Category: Message Made Simple

A Summary of the Book of Acts

The final two verses of the last chapter form a common concluding statement that Luke has used five other times in the book of Acts. In fact, these two verses brilliantly achieve at least three things: (1) they bring us full circle, back to the beginning of Acts; (2) they tie together the overarching theme of the whole book; and (3) they invite the reader to join the long line of gospel witnesses who have gone before.

The book of Acts begins with one of Jesus’s Great Commission statements (Acts 1:8). Matthew 28:18-20 is the longest and most detailed of Jesus’s commissioning statements, but there are actually at least three of them (Matt. 28:18-20; Jn. 20:21-23; and Acts 1:8). All of these overlap significantly with one another, providing us with a clear understanding of what Jesus wanted His disciples to do in the world after His departure.

After Jesus’s death and resurrection, He appeared many times to His disciples and hundreds of others (1 Cor. 15:5-7), and Jesus reiterated His promise to send the Holy Spirit to them when He departed (Acts 1:5). It was the Spirit of Christ or the Spirit of God who would empower those who believed in Jesus to “be [His] witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This, then, was their mission – to bear witness to Christ.

And when Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father, the Holy Spirit did come! He came to that small band of disciples (about 120 of them) in Jerusalem who were awaiting His arrival (Acts 1:15, 2:1-4). On that very day, Jerusalem heard the gospel by way of those Christian witnesses, and they all continued to teach and preach the gospel there from that point on. In fact, Luke concludes his first section of Acts in chapter 6, verse 7. There he wrote the first of six statements that all repeat the same refrain: both the word of God and the Church of Christ prevailed. At the close of the first section, Luke wrote, “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem” (Acts 6:7). Notice that “the word of God” was being preached and the Church was prevailing.

Then the next section of Acts (chs 6-9, roughly) follows the gospel and Church expansion in Judea and Samaria (the next concentric circle of the commission in Acts 1:8). Persecution sent Christian witnesses out from Jerusalem, and more sinners were converted as a result. Acts 9:31 concludes Luke’s second section with yet another statement of a growing and prevailing Church. Luke wrote, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied” (Acts 9:31).

The third section of Acts ends with chapter 12, but it includes (in chs 10 and 11) the longest argument for and explanation of God’s inclusion of the Gentiles in His gracious salvation. We see the gospel begin to invade that third ring of the concentric circle (Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the end of the earth). And at the end of ch 12, we read about the miraculous death of an earthly king who had set himself at war against Christ and His people. And again, Luke tells us, despite the persecution, “the word of God increased and multiplied” (Acts 12:24).

The fourth section of Acts starts with ch 13, and this is where Luke began to focus almost entirely on the missionary efforts of the Apostle Paul. It was Paul whom God called to be the missionary to the Gentiles (or non-Jews), and these were the people “at the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit worked through Paul so mightily that there arose a crisis in the church in Jerusalem. They were debating the question, “What do we do with all these Gentiles?”

That fourth section concludes with a detailed record of the decision made by the Jerusalem council to welcome Gentile believers as “brothers” in Christ (Acts 15:23). And this publicly declared unity between believing Jews and believing Gentiles was celebrated among the churches Paul revisited to “see how they are” (Acts 15:36). Finally, Luke wrote yet again, “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily” (Acts 16:5).

The fifth section of Acts starts around the beginning of ch 16, and it follows Paul’s second and third missionary journeys. Luke highlights Paul ministries in Corinth and Ephesus, and he tells us about the continued work of the Holy Spirit in converting sinners and establishing churches through the preaching of the gospel. At the end of this fifth section, Luke wrote, “So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily” (Acts 19:20).

And this brings us to the sixth and final section of Acts, which is concluded right there in the last two verses of the book. After Paul had decided to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome (Acts 19:21), he did make his way (slowly and painfully, but surely) to Rome. But this was not merely Paul’s desire, it was by command and provision of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was the specially called witness that Christ Himself was putting in front of Jewish councils and Roman governors and kings. 

And finally, in Rome itself, Luke says that Paul “lived there two whole years,” he welcomed “welcomed all who came to him” (not only Jews but also Gentiles), and he proclaimed or preached “the kingdom of God” and taught “about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (v30-31). Just like each section before, Luke closed this one with a summary statement about the word of God being preached and both the word and the Church of Christ prevailing.

Thus, the overarching theme of the book of Acts is that the Spirit of God works through the word of God which is preached and taught by the people of God to build the Church or the kingdom of God in the world. And God’s Spirit does this building and multiplying and prevailing work without the help of worldly prestige, attractive gimmicks, economic power, or civil endorsement. He does it through His word as it is preached and taught by those who believe it, which is the fulfillment of Jesus’s Great Commission statement in Acts 1:8.

