Acts 5:31 Themes and Topics

Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

and they did not for a single day stop teaching and preaching in the Temple and in private houses the good news of Jesus, the Christ. Verse Concepts

For I passed on to you, as of first importance, the account I had received, that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures foretold, Verse Concepts

All this comes from God, who through Christ has reconciled me to himself, and has commissioned me to proclaim this reconciliation??19 how God through Christ reconciled the world to himself, refusing to count men's offenses against them, and intrusted me with the message of reconciliation. It is for Christ, therefore, that I am an envoy, seeing that God makes his appeal through me. On Christ's behalf I beg you to be reconciled to God. He made him who knew nothing of sin to be sin, for our sake, so that through union with him we might become God's uprightness.

who has gone to heaven and is at God's right hand, with angels, hierarchies, and powers made subject to him. Verse Concepts

You have loved right and hated wrong! That is why God, your God, has anointed you with exhilarating oil beyond all your comrades." Verse Concepts

"Therefore the whole nation of Israel must understand that God has declared this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ." Verse Concepts

So the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was caught up into heaven and took his seat at God's right hand. Verse Concepts

But from this time on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of God Almighty!" Verse Concepts

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

he exerted in raising Christ from the dead, and seating him at his right hand in heaven, Verse Concepts

That is why God has so greatly exalted him, and given him the name above all others, Verse Concepts

saying in a loud voice, "The Lamb that was slaughtered deserves to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing." Verse Concepts

There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, Verse Concepts

God can be depended on, and it was he who called you to this fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Verse Concepts

"Therefore the whole nation of Israel must understand that God has declared this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ." Verse Concepts

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

And he said to them, "The Son of Man is master of the Sabbath." Verse Concepts

For if with your lips you acknowledge the message that Jesus is Lord, and with your mind you believe that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

Therefore, I must tell you that no one who is speaking under the influence of the Spirit of God ever says, "Curse Jesus!" and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord!" without being under the influence of the holy Spirit. Verse Concepts

There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, Verse Concepts

God can be depended on, and it was he who called you to this fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Verse Concepts

"Therefore the whole nation of Israel must understand that God has declared this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ." Verse Concepts

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

And he said to them, "The Son of Man is master of the Sabbath." Verse Concepts

For if with your lips you acknowledge the message that Jesus is Lord, and with your mind you believe that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

Therefore, I must tell you that no one who is speaking under the influence of the Spirit of God ever says, "Curse Jesus!" and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord!" without being under the influence of the holy Spirit. Verse Concepts

Therefore, he is able to save forever all who come to God through him, because he lives and intercedes for them forever. Verse Concepts

for today, in the town of David, a Savior for you has been born who is your Messiah and Lord. Verse Concepts

For the Son of Man has come to search for what was lost and to save it." Verse Concepts

For God did not send his Son into the world to pass judgment upon the world, but that through him the world might be saved. Verse Concepts

It is a trustworthy saying, entitled to the fullest acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of them, Verse Concepts

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

It is from his descendants that God has brought to Israel as he promised to do, a savior in Jesus, Verse Concepts

which has now been revealed through the appearance of our Savior Christ Jesus. He has taken away the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the good news, Verse Concepts

We have seen and can testify that the Father has sent the Son to be Savior of the world. Verse Concepts

When they had prayed, the place where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the holy Spirit, and fearlessly uttered God's message. Verse Concepts

When Peter saw this, he said to the people. "Men of Israel, why are you so surprised at this? Why do you stare so at us, as though it were some power or some piety of ours that had made him able to walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has done this honor to his servant Jesus, whom you betrayed and disowned before Pilate, when he had decided to let him go. But you disowned the Holy, Righteous One. You asked to have a murderer released for you, read more.
and killed the very source of life. But God raised him from the dead, as we can testify. It is by his power and through faith in him that this man whom you see and recognize has been made strong again, and it is faith inspired by him that has given him the perfect health you all see. Yet I know, brothers, that you did not know what you were doing, any more than your leaders did; it was in this way that God fulfilled what he by all the prophets foretold that his Christ must suffer. So repent and turn to God, to have your sins wiped out, and happier times will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will send Jesus, your destined Christ. Yet he must remain in heaven till the time for the universal reformation of which God told in ancient times by the lips of his holy prophets. Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, as he raised me up. You must listen to everything that he tells you. Anyone that will not listen to that prophet will be annihilated from among the people.' Why, all the prophets from Samuel down, who have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the agreement that God made with your forefathers when he said to Abraham, 'Through your posterity all the families of the earth will be blessed.' It was to you that God first sent his servant after he had raised him from the dead, to bless you by making every one of you turn from his wickedness."

