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Background to the book of acts
Authorship of luke date and place of composition
Background to the book of acts
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There has been much debate regarding who wrote the book of Acts. Professor Riggs of Auburn Theological Seminary said, “In recent years the tide of opinion has been turning, and is now strongly setting toward a first-century authorship” (Riggs, 38). The early view of the church states Luke is the author of Acts. External evidence agrees with tradition that Luke wrote the book of Acts. The early church fathers, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius, provide evidence that Luke is the author (Lea & Black, 282). The Muratorian Canon (A.D. 190) contains a list of books from the New Testament and lists the author of Acts and the Third Gospel as Luke. There is also internal evidence that points to Luke as the author. In both Luke and Acts, the author uses medical phraseology. In Acts 28:8, the father of Publius was sick with a fever and had a bloody flux. Other instances can be found in Acts 10:10 and 16:16 (Riggs, 41-42). Luke was a physician and that would explain why he used medical terms when writing the book of Acts. Considering the external and internal evidence, Carson and Moo...
Covenant according in bible's point of view is a promise made by God to man. According to the book of Genesis, Chapter 6 Verse 13, as a result of human's disobedient and evil ways on earth, God had planned to put an end to humanity with flood. The covenants between God and Noah was established in Genesis Chapter 9 Verse 11. God promised Noah and his descendants, never again would he destroy the earth by flood of water because of the pleasant sacrifice offered to God by Noah. God also confirmed his covenant by putting up signs in the sky in the form of a rainbow. The reason Noah and his family weren’t destroyed in the flood was because Noah found grace in God's sight. What this means is that God do not establish any kind of covenant with just anyone. Clearly Abel, Noah and Abraham were unshakable, upright and obedient towards God’s command.
Throughout many of Paul’s letters there are many debates pertaining to the authorship, destination, date, and the purpose. In the book of Ephesians many scholars debate on the authorship and if Paul actually wrote the letter, or if it was a scribe. Although there are some debates on whether Paul actually wrote it or not, he does refer to himself twice in the letter. In 1:1 and in 3:1 Paul states himself, 1:3 states, “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (NIV) In verse 1:3 Paul states that he is a prisoner, therefore it is debated that he did not specifically write this because he was imprisoned in Rome at this time. According to Wallace “This, of course, is not to say that the letter must be by Paul, but it is to argue that without such internal testimony, no such claim could be made” (Wallace). Many scholars also debate on the vocabulary usage and the structure of the letter. Some believe that the structure is similar, but the vocabulary seems to be different than his New Testament epistles. Hoehner claims that,” Though the book has a close affinity with Colossians, critics claim that Ephesians is uncharacteristic of Paul” (Hoehner 613). The destination of Ephesians is somewhat debated, but many do believe that the letter was sent to the church of Ephesus. “Some to claim that Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea.” (Wallace) Although this is an argument that has many valid points, it is obvious that Paul was imprisoned in Rome while he wrote Ephesians. It is said by Hoehner that “Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22), who also took Paul’s letter to Colossians (Col. 4:7-9)” (Hoehner 613). As for the date goes m...
The Bible clearly explains the role of government in society and the framers of our nation built America on Biblical principles. Since economics is the science that deals with production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, Christian economics entails how men use God-given resources, ideas, and energy to meet their human needs and to glorify the Lord. Christianity produces internal liberty in man, which is the foundation for a Christian economy. The internal change of heart that Christ brings produces Christian character and self-government which is necessary for an economy to be prosperous. Christian character and self-government produce people who do not steal, who have a strong work ethic, and who save and invest to
For centuries it has been debated whether Paul and James contradict each other’s theology. At times, they do seem to make opposing statements. The Book of Galatians affirms over and over that we are justified by faith in Christ alone, not by works of our own. Most evangelical Christians agree to that concept of sola fide. We are faced with an interesting dilemma when James famously says, “faith without works is dead.” Martin Luther, himself, felt that the Book of James should be removed from the canon of scripture because of such statements. When one looks at the context of these verses, we realize that the theology of both books complement rather than contradict each other. Although they both deal with the relationship between faith and
The book of 1 Samuel, a part of the Old Testament, sparks the dawn of the United Kingdom of Israel by telling of its first king, Saul. Samuel is one of the first talked about pre-literary prophets in the bible perhaps because he anointed the first king of the United Kingdom. He is a prophet by definition because he possessed the ability to converse with the almighty Yahweh. Samuel and Saul are key players to the rise of the kingdom but Saul runs into trouble and disobeys God, which leads him to his own inevitable demise.
