Lets take a look at some of the most intriguing things in acts and develop a new appreciation for this fascinating book. This commentary opens to us the early days of the church as recorded by luke in the book of acts. Once pauls pronouncements against apostate israel were made, the book of acts closed. Again, the doctrinal details of pauline theology are found in romans through philemon. It is an important book in understanding how we can be directed by the holy spirit and the role of jesus lessons in our lives. If youre not circumcised in the mosaic fashion, you cant be saved. Luke wraps up his book with paul preaching under house arrest in rome, but. The message of acts john stott the good book company.
They said, it wouldnt be right for us to abandon our. Purposes of the book of acts in my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach v. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that luke, a companion of the apostle paul, wrote the books of luke and acts colossians 4. What else could they have meant when they proclaimed the gospel, when the spoke of the kingdom, when they called jesus christ and lord, when they connected him his forefather david. The acts of the apostles was written by a physician named lucian in english luke. Acts has been called a transitional book because it serves as a bridge between the gospels and the epistles. Most notable is the incongruity between pauls gospel message in acts and the message we see in his letters, especially romans and galatians. This is the story of christianitys beginnings and how evangelism played. As we read the book of acts, it is important to note that each of its individual narratives is part of lukes overall strategy and message. Luke traces that pattern of the spread of the gospel in the following way.
Luke recorded three rejections by the jews to peter and the apostles associated with him to the message of repentance and proclamation of the kingdom. It shows the transition from christs message of a coming kingdom to the apostles message of one new body of jew and gentile in christ, called the church eph. Most occurances of this word apply to those who have already believed i. The book of acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of jesus christ. What can the book of acts tell us about how the church should operate today. This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of acts. Jesus represented by the media married, aquarian, selfclaims, jesus and satan brothers, jesus a. It was not in gods design in acts to give us every little detail about pauls ministry and message. With the breadth and scholarly care that have marked john stotts years of ministry, this book opens to us the early days of the church as recorded by luke in the.
Christians who read the book of acts are inspired by the explosive expansion of the early church. It is written in laymans language and is very readable as well as giving an accurate biblical account of this time in the history of the christian church. As a second volume to lukes gospel, it joins what jesus began to do and to teach 1. The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. The ending of acts with paul in rome forms an inclusio with the words of jesus at the ascension in acts 1. He always intended that his followers would take his message and go in. I do think that the conversations had everything to do with proclaiming a new king.
The message of acts is that, because jesus was a jew, the gospel should be. Last week, we talked about how to read the book of acts. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. Here is a sample excerpt to give a taste of what you can glean from this well done commentary.
In the latter portion of acts, luke recorded three rejections of the jews to pauls overtures of salvation. Theres never been much contention about the authorship of acts. This title may be a bit misleading, because 11 apostles are barely mentioned, while the book concentrates almost exclusively on the early work of peter chapters 112 and the short but influential ministry of paul chapters 28. Intro to acts biblica the international bible society. They called in, asking if there was a simon, also called peter, staying there. The book of acts sunday school lesson series january 2, 2011 by kelly henderson take your students on a journey through the book of acts where they will learn lessons from the early church after jesus ascended to heaven and believers received the gift of the holy spirit. Acts bible book with full chapters the message bible christianity. Acts tells the story of how his church began and how the message christ spread. The acts of the apostles tell the story of the joy, suffering, and journeys across. Today we are going to begin a study of the book of acts and focus on the mission of the church for today. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. We saw that were not supposed to model our behavior after everything some biblical character does. The word grace is never used in a gospel message, however it is used to describe the gospel message in acts 14. The gospel according to acts mentions no temporal salvation benefits.
It is the historical link that joins the life of christ with the growth of the christian church. The book of acts begins in jerusalem, the capital city of the jews, but ends in rome, the capital city of the gentiles. Acts records the apostles being christs witnesses in jerusalem, judea, samaria, and the surrounding world. Besides linking the gospel narratives on the one hand and the apostolic letters on the.
The purpose of the book of acts is governed by the jews response to peter and paul. The book of acts provides a bridge for the writings of the nt. Peter, lost in thought, didnt hear them, so the spirit whispered to him, three men are knocking at the door looking for you. The book of acts sheds light on the gift of the holy spirit, who empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our counselor. The book of acts, also called acts of the apostles, does not specifically identify its author.
Although the author does not name himself, evidence outside the scriptures and inferences from the book itself lead to the conclusion that the author was luke. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending paul, barnabas, and a few others to put it. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of acts in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. Thousands of people were coming to christ, people were being miraculously healed, supernatural gifts like speaking in tongues were heard, and believers preached. Often the experiences of acts reveal a transitional event rather than advocate a doctrinal truth. Hence, we do not read about the outcome of pauls trial in. Commentary on the book of acts bible study lessons. The message of acts bible speaks today, by john stott, is an excellent commentary on the book of acts. Acts tells us how the christian movement came into beginning. While there are some areas of great detail of the acts of the apostles, many times you must use cross references to the gospels of matthew, mark, luke and john as well as some other epistles in the new testament to get the full picture of what was.
John stott describes the spiritmotivated, worldchanging mission of the early church and applies its experiences to the modern issues that churches face every day. The book of acts is an adventure thrill ride from start to finish, but we tend to skip over a lot of the incredibly compelling details. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. This book opens to us the early days of the church as recorded by luke in. As such it answers the question many firstcentury observers would have. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of acts in the bible the message bible. Acts 1 msg to the ends of the world dear bible gateway. Purposes of the book of acts reformed bible studies.
Bible biblestudytools video what is the message of the book of acts. The gospel according to acts andrew bernhardts website. Contributed by rick crandall on jul 8, 20 message contributor based on 1 rating. The global message of acts acts and redemptive history. This the book of acts bible study on the book of acts bible study verses with the book of acts bible study message and all of its the book of acts bible study contents are protected and should not be reproduced, copied or sold in whole or in part without. Pauls emphasis on justification by faith is completely absent from his speeches and sermons in acts, where he seems more aligned with peters mission to the jews compare acts 2 and acts. Paul and barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. Of the 27 books that make up what we know as the new testament, the one called the acts of the apostles is unique in the information it contains. Youve never experienced the power of romans 8 quite like this stephen sanders. Acts has been called a transitional book because it serves as a. Each one contributes in some way to his overall mission of teaching theophilus about the gospel of the kingdom of god in christ. T he book of acts in the bible, written around 6263 a. Michel rodrigue has received prophetic knowledge of the future of the church and the world duration.
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