if it is for a benefit conferred upon a helpless man, and as to how he was cured, that we are called to account here today, you and the people of Israel must all know that it is through the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that he stands here before you well. He is the stone that you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. read more.
There is no salvation through anyone else, for there is no one else in the world who has been named to men as their only means of being saved." They were amazed to see how outspoken Peter and John were, and to find that they were uneducated men with no advantages. They recognized them as companions of Jesus,

But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of him, for we cannot help telling of what we have seen and heard."

And they obeyed, and about daybreak went into the Temple and began to teach. The high priest and his party came over and called together the council and indeed the whole senate of the Israelites, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in. Verse Concepts

Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things."

This aroused the high priest and all his supporters, the party of the Sadducees, and filled them with jealousy, and they had the apostles arrested and put in the common jail. But an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors in the night and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go, take your stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life." And they obeyed, and about daybreak went into the Temple and began to teach. The high priest and his party came over and called together the council and indeed the whole senate of the Israelites, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and they came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked up, with the sentries on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple and the high priests heard this report, they were very much at a loss as to what would come of it. Someone came over and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the Temple, teaching the people!" Then the commander and his men went and brought them back, but without using violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. So they brought them before the council. The high priest called on them for an explanation. "We strictly forbade you," he said, "to teach on this authority, and here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and propose to hold us responsible for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly regarded by all the people, got up in the council and ordered the men to be removed for a while, and then said, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be a person of importance, and a group of men numbering some four hundred joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After him, at the time of the census, Judas of Galilee appeared, and raised a great following, but he too perished, and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this idea or movement is of human origin, it will come to naught, but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it. You may actually find yourselves fighting God!" They were convinced by him, and they called the apostles in and had them flogged, and warned them not to speak about the name of Jesus, and then let them go. So they went out from before the council, glad that they had been thought worthy to bear disgrace for the sake of Jesus, and they did not for a single day stop teaching and preaching in the Temple and in private houses the good news of Jesus, the Christ.

and they did not for a single day stop teaching and preaching in the Temple and in private houses the good news of Jesus, the Christ. Verse Concepts

Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things."

And they obeyed, and about daybreak went into the Temple and began to teach. The high priest and his party came over and called together the council and indeed the whole senate of the Israelites, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in. Verse Concepts

Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. read more.
We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things."

So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all about the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of him, for we cannot help telling of what we have seen and heard."

And the high priests kept heaping accusations upon him. But Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer to make? See what charges they are making against you." But Jesus made no further answer at all, so that Pilate wondered.

Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders of the people and members of the council, if it is for a benefit conferred upon a helpless man, and as to how he was cured, that we are called to account here today, you and the people of Israel must all know that it is through the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that he stands here before you well. read more.
He is the stone that you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, for there is no one else in the world who has been named to men as their only means of being saved."

