Follow Me: A Call Tp Die. A Call To Live.

Beginning Sunday, January 5th, we will be reading and discussing David Platt's latest book Follow Me: A Call To Die. A Call To Live.

You can find out more about him from his website: http://www.radical.net/about/david_platt.html
There is also a website dedicated to the book: http://www.followmebook.org/

Contextualizing the Gospel

Here is an insightful quote defining what it means to contextualize the gospel message:

"Contextualization represents the careful and refined use of a people's cultural forms in order that the truth of the gospel can be correctly expressed in their language through a judicious use of their own thought forms."

Arthur Glasser as cited in Shawn B. Redford, "The Contextualization and Translation of Christianity," in Mission in Acts: Ancient Narratives in Contemporary Context, eds. Robert L. Gallagher and Paul Hertig (Mary Knoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004), 284.

Please attend class this Sunday, April 7th

Pastor Jeff Daley as well as Elders Bob Knapp and Chuck Porter will be in III Strands this Sunday, April 7th, to answer our questions about the renewed SGC Mission & Vision. Please be sure to attend.

The Church in Jerusalem

In case you were curious, here is a bit of church history regarding the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem:

The church began in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). The earliest Christians were Jewish and they continued to worship in the Temple; however, they also began to gather on the first day of the week (Sunday) to break bread and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The apostles Peter and John as well as James the brother of Jesus seem to have been the original pillars or leaders of the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9; Acts 15). Peter left Jerusalem after he was miraculously freed from imprisonment by Herod Agrripa I (ca. A.D. 43; James the brother of John was beheaded by Herod just prior to Peter's arrest). James the brother of Jesus was executed in A.D. 62 by the order of Ananus the high priest. Shortly after that, and in order to avoid the Jewish rebellion that broke out in A.D. 66 (the Jewish War ended in the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70), the leaders of the church decided to move to Pella in Perea, which was a city on the other side of the Jordan River. At this same time it is likely that John also departed Jerusalem to guide the church in Ephesus. As a result, the ancient Jewish church was increasingly isolated and the main leadership of the church at large had shifted to Gentile Christians.

Source

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume One: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (Revised and Updated). New York: HarperOne, 2010.

Theological Themes in the Book of Acts

1. Mission

The book of Acts is about the mission of the church to bear witness to Jesus. This theme is highlighted at the outset of the book in verse 1:8. The main emphasis of the Christian witness was to proclaim the reality of the resurrection as confirming Jesus as God’s Messiah and to call all people to repent and place their faith in him as Lord. The spread of this message is the primary theme in Acts.

 

The “ends of the earth” are never reached in Acts (“ends of the earth” denotes the limits of civilization). The mission goal is still to be completed.

 

2. The Providence of God

“The story recorded in Acts is seen as standing in continuity with the mighty acts of God recorded in the Old Testament and with the ministry of Jesus” (I.H. Marshall, 23).

The events in Acts are viewed as being brought about “by the will and purpose of God” (I.H. Marshall, 24).

 

The entire “life of the church was regarded as taking place in fulfillment of Scripture [Old Testament prophecies]” (I.H. Marshall, 24).

 

The “life of the church was directed by God at crucial stages. Sometimes the Spirit directed the church what to do (e.g., 13:2; 15:28; 16:6). At other times angels spoke to Christian missionaries (5:19f.; 8:26; 27:23), or the messages were mediated by prophets (11:28; 20:11f.). On one occasion the Lord himself appeared to his servants (18:9; 23:11)” (I.H. Marshall, 24).

 

“the power of God was seen in signs and wonders which were performed by the name of Jesus (3:16; 14:3)” (I.H. Marshall, 24).

 

3. The Pattern of Christ

“Luke recognizes that, just as the way of Jesus took him through opposition culminating in judicial murder, so too the path of the Word of God is beset by opposition” (I.H. Marshall, 27).

 

The structure of Acts is largely divided up according to the careers of Peter (1-12) and Paul (13-28). There are parallels between the ministries of these two apostles as well as parallels with the life of Christ.

