Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

Acts to Revelation | Series: Bible 101 | 02-21-10

Acts to Revelation
Series: Bible 101

II Timothy 3:15, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:11, I Peter 2:2, John 20:31, Hebrews 4:12, II Timothy 2:15

The History of the Church

Acts  Author:  Luke Acts 2:22-24,36-38,41;5:12,15-17;9:3-9,17-19

Paul's Letters

Romans Theme: Righteousness comes from God. Romans 3:10, 22
I Corinthians Theme:  Live Like Christians. I Corinthians 3:3
I Corinthians Theme:  Comfort and Reassurance. II Corinthians 2:7-8
Galatians Theme: Legalism Versus Freedom in Christ. Galatians 5:22-23
Ephesians Theme: Unity. Ephesians 4:2-3
Philippians Theme: Joy. Philippians 4:4-7
Colossians Theme: The Supremacy of Christ. Colossians 1:17-18
I and II Thessalonians Theme: Be Prepared. I Thessalonians 4:16-18
I and II Timothy & Titus Theme: Pastoral Instruction. II Timothy 1:7
Philemon Theme: Forgiveness. Verses 15-16
Hebrews Theme: Jesus Is Superior to the Old Testament. Hebrews 4:14-16

General Letters

James Theme: Practical Religion. James 1:27
I and II Peter Theme: Live a Holy Life. I Peter 1:14-15, II Peter 3:14
I, II, and III John Theme: Assurance. I John 5:13
Jude Theme: Beware of False Teachers. Jude 4

Prophesy

Revelation Theme: Faithful. Revelation 2:10

Full Text 

We've been doing an overview of the Bible.  The Bible is filled with reasons why we should study it.

The Bible gives us wisdom.  II Timothy 3:15.  "And how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."

The Bible gives us guidance.  Psalm 119:105.  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

The Bible helps us overcome temptation.  David said in, Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

The Bible nourishes our spirits.  I Peter 2:2.  "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation."

The Bible is a powerful tool for evangelism.  John 20:31.  "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

The Bible judges our thoughts and attitudes.  Hebrews 4:12.  "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

It is no wonder that the Scripture says in II Timothy 2:15, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

Last week we looked at the first four books of the New Testament sometimes called the Life of Christ.  But most often they are called the Gospels.  The word "Gospel" means "Good News."  The Good News is that Jesus came and died for our sins and rose again.

Today we're going to walk through the last 23 books of the Bible.  The book of Acts begins with Jesus ascending into Heaven and the last book of the Bible, the Revelation, has Jesus coming again in power and victory.

Let's begin with the book of Acts.  Acts was written by Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke.  Acts picks up where the Gospel of Luke leaves off.  It tells the history of the Church.  This is a critical book because it relates the basics of Church doctrine.  It is imperative that we understand that the Old Covenant of God did not end until Jesus died on the Cross.  The New Covenant did not start until the Resurrection.  What that means is, if you want to find out how to become a Christian, you don't turn to Nicodemus or the thief on the cross.  They lived before Jesus died on the cross.  You turn to the book of Acts because Jesus has died and risen again.  It is in Acts that we find examples of conversions.  In Acts we see the beginning of the Church with the first gospel sermon.  Someone said, "A river is purest at its source, and the Church was the closest to what God intended it to be at the very beginning."

Now, the first half of the book of Acts focuses primarily on the ministry of Peter.  It begins with Jesus talking to His disciples.  He tells them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit.  Then he goes up into Heaven.  The disciples went to Jerusalem where they spent the next ten days praying in an upper room of the Temple.  Finally, it was the Day of Pentecost, a huge Jewish feast day.  It was fifty days after the Passover, when Jesus had died.

The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in a miraculous way.  There was the sound of a powerful wind.  Flames of fire appeared on their heads.  The room was open on the outer side and there was a porch where they could speak to hundreds and thousands at a time.  The sound of the wind and the flames of fire got people's attention.  So the disciples miraculously spoke to the people in their native languages.  Peter then came to the forefront and preached the first recorded gospel sermon to the Jews in Jerusalem.  Now, remember, he is speaking to the same crowds that crucified Jesus less than two month before.

Let's see a little of that sermon.  Acts 2:22-24.  "22Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." 

To me, telling a bunch of murderers they are murderers is pretty gutsy.  But Peter doesn't stop there.  After referring to Old Testament prophesy he concludes in Verse 36, "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

So, how did they respond?  Verse 37.  "37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'  [And here is the answer.]  38Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"  Verse 41 tells us that "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."  The Church began with 3,000 people.  That is awesome!

