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The Scriptorium

Persecution

Violence breaks out upon the Church. Just as Jesus had promised.

Acts (7)

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Luke 24.27

Be sure to view the video introducing our study of Acts 8 (Lesson 7) by clicking here.

Read and meditate on Acts 8.1-3.
Things suddenly become ugly and unsafe. The dike holding back a sea of rage has burst, and a flood of persecution begins to inundate the Church in Jerusalem. And at the center of the violence is Saul of Tarsus.

For reflection
1. Luke mentions Saul here both for historical accuracy and to foreshadow events to come. This same one who now rages so violently will see his powers directed in a totally different direction in just a short while. Why do some people become so outraged at the sharing of the Gospel?

2.  Jesus promised His followers that they would experience persecution (Jn. 15.18-20), but it’s not likely the believers were prepared for what they began to experience here. We have seen the pent-up anger of the religious leaders of Jerusalem building from chapter 4 through chapters 5 and 7. Threats and warnings heat up to beating, and beating boils over to outright murder. Having gone that far, those opposed to the faith of Christ feel no qualms about unleashing a broad-based, violent assault against the believing community. Does such persecution of believers continue in our day? Is it possible such could happen in our nation?

3.  This is the same Christian community whose witness had won many to Christ, and whose manifest love for one another and their neighbors had convinced a great company of the priests to believe. No matter. All it takes is one incident to unleash the forces of persecution. The Church needs to be ready at all times. What should a church do to prepare its members for persecution?

4.  The fledgling Christian movement is forced out of the nest, and a new stage in the ongoing work of Christ begins. Launched in chapters 1 and 2, and established in chapters 3-7, that work of replacing the kingdom of darkness and the Lie with the Kingdom of Light and Truth now begins to disperse outward from Jerusalem toward the uttermost parts of the earth, where it will begin to be replicated. Just as the Lord planned, but hardly the way the Church expected. Does this suggest a pattern for local churches? For you as a believer? Explain.

5.  Would you describe your church as contributing to the dispersal of the ongoing work of Christ in your community? In what ways?

Summary
The time had come for the Kingdom to break out of its confines in Jerusalem. God has many ways of moving us forward in His Acts 1.8 vision of the ongoing work of Christ. We need to be ready and willing to follow as He leads, however He chooses to lead us. How do you know when the Lord is leading you to bear witness to Him?

Closing Prayer
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call on the LORD?
There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the LORD is his refuge.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

Psalm 14.4-7

T. M. Moore

Each week’s studies in Acts are bound together into a free PDF that you can download for personal or group use (click here). Each week also features a video related to the studies of the week, which you may find helpful as you work through our studies in Acts.

Acts is the record of Christ’s ongoing work as King and Lord. For more insight into His work in our here and now, order the book,
The Kingship of Jesus, from our online store by clicking here.

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T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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