Tagged: Bible Study

“He Whom God has exalted at His right hand as Ruler and Savior is to bring repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. We testify to this. So too does the Holy Spirit, Whom God has given to those that obey Him.” –Acts 5:31-32 To have Easter, we must have Pentecost. Only by the Holy Spirit can we recognize the risen Christ. To receive the Holy Spirit and to live our new life in the Spirit, we must obey God (Acts 5:32). The Greek word translated “obey” in Acts 5:29, 32 is not the common Greek word for obedience. It...

“The judgment of condemnation is this: the Light came into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were wicked.” –John 3:19 Darkness is the absence of light. You can make a dark room light by turning on a flashlight. However, you can’t make a light room dark by turning on a “flashdark.” By definition, no one can invent a machine that shines darkness which overpowers light. You can only make a room dark by extinguishing the source of the light. Jesus came to the world as its Light (Jn 12:46). However, men hated the light...

“You must all be begotten from above.” –John 3:7 One simple test of whether or not you’re living the radically different risen life is your attitude toward money. If you live the risen life, you aren’t preoccupied with money. Like Barnabas and other disciples in the early Church, you’d gladly sell your “property or houses” for the Lord (Acts 4:34). It isn’t a problem to tithe and give alms, for you’re more concerned with the welfare of the needy than with possessions (Acts 4:34). Risen life is completely different than life before the resurrection. The difference is even more striking...

“After being released, the two went back to their own people.” –Acts 4:23 The Church has completed the eight-day celebration of the Octave of Easter. We have been celebrating Jesus’ return after three days in the tomb. When Jesus rose from the tomb, He returned to His followers. He then acted with great power, teaching the Scriptures and conferring the Holy Spirit in a life-changing way. Peter and John imitated Jesus’ pattern when they were set free after being held captive. Upon “being released, the two went back to their own people” (Acts 4:23). Together, they prayed with such confidence...

“With power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” –Acts 4:33 Pope John Paul II called our culture a “culture of death.” This seems to indicate that the new life in the risen Christ has not been widely accepted. Why have we not been effective in witnessing with power for the risen Christ? To witness with power, we must witness with our lips and our money and possessions. “None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common” (Acts 4:32). However, even if we did pool our resources, we would probably...