Following God's Lead

18 FOLLOWING GOD’S LEAD (Acts 27 – 28)
Rome, the largest and most splendid of ancient cities, acted like a magnet to its peoples. Rome, the capital and symbol of the Roman Empire, presided magisterially over the whole known world. Though Paul was a Jew, but having inherited Roman citizenship from his father, he must have dreamed since childhood of visiting the city for himself. Paul must have thought often of what it would be like for this great city to be thoroughly evangelized, and for Rome’s church to grow, be consolidated and fired with a missionary vision. What a radiating center for the gospel Rome could become!
Summary: Here then are aspects of Paul’s character which endear him to us as an integrated Christian, who combined spirituality with sanity and faith with works. He believed that God would keep his promises and had the courage to say grace in the presence of a crowd of hard-bitten pagans. But his trust and godliness did not stop him seeing either that the ship should not take risks with the onset of winter or that the sailors must not be allowed to escape, or that the hungry crew and passengers had to eat to survive. What a man! He was a man of God and of action, a man of the Spirit and of common sense.
What, then, is the major lesson we are intended to learn from Acts 27 and 28? It concerns the providence of God, who “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). This providential activity of God is seen in these chapters in two complementary ways, first in bringing Paul to Rome, his desired goal, and second in bringing him there as a prisoner, his undesired condition.
It was not so much that Paul had said, “I must visit Rome” (19:21), as that Jesus had said to him, “You must testify in Rome” (23:11). Yet circumstance after circumstance seemed calculated to make this impossible. As the narrative proceeds and the storm become ever more violent, until all hope is lost, we wonder how on earth he will be rescued. Will he make it? Yes he will! He does! By God’s providence Paul reached Rome safe and sound.
Just as Luke’s Gospel ended with the prospect of a mission to the nations, so the Acts ends with the prospect of a mission radiating from Rome to the world. Luke’s description of Paul preaching “with boldness” and “without hindrance” symbolizes a wide open door, through which we in our day have to pass. The Acts of the Apostles have long ago finished. But the acts of the followers of Jesus will continue until the end of the world, and their words will spread to the ends of the earth.
Open
What dreams do you have concerning taking the gospel to others?
Study
1. Read Acts 27. What did Paul and the others have to go through to get to Rome?
2. How do you see Paul reaching out to those around him while they travel to Rome (vv. 9-10, 21-26, and 31-36)?
3. Paul had great confidence in God, and many others were profoundly affected by it. What promises from God were the foundations for Paul’s great confidence that they would all arrive safely in Rome (vv. 23-26)?
4. What kind of care and respect did Paul receive from Julius the centurion (vv. 3, 43)?
5. What does this relationship with Julius tell you about the apostle Paul?
6. Read Acts 28. Paul dealt with many fickle crowds in his journey. How the fickleness of this crowd is displayed (28:1-6)?
7. What kindnesses are exchanged between the islanders and Paul (28:2, 10)?
8. What do you think it was like for Paul to be met by a delegation of Christians when he finally arrived in Rome (28:14-15)?
9. Paul continued to follow the principle that the gospel is for the Jew first, even in the Gentile capital of Rome. How did the Jews respond?
10. What do you think it means that “boldly and without hindrance” (28:31) Paul preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ?
Apply
Many were profoundly affected by Paul’s confidence in God. When have you been influenced by such confidence in another believer? What have you learned from the book of Acts that prepares and equips you to be a witness “to the ends of the earth” (1:8)?
PrayPray fervently that God will empower you with his Holy Spirit to do his will.

