The Book of Acts: Persecution Then and Persecution Today
Sermon Notes
The Book of Acts: Persecution Then and Persecution Today
Jesus crucified (Acts 2.23 [John 15.18-25]).
Peter and John jailed by the temple guard for preaching the gospel (Acts 4.2), put on trial (4.7,8), and threatened (4.21).
The apostles jailed (Acts 5.18).
The apostles flogged, yet they rejoiced (Acts 5.40-41).
Stephen accused falsely (6.13) and murdered (Acts 7.58-60).
Following Stephen’s murder, the church was persecuted (Acts 8.1).
A plot to kill Saul following his conversion (Acts 9.23).
James, the brother of John, beheaded by Herod (Acts 12.1).
Peter arrested and jailed (12.3-5).
Paul and Barnabus persecuted by the Jews in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13.50).
Paul and Barnabas threatened by mistreatment and stoning in Iconium (Acts 14.5).
Paul stoned and left for dead at Lystra (Acts 14.19).
Paul and Silas beaten and jailed in Philippi (Acts 16.22-24).
Jason and some of the brethren attacked by a mob in Thessalonica (Acts 17.5).
Paul accused in Corinth (Acts 18.12).
Rioting against the Christians in Ephesus (Acts 19.29).
Paul threatened by mob violence and jailed in Jerusalem (Acts 21.30-33).
Paul’s life threatened by a conspiracy (Acts 23.12-13).
Paul transferred to prison in Caesarea (Acts 23.23).
Paul accused at a trial by the Jewish elders and Tertullus (Acts 24.1-2).
Paul on trial again (25, 26)
Paul taken by ship as a prisoner to Rome (Acts 27).
Paul was under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28).
Applying the truth about persecution:
1. Persecution is all about Jesus being the Christ! He is the reason for it.
Suffering is necessary – it is a part of the gospel itself.
2. Persecution and death deeply impacted the early church, their families, and everything about their lives! The early church was not preoccupied with safety.
3. Persecution and death is all about discipleship! They believed it – do we?
“For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 2.17).
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Tertullian (160-220 AD)
“But if the blood of the martyrs truly is the seed of the Church, then without it, the Church does not grow. Without martyrdom, the Church would never have taken root in the world of Tertullian. Without martyrdom, the Church would not have spread to the Auca Indians in South America, or to China or Burma or the islands of the South Seas. The blood of the martyrs is a necessary means for the worldwide application of Christ’s great redemptive accomplishment. This is the full force of Tertullian’s insight; and understanding the full extent of his meaning must leave us confronted with two great questions: is this understanding scriptural? And if so, what practical effects ought this scriptural truth to have upon the actions, goals, and designs of the Church as she approaches her task of global evangelism in the twenty-first century?”
There is no growth of the church apart from sacrifice.
4. Following Jesus is all about an eternal perspective – it covers all of life (life is not about flesh and blood and material stuff).
5. Let’s use our freedom in the west to advance the cause of Christ in “Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the remotest part of the earth.”
6. Let’s identify with and encourage our brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted and die for their faith in Christ.
Web Sites to Visit Regularly
www.persecution.com (Voice of the Martyrs)
www.opendoorsusa.org (Open Doors)