Please read Chapters 13-28 of Acts. Choose a verse from this section that seems to you particularly important in explaining the rapid growth of the early church. Note how this verse sheds light on the leadership, finances, organization, etc. of the first Christians or what the verse shows about conditions in the Roman empire that may have been conducive to the spread and growth of Christianity.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Acts (Session II)
Please read Chapters 13-28 of Acts. Choose a verse from this section that seems to you particularly important in explaining the rapid growth of the early church. Note how this verse sheds light on the leadership, finances, organization, etc. of the first Christians or what the verse shows about conditions in the Roman empire that may have been conducive to the spread and growth of Christianity.
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The Roman Empire has had conflict in the past, do they want to start another war or should they hold out and see what is happens with Christianity. They are very educated people as noted in Acts 22:37-40 Paul can speak both Greek and Hebrew. Greek is known as a very scholarly language. The Roman guard asking him to speak in Greek shows that only the educated can address the high counsel.
Paul also brings another point about Romans to the table he is one Acts 22:24-29. There are two ways in which you can become a Roman:
1) Citizenship by birth –
2) Purchase your citizenship - was considered inferior to be born a Roman – but was a good money maker for Rome
We find out yet another piece of the puzzle, he is a Roman. This gives another clue about Roman history. You could not be punished for a crime until you were found guilty. The Roman people chose the battles they wanted to fight. They would rather let a few strays preach the new teachings then start a war/battle where men would have to be moved from one front to this front. This will also take money away from Rome and they would rather get money then spend it.
One particularly important aspect of spreading the church was the separation of the apostles to different parts of the empire. In 15: 36-41, Paul departs on his journey to the ends of the empire. The last verse even states that he brought strength to the churches.
This leads us to other people along the way such as Timothy (my personal favorite). Paul is certainly playing the role of a strong leader of the faith, someone to inspire to. With Paul on the Christian's side, it is no wonder they spread so quickly.
Brett Newton
Acts 13:47
"I have made you a light for the gentiles. that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."
This promise is very important in Acts. Right after it is stated the gentiles are actually said to glad and honored to hear these words of promise. This promise was that of eternal life. God proclaims eternal life as attainable and his followers are no doubt joyful. In trying to get people to follow your cause, what better reward could there be to ones that decide follow his ways. This is the most powerful promise and gift that he can give us and it is up to us to earn this gift that he has promised, eternal life.
The legal system of the Romans proved a great help for Paul on his travels through the empire. During his trips Paul encountered rough opposition from the Jews and Roman governors like Felix and Festus gave him leave to speak in his defense because he was a Roman citizen.
This is rendering unto Caesar what he wants and unto God for him. Paul wanted to preach the word of Christ and used the legal code of the Romans as protection of sorts to continue. If left to the infuriated Jews he would have been stoned and torn apart but as Felix says in Acts 25:16 no one is given up to the accusers without a hearing.
God is the judge of man and uses the evidence he sees to determine his decision. In place of God the Romans gave Paul these chances which he used very eloquently, enough to impress them into sending him to Caesar where he wanted to go anyway.
In places where the Romans had enough of a presence that required their administration Paul, and other disciples, could always count on it to keep their violent dissenters away so they could continue to teach.
Annie Merkel
Acts 23:12 "When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul."
The reason I choose this verse is that it describes a group of people who are joined together with one common interest - to kill Paul. Not only do they have a common interest, but they agree to abide by certain conditions; in this case it would be not to eat or drink until they actually do kill Paul.
I think this verse is a perfect example of organization. It started with a group of people with a common interest. These people agreed to a set of conditions that they must abide by. These people show early signs of the beginning of an organization.
In addition, these Jews who grouped together to find and kill Paul, also spread the word of their intent. As they searched for Paul, they told anybody who they ran into that they were searching for Paul. In my opinion, that is the same as spreading the teachings of Jesus.
Sam Merkel
I agree with my sister in Acts 23:12 when the Jews plot together to stop eating and to stop drinking until Paul is dead. This showed how strong the jews believed in their religion by sacrificing their bodies until the death of Paul happened.
This showed the unity that they had towards their religion and how committed they are also. They also try to get other citizens involved with them by telling them what they are doing and asking for their help. So that showed the ability to recruit more people which would make the group bigger. That would cause a stronger believe by others.
Brian Johnson
The verse I chose was Acts 15:6, which states "And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter."
This verse refers to the church leaders coming together in order to resolve a dispute that come up over the issue of circumcision.
The reason the verse is important is because it shows the strong leadership the early church had. A strong leadership is vital to the success of a new religion, if for no other reason than to answer questions such as that which will inevitably arise.
There was much opposition during the beginning of the church. Paul had been preaching and condemned by the Jews. In Acts 26 King Agrippa who had been listening to Paul's pleads to be let go because he was unfairly condemned. The last verse 26:32 says "Then Agrippa says to Festus, "This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Ceaser."
This shows that even the worldly leaders were starting to be convinced and more accepting to this new religion. Early Agrippa says he was almost convinced that he would convert to Christianity. This shows that the leadership of early Christianity was strong and that their message was convincing.
Joe Adam
Basically what i found very intersting is that paul went on a large amount of missonary trips to places around the mediterranian. In The Acts chapters 17 through 20 paul goes to a multitude of places including Greece, Maceidonia and Cyprus. in many of these place (such as in The Acts 20:3) he does miricles such as raising the dead.
Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
44And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
46Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
48And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
This has many of the characteristics that we discussed in class. It has a willing group of people and it has opposition. I think that it offers something that the other religions don't. They are willing to save the gentiles and have said that the Jews were given their chance but they declined it. These passages make the religion open to everyone not just those whom Jesus was born of.
One of the main reasons Christianity was spread so fast was because Paul and others that spread the word had an easy time getting around much of the area that the Romans had obtained through the years. With this they were able to go to main places that maybe at one time might have not been the best places to go. Also since most of the teachers were Roman citizens, they had more rights, so thus it made it harder for people to have them killed for no reason. You have the Jews tring to do away with Paul in Acts 23:12-22.
The Roman empire being fairly well organized helped Christianity grow that much faster.
Eric Bengs
Perseverance and courage of the Christian leaders seem to be of utmost importance in explaining the rapid growth of the early church. Paul and his companions were faced with much opposition and yet never gave up and in fact risked their lives in order to preach the Good News. This is evident when looking at the story of Paul and Barnabas in Iconium (Acts 14:1-7). Another moment of great courage occurs Silas and Paul’s imprisonment at Philippi (Acts 16:16-40) and the list goes on. The end of the Acts of the Apostles tells of Paul having to defend himself and his actions. There was not a moment in which he changed his story or gave up on proclaiming the Truth. During his evangelism “day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number”. Thus this very evident ingredient of courageous and persevering leaders is of extreme importance.
Amanda Imberi
Zach Anderson
One important part of the spread of Christianity was the fact that there was a large empire to spread the word. Without the Roman Empire it would have been very difficult for the new religion to spread, and would have probably remained a small Jewish sect in a small region of the Middle East. One important part that allowed Paul protection when spreading the word was his Roman citizenship.
Acts 23:27 "This man, having been seized by the Jews and about to be done away with by them, I came upon with my detachment of soldiers and rescued, when I learned that he was Roman."
This is one instance that Pauls citizenship saves his life, but also gives him an audience with powerful Romans. If this religion were to spread it must be embraced by the Romans and Pauls citizenship was very useful in doing this.
I think Acts chapter 25 verse 11 is a good example of how the Roman Empire helped the spread of Christianity.
Paul had wanted to preach in Rome for a very long time, but had never had a chance to journey there. By appealing to Caesar he ensured he would be able to go to Rome to preach to the people there. And he knew it would take quite a while for him to appear before Caesar so he would have plenty of time to preach. If it wasn't for the size and set-up of the Roman Empire, Paul might never had have a chance to preach to the Romans.
John Rawerts
"Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands."
Acts 14:3
It seems as if the increase of numbers in Christianity can be attributed to people wanting to witness miracles. It is sad to say that many people want to see a sign or a wonder to be convinced of an idea's validity.
Please read Chapters 13-28 of Acts. Choose a verse from this section that seems to you particularly important in explaining the rapid growth of the early church. Note how this verse sheds light on the leadership, finances, organization, etc. of the first Christians or what the verse shows about conditions in the Roman empire that may have been conducive to the spread and growth of Christianity.
I think 13:44-52 is a great example of how christanity spread. It showed how the christians were able to appeal to all people, not just certain groups.. They tried to appeal whom ever they could and they tried to show how anyone could be a choosen person. That there were no barriers besides accepting the Lord as your savior into being accepted into Christanity. That was the largest appeal of Christanity in my opinion.
Acts 15:1-12
I believe that this passage allowed Christianity to spread quickly in the Roman Empire. In the passage they are talking about people who are uncircumcised and if they can be in the church. Right away they are not allowed to follow the Mosaic laws until Paul and Barnabas meet with some church officials and Paul says that the path to heaven is through grace alone.
I think this allowed the church to grow because they could allow a lot more people to join the church regardless if they were circumcised or not.
Acts 15: 15-17
"The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written: After this i shall return and rebuild the fallen hut of David; from its ruins I shall rebuild it and raise it up again, so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles on whome my name is invoked. Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things.
I think that this verse is very important because it shows the people gathering together for one common goal. This also shows great leadership by James as he spoke up in front of the crowd and quoted the prophets in defense of the Lord.
Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
This verse shows two of the conditions that led to the spread and growth of Christianity. The first factor I think is quite obvious; there were people who followed the religion. Ultimately, this is going to be the most important factor in any religion. The second factor, which is slightly more subtle, is a message worth following. If there was a weak message being taught fewer people would have listened to it. Thus, a weak message would have made it harder to perpetuate the religion of Christianity, let alone having it spread and grow.
Jesse Peck
I think my favorite part of Acts was paul going to Athens. It seems that he did not have as much success as he would have liked there. What is imporants is that he knew he would have a hard time winning over those in athens, but he did not linger there. He won over some followers then left town. In Acts you see the people moving around alot, staying where successfull and leaving where they are having a difficult time. This seems to be a good plan for a new religion. so you dont waiste your time trying to convert those who are obstinate, instead they spent their time where they could get the most work done.
Acts 20:21-38
I liked these verses and felt that they could be very important in the rapid growth of the early church. Once again Paul emphasizes that all believers must repent to God and have faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul also, once again gives an example that your belief in Christ will not always be easy. You may be persecuted for your faith and even be martyred for your faith. But, whatever befalls you, you must stay true to the Lord and not shun him. He warns the early church that their will be "wolves" who will come in after he leaves and will try to destroy you. He also warns that there will be some of your own who will speak false things and try to lead you astray. He finishes by telling them to always remember the weak. And the Lord Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive".
I think these verses would be a great guidline and should be followed by the early church. I think Paul was very concerned for them and their welfare.
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