The Gospel on Trial

17 THE GOSPEL ON TRIAL (Acts 24 – 26)
Jerusalem and Rome were the centers of two enormously strong power blocs. The faith of Jerusalem went back two millennia to Abraham. The rule of Rome extended some three million square miles around the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem’s strength lay in history and tradition, Rome’s in conquest and organization. Their combined might was over-whelming. If a solitary dissident like Paul were to set himself against them, the outcome could be inevitable. His chances of survival would resemble those of a butterfly before a steamroller. He would be crushed, utterly obliterated from the face of the earth.
Yet such an outcome, we may confidently affirm, never even entered Paul’s mind as a possibility. For he saw the situation from an entirely different perspective. He was no traitor to either church or state that he should come into collision with them, although this is how his accusers tried to frame him. Paul’s contention, while on trial, was that in principle the gospel both supports the rule of Caesar and fulfills the hope of Israel. He presents himself as both a loyal citizen of Rome and a loyal son of Israel.
The gospel is on trial today. May we share the confidence and courage of Paul as we live and speak its defense?
Summary: Drusilla, the wife of Felix, was the youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa I, whose opposition and death Luke has described earlier (12:1-23). She had a reputation for ravishing youthful beauty, on account of which Felix, with the aid of a Cypriot magician, had seduced her from her rightful husband and secured her for himself. She was in fact his third wife. The lax morals of Felix and Drusilla help to explain the topics Paul addressed.
There was to be no further public hearing for two years. During this period, however, Felix conducted a kind of private investigation of his own. He frequently sent for Paul and talked with him. Luke is explicit that he hoped for a bribe. It would be cynical to suppose, however, that Felix’s only motive was to hold Paul for ransom. I think he knew that Paul had something more precious than money, something which money cannot buy. If his conscience had been aroused by Paul’s teaching, then he must have been seeking forgiveness and peace. Certainly the release of Felix from sin meant more to Paul than his own release from prison. But unfortunately there is no evidence that Felix ever capitulated to Christ and was redeemed. On the contrary, Felix left Paul in prison for his successor.
Herod Agrippa II was the son of Herod Agrippa I and the great-grandson of Herod the Great. Bernice was his sister, and rumors were rife that their relationship was incestuous. Paul’s trial before Agrippa is the longest and most elaborate.
Read Acts 25:23 – 26:32. It was a dramatic moment when the holy and humble apostle of Jesus Christ stood before this representative of the worldly, ambitious, morally corrupt family of the Herods who for generation after generation had set themselves in opposition to truth and righteousness. “Their founder, Herod the Great,” wrote R. B. Rackham in The Acts of the Apostles “had tried to destroy the infant Jesus.” His son Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, beheaded John the Baptist, and won from the Lord the title of “fox.” His grandson Agrippa I slew James the son of Zebedee with the sword. Now we see Paul brought before Agrippa’s son. But Paul was not the least intimidated.
The commissioning of Saul as Christ’s apostle was deliberately shaped to resemble the call of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and others to be God’s prophets. In both cases the language of “sending” was used. As God “sent” his prophets to announce his word to his people, so Christ “sent” apostles to preach and teach in his name, including Paul, who was now “sent” to the Gentiles.
Luke’s purpose in describing the three court scenes was not just apologetic, but evangelistic. He wanted his readers to remember that Paul had been commissioned to be Christ’s servant and witness. Thank God for Paul’s courage! Jesus had warned his disciples that they would be “brought before kings and governors” on account of his name, and had promised that on such occasions he would give them “words and wisdom” (Luke 21:12-15). Jesus had also told Ananias (who had presumably passed the information on) that Paul was his “chosen instrument” to carry his name “before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). These predictions had come true, and Paul had not failed. Christ had commissioned him personally and directly, and he had not been disobedient to this heavenly vision!
Open
How do you feel/respond when you know of or experience injustice in a court system?
Study
In the previous chapter Felix had read the letter from Claudius Lysias and sent to Jerusalem for Paul’s accusers. In the meantime he kept him in custody in Caesarea. Five days later the high priest came and opened the prosecution.
Read Acts 24. As a trained and experienced professional lawyer, Tertullus began with an endeavor to capture the judge’s good will. Traditionally, it was complimentary to the point of hypocrisy and often included a promise of brevity, but on this occasion it descended to “almost nauseating flattery.” For Tertullus expressed gratitude for the “peace” Felix had secured and the “reforms” he had introduced, whereas in reality he had put down several insurrections with such barbarous brutality that he earned for himself the horror, not the thanks, of the Jewish population.
1. What three charges did Tertullus make against Paul (24:5-6)?
2. How did Paul speak to each of the accusations?
3. What four affirmations does he state in 24:14-16?
4. Why did Felix not come to any decision about Paul (24:26-27)?
5. Read Acts 25:1-22. What kind of a person does think Festus is based on the description of him and his actions in chapter 25?
6. Why do you think Paul requested to be tried in Caesar’s court (25:10-11)?
7. In Festus’s report to Agrippa, what is the main point about Christianity that he mentions (25:18-19)?
8. Why does Paul say that he is on trial (26:6-8)?
9. What are the main points about himself that Paul highlights for King Agrippa?
10. What is Paul’s commission from Jesus Christ according to 26:15-18?
11. How is Paul’s heart’s desire and commitment to this commission again communicated in his final interaction with Agrippa in 26:26-29?
Apply
What do you think that most people remember about Christianity from your witness? To what degree in Paul’s commission from Jesus Christ your own?
PrayThank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to place in you a burning desire that your friends come to Christ.

Saying Goodbye

15 SAYING GOODBYE (Acts 20:1 – 21:17)

When Paul said goodbye to the leaders at Ephesus, it was the only address in Acts to a Christian audience. The leaders that are addressed are called “elders,” “pastors” and “overseers.” In our day when there is much confusion about the nature and purpose of the pastoral ministry, and much questioning about whether clergy are primarily social workers, psychotherapists, educators, facilitators or administrators, it is important to rehabilitate the noble word pastors. They are the shepherds of Christ’s sheep, called to tend, feed and protect.

Paul had taken his call as pastor seriously. He had poured his life into the Ephesians, lived well before them and was now leaving them, putting the care of the church in their hands.

I imagine that Paul’s encouragement took the form of an exhortation similar to the one he would later give to their pastors in Miletus. It is noteworthy that Paul hardly ever traveled alone, and that when he was alone, he expressed his longing for human companionship. That he favored teamwork is especially clear during his missionary journeys. On this journey he was accompanied by men that represented each of the areas he had ministered to and would be visiting.

Summary: Each of the three persons of the Trinity has a share in overseeing the church. To begin with, the church is “God’s church.” Next, we read that he bought it with his own blood – the blood of Christ. And over this church the Holy Spirit appoints overseers. This splendid Trinitarian affirmation should humble us to remember that the church is not ours, but God’s. And it should inspire us to faithfulness. The people of the church are the flock of God the Father, purchased by the precious blood of God the Son, and supervised by overseers appointed by God the Holy Spirit. If the three persons of the Trinity are thus committed to the welfare of the people, should we not be also?

From Richard Baxter’s great book The Reformed Pastor:

Oh then, let us hear these arguments of Christ, wherever we feel ourselves grow dull and careless: “Did I die for them, and wilt not thou look after them? Were they worth my blood and are they not worth thy labor? Did I come down from heaven to earth, to seek and to save that which was lost; and wilt thou not go to the next door or street or village to seek them? How small is thy labor and condescension as to mine? I debased myself to this, but it is thy honor to be so employed. Have I done and suffered so much for their salvation; and was I willing to make thee a co-worker with me, and wilt thou refuse that little that lieth upon thy hands?

