Of course, nothing human is perfect, and it wasn’t long before trouble began within the early community of faith. For starters, not everyone was pleased with the entry of Gentile believers into the early church. The disagreement was not over the concept of a Gentile mission, but over the basis on which Gentiles should be … Continue reading –>
One day, while I was studying the Gospel Presenation with a retired couple, we read this verse. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV The husband had been raised Catholic, and while … Continue reading –>
Where was the first Gentile church established? What events caused the believers to go there? (Acts 11:19-21, Acts 11:26). What does that remind you of from Old Testament times? (See Daniel 2.) The persecution that broke out in Jerusalem after Stephen’s death caused a number of Jewish believers to flee three hundred miles north to … Continue reading –>
The Gospel in Galatians. According to the introduction to this 12-week series on the apostle Paul, the teaching threatening the early church was the false teaching that we are saved by faith and works. Wait a minute. Don’t our works have a key role to play in our salvation? What about the statement by the … Continue reading –>
Saul of Tarsus was fighting for his faith, although misguided by his spiritual blindness (Tuesday’s lesson study) until, “finally on his way to Damascus, through a miraculous encounter with the risen Jesus, Saul chose to fight no longer” (Monday’s lesson study). Instead he went on to become Paul and now he did as in Hymn … Continue reading –>
During Saul’s encounter with Jesus, he was blinded and then instructed to go to the house of a man named Judas and to wait there for another man, Ananias. No doubt Saul’s physical blindness was a powerful reminder of the greater spiritual blindness that led him to persecute the followers of Jesus. The appearance of … Continue reading –>
“And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads’ ” (Acts 9:5, NKJV). Although Saul’s persecution of the early church begins rather inconspicuously (as he only holds the coats of Stephen’s executioners), it quickly intensifies (see … Continue reading –>
Saul of Tarsus first appears in Acts as one involved in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58) and then in connection with the more wide-scale persecution that broke out in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-5). Peter, Stephen, Philip, and Paul play a significant role in the book of Acts because they were involved in events that led … Continue reading –>
Introduction to The Gospel in Galatians The Protestant world is getting ready to celebrate the 500thanniversary of the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther — guided by the Holy Spirit — brought to millions crucial biblical truths that were long hidden under centuries of superstition and tradition. One could argue that out of the pages of … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 6:9-15, Acts 9:1-9, 1 Sam. 16:7, Matt. 7:1, Acts 11:19-21, Acts 15:1-5. Memory Text: “When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life’” (Acts 11:18, NKJV). It’s not that hard to understand Saul of … Continue reading –>