 

4. The Role of Holy Spirit

Luke stresses the importance of the Holy Spirit to the life of the church. Indeed, F.F. Bruce suggested that the book should be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit.

 

The church was born of the Spirit at Pentecost and the mission of the church is accomplished through the ongoing guidance and empowerment of the Spirit.

 

5. The Church as the True People of God

In the Book of Acts, Luke portrays Christians as the people of God or true Israel (the people of God are not identical with the historical, ethnic Jewish nation). God’s people are now the people of the Messiah – those who by faith have accepted Jesus as the Christ. Christians are described as “believers” and people of “the way.” Christians are in continuity with the people of the promises.

 

Luke also seems to have an apologetic purpose in depicting Christianity as the fulfillment of Judaism; namely, that “from a Roman point of view Christianity should be regarded as a legitimate development of Judaism, and should therefore receive the same privileged position as a tolerated religion within the Empire” (I.H. Marshall, 28).

 

6. Inclusive Gospel

Acts shows how the gospel was meant for Gentiles as well as Jews. Inclusion in the people of God is now open to both Jews and Gentiles on the basis of faith in Jesus as the Christ. Chapters 6-15 cover this significant theme of racial inclusiveness.

 

Stephen’s insight that God is not restricted to a dwelling made by hands (Acts 7).

Philip’s outreach to the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8).

Peter’s vision and outreach to Cornelius (Acts 10).

The outreach of the Antioch church to Gentiles (Acts 11:20).

Paul’s mission to the Gentiles (Acts 13:47).

The Jerusalem Council on the basis for Gentile inclusion (Acts 15). 

The gospel also crossed social, economic, and gender barriers. 

7. Faithful Witnesses

True disciples are faithful witnesses even unto death (Stephen and later Paul and Peter). In fact, the Greek word for witness – martyr – came to have this connotation in the later church.

 

Again, like Jesus, the faithful witness should expect suffering and rejection. Numeric success – significant numbers of people converting – may or may not accompany faithful witness.

 

8. The Life and Organization of the Church

I.H. Marshall says, “Luke is concerned to offer a picture of the life and worship of the church no doubt as a pattern to provide guidance for the church in his own time” (32).

 

As noted earlier, Luke gives summary statements on the life of the church and the spread of the gospel. He stresses the importance of being open to the Spirit’s guidance in fulfilling the mission. He mentions elders in local churches, as well as prophets, teachers, and missionaries. Within Luke’s travel accounts we can find the principle of team work, since most of the missionaries went out in groups of two or more (For instance, on numerous occasions Paul engaged in team evangelism. In Acts 15:35 we read, “Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.”  And in Troas at least eight believers accompanied Paul [Acts 20:4 says, “He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia” and of course, Luke]). We can also discern from his examples of various sermons the way in which the core gospel message (kerygma) was contextualized for different people.

 

9. How to Relate to the World

Luke is aware of the harsh realities of living in this world. He gives a realistic picture of how to relate to the political situation of the first century. Christians, despite their innocence (e.g., Paul did not break any Roman law), still might become victims of injustice. 

 

John B. Polhill suggests the following realistic political agenda based on Paul’s example:

“give no grounds for charges against you, use what legal rights you have, be willing to suffer for your faith, and bear your witness where you can” (71).

 

10. Triumph of the Gospel

Despite opposition, the Word of God triumphs and continues to spread to the ends of the earth.

 

This is not triumphalism, but realism:

Acts depicts the triumphant progress of the Word of God, not the triumph of the witnesses. The witnesses faced persecution and even death, but when they faithfully followed the Spirit’s direction, the word of God flourished.

 

Sources

Bruce, F. F. The Book of the Acts (NICNT). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

 

Marshall, I. Howard. The Acts of the Apostles (TNTC). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980 (Reprinted 1984).

 

Polhill, John B. Acts (NAC). Nashville: Broadman, 2001.