photo #3869563

NOTEWORTHY FROM ACTS Acts 1:3: The “infallible” proofs are only “proofs” or “convincing proofs” in some of the new Bible perversions. Acts 1:14: Notice what Mary is doing the last time she appears in the Bible: she’s praying with other Christians, not being prayed to by Christians. Acts 2:1: This is the most important verse in the whole chapter. No one has any business teaching, preaching, or writing about anything in Acts chapter two until they have first given due consideration to the fact that the whole thing happens on “the day of Pentecost.” Pentecost is a Jewish feast day that comes fifty days after Passover every year (Hence: Pentecost, as in Pentagon, as in five, fifty, etc.) Pentecost was not the name of a denomination, nor was it “an experience,” as a deluded, female, Charismatic writer stated some years ago. For nearly 3,500 years, Pentecost has been an established feast day on the Jewish calendar. Being such, thousands of Jews had travelled to Jerusalem to keep the feast. God chose to use this gathering to get the gospel to them, including the ones of the dispersion that spoke different languages (vs. 5). Every person in the chapter is a Jew, and the miracle that happens is a sign to Jews (I Cor. 1:22), and nothing more. There are no gentiles in the chapter, and no one’s church is commissioned to be a “pentecostal” church. Acts 2:4, 6: Notice that there are no “unknown” tongues being spoken. These are “other” tongues (vs. 4) that a man could understand “in his own language” (vs. 6). This corresponds to the “new tongues” of Mark 16:17 and the “tongues” of Acts 10:46 and 19:6. Acts 2:37-38: No one has done more damage with the verse than the so-called Church of Christ, also known as “Campbellites,” “water dogs,” or “Southern Catholics.” After ignoring the Jewish context that was established in verse 1, these people pretend that the verse addresses everyone’s personal salvation, when it doesn’t. They pretend that verse 37 says, “What must I do to be saved?” even though this question isn’t asked until Acts 16:30. This allows them to teach the pagan heresy of baptismal regeneration, along with the Roman Catholics, the Pentecostals, and others. They pretend that “for” means “in order to get,” when it doesn’t, and they ignore the fact that the gentile believers of Acts 10:44 received the Holy Ghost before they were baptized, which runs totally contrary to what they think Acts 2:38 teaches! And that’s just scratching the surface. See our tract Acts 2:38: Satan’s Favorite Bible Verse for more details. Acts 4:13, 29, 31: Notice the two characteristics that identified Peter and John with Jesus: their boldness and their lack of formal education. The idea is that a man isn’t supposed to feel very bold unless he has a degree from an approved school. However, like Jesus, these men had the Holy Spirit, so they were immediately identified with Jesus. Notice that they prayed for boldness in verse 29 and received it in verse 31. Acts 5:6: For something to be “wound up” would nornally mean that it’s ready to get started, being full of power and energy, such as a “wound up” watch or a “wound up” talky-doll. But here the expression refers to the end of something, namely someone being “wound up” with grave clothes. So, we have a modern usuage for that angle also: “Well, that about winds it up; tune in again tonight at 10:00 for the latest news and weather.” Acts 6:1-3: They couldn’t have been Southern Baptists because they had only seven deacons! We can’t be sure about how large the church was, since many of the 3,000 converts from Acts 2:41 went back to their respected lands after Pentecost was over, and others probably just didn’t “pan-out” as true believers. However, new disciples were being made regularly, so it’s reasonanble to assume that the Jerusalem church still had several hundred members, and maybe more. Yet, the apostles decided that only seven deacons were necessary, which translates to no more than one deacon per one hundred members. If they still had 3,000 members, then that’s one deacon for over 400 members. Like I said: they couldn’t have been Southern Baptists. Acts 8:37: The whole verse is omitted in some of the new perversions. This is by design since the verse requires a person to believe on Christ from the heart before being baptized.Acts 9:4-5: It isn’t the Christian that Satan hates; it’s Christ in the Christian. Acts 10:44: Not to be outdone by the Charismatics and Campbellites, the Holy Ghost fell on these believers before they were baptized—unlike he did in Acts 2. So, obviously, the big deal wasn’t getting into the water; it was getting into Christ. Acts 13:2: Notice how two men can both be filled with and led by the Holy Spirit even though they have different views and methods. Acts 14:13-15: Truly turning to God includes turning FROM vanities, not just an empty profession. Acts 15:11: The Campbellites stopped at Acts 2:38, but Peter didn’t. Acts 16:31: This is the answer to the question “what must I do to be saved?” (vs. 30). The answer is not found in Acts 2:38 or in Acts 9:6.Acts 17:11: If you want to be a “more noble” Christian, search the scriptures daily. Acts 17:30-31: A great memory passage on repentance. Acts 20:7: The appropriate day of Christian worship is the first day of the week, not the Sabbath day. Also see I Corinthians 16:2. Acts 20:20: Here we have the 20/20 vision of public and private ministry, also callled highways and hedges by the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 14:23. Acts 20:28: The fact that God has “his own blood” troubles the scholars, so the verse is changed in some of the new perversions. Acts 21:11: The words “Thus saith the Holy Ghost” suggest that the Holy Ghost is more than the “active force” of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He’s a person, the third member of the Holy Trinity. Acts 22:16: This is a favorite Campbellite nesting place because it seems to teach that water baptism washes away one’s sins. However, the man that made the statement was “a devout man according to the law” (vs. 12), not a trained and disciplined Christian. Ananias had the best intentions, but, being so in tune with the law, he was more apt to associate water baptism with the laws of purification (Num. 19) than with the symbolism of the death, burial, and resurrecion. The Christian is washed in the blood of Jesus (Rev. 1:5; 5:9-10; I John 1:7), not with water. Acts 25:11: Yes, capital punishment is still for today, else Paul would not have have counted ANYTHING "worthy of death." Acts 26:20: True repentance is followed by "works meet for repentance." The silly "change of mind" definition used by many brethren is weak and very misleading. When studied in context, it is clear that Bible repentance always produces "works" or "fruits." Acts 28:3-5: This fulfilled the Mark 16:18 promise . . . "They shall take up serpents." Jesus never told anyone to take up serpents ON PURPOSE. Acts 28:28: So the Pauline epistles are the primary books for establishing doctrine for the church. Doctrine can be found in other books as well, but the foundational books are Paul's epistles.