The high priest said, "Is this statement true?" He answered, "Brothers and fathers, listen. The glorious God appeared to our forefather Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, and he said to him, 'Leave your country and your relatives and come to the country that I will show you.' read more.
So he left the country of the Chaldeans and went to live in Haran, and from there after the death of his father, God caused him to move into this country where you now live. He gave him no property in it, not a single foot, but he promised to give it to him and his posterity after him permanently, though he had no children at that time. This was what God said: 'His descendants will be strangers, living in a foreign land, and they will be enslaved and misused for four hundred years, and I will sentence the nation that has enslaved them,' God said, 'and afterward they will leave that country and worship me on this spot.' And he made the agreement of circumcision with him, and so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into slavery in Egypt. But God was with him, and rescued him from all his troubles, and enabled him to win favor and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he appointed him governor of Egypt and of his whole household. Then a famine spread all over Egypt and Canaan, and there was great suffering, and our forefathers could not find any food. But Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt, and he sent our forefathers on their first visit there. On their second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Pharaoh learned of Joseph's parentage. Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all, and Jacob came down to Egypt. There he and our forefathers died, and they were carried back to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. As the time drew near for the fulfilment of the promise God had made to Abraham, the people became more and more numerous in Egypt, until another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt. He took advantage of our people and oppressed our forefathers, making them abandon their infant children, so that they should not live. It was at this time that Moses was born. He was a wonderfully beautiful child, and for three months he was taken care of in his father's house. When he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh adopted him and brought him up as her own son. So Moses was educated in all the Egyptian culture; he was strong in speech and action. When he was forty years old, it occurred to him to visit his brothers, the descendants of Israel. Seeing one of them being imposed upon, he interfered and defended the man who was being ill treated, striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was using him as the means of delivering them, but they did not. The next day, he came across two of them fighting and tried to pacify them. He said to them, 'You are brothers. Why should you injure each other?' But the aggressor thrust him off, saying, 'Who made you our ruler and judge? Do you mean to kill me as you did that Egyptian yesterday?' At those words Moses fled, and went and lived for a time in Midian, and two sons were born to him there. When forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it he wondered at the sight, and when he went up to see what it was, the voice of the Lord said, 'I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses was terrified and did not dare to look at it. Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your shoes, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have seen all the oppression of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their groans, and I have come down to save them. So come! I will make you my messenger to Egypt!' The Moses whom they had refused, saying to him, 'Who made you our ruler and judge?' God sent both to rule and to deliver them, with the help of the angel who had appeared to him in the bush. It was he who brought them out of Egypt, and did wonders and signs there, and at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the desert. This was the Moses who said to the descendants of Israel, 'God will make a prophet rise from among your brothers to teach you, just as he made me rise.' It was he who with the congregation in the desert went between the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and our forefathers, and received and communicated to you utterances that still live. Yet our forefathers would not listen to him, but thrust him off, and their hearts turned back to Egypt, for they said to Aaron, 'Make us gods to march in front of us, for as for this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!' They even made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to their idol, and held a celebration over what their own hands had made. So God turned his back on them and left them to worship the starry host, just as the Book of the Prophets says, " 'Was it victims and sacrifices that you offered to me, O house of Israel, Those forty years in the desert? You offered me the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rompha, The images you had made to worship! So I will deport you beyond Babylon.' In the desert our forefathers had the Tent of the Testimony built like the model Moses had seen, just as he who spoke to him told him to make it. This tent was handed down to our forefathers and they brought it here with them when under Joshua they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before them, and it existed until the time of David. He won the approval of God and begged to be allowed to provide a dwelling for the God of Jacob, and Solomon actually built a house for him. But the Most High does not live in buildings made by human hands. As the prophet says, " 'The sky is my throne, And the earth a footstool for my feet. What house can you build for me? says the Lord, Or what place is there where I can rest? Was it not my hand that made it all?' You stubborn people, with heathen hearts and ears, you are always opposing the holy Spirit, just as your forefathers did! Which of the prophets did your forefathers not persecute? They killed the men who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and killed??53 you who had the Law given to you by angels, and did not obey it!" When they heard that, they were enraged and ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God's glory and Jesus standing at God's right hand. And he said, "Look! I can see heaven open, and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand!"

Paul looked steadily at the council and said, "Brothers, I have done my duty to God with a perfectly clear conscience up to this very day." At this the high priest Ananias ordered the people who were standing nearest to him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you white-washed wall! Do you sit there to try me by the Law, and order them to strike me in violation of the Law?" read more.
But the people who stood near him said, "Do you mean to insult God's high priest?" "I did not know, brothers," said Paul, "that he was high priest, for the Scripture says, 'You shall not say anything against any ruler of your people.' " Knowing that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees! It is for my hope for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial!" When he said that, a dispute arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the meeting was divided.

There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, Verse Concepts

God can be depended on, and it was he who called you to this fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Verse Concepts

"Therefore the whole nation of Israel must understand that God has declared this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ." Verse Concepts

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

And he said to them, "The Son of Man is master of the Sabbath." Verse Concepts

For if with your lips you acknowledge the message that Jesus is Lord, and with your mind you believe that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Verse Concepts

Verse Concepts

Therefore, I must tell you that no one who is speaking under the influence of the Spirit of God ever says, "Curse Jesus!" and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord!" without being under the influence of the holy Spirit. Verse Concepts

The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he possessed the nature of God, he did not grasp at equality with God, but laid it aside to take on the nature of a slave and become like other men. read more.
When he had assumed human form, he still further humbled himself and carried his obedience so far as to die, and to die upon the cross. That is why God has so greatly exalted him, and given him the name above all others, so that in the name of Jesus everyone should kneel, in heaven and on earth and in the underworld, and everyone should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, and thus glorify God the Father.

