Study From the Book of Acts,3

Study From the Book of Acts,3  

Today we study the third chapter of the Book of Acts and we choose two biblical principles and their lessons which are useful in Biblical Counselling.

When the disciples about to enter the gate called Beautiful for praying as they kept Jewish tradition, a lame man was laid begging near the gate. This gate opened into the Court of Women from the outer Court of the Gentiles.

Peter and John did not lay their hands on the beggar and pray for God to heal him. Rather as apostles with the power of God to perform signs and wonders, they simply told him to rise up and walk in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when the beggar stood and walked, the only reasonable explanation was that God healed him. The people were following them, but the apostles immediately gave all the glory to Jesus.

Peter took this occasion to preach saying that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead as confirmation that His sacrifice was accepted. Peter pointed to the healing of the beggar as a sign of the glorification of Christ. The people handed Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified. Yet God had raised the crucified Jesus from the dead. It was in the name of this very same Jesus that the crippled man was healed. Throughout Peter’s sermon in chapter 2, he balanced the human responsibility of the Jews and Romans with the eternal plan of God.

Peter challenged the people to repent and be converted, to change their thinking about Jesus as their Messiah and to serve Him.

Structure:

Verses 1-10: a lame man healed

Verses 11-26: preaching in Solomon’s Portico.

Principle 5: verse 3:12- “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”

 Lesson 5: No matter how greatly the Lord may choose to use us, we must be careful to let people know that God is the one at work within us. He accomplishes whatever good thing might occur through us.

Principle 6: verse 3:19- “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the prescence of the Lord.”

Lesson 6: Who does not need “times of refreshing”? Who does not need a new start, a spiritual renewal, a fresh touch of God on their life? All these things come through an intimate relationship with the Lord.16/2/2025