Acts 18
Left over from last time: Short discussion or Romans 1:18ff
Paul in
§ No vacations
§ No time off
§ No retirement
1. What was the reason Paul had to quickly exit many of the cities in which he preached?
a. The Jews attacked him.
b. How had he come to the Corinthians? 1 Cor. 2:3
2. How
was Paul supported in
3. What happened with the Jews he was teaching? V 6 (blasphemed him)
a. What usually happens next after the Jews start opposing Paul?
b. What
was Paul’s reaction to the abuse of the Jews?
(Acts
c. They tried unsuccessfully to bring a charge against Paul later.
4. What was the “responsibility” Paul felt toward the Jews?
a. Did Paul think that he had to preach the gospel? 1 Cor. 9:16; 2 Cor. 5:11
b. What
did Paul think about the Jews rejection of the message of Christ?
c. What
was caused the Jews to reject God’s salvation?
d. They saw acceptance of Jesus Christ as rejection of the Law - Acts 21:18-21
e. Are the unbelieving Jews without hope? 2 Cor. 3:13-16
§ Gentiles must choose between paganism and Christ
§ Jew must choose between the Law and its fulfillment, Christ
5. What is significant about the Lord’s assurance for Paul? V. 9-10
a. Paul’s goal was to please the Lord.
b. What does the admonition “do not be afraid” indicate about Paul?
c. How could fear affect Paul’s work?
d. What does the Lord mean “I have many people in this city”?
6. Does the Lord’s church have a problem with fear today?
a. What do we fear?
b. If we believe God is in control, then does our fear make sense?
c. Fear
is really a lack of faith – (
d. Can we demonstrate our faith by doing things that seem frightening?
e. What effect might that have on us and others? (faith is seen)
Conclusion: Being shunned socially is pretty mush the only thing threatening us and keeping us from sharing the faith. God’s assurance to Paul is also comfort for us.
1. What evidence points to Apollos as the teacher of the disciples in Acts 19?
a. Apollos
was in
b. He preached at the synagogue v. 26
c. He knew only the baptism of John v. 25
d. Luke puts the information about Apollos and the re-baptized disciples together
2. How did Paul know the disciples he met had not been baptized by faith in Christ?
a. He asked them some questions. What did he ask?
b. How did he know to ask that?
c. Was he asking them if about Holy Spirit baptism? How can we tell?
§ He goes immediately to the baptism they received
§ He doesn’t quote John’s prophecy about HS baptism
§ They didn’t speak in tongues until after Paul laid hands on them
d. Do you think we should ask questions when we want to teach someone?
§ Don’t ever assume anything
§ People love to talk about themselves
§ You compliment people when you ask
3. How did the disciples know that they would receive the Holy Spirit when they were baptized by faith in Jesus?
a. Paul told them about receiving the Holy Spirit. (by faith in the Word of God)
b. Paul explained that John had pointed to Jesus. (by faith in the Word of God)
c. The Holy Spirit confirmed it with a sign. The sign of tongues. V. 6
4. How do we know today that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when we are baptized?
a. By faith in the Word of God.
b. Do we also receive a sign? Heb. 2:3-4
5. There were about 12 men.
Conclusion: We will run across those who need to understand the way of God more accurately. These situations are better handled by asking questions and then preaching the truth. Faith in the Word of God (already confirmed to us) will cause us all to accept the truth.
A
"That’s a lot of chicks," commented the proprietor. "I mean business," the man replied.
A week later the new farmer was back again. "I need another 100 chicks," he said. "Boy, you are serious about this chicken farming," the man told him.
"Yeah," the man replied. "If I can iron out a few problems." "Problems?" asked the proprietor. "Yeah," replied the man, "I think I planted that last batch too close together."
We cannot grow by burying ourselves and expecting sprouts.