The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

You know the story that has gone all over Judea, starting from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed, about Jesus of Nazareth, and how God endowed him with the power of the holy Spirit, and he went about doing good and curing all who were in the power of the devil, because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything that he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. Yet they put him upon a cross and killed him. read more.
But God raised him to life on the third day and caused him to be plainly seen, not by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had designated beforehand, that is, by us, who ate and drank with him after he had risen from the dead. He also directed us to announce to the people and bear solemn testimony that he is the one whom God has appointed to be the judge of the living and the dead. It is of him that all the prophets bear witness that everyone that believes in him will have his sins forgiven in his name."

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who through Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. Through him he chose us out before the creation of the world, to be consecrated and above reproach in his sight in love. He foreordained us to become his sons through Jesus Christ, in fulfilment of his generous purpose, read more.
so that we might praise the splendid blessing which he has given us through his beloved Son. It is through union with him and through his blood that we have been delivered and our offenses forgiven,

and you will thank the Father who has entitled you to share the lot of God's people in the realm of light. He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the realm of his dear Son, by whom we have been ransomed from captivity through having our sins forgiven.

The Spirit itself testifies with our spirits that we are God's children, Verse Concepts

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the cultivator. Any branch of mine that does not bear fruit he trims away, and he prunes every branch that bears fruit, to make it bear more. You are pruned already because of the teaching that I have given you. read more.
You must remain united to me and I will remain united to you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains united to the vine, you cannot unless you remain united to me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Anyone who remains united to me, with me united to him, will be very fruitful, for you cannot do anything apart from me. Anyone who does not remain united to me is thrown away like a branch and withers up, and they gather them and throw them into the fire and burn them. If you remain united to me and my words remain in your hearts, ask for whatever you please and you shall have it. When you are very fruitful and show yourselves to be disciples of mine, my Father is honored. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must retain my love. If you keep my commands you will retain my love, just as I have observed the Father's commands and retain his love. I have told you all this so that you may have the happiness that I have had, and your happiness may be complete. The command that I give you is to love one another just as I have loved you. No one can show greater love than by giving up his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you to do. I do not call you slaves any longer, for a slave does not know what his master is doing, but now I call you friends, for I have made known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. It was not you who chose me, it is I that have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit??ruit that shall be lasting, so that the Father may grant you whatever you ask him for as my followers. "What I command you to do is to love one another. If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love what was its own. But it is because you do not belong to the world, but I have selected you from the world, that the world hates you. Remember what I said to you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too. But they will do all this to you on my account, because they do not understand him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but as it is, they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done things before them that no one else ever did they would not be guilty of sin. But as it is, they have seen both me and my Father, and they have hated us both. But the saying of their Law, 'They hated me without cause,' must be fulfilled. When the Helper comes whom I will send to you from the Father??hat Spirit of Truth that comes from the Father??e will bear testimony to me, and you must bear testimony too, because you have been with me from the first.

The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things."

I am here now on my way to Jerusalem, for the Spirit compels me to go there, though I do not know what will happen to me there, except that in every town I visit, the holy Spirit warns me that imprisonment and persecution are awaiting me.

This is why I, Paul, whom Jesus the Christ has made a prisoner for the sake of you heathen??2 if at least you have heard how I dealt with the mercy of God that was given me for you, and how the secret was made known to me by revelation, as I have just briefly written. As you read that, you will be able to understand the insight I have into the secret of the Christ read more.
(which in past ages was not disclosed to mankind as fully as it has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets)

And we have the testimony of the holy Spirit to this, for after saying, Verse Concepts

For who is there that is victorious over the world except the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? It was he, Jesus Christ himself, who came in water and in blood; not in water only, but in water and in blood. The Spirit also testifies to this, for the Spirit is truth. For there are three that testify to it,

It was he, Jesus Christ himself, who came in water and in blood; not in water only, but in water and in blood. The Spirit also testifies to this, for the Spirit is truth. Verse Concepts

Jesus answered, "Anyone who loves me will observe my teaching, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and live with him. No one who does not love me will observe my teaching, and yet the teaching you are listening to is not mine but is that of him who has sent me. "I have told you this while I am still staying with you, read more.
but the Helper, the holy Spirit which the Father will send in my place, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you.

