest, uh, and every hard, difficult thing that you and I are going through. Just like the disciples when they set out to sea and a storm hit, Christ was sleeping in the stern of the boat. Christ is with us in the middle of our tribulations. He is the calm, he is our peace. Here's our pilot and captain who is navigating our course and who we can fully surrender and put our trust in. Okay, last chapter of Acts, chapter 28. Here they are on the island of Malta. Paul survives this horrible snake bite. He heals many people here in Malta. And it says that after three months he sailed again on an Alexandrian ship and he finally lands in Rome. And it seems here that Paul is under house arrest because in verse 16 it says that Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. And even under house arrest, he's still preaching boldly. Many came to him to hear him preach and hear him talk about the gospel. It says that he testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets, morning until evening. Nothing stopped Paul from his fervor, from his zeal, from his commitment, his fidelity and faithfulness to his calling till the very end of his life. And here at the end of chapter 28, verse 28, we see Paul's kind of concluding statement. Like, I have fulfilled basically my calling, right? And he says, Therefore, let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. That was his calling, right? Christ said, I sent you specifically to the Gentiles. Now he's letting, now he's saying, Let it be known that this has happened, that we have finally made this journey and arrived to our destination here. And he says, and they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. And then, and then the chapter kind of ends here, right? It just says that Paul dwelt two whole years here in a rented house. He received everyone who came to him. So under house arrest, he was continually uh serving and ministering and still spreading the gospel, still preaching the kingdom of God to everybody, teaching them all these things with confidence and no one forbidding him to do so. So it kind of ends with this openness because the gospel and the church continue. You know, the fathers of the church say that we are the continuation of the book of Acts today. The book of Acts is still alive and living and being written in our lives today. In these chapters, we see that Paul is being beaten and shipwrecked and scourged and arrested and tried on trial. But despite all of that, we see the gospel continuing to progress and spread one step closer every single day, every single time to Rome. St. John Chrysostom talks about this in his homilies on the book of Acts. He says that the apostles' chains become the means and by which the gospel and the kingdom of Christ is spread. I hope you enjoyed this study on the Book of Acts. Thanks so much for joining me. Take care, and I hope to see you on the next series of the Bible Made Real Podcast. Thanks again. Thanks for joining me on the Bible Made Real Podcast. If today's message resonated with you or encouraged you, please like it, share, and hit follow so that you never miss a single episode. And make sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts as it really does help us to reach more listeners. You can also visit my website, KathyAbraham.com, to receive Bible's tools, resources, all the prayer books that you saw today, and free devotionals in your inbox every week. You can also follow me on Instagram and TikTok at Kathy AbidyLight, to get behind the scenes content and daily encouragement. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I'll see you in the next one.