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ROUTE 66 EP 050

Introduction: A High-Level Overview of the New Testament

This sermon continues the "Route 66" series, which began in Genesis and has now reached the New Testament book of Acts. The focus of this message is to provide a high-level overview of the New Testament’s structure, purpose, and proper interpretation, with a specific focus on the Book of Acts as a transitional book.

Understanding the Bible’s Structure

The Bible can be broken down into three main components that are present in every book and verse:

  • History: The factual accounts and narratives. This can be understood by anyone, even those without faith, just like a standard history book.

  • Doctrine: This is the teaching of God. It is God’s truth and instruction.

  • Devotion/Inspiration: This is the spiritual application and encouragement that brings about life change. To understand this dimension, one needs the Holy Spirit.

    • Cautionary Note: Be careful of relying solely on external sources like Google or AI for biblical answers. While they can provide facts (history), they lack the spiritual insight (devotion/inspiration) from the Holy Spirit required to accurately understand God’s Word.

The Book of Acts - Jesus, The Risen Lord

The pastor introduces the Book of Acts as the continuation of Jesus's story after His resurrection. Unlike the Gospels where the resurrection is at the end, the Book of Acts starts with the foundational truth that Jesus is alive.

  • Scripture: Acts 1:3 - "To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days..."

  • Context: This verse establishes the opening scene of Acts. After His crucifixion ("passion"), Jesus presented Himself alive to His disciples over a period of 40 days, offering undeniable proof of His resurrection.

  • Application: The life of the Church is derived directly from the life of Christ. Because He is alive, the Church is alive. A Christian’s spiritual life should reflect this reality; it should be active and full of life, not dead or stagnant.

  • Example: The pastor mentions that if a church overly emphasizes a cross with Jesus still on it, it might have a "messed up" doctrine because He is no longer on the cross; He is risen. While not against the symbol of the cross itself, he warns that it can become an idol if it distracts from the truth of the resurrected, living Savior.

Who God Is: Pictures of Jesus in Acts

The sermon highlights several key aspects of Jesus’s identity and work as revealed in the Book of Acts.

1. The Resurrected Savior

  • Who is God? God is powerful enough to conquer death. Jesus is not a historical figure who died, but a living Savior who is active today.

  • Scriptures Mentioned:

    • Acts 2:24: "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it."

    • Acts 3:15: "And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses."

    • References to Acts 10 and Acts 13 also affirm the resurrection.

  • Who am I? Because Christ was resurrected, believers are also made alive in Him. We are no longer dead in our sins but have new, vibrant life in Christ.

  • How to live: We should live an "alive" Christian life. Our worship, our church services, and our daily walk should be energetic and vibrant, reflecting the life we have in the risen Christ. The book of Acts is filled with "wild things" and dynamic action because the believers were empowered by a living Savior.

2. The Ascended King

  • Who is God? After His resurrection and appearing to the disciples, Jesus ascended into Heaven to take His rightful place as King. He left His throne to come to earth, die for humanity, and has now returned to His position of authority.

  • Application: Jesus's ascension was a precursor to sending the Holy Spirit. He instructed the disciples to wait for this gift.

  • Example/Correction: The pastor points out a common error in modern prayer. Some people pray for the Holy Spirit to "fall upon us like in Acts." He clarifies that the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was a unique, one-time historical event. For believers today, the Spirit is not someone we need to call down from Heaven; He already indwells every Christian.

3. The Giver of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit)

  • Who is God? Jesus is the one who gives the Holy Spirit to believers. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, also called the "Spirit of Christ," who continues the earthly ministry of Jesus through the Church.

  • Who am I? We are the "body of Christ," "earthen vessels" that contain the Holy Spirit. God works His powerful will through ordinary, flawed people ("knuckleheads like me").

  • How to live: We are called to be like Jesus. With the Holy Spirit inside us, we can participate in God’s miraculous work in the world.

  • Example: The pastor references the church's mission work, supporting church plants in England and missionaries in Kosovo. This is the work of Jesus continuing through His people, spreading the light of the Gospel to dark places, just as it happened in Acts.

4. The Builder of His Church

  • Who is God? Jesus is the head of the Church, and He is the one who leads it and causes it to grow.

  • Application: The growth of the church described in Acts—from a home, to a neighborhood, to surrounding towns, and ultimately to the ends of the earth—is a direct result of Jesus leading His people.

