THE BOOK OF ACTS
#000 THE BOOK OF ACTS
Scripture The Book of Acts Orig. 10/5/1986
Church Training Study, First Baptist Church, Bernice, LA
Keywords: Book of Acts
Introduction 1:1-14
Prologue 1:1-5
Ascension 1:6-14
I. The Spread of the Gospel in Jerusalem and Judea, 1:15-8:3
A. The appointment of Matthias, 1:15-26
B. The Day of Pentecost, 2:1-41
C. The earliest Church, 2:42-47
D. Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (A lame man healed), 3:1-4:22
E. The life of the earliest community, 4:23-6:7
1- Spirit-empowered witness, 4:23-31
2- Contrast in heart-yielding (Barnabas + Ananias/Sapphira), 4:32-5:11
3- Signs and wonders, 5:12-16
4- Conflict with the Sanhedrin, 5:17-42
5- Internal dissension and its resolution, 6:1-7
F. The martyrdom of Stephen, 6:8-7:60
1- His arrest, 6:8-15
2- His witness, 7:1-53
3- His death, 7:54-60
G. Persecution and dispersion of the Church, 8:1-3
II. The Spread of the Gospel in Samaria, Galilee, and the Coastal Regions, 8:4-11:18
A. Phillip in Samaria, 8:1-25
B. Phillip and the Ethiopian, 8:26-40
C. Saul’s conversion, 9:1-30
1. The vision, 9:1-7
2. The coming of Ananias, 9:8-19
3. Ministry and opposition in Damascus, 9:20-25
4. A beginning from Jerusalem, 9:26-31
D. Peter at Lydda and Joppa (Two miracles), 9:32-43
E. Peter and Cornelius, 10:1-11:18
1. Cornelius’ conversion at Caesarea, 10:1-48
2. Peter’s defense before the Jerusalem church, 11:1-18
III. The Spread of the Gospel in All the World: Antioch and Beyond, 11:19-15:35
A. The early Gentile Church in Antioch, 11:19-26
B. Saul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem (An offering for the Church), 11:27-30
C. Persecution by Herod Agrippa I, 12:1-25
1. Death of James and imprisonment of Peter, 12:1-5
2. Peter freed, 12:6-19
3. Death of Herod, 12:20-24
4. Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch with Mark, 12:25
D. The first missionary journey, 13:1-14:28
1. Sent out by the Antioch church, 13:1-3
2. Itinerant missionary, 13:4-14:28
a) Cyprus, 13:4-12
b) Antioch of Pisidia, 13:13-52
c) Iconium, 14:1-7
d) Lystra, 14:8-20
e) Antioch in Syria, 14:21-28
E. The Apostolic Council , 15:1-35
IV. The Spread of the Gospel in All the World: Around the Aegean Sea, 15:36-21:16
A. The second missionary journey , 15:36-18:22
1. Asia Minor and Cyprus, 15:36-16:10
2. Macedonia, 16:11-17:14
a) Philippi, 16:11-40
b) Thessalonica, 17:1-9
c) Berea, 17:11-13
3. Achaea, 17:14-18:17
a) Athens, 17:14-34
b) Corinth, 18:1-17
4. Return to Antioch via Ephesus, 18:18-22
B. The third missionary journey, 18:23-21:16
1. Galatia and Phrygia, 18:23
2. Apollos meets Aquila and Priscilla, 18:24-28
3. Paul in Ephesus, 19:1-41
a) Paul baptizes followers of John the Baptist, 19:1-7
b) Ministry in Ephesus, 19:8-20
c) Future plans, 19:21-22
d) Demetrius stirs mob, 19:23-41
4. Paul in Macedonia and Achaea, 20:1-5
5. The return from Philippi to Caesarea, 20:6-21:14
a) At Troas, 20:7-12
b) Itinerary continues, 20:13-16
c) At Miletus with elders from Ephesus, 20:17-38
d) The travels continue, 21:1-7
e) At Caesarea, 21:8-16
V. The Spread of the Gospel into All the World: From Jerusalem to Rome, 21:17-28:31
A. Arrival in Jerusalem and riot against Paul in the Temple, 21:17-39
B. Paul arrested and imprisoned, 21:36-26:32
1. Arrest in Jerusalem, 21:36-22:29
a) Paul’s defense before mob, 21:36-22:23
b) Paul’s witness, 22:6-21
c) Paul imprisoned, 22:22-29
2. Paul before the Sanhedrin, 22:30-23:11
3. Paul moved to Caesarea because of a plot against his life, 23:12-35
4. Jews accuse Paul before Felix, 24:1-9
5. Paul’s defense before Felix, 24:10-23
6. A convenient season, 24:24-27
7. Jews accuse Paul before Festus, 25:1-7
8. Paul appeals to Caesar, 25:8-12
9. Paul before Herod Agrippa II, 25:13-26:32
C. Paul goes to Rome, 27:1-28:32
1. Voyage and shipwreck, 27:1-44
2. On Malta, 28:1-10
3. Voyage to Italy, 28:11-13
4. Journey to Rome, 28:14-16
5. Paul under house arrest (speaks to Roman Jews), 28:17-29
