The Law and Grace are often viewed as enemies; the former coming before Jesus. But Jesus isn’t absent in the Law. Yes, even the Law points to Jesus! How can the God of the Old Testament who condoned wholesale killing of other nations be the God of the New Testament where His love and grace are on full display? Why give such a strict set of rules that did not have the power to save? We need to be reminded that the Law came from God. Man used it as ‘works’ to gain righteousness; he used it as his task master and even his god. This was an import and application never in the plans or motives of God when giving His Law to His people. The Old and New are not competing covenants but rather complementary.

Many see the Old Testament merely as “The Law” and the New Testament as “Grace”. We have been mistaken to believe that grace, salvation, and the gospel were first introduced into the world upon the incarnation of Jesus and the four gospel books penned that start our New Testament. However, the gospel of salvation and grace first appeared in the Garden of Eden. As well, the gospel of Abraham was the Gospel of Jesus! Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56) Abraham, lauded for being justified by faith had more than a general belief in God; he had a Messiah-centered faith.

Society views marriage as an open-ended contract that is entered into with self-centered motives and desires. When these felt needs are no longer met, the marriage dissolves. After all, aren’t we supposed to be happy? The way that God would have us view marriage is a self-less, binding covenant between a husband, wife, and God. We will examine what God’s word says about our roles within the marriage covenant and how they affect our relationship and yes, our happiness. Ultimately, a healthy marriage is a reflection of our relationship as the bride to our bridegroom, Jesus Christ!

Everything led up to this. Paul’s citizenship, his missionary journeys, his imprisonment; everything led up to Paul reaching Rome, the epicenter of the Gentile world. God was the master architect orchestrating Paul being on mission for Him. God isn’t just concerned with one man, but all men; that they may know Him. Everything and everyone is interconnected. God desires to use each of us in such a way. The moment in time we were born, the location we live in, the experiences that we encounter, even wrong decisions are not wasted with our God. A tragedy like the Jew’s rejection of the Messiah, God used to help enable the Gentiles to be grafted in to God’s people. He is constantly at work!

Paul shows us just how dedicated and sold-out he is to His Lord. He considers his life outside of Christ as nothing, gladly being imprisoned and beaten for the sake of Jesus who suffered for him. Paul’s only desire is to finish the race and complete the task given to him that of testifying of the good news of God’s grace. Living for Christ Jesus is serious business, something that we at times take too lightly. Thank God for the example of Paul’s commitment, sacrifice, and attitude to urge us on in our own race!

In Ephesus, Paul asked some disciples, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed (or translated, after you believed)?” Every Christian born of the Spirit “has” the Holy Spirit.  Nevertheless, there is a second general experience with the Holy Spirit, the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” which is not simultaneous with birth in the Spirit but subsequent to it.  Paul placed his hands on them and they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (#6 of 6 occurrences in the book of Acts). We will take a look at what the Spirit’s baptism provides for a believer. For two years Paul spoke and it says, “so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” God did extraordinary miracles through Paul; handkerchiefs and aprons that touched him were brought to the sick and they were made well and evil spirits left them!

After having been stripped, beaten, severely flogged, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison. There they were in an inner cell, their feet fastened in stocks, guarded carefully. The passage says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” At their “midnight hour,” their darkest, bloodiest, hardest, time; they prayed and they sang to God! They could have been angry at Him; after all, doing “His ministry” is what caused all of the persecution they were enduring! Instead, they experienced joy and comfort. What’s more, they encountered freedom! We will look at facing our “midnight hours” with the joy of the Lord and how we too can experience breakthroughs!

The strengthening of disciples and the encouragement to stay true to the faith, going into all the world, as well as building local churches; necessitates the appointing of leaders. These leaders, which we will primarily look at are elders, are always plural in Scripture. Elders have the God-given task of caring for the souls given under their care. We will look at the role those have to whom God has called to lead. We will also challenge, ordain, and pray over several local leaders commissioning them and releasing them into their gospel calling.

Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the good news of Jesus, urged the people to continue in the grace of God, and gathered the whole city together to hear the word of the Lord. The Jews rejected it and Paul announced that they now will turn to the Gentiles.  Verse 48 says, “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord.” How did they “honor” the Word? How do we? Do our lives and our choices show honor or dishonor to God’s Word?

On this Resurrection Sunday, we consider the lasting effects of Jesus’ sacrifice and his triumphant resurrection in the life of the person who now lives for Him. His victory over death completed the work that frees us from the tyranny of sin. We are now free! We will also talk about the role that baptism has and witness the joy of others being baptized. This act of obedience shows the personal application of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in our place for our sins. New life is worth celebrating!

Grace is the whole of God’s activity toward man. This is unearned and unmerited by man. He cannot achieve a higher status with God, nor can he earn this divine transformation. However, as we talked about last week; ‘grace’ is the divine influence upon the heart, AND it’s reflection in the life of man that grace is bestowed upon. When Barnabas arrived in Antioch he “saw the evidence of the grace of God.” How do we reconcile that grace is imparted through faith and not works, yet we were “created for good works” and that “we would know them by their fruits”? There is a divine tension between God’s part and our part. Finding the right balance is the difference between legalism and “sloppy agape” lawlessness.

Peter is called to a room where a woman named Tabitha lay dead. She is surrounded by mourners who, as they cried, showed off the clothing that she had made for them. There isn’t much we know about Tabitha other than she appeared to touch the lives of others with her service and that she was raised back to life to the glory of God. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. We too can affect people in a great way as we serve them. We will look at what a servant of the gospel truly is and ways that we can serve others.

The stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, began great persecution that broke out against the early believers. Saul began to destroy the church. All except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Jesus’ commission before ascending to the Father was to be His witnesses in the very places that they were now scattered. In a very real sense, God used this to kick them out of the nest! They preached the Word where ever they went and they made disciples! Would they have done so without persecution? Will we?