Philippians 3:20

The dilemma

All of us are guilty of sin, and sin will keep us out of Heaven.

Romans 3:23

Isaiah 59:2

I John 2:1-6

The danger

We may grow discouraged or unfruitful.

Mark 10:22

Matthew 27:5

We may be drawn to a false doctrine to find assurance.

Miraculous experience.

Martin Luther

The resolution

Our confidence comes from obedience to a God who is patient and forgiving!

Psalms 130:3-4

Acts 2:41; 16:32-43

I Corinthians 1:1-9, 18, 30; 11:1-2; 15:1-2 – Salvation is conditional. Keep improving!

Colossians 1:9-10; 2:20-22; 1:5, 13-14, 21-23; 2:13-14; 3:4, 13 – The Colossians could have hope of salvation even though they had room to grow.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:8

I John 1:6-10; 2:25-29; 4:15-17; 5:4-5, 10-13 – We can know God and have confidence in the day of Judgment.

Revelation 2:4-5, 19-23

The apostle Paul

Writer: Luke

II Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24

Luke 1:2 – Not a personal eyewitness of Jesus

Colossians 4:14

All early records unanimously name Luke as the writer of Luke and Acts.

Three indicators that Luke wrote both Luke and Acts

Theophilus

Summary:

Acts covers about 30 years of the earliest history of the church.

https://overviewbible.com/bible-length-infographic/

The book of Acts has been shown to be extremely historically accurate. Acts 13:7

The apostles wait with great anticipation - Acts 1:1-12

John 14:16-17, 26; 15:16, 26-27; 16:13; 17:18; 20:21; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47-49

Acts 1:1-12 reviews and continues this great anticipation.

Carrying out the great commission – Acts 1:8

Jerusalem – Acts 2-7

Judea and Samaria – Acts 8-12

Remotest part of the earth – Acts 13-28

Isaiah 2:1-3 – This is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

Jesus ascends into Heaven – Acts 1:9-11

Jesus left as part of the divine plan. He did not fail but left on His own terms.

Acts 7:55 – Stephen later saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Bible contradiction? Acts 1:8

Selecting a new apostle – Acts 1:15-26

“Witnessing”

The word “witness” is used many times in the New Testament, but people use it in a different way today. The apostles were witnesses of things they had seen with their own eyes.

The apostles were the prime witnesses.

The apostles could tell people what they had seen with their own eyes.

Matthias qualified as an apostle because he was an eyewitness. Acts 1:21-22

Paul became a witness because Jesus appeared to him.

The apostle Peter

Fisherman to fisher of men

John 1:35-42

Matthew 4:18-20 – start of the process

Hot and cold

Mark 8:31-33

John 13:6-9

John 13:31-38; Matthew 26:74-75, 57-58

First gospel sermons in Acts 2 and Acts 3

Withstood persecution of the council – Acts 4:1-31

Influences others into hypocrisy – Galatians 2:11-14

Was he the rock on whom the church was built?

John 1:42 – Peter or rock?

Matthew 16:13-20 – Is Peter this rock?

From Peter himself: I Peter 2:4-8

Backed up by Paul: I Corinthians 3:9-11

Was Peter the “Head Apostle” or “Chief Apostle”?

Hebrews 3:1 – Someone greater than Peter

Galatians 2:6-10 – not exclusive

Peter not always “preeminent”

James took front and center in much of Acts

Who sends the boos on a mission? Acts 8:14-15

No doubt, Peter was a prominent apostle

No indication that he ruled over them

With no position held, it couldn’t be passed down

Apostolic succession

Several schisms teach and follow this

Roman Catholicism

Eastern Orthodoxy

Mormonism

Hinges on two ideas

Peter was the head apostle

His authority was passed on to subsequent generations

New apostles replace those who pass on or step down

Matthias

Added to the eleven to make twelve again

Criteria defies continual replacement – Acts 1:21-22

Be a witness “with us”

Must have been present along with apostles

What about Paul?

Special mission, special apostleship

Mission determined by God, not man

Appointment directly from Jesus

Some call selves apostles but are not – Revelation 2:2

Veneration

Adulation bordering on worship

To apostles

To select or prominent saints

Special places of worship

Bearing saints’ names

Some containing their remains – Matthew 23:27

Contrast with apostles’ attitudes

Where did early church gather in Jerusalem?

What made place of worship holy? Matthew 18:20

We keep the things we do and places we do when we do them by the authority of Jesus Christ

Would the apostles approve?

Scriptures to consider

I Thessalonians 2:5-7

Acts 14:11-18

I Corinthians 15:9-10

II Corinthians 11:7-15

Acts 10:25-26

Matthew 17:4-5

Peter in tradition

Executed in Rome by Nero

Crucified upside down

Same time as Paul’s execution

Remains in St. Peter’s Basilica along with Paul’s

Count Joseph’s Commission in the fourth century

From Emperor Constantine

Martyrium built on site of Peter’s and Andrew’s home

The apostles – in closing

Single most convincing evidence

Never sought power or wealth

Unfailing witnesses of the gospel

Endured much discomfort and cruelty

Died for the faith, what they knew to be true

Deaths often by cruel means

Could have renounced faith

Why would they do this for a lie?

James 4:7

To keep people out of the church

Acts 2:47

Colossians 1:13

Acts 20:28

The devil knows the value of the church in man’s salvation.

Revelation 2:9 – The devil has his churches. If he can keep men there, he can keep them from salvation.

