Acts: The Spread of the Gospel

This study is taken from John MacArthur's "Acts: The Spread of the Gospel." My prayer and goal for this devo is that we will learn more about how the early church laid the foundation for what we possess today, and that we would allow God to use us to turn our world upside for Him!

This will be an exciting journey, so encourage others to join you! I'm looking forward to the interaction we will have on this blog as we study the book of Acts!

The devos will differ in format from day to day, but two things are constant: 1) a daily reading, and 2) additional Scripture passages that are in bold. Be sure to read any and all of the readings/bold verses that appear so that you can see the full picture of what is taught that day.

Remember, you can access any of the previous devos that have been posted from the "Blog Archive" section on the left side of this page.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Shine, Jesus, Shine - Part 2 - Devo for 05/27/08

Reading
John 8:31-47

Responsive Questions
1. Jesus makes another startling claim in verses 31-32. Those who hear Jesus' claim interrupt him to say that they are already free. What analysis does Jesus give of their "freedom" (vv. 34-36)?
2. Jesus' opponents also claim to have both Abraham and God as their father. According to Jesus, how does their conduct contradict their claim (vv. 39-47)?
3. Why is our conduct a valid test of our beliefs?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Responsive
1. That a slave does not have a permanent place in a family like a Son does. A son belongs to a family forever, a slave only for a time.
2. He said if they were Abraham's children they would follow him and not want to put Jesus to death.
3. "Actions speak louder than words". What we live and how we act is a reflection of what is in our hearts and what we believe.

Anonymous said...

1.They were not truly free,but were bound by their sin and could not be free unless Christ freed them.In the same fashion,slaves were not free unless freed by their masters.

2.He said if they really believed God to be their father, they would believe in Jesus, and not try to murder Him.

3.How we act reflects not only our own hearts, but those who we follow.If we truly follow after God,we would live like He wants us to live.If what we say and how we act are totally different,how can we be a true testimony to unbelievers?

Anonymous said...

Reading
John 8:31-47

Responsive Questions
1. Jesus makes another startling claim in verses 31-32. Those who hear Jesus' claim interrupt him to say that they are already free. What analysis does Jesus give of their "freedom" (vv. 34-36)?

that their freedom is not true freedom. the freedom that Jesus is talkin about is the freedom of sin.

2. Jesus' opponents also claim to have both Abraham and God as their father. According to Jesus, how does their conduct contradict their claim (vv. 39-47)?

Because if theyre father was Abraham they would do as he would and love Jesus, and if theyre father was God they would be able to listen and understand Jesus's words. But they cannont understand and they do not do.

3. Why is our conduct a valid test of our beliefs?

Becuase we must do as we believe.
we must follow out believes threw our actions, not just our words.

Anonymous said...

1. That everyone is a slave to sin.
2. I think it say that you can only have one father and that is Jesus himself.
3. if it's not then people don't see it in you.

Anonymous said...

1.that they are slaves to sin and if the Son sets you free your free.
2.he says that well abraham is your father and he believed the truth but you are his sons and yet you are trying to kill me.
3.it shows what we believe and how it affects us.

Anonymous said...

Anwser to #1
That you cant be free if you dont have the Son.

Anwser to #2
That if they are Abraham's children that they wouldnt want to kill Jesus.

Anwser to #3
Well how we live and act reflects on how our hearts are and our beliefs.

Anonymous said...

1. He says that they're slaves to their sins. We can be freed through God's Son.

2. If they believed in God, they should have not tried to kill him.

3. We should act like who we believe in.

Anonymous said...

Responsive Questions

1)That everyone sins and you have to believe in Jesus to be your savior

2)They didn't want to kill Jesus

3)That we have to believe

Anonymous said...

1. We are slaves to sin and we can'[t be free unless he says we are free.

2. He said if they really were Abrahams children and loved God they would not want to kill Jesus.

3. We need to act like who and what we believe in

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

1. The analogy is that of a family. A son is permanent but a slave is not a permanent part of a family.
2.If they were descendant of Abraham they would do as he. They were wanting to kill Christ therefore they weren't acting as their father (Abraham). IF they wre descendants of Christ they would do as He daid.
3. Yo uact upon what you believe. As last Sunday's message, love is an action, you're loyal to that which you love.

Anonymous said...

responsive
1.that you will be completely free if the son sets you free because the son belongs to the family always but the slave doesnt.
2.because they said that god is their only father but Jesus said if God were your father then you would do what God does but they dont so thats why it contradicts.
3.because it shows who you are more like God or the devil.

Anonymous said...

Responsive Questions
1)That we all sinners and we come short of the gorly of God
2)They don't want to hurt or kill Jesus
3)That we have to trust God

Anonymous said...

Answer to 1.
He says that anyone that has ever sinned is a servant of sin.

Answer to 2.
Jesus tells them that if they were sons of Abraham, they would serve God like him.(When jesus referred to the Father, the jews said that they only had one father, Abraham.)

Answer to 3.
Its the only way for other people to see Gods light shine through us, and if we act a lot different than we do at church, than other people will think we are just like the world.

Anonymous said...

Responsive Questions
1. Jesus makes another startling claim in verses 31-32. Those who hear Jesus' claim interrupt him to say that they are already free. What analysis does Jesus give of their "freedom" (vv. 34-36)?

He tells them that they are enslaved to their sin. However, once they place their faith in the Son, then the Son will make them free.

2. Jesus' opponents also claim to have both Abraham and God as their father. According to Jesus, how does their conduct contradict their claim (vv. 39-47)?

If they really cared about following Abraham or God, then they would not want to kill Jesus or ignore the things He has to say. The fact that they do not believe the truth He presents is proof that they are not "of God" or "of Abraham."

3. Why is our conduct a valid test of our beliefs?

Because we only act upon what we believe to be true. If our overall conduct is contrary to the things we say, then what we say is not the truth.

Anonymous said...

1. When we are living in sin, we are in bondage to it...and those who live in bondage don't live in the house like the children of the master do.
2. Jesus said that if they were really children of Abraham spiritually, then they would believe Him, as Abraham did (He looked for a Savior to come), and would not try to kill Him (Abraham did everything he could to enable to Savior to come one day).
3. Our actions are determined by what we believe. If we truly believe God is true, then we will obey what He says, knowing it is the best course of action.

Anonymous said...

1.that everyone sins not just one person
2.they did not want to kill jesus
3.that we do belive in jesus and you know it

Anonymous said...

that everybody is not to slave for sin.
2. I think that you can not have alot of fathers becuse god is the only.

3.If it's not you people don't see howyou are.