Acts
65 study questions and answers, quoted from the Revised Version (1885/1895).
Who wrote Acts, and to whom is it addressed?
Luke, addressed to Theophilus — a second volume continuing his Gospel.
Acts 1:1
What is the outline programme of Acts given in chapter 1?
Witness in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
How long after the resurrection did Jesus ascend?
Forty days, during which he showed himself alive by many proofs.
Acts 1:3, 9
Who replaced Judas among the twelve?
Matthias, chosen by lot from those who had accompanied Jesus from John's baptism onward.
Acts 1:23-26
What three signs accompanied Pentecost?
A sound as of rushing mighty wind, tongues as of fire, and speaking in other tongues.
Acts 2:2-4
How many were added to the church at Pentecost?
About three thousand souls.
Acts 2:41
What four things did the early church continue steadfastly in?
The apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.
Acts 2:42
What happened to Ananias and Sapphira, and why?
They died for lying to the Holy Spirit about the price of their land.
Acts 5:1-10
Why were the first seven deacons appointed?
To serve tables so the apostles could give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.
Acts 6:1-4
Who was the first Christian martyr, and who consented to his death?
Stephen; Saul of Tarsus was consenting and kept the witnesses' garments.
Acts 7:58-8:1
What did Stephen see as he died?
The heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Acts 7:56
What happened to Saul on the Damascus road?
A light from heaven and the voice of Jesus: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"
Acts 9:3-5
Who was the first Gentile convert, and what vision preceded it?
Cornelius the centurion; Peter's vision of the sheet of unclean animals.
Acts 10:9-16, 44-48
Where were disciples first called Christians?
At Antioch.
Acts 11:26
What did the Jerusalem Council decide about Gentile believers?
That they need not be circumcised or keep the Law of Moses to be saved.
Acts 15:19-29
How did Peter and John heal the lame man at the Beautiful gate?
'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.'
Acts 3:6
What did Peter declare about salvation before the council?
'There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.'
Acts 4:12
What did the council note about Peter and John?
That they were unlearned and ignorant men, and 'took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.'
Acts 4:13
What advice did Gamaliel give the council?
Leave them alone — if of men it will come to nought, if of God it cannot be overthrown.
Acts 5:38-39
Whom did Philip baptize on the Gaza road?
The Ethiopian eunuch, reading Isaiah 53.
Acts 8:26-38
Who tried to buy the gift of the Spirit, and what word came from it?
Simon the sorcerer — hence 'simony.'
Acts 8:18-20
Who vouched for Saul before the suspicious disciples?
Barnabas, 'the son of consolation.'
Acts 9:27; 4:36
How did Peter escape Herod's prison?
An angel woke him and the chains fell off; the iron gate opened of its own accord.
Acts 12:7-10
Who accompanied Paul on the first missionary journey, and who turned back?
Barnabas and John Mark; Mark departed at Perga.
Acts 13:13
What sharp contention parted Paul and Barnabas?
Whether to take John Mark again; Barnabas took Mark, Paul took Silas.
Acts 15:37-40
Who was Paul's first European convert?
Lydia, a seller of purple of Thyatira, at Philippi.
Acts 16:14
What did the Philippian jailer ask, and what was the answer?
'What must I do to be saved?' — 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'
Acts 16:30-31
Why were the Bereans called more noble?
They received the word readily and searched the scriptures daily to test it.
Acts 17:11
What altar did Paul cite at Athens?
One inscribed 'TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.'
Acts 17:23
What did Paul say about God and human boundaries at Mars' hill?
God made of one blood all nations, determining their times and the bounds of their habitation.
Acts 17:26
Who was instructed more perfectly in the way at Ephesus?
Apollos, taught by Aquila and Priscilla.
Acts 18:26
What riot broke out at Ephesus, and over what?
Demetrius the silversmith stirred it over lost trade in shrines of Diana.
Acts 19:24-28
What unrecorded saying of Jesus does Paul quote at Miletus?
'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
Acts 20:35
What was Paul's answer to those weeping over his going to Jerusalem?
'I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.'
Acts 21:13
What right did Paul invoke to avoid scourging?