What fortified Paul in his journey was the Christian fellowship which he and his travel companions experienced in every port. He was personally escorted from Caesarea by disciples to Jerusalem where he was received warmly. It would be an exaggeration to call this Paul’s “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem. But at least his warm reception strengthened him to bear the crowd’s shouts a few days later “Away with him!”

Open

Describe a time when you said a painful goodbye.

Study

1. Read Acts 20:1-12. In 20:1-5 what characteristics of Paul’s ministry do you see?

2. How do you think you would have been affected by the worship service at Troas (20:7-12)?

3. Read Acts 20:13-38. How would you describe the tone of this passage?

4. How did Paul describe himself and his ministry among the Ephesians (20:18-35)?

5. How was Paul affected by the warnings of future suffering and death (20:22-24)?

6. What does he instruct the Christian leaders to do (20:28-31)?

7. What do Paul’s instructions about the sheep he is leaving in their care communicate about their value (20:28)?

8. Why was Paul not afraid to leave the leaders and the church in their care?

9. Read Acts 21:1-17. What continued warnings did Paul receive about going to Jerusalem?

10. How did he respond to those warnings?

11. How do you think those observing Paul was affected by his single-mindedness?

Apply

How do your priorities compare and contrast with those of Paul? What would you like to be able to say about yourself and about your ministry at the end of your life? What steps do you need to take now in order for that to happen?

Pray

Praise the Holy Spirit for his faithfulness in pointing us to Jesus. Ask him to stir your heart toward single-mindedness in obedience to Jesus and living a life whose total purpose is to bring glory to his name.

Good News Strategy

14 GOOD NEWS STRATEGY (Acts 18 – 19)

As we watch Paul travel and proclaim the good news of Christ, we see a pattern that he follows when he enters each city. It is no different in Corinth and Ephesus. His first attempt is to persuade the Jews concerning Jesus. He begins in the synagogue where they meet, study Scripture and pray. But when the Jews reject his message he turns to the Gentiles. In both cities Paul’s bold step of going to the Gentiles was vindicated by many people hearing and believing the gospel.

A well-thought-through strategy is vital if we are to engage the world with the message that can change it.

Summary: This message is couched in the language used by God himself in the Old Testament when addressing his servants. Both the prohibition “Do not be afraid” and the promise “I am with you” were repeatedly given. Now Jesus said the same things to Paul. He was to continue witnessing fortified by the presence and the protection of Christ, and by the assurance that Christ had in Corinth “many people.” They had not yet believed in him, but they would do so, because already according to his purpose they belonged to him.

This conviction is the greatest of all encouragements to an evangelist. Strengthened by it, Paul stayed for a year and a half in Corinth, teaching them the word of God (18:11). For the word of God are the divinely appointed means by which people come to put their trust in Christ and so identifying them as his.

Read Acts 18:18-28. Paul left Corinth accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila and went to Ephesus, left Priscilla and Aquila there and continued to travel throughout the area where he had gone on one of his first missionary journeys. His purpose was to strengthen the disciples.

Luke wanted to show that Rome had no case against Christianity in general or Paul in particular. In Corinth the proconsul Gallio had refused even to hear the Jews’ charge. In Ephesus the town clerk implied that the opposition was purely emotional and that the Christians, being innocent, had nothing to fear from duly constituted legal processes. Thus the impartiality of Gallio, the friendship of Asiarchs and the cool reasonableness of the city clerk combined to give the gospel freedom to continue on its victorious course.

When we contrast much contemporary evangelism with Paul’s, its shallowness is immediately shown up. Our evangelism tends to be focused on simply inviting people to church. Paul also took the gospel out into the secular world. Our evangelism appeals to the emotions for a decision without an adequate basis of understanding. Paul taught, reasoned and tried to persuade. Our evangelism is superficial, making brief encounters and expecting quick results. Paul stayed in Corinth and Ephesus for five years, faithfully sowing gospel seed and in due time reaping a harvest.

Open

How does the idea of having a strategy for evangelism strike you?

Study

1. Read Acts 18:1-18. What do you learn about Paul in 18:1-4?

2. What drastic action did Paul take when the Jews resisted his message this time (18:6-7)? What are the consequences (vv. 8-10, 12-15)?

3. If you were Paul, how would you have felt when you received Jesus’ message in verses 9-10? How did Paul respond?

4. What do you learn about Apollos in 18:24-28?

5. How is Aquila and Priscilla’s response to him an example to us?

6. Read Acts 19:1-22. As you look through these verses, what good fruit do you see from Paul’s ministry in Ephesus?

7. What opposition did Paul encounter?

8. Read Acts 19:23-41. What were the stated reasons and the real reason for the opposition (19:23-34)?

9. What is the significance of the fact that this is the second time (first in Corinth and now in Ephesus) that the Roman law protected Paul in his ministry?

10. In spite of the obvious cultural differences between first-century cities in the Roman Empire and the great urban complexes of today, there are also similarities. What lessons can we learn from Paul’s ministry in Corinth and Ephesus about the how, the where and the when of urban evangelism?

Apply

The term tentmaker comes from the fact that Paul worked as a tentmaker on his second missionary journey. What are reasons for tentmakers in modern missions? How does this story of Paul at Corinth and Ephesus challenge you to become a more effective proclaimed of the gospel?