Conclusion
Paul Witnesses Unhindered, 28:30-31
THE BOOK OF ACTS
761 THE BOOK OF ACTS
Scripture Acts 2:1-38, NIV Orig. 10/5/1986
Passage: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[a]
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[b] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[c]
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’[d]
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Purpose: To continue a chapter by chapter study in the Book of Acts having a particular reference to the first Christian apology, and its basis in today’s culture.
Introduction
We cannot give Simon Peter credit for coming up with the idea of preaching a sermon for the purpose of conveying an idea. We know that Jesus preached both to His disciples and to the assembled multitudes. Unquestionably, preaching as a vehicle for the conveyance of ideas, probably dates back to man in pre-history.
Peter was, however, the first Christian apologist. As far as our records indicate, he was the first to use preaching as a means to defend what he, himself, had been taught by his teacher, who, of course, was Jesus. The term “apologist,” as we use it, does not mean to “make excuses for,” but rather, “to defend.” His interest is not in the formulation of his own ideas, but to set down in precise terms, the “truth” as taught by his teacher, and why it is right.
In light of this, preaching has not really changed over these nineteen hundred, plus, years. If it is true preaching, it is not the formulation of one’s own ideas, but rather, the setting forth of the truth taught by another, by Jesus. As in Peter’s day, its influence and its power rests on the empathy of the hearer. The one who listens, or hears, must be “tuned in” to the speaker, or it is without effect. Rollo May, a Christian psychologist, in his book The Art of Counseling1, adds a helpful word.
It is in this profound and somewhat mysterious process of empathy that understanding, influence, and the other significant relations between persons takes place. Thus in discussing empathy we are considering not only the key process in counseling, but the key likewise to practically all the work of preachers, teachers, and others whose vocations depend upon the influencing of people.
It was in the same context that when Isaiah preached it seemed that it was God, Himself, who stood on the podium. His words speak with measured clarity. “’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord: ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.’” Isaiah 1:18.
[illegible] . . . Christian treatise. It may help us to define what our basics really are.
I. There is First, the Announcement of the Day of the Lord. V16f, “But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”
A couple of things are cleared up for us in Peter’s call to order: (1) That Peter spoke for all of them, not just himself. (2) That he speaks in defense of Pentecostal integrity, because the believers are here wrongly accused. You may be interested to know that “utterance” v4, and “said” v14, are the same word. The Spirit gave the people “utterance” at Pentecost and they spoke in tongues. He gave Peter “utterance” and he spoke.
Take a moment also to imagine the scene at Jerusalem. It was hardly nine o’clock in the morning, people were just beginning to stir, when something electric happened in the vicinity of Herod’s Temple. People then were as hungry for excitement as today. In moments the word had spread through the narrow streets, and throngs of people had arrived. Thus the scene of accusation of drunkenness, and Peter’s defense.
Peter cites the Old Testament scriptures of the Prophet Joel to identify this scene with prophecy. Joel 2:28-32. It expresses a longing for a time when God will pour out His Spirit on His people, not on a few exceptional individuals—that had happened again and again—but on all of His people.