His Roman citizenship, which he held by birth.
Acts 22:25-28
How did Paul divide the council in Jerusalem?
By raising the resurrection, dividing Pharisees from Sadducees.
Acts 23:6-8
Before which three rulers did Paul make his defence?
Felix, Festus, and King Agrippa.
Acts 24-26
What did Agrippa say to Paul?
'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.'
Acts 26:28
What happened to Paul on Malta?
A viper fastened on his hand and he shook it off unharmed; he then healed Publius' father.
Acts 28:3-8
How does Acts end?
Paul in Rome two whole years in his own hired house, preaching 'no man forbidding him.'
Acts 28:30-31
What are the recurring summary statements in Acts?
Brief notes that the word of God grew and multiplied.
Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20
How does Acts 2:42 describe the church's life?
Continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers.
Acts 2:42
What was the nature of the early church's sharing of goods?
Voluntary and need-driven, not compulsory or systematic.
Acts 4:34-35; 5:4
What was the theological content of Peter's Pentecost sermon?
That Jesus, delivered by God's determinate counsel and slain by wicked hands, was raised and made Lord and Christ.
Acts 2:23,36
What did Stephen's speech argue?
That God was never confined to the temple and Israel had always resisted the Spirit.
Acts 7:48-51
How does Acts 8 mark a turning point?
Persecution scatters the church, and the scattered go everywhere preaching.
Acts 8:1-4
What was the theological significance of Cornelius' conversion?
God gave the Gentiles the same Spirit without circumcision, settling the question by act before argument.
Acts 10:44-47; 11:17
What vision preceded Peter's visit to Cornelius?
A sheet let down with unclean animals, and the voice 'What God hath cleansed, call not thou common.'
Acts 10:15
How was the Antioch church distinctive?
It was the first substantially Gentile church, and the first to send out missionaries.
Acts 11:20-26; 13:1-3
What was the Jerusalem Council's theological conclusion?
That Gentiles are saved by grace through faith, as Jews are, without the yoke of the law.
Acts 15:10-11
What four abstentions did the Council request?
From things offered to idols, blood, things strangled, and fornication.
Acts 15:29
How did the Spirit direct Paul's second journey?
By forbidding Asia and Bithynia, then giving the Macedonian vision.
Acts 16:6-10
What happened at midnight in the Philippian jail?
Paul and Silas prayed and sang; an earthquake opened the doors and loosed the bands.
Acts 16:25-26
How did Paul adapt his preaching at Athens?
He began from their altar and their poets rather than from Israel's Scriptures.
Acts 17:22-28
What was the response to the resurrection at Athens?
Some mocked, some deferred, and certain men clave unto him and believed.
Acts 17:32-34
What did Paul say to the Ephesian elders about false teachers?
That grievous wolves would enter, and from among themselves men would arise speaking perverse things.
Acts 20:29-30
How did Paul describe his ministry to the Ephesians?
Serving with all humility and tears, teaching publicly and from house to house, keeping back nothing profitable.
Acts 20:19-20
What did Agabus prophesy about Paul?
That the Jews would bind the owner of the girdle and deliver him to the Gentiles.
Acts 21:11
How does Paul retell his conversion in Acts?
Three times, each tailored to a different audience.
Acts 9; 22; 26
Why did Paul appeal to Caesar?
To escape a transfer to Jerusalem where an ambush awaited, exercising his citizen's right.
Acts 25:11
What promise was Paul given during the shipwreck?
That God had given him all who sailed with him, and none would lose his life.
Acts 27:24
What does the phrase 'no man forbidding him' accomplish at the end of Acts?
It closes the book on a note of unhindered proclamation despite imprisonment.
Acts 28:31
What is the significance of Acts having no formal conclusion?
The narrative is left open, implying the mission continues in the reader's own time.
Acts 28:30-31
How does Luke portray the relationship between the church and Rome?
Roman officials repeatedly find no crime in the Christians.
Acts 18:14-15; 23:29; 26:31
What role do prayer and fasting play in Acts' major decisions?
They precede the sending of missionaries and the appointing of elders.
Acts 13:2-3; 14:23