Soon after that, Peter and John healed a crippled beggar at the gate of the Temple.  This gave another opportunity to preach and the church grew to 5,000 men.  They quit counting the women and children!!  But the jealous Jewish authorities hated the preaching about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  They arrested Peter and John, threatened them if they did not stop preaching and released them.

But the apostles refused to stop.  Acts 5:12, 15-16.  "12The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. … 15As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed."

People are being helped.  The Church continues to grow.  The common people are excited.  But as always, somebody didn't like it.  Verse 17.  "Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy."  After some arrests and threats, they had a deacon by the name of Stephen stoned to death.  He was the first martyr of the Church.

One of the men approving of the murder of Stephen was Saul.  That day Saul began a great persecution that scattered all the Christians, except the twelve apostles, from Jerusalem.  But everywhere those Christians went they shared the Good News of Jesus and started Churches.  So, instead of the persecution squelching the Church, the Church continued to explode!

Not long after this God gives Peter a vision and shows Peter that Jesus didn't just die for the Jews.  This was a difficult truth for them to swallow.  The Jews had grown up looking down their noses at anyone who was not a Jew.  That is why God gave Peter the vision.  But now, even Gentiles, non-Jews, are being added to the Church.  So the Church grows even more!

Next the focus of Acts turns to Saul.  Saul was on his way to a city called Damascus to arrest more Christians and have them jailed and killed.  Acts 9:3-9.  "3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' 5'Who are you, Lord?' Saul asked. [The answer must have hit him like a ton of bricks.]
'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 6'Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.' 
7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything."

Saul had three days to think.  He couldn't see and he didn't eat.  All he did was think about how wrong his whole life was.  He had been sending Christians to their death for their belief in Jesus.  Now he knows it was all wrong.  Jesus is alive and ruling from Heaven!

God then sent Ananias to Saul.  Verse 17.  "17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord-Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here-has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength."

Saul then completely changed.  He left his powerful position as a Jewish leader and spent the rest of his life starting Churches.  He changed his name to Paul.  He was an apostle of Jesus Christ.  He went on three major missionary journeys.  Then Paul returned to Jerusalem where he was imprisoned.  He used his Roman Citizenship to move the trial to Rome.  The Jews did not show up to accuse him, so after two years he was released.

But in the mean time Paul was in a great position.  He was in his own rented house - preaching!!!  He even reached people in the palace!  Not bad for a prisoner.

But Acts ends with Paul being a prisoner.  The book of Acts does not tell us about the death of Peter.  It does not tell about Paul's release or his death.  Why?  Because it's not about Peter or Paul.  It's about Jesus Christ and His Church!  It's about the acts of the Holy Spirit.

Ok. After the book of Acts come the Letters.  These are letters written by church leaders to give instructions about Christian living and the Church.  Let's begin with Paul's Letters.  There are 14 letters written by the apostle Paul.

The first is Romans.  The theme of Romans is "Righteousness comes from God."  Romans tells us we have all sinned and have no righteousness on our own.  We cannot earn Heaven through our good works.  After stating in Romans 3:10, "…There is no one righteous, not even one."  Paul tells us about a righteousness we CAN have in Verse 22.  "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…"

The next letter is I Corinthians.  Theme:  Live Like Christians.  The Church at Corinth had problems like you wouldn't believe.  I have never been to a Church like this one, nor would I want to!  There were arguments and divisions.  There was a man sleeping with his father's wife, (think about that) and they were proud of it!  They were suing each other in court.  People were being snobbish at Church.  Some were getting drunk during the worship service!  (That's why we only serve coffee.) They had gross false teaching.  There were some who didn't even believe in the resurrection of the dead!  Without Jesus' resurrection, we have no hope!

Paul wrote them in I Corinthians 3:3, "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"  You can find that behavior in politics, schools, and sports.  Christians should act better than that!

I Corinthians is followed by II Corinthians.  Theme:  Comfort and Reassurance.  When the Church at Corinth received Paul's first letter, they straightened up their act.  They confronted the sin and the man repented, and stopped sinning.

Paul's next instructions concerning the man are found in II Corinthians 2:7-8.  "7Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him."  Because the church had confronted and corrected most of their problems, this is a letter of comfort and reassurance.