When the Helper comes whom I will send to you from the Father??hat Spirit of Truth that comes from the Father??e will bear testimony to me, and you must bear testimony too, because you have been with me from the first.

The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things."

And we have the testimony of the holy Spirit to this, for after saying, Verse Concepts

Peter said to them, "You must repent, and every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to have your sins forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit, Verse Concepts

Now on the last day, the great day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. If anyone believes in me, streams of living water, as the Scripture says, shall flow forth from his heart." He meant by this the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive??or the Spirit had not yet come, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things."

So I tell you, ask, and what you ask will be given you. Search, and you will find what you search for. Knock, and the door will open to you. For it is always the one who asks who receives, and the one who searches who finds, and the one who knocks to whom the door opens. Which of you fathers, if his son asks him for a fish will give him a snake instead? read more.
Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? So if you, bad as you are, know enough to give your children what is good, how much more surely will your Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him for it!"

The apostles and elders had a meeting to look into this matter. After a long discussion, Peter got up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose that of you all I should be the one from whose lips the heathen should hear the message of the good news and believe it. And God who knows men's hearts testified for them by giving them the holy Spirit just as he had done to us,

Some people came bringing to him on a bed a man who was paralyzed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, "Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven." Verse Concepts

You must bear with one another and forgive one another, if anyone has reason to be offended with anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive. Verse Concepts

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

But I would have you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home!" Verse Concepts

But to let you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth," turning to the paralytic he said, Verse Concepts

But to let you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth"??urning to the man who was paralyzed he said to him??"I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home!" Verse Concepts

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." Verse Concepts

When he saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven!" Verse Concepts

Therefore, I tell you, her sins, many as they are, are forgiven, for she has loved me so much. But the man with little to be forgiven loves me but little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven!" The men at table with him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man, who even forgives sins?" read more.
But he said to the woman, "It is your faith that has saved you. Go in peace."

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

I, John, your brother and companion in the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance that Jesus brings, found myself on the island called Patmos, for uttering God's message and testifying to Jesus. Verse Concepts

They arrested them, and as it was already evening, they shut them up until next morning. But many of those who had heard what they said believed it, and their number grew to be about five thousand. On the next day the leading members of the council, the elders, and the scribes met in Jerusalem, read more.
with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who belonged to the high priest's family. They had the apostles brought before them and demanded of them, "By what power or authority have men like you done this?" Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders of the people and members of the council, if it is for a benefit conferred upon a helpless man, and as to how he was cured, that we are called to account here today, you and the people of Israel must all know that it is through the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that he stands here before you well. He is the stone that you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, for there is no one else in the world who has been named to men as their only means of being saved." They were amazed to see how outspoken Peter and John were, and to find that they were uneducated men with no advantages. They recognized them as companions of Jesus, and seeing the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say. But they ordered them out of the presence of the council and conferred together. They said, "What are we to do with these men? For it is plain to everyone in Jerusalem that an extraordinary wonder has been done by them. We cannot deny that. But to keep it from spreading farther among the people, let us warn them to say nothing to anyone else at all about this person." So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all about the name of Jesus.

and they had the apostles arrested and put in the common jail. But an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors in the night and let them out, and said to them, "Go, take your stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life." read more.
And they obeyed, and about daybreak went into the Temple and began to teach. The high priest and his party came over and called together the council and indeed the whole senate of the Israelites, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and they came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked up, with the sentries on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple and the high priests heard this report, they were very much at a loss as to what would come of it. Someone came over and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the Temple, teaching the people!" Then the commander and his men went and brought them back, but without using violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. So they brought them before the council. The high priest called on them for an explanation. "We strictly forbade you," he said, "to teach on this authority, and here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and propose to hold us responsible for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly regarded by all the people, got up in the council and ordered the men to be removed for a while, and then said, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be a person of importance, and a group of men numbering some four hundred joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After him, at the time of the census, Judas of Galilee appeared, and raised a great following, but he too perished, and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this idea or movement is of human origin, it will come to naught, but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it. You may actually find yourselves fighting God!" They were convinced by him, and they called the apostles in and had them flogged, and warned them not to speak about the name of Jesus, and then let them go. So they went out from before the council, glad that they had been thought worthy to bear disgrace for the sake of Jesus, and they did not for a single day stop teaching and preaching in the Temple and in private houses the good news of Jesus, the Christ.

