Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Acts Chapter Eighteen

Acts Chapter Eighteen (NIV)
Acts Chapter Eighteen (NASB)

I. SYNOPSIS

Verses 1-17: Paul preaches and teaches in Corinth.

Verses 18-23: Paul ends his second missionary journey and returns to Antioch.

Verses 24-28: Apollos learns the Gospel and refutes his opponents in Corinth.

II. KEY PASSAGES

Acts 18:7--"And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue." Paul moves in to a house next door to the Jewish synagogue. This couldn't have pleased Paul's Jewish opponents.

Acts 18:17--"And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this." Once again, Paul's preaching got other people in trouble. Here the ruler of the synagogue (who had most likely become a Christian) was beaten in order to vent anger at Paul.

Acts 18:24-25--"Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John." Apparently, Apollos knew some of the facts about Jesus' life and ministry, without knowing the full Gospel. Priscilla and Aquila explain things more fully to him.

Acts 18:27-28--"When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus." Here vigorously refuting non-Christians in public is considered a "great help" to believers.

7 comments:

otto said...

I also shook out my lap and said, "So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not perform this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said "Amen" and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised. (Neh 5:13)

The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman; and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people; then if any one who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes, and takes any one of them; that man is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. "So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life. (Eze 33:1-9)

And David said to him, "Your blood be upon your head; for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have slain the LORDS anointed.'" (2Sa 1:16)

Tom ta tum Tom said...

After all these years of reading God's only Holy Word - LOL! Hallelujah! What a blessing!

You guys will all think I'm silly because of not seeing it before now - but JUST now, while reading from Acts 18 - I see how The One Living God prepared the way for His Kingdom NOT just by allowing the rise of the Roman Empire but also through the spread of Judaism and the structure of the system of synagogues.

Yes, of course there were MANY other ways in which our Precious Heavenly Father prepared the way but I had never made the connection with the synagogues! YIKES!

LOL! I so very MUCH look forward to the time when Jesus Christ - and Him crucified and resurrected - will be preached in every Mosque as well! Hallelujah! Maybe I should offer thanks to my Muslim sisters and brothers for the infrastructure that their 'faith' is preparing for the Gospel of Jesus Christ! ROFLOL!

THANKS, DAVID! THANKS, ACTS 17! THANK YOU, LORD JESUS!

Kafir and Proud and Laughin' out Loud! May JESUS CHRIST BE PRAISED!!

Unknown said...

As a muslim, living in a Middle Eastern country, I can only state that your ignorance is insulting. Not to people like myself, but to you.

It's sad society's come to this.

hugh watt said...

Tina:

Don't only state that +ians ignorance is "insulting," explain why. Why is it "sad society's come to this," come to what?

otto said...

Hugh,

I think Tina is just scared, very scared of these words:

I so very MUCH look forward to the time when Jesus Christ - and Him crucified and resurrected - will be preached in every Mosque as well! Hallelujah!

As do I! Aliluia!! Simply put, it's INEVITIABLE.

So all she does is scream "ignorant" Christians in hatred and despair.

The trumpet has been blown Tina. Only a matter of time before your Maker Jesus makes you Bow before Him, and Bow you will – if not in this life, than in the next.

hugh watt said...

Odo:

If that's what's bugging her I'd ask if she felt the same towards those who preach Islamic world domination, by the sword if necessary!
Scripturally, I wouldn't agree with preaching Christ from every Mosque, but I'll not go into that here.

"Acts 18:24-25--"Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John." Apparently, Apollos knew some of the facts about Jesus' life and ministry, without knowing the full Gospel. Priscilla and Aquila explain things more fully to him."

And so to our Muslim friends who do not understand what +ianity really teaches, we explain more fully to you, if you're willing to listen.

otto said...

Sorry, my spelling is horrible today.