Acts 28:11-31 - The Gospel to All Who Believe

Marc Minter

FBC Diana

Acts • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

0 ratings

· 164 views

Main Point: God is building the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which shall ultimately prevail, through the power of His Spirit and the preaching/teaching of His word.

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Introduction

How do you make a priority of knowing the Scriptures and bearing witness to Christ… in your home, on your job, in your classroom, while you’re enjoying your hobbies, and with your friends and neighbors?

How are you joining the centuries-old crowd of Christians who have lived as princes and peasants, owners and workers, educated and illiterate, old and young, but all of them living for a cause greater than themselves? …all of them aiming to play their part in a divine commission that transcends geography and history?

I guess I might just ask, “What are you doing with your life?”

Today, I want to invite you to give your life to the greatest mission ever announced, and the best part is, you can be sure that the mission will succeed and there will be unimaginably great rewards for those who participate.

Today we are completing our study through the book of Acts, which we began in June of 2021. We’ve covered a lot of ground since then, but I plan to give a very fast summary of the whole book of Acts in my final point of today’s sermon, and I think everyone will be able to follow along.

For a while, we’ve been reading about how the Apostle Paul traveled as a prisoner from Jerusalem to Rome, and today, he’s finally arrived. Let’s stand together as I read Luke’s account of this profound scene in the final days of the Apostolic era.

Scripture Reading

Acts 28:11–31 (ESV)

11 After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. 12 Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.

15 And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 16 And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them,

“Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.

19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20 For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.”

21 And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.

24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement:

“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 26 ‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

27 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Main Idea:

God is building the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which shall ultimately prevail, through the power of His Spirit and the preaching/teaching of His word.

Sermon

1. Provision and Courage (v11-16)

Our text this morning continues charting Paul’s adventurous journey from Jerusalem to Rome. The soldiers who guarded him and the sailors who carried him had seen first-hand what Paul’s God was capable of. They had all recently been preserved through a terrible storm and the total destruction of their ship. Paul had prophesied that all this would happen, and we could expect that the series of events should make believers out of at least some of them.

But alas. Luke indicates that they had not become Christians by telling us that the next “ship” they arranged for their remaining travels was one “with the twin gods as a figurehead” (v11). The King James and the NIV translators include the names of these “twin gods,” Castor and Pollux. These were the mythological sons of Jupiter or Zeus, and there was a mariner superstition about them. Roman sailors believed that these two sons together would ensure smooth sailing.

It seems to me that Luke’s note of these “twin gods as a figurehead” gives a two-fold indication to the reader. First, it shows that the sailors and the soldiers remained fixed in their pagan superstition. Though Paul’s God (the God of the Bible) had saved their lives previously, they did not fear or trust or believe the one true God. Second, it offers a sense of irony and transcendence to the reader. The clear theme of Luke’s narrative here is that “Paul’s security has everything to do with the benevolence of his God and nothing to do with the whims of pagan deities.”[i] So, the reader is able to see that the true God transcends or far surpasses these silly idols, and Luke seems to invite the reader to shake his/her head at the irony that these man-made gods were riding on the bow of the ship.

In fact, not only was God providing for Paul’s safety, He was also providing for Paul’s “courage” or confidence (v15). Even though Paul was surrounded by unbelievers, and even though Paul was subject to them (he was a prisoner on a pagan ship), Paul was (yet again) the object of God’s kindness and favor.

In “Puteoli,” a seaport of Italy (v13), and then in “Rome” (v14), Paul was encouraged by “brothers” or Christians (v14, 15). The “brothers” in the port-town “invited” Paul and Luke and Aristarchus to “stay with them” (v14). We talked about Luke and Aristarchus last Sunday, and the presence of these two Christians was already a demonstration of God’s kindness toward Paul. And now, the moment Paul set foot in Italy, he was able to “find” fellow Christians who were glad to welcome and accommodate him (v14).

So too, in Rome “the brothers” or fellow Christians came to encourage Paul (v15). In fact, some traveled “as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns” (v15). These were two roadside markets, about 30 and 40 miles (respectively) outside of Rome. This would have been about a-day-and-half’s journey, so it’s no wonder that Paul “thanked God and took courage” when he saw them (v15).

