- To record early church history and show that the gospel message is based on historical fact
To show that the gospel applies to all nations and classes of peopleIt gives us hope that we can all be savedOutlineThe church in Judea and SamariaPaul’s mission to the GentilesPaul in JerusalemPaul’s journey to RomePeter and Paul- The first part of Acts is related to Peter
The latter part of Acts is related to PaulThough a simple way of organizing the book, their ministries are not separate and to make this distinction too sharp can result in missing detailsCharacters in Acts- Many people are introduced in Acts
Authorship -- Luke- A physician who traveled with Paul
Also wrote LukeNot one of the 12 disciplesAddressed books to (sponsored by) TheophilusAuthorship attributed to Luke early – 2nd CenturyGreek and the only Gentile writer of the NTA Christian, he’s also writing about his own faithA political objective: to show that Christianity is not a threat- Showed a contrast to the legalistic rituals of law keeping of Judaism (see Leviticus)
Roman officials continually found Paul innocentPeter- Born around 1 BC, died around 67 AD
A fishermanAccount of his (and his brother Andrew’s) calling is in MatthewFirst to preach after PentecostFirst to preach to the GentilesA disciple and an apostle (one sent forth, one directly sent by Jesus)His ministry was in Jerusalem and Samaria – an area of 40 - 50 milesPaul- Born in Tarsus (modern day Turkey)
A Jewish familyA Roman by birthTrained by famous rabbi, Gamaliel, in JudaismOriginally, Saul, a persecutor of Christians, Acts describes his conversionHe took four journeys, three main missionary trips and then a journey to RomePractical Application- God can do amazing things through ordinary people when they are empowered by the Holy Spirit
Acts helps in the understanding how we can be directed by the Holy SpiritIt gives us hope that we can be saved – salvation is open to allActs shows the importance of prayer: it is mentioned 31 timesSpreading the GospelThere is still work to do to make sure the whole world hears the Gospel