Bible Class Acts 4:8-12
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Watch video from Acts 3 and 4.
The exclusiveness of Christianity.
A main point of emphasis in the spread of Christianity in the early day in the Roman Empire was the teaching that there is only one, true God and only one, true way to be right with Him.
This was not a new concept for those from the Jewish religion but it was new for the pagan Gentiles to whom the Gospel was proclaimed.
Note some of the Old and New Testament passages that taught that there is only one true God.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places. 30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima; 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. 33 They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought. 34 To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
When Peter and John healed the crippled beggar in the temple in Jerusalem, what about that miracle upset the Jewish leaders the most?
What accusation was Peter making about the way the people had reacted to Jesus?
Why was this such a serious sin?
How does this relative to the exclusiveness of Christianity?
What was Peter’s goal in accusing them of killing the author of life?
In spite of the clear statements of the Bible that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, we seem to hear more and more about paths to heaven that do not include faith in Jesus. You may have heard this phrase: “All paths lead to heaven.”
See two separate articles from 2015 and 2020.
What did Jesus say about paths to the after life?
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Why do you think people chaff at the idea that “heaven is a gated community”?
Is it because they don’t like being excluded?
Discuss times when you were excluded and how that impacted you?
Is it because they don’t want to take personal responsibility for their response to God’s Word?
What difference will it make in our lives if we believe that we are eternally accountable to God or if he finally gives everyone a pass?
Agree or disagree. With great responsibility comes great accountability?
Objective vs Subjective Justification.
Objective Justification: Jesus died for all people of all time. This is what God who wants all men to be saved did so that the sins of all people would be atoned for.
Subjective Justification: All those who trust in Jesus as their Savior when they die will be saved. All those who do not believe in Jesus when they die will be condemned. “He that believes and is baptized will be saved, whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
What ongoing mission has God given to the church?
To proclaim the Gospel so that all may hear and have the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts.
Agree or disagree. Since God has predetermined who is saved, it doesn’t really matter whether we take the Great Commission seriously or not?
How does Jesus statement about his own betrayal help us to answer the statement above?
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” 22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?” 23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” 25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke b. Prediction of the Betrayal (26:20–25)
24 For woe, see on 23:13; for Son of Man, see the excursus on 8:20. Here the Son of Man is simultaneously the glorious messianic figure who receives a kingdom and the Suffering Servant; indeed, the former highlights the evil of the person who hands him over to the latter role. No OT quotation explains “as it is written of him”; but one may think of OT passages such as Isaiah 53:7–9; Daniel 9:26, or else suppose that an entire prophetic typology (see on 2:15; 5:17–20) is in view, such as the Passover lamb, or some combination of the two.
The divine necessity for the sacrifice of the Son of Man, grounded in the Word of God, does not excuse or mitigate the crime of betrayal (cf. Acts 1:16–18; 4:27–28). Nor is this an instance of divine “overruling” after the fact. Instead divine sovereignty and human responsibility are both involved in Judas’s treason, the one effecting salvation and bringing redemption history to its fulfillment, the other answering the promptings of an evil heart. The one results in salvation from sin for Messiah’s people (Mt 1:21), the other in personal and eternal ruin (cf. Carson, Divine Sovereignty, pp. 130–32).
Conclusion.
What two responsibilities do we have when we understand what the Bible says about the way of salvation?