Acts 11 - Peter Reports The Conversion of the Gentiles to the Church - The Church in Antioch Grows and Helps the Church in Jerusalem During the Famine

Click Here to Listen to or Read Acts 11

Peter Explains His Actions

Peter took a risk in reaching out to Cornelius, given he was a Gentile. Sure enough when he got back to Jerusalem, he was questioned by the circumcised believers, which we would assume means Jewish Christians. We would have expected this is of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, but not of the new believers. It shows that they were still holding on to the legalism of their upbringing. They were still seeing God through their previous lens. Ironically, the Old Testament had passages talking about the inclusion of the Gentiles in God's plan of salvation. 

But, after Peter recounted the whole story of his divine encounter with Cornelius, it appeased the believers and they even praised God that the mission had extended to the Gentiles. One of the key reasons for their acceptance was that the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit in the same way the Jewish believers did on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was the sign of God's work of salvation in connection with repentance and belief in Jesus. 

At the end of the day Peter said, "Who was I to stand in God's way?" What a great comment. We should always be asking the question, "Am I getting in the way of what God wants to do because of my preconceived notions?" 

The Church in Antioch

Stephen's martyrdom had the effect of spreading God's Word. It spread with the Jews as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch (Syria). But some of the men went to Antioch and reached out to the Greek speaking Gentiles. Through their preaching a great number of people came to know the Lord. The church sent Barnabas to check out what happened, and he came back with a good report telling them these people had turned to the Lord. Barnabas was described as a good man. "full of the Holy Spirit and faith." 

What a great definition of a good man or woman. A good man or woman is filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. Notice again Luke's emphasis on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was not just the invisible person of the Trinity, but the Spirit exhibited itself in every aspect of the life of the early Church. 

Then, they sent Barnabas to seek for Saul from Tarsus. The last we had heard of Saul, he had been teaching and preaching, yet heavily persecuted by those who were looking to kill him. In Acts 9:30, we see the church sent Saul back to his hometown of Tarsus. So Barnabas got Saul and brought him back to Antioch, where he spent a year teaching the new believers. 

As we know from reading Paul's letters, he was a brilliant teacher and developed much of the doctrine in the early church. People came to Christ and were filled with the Holy Spirit, but they still needed to be taught of the way of life in Christ Jesus. The same is true today. Conversion is only the beginning of the journey of faith. Jesus' in his Great Commission told the disciples to make disciples by teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded. 

It is still so important that we teach in the church today. So many of the problems we see in the church are due to a lack of sound biblical teaching the edifies the body of Christ! 

Finally, a prophet named Agabus, predicted that there would be a severe famine in Jerusalem. The church in Antioch gave money to help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, each as they were able. Those gifts were given to Saul and Barnabas to bring back to the church. 

This is a great example of how the church is bigger than any one of our churches. The church in Antioch gave sacrificially so the church in Jerusalem could survive the famine. 

How can the church support the parts of the larger body of Christ, who are in need? 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why a...
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the...
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in ...
Read more