IMPACT: Part 2

Tomorrow I am preaching on Acts 21-28. I was thinking a congregational reading is probably out of the picture. But I would like to suggest that each person from the congregation should read the entire story contained in these chapters. Tomorrow, we will bring to a close our year long study of Acts. Why will we end the study with such a huge chunk of Scripture?

I believe these last few accounts need to be taken together. Sure, there are plenty of individual sermons in the text, but when we take the whole last part of Acts as a whole we can begin to see the picture that Luke is painting. This is certainly the last act and the climax of the historical account of the movement of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). These chapters sound like the script to a great movie.

As I was reading the accounts I couldn't stop thinking about a recurring theme. Why was Paul on trial? What brought him into these crazy circumstances and adventure? Is Luke just telling us what happened to Paul or is there more to the inspiration of this text? The theme in these chapters is the message of the Gospel. Paul says that he is in chains because of the hope of Israel. He is in chains because of the Lord Jesus Christ--the resurrection and the life.

Luke's whole purpose is the story of the Gospel. He begins and ends with an impact--the mission of grace. Paul's mission is coming to an end in Rome as he ends his life preaching the Gospel of grace. Luke is telling us not only of the impact of Paul's ministry but more importanly the impact of the Gospel.

Are we still impacted by the Gospel? I don't mean for us to be driven to morality or more good deeds. I am asking if we are impacted by the historical events and purpose of Jesus' life, death and resurrection--that is the Gospel. When we are impacted by the Gospel we are driven to the cross. My hope and prayer is that tomorrow, as we invoke God to speak to us through his Word, that we would once again be impacted by the mission of grace.