Rightly Dividing the Word: Transitional Books and Doctrinal Cautions

The pastor emphasized the importance of correctly understanding the context of Scripture, especially transitional books, to avoid doctrinal error. The sermon title was framed as: “The Acts of the Apostles—A Transitional Book and the Gateway to Doctrine through Romans and Hebrews.”

Key Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15 - "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

This verse commands us to understand the proper divisions in the Bible. Failure to do so results in bad doctrine. The pastor highlighted three "dangerous" (transitional) books.

  1. The Book of Matthew

    • Context: Matthew serves as a bridge from the Old Testament to the New Testament. It is heavily Jewish in its orientation, presenting Jesus Christ as the "King of the Jews."

    • Danger: You don’t build a house (your doctrinal foundation) on a bridge. While we can draw practical applications, we must be cautious about taking our primary church doctrine from Matthew because of its transitional nature and specific audience.

  2. The Book of Acts

    • Context: This is a major transitional book. It documents the transition from the Old Covenant (Law) to the New Covenant (Grace), from a primarily Jewish focus to the inclusion of the Gentiles, and from the earthly ministry of Christ to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is a bridge from the Gospels to the Epistles.

    • Key Transitions Highlighted:

      • From the visible, national “kingdom of heaven” (promised to Israel) to the invisible, spiritual “kingdom of God” (within believers).

      • From apostolic signs and wonders validating eyewitness apostles, to settled doctrine in the epistles.

    • Danger: The events and practices in Acts are historical records of what the apostles did during a unique, foundational period. We must be careful not to misapply them as universal commands for the church today without understanding the context. The pastor urged: “We don’t take our doctrine from Acts.” We derive doctrine from the epistles (especially Romans) while gleaning principles from Acts.

  3. The Book of Hebrews

    • Context: This book is also highlighted as one to watch carefully. It is identified as a transitional book with a Jewish orientation, preparing for God’s renewed focus on Israel after the Church age. It is deeply rooted in the Old Testament sacrificial system and its fulfillment in Christ.

Who We Are and How We Are to Live: The Church in the Book of Acts

The Key to Acts: The Mission of the Church

  • Scripture: Acts 1:8 is the structural key to Acts and the practical blueprint for the church’s mission—start local, expand regionally, and reach the world. Jesus redirects the disciples' question about Israel's kingdom to their empowered mission.

    • Jerusalem (Acts 1-7)

    • Judea and Samaria (Acts 8-12)

    • The uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 13-28)

  • Kingdom Distinctions: The pastor contrasted the “Kingdom of Heaven” (Israel’s physical, theocratic kingdom) with the “Kingdom of God” (spiritual rule through the Holy Spirit), which is the focus of Jesus’ teaching post-resurrection (Acts 1:3).

  • Application: Our mission is to be witnesses. We are to start in our home city ("Jerusalem"), expand to surrounding communities ("Judea and Samaria"), and participate in global mission ("uttermost parts").

  • Example: The pastor used Monmouth as their "Jerusalem," stating that if they are ineffective locally, global projects ring hollow.

Persecution as a Catalyst

  • Context: In Acts 8, persecution scatters the church, which results in the mission spreading to Judea and Samaria.

  • Application: God often uses trouble and circumstances to mobilize the church to its mission when it becomes complacent.

The Holy Spirit: Seal and Witness, Not Spectacle

  • How believers receive the Spirit: Believers receive the Holy Spirit upon faith in Christ; He seals our salvation (Ephesians is the doctrinal anchor). In Acts, the patterns of Spirit reception are inconsistent (seven different ways), illustrating its transitional nature rather than a single normative procedure.

  • Spirit-filled evidence: The primary biblical sign of being filled with the Spirit is bold witness to Jesus and gospel proclamation (as seen in John 14-16). Sensational experiences are not commanded or consistently modeled as normative in the epistles. Tongues in Acts were intelligible earthly languages used to proclaim Jesus in three specific transitional moments.

  • Caution: The pastor warned that when people cannot support practices biblically, they often appeal to experience, which is dangerous. Scripture must govern experience.