That’s how these verses tie together the theme of the book and bring us full circle. But I said there was a third thing these last couple of verses also do, and that is they invite the reader to join the line of gospel witnesses who have gone before. You know, there is something about the end of the book of Acts that makes it feel abrupt, and it certainly leaves a hanging question: “What about Paul?!” Did Paul die at the end of those two years? Was he set free for a while and die as a martyr sometime later? How about the possibility of a fourth missionary journey?

But this hanging question seems to be purposeful on Luke’s part. It leaves the reader with a sense that the book of Acts wasn’t about Paul to begin with. Even Paul’s detailed imprisonment and miraculous journey from Jerusalem to Rome wasn’t ultimately about Paul. The whole book was and is about God’s Holy Spirit working through God’s word and God’s people to build God’s kingdom!

And this complete absence of a definite conclusion to Paul’s life and ministry offers the reader a strongly implied invite to pick up where Paul left off. Now, I’m not saying that all Christians are capital “A” Apostles, but I am saying that all Christians are little “a” apostles, in the sense that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are to continue to be His witnesses (empowered by the Holy Spirit) to “the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) and to “the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

And how can Christians today pick up where Paul and the rest of the early Christians left off? Well, we can rely upon God’s Spirit to work through God’s word to convert sinners and to build His Church. We can preach and teach the gospel with the aim to persuade,1 and we can invite repenting and believing sinners to join with us in following and bearing witness for Christ, until He comes.

1 This phrase (“teach the gospel with he aim to persuade”) comes from Mack Stiles’ book called Evangelism, which I wholeheartedly recommend to the interested reader. Get it at the cheapest price from the 9Marks bookstore HERE.

Marc Minter is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Diana, TX. He and his wife, Cassie, have two sons, Micah and Malachi. 

Connect with Marc on Twitter or Facebook.

A (Very) Brief Explanation: Why are there Catholics and Protestants?

It may seem a bit arrogant, but I think this might be the shortest summary of the historical development of the Roman Catholic Church and the basic reason why there is such a thing as a Protestant.

My purpose in this explanation is not to throw negative light on anyone who claims to be Catholic or anyone who is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Not all Catholics believe the same things, just like not all Baptists believe the same things, and there are many members of churches (of all sorts) who have no idea what their church actually teaches on a given subject. So, I invite further conversation; I do not purposefully condemn any particular reader or someone you might know.

First, it is complicated, but Catholics have no unique claim on history.

Simply put, the Roman Catholic Church as it is today, in its doctrines and in its administration, did not exist until (at the earliest) the year 1215 AD. The Fourth Lateran Council ratified some of the teachings and most of the organizational forms that are distinctive of and essential to Roman Catholicism today.1 But it was not until the Council of Trent, which met sporadically from 1545 to 1563 that the main doctrines which separate Rome from Protestants were clearly articulated and ratified.2 Therefore, regardless of what my Roman Catholic friends might say, the Roman Church is not the oldest and most united church. It has a complicated past, and it has no unique claim on the Apostles or early Christians.

Second, Catholics and Protestants alike see the need for reform in the late Middle Ages.

Before and during the 1500s, there were many Christians within the Roman Church who were calling for reform. At least as early as the 1300s, with John Wycliffe in England in and Jan Hus in Bohemia (as well as many others), good Roman Catholics were writing and preaching and working for reforms within the Roman Catholic Church. By all observers, including Roman Catholics, Western Christianity had become so abusive and scandalous that something had to change.

Many historians look back and see that the leadership of the Roman Church was unwilling to change, so Catholic priests, local friars, and Church theologians started protesting. The quintessential moment which seems to capture the scene in the early 1500s was that evening of October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther (a German monk, Catholic priest, and promising theologian) nailed his invitation to scholarly debate on the castle-church door in Wittenberg. The nailing of the 95 theses was a historic moment, but there were others like it happening all over Europe.

Zwingli, in Zurich, encouraged his congregation to eat meat during a Roman fasting day. English men and women were sharing copies of Wycliffe’s translation of the Latin Bible, and they were illegally memorizing passages to recite to one another so that they might all hear the Bible in their own language. Spain and France were killing and exiling those who taught against Rome, and that’s how John Calvin (a Frenchmen) ended up in Geneva, where he wrote the first comprehensive systematic theology textbook for instructing new Christians.

All of this came to a head when Rome called a council to deal once-and-for-all with the reformers. This was the notorious Council of Trent.

Third, Rome formally and officially condemned all Protestants.