Next we come to Galatians.  Theme:  Legalism Versus Freedom in Christ.  Paul compares the Old Testament and New Testament.  But he also compares our life before and after Christ.  And just because we have freedom in Christ, it does not mean we can live however we want.  Look at the qualities we are to produce as Christians.  Galatians 5:22-23.  "22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

After Galatians is Ephesians.  Theme:  Unity.  There were some who thought they were better than other Christians because of their background.  Paul writes to them in Ephesians 4:2-3, "2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Philippians.  Theme:  Joy.  In spite of being a prisoner and all the other troubles of life, Paul found joy.  How?  Philippians 4:4-7.  "4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Colossians.  Theme:  The Supremacy of Christ.  After telling how we have forgiveness in Christ and Jesus being the image of God and about His part in creation, Paul goes on to say in Colossians 1:17-18, "17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."  And Jesus is to reign supreme in our lives, as well.

I and II Thessalonians.  Theme:  Be Prepared.  Because Jesus is coming, we should live like it.  I Thessalonians 4:16-18.  "16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words."

I and II Timothy and Titus.  Theme:  Pastoral Instruction.  These three letters are to 2 young preachers about how to set Churches in order.  Because they were young, Paul wrote in II Timothy 1:7, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

Philemon.  Theme:  Forgiveness.  Philemon had a runaway slave named Onesimus.  Onesimus ran into Paul and gave his life to Christ.  Paul sends Onesimus back to Philemon with this letter.  This was very dangerous because runaway slaves were usually made an example so other slaves would be afraid to try it.  Verses 15-16.  "15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good- 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord."  Receiving a runaway slave back as a brother.  That's forgiveness!

Hebrews.  Theme:  Jesus Is Superior to the Old Testament.  Here we are told that Jesus is greater than the Law.  He is greater than the angels.  He is greater than Moses.  Jesus is even greater than the Tabernacle.  Hebrews 4:14-16.  "14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Jesus Is Superior to the Old Testament.  He sympathizes with us and we can confidently go to God for help. 

General Letters.  This next group of letters bear the name of the person who wrote them. 

James.  Theme:  Practical Religion.  This book was written by Jesus' half-brother.  It is interesting to note that while Jesus was alive on earth, he didn't believe Jesus was the Messiah.  He thought Jesus was crazy!  But after Jesus rose from the dead he became convinced and was a leader in the Jerusalem Church.  The dramatic change in James' life is  powerful evidence of the resurrection of Jesus. 

Religion is not a popular word today, but James makes it very practical.  James 1:27.  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

I and II Peter.  Theme:  Live a Holy Life.  Peter was one of Jesus' twelve apostles.  He begins I Peter by saying in Chapter 1, Verses 14-15.  "14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do."

After telling about the destruction of the earth and everything in it when Jesus returns, near the close of II Peter in Chapter 3, Verse 14, he advises, "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him."  Live a Holy Life.

I, II and III John.  Theme:  Assurance.  This is the John who was an apostle and wrote the Gospel of John.  He gives the assurance of salvation.  I John 5:13, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."  Assurance.

Jude.  Theme:  Beware of False Teachers.  Jude is another half-brother of Jesus.  He, too, did not believe in Jesus until after the resurrection.  But then he became a powerful witness.  He writes in Jude 4, "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."

Now we come to the book of Prophesy.  The final book of the Bible is the Revelation.  Theme:  Faithful.  The author is the apostle John who wrote the Gospel of John and I, II, and III John.  This is the only New Testament book where we read that the author was commanded to write it.

It is a letter to 7 Churches in Asia Minor.  They were under a fierce persecution so they were given a glimpse of the future to assure them that God wins in the end and faithfulness is greatly rewarded.  In Revelation 2:10, to the Church at Smyrna, Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."  Sure, life is tough right now.  And life will continue to be tough.  But in the end, in the next life, we will wear the victor's crown of life! 

When Jesus came the first time, there were many misconceptions of what it would be like.  But when it happened, there was no doubt.  It all fit the prophesies like a glove.  I believe there are many misconceptions about the next time Jesus comes.  But when it happens, there will be no doubt.  It will all fit the prophesies like a glove.

But no matter what you believe about the return of Jesus, there are a few universals.
1. Jesus is coming again.
2. There will be rewards and punishments given.
3. We need to be spiritually prepared.

Are you prepared for the return of Jesus?  It takes a relationship with Him.  If you are not prepared and you believe Jesus is the Son of God, come forward when we sing and we'll help you confess that belief before others and be baptized into Him.  Or maybe you've already done that and would like to place your membership with us.  Then come forward as we stand and sing.

Based on a 09/22/1999 sermon by Bob Russell of South East Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky.