THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapters 1-7)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
“The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). I’m Timothy Sparks.
Ben Bailey:
And I’m Ben Bailey. Welcome to our study of the Book of Acts. This broadcast is being brought to you by individuals and congregations of the churches of Christ. We hope you will visit the churches of Christ in your area, and let them know how much you appreciate their support of this broadcast. If you have a Bible question or a spiritual concern, they would be happy to help you with it. If you would like a Bible study, they also would be glad to assist you with that. We, too, would like to be of service. Visit us on our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com, where we have streaming audio and video lessons of our broadcasts. You may download these and use them to assist you in your study of God’s Word. We also are making available DVDs and CDs of these broadcasts. We will be glad to send any of these to you completely free of charge. We also would be glad to send you a Bible correspondence course. This is a course that you can take in your spare time. You receive it by mail, and when you complete one lesson, you can return it to us for grading. We then will send you that lesson (graded), along with the next lesson, and so on. At the end of the course, you will receive a “Certificate of Completion.” We believe this could prove very beneficial to you in your study of God’s Word.
The Book of Acts is a book of action. It also provides us with a history of the beginning of the Lord’s church, as well as history of other New Testament events. And it also offers up examples of people’s salvation.
Timothy Sparks:
Luke begins the Book of Acts by talking to Theophilus, whose name means “friend of God.” The book, however, has a much broader application than just to a single individual, as Luke makes clear when he says, “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” The phrase “the former account” refers to Luke’s Gospel, containing the teachings and actions of Christ. The current book—Acts—details the action involved in the spread of the Gospel. The Book of Acts documents for us (chapter 2) the establishment of the church on the Day of Pentecost. It also provides examples of conversion as people are saved from their sins. And, Acts provides us with the historical background surrounding the beginnings of various congregations of the church. The Book of Acts is “the” historical book of the New Testament!
Ben Bailey:
In Acts 1, we find Jesus talking to His disciples. Jesus had repeatedly
taught those disciples that His kingdom is not of this world, and that He eventually was
going to have to leave them.
Yet in spite of this, the disciples still have the mindset of a physical kingdom,
as is evident
from their question to Jesus in Acts 1:6, “Lord, will You at this time restore
the kingdom to
Timothy Sparks:
We learn from Acts 2 that the spread of the Gospel did indeed begin in
“Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.”
As Jesus’ disciples watched Him ascend, two angels arrived with a
message. “Men of
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
The apostles, then, are going to be actively engaged in carrying out the commission given to them by their Lord.
Ben Bailey:
In John 14-16, Jesus had promised His disciples that the Spirit would
come. We see in Acts 2 that the Spirit does indeed descend upon them,
and as a result, they all begin to speak in tongues. Some of those who heard
the disciples speak suggested that they must have been drunk. Peter asks how
that could be possible, seeing as it was only 9:00 o’clock in the morning? It is at
that point that Peter begins to preach to them the message of Jesus.
Peter explains that their actions were foreordained by God. While they had
indeed crucified the Son of God, they were part of God’s ultimate plan to save
men from their sins. In verses 20-22, Peter explains that the miracles that Christ performed
were intended to provide proof from God of Christ’s deity, as well as proof of God’s plan of
salvation. Peter then begins to set the stage for what he is about to say by
discussing their beloved King David, and how David had called Christ
“Lord.” Jesus is thus depicted as the Messiah. As Peter speaks, the people are convicted of their sin. In
verse 36, Peter says, “Therefore let all the house of
Timothy Sparks:
In Peter’s sermon, he quoted from the Book of Joel (2:28-32).
“This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”
Notice Joel’s phrase (as used by Peter), “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” In the context of Acts 2:37, when the Jews cry out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?,” they are asking, “What shall we do to call on the name of the Lord in order to be saved?” It is interesting how Peter did not respond. He did not tell the people on that occasion to do what many denominationalists today tell people to do to be saved. People today are told to simply “believe, and then accept Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior.” That is not what Peter said. Peter told the people to repent—to change their minds and their actions—and then to be immersed into Christ in order to receive forgiveness of sins. These are the terms of pardon set forth by Peter. Jesus had given to Peter the keys to the kingdom. Jesus had told Peter, “Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven, and whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Mt. 16:19). Peter was given the authority to speak on Christ’s behalf to set forth the terms of pardon, which included repentance and baptism. If people today want to “call on the name of the Lord in order to be saved,” it is clear that they cannot simply “pray the sinner’s prayer.” Rather, they must render obedience through repentance and baptism.
Ben Bailey:
In Acts 2:41 we read, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” Verse 47 says, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” You are not added to the church (the kingdom) by merely believing and saying the “sinner’s prayer.” The Bible makes it clear that as people heard the Word, they received it gladly and were baptized. Those are the ones who were saved and added to the church. Galatians 3:27 teaches us that “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” We read in 1 Corinthians 12:13 that “by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” The body is the church (Eph. 1:22-23). Acts 2 must surely be one of the most important chapters in all the Bible, since it provides a specific example of what one must do to be saved. The people on that occasion believed in Jesus. No doubt their confession of Christ was evident to the apostles (as a result of the fact that they were willing to repent), and so they were baptized for the remission of their sins, and encouraged to live a faithful Christian life.
