The Book of Acts Lesson 28

Is God Unfair?

Job is the Bible’s prime case study of disappointment with God, and as such it seems to anticipate whatever disappointment Richard or Meg or any of us might feel. An American rabbi wrote a popular book called When Bad Things Happen to Good People. The Book of Job raises the ante: it portrays the very worst things happening to the very best person.

What did Job do wrong? Nothing. He represents the very best of the species. Didn’t God himself call Job “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil”? Why, then, is Job suffering? Not for punishment. Far from it — he has been selected as the principal player in a great contest of the heavens.

Curse God.

God is weak.

Temporary condition

The world is fair.

Life is unfair.

From Contract Faith to a Relationship with God that develops apart from our life circumstances

Disappointment with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud (Discussion Guide)

1. Which reason for God’s unfairness have you been most inclined to adopt? That God must not exist? That God is powerless to change things? That justice will eventually work itself out? That the world is truly fair, or at least not as unfair as it seems? Has your reasoning satisfied you? Why or why not?

2. How do you respond to Douglas’s story and his perspective on his suffering?

3. How does looking at the life of Jesus, and his suffering, help as you grapple with unfair places in your life?

4. “Someday, God will restore all physical reality to its proper place under his reign. Until then, it is a good thing to remember that we live out our days on Easter Saturday.” Have you considered this idea of Easter Saturday? How is it helpful?

Acts 14:1-7

I. Seven Themes

God the Father orchestrates (Acts 5:38-39)

Through Christ, who lives and rules

Through the empowering Spirit

Causing the word to multiply

Bringing salvation to all

Forming the church which

Witnesses to the ends of the earth

II. Witnesses to the end of the earth

Global witness

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

God compels and gathers his people.

exalted Jesus sovereignly directs

the church’s witness

through the Spirit’s empowering

so that the church can spread the message of good news of salvation to the nations.

What? Who? To Whom? How?

What?

What does it mean to be a witness?

ark of testimony (Exodus 25:22 “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.”)

tent of meeting (Exodus 29:4 “You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.” )

Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18 “And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” , Exodus 32:15 “Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.”

God “witnesses” to his own presence in the tabernacle and over the ark in the Ten Commandments. The law speaks to his character. Israel was never meant to hoard God from the rest of the world. They were intended to fill the world with his presence.

Isaiah 43:10 ““You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.” Isaiah 43:12 “I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.” Isaiah 44:8 “Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”” Isaiah 49:6 “he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.””

God calls his people to witness to his life-giving presence.

Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

That my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

Now the church in Acts are called to witness God’s abundant life.

Witness to Yahweh revealed in Jesus Christ.

Witness to the resurrection of life of Jesus brought to earth by the power of the Spirit.

Acts 1:22 “beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.””

Acts 2:32 “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.”

Acts 3:15 “and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” Acts 4:33 “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” Acts 5:32 “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”” Acts 10:39–41 “And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

Acts 13:35 “Therefore he says also in another psalm, “ ‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’”

Acts 17:18 “Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.”

Acts 23:6 “Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”” Acts 24:15 “having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.” Acts 24:21 “other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’ ”” Acts 28:20 “For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.””

In Acts, to witness means to see and tell of the life-giving presence of God found in Jesus Christ through the Spirit.

Apostles are Jesus’ authorized delegates, witnesses to the reality of his resurrection and expounders of its significance.

A. Paul and Barnabas Preach Boldly in Iconium (v. 1)

Acts 14:1 “Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.”

They enter the Jewish synagogue together.

A large number of both Jews and Greeks believe the gospel.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Both born with a sinful nature. Both were under the judgment of God. Christ died for their sins. (Theme of Romans)

B. Opposition Arises and the City is Divided (v. 2–4)

Acts 14:2–4 “But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.”

Unbelieving Jews stir up the Gentiles and poison their minds against the brothers.

Despite opposition, Paul and Barnabas stay for a long time, speaking boldly.

God confirms their message through signs and wonders.

The city becomes divided: some side with the Jews, others with the apostles.

Christ brings a sword to divide.

C. Plot Against Their Lives and Escape (v. 5–7)

Acts 14:5–7 “When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.”

A violent plot is formed by both Gentiles and Jews, with their leaders, to mistreat and stone them.

Paul and Barnabas become aware of the danger.

They fled to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia and the surrounding countryside.

Martyrs in the early church

fleeing persecution

They continue preaching the gospel wherever they go.

Discussion Questions

What can we learn from Paul and Barnabas’ boldness to continue preaching the gospel even in the face of opposition and division?

How does God's confirmation of the apostles’ message through signs and wonders encourage us in trusting His power when we share the gospel today?