Pray

Thank the Lord Jesus that he will help you grow as a messenger of his truth.

City Of Idols

13 CITY OF IDOLS (Acts 17:16-34)

Idols are not limited to primitive societies; there are many sophisticated idols too. An idol is a God substitute. Any person or thing that occupies the place which God should occupy is an idol. Covetousness is idolatry. Ideologies can be idolatries. So can fame, wealth and power, sex, food, alcohol and other drugs. People can be idols – parents, spouse, children and friends. The possibilities extend further to work, recreation, television and possessions. Even church, religion and Christian service can be idolized.

Idols seem particularly dominant in cities. Paul was deeply pained by the idolatrous city of Athens. It was a city of aesthetic magnificence and cultural sophistication, as well as being the world center of pagan philosophy and religion. How do we communicate Jesus Christ to such a city? Paul gave us a marvelous example when he visited Athens.

The clue to interpreting the nature of Paul’s emotion is that the verb that is translated “greatly distressed” is also used in the Greek version of the Old Testament to describe the reaction of the Holy One of Israel to idolatry. Thus, when the Israelites made the golden calf at Mount Sinai, and when later they were guilty of gross idolatry and immorality in relation to the Baal of Peor, they “provoked” the Lord God to anger. So Paul was “provoked” (RSV) by idolatry and provoked to anger, grief and indignation, just as God is himself, and for the same reason, namely for the honor and glory of his name.

Summary: The Areopagus address reveals the comprehensiveness of Paul’s message. He proclaimed God in his fullness as Creator, Sustainer, Ruler, Father and Judge. He took in the whole of nature and of history. He passed the whole of time in review, from the creation to the consummation. He emphasized the greatness of God, not only as the beginning and the end of all things, but as the One to whom we owe our being and to whom we must give account. He argued that human beings already know these things by natural or general revelation, and that their ignorance and idolatry are therefore inexcusable. So he called on them with great solemnity, before it was too late, to repent.

It is not only the comprehensiveness of Paul’s message in Athens which is impressive, however, but also the depth and power of his motivation. Why it that, in spite of the great needs is and opportunities of our day, the church slumbers peacefully on, and that so many Christians are deaf and dumb, deaf to Christ’s commission and tongue-tied in testimony? I think the major reason is this: we do not speak as Paul spoke because we do not feel as Paul felt. And this is because we do not see like Paul. When Paul walked around Athens, he did not just “notice” the idols. He looked and looked, and thought and thought, until the fires of holy indignation were kindled within him. For he saw men and women, created by God in the image of God, giving to idols the homage which was due to God alone. We constantly pray “Hallowed be your Name,” but we do not seem to mean it, or to care that his name is so widely profaned.

Open

What philosophies and pagan religions do you encounter in your world?

Study

1. Read Acts 17:16-34. What caught Paul’s attention immediately about Athens? What did he feel about what he saw?

2. Jesus wept over the impenitent city of Jerusalem. What are the idols in your city?

3. What did Paul do in response to what he saw and felt?

4. It is impressive that Paul was able to speak with equal ease to religious people in the synagogue, to casual passers-by in the city square and to highly sophisticated philosophers. How does Paul open his sermon at the meeting of the Aeropagus (vv. 22-23)?

5. What does his approach to the men and women of the Aeropagus model to us as we consider influencing those in our culture with the message about Jesus?

6. What five things does Paul say about God?

7. What is the significance to the people of Athens that God is the Creator of the universe (vv. 24-27)?

8. Why was it important for Paul to tell the people that God is the Sustainer of life (v. 28)?

9. How did Paul call them to repentance (vv. 29-31)?

10. What different responses to Paul’s message do you see throughout this passage?

11. Compare and contrast the responses to Paul’s message about Jesus to the responses you see today.

Apply

When have you been provoked by the idolatrous cities of the contemporary world? What might it take for the church of Jesus Christ to wake up today?

Pray

Ask God to give you eyes to see where he is being replaced by things and philosophies and to respond to what you see with a passion to proclaim truth and to honor his name.

12 FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT (Acts 16:6 – 17:15)

12 FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT (Acts 16:6 – 17:15)

God had appointments for Paul with individuals in Macedonia. The first was with Lydia at the river on a Saturday afternoon. The second was with a slave girl who earned money for her owner by telling the future, and the third was with a jailor and his family at Philippi. Getting him to those appointments was not easy, but the Holy Spirit got them there. To do this, he closed some doors of opportunity and opened others. Paul overcame human barriers when he took the gospel to these individuals. There now was no difference between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave or free – when it came to the gospel of Christ.

We do not have to beg the Holy Spirit to guide us. But like Paul, we need to seek that guidance as we are faithful to what we already know to be God’s will and as we trust God even when we cannot explain what he is doing.

The most notable feature of Paul’s second missionary expedition, which Luke narrates in these chapters, is that during it the good seed of the gospel was now for the first time planted in European soil. It was from Europe that in due course the gospel fanned out to the great continents of Africa, Asia, North America, Latin America and Oceania and so reached the ends of the earth.

In The Acts of the Holy Spirit A. T. Pierson gave some examples from the history of missions of this same kind of guidance: Livingstone tried to go to China, but God sent him to Africa instead. Before him, Carey planned to go to Polynesia in the South Seas, but God guided him to India. Judson went to India first, but was driven on to Burma. We too in our day, Pierson concludes, “need to trust him for guidance and rejoice equally in his restraints and constraints” ([Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1895], pp. 120-22).