About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had John's brother, James, beheaded, and when he saw that this gratified the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, at the time of the festival of Unleavened Bread. read more.
He had him seized and put in jail, with four squads of soldiers to guard him, meaning after the Passover to bring him out before the people. So Peter was kept in the jail, but the church was praying earnestly to God for him. The night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter was asleep between two soldiers, and fastened with two chains, and watchmen were at the door, guarding the jail, when an angel of the Lord stood at his side, and a light shone in the room, and striking Peter on the side, he woke him, and said to him, "Get up quickly!" The chains dropped from his hands, and the angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals!" And he did so. Then he said to him, "Put on your coat and follow me!" So he followed him out without knowing that what the angel was doing was real, for he thought he was having a vision. They passed the first guard and then the second, and came to the iron gate that led into the city. It opened to them of itself, and they passed out and went along one street, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself, and he said, "Now I am certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the power of Herod and all that the Jewish people were expecting." When he realized his situation, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where a number of people were gathered, praying. When he knocked at the outer door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it, and when she recognized Peter's voice, in her joy she did not stop to open the door, but ran in and told them that Peter was standing outside. But they said to her, "You are crazy!" But she insisted that it was so. Then they said, "Then it is his guardian angel!" But Peter kept on knocking. And when they opened the door and saw him they were amazed. He motioned to them to be quiet, and then related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. "Tell all this to James and the brothers," he said. Then he left them and went somewhere else. But when morning came, there was no little commotion among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. Herod had inquiries made for him, and when he could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he left Judea for Caesarea, and stayed there.

This aroused the high priest and all his supporters, the party of the Sadducees, and filled them with jealousy, and they had the apostles arrested and put in the common jail. But an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors in the night and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go, take your stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life." And they obeyed, and about daybreak went into the Temple and began to teach. The high priest and his party came over and called together the council and indeed the whole senate of the Israelites, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and they came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked up, with the sentries on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple and the high priests heard this report, they were very much at a loss as to what would come of it. Someone came over and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the Temple, teaching the people!" Then the commander and his men went and brought them back, but without using violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. So they brought them before the council. The high priest called on them for an explanation. "We strictly forbade you," he said, "to teach on this authority, and here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and propose to hold us responsible for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly regarded by all the people, got up in the council and ordered the men to be removed for a while, and then said, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be a person of importance, and a group of men numbering some four hundred joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After him, at the time of the census, Judas of Galilee appeared, and raised a great following, but he too perished, and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this idea or movement is of human origin, it will come to naught, but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it. You may actually find yourselves fighting God!" They were convinced by him, and they called the apostles in and had them flogged, and warned them not to speak about the name of Jesus, and then let them go. So they went out from before the council, glad that they had been thought worthy to bear disgrace for the sake of Jesus, and they did not for a single day stop teaching and preaching in the Temple and in private houses the good news of Jesus, the Christ.

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

But I would have you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home!" Verse Concepts

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

But I would have you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home!" Verse Concepts

with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who belonged to the high priest's family. They had the apostles brought before them and demanded of them, "By what power or authority have men like you done this?" Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders of the people and members of the council, read more.
if it is for a benefit conferred upon a helpless man, and as to how he was cured, that we are called to account here today, you and the people of Israel must all know that it is through the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that he stands here before you well. He is the stone that you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, for there is no one else in the world who has been named to men as their only means of being saved." They were amazed to see how outspoken Peter and John were, and to find that they were uneducated men with no advantages. They recognized them as companions of Jesus, and seeing the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say. But they ordered them out of the presence of the council and conferred together. They said, "What are we to do with these men? For it is plain to everyone in Jerusalem that an extraordinary wonder has been done by them. We cannot deny that. But to keep it from spreading farther among the people, let us warn them to say nothing to anyone else at all about this person." So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all about the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "You must decide whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you instead of him, for we cannot help telling of what we have seen and heard." But after further threats they let them go, as they could find no way to punish them, on account of the people, who were all giving honor to God for what had happened,

