3 Reasons for Being a Christian
After Paul made his impassioned defense before Agrippa, and he pressed Agrippa about his own belief in the acts of Jesus, Agrippa told Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28). There’s no evidence that Agrippa ever became a Christian. There’s even a question about his sincerity when he made the remark […]
The Conversion of Cornelius
Cornelius was a Roman centurion who lived in Caesarea, a prominent city in the first century. The Holy Spirit described Cornelius as “a devout man and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always” (Acts 10:2). Such a man would be regarded in […]
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus
There are nine or ten different individuals or groups of individuals whose conversions are recorded in Acts. In the case of Cornelius (the first Gentile, Acts 10-11) there are two separate accounts of his conversion. In the case of Saul of Tarsus, there are three different accounts: the first is the account of the historian, […]
The Conversion of the Samaritans
Satan is never happy when men repent of their allegiance to him and turn to Jesus to seek the forgiveness of sins. The massive responses that occurred when the gospel was first preached at Pentecost, followed by the responses from the apostles’ daily preachings in the temple and throughout Jerusalem, brought the number of obedient […]
Three Things That Caused Felix to Tremble
The prophecy of Agabus (Acts 21:11) is soon fulfilled and Paul finds himself being arrested and on trial before the Sanhedrin. Later Paul, upon a conspiracy to kill him, is moved to Caesarea. At Caesarea, Paul has three opportunities to present his defense and to preach the gospel to the Roman authorities who now hold […]
3,000 Conversions at Pentecost
Acts 1 tells that after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His apostles several times over a 40-day period. The gospels say that these days were divided between Jerusalem in Judaea, and in Galilee. His first appearances occurred over eight days in Jerusalem; then the disciples went back to Galilee and He appeared to them there. […]
New Testament Conversions
The words “convert,” “converted,” “converting,” and “conversion” are related words, all of which have the same root meaning. Each word indicates a turning from something and a turning toward something else. We are told that except one be “converted” and become as a little child, he shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of […]
The Treasure Hunt
Do you remember how fun treasure hunts were when you were a child? The excitement and challenge used to keep me going no matter how hard the articles were to find. I believe that in the big picture of life, we have higher, nobler “treasure hunt” in which to participate. The Lord told a total […]
The Shame of Entropy
Paul wrote, “I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?” (1 Corinthians 6:5). The word for “shame” in this verse is the Greek entrope, meaning “turning inward” or “inversion.” It is used only one […]
The Salvation Testified of Beforehand
“Anticipation.” A word used to describe the feelings of a child the night before his birthday party all the way up to a CEO the night before a big business deal. Anticipation is where people are looking to something eagerly and want to receive it. Imagine an event that has been prophesied of over 100 […]