All of this reminds us that Paul’s safe arrival in Rome was not the ultimate goal. It was a means to an end. Paul’s final destination was Rome, but his commission from the Lord was to “testify” to “the facts” about Jesus (Acts 23:11). And for this, Paul would need “courage” (v15). He was facing opposition from his own countrymen (the Jews), and he was under the legal jurisdiction of the Roman authorities (who were not happy about all the chaos that seemed to follow Paul wherever he went). Paul believed that Jesus was the Christ, but all around him was unbelief! There was ridicule, affliction, and a worldly kingdom that seemed to be rocking along with no interest in Christ… I wonder if you’ve ever felt like that.

None of us have ever had to endure the kind of persecution Paul did, but I know I’ve sometimes felt like true/biblical Christianity is not winning. Have you ever looked around at the success of unbelievers, and wondered “what’s up with that?” Does it strike you that many worldlings seem totally confident, and they seem baffled by your trust in a God that seems so distant, irrelevant, and outdated?

Brothers and sisters, we can take courage in the weekly gathering of the saints on the Lord’s day. We can take courage in the regular shows of love and care from our fellow church members. We can take courage in the stories we hear of the Lord’s work among and through other churches. We can take courage, because we know that the way things appear for the moment is not always the way things truly are. As a matter of fact, things are often different than they appear.

2. Courageous Explanations (v17-23)

In this next section, v17-23, Paul acts on the courage he had just received from the Lord by way of fellow Christians. I see two specific ways that Paul shows exemplary courage. The first is by his direct approach toward the “leaders of the Jews” in Rome (v17), and the second is by his courageous testimony to the “hope of Israel” (v20) or “the kingdom of God” (v23) or the facts “about Jesus” (v23).

Remember that Paul’s arrival in Rome was the result of a whole series of events that all began with a mob of Jews trying to kill him in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-31). A Roman “tribune” rescued Paul by “arresting” him (Acts 21:32-33), and thus began Paul’s repeated courtroom appearances (the Jews accusing Paul, and Paul defending his character and preachingJesus as the Christ).

Because of the corruption among the Roman officials, and because the Jewish leaders were persistent in their desire to see Paul dead, Paul appealed his case to Caesar in Rome. But now that Paul had finally arrived in Rome, he fully expected that the Jewish leaders there would have received word from those in Jerusalem, and Paul must have assumed that the Jews in Rome would treat him and his message the same as the Jews in Jerusalem.

Nevertheless, Paul showed great courage here in taking the initiative to “call together the local leaders of the Jews” (v17). He had no intentions of hiding out or avoiding conflict. Instead, he met them head on and explained the situation for what it was.

Luke records Paul’s explanation, starting about halfway through v17. Paul calls these Jewish leaders “Brothers,” because they are fellow Jews, not because they are fellow Christians. This is some of the overlap between the Old Testament and the New. Under the old covenant, all common descendants of Abraham were “Brothers,” referring generally both to men and women. In the New Covenant, family lineage and ethnicity make no difference at all… the only thing that matters is genuine faith or belief or trust in Jesus Christ.

Do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the only Savior for sinners? Are you repenting of sin and aiming to live in obedience to Jesus? Are you publicly committed to and joined with other Christians in an effort to follow Christ well and to help others do the same? If so, then you are a brother or sister in Christ!

At any rate, Paul began to explain to his Jewish brethren that he was innocent of the accusations against him. He had, “done nothing against [his] people or the customs of [the Jewish] fathers” (v17). Paul even says that the Romans “wished to set [him] at liberty” because they found “no reason for the death penalty,” which is what those in Jerusalem wanted (v18). But Paul went on to say, since “the Jews objected,” he was “compelled to appeal to Caesar” (v19).

Paul was certainly innocent, but it wasn’t for nothing that he was now in Rome “wearing this chain” (v20). Paul says himself, it was “because of the hope of Israel” (v20) that he was the target of Jewish hostility. This phrase (“the hope of Israel”) is an Old Testament way of referring to all the prophecies about the coming Messiah, the restoration of the kingdom of God on earth, and that occasion when God would both judge sinners and save His people.

But why would any of the Jewish leaders be mad about Paul believing and preaching about “the hope of Israel”?

We’ll get to that in a moment, but the Jews in Rome (at least for the time) responded with a tone of neutrality. Apparently, there had been no “letters from Judea” about Paul, and there was no significant “report” of “evil” about Paul in Rome (v21). No doubt, the Jewish leaders in Rome knew some stuff about Paul, but evidently, they hadn’t yet made up their own minds about him. And Luke says that they wanted to “hear from” Paul about “this sect” which was “spoken against” by Jews “everywhere” (v22).

