The Acts of The Apostles, commonly referred to as the book of Acts, can arguably be considered one of the most important, if not the most important books of the most divine writing ever scripted, the Holy Bible. While Genesis contains the answers to man’s question, “Where did I come from ?”, Acts provides it’s reader with information about where man’s future lies. The key to that future, Jesus Christ, is proclaimed to the world as the guiding light that will lead us toward eternity. All we have to do is accept and believe in our hearts that He is the Messiah, the Christ, The Son of God, our Savior who suffered and died on a cross for man’s iniquities, was buried in a virgin tomb, and rose three days later;
Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
While the Gospels provide us with details of the birth, life, and death of Jesus, Acts clarifies the reason he walked the Earth as a God in the flesh;
Acts4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Most importantly, the Book of Acts provides it’s reader with a connection between the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament does not officially begin until the book of Acts;
Hebrews 9:16 For where a testament [is], there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 9:17 For a testament [is] of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
It is a book that explains the transition from the Law of God to the Age of Grace. God offers the Jewish people one last chance to accept Him as their King. When they refuse and stiffen their necks, God places the Jewish peoples and the plan He has for them on hold. He then turns toward the Gentiles. In essence, our Lord begins the Age of Grace. Jesus becomes our Mediator. His existence provides us with a conduit to the Father, our Blessed Lord, God. We now do not live under the Law of God;
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. We as Christians are allowed to live and breath by the Holy Grace of God.
When I was a young Christian, I could not understand how preachers would say that through Jesus’ death the Grace age began. I would look into the Gospels and read John talking about Grace for Grace. Later, of course I would realize that John wrote his book as a reflection and testament to the Savior, Jesus. He was a witness to the birth of the Gentiles into the family of God. He witnessed and received the Holy Ghost that wonderful day on the Porch of Solomon. What a wonderful feeling that must have been . To have your body filled with the spirit of God. To be there at the beginning. We today are capable of experiencing that feeling. There is no cost, sorry Simon the Sorcerer, you couldn’t buy it then and you cannot buy it now. We must only accept Jesus as our Savior and allow him to cleanse of spirit.
Before the Holy Ghost’s arrival, the Jewish people were looking for The Messiah to set up His Kingdom. The disciples themselves asked Jesus when He would do it. When Stephen was stoned I believe God was ready to send Jesus back. This was the third time He had offered the Kingdom to the Jews:
1. Adam was created and provided with all his needs in the Garden of Eden. God intended man to live in paradise. Unfortunately Adam chose to sin and cursed his seed with the fall from Grace. You see, Grace is not new. God and His omnipresence has always been a loving graceful God.
2. Samuel offered the Jews the option of accepting God as their King but the Jews wanted a King they could see. They reject our Creator and chose Saul.
1Sa 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
3. The Jews rejected Jesus and His Kingdom when they killed Stephen.
Ac 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
Jesus is standing beside God ready to come back; to sit on the throne of David. Everywhere else He is seen as sitting beside our Lord . Here Jesus is standing poised to step back to set up His Earthly Kingdom. Alas, it did not happen. The Jewish people rejected God. Now God is dealing with the Gentiles. At one time not only had God decided to ignore dealing with the Gentiles, He specifically instructed the disciples to stay away from them ;
Matthew 10:5 ¶ These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into [any] city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Yet in Acts, Jesus instructs the Apostles to seek out the Gentiles and spread the Gospel of Salvation;
Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. .
The Apostles and others were filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. They preached the message of salvation to all, even the Jews. Yet as we see in Stephen’s case, they were persecuted even unto death. While Stephen was stoned to death, he was not alone in his persecution. John and Peter were imprisoned. The Apostles were beaten, and made outcasts among the Jewish religion. Even today a Jew is considered dead by his family if he accepts the message of the Living Jesus. It is a dreadful thought that we as Christians could someday be given the ultimatum of either shutting up and ceasing our worship of Christ of face persecution and perhaps execution. As a minister of God’s Eternal Word, I myself cannot imagine the scenario of having to choose between life or death, depending on whether I preach or cease to preach. These men chose to preach. Thank You , Jesus that they did. We as Christians must learn from this example and understand that life as we know it is a dead end street. Ecclesiastes states that all is vanity. This is true; without Christ. With Jesus however, the life we are living is only temporary. we are promised an eternal life in paradise with or King of Kings, Jesus Christ. Jesus died for our admittance to that Kingdom. He purchased our ticket with His blood. he instituted a blood covenant when he sprinkled his blood on the Mercy Seat. Jesus died so that we do not have to.
So bring on the persecution if that is the price we must pay for redemption. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather not suffer. But if given the choice of eternal life or eternal death, I will gladly choose life in Christ. You see though friends, the glorious fact of the matter is that we have no price to pay for the salvation God offers us through faith. We on must accept the truth that Jesus died for our sins, was buried in a virgin tomb, and rose three days later. This my brothers and sisters in Christ is part of the infallible proof that Luke was writing about in Acts 1:3;
Ac 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
A little side note if I may. Whenever you happen to wonder if the NIV and other versions of the Bible are just as good as the King James Version, examine what they say in this verse. The word “ infallible” means without dispute, indisputable, without question. “Convincing proofs” does not mean the same thing.
Satan is pretty convincing but he is the master of lies. There are other examples such as the omitting of words, etc. that dilute the other versions of the Bible. Perhaps we’ll study this at a later date. But as they say on television, “Now, back to our story.”
We all face situations in every day life where we are offered the choice of being a Christian or being a pagan. Every time we act like others in order to fit in we deny Christ. We deny Jesus each time we listen to an off colored joke or talk about the guy down the street. How can we expect to choose Jesus over persecution when we are sometimes embarrassed to be viewed as a Christian? How Can we expect God to allow us into Heaven when we forget about Him in our daily lives? We Have Jesus, that is how. Because of Jesus we are given Grace. We do not live under the Law of God. Thank You, Jesus. How many times would we be struck down if we were ? Through the Grace of God and the Blood Covenant of Jesus we are offered the gift of salvation. We are given the chance to be born again into the Body of Christ. We have the New Testament of Christ to thank for this. The testament that began when Jesus ascended into the clouds and with the power that we received ten days later at Pentecost. All of this is chronicled in the Book of Acts. We as Gentiles can only feel blessed that the chance of Salvation, the plan for the Gentiles was put into motion at that time. We are in the Grace Age. Through Jesus’ blood we are washed clean; as pure as snow. We are on a path of salvation. a path that was bridged By the book of Acts. Without the Book of Acts the Epistles would not make sense. We would all be wondering would that Paul guy was. Also, the Book of Acts expands on our knowledge about Judas and describes his fate in detail after he hung himself from a tree in a field bought with blood money.
Acts gives us examples how we should live our lives. God expects truthful dedication. The Book of Acts is but a chapter in the Most Holy of Books ever written, the Bible. Without this book however, the scriptures would have a missing link. You know, the Darwinists have been forever searching for “ the Missing Link”. All along they only had to look at Jesus. For He is that link. Without Him The gift of Salvation is unattainable. Through Him it is as free as air.
Prayer: God, please bless this sermon with your power and allow it to fill the hearts of those out there who have not crossed the bridge to salvation. Please allow the Book of Acts to serve as a road map to that pathway. Allow this book to clarify the truth that is Jesus. For it is in Your Son’s Name we humbly pray. Amen