Summary: It was inevitable in Jewish evangelism that the Old Testament Scriptures should be both the textbook and the court of appeal. What is impressive is that neither speaker nor hearers used Scripture in a superficial way. On the contrary, Paul “argues” out of the Scripture and the Bereans “examined” them to see if his arguments were cogent. And we may be sure that Paul welcomed and encouraged this thoughtful response. He believed in doctrine (his message had theological content), but not in indoctrination (tyrannical instruction demanding uncritical acceptance). Thus Paul’s arguments and his hearers’ studies went hand in hand. I do not doubt that he also bathed both in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit of truth to open his mouth to explain, and his hearers’ minds to grasp, the good news of salvation in Christ.

Open

What are your greatest fears about being guided by God?

1. Read Acts 16:6-15. What specific instructions and direction did Paul and his companions receive from the Holy Spirit?

2. How do you see the Holy Spirit honor and work through their obedience throughout this passage?

3. What principles of guidance do you see in the experience of Paul and his companions?

4. When have you experienced guidance in the way that Paul and Silas did?

5. Read Acts 16:16-40. What opposition was there to Paul and his message?

6. What was the motivation behind the owners of the slave girl dragging Paul and Silas to the authorities (vv. 19-21)?

7. Describe Paul and Silas’s response to being flogged and thrown into prison (vv. 25-28).

8. Why do you think the jailer asked the question “What must I do to be saved?”

9. How does the response of the jailer (vv. 31-34) compare to Lydia’s response to the gospel (vv. 14-15, 40)? What does this tell you about the nature of the gospel?

10. Think of the three individuals (Lydia, a businesswoman; the slave girl and the jail keeper) who probably became Christians and were the core of the new Philippians church. How does this new church demonstrate the unifying power of the gospel?

11. The book of Acts demonstrates God’s desire to reach individuals as well as the world. What would have been the consequence if Paul had not responded to the Macedonia call?

12. Read Acts 17:1-15. What verbs describe Paul’s approach to the Thessalonians and their response (vv. 1-4)? What verbs describe the response of the Bereans to Paul’s teaching (vv. 11-12)?

13. Compare and contrast the response of the Thessalonians and the Bereans to the gospel.

Apply

How have you witnessed the power of the gospel to change lives? How might God be guiding you to serve him?

Pray

Quietly reflect on how God has led you in the past. Thank him for his faithfulness. Commit your present and future to him now. Talk to him about your fears, desires and commitment to following him.

Resolving Conflict

11 RESOLVING CONFLICT (Acts 15:1 – 16:5)
Conflict between believers is one of the most difficult things we face. There are those whose total outlook on Christianity has been drastically affected as the result of a church split or Christian friends not speaking to each other.
Thankfully the Bible is not silent on conflict. It has much to offer on how to deal with conflict and differences in ideas in a godly way. Acts 15 is one such passage. The vital question of how Gentile believers would be incorporated into the believing community began to form in the mind of the Jewish Christians. This question, left unattended, could have torn the church apart. There is much of this same kind of discussion today, and the council of Jerusalem provides an excellent model for resolving our differences.
It was one thing to secure the gospel from corruption; it was another to preserve the church from fragmentation. Paul was resolutely unwilling to compromise the “truth of the gospel.” At the same time, he was extremely anxious to maintain Jewish-Gentile solidarity in the one body of Christ. Once the theological principle that salvation is by grace alone and that circumcision was not required but neutral was firmly established, he was prepared to adjust his practical policies.
We may say, then, that the Jerusalem Council secured a double victory – a victory of love in preserving the fellowship by sensitive concessions to conscientious Jewish scruples. As Luther put it, Paul was strong in faith and soft in love. Or as John Newton once said, “Paul was a reed in non-essentials, - an iron pillar in essentials.”
Summary: From our later perspective of church history we can see the crucial importance of this first ecumenical Council held in Jerusalem. Its unanimous decision liberated the gospel from its Jewish swaddling clothes into being God’s message for all humankind, and gave the Jewish-Gentile church a self-conscious identity as the reconciled people of God, the one body of Christ. And although the whole council affirmed it, Paul claimed that it was a new understanding granted especially to him, the “mystery” previously hidden but now revealed, namely that through faith in Christ alone Gentiles stand on equal terms with Jews as “heirs together, members together, sharers together” in his one new community.
Open
How have you seen Christians and/or congregations deal with conflict?
Study
Read Acts 15:1-21. So far it had been assumed that Gentile believers would be absorbed into the believing community by circumcision and that by observing the law they would be acknowledged as bona fide members of the covenant of God. Something quite different was now happening, however: Gentile converts were being welcomed into fellowship by baptism without circumcision. They were becoming Christians without becoming Jews.
1. What was the question that was forming in the minds of the Jewish leaders (vv. 1-5)?
2. Why was this issue so important?
3. What might be some comparable issues in today’s church?
4. Describe carefully the process of resolving this conflict (vv. 6-21).
5. What can we learn about the resolution of a disagreement from the way the Jewish leaders worked toward resolution?
6. Read Acts 15:22-35. What do the leaders do to make sure the decisions from the council are adequately communicated to the churches?
7. Why do you think the Gentile believers were given a list of four behaviors from which to abstain, even though they did not have to be circumcised or obey the law of Moses to be saved (vv. 28-29)?
8. Read Acts 15:36 – 16:5. How did Paul and Barnabas deal with their sharp disagreement about whether or not to take John Mark with them on their next missionary journey?
9. How do you respond to how they resolved this conflict?
10. After all the discussion in the council at Jerusalem about Gentiles not having to be circumcised, why do you think Paul circumcised Timothy before taking him along on the journey with Silas and himself?
11. How would you evaluate the spiritual health of the churches at this point?
Apply
Consider the principles of conflict resolution revealed in this passage. Which of them is easiest for you? Which is most difficult? In what ways do you need to care more for the growth and well-being of other believers?
PrayPraise God that we as Christians have the message of reconciliation. Ask him to soften your heart and help you to live out this message in the world.