This lets the reader know that indeed the Jewish leaders did know something about Paul. They knew he was a preacher and teacher of what they viewed as a heretical Jewish “sect” (v22). To call Christianity a “sect” was not a nice gesture. It was a way of saying that those who believed the gospel were unorthodox or out-of-order or deviant in their doctrine or their practice or both. But Paul uses this invitation by the Jewish leaders as an opportunity to make one big public appeal. Paul wanted his fellow Jews to hear and to believe the gospel!

Luke says they “came to him at his lodging in greater numbers” (v23), but we don’t know exactly how many attended on this “appointed… day” (v23). What we do know is that Paul courageously “expounded” or explained the gospel “to them” by “testifying” to “the kingdom of God” (v23). Paul did all this “trying to convince them” or trying to “persuade them” (KJV, NASB) “about Jesus” (v23). And Paul did it by pointing to “the Law of Moses” and “the Prophets” (v23).

In short, Paul was arguing that Jesus of Nazareth was/is “the hope of Israel” (v20), or the Christ or Messiah of God. And Paul was doing it by explaining the Old Testament. This language (“the Law” and “the Prophets,” “the kingdom of God,” and “the hope of Israel”) assumes a lot of Old Testament knowledge and familiarity. And this is to be expected, since Paul’s audience was a bunch of Jews.

But it makes the whole thing pretty foreign to some of us, especially those of us who don’t know much about the Old Testament, and even more so to any of us who treat the Old Testament and the New like two separate parts of God’s plan of redemption. They are distinct (no question), but the Old Testament and the New are not separate… no matter what some popular online preachers might say.

And yet, many of us probably have a hard time understanding how theologically rich and how biblically rooted the connections and the continuity are between the two. If you have questions about how the OT points forward to the New, or how the NT presents itself as the fulfillment and expansion of the Old, then get with a church member who knows this stuff and talk about it.

The gospel of Christianity certainly centers on Jesus Christ as the one who lived and died and conquered death in the place of sinners, and the right response to Jesus is to repent (or turn from sin) and to believe(or trust or have faith) in Jesus. But Jesus didn’t enter the stage of human history out of nowhere.

Furthermore, the better we understand what God was doing in history before Jesus came on the scene, the better we will understand what it means that He did actually walk out on that stage. And we will also gain a far better understanding of the fact that Jesus’s first coming was the beginning of the full or total work which God intends to do in and with this world.

And this gets us back to that question I left hanging a moment ago… Why would any of the Jewish leaders be mad about Paul believing and preaching about “the hope of Israel”? Well, they knew more about what that means than many of us likely do. They knew that Paul wasn’t just preaching a message of personal salvation or private faith. They knew that if Jesus is the Messiah, then He is both Savior and Lord! They knew that the “the hope of Israel” was a comprehensive promise that God would renew all things in and through His Messiah! And if Jesus is Him, then that changes everything about everything!

3. Salvation Through Judgment (v24-29)

Luke says, in v24, that “some were convinced by what [Paul] said,” but “others disbelieved” (v24). And it seems that the larger number were those who “disbelieved,” since Paul’s next word to them was one of judgment and condemnation. Paul pulled an Old Testament citation about Israel long ago, and he cited it as being fulfilled in his own day. You see, Paul wasn’t the first prophet or witness or preacherGod had sent to Israel in order to call them to repentance and faith. More than 700 years earlier, God had sent Isaiah to do the same, and Israel had largely responded to him in the same way most of the Jews responded to the message of the gospel in the first century – they rejected it.

Just on a quick aside here, I’d like to offer a word of encouragement to those of us who talk about Jesus with our friends and family who do not follow or obey Him. Mack Siles, in his little red book on evangelism, says that evangelism is teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade. And that’s exactly what Paul did here! Luke says it explicitly in v23, Paul was “trying to convince them” or trying to “persuade them” (KJV, NASB) “about Jesus” (v23).

But many of those who heard Paul’s explanation did not believe. So, was Paul a failure here? Are we to assume that he did a bad job of explaining the gospel? Did they ask a question Paul couldn’t answer? Did he not try hard enough?

No! That’s the opposite of what this passage is highlighting! Instead, Paul announced a word of judgment on those who disbelieved. It was their “heart” that was “dull” (v27). It was “their ears” that could not “hear” (v27). It was “their eyes” that had been “closed” (v27).

This was a particular judgment against the people of Israel who rejected their Messiah, but dull hearts and deaf ears and blind eyes aren’t just a problem for first-century Jews. This is the natural and default setting for all sinners everywhere. The Scripture teaches us that “unbelievers” have “blinded… minds… to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). Indeed, the Bible says that “the word of the cross [i.e., the gospel] is folly [or “foolishness”] to those who are perishing [or “dying in their sin”]” (1 Cor. 1:18). And “the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly [or “foolishness”] to him, and he is not able to understand them” (1 Cor. 2:14).