It is a historical and present fact that the Roman Catholic Church has formally set itself against Protestants, and it has never pulled back from that clear and official statement. At the Council of Trent, Rome condemned to hell anyone who believes some of the most fundamental doctrines among all Protestants. The canons or decrees of Trent anathematize3 anyone who believes that the Bible is the chief authority over all tradition and papal decrees. They also condemned anyone who believes that sinners are justified by grace alone through faith alone in the person and work of Christ.4

These statements are clear, they are recorded for anyone to see in the records of that council, and they are repeated in the Roman Catholic Catechism that is still used by Rome today.

It seems to me that Protestants and Roman Catholics can indeed be friends today. But it also seems to me that we must all recognize the differences between them are not mere preference nor are they minor. As I said above, though, it is likely that most Roman Catholics do not know the official teaching of Rome, just the same as most people who claim to be Baptist do not know what Baptists have historically taught.

Therefore, rather than using labels and throwing verbal grenades, I think we all might do well to simply have good conversations about the biblical gospel.

Endnotes

1. The Roman Catholic Church today shares many common doctrines with Protestants. These are not the doctrines that make Rome distinct as a Church. As time moved on, Rome increasingly articulated and demanded adherence to doctrines and organizational structures that are clearly absent from Scripture.

2. This article by Joe Carter does a good job of summarizing some of the main points of the Council of Trent as a historical moment that continues to impact Protestants and Roman Catholics today. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-the-council-of-trent/

3. Anathematize is a fancy word that refers to a religious condemnation. The word anathema is a transliteration from the Greek ἀναθεμα. This was the word the Apostle Paul used to condemn any preacher of a false gospel (Galatians 1:8-9), and the word was and is used by the Roman Catholic Church to condemn anyone who opposes or diverts from official church teaching.

4. The key word in these doctrinal phrases is “alone.” Rome did teach and still teaches that faith in Christ is necessary for justification. The disagreement was never about the necessity of faith, but the sufficiency of it. Is a sinner justified before God by simply believing or having faith in the finished work of Christ? Rome says, “No!” Protestants say, “Yes!”

Paradoxical Christian Growth

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples… These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (Jn. 15:8, 11).

The Christian life is a paradoxical combination of simultaneous striving and resting. Anyone who has ever set out to live in light of Christ’s commands can testify to this enigmatic and exhausting and enlivening experience. On the one hand, the Christian hears the warnings and calls to strive. We are to strive for holiness, for godliness, and for righteousness. In all these, we hear the ultimate call to abide or remain steadfastly in Christ.

On the other hand, the Christian hears the promises of God, in which the Christian may rest. God promises to give life, adopt as sons, lavishly bless all those from among the world. In all these, we hear the ultimate promise that God graciously unites believing sinners to Christ.

While the Bible never explains the mechanics of this relationship, the Bible commonly implores sinners everywhere to rest in the joy-filled promises of God in Christ and to strive to abide in this marvelous Savior. For, God the Father glorifies Himself in the fruit-bearing, in the joy-possessing, and in the persevering of true disciples.

May God help us to both rest in and strive to abide in Christ today.

Loving God and Keeping His Words

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (Deut. 6:5-6).

Love from the heart may sound like the theme of a Valentine’s Day card, but there is much more for us to consider in such a phrase. It is the expression of love, the authentic and tangible reality of love, in focus here. After all, God directly follows His command to love Him with a command to intimately know and apply His words.

What does it mean for any human to love God? It may mean more, but it certainly means no less than giving God – especially His words – attention and affection. Don’t we listen carefully to the wise words of a loving friend? Don’t we read kind and thoughtful notes from our spouse with great care? In the absence of someone’s presence, we cherish and attend their words. However, God is present with us in and through His words.

God’s words are more than mere instructions; His words are life-giving, healing, invigorating, and enlightening. God’s words are perfect, sure, right, and true; they are clean, pure, desirable, and rewarding (Ps. 19). In God’s words, we may find God Himself (Jn. 1:14-18), and we may gain the great joy of genuine love for the God who made and sustains us by His word (Heb. 1:1-3).

Discerning Truth

“Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together” (Numbers 16:11).

Traditions are important to us, whether we know it or not. Traditions are those beliefs and practices that have been handed down to us from those who have gone before. At their best, traditions keep us from stepping too far outside of the boundaries that maintain our stability and order. However, traditions can sometimes give us only an illusion of stability and order without the reality of such things.

Traditions are only as good as the truths which undergird them. If our traditions are based on sound and solid truths from the Bible, then they will be a help and benefit to us. Therefore, it is vitally important that we make an effort to think about the basis or foundation of our beliefs and practices. We must discern truth (i.e. try to objectively evaluate our traditions in light of God’s word) in order to ensure that we are submitting to our good and wise God, rather than rebelling against Him.

If we believe or do something that merely feels right or seems right, then we may find ourselves gathered against the Lord. This would certainly be disastrous. If, however, we ultimately hold to the Scriptures and live according to God’s word, then we will enjoy the blessings of God.