Spreading the Word

10 SPREADING THE WORD (Acts 12:25 – 14:28)
The first missionary journey was at once inspiring and terrifying. A blessing and a trial. When Paul and Barnabas returned from their journey they reported back full of excitement to the church which sent them out. God had done tremendous things: many became Christians, churches were established, elders appointed, their message affirmed by miracles and the word of God spread. They also reported of opposition from the religious leaders and being kicked out of cities and stoned, at times close to the point of death. Through it all, however, they knew they would not be stopped because the Holy Spirit sent them and went with them.
It is unlikely that the Holy Spirit revealed his will only to the small group of five leaders, for that would entail three of them being instructed about the other two. It is more likely that the church members as a whole are in mind, since both they and the leaders are mentioned together in verse 1. Moreover, when Paul and Barnabas returned, “they gathered the church together.” They reported to the church because they had been commissioned by the church.
Summary: Would it not be true to say that the Spirit sent them out, by introducing the church to do so, and that the church sent them out, having been directed by the Spirit to do so? This balance will be a healthy corrective to opposite extremes. The first is the tendency to individualism, by which a Christian claims direct personal guidance by the Spirit without any reference to the church. The second is the tendency to institutionalism, by which all decision-making is done by the church without any reference to the Spirit. Although we have no liberty to deny the validity of personal choice, it is safe and healthy only in relation to the Spirit and the church. Still today it is the responsibility of every local church (especially of its leaders) to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, in order to discover who he may be gifting and calling.
Luke chooses this moment to inform us that Saul was also called Paul. It was common for Jews to take a Greek or Roman second name, and it was appropriate for Luke to mention Saul’s now as he moves into increasingly non-Jewish contexts. He does not call Paul “Saul” again.
Luther wrote in his Preface to the Acts of the Apostles, “It should be noted that by this book St. Luke teaches the whole of Christendom … that the true and chief article of Christian doctrine is this: We must all be justified alone by faith in Jesus Christ, without any contribution from the law or help from our works. This doctrine is the chief of the book and the author’s principal reason for writing” ([Muhlenberg Press, 1960], p. 363). On the other hand, over against the offer of forgiveness, Paul issues a solemn warning to those who reject it.
The most notable feature of this first missionary journey was the missionaries’ sense of divine direction. It was the Holy Spirit of God himself who told the church of Antioch to set Barnabas and Saul apart, who sent them out, who led them from place to place, and who gave power to their preaching, so that converts were made and churches planted. The sending church had committed them to the grace of God for their work (14:26), and on their return they reported “all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (14:27). True, he had done the work “with them” (literally), in cooperation or partnership with them, but he had done it, and they gave him the credit. The grace had come from him; the glory must go to him.
Open
What do you think would be most difficult about being a missionary?
Study
Read Acts 12:25 – 13:4. The previous study ended with the thrilling words “but the word of God continued to increase and spread.” Now Luke has reached a decisive turning point in his narrative. In keeping with the risen Lord’s prophecy (1:8), witness has been borne to him “in Jerusalem” and in “all Judea and Samaria.” Now the horizon broadens to “the ends of the earth.” Up to this point all the action in evangelism has been limited to the Palestinian and Syrian mainland. Nobody has yet caught the vision of taking the good news to the nations overseas (although Cyprus has been mentioned in 11:19). Now at last, however, that momentous step is to be taken.
1. Describe the scene in these verses.
2. How does the way Paul and Barnabas are sent compare and contrast with how we send off our missionaries today?
3. How does the church of the twenty-first century need to change in order to follow the example of the early church in missions?
4. Read Acts 13:4-12. Contrast the proconsul with Elymas the sorcerer.
5. Luke tells us that Paul was freshly filled with the Holy Spirit, to show that his boldness, outspokenness and power in condemning Elymas were all from God. Why do you think Paul was so severe in his reprimand of Elymas (vv. 9-11)?
6. Read Acts 13:13-52. How do you see God’s grace emphasized in Paul’s history of Israel (vv. 16-25)?
7. Paul jumps from David to the promised Savior, Jesus. What truth about Jesus does he proclaim?
8. What are the consequences of his sermon (vv. 42-52)?
9. What do you learn from Paul and Barnabas about interacting with those who are hostile to the gospel?
10. Read Acts 14:1-28. How do Paul and Barnabas react to being perceived as gods (vv. 14-18)?
11. This first missionary journey illustrates the extraordinary versatility of the apostle in adapting himself to different situations; he appeared to be equally at ease with individuals and crowds, Jews and Gentiles, the religious and the irreligious, the educated and the uneducated, the friendly and the hostile. Contrast the way the people responded to Paul’s message.
12. In summary, what different approaches do you see Paul take as he relates to different groups and individuals throughout this whole passage?
13. Retrace Paul and Barnabas’s steps through this first missionary journey, and look for the ways they made sure that the churches they left behind had a solid foundation on which to grow (13:43, 49; 14:21-23).
Apply
As you observe that the Holy Spirit permeates everything that Paul and Barnabas are and do, how would you like to see this more true of your life? How would you like to see your church grow in touching the world with the gospel?
PrayWe are called to be missionaries, whether at home or abroad. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you all that hinders you from fully responding to that call and to keep you faithful to it.