Friends, it is for the us to teach and explain the gospel, and it is the responsibility of the hearer to listen and to believe it… and it is God who grants the gifts of repentance and faith! We are right to plead with our unbelieving friends and family. We are right to pray for them and to talk with them about Jesus, again and again. But we cannot make anyone believe. We cannot open deaf ears or heal blind eyes or give life to dead hearts. Only God can do that!

And if the gospel is disbelieved… if very few people in Diana and the surrounding area actually turn from sin and follow Jesus… if there is a general rejection of Christ and a rejection of biblical Christianity in the world around us… then we must not feel guilty, nor should we reach for some other method or gimmick or strategy to bring them in (whatever that means!).

It is for us to believe the gospel… it is for us to live as repenting and believing Christians, as faithfully as we may… it is for us to open our mouths to teach and explain the gospel… and it is for us to trust the Lord with the results.

Paul understood this, and that’s why he pronounced the word of judgment that he did on those who disbelieved. It was “The Holy Spirit” who had spoken the word of judgment through the prophet Isaiah to the unbelieving people of Israel, and it was “The Holy Spirit” who was judging the unbelieving Jews in Paul’s day as well. But the amazing wisdom and power of God is beautifully on display in the way He always does more than one thing at a time.

It was precisely through Israel’s rejection of the Messiah that God made it clear that the gospel of God’s salvation was for all who believe, not merely for those with the right family lineage. Moreover, this salvation through judgment shows that God will gather a people unto Himself, and even the unbelief of all Israel cannot stop Him from doing it! As John’s Gospel tells us, God “came to his own” in the person of Jesus Christ, “and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:11-13).

Paul’s concluding words in v28 are profound. He said, “this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen” (v28). Paul was there announcing that salvation had already “been sent” far beyond Israel, to non-Jews all over the known world… And many of them were “listening” or “hearing” or believing it! And these believers were not merely joining the family of Abraham or rebuilding the kingdom of David… they were being re-created and renewed to form the family and kingdom of God Almighty!

Friends, this profound moment in Paul’s own life and ministry is a picture of the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the ages. There are times when the Church seems stronger or weaker in the world, but genuine Christianity consistently faces opposition on all sides. Often, those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, those who aim to live as faithful disciples and witnesses are opposed or persecuted by those with civil authority and by those in positions of leadership among competing religions.

But, so too, is the Church of Jesus Christ always prevailing! The gospel continues to be preached, sinners of all kinds continue being converted, saints’ lives are transformed by the ongoing work of God’s Holy Spirit, and the Church of Christ continues to be built until that coming day when all shall be complete.

4. Teaching Without Hindrance (v30-31)

These final two verses form a common concluding statement that Luke has used five other times in the book of Acts. In fact, these two verses brilliantly achieve at least three things: (1) they bring us full circle, back to the beginning of Acts, (2) they tie together the overarching theme of the whole book, and (3) they invite the reader to join the long line of gospel witnesses who have gone before.

Remember that the book of Acts begins with one of Jesus’s Great Commission statements (Acts 1:8). Matthew 28:18-20 is the longest and most detailed of Jesus’s commissioning statements, but there are actually at least three of them (Matt. 28:18-20; Jn. 20:21-23; and Acts 1:8).

After Jesus’s death and resurrection, He appeared many times to His disciples and hundreds of others (1 Cor. 15:5-7), and Jesus reiterated His promise to send the Holy Spirit to them when He departed (Acts 1:5). It was the Spirit of Christ or the Spirit of God who would empower those who believed in Jesus to “be [His] witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

And when Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father, the Holy Spirit did come! He came to that small band of disciples (about 120 of them) in Jerusalem who were awaiting His arrival (Acts 1:15, 2:1-4). On that very day, Jerusalem heard the gospel by way of those Christian witnesses, and they all continued to teach and preach the gospel there from that point on. In fact, Luke concludes his first section of Acts in chapter 6, verse 7. He wrote, “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem” (Acts 6:7). Notice that “the word of God” was being preached and the Church was prevailing.

Then the next section of Acts (chs 6-9) follows the gospel and Church expansion in Judea and Samaria. Persecution sent Christian witnesses out from Jerusalem, and more sinners were converted as a result. Acts 9:31 concludes Luke’s second section with yet another statement of a growing and prevailing Church. Luke wrote, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied” (Acts 9:31).

