Acts: God’s Work Goes On Unhinderedly
                               
January 14, 2007

                The book of Acts ends with...“And he remained a whole two years in [his] own hired apartment, and welcomed all the [ones] coming in to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness unhinderedly”  (Marshall 601). An adverb like “unhinderedly” seems like a strange way to end a book.  Sir William Ramsay wrote, “no one can accept the ending of Acts as the conclusion of a rationally conceived history”  (Stagg 3).  Perhaps, Luke intended it to be a cliff hanger?   What happened to Paul?  Did he ever appear before Caesar?  If so, was he condemned, martyred,  exonerate  or emancipated? Or did Luke intend to write a  third volume? Was Luke-Acts intended to be a trilogy?  Is it unfinished to underscore the on going spread of the Gospel? Or was Luke simply running out of room on the papyrus  scroll?
                Just what is the purpose behind the story Luke is trying to tell? Is it all that important to know what might be the main objective of a book?  “It is necessary to the successful study of any literary production, that the exact design of the author should be known and kept constantly in view.  It would be doing great injustice to the author of Acts, to suppose that he undertook this work without having before him some one leading object, which should serve as the connecting thread of the narrative, and according to which all the historic details should take place and form.”

Luke’s Overall Purpose in Writing Acts Was Not....

Without a doubt the motive behind this  book is not telling the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.   After all, the title is a product of man, not the Holy Spirit.  Further, the book only tells some of the acts of some of the apostles.
Luke’s main objective is not the HOLY SPIRIT.  In fact, the Spirit is not mentioned in eleven chapters and is only found once after 22:11.  Readers will witness a gradual decrease of emphasis on the miraculous as the history of the early church unfolds. 
  The purpose is not ANTI-MARCIONISM.  Marcion rejected all apostles but Paul who alone represented true Christianity.“In 1831 F.C. Baur proposed that early Christianity developed from a conflict between Peter...and Paul...with Acts being a second-century endeavor to work out a synthesis between the original thesis of Peter and the antithesis of Paul”   (Longenecker 208).
  Compiling a list of CONVERSIONS was not Luke’s motive in writing.  Many examples of conversion exist in this history.  Without them the book of Acts would be woefully incomplete.  Yet, Acts contains so much more than stories answering the all important question: “What must I do to be saved?”
Acts does not just focus on telling the story of the EARLY CHURCH and its development. 
The general aim of Acts is not EDIFICATION for it contains much more than just instructions for the early Christians.
Some believe Luke was merely concerned with showing the GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY from Jerusalem beginning with Peter and ending with Paul in  Rome.  This would have more weight if Paul was the first to bring the Gospel to Rome, but the church was already there when he arrived.  Rome by no means signals the end of the Gospel’s journey.

  Still others have promoted the idea of Acts representing Paul’s TRIAL BRIEF used to persuade Caesar to acquit the apostle.  This too is an oversimplification of the writer’s intent.

  Luke’s purpose was to defend the idea that God’s Work will go on unhinderedly. Luke was giving his apology for the power of the Gospel.  In this case, apology means “to give a defense.”  The book of Acts exhibits a vigorous apologetic concern for the success of God’s work, despite on the hindrances. 
   Luke shows that  Christianity has been opposed by the Jews.  Even before the first Gospel sermon was ever preached, Peter had to defend the apostles against the mocking of the Jews (2:13).  Peter and John were arrested by the Sadducees for preaching the resurrection (4:2) later they were threatened and released  (4:21).  Next, the Sanhedrin had all twelve apostles arrested (5:18) and this time beat them before releasing them (5:40). The Sanhedrin procured false witnesses against Stephen (6:13) and later stoned him (7:58).  Saul persecuted the church as far as Damascus arresting both  men and women (8:3).   After his conversion, beginning in Damascus Jews sought to kill Paul (9:23). When he started preaching in Jerusalem the Hellenistic Jews sought to put him to death (9:29).  Agrippa I in order to please the Jews killed James and imprisoned Peter (12:2f). Everywhere Paul went preaching the Gospel the Jews instigated a persecution (13:45,46,50). At Iconium the Jews even stirred up the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas (14:2). At Lystra the Jews attempted to stone Paul  (14:5) Later, Jews from Antioch and Iconium drug Paul out of the city, stoning him and leaving him for dead (14:19).    The Jews continued to oppose him in Thessalonica (17:5), Berea (17:13), and in Corinth (18:2).  They plotted to kill Paul in Macedonia (20:3). Forty conspirators swore to murder him (23:12), as did another group  (25:3). They testified with  false accusations against Paul before Felix (24:1) and before Festus (25:7).  “Luke took pains to show that whenever Jews brought accusations of disloyalty against the Nazarenes before Roman officials, they got nowhere (18:14,15; 25:25; 26:31)” (Harrison  21).  Everywhere we go there will be opposition.  Even from our own family.

