Right, go ahead and open your Bibles to the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts is our study today. And it's in one sense probably the most straightforward book of the Bible as far as matters of key interpretation go that we have looked at in a long time. The prophets can be difficult. John has a lot of things going on. Psalms was rough, Proverbs, but Acts is, in one sense, pretty straightforward. In general, all Bible-believing Christians agree on the traditional core details, you might say. It was written by the great physician, Luke. Everyone, even unbelieving scholars, would agree that the, while unbelieving scholars may not believe that it was Luke who wrote it, they believe that the same person who wrote the Gospel according to Luke also wrote Acts, just because of the clear, you just read this and you know the same person wrote it. The clear style is there, the word choice, all these kinds of things. And for the most part, Everyone agrees in the big picture of what's going on. Let's just read the very first, the very first verse. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. And he goes on from there, but the core of the book, the central point of what's going on, if you will, is that Luke, is recording, he began to record all that Jesus had done, and now he's recording what Jesus is continuing to do, with the emphasis on him doing it through the church. He's recording the early history of the early Christian church. Really, he's going to cover about three decades worth of material in this book, which is twice as much as most of you have been alive. Now, there may be some debate over the implications of particular passages amongst believing Christians, such as Baptists versus Presbyterians on Acts 2.38 and 39, and what that says about baptism, or Arminians versus Calvinists. That is a fun thing to watch on Acts 13.48. Would somebody please read that for us? Acts 13.48. As you're turning there, I'll set this up by saying, Before we came here, I was in a church that... I'll get you, Jack. Before we came here, we were in a church that was not reformed, and my not-reformed pastor really struggled to figure out how to preach this text because it is so clear. Jack, go ahead. Wait, who believed? as Armenians were appointed to eternal life. So they didn't freely choose, but they were appointed beforehand to... Armenians don't like this passage. Those who want to assert a libertarian free will, they don't know what to do with it. Nonetheless, the debate for what we're going to talk about in our lesson does come in, not in discerning the basic theme of the book, but how to outline it. In other words, we all agree that Luke is recording the history of the early church. As Dr. Bob Carra says, the primary purpose of Acts is to confirm Theophilus and others in the Christian faith by presenting a historical account of the Triune God's special providence over the early church. The question that's up to debate is what is the primary lesson, what is the primary point that he's trying to get across from the early church. So, for example, when we studied, if you can cast your minds back to the books of Samuel and Kings versus Chronicles, we said these are history books, but they're history that's written to communicate a particular theological point, right? So we said that Samuel and Kings was written to explain how God's people wound up in captivity with the progressively worse kings, And Chronicles covers that same picture of history, but with an emphasis on where do we go now that we've returned to the land, looking to where we've been, to where we go. And so Acts is the same way in that it is history, but it's history that's written for a purpose. Some people think that the purpose of the book of Acts was to unite the early church because this is complete speculation. There's not a shred of actual evidence, this is just what skeptical scholars make up, that there was a division, and half the church liked Peter, and half the church liked Paul, and so Luke wrote Acts to show that Peter and Paul are both good guys, and we can all get along. And that's why some people would divide the book and say the first 15 chapters are about Peter's ministry, and the last 17, no, 12, 13, there's 28 chapters. The last 13 chapters would cover Paul's ministry and show that there's harmony. Now that's of course true, there is harmony between their ministries, but that's not necessarily the point. And so what I want to get before you, before we get into what is the point, is just one hermeneutical that's a means of interpretation principle that would be a helpful disclaimer for outlines in general. And that principle is this, when you come to a situation, in which you have multiple solid Bible-believing Christians giving different accounts of something, or rather different interpretations of something, and those interpretations are not mutually exclusive, it's very likely that they're both right. Does that make sense? If they're not mutually exclusive, it's very likely that there's something there. And so there is a point in which Luke is trying to show a unity within the church from the beginning and going forward. There's a sense in which that's actually true, right? Or for my sermon this morning, in reading Philippians 2, 12 to 13, I won't bore you with all the details, but there is like a massive debate in the commentaries about is Paul talking to individual believers or to the church corporately? Like, commentators are citing each other by name and saying, this guy's a moron. They don't say moron, but like, the polite, professional way of saying, this guy's a moron. That's what's going on in print over these verses. And now the problem is, first of all, it is corporate. But second of all, corporate entities are made up of what? Individuals. Therefore, the application to the corporate entity also goes to the individuals. They work together. Now, there are other times that Bible-believing, faithful Christians come to conclusions that are mutually exclusive, such as Arminians and Calvinists over Acts 13, 48. So, in that case, you want to go with what the Bible seems to most plainly say. And this... And this ties back into the major way the book is outlined. One way to outline Acts is according to chapter 1 in verse 8. Luke seems to give kind of a theme verse here. Somebody read that. Acts 1, verse 8. I can do that. Yep. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Nice Bible. Thanks. But you will receive power when that Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria into the end of the earth. Right, so some people will take that verse and say the Book of Acts should be outlined geographically. I like that approach. I think that's an appropriate way to do it, and that's largely what we are going to do. However, again, Dr. Kerr is helpful here when he highlights the best of outlines emphasize what the author intended to emphasize and de-emphasize the author's secondary or tertiary issues. Therefore, a good outline clarifies the main points. However, since a good outline barely, if at all, mentions the tertiary and secondary points, even a good outline distorts slightly by elevating the main points too highly and emphasizes the tertiary points because they are not mentioned at all. And there's no remedy for that. You just have to know that going in when I give you these outlines, that they're going to give you just part of the picture. So with all that said, We'll look at the outline that I think best matches what Luke is tracing here, and we'll also, as we go through those sections, highlight what I think is the purpose for which he wrote the book, okay? And that is that the Word of God is the source of the strength of the Church. Anyway, here's the outline. Chapter 1, 1 to 7, 60, so all of Chapter 7, is the Church in Jerusalem. Chapter 8, verse 1 through all of Chapter 12 is the Church in Judea, Samaria, and Antioch. And then chapter 13 through 14 is the first missionary journey of Paul from the Northeast Mediterranean. Chapter 15 is the Jerusalem Council. Chapter 15, 36 to 18, 22 is the second missionary journey. 18, 23 to 12, 20 or 21, 16 is the third missionary journey. And finally, The last section, 2117 to the end of the book, is from Jerusalem to Rome. And so what you see in that outline is the church going exactly as Jesus commissioned, from Judea to Samaria to Rome, which is the ends of the known world at that point, right? And so that's the central hub and it's working out from that. So we'll start with the church in Jerusalem. This section of the book begins with a prologue that wraps up several loose ends from the Gospel of Luke. And so Luke ends his gospel with Jesus telling the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father. You can read that later if you would like. Luke 24, 44, to the end of the chapter. But they're to wait for the promise of the Father, which is very important in the opening chapters of Acts. And so, like a good writer, Luke reminds them of that scene, but provides a little bit more detail this time. Would somebody please read Acts 1, 4 to 11? Ms. Duncan. While staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you heard from me from John the Baptist with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.' And when he said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took them out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven, as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, Men of Galilee, do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who has taken up from you into heaven, will come into the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Thank you, Ms. Duncan. And so what we see here is, is Jesus telling his disciples, you're going to go preach, wait for the Holy Spirit. And that's going to unfold for the rest of the book. I think that's the theme that Luke really tries to hammer home here is that the church increases and is grown by the working together of two entities. The men that Jesus has appointed to preach the scriptures, Accompanied and blessed by the Holy Spirit Those two things working together or would build the church the man of God ministering the Word of God With the blessing of the Holy Spirit and that's going to go Throughout the book, you know, we see in Acts chapter 2 as as dr. Phillips just got done working through Peter's sermon at Pentecost Peter the man appointed by God to preach is preaching from the Old Testament with the accompanied blessing of the Holy Spirit, and 3,000 people get converted. This is why, by the way, myself, Dr. Phillips, and several other Reformed preachers, every time we step into the pulpit, we say, I believe in the Holy Ghost. Because we know that that's what we're dependent on to make this thing work. and that's the model that we have from the early church. This is plainly the case in the Jerusalem, and it will be the case in the rest of the sections. Let me show you also the same idea, but in the church in Judea, Samaria, and Antioch. So go on over to Acts chapter eight, and that's how the church began in Jerusalem, and it spreads throughout the region of Judea and into the opening section. Before moving to Samaria in chapter eight, we'll pick it up there. Chapter eight, and I'll go ahead and read verses 4-8. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip. When they heard him and saw the signs that he did, for unclean spirits crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So that there was much joy in that city. So Philip is there. He's preaching the word. And again, we see the church spreads as the man of God preaches the word of God by the power of the spirit of God. And we have a very detailed account of how Philip does that. This is like a general introduction to Philip's ministry. But we have a very detailed account of how he does it. with the Ethiopian eunuch in the same chapter going down to verse 26. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert place. And he arose and went and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all his treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot. And he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. So Philip ran to him and heard what he was reading. Do you understand what you're reading? Or understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, how can I, unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now, the passage of Scripture that he was reading was this, like a sheep, he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life was taken away from the earth. He's reading Isaiah 53, probably the clearest Old Testament passage of the work of Jesus, the sin atoning death that he would go through on behalf of his people. That, by the way, is a preacher's dream, is someone to, can you please explain to me this passage of the Bible? I don't get what's going on here. And you get to talk about Jesus and his life and his death and his resurrection, his ascension, all these things. And the unit comes to believe them by faith because of the Holy Spirit. The man of God explaining the word of God with the help of the Spirit of God. Other important events happen in this section that we won't go into in too much detail. In Acts 9, we see the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. who's already been kind of alluded to in this book already, like at eight, one to three, but now he's being confronted by the Lord directly in a passage that I hope is very familiar to you. And he immediately begins to do what after being converted? To preach the word through the power of the spirit. And he becomes the major character of this book, and that becomes his pattern over and over and over again. Paul goes into a new town, and by the Spirit's leading, and he preaches the Scriptures. He unpacks the Lord Jesus and what he has done from the Bible. And another major event that takes place in this section is actually the beginning of the Gospel going out to the Gentiles. This is in Acts 10. The great Anglican scholar John Stott says, At all events, we who now read Acts 10 remember that Jesus had given Peter the keys to the kingdom, although it is Matthew who tells us this and not Luke. And we have already watched him use these keys, effectively opening the kingdom to the Jews on the day of Pentecost and then to the Samaritans soon afterwards. Now, he, Peter, is to use them again to open the kingdom to Gentiles by evangelizing Cornelius and baptizing him. And so would somebody, let's go ahead and look at that in Acts chapter 10 verses 29 to 44. Here we have Peter, the man of God chapter 10 verse 29. So when I sent for, so when I was sent for Peter saying, I came without objection, I asked you, why did you send for me? And Cornelius says, four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms have been remembered before God. Send, therefore, to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon a tanner by the sea. So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come to me. Now, therefore, we are all here in the presence of God, to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord. Again, this is a minister's dream. Tell us about Jesus. We're all here, eager ears. And so we have Peter there, and he's commissioned by God. In verse 42, he says, and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed to God to be the judge of the living and the dead, speaking of the Lord Jesus. And through that preaching, in the next verse, The Holy Spirit is poured out. When Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard, what? The Word, or the Scriptures. The man of God ministering the Word of God, the power of the Spirit of God. That is how the church grows. And so that pattern is gonna, again, continue to play out in the rest of the book. Let's look at one last passage today. Acts chapter 15. This, by the way, was a very key passage in my understanding and coming into the Reformed faith because it's, you'll see, it's very clear. Now the whole point of this council in Acts chapter 15 was to settle a dispute. Does anybody know what the dispute was, by chance? The first Jerusalem council? Yes, Ron. Do you have to follow food laws to be saved? Yeah, it's a little bit broader than that, but that's basically, it's how much of the Old Testament law? How Jewish do you have to be in order to be a Christian? Acts chapter one, or Acts chapter 15, beginning in verse one. Some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension, and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. Now on the one hand, it's worth asking the question, why is there even a dispute over whether or not the law of Moses, particularly with respect to dietary laws and circumcision, why is there a question about whether