Verses 19-21 speak of cosmic disturbances and seem to have no direct link to Pentecost. But Joel affirms that this outpouring of the Spirit is a sign of the end-times. Peter so completely agreed that he substituted “in the last days” for “afterward.”
The early church lives out its mission in the arena of expectation of Christ’s return. They are days when circumstances of end-times are apparent; when the Kingdom of God already exists; when the victorious Christ rules; when whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved. Victorious faith in this 20th century as well, will exploit this expectation of return.
II. Peter’s Sermon is Secondly, the Affirmation of the Basic Facts of Jesus’ Life. V22f, “You men of Israel, hear what I have to say. Jesus lived among you, he died because of you and for you; but He lives, because God invested Himself to you in Jesus.”
Jesus’ Hebrew connection is established—unquestionably a Jew, Galilean from Nazareth; a worker of miracles, by birth linked to the miraculous.
Jesus’ ministry not only declared the work of God, but had become the most noteworthy item in Palestine.
V29, As He was born in the Determinate Counsel of God, as He ministered in the Determinate Counsel of God, He also died in the Determinate Counsel of God: His death not a surprise to God; it was clearly the will of God; it was a death by crucifixion; but the agent for that death was the stubborn remorselessness of God’s own people.
Peter goes on to make clear that this Jesus whom they killed is not dead, but rather alive: Alive at the direct intervention of God; alive because death could not subject Him to itself; alive because it was not possible for Jesus to be other than what God intended from the first.
Let no doubt persist. The early church looked upon the crucifixion, not as the cruel, unjust, judicious murder that it was, but a part of the plan of God. Had they not heard Jesus Himself say, “you are so foolish, so slow of heart to believe? Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to have entered His glory?” Luke 24:25-27.
III. Thirdly, This Sermon Attests to the Superiority of Christ over the Law. V29f, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.”
As Peter has included a link to the Prophets, now he points the people to the writing of Israel’s most illustrious son, King David. Behind what he says is the superiority of life over death, and that Christ is alive and David is not. While Psalm 16, quoted here, is a breakthrough for faith, David does not fulfill what he wrote. Up until David, the people believed only in a shadowy half-life in a place known as Sheol. Hades is the Greek form. It is not Hell. David believes in Psalm 16:10 that God will not “abandon.” Jesus is the means of deliverance to “life.”
For the first time He is called Christ. Not a title. Greek form of the Hebrew for “Messiah.” Peter had declared it before (Mark 8:29), “You are the Christ,” but before Gethsemane and Pentecost, he did not know what it meant. Jesus forbade them to use the term before, but now there is an empty tomb, there is . . . Messiah … Christ.
All Rome had to do to quell the Christian revolution . . . all the Sanhedrin had to do to still the voices of the disciples forever was to produce the body of Jesus, but they could not. “Christ is alive.”
IV. One Thing More Remained for This Keynote Message of the Christian Era, to Attempt to Call People to Decision for Christ. V21, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” V36, “Let all the house of Israel know . . . [he is] both Lord and Christ.” V38, “”Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Let all men know the vitality and the integrity of the preached word, and it stands unchanged today. If you want to stand guilty before God, jeopardize the ministry of the one who preaches Christ in wholeness. When you stand to tell him how to preach, and what to say, and how to live, then be prepared to accept the responsibility that he has on his shoulders: That is not to say that he does not value your concerned counsel, but be sure that yours is not an attempt to demean his labors.
Every born again Christian has a deep-rooted responsibility to work with their pastor to encourage responses to the invitation to people to trust Jesus.
Conclusion
Many of us remember the news reports out of Hitler’s Germany during the Second World War. We saw the thronged multitudes. We heard the fanatical “Seig Heil.” And the response came in menacing unison, “Seig Heil.”
But let us all remember that there is a louder chorus to be heard, and no words throughout time and eternity are a more menacing threat to the powers of darkness in the world. Hear the call to faith of the early Church, “Christ is Risen,” and hear the contemporary response, “He is risen, indeed, Hallelujah.”
Links
May: https://www.rollomay.net/
1May, R. (1967). The Art of Counseling. Abingdon Press.
