Spirit-Empowered Witnesses

Introduction

“How old is your church?”

Simplify matters and a little bit of church history you can respond with “We are about two thousands years old!”

You see, the account of the early church recorded in the book of Acts is our history. The people mentioned in Acts are our brothers and sisters.

The people of God did not originate in the first century. God has always had a people for himself - a people to whom he displays his glory, and a people through whom he displays his glory.

The book of Acts marks a pivotal turning point in redemptive history.

Acts describes the history of the mission of the early church, and because we are apart of the church’s history and mission, the book is of great importance to us.

We study American history because we are Americans. American history is our history. But as vital as learning about the founding of our nation is, it is even more important that we understand church history.

The history recorded in the book of Acts covers a relatively short period of time.

So much happened in thirty short years. It makes me ask, what may God do through a modern local group of believers throughout the same period of time?

How Should We Study Acts?

Because Acts involves history, three types of people usually study the past: scholars, admirers, and soldiers.

Not like Cold Scholars

While some scholars are no doubt also committed soldiers, anyone who wants to study Acts needs to reject the posture of what I’ll call a cold scholar.

Our purpose of studying the book of Acts is not merely to analyze dates, places, and people as if we are cramming for a test.

Our gaol is to allow the message of this book to transform our hearts to lead us to a mission.

We must not study the Bible as people scrutinizing a book for insights into the past. Rather, we should approach it as people who are desperate to see the God about whom we read move mightily in the present.

Not like Casual Admirers

Some who study history are more hobbyists than scholars; they have a casual interest in historical events that may lead them to read a piece on the Civil War, World War II, or the Yankees for purely pleasure.

Such people may visit museums and even collect antiques and memorabilia related to their interest, but casual admirers rarely dive deeply into the contents of history.

We must move beyond merely admiring things about the history of the early church.

We must not read the Bible lightly or scan it as if gathering insights.

We should not be casual admirers but committed soldiers.

Like Committed Soldiers

Good soldiers are known to study history, and they do so to become better soldiers. Good soldiers know there is much to be done.

Acts is not merely the history of the early church; it’s the history of the mission of the early church.

We are to continue that mission.

A few principles to keep in mind.

First, we should read Acts in light of the entire Bible, with teachings of both the Old and New Testaments in mind.

A failure to allow the whole Bible to help us rightly interpret the book could lead to some serious problems.

Second, we should read Acts in light of Luke’s Gospel in particular because Dr. Luke wrote both books.

Third, we must read Acts in light of its genre.

It’s a historical book, which means that while in it Luke describes the events of the early church, he does not always command its practices for us.

For instance, I don’t think we should read of Paul’s “healing handkerchiefs” and assume we need to start a handkerchief ministry.

Rather, we must allow the whole of the Bible to help us make interpretations and applications for the modern world.

We’ve got to be sensible soldiers, honoring the dual authorship of this book: it was penned by Luke and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Acts is the second volume by Luke, the book opens as a story already in progress. There is also an abrupt ending to Acts, leaving us with the correct impression that even today the church is living out the mission.

As we look at the opening verses of this book, we’ll see that three acts are continuing the mission: the message, the ministry, and the witness of Christ church.

We will look back on the opening section throughout our studies in Acts.