A little over a year ago I put the finishing touches on a manuscript, one that I hoped would someday enter the Christian material publication world. It was my second major writing endeavor. The first was a self-published book titled "Love Has Come: A Twenty-Eight Day Journey Through the Gospel of Mathew". Although that experience was a good one, I discovered that self-publishing is both expensive and daunting. Not surprisingly, "Love Has Come" quickly disappeared in the litany of book options after its release without any recognition or attention. It was disheartening to see something that took so much effort get such little positive traction in terms of readership. Therefore, I sought to "shop" my second book to the major Christian publishers. I provided a sample of the manuscript to an evangelical writing association where it would be available for the assorted publishers to review. Months went by and I never heard anything. I reached out to some of the publishers directly. Again, months went by and I never heard anything. And so my dream of having another book be in print was seemingly dashed. I shelved the manuscript and stored it away thinking it would never find the light of day.
But as I started to approach the beginning of 2014 I had a thought: release the second book via this blog site. Sure it will be offered for free, but perhaps it will make its way to people who want, or need, it, which is the only reason I penned it anyway. So, starting with today's writing I will be posting chapters of this book, a book about the New Testament account of Acts, for the next 29 weeks. I pray that you will commit to learning more about Acts with me. Should this study be beneficial for you please share it with those around you. With that being said, let's start with an introduction to the book of Acts. What follows is the official prologue I wrote for my second book, which I have termed "Evidence of Faith: A Twenty-Eight Day Journey Through the Book of Acts"...
Acts. Twenty-eight chapters that chronicle the birth and growth of the Christian faith. A most inspirational narrative. A most unexpected narrative. Inspirational in that God sparked a spiritual fire that still burns bright twenty centuries later through a small gathering of believers. Unexpected in that the small gathering of believers, the very vessels by which His redeeming message touched lost souls, was comprised of people, by and large, who did not hail from the traditional religious leadership establishment (although there were exceptions: the apostle Simon the Zealot in Mark 3:18, the apostle Paul who was once a Pharisee per Acts 26:5, and a large number of Jewish priests who eventually became obedient to the faith according to Acts 6:7). Who would have predicted that the devoted followers of God, the people who would be the foremost instruments of Jesus in the first century, would be fishermen, tentmakers, tax collectors, Roman soldiers, and businesswomen by trade? These people gave little credence to occupational skillsets, educational accomplishments, or nationality. What ultimately mattered was the sincerity of the desire to help change the world by proclaiming Christ to mankind.
Acts, the fifth book of the New Testament, provides a crucial link between the mission of Jesus Christ (making salvation possible for humanity) and the mission of the believers (making disciples of nations). Although we do not know the circumstances upon which Luke, the author of this account, a trained physician, was converted to faith in Christ, we do know that Paul thought highly of him. In Colossians 4:14, Paul referred to Luke as his dear friend. In fact, this companionship was so strong that Luke comforted Paul for a time during the apostle’s Roman imprisonment (2 Ti. 4:11). Before writing Acts, Luke penned a gospel record of Jesus: the Gospel of Luke, the third book of the New Testament. He investigated the claims regarding Jesus’ miraculous birth, ministry, death, and resurrection by confirming and corroborating the firsthand accounts of people, specifically the apostles, who knew Christ (Lk. 1:3). Luke considered himself an examiner and purveyor of Jesus’ redemptive work. In that context, we find Acts is not a stand-alone narrative, but a continuation of an endeavor to validate the evidence of a real Messiah, a Messiah Who actively directs His followers.