Growing Pains

9 Growing Pains (Acts 11:19-12:24)
God works in strange ways. At a time when it would seem good for the church to be together, to grow and mature, to enjoy fellowship, they are scattered all over by persecution. What were the results? The spread of the gospel. The greater the opposition the greater the expansion of the church.
There is a tendency in many of our churches today for us to want to “stay together.” Mature. Become more of who we are and ignore the rest of the world. We also see that the principle that “the greater the persecution the greater the expansion” seems to apply today also.
Luke now shows how the outward movement of the gospel expanded in two ways, geographical and cultural. Geographically, the mission spread north beyond “Judea and Samaria.” Culturally, the mission spread beyond Jews to Gentiles. Some speculate that Luke himself was one of these converts.
Summary: It is not an accident that the Jerusalem recipients of Antiochene relief are called “brothers” (11:29). More important still, this brotherhood or family included both Jewish and Gentile believers, and the fellowship between them was illustrated in the relations between their two churches. The church of Jerusalem had sent Barnabas to Antioch; now the church of Antioch sent Barnabas, with Saul, back to Jerusalem. This famine relief anticipated the collection which Paul was later to organize, in which the affluent Greek churches of Macedonia and Achaia contributed to the needs of the impoverished churches of Judea. Its importance to Paul was that it was a symbol of Gentile-Jewish solidarity in Christ.
Indeed, one cannot fail to admire the artistry with which Luke depicts the complete reversal of the church’s situation. At the beginning of the chapter Herod is on the rampage – arresting and persecuting church leaders; at the end he is himself struck down and dies. The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison and Herod triumphing; it closes with Herod dead, Peter free and the Word of God triumphing. Such is the power of God to overthrow hostile human plans and to establish his own in their place. Tyrants may be permitted for a time to boast and bluster, oppressing the church and hindering the spread of the gospel, but they will not last. In the end, their empire will be broken and their pride abased.
Open
When have you seen painful circumstances in your life produce good results?
Study
Read Acts 11:19-30. Luke ended his previous section with the words “God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (v. 18). It was an epoch-making declaration by the conservative Jewish leaders of the Jerusalem church. The inclusion of the Gentiles is to be Luke’s main theme in the rest of Acts.
1. What good resulted from believers’ were being scattered by the persecution that was connected with Stephen?
2. What different efforts were made to nurture the new believers at Antioch?
3. What does it take to remain “true to the Lord” with all your heart (11:23)?
4. What do these efforts say about the importance of discipline young Christians?
5. Why do you think Luke makes a point of mentioning the predicted famine (11:27-30)?
6. Read Acts 12:1-24. What do we learn about Herod in the first four verses?
7. Try to put yourself in Peter’s sandals. What do you think it was like to be led out of jail by an angel?
8. How did the Christians who had gathered to pray for Peter (and who knew about James’s death) respond when he appeared at the door (12:12-17)?
9. What was the cause of Herod’s death (12:21-23)?
10. What are the similarities between the cause of his death and those of the death of Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-10)?
11. What does Herod’s death tell you about God?
Apply
What efforts are you – or could you be – making to nurture young believers? What have you learned from this passage about how God uses suffering? Who or what encourages you to remain true to the Lord with all your heart?
PrayAsk the Holy Spirit to use the church of Jesus Christ to grow. Reflect on what it might cost you for that prayer to be answered.

The Conversion of Cornelius

8 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS (Acts 9:32-11:18)
Racism. Tribalism. Sexism. Cultural snobbery. Various types of discrimination have a great hold on the church and great power to destroy the unity of the body of Christ. This was as true of the early church as it is today.
Through the conversion of Cornelius, God demonstrated irrevocably that he does not make distinctions in his kingdom. Therefore we have no right to make distinctions either. The fact that we do not practice complete equality as members of the church of Christ is a blasphemy against God. Unfortunately, the early church did not hear clearly and live forever by God’s message that he does not show favoritism.
The miracles portrayed Peter as an authentic apostle of Jesus Christ, who performed “the signs of a true apostle.” Similar miracles had endorsed the prophetic ministry of Elijah and Elisha. Four factors support this suggestion. First, both miracles followed the example of Jesus. Second, both miracles were performed by the power of Jesus. Third, both miracles were signs of the salvation of Jesus. Peter uses the same word, “Get up,” that God used when he raised Jesus from the dead. Fourth, both miracles caused everyone to turn to the Lord.
Read Acts 10:9-23. It is difficult for us to grasp the impassable gulf which yawned in those days between the Jews on the one hand and the Gentiles including even the “God-fearers”) on the other. Not that the Old Testament itself supported such a divine. Psalmists and prophets foretold the day when God’s Messiah would inherit the nations, the Lord’s servant would be their light, all nations would “flow” to the Lord’s house, and God would pour out his Spirit on all humankind. The tragedy was that Israel twisted the doctrine of election into one of favoritism, became filled with racial pride and hatred, and developed traditions which kept them apart. No orthodox Jew would ever enter the home of a Gentile, even a God-fearer, or invite such into his home (see v. 28).
It is interesting that Luke ended the story of Aeneas and Tabitha with the information that “Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon” (9:43). For, since tanners worked with dead animals, in order to convert their skins into leather, they were regarded as ceremonially unclean. This may have been the first sign of Peter’s openness to Gentiles.
Summary: Luke has now recounted the conversions of Saul and Cornelius. The differences between these two men were considerable. In race Saul was a Jew, Cornelius a Gentile; in culture Saul was a scholar, Cornelius a soldier; in religion Saul was a bigot, Cornelius a seeker. Yet both were converted by the gracious initiative of God; both received forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit; and both were baptized and welcomed into the Christian family on equal terms. This fact is a signal testimony to the power and impartiality of the gospel of Christ, which is still “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 1:16).
Open
When have you felt separated from people because of cultural or racial differences?
Study
1. Read Acts 9:32-43. How was the power of God demonstrated in this passage?
2. What were the results of the demonstration of this power?
3. Read Acts 10:1-9. What evidence was there in the character of Cornelius that the Holy Spirit was working in him (v. 2)?
4. What do you learn about the character of God from his response to Cornelius through the angel (vv. 3-6)?
5. How did God prepare Peter for Cornelius?
6. What would the command in verse 15 have meant to Peter?
7. Read Acts 10:24-48. What evidence is there that Cornelius expected God to work (vv. 24-26)?
8. What would have been the consequence if Peter or Cornelius had not obeyed God?
9. What is the message that God has for Cornelius (vv. 33-43)?
10. Read Acts 11:1-18. Throughout this passage we see Peter learning about God’s desire for him to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Trace the process of Peter’s understanding.
11. Look at this passage carefully. In what ways do you see unity growing within the church?
Apply
How are you affected as you see the timing and plan of God in people’s lives? How have you experienced this in your own life? How do you see unity between people from different cultures and races lived out in your church?
PrayAsk God to reveal to you bigotry in your own life and ways that you separate yourself from others because of cultural or racial differences. Ask him to change you and forgive you.