Timothy Sparks:
In chapter 3, Peter and John approach a lame man who is sitting by one of the gates of the temple. Verse 6 says that the lame man expected to receive something from them. But instead of giving the lame man money, Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (vs. 7). Peter couldn’t give the lame man money, because he had none. The Lord doesn’t expect us to give what we don’t possess. All we are required to give is all we have to give. The Lord expects us to use whatever talents we’ve been given. If we can preach or teach, then that’s what the Lord expects of us. This is the principle taught in Christ’s parable of the talents, where three men were given different amounts of money. One man was given a single talent; one man was given two talents; and a third man was given five talents. When the man with the single talent did not use his talent properly, it was taken away from him. But the other two men—who used their talents wisely—were given more. If the man who had been given the one talent had used his talent properly, he would have brought honor to the master who had given him the talent in the first place. If you are a person with a single talent, then, whatever that talent might be, use it, and God will be pleased. Peter used the ability he had been given by the Lord, and gave the lame man the gift of the use of his legs once more. Peter’s miracle was not just for the purpose of healing a lame man, of course. Rather, it was intended to confirm the Word of God that Peter spoke. Now that we have the perfect Word of God (Jas. 1:25), miracles have ceased (1 Cor. 13).
Ben Bailey:
The people who witnessed the miracle wanted to know how it was possible that the lame man could walk again, so Peter gets right to the point. He preaches, for the most part, the same type of sermon he had presented in Acts 2. He told them about Abraham’s part, about David, about how the Jews had given Christ over to Pilate, and about how God had used this process to send the Savior to them. Peter tells the people that he knows they acted in ignorance. Then he presents the heart of his message in verse 19, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Peter makes it clear to the people that the miracle they had just witnessed had been made possible by the power of God. The Christ you crucified, Peter tells them, is the very One Who gave this man the faith to be healed. And the Christ you crucified is the very One God sent to save you! But Peter wants them to know they can still be saved. One of the great things of the Bible is that God wants all people to come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). Peter tells the people (referring to Joel 2:13) that they must rend their hearts, not their garments. They must change the way they think about the Messiah and God. They also must change their lives and conform their will to God’s. Inherent in Peter’s message are such things as belief, confession, repentance, and baptism. This is why Peter said, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
Timothy Sparks:
In Acts 4, we find some of the religious leaders of the day asking Peter, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (vs. 7). Peter explains that it is by the authority of Jesus Christ. Then Peter pointedly tells them, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (vs. 12). Jesus was not only the “chief cornerstone” (vs. 11) Whom they had rejected, but is also the sole means of salvation for all people. Notice the comment recorded in verse 13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” Peter and John were fishermen. They were not educated men. Yet were able to speak the Gospel message boldly. Why? The answer is found in the last sentence of verse 13—“they had been with Jesus.” Every Christian needs to ask himself or herself this question: Do I exhibit in my own life traits that would lead others to recognize that I am a Christian?
Ben Bailey:
The only way people can tell that we have “been with Jesus” is by the evidence our lives provide. For example, does our speech tell people that we are Christians? If we say things that are ungodly, someone might look at us and say, “That person can’t be a Christian.” Does the way we dress tell people that we are a Christian? Christians should dress modestly. If we wear clothes that are immodest, someone might say, “That must be a person of the world, not a Christian.” Does the way we act around other people tell them that we are a Christian? Are we loving, kind, Bible-oriented people? That’s the kind of person who would be looked upon as being a Christian.
The threats against Peter and John were serious. The Jewish religious leaders threatened them and told them to teach no more in Christ’s name (vs. 17). Yet look at what verse 29 has to say, “Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word.” These servants of Christ were serious about evangelism! They knew they were going to face difficulties and threats, and that their very lives might even be in danger. Yet what did they pray for? They prayed for boldness to speak the Word of God! Shouldn’t our prayer today be exactly the same? When we are faced with difficult personal situations, when friends mock us or laugh at us for being a Christian and following Christ, we need to pray that God will help us not to give up, and that He will instead help us to boldly speak His Word.
Timothy Sparks:
At the end of Acts 4, we meet a Christian by the name of Barnabas (his name means “son of encouragement”). Barnabas owned some land, which he sold so he could give the apostles the money derived from the sale. In Acts 5, we meet a husband and wife who did the same thing—except for an entirely different reason. Ananias and Sapphira desired the praise of men. They, too, owned a piece of land. They sold the land, but they held back some of the proceeds. That, in and of itself, would have been perfectly fine. But Ananias and Sapphira conspired with each other to lie. When they gave the money to Peter, they said that they were giving all the proceeds from the sale of the land. Peter caught them in their lie, and by the power of God, he struck them both dead for lying to God. As a result of this, great fear fell over all the church (vs. 11). God says what He means, and He means what He says. In the Old Testament, we see examples such as those of Nadab and Abihu, whom God slew for offering a profane sacrifice unto Him (Lev. 10). In the New Testament, we find the example of Ananias and Sapphira. While God is a God of love (1 Jn. 4:8), He also is a God of justice. His rules do not change. These types of examples should serve as warnings to us, so that don’t make the same types of mistakes (ignoring God’s authority, lying, etc.) that some of these people made.
