Acts 8 Class 49: Cracking the Code of Early Christian Expansion/ Conversions spread outside the Jewish community

Prepare to step back in time as we navigate the early days of the Christian church during intense persecution. We're taking you through a riveting journey of faith, unfolding the narrative of Acts chapter 8, featuring Philip's missionary journey to Samaria and his encounter with an Ethiopian official that shattered racial barriers. 

We promise a close look into Simon the Sorcerer's transformation from a man of enchantment to an adherer to the Gospel. The tale doesn't end there. We'll also shed light on how Christianity morphed from a Jewish sect to a faith that crossed borders, reaching as far as Ethiopia and Antioch. We'll tackle the tricky transition of the disciples from their deep-rooted Jewish conventions and Peter's justification for inducting non-Jews into the church. Prepare for a fascinating exploration into the early Christian church's evolving identity and the challenges it overcame. You're in for a treat!

 I'm so glad you're here. It's a pleasure to study with you.

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Transcript

Conversion Spread Outside Jewish Community

Juantrell Lovette 0:03

Let's talk about love . Let's talk about money . Let's talk about sex . Let's talk about drug . Let's talk about you . Let's talk about me . Let's talk about us . Let's talk about we . Let's talk about you . Let's talk about me . Let's talk about us . Let's talk about we . Let's talk about wealth . Let's talk about greed . Let's talk being broke , living in poverty . Let's talk about black . Let's talk about white . Let's talk about how we still fight for our rights . Let's talk about sex games and drugs . Let's talk about God . Let's talk about love . Let's discuss our feelings .

Juantrell Lovette 0:44

Hey y'all , welcome to Bless To Be Us . I'm your cousin in Christ , juan Trole LeVette , and this is Buji Bible Studies . If you are new here , i'd like to welcome you to the number one Bible study class that you will ever come across . If you are not new , you already know how we get down as we dive into the Bible and read a chapter a week and get the inside story of what took place back then . That is so vital for our lives today where we need to understand and have a relationship with God in this life today so that we can enjoy our lives . I mean , having a relationship with God is so essential that it be crazy for me , you or anybody else to try to survive without God or try to think that we got it all figured out , because let me tell you something , baby , i definitely don't have it figured out . But I know that if I focus on God , i know that all things will come together for my good . And I know that all things work together for my good because I can just look back at my life and I can see how things have played out and are playing out today . And let's jump into the story . Today we will be in Acts , chapter eight , and the title of our episode today is Conversion Spread Outside the Jewish Community . Now , the definition of conversions mean the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another . An example would be the conversion of food into body tissue . So today's title , acts eight In Saul approved of their killing , the church , persecuted and scattered .

Juantrell Lovette 2:36

On that day , a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria . Golly men buried Stefan and mourned deeply for him , but Saul began to destroy the church . Going from house to house , he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison . Philip in Samaria Verse four those who have been scattered preach the word wherever they went . Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there . When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed , they all paid close attention to what he said , for with shrieks and pure spirits came out of many , and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed . So there was great joy in that city .

Juantrell Lovette 3:30

Verse five , chapter eight crossing racial barriers . Philip visits to Samaria was quite remarkable in its day . Jewish people had little to do with the Samaritan's . Oh Jesus I am butchering this word Looking down on them for racial and religious reasons . Later , philip met with an Ethiopian official on a mission that crossed racial barriers . The modern Christian church in Ethiopia claims an uninterrupted descent from the conversion described in chapter eight . Let's proceed .

Juantrell Lovette 4:06

Simon the Sorcerer , verse nine now , for some time , a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria . He boasted that he was someone great and all the people , both high and low , gave him their attention and exclaimed this man is right , called the great power of God . They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery . But when they believed Philip , as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ , they were baptized , both men and women . Simon himself believed and was baptized , and he followed Philip everywhere , astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw .

Persecution and Expansion of Early Christianity

Juantrell Lovette 4:54

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God , they sent Peter and John to Samaria . When they arrived , they prayed for the new believers where they might receive the Holy Spirit , because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them . They had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus . Then Peter and John placed their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit . When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the lane on the apostles hands , he offered them money and said Give me also this ability that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit . Peter answered May your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money . You have no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not right . Before God , repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart , for I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin .

Juantrell Lovette 5:59

Gospel greed , chapter 8 , 18 through 20 . The tendency to exploit spiritual power for material profit did not originate with the digital age . Simon , a magician in Samaria , saw the gospel as a way to increase his own fame . The disciples had no more tolerance for his attitude than they had for the lies of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 . Verse 24, . Then Simon answered Pray to the Lord for me , so that nothing you have said may happen to me . After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus . Peter and John returned to Jerusalem preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages .

Juantrell Lovette 6:42

Philip and the Ethiopian , verse 26 . Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip Go south to the road , the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza . So he started out and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch , an important aficion in charge of all the treasuries of the Candace , which means Queen of the Ethiopians . This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet . The spirit told Philip Go to that chariot and stay near it . Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet . Do you understand what you are reading ? Philip asked How can I ? he said , unless someone explains it to me . So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him .

Juantrell Lovette 7:35

This is the passage of scripture that the eunuch was reading . He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before his shears is silent . So he did not open his mouth . In his humiliation he was deprived of justice . Who can speak of his descendants ? for his life was taken from the earth ? The eunuch asked Philip , tell me please . Who is the prophet talking about ? himself or someone else ?

Juantrell Lovette 8:04

Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus . As they traveled along the road , they came to some water and the eunuch said Look , here is water . What could stand in the way of my being baptized ? And he gave orders to stop the chariot . Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him . When they came up out of the water , the spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away and the eunuch did not see him again but went on his way rejoicing . Philip , however , appeared at azotas and traveled about preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea . I hope I'm not butchering that word either . That's the end of our chapter .

Juantrell Lovette 8:53

Alright , let's break it down , shall we ? The danger in being a Christian . It began as a Jewish sect . The fear . Persecution only helped . It spread .

Juantrell Lovette 9:06

So in Acts , chapter 8 , verse 1 , on that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem , and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea , in Samaria . In some countries , a person who becomes a Christian forfeits a good education and a job . In a few countries , those who convert even risk their lives . One church historian estimates that more Christians were matred in the last century than all preceding centuries put together . Yet , strangely , more often than not , intense persecution of Christians leads to a spurt of growth in the church . An ancient saying expressed this phenomenon the blood of the marchers is the seed of the church . The first big events .

Juantrell Lovette 9:59

For a while the new faith enjoyed popular favor , but very soon it evolved grave risk . In the Book of Acts , the persecution that produced the first Christian martyr , stephen , ironically brought about the advance of Christianity beyond its Jewish base . Forced out of stormy Jerusalem , the scattering Jewish Christians fled to other regions and began preaching to other races and ethnic groups . Philip preached first to the despised Samaria and then crossed racial barriers by helping to convert an official from Ethiopia . Acts documents a dramatic change in the church . What had been viewed as an offshoot of the Jewish religion , a Nazaring sect , in chapter 24 , verse 5 , began to encompass people from other religions , races and cultures . Before long , the center of church activity moved from Jerusalem to the city of Antioch . Their people coined the word Christian , indicating how separate the new faith had become . Never again would it be considered just a Jewish thing , breaking the Jewish mode .

Juantrell Lovette 11:15

As Luke tells it , taking the gospel to other ethnic groups requires some adjustment . Jewish disciples balked at letting go of their centuries old tradition and allowing the church to be flooded with non-Jews . Peter , one of the most loyal Jews , explained his dilemma this way Who was I to think that I could stand in God's way ? In chapter 11 , verse 17, . A direct , unmistakable vision from God in chapter 10 , verse 9 through 23 , overcame Peter's resistance to accepting non-Jews and later a decisive church council settled on a policy towards them in chapter 15 , verse 1 through 21 .

Juantrell Lovette 12:06

As the pages of X turn , whole province and cultures open up to the gospel . The faith that had been guarded by a small knot of intimate all-Jews who knew Jesus personally broke out into a rough world of soldiers , sorcerers , merchants and antagonists from other religions . This is a process was not without its bloody and frightening moment . Life question If severe persecution were to come to the church in your region today , what would happen to your faith As we break down the dangers in being a Christian ? this was the time X , chapter 8 , before Paul got , before Saul became Paul , and this is when he was actually persecuting the churches . But to get an understanding , it looked like at this time it's . That's when the churches began to scatter out . People began to scatter out and they began to take the word of God with them and preach it wherever they went to . So just like Philip who went , who went to go preaching Samaria and all that and was able to convert an Ethiopian man .

Juantrell Lovette 13:25

That's how the Christian community came about today . It's like it was . It was basically adopted . It was like adopted like a new world order , a new order of Christians , a new way of believers , and people who were non-Jews actually believed the stories of the Bible , believed that Jesus was the Messiah or believed . You know what was taking place . So it leads up to why we are so connected to the Christian community . Or you know , the Christian community got a chokehold on a lot of us and our families and generations past , generations before us . It's because how it broke out and a believer didn't just have to be a Jewish . A believer doesn't have to be just black , white , brown , yellow , green , orange . Or just not too long ago in China , a baby and their parents got put in prison for having a Bible . So persecution is still going on for people just believing the stories of the Bible , believing that Jesus came to do what he needed to do . God had a plan And so it's just so funny how persecution is still going on today .

Juantrell Lovette 14:41

So , like the question , say if severe persecution were to come to the church in your region today , what would happen to your faith ? For me , i guess nothing would happen to my faith . I think it would kind of like strengthen , because you will wonder why is somebody trying to persecute for what you believe ? How are people trying to hurt you based off of your belief ? Whether it's true or not , who's to say you know Jesus really came or not ? It's just the belief in all of us that will really piss somebody off , that you believe that somebody came to save your life . Like that really do mess with people . And I would just say for me it probably would make me believe even more . It probably would strengthen my faith because it would make me think like , why are you such against the way that ? I believe It have to be some truth behind it to make a person so angry or mad that want to persecute you . And it's still going on today . Look what just took place in China . They got put in prison a baby and his parents just for having a Bible , got put in prison just for believing . The story is like that's crazy to me . So the question goes to you what would you do , what would happen with your faith if persecution came today and our churches today ? Because it's still going on . Even church people still , even .

Juantrell Lovette 16:02

Just because they're in church don't mean that they make them like 100% believers , and just because the people who don't go to church don't make them non-believers . You know what I'm saying ? Like belief comes from within you . It's about your focus , what you believe in , what you can see , you know what God is installing into you , and I think that's why it's just so important to wake up with God and walk with God and talk with God and , you know , have that relationship with God . It's just super , super , super vital for your life , because persecution is happening every day .

Juantrell Lovette 16:40

These bills is persecuting the hell out of me . I tell you , i tell you , but every day God is showing up for me , god is making a way And it just be surprising me Like I'd be just surprised , i ain't even gonna hold y'all Like I'd be tripping out to see God come through for me how he does , like right on time . Don't even be my time , it'd be on his time or her time . However you identify your spiritual God . But it's like I'll be tripping off that because the moment you are born into this world it's like you're persecuted . You're persecuted of your identity , you're persecuted of having responsibilities that you don't even understand or can even fathom to understand , to think . Like you know , you're gonna be having so much weight on your shoulder just by being born in this world . So to try to live and survive without God is just crazy . It's crazy to me And every time I go sometime without Him or have not my mind on the higher creator , things always disturb me , disturb my peace , disturb my grace and mercy , and it's just like I'm honored .

Juantrell Lovette 17:51

I'm honored to have somebody fight my battles and have not saying somebody , because God is within me a spiritual entity And it's just , like you know , just to have this belief , because it's all about what you believe . We all live in this same world but yet we all have our own world within our own mind And it's mind-boggling to me sometimes when I think about it like dang , even though I'm in this world with all these people , it's all based on how I believe , what I believe , that's going to dictate my actions and dictate my next moves and things like that . It's my belief and that is really really important . So I'm just grateful and I thank God that the journey that I'm on with the creator you know , just spiritually connected to Mother Nature and the offerings that she brings , and the creator within me , and just being surrounded by the grace and the mercy of our creators Like , yeah , what more can I ask for ? I'm grateful and I'm thankful you guys . So thank you guys for checking out today's story .

Juantrell Lovette 19:04

I ain't even going to tell y'all what I got planned , because my plans never work out . I ain't even going to hold y'all no more . I'm going to just say I appreciate you guys listening to the podcast . Go ahead and check us out on social media blessed to be , as on Instagram , bougie Bible Studies on Facebook And go ahead and support this podcast . If you would click the link , it's right here in the description . Anything counts , anything matters . I appreciate it all And you just listening to this podcast . I appreciate that as well .

Juantrell Lovette 19:33

I have to be focused . I have to get on my focus because your girl is slipping and tripping and just tripping out like all week . All week has been a tough , rough week . June period hit me really , really hard and it hit me like unexpectedly right . So I got thrown off and I got thrown back . But what I'm going to do is try to tackle July Like head on and stay focused , and I just hope you guys are doing the same thing like staying focused . Man , it's a grouchy world out here . It's crazy and it's weird and it's sometimes it can be ill , you know . But more or less , thank you guys for checking me out and checking out this podcast And thank you guys for rocking with me your cousin in Christ Wontrol a bit . Until next time . I will talk to you later , bye .