Week 2

Read: Acts 21:40-22:21 and Acts 26:2-29

In this week’s video, Pastor Billy lays out a simple guideline for organizing your personal, baseline testimony (that is, your account of your own salvation experience or of your experience of becoming a deeply committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ).  That guideline was largely derived from how the apostle Paul shared his own baseline testimony in these two passages of Scripture. 

 The first guideline is to keep your sharing under three minutes.  A casual, conversational reading of Paul’s sharing in Acts 21:40-22:21 should take a little more than two minutes; and a similar reading of Paul’s sharing in Acts 26:2-29 should take less than that.

Read: Acts 21:40-22:3 and Acts 26:2-3

Study Questions

1. In both these passages, Paul is getting started in his sharing. 

    

   1.     What is common to both these passages? 

    

   In both passages, Paul seeks to set his listeners at ease by showing them respect and trying to establish common ground with them. 

    

   2.     What are some specific ways Paul seeks to establish common ground with His Jewish audience in Acts 21:40-22:3?  What words does he use to address his hearers?  What impression or image do these words conjure?  What do you think Paul is trying to accomplish with his comments in Acts 22:2-3?  Similarly, how does Paul demonstrate respect for King Agrippa in Acts 26:2-3?

    

   Clearly, in calling His Jewish listeners “brothers and fathers” (Acts 22:1), Paul was seeking to show them honor and to indicate his belief that they were already connected as part of the same family.  He also accomplished some of the same thing by addressing them in Aramaic rather than in Greek.  Aramaic was the common language of the Jews of that day, and Paul’s use of it was a real point of connection.  You, too, should pay close attention to the language you use when speaking with those who don’t yet know the Lord Jesus.  Words that have clear meaning for you (words like salvation, saved, born again, sin, redemption, Christian, etc...) may be completely foreign or misleading to your listeners.

    

   Following Paul’s example, then, you want to demonstrate respect for your listeners and seek to establish some sort of connection with them from the outset – before you actually begin to share your story.

Read: ACTS 22:4-5 and Acts 26:9-11

After seeking to connect with his audience and set them at ease, Paul begins actually sharing his baseline testimony.  And in both these passages, the first section of that testimony involved telling what he was like before the Lord Jesus came into his life. 

1.    In your own words, describe how Paul portrayed himself in Acts 22:4-5.  What are some of the words Paul used that really jump out at you?

    

   2.     In your own words, describe how Paul portrayed himself in Acts 26:9-11.  What are some of the words Paul used here that jumped out at you?

    

   3.     In Acts 22:5 and Acts 26:10 and 12, Paul made mention of the Jewish rulers and their endorsement of his activities.  Why do you think he did that?

    

   4.     In talking about his life before Christ, what are some of the specifics (the details) Paul used to help his listeners understand what he was like at the time?

    

   5.     In three or four sentences, using one or two specific examples, describe what you were like before surrendering your life to the Lord Jesus.

    

   In describing his life before Christ, Paul didn’t pull any punches, saying: he “persecuted” Christians (both men and women) “to their death” (22:4); cast his vote for their executions (26:10b), and “tried to force them to blaspheme” (26:11).  He even went so far as call his persecutorial activities an “obsession” (26:11).  In Greek, the phrase translated as obsession in the NIV (1984) literally means to rage exceedingly like a maniac.

    

   6.     Paul was very honest about his sinful actions and attitudes.  Why was he able to be so honest – with complete strangers! – about such horrible behaviors and attitudes?  When you know you’ve been forever forgiven, cleansed, and changed by Christ, you don’t have to hide from the truth or try to protect your reputation from that which is no longer who you are.  How comfortable are you in sharing some of the less pleasant aspects of your life before Christ?  Are you settled and confident that God has forgiven and changed you so that your past sins and failings no longer define who you are?

