Acts - Reformed Expository Commentary (Thomas)

The church in our time easily loses sight of her mission to witness to the resurrected Christ. Studying Acts identifies us with the early church and the way the gospel shaped her as she began witnessing in Judea and continuing, in concentric circles, “to the end of the earth.” Acts reminds us that the story of the church remains incomplete—that there continues to this day an “Acts 29.”

We face relentless opposition as our postmodern world mirrors the world of the apostles. Planting and growing churches in such an environment poses particular challenges. Nevertheless, Acts clearly demonstrates that no obstacle can withstand the power of the Holy Spirit. As he did in the early church, the Holy Spirit teaches us in Acts to “expect great things.”

As are all the books in the Reformed Expository Commentary series, this exposition of Acts is accessible to both pastors and lay readers. Each volume in the series provides exposition that gives careful attention to the biblical text, is doctrinally Reformed, focuses on Christ through the lens of redemptive history, and applies the Bible to our contemporary setting.

Table of Contents:

1. Gazing into Heaven (1:1-11)
2. Then They Were Twelve Again (1:12-26)
3. Pentecostal Fire! (2:1-13)
4. The ‘This Is That’ Sermon (2:14-41)
5. How They Love One Another (2:42-47)
6. Jumping for Joy! (3:1-10)
7. A New Testament Sermon on an Old Testament Text (3:11-26)
8. The Cost of Discipleship (4:1-22)
9. Praying Boldly (4:23-31)
10. Field of Dreams (4:32-5:11)
11. Prison Break! (5:12-32)
12. Leave These Men Alone! (5:33-42)
13. Murmurings (6:1-7)
14. Angelic Stephen (6:8-15)
15. ‘Brothers and Father, Hear Me’ (7:1-53)
16. Resisting the Holy Spirit (7:1-53)
17. The First Christian Martyr (7:54-8:1)
18. Preaching Christ in Samaria (8:1b-8)
19. Buying Your Way to Power (8:9-25)
20. The Great Search (8:26-40)
21. The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus (9:1-19a)
22. A Basket Case! (9:19b-31)
23. ‘Tabitha Cumi’ (9:32-43)
24. Pork – The Other White Meat! (10:9-23a)
25. All Change! (10:1-9, 23b-48)
26. Convincing the Home Church (11:1-18)
27. Call Them ‘Christians’! (11:19-30)
28. The Great Escape (12:1-19a)
29. Church Growth – New Testament Style (12:19b-25)
30. Catching the Vision for Missions (13:1-12)
31. Preaching Jesus (13:13-52)
32. A Tale of Three Cities (14:1-20)
33. Mission Report (14:21-28)
34. Cutting Cost! (15:1-21)
35. The ‘Letter’ of the Law? (15:22-35)
36. Brotherly Strife! (15:36-41)
37. ‘Come Over and Help Us’ (16:1-15)
38. Prison Time (16:16-40)
39. Disturbing the Peace (17:1-9)
40. How to Listen to a Sermon (17:10-15)
41. Jerusalem and Athens (17:16-34)
42. Do Not Be Afraid (18:1-17)
43. Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos (18:18-28)
44. The Gospel Comes to Ephesus (19:1-20)
45. City Riot (19:21-41)
46. A Deadly Sermon! (20:1-12)
47. A Solemn Charge (20:13-38)
48. ‘The Lord’s Will Be Done’ (21:1-16)
49. ‘Told You So!’ (21:17-26)
50. In Chains (21:27-36)
51. ‘Fathers and Brethren’ (22:1-30)
52. ‘I Am a Pharisee’ (23:1-11)
53. The Conspiracy (23:12-35)
54. The Procrastinator (24:1-27)
55. Porcius Festus (25:1-12)
56. King Agrippa – Almost Persuaded? (25:13-26:32)
57. Peril at Sea (27:1-44)
58. Rome at Last (28:1-16)
59. Preaching Christ from Prison (28:17-31)

Author 

Derek Thomas is minister of preaching and teaching at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina. He is editorial director of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and distinguished visiting professor of systematic and historical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.