The Conversion of Saul

7 THE CONVERSION OF SAUL (Acts 9:1-31)
In the two thousand years since his death and resurrection, millions have turned to Jesus. Lives have been transformed. Directions changed. But no conversion is more dramatic then that of Saul of Tarsus. His is the most famous in church history. This is the young man who approved of Stephen’s brutal death and then set out to single-handedly destroy the church. He went from house to house to drag men and women off to prison because of their faith in Jesus. Then Saul met Jesus.
Yes, Saul’s conversion was dramatic. He became the apostle to the Gentiles, and we today continue to reap the benefits of his life. However, though it will probably not be on a Damascus Road, we too must experience a personal encounter with Jesus Christ in order to be converted. We too must turn to him in faith and repentance and receive a call to serve Christ and his church.
Luke has already mentioned Saul three times in Acts, each time as a bitter opponent of Christ and his church. He had not changed. He was still in the same mental condition of hatred and hostility. Some of the language that Luke uses to describe Saul in his reconversion state seems deliberately to portray him as “a wild and ferocious beast.”
If we ask what caused Saul’s conversion, only one answer is possible. What stands out from the narrative is the sovereign grace of God through Jesus Christ. Saul did not “decide for Christ,” as we might say. On the contrary, he was persecuting Christ. It was rather Christ who decided for him and intervened in his life.
To ascribe Saul’s conversion to God’s initiative can easily be misunderstood, however; the sovereign grace which captured Saul was neither sudden (in the sense that there had been no previous preparation) nor compulsive (in the sense that he needed to make no response). This was not the first time Jesus Christ had spoken to him. According to Paul’s own words, Jesus said to him, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14), a Greek proverb describing the useless resistance of an oxen who is being broken in.
Sovereign grace is gradual grace and gentle grace. Gradually and without violence, Jesus pricked Saul’s mind and conscience. Then he revealed himself to him in a way as to enable him to make a free response. Divine grace does not trample human personality, but rather it enables human beings to be truly human. It is sin that imprisons. It is grace that liberates.
Summary: Thus the story of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 begins with him leaving Jerusalem with an official mandate from the high priest to arrest fugitive Christians, and ends with him leaving Jerusalem as a persecuted Christian himself. Witness to Christ involves suffering for Christ. It is not an accident that the Greek word for witness (martyrs) came to be associated with martyrdom.
Open
It is good to reflect on the work of God in our lives. What was it like when you became a follower of Jesus?
Study
1. Read Acts 9:1-19. Describe Saul according to verses 1 and 2.
2. Describe Saul’s experience on the Damascus road.
3. If you were Saul, what do you think it would be like to meet Jesus in this way?
4. In what ways does Saul’s conversion demonstrate the marvelous grace of God?
5. What immediate evidence of transformation do you see in Saul after his encounter with Jesus?
6. William Barclay calls Ananias “one of the forgotten heroes of the Christian church” (The Acts of the Apostles in The Daily Study Bible [St. Andrew Press, 1953], p. 74). What is the significance of Ananias’s ministry to Saul?
7. Read Acts 9:19-31. Just as in Damascus, the believers in Jerusalem were afraid of Saul. What does Barnabas teach us about relating to new Christians?
8. By Paul’s own testimony later in the book of Acts (26:16), on the Damascus road Jesus appointed him “as a servant and as a witness” and as the apostle to the Gentiles. How does Paul live out his responsibility to the world in this passage of Scripture?
9. What connection do you see between Saul’s conversion and the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoying a time of peace?
Apply
How did your conversion compare or contrast with Saul’s? How are you continuing to experience the grace of God in your life? How do you need to be more like Ananias and Barnabas in your church or Christian community? How do you expect to see God working in the lives of those around you who are not Christians?
PrayIn silence, reflect on the miracle of your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Thank him.