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304 articles found for “Acts”

• Acts of the Apostles

  The Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament. It records how, after the ascension of Jesus Christ and with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the church began in Jerusalem and spread as far as Rome.

• Acts 1:8

  The passage in which Jesus, just before his ascension, tells the disciples that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them they will receive power and be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The verse previews the narrative of the entire Book of Acts and serves as a leading watchword for missions. The nature of the experience of the Spirit implied by "receiving power" is debated.

• Acts 2:1–4

  This passage recounts how the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples gathered on the day of Pentecost with a sound like wind and with tongues as of fire, and how they began to speak in other languages. It is commemorated as the beginning of the church. What these tongues were, and whether the same experience continues today, are major points of disagreement among denominations.

• Acts 2:38

  When the crowd that heard Peter's Pentecost sermon asked, "What shall we do?" Peter answered that they should repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Denominations differ in how they interpret the relationship between baptism and the forgiveness of sins, and in what baptism "in the name of Jesus" means.

• Acts 2:44–45

  An account of how, after Pentecost, the believers lived together, had all things in common, and sold their possessions to distribute to each according to need. Although the passage is often idealized as a portrait of the early church community, it has been debated whether it sets a norm the church today should follow and how it relates to socialist thought.

• Acts 4:12

  Acts 4:12 records Peter's declaration before the Jewish supreme council, the Sanhedrin: "Neither is there salvation in any other." It is a leading text for the confession that Jesus Christ alone is the way of salvation and is often cited in discussions of the salvation of adherents of other religions and of those who have never heard the gospel.

• Acts 16:31

  In this verse Paul and Silas answer the jailer of the prison at Philippi: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Widely cherished as a verse of hope for the salvation of one's family, it has prompted discussion of two questions: whether "thy house" is a promise concerning the whole family, and whether household baptisms support infant baptism.

• Acts 20:35

  The verse in which Paul, taking leave of the elders of the church at Ephesus, urges them to remember the words of the Lord Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." It is one of the rare verses that preserve a saying of Jesus not recorded in the four Gospels, and it is widely cited to encourage sharing and giving.

• Acts 5:29

  Acts 5:29 records the reply of Peter and the apostles to the Jerusalem council's order forbidding them to preach: "We ought to obey God rather than men." The verse is frequently cited when the commands of state authority conflict with religious conscience.

• Acts 21:9

  A verse reporting that when Paul and his companions stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist in Caesarea, Philip had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. Because it records the prophetic activity of women in the early church, it is frequently cited in discussions of women's ordination and the gift of prophecy.

• Acts 20:34–35

  The closing section of Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders. Paul reminds them of his example of working with his own hands to help the weak and passes on a saying of Jesus not found in the Gospels: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The passage is frequently cited in discussions of charitable giving and self-supporting (tentmaking) ministry.

• Acts 2:42–47

  A passage summarizing the life of the first community of believers in Jerusalem after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, describing their devotion to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer, and their sharing of possessions. It is frequently cited as a model for the church, though interpretations differ on the sharing of property and the meaning of "the breaking of bread."

• Acts 28:3–6

  Acts 28:3–6 recounts how Paul was bitten by a viper on the island of Melita yet suffered no harm, so that the islanders' judgment of him shifted from "murderer" to "god." The passage is read as a demonstration of God's providence and protection and is frequently discussed in connection with the sign described in Mark 16:18.

• Acts 3:17

  A verse from Peter's sermon in Solomon's Porch, in which he says that the people of Jerusalem and their rulers who delivered Jesus to death did so "through ignorance." It is frequently cited in discussions of the relationship between ignorance and guilt, the verse's connection to the call to repentance, and the question of Jewish collective responsibility.

• Acts 7:60

  Acts 7:60 records the prayer of Stephen, who, as he was being stoned to death, asked forgiveness for those who were killing him. Because it echoes Jesus' prayer on the cross and because Saul (Paul) was present at the scene, the verse is frequently cited as an example of love for one's enemies and of martyrdom.

• Acts 10:44–46

  This passage describes how, while Peter was preaching in the house of Cornelius, the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentile listeners, and they spoke with tongues and magnified God. It marks a turning point in the mission to the Gentiles and is frequently cited in discussions of Spirit baptism and speaking in tongues.

• Acts 22:16

  In this verse the apostle Paul recounts the words Ananias spoke to him at the time of his conversion, words that link baptism with the washing away of sins. For this reason, the verse is frequently cited and variously interpreted by different denominations in discussions of the place of baptism in salvation.

• Acts 16:14-15

  In this passage, set in Philippi, the Lord opens the heart of Lydia as she listens to Paul, and she and her whole household are baptized. It is frequently cited in discussions of divine initiative in conversion, household baptism, and hospitality.

• Acts 2:39–41

  The verses that conclude Peter's sermon at Pentecost, proclaiming that the promise is "unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off" and reporting that about three thousand were baptized that day. The passage is frequently cited in the debate over infant baptism and in discussions of the promise of the Holy Spirit.

• Acts 4:32–35

  A summary passage in Acts reporting that the believers of the early Jerusalem church held their possessions in common and distributed them according to need, so that none among them lacked. It is often cited as a model of church community and sharing, and there is ongoing discussion about how far this sharing of property should be imitated today.