This aroused the high priest and all his supporters, the party of the Sadducees, and filled them with jealousy, and they had the apostles arrested and put in the common jail. But an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors in the night and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go, take your stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life." And they obeyed, and about daybreak went into the Temple and began to teach. The high priest and his party came over and called together the council and indeed the whole senate of the Israelites, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and they came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked up, with the sentries on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple and the high priests heard this report, they were very much at a loss as to what would come of it. Someone came over and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the Temple, teaching the people!" Then the commander and his men went and brought them back, but without using violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. So they brought them before the council. The high priest called on them for an explanation. "We strictly forbade you," he said, "to teach on this authority, and here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and propose to hold us responsible for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly regarded by all the people, got up in the council and ordered the men to be removed for a while, and then said, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be a person of importance, and a group of men numbering some four hundred joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After him, at the time of the census, Judas of Galilee appeared, and raised a great following, but he too perished, and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this idea or movement is of human origin, it will come to naught, but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it. You may actually find yourselves fighting God!" They were convinced by him, and they called the apostles in and had them flogged, and warned them not to speak about the name of Jesus, and then let them go. So they went out from before the council, glad that they had been thought worthy to bear disgrace for the sake of Jesus,

This aroused the high priest and all his supporters, the party of the Sadducees, and filled them with jealousy, and they had the apostles arrested and put in the common jail. But an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors in the night and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go, take your stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life." And they obeyed, and about daybreak went into the Temple and began to teach. The high priest and his party came over and called together the council and indeed the whole senate of the Israelites, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and they came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked up, with the sentries on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple and the high priests heard this report, they were very much at a loss as to what would come of it. Someone came over and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the Temple, teaching the people!" Then the commander and his men went and brought them back, but without using violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. So they brought them before the council. The high priest called on them for an explanation. "We strictly forbade you," he said, "to teach on this authority, and here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and propose to hold us responsible for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law highly regarded by all the people, got up in the council and ordered the men to be removed for a while, and then said, "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be a person of importance, and a group of men numbering some four hundred joined him. But he was killed and all his followers were dispersed and disappeared. After him, at the time of the census, Judas of Galilee appeared, and raised a great following, but he too perished, and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this idea or movement is of human origin, it will come to naught, but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop it. You may actually find yourselves fighting God!" They were convinced by him, and they called the apostles in and had them flogged, and warned them not to speak about the name of Jesus, and then let them go. So they went out from before the council, glad that they had been thought worthy to bear disgrace for the sake of Jesus, and they did not for a single day stop teaching and preaching in the Temple and in private houses the good news of Jesus, the Christ.

The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

And the Pharisees observed it, and they said to his disciples, "Why does your master eat with tax-collectors and irreligious people?" But he heard it, and said, "It is not well people but the sick who have to have the doctor! You must go and learn what the saying means, 'It is mercy, not sacrifice, that I care for.' I did not come to invite the pious but the irreligious."

And when the scribes who were of the Pharisees' party saw that he was eating with irreligious people and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax-collectors and irreligious people?" Jesus heard it, and said to them, "It is not well people but the sick who have to have the doctor. I did not come to invite the pious but the irreligious."

And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled about it to his disciples, and said, "Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and irreligious people?" Jesus answered them, "It is not well people but the sick who have to have the doctor. I have not come to invite the pious but the irreligious to repentance!"

God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Verse Concepts

As they were talking in this way to the people, the high priests, the commander of the Temple, and the Sadducees came up to them, greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and declaring that in the case of Jesus there had been a resurrection from the dead. They arrested them, and as it was already evening, they shut them up until next morning.

This aroused the high priest and all his supporters, the party of the Sadducees, and filled them with jealousy, and they had the apostles arrested and put in the common jail. But an angel of the Lord opened the jail doors in the night and let them out, and said to them, read more.
"Go, take your stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life." And they obeyed, and about daybreak went into the Temple and began to teach. The high priest and his party came over and called together the council and indeed the whole senate of the Israelites, and sent to the prison to have the apostles brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and they came back and reported, "We found the prison securely locked up, with the sentries on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one inside." When the commander of the Temple and the high priests heard this report, they were very much at a loss as to what would come of it. Someone came over and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the Temple, teaching the people!" Then the commander and his men went and brought them back, but without using violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. So they brought them before the council. The high priest called on them for an explanation. "We strictly forbade you," he said, "to teach on this authority, and here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and propose to hold us responsible for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life when you had hung him on a cross and killed him. God took him up to his right hand as our leader and savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the holy Spirit which God has given to those who obey him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them.