Paul cast a demon out of a fortune-telling Philippian girl who was being used by her owners for gain (Acts 16:16–18). Her owners thus accused Paul and Silas of 1) being Jews, 2) disturbing the city, and 3) promoting customs unlawful to Romans (Acts 16:19–21). Paul and Silas were sorely mistreated as a result (Acts… Read More »
The book of Acts has a number of terms to describe people who followed Judaism to a degree and would become followers of Christ. Their descriptions make them sound like believers who naturally accepted Christ when they heard of what He did for them, but this was not necessarily the case. These terms include proselytes,… Read More »
Acts 15:36–41 records a disagreement that arose between Paul and Barnabas. Paul asked Barnabas to join him to check in on the churches that were planted in Acts 13–14 (Acts 15:36). In wanting another to help, Barnabas suggested John Mark (Acts 15:37) who had “left them and returned to Jerusalem” (Acts 13:13). Since John Mark… Read More »
Multiple Scriptures instruct churches as to how to go about finding a pastor. 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9 list out requirements for the pastor—a pastor must desire his role, be able to teach and administrate, have an exemplary character, and be confirmed by the church that these things are so. Acts 6:1–7 gives a… Read More »
In Acts 15:1–35, the Jerusalem Council concluded that requiring Gentile believers to be circumcised and obey the Law was wrong (Acts 15:2, 5, 10, 19). Salvation is only “through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11).1 At the same time, James did ask to “write to them to abstain from the things polluted by… Read More »
The life and teaching of Christian leaders plays a part in the salvation of those who hear us (1 Tim 4:16). It’s important that we know how to speak God’s Word in such a way so as to move others to persevere. We should work at it. God is obviously the one to do such… Read More »
Within Paul’s first missionary journey to the Gentiles in Acts 13–14, Luke gives two quick accounts in Acts 13:44–52 and Acts 14:1–7 to show the play-by-play of how events usually transpired in the cities that were evangelized. First, Paul would attend a synagogue on the Sabbath and preach the word of the Lord (Acts 13:44;… Read More »
Two themes every leader should notice in Acts 13:44–14:7 are the Word and preaching boldly. As for the first theme, the Word is called “the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:44, 48, 49), “the word of God” (Acts 13:46), and “the word of grace” (Acts 14:3). It is characterized by its source and author, that… Read More »
One of the reasons that God raised Jesus from the dead involves believers like you and me. Paul states, “And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David’” (Acts… Read More »
In Acts 13:32–33, Paul teaches that the promise of a Davidic king who would rule forever (cf. Acts 13:22–23) has been fulfilled in part through the resurrection of Jesus. Since Jesus had been put to death (cf. Acts 13:26–29), God raised Him up in order for Ps 2:7 to remain true of Him: “You are… Read More »