    

   While Paul spoke bluntly about his own sinful past, and even gave some examples, notice that he didn’t dwell on his sins or in any way seek to romanticize, minimize, or excuse them.  And notice, too, that the examples he gives stop short of lurid detail.  He didn’t make any effort to sensationalize his sin or to make it the focus of his story.  In preparing your baseline testimony, share enough to give an accurate picture of your brokenness and need, but no more than that.

Reread Acts 22:6-16 and Acts 26:12-18

The second section of Paul’s testimony recorded how he came to surrender his life to the Lord Jesus.  Without a doubt, the imminent, blinding appearance of the Lord made for a pretty impressive story; and most Christians have not had such a profoundly tangible encounter.  But the absence of a blinding light and an audible voice does not make your saving (or life transforming) experience of the Lord any less real or any less miraculous.

9.     What was it that first (or fully) opened your eyes to your need for a Savior, to your need for forgiveness and a new beginning?  Who or what did God use to make you realize you needed Him?

10.     What was it that first (or fully) opened your eyes to the reality that, through the Lord Jesus Christ, you could actually be forgiven, changed, and saved?  Did someone share something with you that just clicked?  Did you read something that turned on a light bulb? 

The Lord Jesus appeared directly to Saul of Tarsus, but He most often presents Himself and the gospel to people through the medium of other Christians. 

For some people, there’s a progression of insights and experiences that culminates in repentance and saving faith. 

11.     If your experience involved that sort of process and progression, what were some of the key moments or revelations that got your attention along the way?  What was the final insight or experience that ultimately convinced and moved you to entrust your life to Christ?

Even though Paul’s experience was unique, it still included elements familiar to most believers, such as: (1) a faithful Christian (Ananias) who helped him understand and welcomed him into the church as a brother (22:12-16); (2) the blessing of water baptism (22:16); (3) the call to spend the rest of his life serving God as a witness for Him (22:15; 26:16); and (4) the commission to seek to lead others to saving faith in Christ (26:18).  You may want to include some of these same elements in sharing your story, as well.  If you do, they make a nice transition to the third and final section of your baseline testimony.

Reread Acts 22:12-21 and Acts 26:19-22

The third and final section of Paul’s testimony involved how the Lord changed him once he became a Christian.  Of all the major world religions, only Christianity promises real, internal transformation.  Other religions demand that you labor to change yourself; but in Christ, He changes you by His Spirit and His Word and you labor to believe and walk out that which He’s done. 

12.     According to Acts 22:13, what was the first thing Paul experienced?

From a literal, material perspective, Paul experienced the miracle of having his sight restored, possibly as a manifestation of healing.  But from a figurative perspective, he began to be able to see clearly. 

13.     When you gave your heart to Jesus, how did your perspective on things change?  What things did He help you see clearly for the first time? 

Notice also in Acts 22:13, that Ananias referred to Saul as “brother.”

14.     After becoming a Christian, what role did the church, the family of God, begin to play in your life?

In Acts 22:15 and Acts 26:16-18, Paul acknowledged that, in coming to Christ, he had a responsibility to share the good news with others.  And in Acts 22:17-21 and Acts 26:19-20, he shared how he started living out this new life as a witness for the Lord Jesus.  He tells of praying and sharing his story and being led by the voice of Lord.  In short, he explains how he became the exact opposite of what he had been before, having been transformed from persecutor to proclaimer.  But notice that, in sharing these changes, he was careful to keep Jesus (not himself) as the focus and hero of the story.

15.     In three or four sentences, using one or two specific examples, describe some ways you became different or some things you began to do differently once you surrendered your life to the Lord.

HOMEWORK:  Take the time this week to begin to write out your baseline testimony – your simple proclamation about how and when you first came to the Lord or first came to really trust in or commit yourself to Him – using the simple guidelines provided in this lesson: (1) keep it to three minutes max; (2) open with a brief description of your life before Christ; (3) move into a description of how you came to recognize your need and then trust in Him; and (4) close with a brief, God-honoring description of ways you’ve been changed since coming to faith.  Be prepared to practice sharing these baseline testimonies within your small group next week