Sermon Quotes: "A Dangerous Gospel"

“Many writers briefly mention suffering or persecution in Acts. Very few, however, explain its significance at length…” Paul House

“In short, Acts has no purpose, no plot, no structure, and no history without suffering. Therefore proper interpretation of Acts depends in part on the commentator’s grasp of suffering’s importance in Acts.” Paul House

“It will have included the doctrines of the living God, the Creator of all things, of Jesus Christ his Son, who died for our sins and was raised according to the Scriptures, now reigns and will return, of the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer and animates the church, of the new community of Jesus and the high standards of holiness and love he expects from his people and of the strong hope laid up for us in heaven.” John Stott

“Although there have been several accounts of persecution so far in Luke’s narrative, the pastoral application in these verses functions to challenge readers more directly about this issue than ever before.” David Peterson

 

“Christianity just isn’t cool, savvy, or hip. As my sons repeatedly tell me, ‘Dad, you’re a balding middle-aged guy; you listen to rock dinosaurs from the land time forgot; you still call male hairdressers ‘barbers’; and you’re a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church; you can never, ever be cool; and the more you try to be so, the more embarrassing you become.’ And the same applies to evangelical Christianity-evangelicalism just isn’t cool or hip or avant-garde, and attempts to make it appear so, whether theologically or culturally, always end up self-defeating, rather sad and pitiful. It doesn’t matter whether you sport a ponytail, spout postmodern gobbledygook, wear a Kurt Cobain T-shirt, or have a strong opinion on which U2 album is the best-if you’re an evangelical Christian, there’s something ineradicably uncool about you.” Carl Trueman

“Although Luke has highlighted some success in ministry to Jews on this campaign, it is the amazing gift of faith to so many Gentiles that is the focus of their report. Since the implied audience is a predominantly Gentile church in Antioch, the ‘door of faith’ image must refer to something new: a deep and extensive impact of the gospel on the Gentile world.” David Peterson