or not you converts have to follow that? Why do you think? because every error, every is probably a bit strong, 99% of errors spring from a misunderstanding of a kernel of truth. Why would that be a debate about how Jewish one must need to be in order to become Christian? Is there a fundamental discontinuity between the covenants? Or is it largely seen as a continuation in continuity? It's the latter. That's why the debate even happens. And by the way, this is not me sneaking Presbyterianism into this. The New Testament professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, not on my side of the continuity issue, said this. God had only one covenant people, the Jews. Christianity was a messianic movement within Judaism. Jews had always demanded of all Gentile converts the requirements of circumcision and the rituals of the Torah. So the question is, why does that change? The continuity is not in question. The question is, do all aspects of it change? But we won't plunge into that debate any further than to notice that what is it that carries the day in this first Presbyterian General Assembly in Jerusalem? What is it that wins the day in the debate? It's not the words of Peter, though Peter does speak. Peter gives testimony to his ministry and God converting Cornelius and other Gentiles. It's not the testimony of Paul, who would also have been a budding, rising star at this point. What carries the day? Verse 13. After they had finished speaking, James replied. This is James, the brother of the Lord. And he doesn't say, y'all, Jesus put me in charge here, I've got it. He says, brothers, listen to me. Simeon, that's Peter, has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for his name. And with this, the words of the prophets agree. just as it is written, and then he quotes from the Old Testament, after this I will return and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen, I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who makes these things known from of old. What carries the day is that as the apostles and the elders are hatching this thing out, one guy stands up and says, Well, what they're saying matches what the Bible says, so they must be right. The church is blessed and grown and increased as the men of God minister the word of God by the grace of the spirit of God. Over and over and over we go with this cycle. And this tells us a lot about the church. And this is ancillary to the point we're making, but it might be helpful for you guys to know kind of where we got the idea for how the church is to be governed. One thing that this passage tells us is that she is to be governed by a group of representatives from a local congregation. All the churches that existed at that point sent elders to this meeting to hash out these matters. And secondly, it tells us that the rulings of those assemblies actually carried binding weight on the local churches, insofar as they correctly understood the scriptures. Because what happens after this He says, Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble the Gentiles who turn to God, but we should write them to abstain from things polluted by idols and from sexual immorality, from that which has been strangled from the blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he has read every Sabbath in synagogues. Then the apostles and the elders with the churches chose men to send the letters to Antioch. and to the other churches. So the decision that's reached at this council in accordance with the Word of God is binding on the churches that had sent representatives to it. And then the structure also we're shown here is not hierarchical. Peter is an apostle. He was in the inner circle of the inner circle. And he doesn't carry the dead. It's James who was not. in the original 12 and was not in the inner three, but didn't come to faith until after the fact. He carries the day according to scripture. So we see it's not apostles versus elders, but it's apostles and elders with nobody throwing around their weight with respect to hierarchy. There's not somebody over top of things. And then ultimately, as we've said, what carries the day is the scripture. That's how the church is supposed to run, in connection with one another, not with one being over top of others, representative government under the ultimate authority of scripture. In other words, the church is governed, at least the early church, in a Presbyterian fashion, as opposed to congregationally, where they might have meetings but nothing's binding, or Episcopalians, where things are hierarchical, and there's a bishop over this, and then an archbishop over that, and then a grand, blah, blah, you know. It's not like that. But the bigger takeaway that we see again and again and again is the church is blessed through the ministry and labors of men called by God to serve, led by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by the scriptures. I won't bother going into the other sections for the sake of time, but that is the central point that Luke is trying to show as he shows the spread of the early church from Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth. Let's pray. God in heaven, we do give thanks to you this day. for your word and for the clarity that it provides. And Lord, we know that your word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and that it is a dangerous instrument in the hands of your servants. And we pray that, Lord, you would help us to also fully rely on your spirit as it's ministered and goes forth to the ends of the earth. We ask in Christ's name, amen.