The third section of Acts ends with chapter 12, but it includes (in chs 10 and 11) the longest argument for and explanation of God’s inclusion of the Gentiles in His gracious salvation. We see the gospel begin to invade that third ring of the concentric circle (Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the end of the earth).

At the end of ch 12, we read about the miraculous death of an earthly king who had set himself at war against Christ and His people. And again, Luke tells us, despite the persecution, “the word of God increased and multiplied” (Acts 12:24).

The fourth section of Acts starts with ch 13, and this is where Luke began to focus almost entirely on the missionary efforts of the Apostle Paul. It was Paul whom God called to be the missionary to the Gentiles (or non-Jews), and these were the people “at the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit worked through Paul so mightily that there arose a crisis in the church in Jerusalem… “What do we do with all these Gentiles?”

That fourth section concludes with a detailed record of the decision made by the Jerusalem council to welcome Gentile believers as “brothers” in Christ (Acts 15:23). And this publicly declared unity between believing Jews and believing Gentiles was celebrated among the churches Paul revisited to “see how they are” (Acts 15:36). Finally, Luke wrote yet again, “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily” (Acts 16:5).

The fifth section of Acts starts around the beginning of ch 16, and it follows Paul’s second and third missionary journeys. Luke highlights Paul ministries in Corinth and Ephesus, and he tells us about the continued work of the Holy Spirit in converting sinners and establishing churches through the preaching of the gospel. At the end of this fifth section, Luke wrote, “So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily” (Acts 19:20).

And this brings us to the sixth and final section of Acts, which is concluded right here in our own text this morning. After Paul had decided to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome (Acts 19:21), he did make his way (slowly and painfully, but surely) to Rome. But this was not merely Paul’s desire, it was by command and provision of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was the specially called witness that Christ Himself was putting in front of Jewish councils and Roman governors and kings.

And finally, in Rome itself, Luke says that Paul “lived there two whole years,” he welcomed “welcomed all who came to him” (not only Jews but also Gentiles), and he proclaimed or preached “the kingdom of God” and taught “about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (v30-31). Just like each section before, Luke closes this one with a summary statement about the word of God being preached and both the word and the Church of Christ prevailing.

Thus, the overarching theme of the book of Acts is that the Spirit of God works through the word of God which is preached and taught by the people of God to build the Church or the kingdom of God in the world. And God’s Spirit does this building and multiplying and prevailing work without the help of worldly prestige, attractive gimmicks, economic power, or civil endorsement. He does it through His word as it is preached and taught by those who believe it… which is the fulfillment of Jesus’s Great Commission statement in Acts 1:8.

That’s how these verses tie together the theme of the book and bring us full circle. But I said there was a third thing these last couple of verses also do, and that is they invite the reader to join the line of gospel witnesses who have gone before.

You know, there is something about the end of the book of Acts that makes it feel abrupt, and it certainly leaves a hanging question… “What about Paul?!” Did Paul die at the end of those two years? Was he set free for a while and die as a martyr sometime later? How about the possibility of a fourth missionary journey?

But this hanging question seems to be purposeful on Luke’s part. It leaves the reader with a sense that the book of Acts wasn’t about Paul to begin with. Even Paul’s detailed imprisonment and miraculous journey from Jerusalem to Rome wasn’t ultimately about Paul. The whole book was and is about God’s Holy Spirit working through God’s word and God’s people to build God’s kingdom!

And this complete absence of a definite conclusion to Paul’s life and ministry offers the reader a strongly implied invite to pick up where Paul left off. Now, I’m not saying that all Christians are capital “A” Apostles, but I am saying that all Christians are little “a” apostles, in the sense that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are to continue to be His witnesses (empowered by the Holy Spirit) to “the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) and to “the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

And how can Christians today pick up where Paul and the rest of the early Christians left off? Well, we can rely upon God’s Spirit to work through God’s word to convert sinners and to build His Church. We can preach and teach the gospel with the aim to persuade, and we can invite repenting and believing sinners to join with us in following and bearing witness for Christ… until He comes.

Endnotes

[i] Peterson, 703.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aland, Kurt, Barbara Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th Edition. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.

Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press, 2005.

Calvin, John. Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles. Edited by Henry Beveridge. Translated by Christopher Fetherstone. Vol. 2. 2 vols. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.

Peterson, David. The Acts of the Apostles. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos, 2009.

Polhill, John B. Acts. Vol. 26. The New American Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992.

Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version. 2015 Edition. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009.