He makes the point that Acts develops the themes of the gospel, one reason for this is because Luke is the first to extend the story of Jesus to the apostles. Luke seems to extend on Marks gospel but in a different way then what Mathew does. Luke seems to focus on Jesus’s disciples, his calling of them, and his teachings to them. It seems that the reason Luke did this was to set up for the new church. However the most convincing reason that shows Luke believed his books ought to be read together is his writings in Luke 1:1-4 and in Acts 1:1-3. This is when in both books Luke gives us an intro stating that Acts is his second book to
The Holy Bible, New American Standard Version. La Habra, California: THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION. 1984. Luke 10:17, Acts 4:32-35. , Acts 5:1-8, Acts 11:24, Romans 15:7
The Book of Daniel is the only full-blown apocalyptic book in the Protestant recognized version of the Canon. A literary device divides the book into two halves. Chapters 1-6 are a collection of stories that introduces the reader to Daniel and three other Israelites as unwilling guests of the Babylonia Empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar. The second half, Chapters 7-12 consists of apocalyptic imagery of deformed beasts and the heavenly court. The focus of this paper will be on chapter 7, which serves as a bridge of the two halves. Chapter 7 is the earliest of the visions as it identifies with the genre of 8-12 while through language and content it reverts to Daniel chapter 2. The linguistic break down is not as neat as the literary divide in that Dan. 2:4b-7:28 was written in Aramaic while other portions of the book is written in Hebrew.
The Book of Romans Romans is a very important addition to the Bible. This is written by Paul to the Roman church. Much of Romans is showing the righteousness of God in different ways. “Romans road” passages are a great description of how to lead someone to christ (His saving righteousness).
The books of I and II Thessalonians, which are in the New Testament, are both letters to a church that Paul the apostle helped establish in the city of Thessalonica. First Thessalonians is agreed by biblical scholars to be written by Paul. The author of II Thessalonians, however, is still being debated about.
The Book of Job The Book of Job Job was a righteous man who lived in Uz. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yokes of oxen, five hundred donkeys and many slaves. Each year, he held a banquet where Job would have each of his children purified.
The book of Hebrews is a unique portion of the Bible because it is written as though it were a letter, directed at people the writer may have known. However, the book targets a seemingly broad audience of those without faith and also those that could be described as believers that have experienced persecution. A salient message within Hebrews is that people must persevere when they feel persecuted because Jesus Christ is their salvation, regardless of anything else that is happening in the people’s lives. An emphasis on the greatness of Jesus and his role as a mediator between God and those on Earth is dominant throughout the chapters and verses.
1 Corinthians 5 - A "brother" (v. 11) in the church at Corinth was having sexual relations with his father's wife. Paul described the unusual nature of this sin when he said that it was "not so much as named among the gentiles, that one should have his father's wife" (v. 1). This man's behavior was wrong, but also wrong was the tolerance of his behavior by the Corinthian church. Paul condemned these sins, and the necessary corrections were subsequently made (2 Cor. 2:6; 7:11). But what was the spiritual condition of the fornicator before his repentance? If he remained saved, why did Paul command the Corinthians to withdraw their association from him (vs. 4, 5, 9, 11, 13)? Did the fornicator remain saved while engaging in sin? The "once-saved-always-saved" proponent will have to say yes. However, the Bible says differently. By comparing the list of sins in 1 Corinthians 5:11 with the list in chapter 6:9, 10, we learn that a Christian can commit the same sins that can be committed by a non-Christian. We also learn the consequence of these sins. Paul said that those who do such things "shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9, 10). This means that before his repentance and forgiveness, the Corinthian fornicator had lost his access to heaven - he had fallen from grace.
The Book of Hosea is one among the several books of the Hebrew scripture and appears as the first in the order of the twelve Minor Prophets. The term ‘minor’ refers to the length and not the importance of the books when compared to the books of Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah. All the twelve minor books are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Haggai & Malachi (Feinberg, 1990). Hosea was instructed by God to marry a prostitute, by the name of Gomer, who symbolized covenantal relationship between Israel and him (God). Hosea’s prophesies were unique in the sense that they were relayed through the names given to his children. This paper seeks to give an illustrative description on the first chapter of the book of Hosea.
In the letter from Luke to the Apostles, he addresses the apostles on how they are to live and govern themselves as individuals and in community. These specifications are echoes of the passage in John 20:21 where Jesus says to his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” The meaning of the phrase can be understood as, the apostles are to act as Jesus acted, for his actions were those set out by God the Father. In the Acts of the Apostles there are several examples where the apostles are directly in accordance with the prior actions/experiences of Jesus Christ; baptism by the Holy Spirit, curing the crippled man, and facing persecution.