The goal of your faith

(The faith of early Christians)

Acts 1:1-28:31

Key Verse 1 Peter 1:8-9

The Apostle Peter says that the goal of our faith in the Lord is our salvation in the Lord. 

The question then becomes, “Is my faith right?” We can find the answer to this question by comparing our faith with the faith of the early Christians. [By “early Christians” we mean the believers who witnessed the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and those who believed through the preaching of the early apostles.]

[This is a topical study.]

1. Read Acts 1:1-8. What does this passage tell us about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the early Christians? 

** They were led directly by the Holy Spirit. 

2. Skim through the book of Acts and notice the early Christians' prayer life. What do their examples indicate about the power (or significance) of prayer?

** They kept their integrity as Christ’s bride through prayer. They overcame persecutions through prayer. Through prayer they secured the power to overcome temptations. Through prayer they received comfort and encouragement even in an uncomfortable and discouraging environment. 

3. Read Acts 1:14 and 2:44. These verses tell us that the early believers lived "together". What spiritual applications can we learn in our generation? (Cf. Hebrews 10:25)

** Like them we need to regard fellow believers as members of a family. So we need to support each other sharing with one another what we have received from the Lord. 

4. Read Acts 2:42 and 18:5, and compare these verses with Colossians 4:16 and 1 Thessalonians 5:27. What do these passages indicate about the way early Christians were fed with the word of God (or the Scriptures)?  

** In those days the cannon was yet to be completed. So they were nurtured through the teachings of the apostles. Later as the apostle-generated epistles circulated among them, they memorized the words of the Apostles. Since the printing press was yet to be invented, the copies of the Old and New Testament Scriptures were rare. So they had to learn everything by heart.  

5. Read Acts 23:6 and 26:6,7. What do these passages indicate about (one of) the characteristics of the faith of the early Christians (such as Paul)? (Cf. 1Pe 1:4; Rev 2:10)

** They believed in the resurrection of believers. In this hope they joyfully suffered martyrdom.

6. Examine Acts 15:1-35. In what respect was it not always easy for the Jewish believers to get along with the Gentile believers? Yet, what do you think made the two groups of people become members of the same family?

** Jews maintained sets of traditions, cultures, customs, which the Gentiles cold not accept, and vice versa. Yet in Jesus they overcame all differences and lived like members of one family.

7. Memorize Romans 8:29 and compare this passage with Acts 28:30-31. What do these verses indicate about the ultimate goal the early Christians (such as the Apostle Paul or believers in Rome) strove to achieve? 

** The ultimate goal was to imitate and perfect Jesus’ likeness in themselves. [Read Genesis 1:26-28]

The end