May God help us to be a discerning people, finding our confidence chiefly in the God who gave us His authoritative words – the Holy Scripture.

Love One Another

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another”(Jn. 13:34).

In poetry, music, theater, movies, novels, and history itself, any observant person can see that humans are obsessed with love. Love intrigues us, it compels us, and it befuddles us. Just as people are fascinated by love, so too people are often unable to define or explain love in any genuinely coherent way. We talk about love as though it were an irresistible feeling, a fleeting charm, and an unbreakable bond. And yet, each of these descriptions contradicts the others.

Like many meaningful concepts in life, God’s word speaks clearly as to the nature and expression of love. But we are often so preoccupied with fantasy that we are unable to consider the beauty and glory of reality. Jesus Himself is offered as the exemplary loving person, and He calls His disciples to love as He did and does.

Far from the romantic imagery of teenaged longings, true and genuine love is robust, textured, and panoramic. Furthermore, there is one place on the planet where God has designed Christ-like love to take its truly expansive shape. In the context of the local church, Christians display the kind of sacrificial, persevering, gracious, radical, and inspiring love that Christ both exemplifies and empowers.

Light in the Darkness

“I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he… Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me”(Jn. 13:19, 21).

In Jesus’ final hours, we see Him troubled by the darkness surrounding Him. One of His closest friends betrayed Him unto death, and the devil himself takes on a personal assaulting role. Jesus seems utterly alone and victimized as the night intensifies.

However, Jesus is not merely a passive sufferer. No, right in the midst of this deepest darkness, Christ makes Himself known as the God of light. Moreover, God is revealed in Christ as the truly sovereign ruler of all – even the darkness.

We see the God of the Bible as one who is greater than we ever knew and more awesome than we could have imagined. His power and might extend far past the boundaries we often envision in our finite assumptions. To the watchful eye, God shows His brilliant light in the midst of darkness. For He is the God who forms light and creates darkness, and He is the God who has promised that darkness will one day be no more.

Can Anyone Really Live Like Christ?

Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you… If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (Jn. 13:15, 17).

In the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He seems to have concentrated His time and attention upon His closest disciples. In John’s Gospel, we read about an evening meal during which Jesus took to an awkward task. Jesus – the Son of God, the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah of old – dressed Himself as a lowly servant and did a humiliating chore. In washing the feet of His disciples, He was illustrating His posture in all-of-life and calling His disciples to follow His example.

Christians may rejoice to know that Christ alone has performed the role of savior and redeemer. What joy fills the heart of the sinner who is washed clean by the glorious sacrifice of Christ in their place! Indeed, this cleansing is something only Christ can do.

And yet, it is no contradiction for Christ to summon His disciples to do as He did. The Christian can by no means heal the sick, raise the dead, or atone for sin. But the Christian is called to follow Christ’s example by analogy. As Christ lived (selfless, humble, compassionate, loving, etc.), so too Christians are to live. There is even the promise of blessing from Christ Himself to all who know and do these things.

Taking Jesus at His Words

Jesus said, “The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day” (Jn. 12:48).

In some parts of America, the label “Christian” is still a celebrated identifier. What someone means by claiming such a moniker is usually little more than simply saying, “I believe in Jesus.” But even this phrase begs greater specificity. What do you mean by “believe?” And who is “Jesus?” The Bible reveals substantial answers to these questions, and the Bible warns us to take the words seriously.

In fact, Jesus Himself so closely associated His person and His words that one cannot receive or reject one without doing the same to the other. To receive Jesus is to receive His words, and to reject His words is to reject Jesus. The plain and absolute nature of this proposition rubs against our modern sensibilities, but it is no less reasonable or consistent.

The words of Jesus Christ are indeed the promises and precepts of eternal life. The one who hears and obeys Jesus has no judge, but rather enjoys freedom from condemnation altogether. But the one who does not receive Christ’s words… who does not hear and obey Christ’s words… that one will be judged and condemned by those same words on the last day.

Distinct Christian Prayer

Many people pray, and not just Christians. It seems that prayer, talking to someone or something greater than ourselves, is natural to humanity. Christian prayer, however, is quite peculiar and unnatural. While Christians offer petitions of hope and desire, the same as non-Christians, Christians pray with a distinctive approach and goal.

The Christian knows that his or her only basis for acceptance before God is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, his or her approach to God is as heavenly Father by way of adoption through Christ. Such an approach is by sheer grace and divine mercy.

The Christian also understands that God’s will is wiser and truer than his or her own desires. He or she knows that God is always working towards better ends, as a good heavenly Father. Therefore, his or her goal in prayer is not so much to get something from God but to align himself or herself to the will of God being worked out in the world.

May God not only teach us to pray but may He also create within us an unnatural desire to pray as fervent and sincere Christians.

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