INTRODUCING THE BOOK OF ACTS
#833 INTRODUCING THE BOOK OF ACTS
Scripture Acts 1:1-8, NIV Orig. September 29, 1985
Passage: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Purpose: Beginning a study for Church Training leading my people to a deeper comprehension of The Book of Acts.
Introduction
By way of beginning, we need to face up to purpose. Why did Luke write Acts? The best evidence suggests that he did. And, we can conclude that the book was written shortly before or after Paul’s death in Rome, about 58 or 59 A.D.
So, WHY did he write? To depict “Acts of the Apostles.” That is the title by which it is best known. Or, is it the book that declares the Holy Spirit’s life and work as the gospel declares the life and work of Jesus? Perhaps there is some other purpose. For instance, the revealing of the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome; or, a book seeking to reconcile rivalries between different factions of the church.
Better understood, it is all of these things, but only to a limited degree. These are supplemental purposes. Its major focus has to do with expansion. Partly, the expansion that carries the gospel across geographical barriers; but even more, the author depicts how Christianity broke through the imposition of limitations placed upon it by people locked into a narrow, self-limiting culture. It is about how the gospel took on the character of its [founder], and not of His disciples.
The story begins in Jerusalem. It ends 28 chapters later in Rome. The passage was not easy. Many changes are observed. Leaders come into view, remain for awhile, and often are heard from no more. The foundling church appears, descriptions of it, single it out for what it is: a very human inducement to faith. The most obvious change is cultural. The book opens on a Jewish prayer meeting. None but Jews are there. It closes with a chronicler of the gospel, incarcerated, but proclaiming an “unhindered” gospel to all who come to hear.
I. What are the arguments for Luke’s authorship?
Both ACTS and LUKE [are] dedicated to Theophilus. Luke 1:3/Acts 1:1. Acts opens speaking of former treatises.
Similarity in style/phraseology/medical jargon.
Luke is known to have traveled with Paul. Acts 16:10/20:6 “We” passages.
Rule out Silas (16:19) and Timothy (20:4-5).
Christian tradition accepts Luke as author.
II. What can we conclude about the date?
Outset—Christ is with disciples prior to His ascension (30-40A.D.).
Conclusion—Paul arrives in Rome. Dated by mention of political figures (Acts 25:13, Agrippa, Festus/Felix). Sometime between 58 and 63 A.D. Luke was undoubtedly with Paul: II Timothy 4:6, “I have fought the good fight”; II Timothy 4:11, “Only Luke is with me.”
III. What more needs to be said about purpose?
“Acts of the Holy Spirit”—but not to the degree that gospels are about Jesus.
“Acts of the Apostles”—a factor, but not definitive. Even Paul is left inconclusively a Roman prisoner.
“Acts of the Ascended Christ”—1:1, “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” A direct reference to the “former treatise” (gospel).
The book of gospel initiative. 1:8, “Ye shall receive power . . . and ye shall be my witnesses . . . .” 28:31, “boldly and without hindrance . . . preached.”
IV. Defining the key thought.
Verse 1:8, “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and . . . .”
The key in outline:
1 Introduction
2-7 Witness in Jerusalem
8-12 Witness in Judea and Samaria
13-28 Witness to the uttermost.
V. The two-part breakdown of the book.
Part I (1-12)
In Jerusalem
Peter most prominent
From Jerusalem to Judea/Samaria
Geography—Palestine (Jew/Gentile)
General rejection by Jews
Peter imprisoned (12:3)
Part II (13-28)
From Antioch
Paul most prominent
From Antioch to Empire
Geography—Mediterranean (Jew/Gentile)
Rejection by Jews of dispersion
Paul imprisoned (28:16)
VI. Peter and Paul in parallel consideration.
INCIDENT Peter Paul
1-First Sermon 2:14f 13:16
2-Healing of lame man 3:1f 14:8f
3-Dealing with a sorcerer—Simon 8:9 13:8f—Elymas
4-Influence--shadow 5:15 19:12f—high priests
5-Laying on of hands--Samaritans 8:17 19:6—pagans
6-Worshipped—Cornelius 10:25 14:11—Lystra
7-Raised from the dead—Tabitha 9:40 20:9—Eutychus
8-Imprisoned—Herod 12:3 28:16—Nero