Acts possesses the style and structure of Luke’s Gospel. It is laid out in a sequential, detailed manner. It concentrates on the protective nature of God, the presence of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It apportions adequate focus to both Jewish and Gentile conversions. It chronicles healings delivered to the marginalized, or outcasts, of society. It mentions the names of several female believers, highlighting the critical role of women in the expansion of Christianity. It underscores the humility that characterized the apostles. Although it is not often mentioned by name, the church is a focal topic in Acts. Interestingly, the word church has Greek and Hebrew origins. Church is the English translation of the Greek word ekklesia, which denotes someone who has been “called out”. Christians are called out of bondage and depravity through salvation, and thereby have a newfound purpose and motivation to serve God, as well as a yearning to tell others about grace. But the full weight of the church’s assignment must be considered by its connection to the Hebrew language as well. When Greek translations of the Old Testament were produced, they often ascribed ekklesia to the Hebrew word qahal, which is defined as “assembly” or “congregation”. Merging the Hebrew and Greek definitions together, the church is a called out assembly of believers who are endowed with the unending company of the Holy Spirit and charged to share their faith. The apostle Paul held such a high view of the church that he told the elders at Ephesus to carefully lead, or shepherd, the church of God (Ac. 20:28). Paul, like Luke, realized that the church is for God’s glory; not man’s.
Two key themes are reinforced throughout Acts: change and commitment. The change addressed is a total mind, heart, and soul makeover. The Holy Spirit, the mighty agent of God, is unveiled as a miraculous life-changer. Paul is the ultimate authentication of this truth. Once the principal persecutor of Christianity, Paul (formerly known as Saul) encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, surrendered belief and faith to Christ, and became one of the church’s greatest missionaries. The missionary exploits of Paul comprise the final thirteen chapters of Acts. Acts repeatedly draws attention to the Holy Spirit’s ability to be a transformative influence.
The commitment emphasized in Acts entails the aspiration to declare the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The pioneer believers accepted and embraced this commitment. The pledge to honor Jesus, and the unwavering desire to worship Him, was the genesis of the church. With one heart, the disciples declared in private, and in public, that Jesus was worthy of living for, and worthy of dying for. As a result, God revealed Himself in amazing and equally wonderful ways. In fact, the very title of Acts is derived from the confirmation of the workings, or acts, of the Holy Spirit through the lives of the early church believers, notably the apostles.
A unifying purpose to preach the life of Christ tied people of diverse backgrounds and social standing together. Those that welcomed God’s call of salvation found a new motivation for life in Jesus, and longed for the fellowship of like-minded believers. The believers sought to foster godly dialogue and discussion in everyday life, particularly in the home setting, among family members and neighbors. Fusing the collective, corporate praise of God to the personal, relational, sacrificial, and communicative nature of God was a most astounding model.
God initially bestowed the privilege and responsibility of advancing Jesus’ ministry, and legacy, upon less than one hundred and twenty men and women in Jerusalem. Men and women, consequently, who were untrained, undistinguished, and in need of considerable resources, at least from the world’s vantage point. But through the power of prayer, and the arrival of the Holy Spirit, one hundred and twenty believers immediately swelled to three thousand. Soon thereafter, Christianity spread across Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and abroad.
Conventional wisdom would not have entrusted these people with such a supremely vital mission. The church’s forerunners did not likely possess the sound, style, or swagger of polished, charismatic communicators. Surely they were deficient and ill-equipped to handle this enormous responsibility, or so some thought. But the original Christians were not unqualified or unable to handle the charge of presenting the gospel message to the nations from God’s perspective. The very people considered insignificant and irrational in the eyes of so many, particularly the Jewish leaders, became God’s chief kingdom-builders. Through God’s power, the inspiration and instruction of Jesus, and the provision of His Holy Spirit, a few men and women were able to reform the spiritual landscape of mankind and usher in a great awakening.
Acts testifies that the first century disciples were spiritual trailblazers who often braved persecution in order to spread the saving knowledge that Jesus, the Son of God, sacrificed Himself for all of mankind. Met with resistance and rebuke, the believers were unshaken in their mission to make the life, and love, of Jesus known. May we follow the path they established. May we possess a loving spirit, even when confronted with atheism, skepticism, and criticism. May we be a voice that offers emancipating truth in a lie-ridden world. May we be living examples of redemption and righteousness, not so that we will receive the praise, but so that God will. May we lead morally lost people to Christ’s eternal peace. May we be the called out assembly, the church, God intended us to be – a body of believers willing to risk everything as evidence of our faith.
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