For the last two weeks we have searched for “The Good Way”…this week we continue that journey where it began for many, Pentecost, The Holy Spirt and Peter. No better place to start than The Book of Acts. Peter realized how important it was to seize the moment and to move forward immediately. I chose to use the word immediacy because I felt it best described the opportunity at hand. The Oxford dictionary has this definition of the word immediacy…the quality of bringing one into direct and instant involvement with something, giving rise to a sense of urgency or excitement:

Consider this, as the early church came into being, they always believed, while they did not know for sure, they always believed that his coming would be soon. Right from the very start, they felt the urgency to share what they had seen heard and been a part of. And as I have already written, there is no better place to start to feel that urgency and to understand it then the Book of Acts. The Book of Acts, also known as the Acts of the Apostles, chronicles the early spread of Christianity after Jesus’ ascension. It highlights the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering believers, particularly Peter and Paul, as they preach the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome, focusing on the transition from Jewish to Gentile Christianity and the growth of the church despite persecution. We will take time to examine some early footprints on the path to the Good Way…

• Pentecost and the Early Church
• Ministry of Peter
• Ministry of Paul
• Expansion to the Gentiles
• Persecution and Growth

Pentecost, as described in Acts chapter 2, is considered the birth of the Christian church. Following Jesus’s ascension, his disciples and followers gathered in Jerusalem and experienced the Holy Spirit’s descent, described as “tongues of fire”. This event empowered them to speak in various languages, leading to the conversion of thousands and marking a pivotal moment in the spread of Christianity. 

Now that’s the textbook explanation or description of what took place and that I believe. But to kind of bring that around to a Layman’s look at scripture and theological, explanations and studies… We see an event take place with signifies the arrival of the Holy Spirit, which enabled people to preach the gospel and perform miracles. Pentecost is seen as the birth of the early church with thousands of people joining the faith after Peter’s sermon. There is really no intense formula of what goes on there other than the outpouring of the Holy Spirt showed that the gospel was for all and not just the Jewish people. This early church devoted itself to the apostles teachings, fellowship, and the breaking of bread and prayer. It is proper note that the early church experienced rapid growth from just a small group to a significant movement and they did that in a relatively short period of time. The impact of that early church empowered by the Holy Spirit, transformed that small group of believers into a global movement that continues to this day to shape our world.

In the Book of Acts, Peter’s ministry is characterized by his bold preaching, miraculous works, and leadership in the early church.  I’ll take a closer look at Peter’s part in the early church. We know that the first sermon he preached leads to the conversions of thousands and established him as a key leader in the early church in the face of opposition from religious leaders and and others he continues to lead and teach the believers and perform miracles. He travels to Judea and Samaria in encountering new believers and continuing to spread that gospel. He heals people and raises Tabitha in Joppa. (Acts 9:36-43) There also is a very pivotal movement that takes place during Peter’s ministry. He has a vision and it led him to Cornelius a Roman centurion and his household, and through this encounter with Gentiles and they’re being baptized later it marked a moment that demonstrated the inclusion of gentiles in God’s plan of salvation. We know that Peter faced criticism from Jewish believers, particularly with his actions with Cornelius and his family, but he defend that decision and he continues to go forth with the word in Jerusalem, but is eventually imprisoned by Herod. One of the benchmarks of Peter’s ministry is that it was a servant leadership type of ministry. He encourages the elders to Shepherd the flock and then he calls believers to stand firm in the face of persecution. Overall, his actions and teachings provide the church today a model for leadership and ministry in all that we do

Ministry of Paul, as detailed in the New Testament involves spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, particularly to the Gentiles. He did this through missionary journeys and letters. His ministry was characterized by both successes and persecution, which demonstrated his deep commitment to Christ. Paul had an overwhelming desire to see people transformed by the message of salvation. As we look a little closer it began with a dramatic conversion and an experience on the road to Damascus, here he encountered the risen Jesus.He spent time in Arabia and Damascus, and then returned to his hometown of Taurus. There were three missionary journeys, major missionary journeys accompanied by various companions and they traveled throughout the Roman empire, their journeys mainly involved, preaching teaching and establishing new churches. One interesting thing about Paul and probably not well known, is he wrote 13 of the books of the New Testament, also he wrote numerous letters to the churches that he had established addressing various theological and practical issues, and these letters became a foundational text for Christian theology and practice in the future. In biblical times, anyone who was not a Jew was considered a gentile. This ministry was particularly significant for its focus on bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. It is understandable that Paul faced quite a bit of opposition and persecution throughout his ministry, including imprisonment and hardships. Teachings always emphasized the grace of God in the importance of faith in Jesus Christ and the freedom from the law. Paul was known for preaching in very diverse settings, healing and establishing leadership within the churches that he visited,   and started. Paul worked with a network of individuals who supported his ministry in various ways. Priscilla, Aquila, Timothy, Titus, and many others. Overall, Paul’s ministry had a profound impact on the development of Christianity and even to this day continues to shape Christian thought and practice.

Expansion to the Gentiles, leads us to some very interesting reading. It begins in act 10 sometimes referred to as a gentile Pentecost in Acts 10:9–16. We read of Peter’s vision of a sheet filled with unclean animals. From this Peter gained the knowledge that the gospel was not limited to just Jewish people. Peter then went to the home of Cornelius a Roman centurion where the Holy Spirit came upon this household as they listen to Peter preach. That event demonstrated that the gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit and become believers. You didn’t have to be Jewish first. This was a huge turning point in the churches understanding and practice regarding the inclusion of Gentiles. We will not get into Paul’s letters at this point and how they affected the Christian faith and growth of the church at this time. What is important right now is the theological significance of what is happening. The inclusion of these gentles fulfilled God’s promises to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his descendants. It brought to the front the fact that there was a universality which signaled the fact that salvation is not limited to one ethnic or cultural group. It was at this point that this wall of hostility dividing the people was put to rest. We must consider the fact that the expansion to the Gentiles was not without challenges and conflicts. There was always a conflict regarding the role of Jewish law and customs for gentile believers. In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council addressed those issues affirming the Gentiles were not required to adhere to the full masonic law. The one thing that we need to glean from this is that the expansion to the Gentiles really did shape their church and lead its growth into a global faith. But most important, we must not forget the fact it established the foundation for the churches mission to all nations as instructed in the great commission.

Persecution and Growth, now most of the research that I’ve done does not lead me to the conclusion that persecution was a catalyst for growth within the community of the early church. I do agree with the fact that persecution can lead to an increased commitment, increase the number of witnesses within the organization, it has a purifying effect upon community weeding out those who are nominal believers, leaving behind a more committed group. I really don’t want to spend a whole lot of time on this part of it, but persecution does lead to loss of people within the movement it also at times can weaken the influence of Christianity. We can look at the history of North Africa and our history in the Middle East to show that growth is not always guaranteed. But I believe the biggest problem that we have then and we have now is complacency and spiritual stagnation within the religious community. I am a firm believer that the growth of religion if you want to put it that way, of our church is directly related to faith. Faith and the promises of Jesus Christ and the salvation of the believers in the days to come. Thanks for joining me on this part of our journey. I hope you’ll come back next week.

Life is Good

jk