No book of the Bible is more important than another, but where would we be without the book of Acts? We need this book! And we need to study and know it, so that we can learn about (1) how to become a Christian, (2) the power of the gospel and (3) the establishment of the church of Christ. A fourth reason we need to study this book is to learn about the importance and urgency of evangelism.
Evangelism (i.e., taking the gospel to lost souls and teaching them God’s Word) is not some optional effort to be put forth by certain members of the church during special times of the year. Evangelism is the very purpose of the church and of each member. The church was purposed by God to make known “the manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:10- 11). Every single Christian has been commissioned to “preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). In the book of Acts, we see first-hand the initial fulfillment of the Great Commission of Christ—we see its importance, we see its effectiveness, we see its constancy, we see its perpetuity.
The book begins with Jesus telling His disciples that they were going to take His saving message from Jerusalem “to the uttermost part of the earth” (1:8). And that is exactly what happens for the next 27 chapters. “All who dwell in Jerusalem” were hearing the gospel (2:14; 4:16). Even when the apostles were commanded to not “speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (4:18), they continued to go back to the same place and preach the same message (5:25). When persecution arose against the Christians and they were forced out of Jerusalem, they did not stop preaching about Jesus! “Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word” (8:4).
They went to those they hated (8:4-13; 10:1- 11:18). They spoke to complete strangers, even ones who were of a different nationality (8:26-40). They preached to those who could have caused them great harm (9:1-19). They went on long trips to carry the gospel to foreign lands (13:1-28:31). When angry folks tried to kill them, they kept right on preaching (14:19-20). Even when the Christians were beaten and imprisoned, they preached even to the ones who put them there (16:25-40; 21:26- 22:21). They imperiled their own lives to get the gospel to hearts who had never heard it (27:1-44). Even in difficult (seemingly impossible situations), they still found ways to teach the gospel to others, even one soul at a time (28:30-31). They preached to governors and kings, as well as beggars and prisoners (3:1-10; 16:25; 24:10-26:32).
Thank God for the book of Acts! We need to study it to be reminded of our purpose—teach the gospel to lost souls!
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