Another motive for Luke’s defense is that Christianity has been scandalized by false accusations.   At Philippi they were accused of “advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice” (Acts 16:20-21).  Paul and Silas are accused of “causing trouble all over the world” (17:6). Christianity is referred to as a sect “everywhere spoken against” (28:22).  At  Thessalonica the Christians are accused of  “defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus” (Acts 17:7).  In Corinth they are accused  of “persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law” (Acts 18:13).   
Christians today are troubled by misrepresentations, used to hinder the truth.  Opponets today will bring false accusations against the Gospel:

1. “You don’t believe in the O.T.”

1. “You don’t have music in our church”.
2. “You believe in water salvation”.
3. “You don’t have any priests”.
   

 

1.  Christianity conflicted with the financial interests of pagans.  Paul by casting out the demon possessed slave girl caused her owners to lose a good deal of money in the Philippi fortune-telling business  (Acts 16:19).  The  guild of silversmiths at Ephesus suffered and even greater loss (19:24ff).  Today, money and materialism continue to hinder the Gospel.
   

1.   Christianity has received illegal treatment by Roman officials.  At Philippi Paul was beaten and imprisoned illegally as a Roman citizen (16:22). Lysaias almost had Paul scourged before he learned of his Roman citizenship.  So fearful of this illegal incident that he lied about it in his letter to Felix  (22:25; 23:37). Although admitting Paul’s innocence, Felix  kept him in prison to please the Jews and hope for a bribe from Paul (24:27).
2. The government may try to hinder us today:money politicians have promoted Homosexual marriage which puts the God ordained union between men and women under fire.  Futhermore, the unborn are not protected from murder via abortion.  Modesty and shamefastness are destroyed by the support and the protection of pornography.
   

 

1. On the positive side, Christianity has received good testimonials by Roman officials.  In Philippi the  praetors personally release Paul and Silas from prison (16:35-39). The politarchs of Thessalonica are satisfied to locate citizens of the place who will be guarantors for Paul (Acts 17:6-9).  Gallio the Proconsul in Corinth dismiss the Jews’ accusations against Paul because it was not a matter of wrong or a vicious crime, but arguments over the Jew’s religion (18:12-17). Later, Gallio turned a blind eye to the illegal beating of Jews  in the very presence of his judgment seat (18:17). At Ephesus the town clerk of the city certifies that Paul and his companions were innocent of any wrong doing, but instead warn the people about their unlawful assembly (19:35-41). Three times the military tribune Claudias Lysias saves the life of Paul (21:32-23:22). In his letter to Felix, Lysias acknowledges that he finds no guilt in Paul with regard to Roman law  (Ac. 23:26-29).   Later, Julius, the Centurion, saved Paul’s life (27:43). Governors Felix and Festus along with King Agrippa II agreed that Paul had committed no offence worthy of death or imprisonment (25:25). 
2.    Despite hindrances our light is being seen today.  Kind validations come from all corners of society recognizing the virtues of the Gospel and the value of God’s Word in the history of our nation.  Quotes from great leaders such as Lincoln, Washington, etc. can be harvested from our history books.
   

1. Not only did certain government officials speak well of Christianity, Christianity  has been embraced by Roman officials.  The very first Gentile convert was the centurion of the Italian battalion, Corneilus (10:47,48). On his first missionary journey, Paul converted Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cyprus (13:12). Although Athens yielded only a few converts one of them was Dionysius the Areopagite (17:34). In one of his prison epistles, Paul wrote,  "All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household" (Phil. 4:22). Paul almost persuaded King Agrippa II to become a Christian (26:28).
2. For all those who may hinder the Gospel today, some great leaders have been believers.  Not only was President Garfield a Christian, he had served as an elder in the church before taking our nation’s highest office.
   

 

1. One of Luke’s reoccuring apologies for the Way, is that Christianity was not illegal, but had been tolerated by Rome.  Rome showed tolerance toward most religions, but banned any new religions as religio illcita.  Luke shows that Christianity is religio licita because it is derived from a legal religion (Judaism), it is not politically disloyal to Rome, it is harmless for Christians were good and loyal citizens, it is innocent of all charges brought against it and it was not a menace to law and order.As the book abruptly closes, “Paul was allowed to carry on his mission with full approval of Roman officials in the very heart of the imperial capital” without hindrance (Brauch  19).
2.   We are blessed with little persecution and many blessings as Americans.  Consider Gameliel’s wise suggestion to the Jewish leaders who hoped to stamp out Christianity:    "And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;  but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it lest you even be found to fight against God'' (Acts 5:38,39).
   With all the hindrances the early Christians faced in spreading the Gospel it is amazing that Luke ends Acts on a positive note: “And he remained a whole two years in [his] own hired apartment, and welcomed all the [ones] coming in to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness unhinderedly.”  (Marshall 601).

– Daniel R. Vess