80 likes | 235 Views
Lesson 2 : The Book of Conversions. The Strategic Placement of the Book of Acts in the N.T. It is a vital and indispensible record of God’s holy and Divine will for man. In simplified summaries, the major divisions of the N.T. could be stated as follows:
E N D
The Strategic Placement of the Book of Acts in the N.T. • It is a vital and indispensible record of God’s holy and Divine will for man. • In simplified summaries, the major divisions of the N.T. could be stated as follows: • The Gospels: God’s vehement intent to save man • Book of Acts: God’s vivid illustrations of men being saved • The Epistles: God’s various instructions to men who are saved • Revelation: God’s victorious incentive for men who are saved
Great Commission: Its Command, Compliance & Consequences • The Great Commission is simple, Jesus having used clear and precise terms. • However, some either by ignorance or by choice do not or will not “get it.” • God gave the book of Acts with clear and copious examples of the commission of Christ being followed. • Clear and precise instructions combined with clear, precise and copious examples (that correspond unambiguously with the instructions) makes God’s plan to save man crystal clear. • Any misunderstanding, misinterpretation, miscommunication or misapplication is therefore by conscious choice or willful ignorance.
Examples of Conversion in Acts • Those who were converted in the New Testament did: • Exactly what they were told to do • Immediately what they were told to do • Uniformly (in every case) what they were told to do • Graciously receive the same blessing of salvation • Men today must follow and use the conversions in Acts as their guide (see Lesson 1).
A Parallel Between the Purpose and the Theme • As persons were being converted to Christ, notice what happened to Christianity (i.e., the Lord’s church). • “And that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 2:41) • “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47) • “Many…believed; and the number of the men came to be about 5,000” (Acts 4:4) • “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes…” (Acts 5:14) • “…The number of the disciples was multiplying…” (Acts 6:1) • “Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). • “Then the churches…were multiplied” (Acts 9:31) • “…And many believed on the Lord” (Acts 9:42)
A Parallel Between the Purpose and the Theme • As persons were being converted to Christ, notice what happened to Christianity (i.e., the Lord’s church). • “And a great many people were added to the Lord” (Acts 11:24) • “The word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:24) • “…A great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed” (Acts 14:1) • “…They had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples” (Acts 14:21) • “So the churches…increased in number daily” (Acts 16:5) • “A great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women” (Acts 17:4) • “Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks…” (Acts 17:12) • “And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8)