Jesus’ first objective is to get men out of the devil’s domain and into His church. Hebrews 7:25

To get men back into his service

II Peter 2:20-22

II Corinthians 2:11 – The devil has many devices to get people back into his domain:

Trying to keep people ignorant of God’s word

Trying to interest people in worldly enterprises

Using church trouble and division to get people back into his service

Using evil companions to tempt people back into his service (I Corinthians 15:33)

Tempting people to serve themselves instead of God even as they worship

Tempting people with pleasure

Using our stinginess

Using chronic grouchiness and backbiting to get us away from Christ

Encouraging us to be adept at excuses instead of working like we should

Encouraging people to have a “rule or ruin” attitude within the church

I Peter 5:8-9 – Let us recognize our weak points and strengthen them.

The apostle Paul

Brief biographical sketch

Scriptural sources

Epistles

Acts

Historical and traditional sources

Concise account of Paul’s conversion

Combine accounts in Acts

Additional accounts from Pauline epistles

From Tarsus, raised in Jerusalem

Roman citizen – Acts 22:25-29

Schooled by Gamaliel – Acts 22:3

Probably grandson of Hillel the elder

Influential and revered Pharisee – Acts 5:34-40

Tentmaker by trade – Acts 18:1-3; Romans 16:3-4

Ardent persecutor of the church – Acts 7:58-8:1

Galatians 1:13-14 – Acts 22:4-5

Philippians 3:4-6

Paul’s conversion

Acts 9:1-18

Acts 22:6-16

Acts 26:9-20

Consolidated account

Paul’s selection as an apostle

Inherent in his conversion account

Reiterated in Paul’s writings

Paul asserts his apostleship

Romans 11:13

I Corinthians 1:1; 9:1-2; 15:9

II Corinthians 1:1; 12:1-2

Galatians 1:1

Ephesians 1:1

Colossians 1:1

I Timothy 1:1; 2:7

II Timothy 1:1

Titus 1:1

Initial activities after conversion

Acts 9:19-31

Galatians 1:11-24

Paul joins with Barnabas to go to Antioch

Commissioned by the Holy Spirit – Acts 13:1-4

Begins first missionary journey

Acts 13:4-15:35 – Spring 44 to fall 46 AD

Begins and end at Antioch of Syria

Second missionary journey

Acts 15:36-18:22 – Spring 49 to fall 52 AD

Begins and ends at Antioch of Syria

Third missionary journey

Acts 18:23-21:17 – Fall of 52 to summer of 53 AD

Begins at Antioch of Syria and ends in Jerusalem

Final journey in Acts

Started with appeal to Rome

Acts 27:1-28:16 – 60 to spring 63 AD

Released from prison

After the book of Acts

Release from prison (which was post-Acts) 63 AD

Left Rome to be with Titus in Crete – Titus 1:5

Leaves Crete for Nicopolis – Titus 3:12

Probably goes from there to Spain – Romans 15:22-28

Possibly makes a trip to England (no scripture)

Back to Rome for imprisonment, eventual death

May or June of 68 AD

Beheaded under rule of Nero

How do we tell what is an authorized work of a local church?

A local church is authorized to make provision for duties that:

… inhere because of one’s relationship in Christ and

… are authorized for Christians to do together

All our duties and responsibilities come out of relationships

Civil government

Economic

Social/community

Family/domestic

In Christ

The local church is authorized to provide for:

Worship

Edification

Evangelism

Relief of needy saints

Discipline

“Re-educate” with ungodliness

Daniel 1:3-7; 4:8 – The four young men were given Babylonian names related to Babylonian gods.

Romans 1:26-27

Daniel 1:8-16 – Daniel drew the line and made a firm decision to obey God.

II Timothy 3:10-15

Outlaw service to God

Daniel 6:10-11 – Daniel did not abandon his service to God.

Mark 8:34-38 – Serving God is more important than preserving our physical well-being.

II Peter 2:9 – The Lord knows how to save the righteous and punish the wicked. It may not happen on earth, but God will make it right in the end.

Revelation 6:9-11

Pressure to violate conscience

Daniel 3:1-18 – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are threatened with being thrown into the furnace, but resist.

Matthew 10:28

I Timothy 1:3-11, 17-20 – People must be educated the right way.

Christians are already being marginalized. What’s next? These stories should encourage us.

Attitude check: Philippians 2:3-4

Why doesn’t your church speak in tongues?

Tongues were real languages.

Acts 1:26-2:4 – The apostles spoke in “other tongues”.

Acts 2:5-6 – The foreign Jews were not hearing some mystical speech that was unintelligible to them. They were hearing the apostles speak in their own languages.

Acts 2:7-11 – The apostles were speaking in languages they were not trained in.

Acts 10:44-48 – There is no reason to believe that the Gentiles were speaking unintelligible sounds.

I Corinthians 13:1-3 – Some might say, “The tongues of men might be real languages, but the tongues of angels are something else. No man can understand them.”

However, many times in the Bible, angels spoke to people and the people understood it perfectly. Matthew 1:20-21; 2:13, 19-20; 28:2-7; etc.

In context, Paul is not saying that there are mystical angelic languages. He was giving hypothetical exaggerations to show the importance of love (cf. Galatians 1:8).

Tongues were to edify through understandable communications

I Corinthians 14:1-11 – Prophesying is better than speaking in a tongue because it’s understandable to others. What about I Corinthians 14:2? If I speak Swahili to an English audience, I’m not getting through (even though God understands it).

I Corinthians 14:12-19 – Tongues were to edify the church and instruct others.

I Corinthians 14:20-26 – If the gift of tongues was used properly, it would be a sign for unbelievers (v22).

Tongues were able to be controlled

I Corinthians 14:27-28 – If the language could not be understood, the tongue speaker was to be silent. It could be controlled!

I Corinthians 14:39-40 – Don’t forbid the proper use of tongues but keep silent if you’re going to use the gift improperly. This is more evidence that the gift of speaking in tongues could be controlled.