Acts Study (11 of 44). 5:17-32 (65 min)

We’ll use today’s passage to springboard into a talk about a theology of canon. We’ll talk a bit about the history of canonical development. Today’s passage shows us the position of the apostolic church as a persecuted minority. Near the center of the Book of Acts, around the time of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, the Christian Church truly became separated in culture and religion to a strong degree. As we take the time to consider the implications of an overall growing persecution during the time of Acts, and the ebb and flow of persecution in various regions throughout the Roman Empire through the centuries that followed as well, it can help us see the amazing tenacity of the biblical text. We can see how certain it is that God has given his word to his people, and that his word has indeed been caused to persevere. No church decided what books went into the canon. Rome didn’t formally define its canon until the 16th century. Scripture must be self-authenticating, or else it is subject to the judgment of man. This does not work. The 66 books of Scripture, one of which we’re studying here, Acts, were books recognized quite unanimously by God’s people since the first century. This is something we should expect if God has given it to us.