Ben Bailey:
The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira had a very strong effect on the church, and provided additional opportunities for the apostles to spread the Gospel message. This, of course, got them into trouble with the religious authorities of the day, who had warned them not to preach any more. Peter is therefore imprisoned, but the prison doors are opened by God, and Peter is told to go stand in the temple and teach. The high priest and the religious leaders learn of Peter’s actions. They rebuke Peter, saying, “Didn’t we tell you not to speak in this name any more?” We find this response in Acts 5:29, “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’” The Bible teaches us as Christians that, as much as possible, we must obey the laws of the land (Rom.13). Jesus, in a lesson about paying taxes, taught His disciples that they should render unto Caesar what was Caesar’s. However, if a conflict arises between the laws of the land and the laws of God, then we must choose to obey God’s law! For example, if we lived under a government that made it illegal to worship God on the first day of the week, we would have to obey God, and worship on the first day of the week anyway. The religious leaders told the apostles not to preach. God told them to preach. They therefore chose (correctly) to obey God. Acts 5:42 records that “daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” Verse 41 says that they rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” The apostles did not give up! They did not quit preaching. They endured. This is a valuable lesson for us, too. Sometimes, when bad things happen to us, we may be tempted to give up. But the Bible teaches us that we must endure, and that we must obey God first and foremost.
Timothy Sparks:
It is extremely encouraging for us to read that “they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” The apostles continued their preaching and teaching about Christ. In Acts 6, a dispute arose among some of the Christians over how food was being distributed among the needy Christians. The apostles said that they needed to be able to devote themselves to spreading the Gospel message, so they selected seven men to administer the distribution of the food. One of those men was Stephen—a man who was “full of the Spirit,” and thus was a powerful servant of the Lord.
Ben Bailey:
In Acts 6, we see that Stephen is engaged in a debate with some from the Synagogue of the Freedman. Stephen spoke so boldly that they were unable to resist his words (vs. 10). In chapter 7, Stephen is afforded another chance to preach the Gospel. He presents what amounts to a history lesson. He tells how God called Abraham to leave his home and go to the land of promise. Stephen talks about how God used Joseph as a great deliverer of His people. He discusses David, and how God used him for His purposes. Then Stephen got to the heart of his message when he said that the very people to whom he was speaking had murdered the Son of God (vs. 52). Stephen said, “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (vs. 51). That was all the people could stand. They ended up stoning Stephen to death. Stephen lost his life for the Lord, but the Lord stood up for Stephen at the end (vs. 56). Stephen preached a message of hope to those people, and they rejected it. What will you do today with the message of Jesus? God wants you to go to Heaven. He wants you to be saved. Have you obeyed the Gospel? Are you a child of God? Acts 2 makes it clear how one becomes a Christian. We hear the Word of God. We respond to that Word by believing in Jesus as the Son of God. We confess that Jesus is the Savior. And then, just as the people did in Acts 2:38, we must repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. Then we must live faithfully before God. We must teach others about the good news of the Gospel, and set a good example before the world.
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Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. It has been said that the Book of Acts is a book of action. Why so?
2. It has been said that the Book of Acts is a book of history. Why so?
3. Jesus, during His earthly ministry, had tried to impress upon the apostles the nature of His kingdom. From Acts 1, however, we learn that there was at least one point about the kingdom that they did not understand. What was that one point?
4. What is the relationship between Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 2?
5. In Acts 2, we read of the Holy Spirit falling on the apostles, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Where in the Old Testament is that prophecy found?
6. It often is said that Christ gave to Peter “the keys to the kingdom.” How did Peter use those “keys” in Acts 2? What was the end result?
7. Do we “join” the church, or does God “add us to” the church? Incorporate Acts 2:47 into your response.
8. In Acts 3, we read of Peter healing a lame man. Tell why Peter did not heal the man, and why he did heal him.
9 In Acts 2, Peter told the people to “be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” How are sins blotted out?
10. When Joel said (2:13) that the people should rend their hearts, not their clothes, what point was he trying to get across?
11. What was the specific sin that caused God to kill Ananias and Sapphira? Was there another sin “behind the scenes” that caused these two people to lie? If so, what was it?
12. In Leviticus 10, God slew Nadab and Abihu for offering a “profane” sacrifice to Him. What is the moral to that story?
13. What caused the dispute that arose among some of the Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 6)?
14. The Jewish leaders specifically instructed the apostles not to preach about Christ, yet the apostles did preach about Christ. Why did they not obey the law of the land? Support your answer with Scripture.
15. What effect did the death of Ananias and Sapphira have on the church in Jerusalem? Why?
16. Why did the people in Acts 7 stone Stephen to death?
17. According to Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, how does a person get rid of his or her sins?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST,