Acts Introduction
For the next three Sundays we will be looking at this important book in the New Testament. The study will guide us through the spreading of the gospel and the transformation of so many lives (Romans 12:2) during the first thirty years of church history. That time in history is so much like the society in which we find ourselves living today. Many call the late 20th century and the first part of the 21st century as post-Christian. There many others who look at the period as pre-Christian. Looking a Acts we see the same kind of:
- Hopelessness, frustration and discouragement on every side.
- Oppressiveness of governments in many countries.
- Competing ideologies.
- Christianity that has become weak and many ways marginalized by society.
Hopefully we will discover for ourselves the factors that helped the church grow exponentially in those short thirty years in circumstances much like our own. An important part of our study will be how did the apostles overcome all of the challenges and obstacles that faced them? In Acts we will find the answers to that question.
There are some pieces of this human drama that helped determine the success that the church experienced as it grew in numbers and spiritual maturity that are not mentioned in the book but none the less should be understood by us. They are the whys, what’s, how’s and who’s of the book and how these played a part in the shaping of the early church. As mentioned we face many of these same issues today. Acts is foundational to the study and understanding of the rest of the New Testament, especially the situations and issues addressed by Paul and others in letters written to specific churches.
How did all of these take place? What were the conditions in place that helped Paul and others to take the gospel to the far reaches of the Roman Empire? When Paul wrote in Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,” he was alluding to the factors in place at this time. So to what was he referring?
- At this point in history, even though the Romans controlled a good portion of the known world, the language understood throughout the empire was Greek.
- The Romans had built a well developed road system so they could move troops quickly to maintain control and the peace. For the apostles it meant more rapid communication.
- As important as anything else was what was known as Roman Pax. This peace allowed the apostles to move about in relative security.
I would like to interject two more ideas that made this the perfect time for Jesus to come and for the growth of the church.
- The first has to do with a prophecy given in Daniel concerning the time when the Messiah would come and His death. It is found in Daniel 9:24-26. The 490 years began in 445 BC when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem.
- As we see in the response of Simeon in Luke 2:25-35 there was a great expectation that the Messiah was coming soon.
We will focus on the challenges, obstacles, opportunities, results and rewards of the work done by the men and women under the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts after all is the chronicle of how God began to accomplish the birthing and growth of the church using ordinary people in varying circumstances in different ways. Join us as we take step by step with the early church fathers to take the commands of Jesus seriously.
The theme will be Spreading the Word. It will be a practical study to see how this was accomplished. Since this study is being prepared by members of Bethany Place it is not a work of trained theologians, but hopefully will speak the truth that is meaningful for us. It will be a systematic study. We will take the time to cover the important aspects of the book giving each of you an opportunity to interact in Bible study communities and using what has been learned in practical ministry.
The book of Acts.
Writer: Luke the companion of Paul
Time Period: Between 33 AD and 63 AD
Audience: Theophilus
Scope of the Book: To present the systematic spread of the gospel from Jerusalem all the way to Rome.