Acts: Lesson 8

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 15-16

If you are looking for the beginning of this study you can start HERE with the brief introduction. At the bottom of that introduction will be the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. For this study the English Standard Version is the translation that is being utilized and you can read it online HERE or pick up the copy of your choice from Amazon or your local book store. I find THIS EDITION to be useful for deeper study and annotation.

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Faith, Joy, Freedom vs. Bondage

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What were some men “from Judea…teaching the brothers”?

2. Who “gathered together to consider” this controversial teaching?

3. Concerning what did Peter say “no distinction” had been made? 

4. What did the Jerusalem council determine to tell the gentile believers they should “abstain from”?

5. Which four men are chosen to deliver the Jerusalem council’s letter to the gentile believers?

6. What disagreement divided Paul and Barnabas from one another?

7. What “vision appeared to Paul”?

8. What does the text tell us about the city of Philippi?

9. What do we learn about Lydia?

10. What did Paul and Silas do which got them put in prison in Philippi?

11. What events led to the salvation of the Philippian jailer and his household?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. What should we infer about how our churches ought to operate from the fact that elders from various churches, from various cities, came together to discuss and make a decision concerning an important matter?

2. Did the Jerusalem council end up telling the gentile Christians they had to obey some of the law to be a Christian or should we understand their instructions in some other way?

3. Why would Paul have Timothy circumcised even though it has just been made clear that circumcision is not necessary to be a Christian?

4. What should we make of the fact that Acts 16:6 refers to the “Holy Spirit” and the next verse refers to the “Spirit of Jesus”? 

5. Why was Paul annoyed by the fortune-telling slave girl even though she was saying what was true?

6. Why was Roman citizenship such a big deal?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Would it hurt to insist that gentiles should keep the law of Moses in order to be saved? If so, why? If not, why not? Explain what is at stake in this debate.

2. How much of an effect does the beliefs and practices of parents have on their children? Should parents try to keep their children from being affected by their personal beliefs so kids can form their own opinions? Why or why not? Defend your answer with good reasoning.

3. What is the purpose of citizenship? Why is it even a concept? What should determine who is and who is not a citizen? Explain your answer carefully.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Genesis 7:1 and Genesis 35:1-4 and consider the concept of “households”. How does the faith of the head of a household have an effect upon the whole of the household? How does this relate to our present reading?

2. Read Genesis 17:1-14. For whom was the covenant sign of circumcision to be given and why?

3. Read 1 Corinthians 7:12-16. Who is made “holy” by even one believing adult in a household? What implications does this have for the households discussed in Acts 16?