Acts of The Apostles and Romans—A Devotional Bible Study

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

Everything in the Old Testament pointed to Christ and was fulfilled in him. Nothing takes God by surprise. The head that was once crowned with thorns is now crowned with glory. Jesus is the giver of the Spirit. He was not only Messiah but Lord.

Peter and John did have access to silver and gold; the point was that in this case they could offer something better that went to the root of the man’s problem.

Ananias and Sapphira could not have the credit of giving it all while at the same time retaining part of the money.

Jesus Christ is the exalted Lord of glory. This Prince and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the sinner’s only hope. The apostles are witnesses by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ name was not a name like other names, and the Christian lifestyle was a different way of life. Amen!

Our great God can use the hands of wicked men to accomplish his purpose of grace toward his elect. The church lost Stephen, a man of great usefulness, but God had his eye on Saul, a man he would make even more useful. When the time comes, God gives his believing people grace to die well. Those who die in the arms of Christ, who die in faith, die well.

Philip the deacon became the interpreter of Scripture, an evangelist, and the baptizer of a new convert. Praise the Lord!

God arrested Saul. God was continuing to work out his plan to bring the gospel to the whole world. On the Damascus road, Saul’s spiritual eyes were opened but his physical eyes were closed. Saul was witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. He saw himself for what he really was in the eyes of God.

In prison Paul and Silas had their mind concentrated on prayer. The more they prayed, the more the Spirit of praise filled their minds. They began to sing freely. Other prisoners were surprised enough to listen.

God’s power was great enough to win many believers even in the most shameful city in Greece. In general, Paul made it his duty just to preach the gospel. Whether they accepted it or not was not his responsibility.

Paul was a Jew whose countrymen wanted to kill him, and he was a Roman whose government did not know what to do with him. Paul was declaring and defending the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His key statements were that he lived as a Pharisee, saw a light, heard a voice, was not disobedient, and had continued to this day witnessing about what happened to him.

Time is short, uncertain, can never be reversed and can never be changed. Clocks tell us what time it is but the Bible tells us what to do with time. The best time to be saved is when the gospel is first heard. It is a wonderful thing to have an opportunity to trust Jesus Christ and be saved. And it is a terrible thing to waste that opportunity and perhaps never have another.

ROMANS

Phoebe became the postwoman God used. She probably did not know the importance of the document she was carrying. It is indeed a tribute to women that so important a document and so sacred a trust should have been put into the hands of a woman.

The gospel is not good advice to be followed. It is a divinely given message concerning a divine person, the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. It is a declaration of who Jesus is and through whom men can be put right with God. It is the climax and fulfillment of what God had long promised through His prophets.

God will not hold our sins against us because of what Jesus has done. God’s love in sending Christ to die for us happened while we were sinners. To escape God’s wrath is marvelous for the sinner, but to be reconciled, to have restored relationships as if sin had never happened, is more marvelous still.

For one to be saved there has to be proclamation of the apostolic gospel. This is the word of faith that makes the historic Jesus Christ known. He is the incarnate, crucified, risen, reigning, and accessible Lord. Simple trust on the part of the hearers, calling on the name of the Lord by combining faith in the heart, and confession with the mouth leads to salvation. God’s initiative to Israel is even more evident. He actively holds out his hands to them (Romans 10:20-21).

Israel is thought of as an olive tree and the Gentiles as a wild shoot that has been grafted onto the original stock. Paul warns the Gentiles not to boast about this, since the branches are dependent upon the stock. In the long run they depend on God’s kindness. If God can make wild olive branches productive, he can certainly restore the original tree. God has no need to revise his promises. What he has said is unchangeable. He is unchangeable. God shows mercy to all, and the Jews are certainly not excluded.

The theme of the letter to the Romans has been the mystery once hidden but now revealed. The most interesting and instructive aspect of the church diversity in Rome is that of gender. Nine out of the twenty-six persons greeted are women. God’s peace allows no appeasement of the Devil. It is only through the destruction of evil that true peace can be attained. God’s redeemed people will spend eternity ascribing to him “praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength.” They will worship him for his power and wisdom displayed in salvation. Amen!