Apostolic Authentication

  • Scripture: Hebrews 2:3-4 - “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation…confirmed unto us by them that heard Him…God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost…”

  • Context: These unique signs authenticated the foundational apostles. They are not a normative pattern for the Church today. The gifts in Romans are different from these apostolic signs. 1 Corinthians 12-14 is a correction of misuse, where Paul restrains excess, not a manual for normative practice.

Forming Doctrine: From Transitional Narratives to Doctrinal Epistles

The Pauline Epistles: Doctrine for the Church

  • The books from Romans through Hebrews are largely written by the Apostle Paul and are our primary source for church doctrine. These letters are written directly to the Church—to believers like us.

  • Romans functions as the “gateway” into New Testament doctrine after the narrative transitions of Acts. Romans 9-11 places Israel in its proper theological context.

  • Historical Placement of Epistles: The pastor noted where epistles were likely written within Acts' timeline:

    • James: (Acts 8–12)

    • Galatians: (Acts 13–14)

    • 1 & 2 Thessalonians: (Acts 15–18)

    • 1 & 2 Corinthians, Romans: (Acts 19–20)

    • Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon: (Late Acts/Paul's arrest)

  • General Epistles and Revelation: Books like James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John, and Jude follow. While all Scripture is for us, not all is written directly to us for church doctrine in the same way as the Pauline epistles. Peter was the apostle to the Jews (circumcision), while Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.

Tracing a Doctrine: Remission of Sins

The pastor traced the phrase "remission of sins" to show the transition from Acts to the epistles:

  • Mark: Preaching repentance and baptism for remission (pre-Resurrection, Jewish preparation).

  • Acts 2:38: “Repent, and be baptized…for the remission of sins” (early Jerusalem, Jewish context).

  • Acts 10:43: “Whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins” (Gentile inclusion, shift to faith).

  • Romans 3: Christ is declared for remission; salvation anchored in Christ alone.

  • Hebrews 9:22: “Without shedding of blood there is no remission.”

  • Conclusion: Salvation is in Christ alone, by faith, not by water baptism. Churches that lean on Acts 2:38 for baptismal salvation miss the transitional context.

Practical Application: How I Am to Live My Life

1. Build Your Life on Solid Doctrine

  • My life and faith should be built on the doctrinal ground found in the Pauline epistles (Romans through Philemon/Hebrews).

  • Study the Bible diligently, paying close attention to its divisions ("rightly dividing") to avoid error.

  • Test all beliefs and experiences by Scripture. Evaluate churches by their Gospel fidelity.

  • Illustration (Bachelor Cooking): Mixing random verses without context is like making a meal with rice, ketchup, and barbecue sauce—edible but not sound nourishment. Good doctrine requires careful, contextual handling.

2. Embrace Your Identity as the Light of the World

  • Who is God? God is light (1 John 1:5). Jesus is the light of the world. Light is the fastest-moving, most powerful force, representing God's standard. The gospel spread with this "speed of light" in Acts.

  • Who am I? As believers, we are the light of the world.

    • Matthew 5:14: "Ye are the light of the world."

    • Acts 13:47: "I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth."

  • How to live: Our purpose is to carry the light of Christ to every dark place.

    1. Be on Fire: We should be "on fire" for the Lord, illuminating our surroundings and dispelling darkness.

    2. Keep Moving Outward: Follow the Acts pattern. A healthy Christian life is focused on outreach.

    3. Avoid Stagnation: When a church or individual stops spreading the light and turns inward, growth stops. If you feel stagnant, go share the Gospel.

3. Answer the Three Major Questions of Acts

The pastor outlined three key questions from Acts as a model for our response to God.

  1. Acts 2:37 — “What shall we do?” (The Crowd at Pentecost)

    • Application: Respond to the Gospel with repentance and obedience.

  2. Acts 9:6 — “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” (Saul's Conversion)

    • Application: Submit to Jesus’ lordship and embrace your mission.

  3. Acts 16:30 — “What must I do to be saved?” (The Philippian Jailer)

    • Application: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; receive salvation personally.

Conclusion

The Book of Acts is "consistently inconsistent" because it records God’s powerful work during a time of transition. We should read it for history and principles, but let Romans and the Pauline epistles ground our doctrine. As believers, sealed by the Spirit through faith in Christ, our identity is secure. Our calling is to be witnesses, proclaiming Jesus with courage and clarity, starting in our own communities and extending to the ends of the earth, always testing everything by the unchanging Word of God.