Thematic Bible: Religious zeal


Thematic Bible



Certain people are seeking your favor, but with no honorable object. No, indeed, they want to isolate you, so that you will have to seek their favor. Verse ConceptsExcommunicationmotives

You heard, no doubt, of my conduct when I was devoted to Judaism--how I persecuted the Church of God to an extent beyond belief, and made havoc of it, And how, in my devotion to Judaism, I surpassed many of my contemporaries among my own people in my intense earnestness in upholding the traditions of my ancestors.

I can testify that they are zealous for the honor of God; but they are not guided by true insight, For, in their ignorance of the Divine Righteousness, and in their eagerness to set up a righteousness of their own, they refused to accept with submission the Divine Righteousness.


And, when they had heard it, they began praising God, and said to Paul: "You see, Brother, that the Jews who have become believers in Christ may be numbered by tens of thousands, and they are all naturally earnest in upholding the Jewish Law. Verse ConceptsZealMany In The ChurchSalvation For IsraelSpecific Praising Of GodTaking The Law To Heartzealots


And a Teacher of the Law came up to him, and said: "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." "Foxes have holes," answered Jesus, "and wild birds their roosting-places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

And, while they were on their way, a man said to Jesus: "I will follow you wherever you go." "Foxes have holes," he replied, "and wild birds their roosting-places, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

It is true that some do proclaim the Christ out of Jealousy and opposition; but there are others who proclaim him from good- will. The latter do it from love for me, knowing that I have been appointed to plead the cause of the Good News. The former spread the news of the Christ in a factious spirit, and not sincerely, thinking to add to the pain of my chains. read more.
But what of that? Only that in some way or other, either with assumed or with real earnestness, Christ is being made known; and at that I rejoice.























The news about them reached the ears of the Church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. On coming there he saw to his great joy these tokens of the loving-kindness of God, and encouraged them all to make up their minds to be faithful to the Lord-- For Barnabas was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith--and a large number of people took their stand on the Lord's side. read more.
Afterwards Barnabas left for Tarsus to look for Saul; And, when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And so it came about that, for a whole year, they attended the meetings of the Church there, and taught a large number of people; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called 'Christians.'

But, when the Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd. "Friends, why are you doing this?" they shouted. "We are only men like yourselves, and we have come with the Good News that you should turn away from these follies to a living God, 'who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.'








On seeing this, Peter said to the people: "Men of Israel, why are you surprised at this? and why do you stare at us, as though we, by any power or piety of our own, had enabled this man to walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has done honor to his Servant Jesus--him whom you gave up and disowned before Pilate, when he had decided to set him free. You, I say, disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for the release of a murderer! read more.
The very Guide to Life you put to death! But God raised him from the dead--and of that we are ourselves witnesses. And it is by faith in the Name of Jesus, that this man, whom you all see and know, has--by his Name--been made strong. Yes, it is the faith inspired by Jesus that has made this complete cure of the man, before the eyes of you all. And yet, my Brothers, I know that you acted as you did from ignorance, and your rulers also. But it was in this way that God fulfilled all that he had long ago foretold, as to the sufferings of his Christ, by the lips of all the Prophets. Therefore, repent and turn, that your sins may be wiped away; so that happier times may come from the Lord himself, And that he may send you, in Jesus, your long-appointed Christ. But Heaven must be his home, until the days of the Universal Restoration, of which God has spoken by the lips of his holy Prophets from the very first. Moses himself said--'The Lord your God will raise up from among your brothers a Prophet, as he raised me. To him you will listen whenever he speaks to you. And it shall be that should any one among the people not listen to that Prophet, he will be utterly destroyed.' Yes, and all the Prophets from Samuel onwards, and all their successors who had a message to deliver, told of these days. You yourselves are the heirs of the Prophets, and heirs, too, of the Covenant which God made with your ancestors, when he said to Abraham--'In your descendants will all the nations of the earth be blessed.' For you, first, God raised up his Servant, and sent him to bless you, by turning each one of you from his wicked ways."

Then Peter, surrounded by the eleven other Apostles, stood up, and, raising his voice, addressed the crowd. "Men of Judea," he began, "and all you who are staying in Jerusalem, let me tell you what this means. Mark well my words. These men are not drunk, as you suppose; for it is only now nine in the morning! No! This is what is spoken of in the prophet Joel-- read more.
'It shall come about in the last days,' God says, 'That I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind; your sons and your daughters shall become Prophets, your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams; Yes, even on the slaves--for they are mine--both men and women, I will in those days pour out my Spirit, And I will show wonders in the heavens above, and signs on the earth below--Blood and fire and mist of smoke; The sun shall become darkness, and the moon blood-red, Before the Day of the Lord comes--that great and awful day. Then shall every one who invokes the Name of the Lord be saved.' Men of Israel, listen to what I am saying. Jesus of Nazareth, a man whose mission from God to you was proved by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God showed among you through him, as you know full well-- He, I say, in accordance with God's definite plan and with his previous knowledge, was betrayed, and you, by the hands of lawless men, nailed him to a cross and put him to death. But God released him from the pangs of death and raised him to life, it being impossible for death to retain its hold upon him. Indeed it was to him that David was referring when he said-- 'I have had the Lord ever before my eyes, For he stands at my right hand, that I should not be disquieted. Therefore my heart was cheered, and my tongue told its delight; Yes, even my body, too, will rest in hope; For you wilt not abandon my soul to the Place of Death, nor surrender me, your holy one, to undergo corruption. Thou have shown me the path to life, you wilt fill me with gladness in your presence.' Brothers, I can speak to you the more confidently about the Patriarch David, because he is dead and buried, and his tomb is here among us to this very day. David, then, Prophet as he was, knowing that God 'had solemnly sworn to him to set one of his descendants upon his throne,' looked into the future, And referred to the resurrection of the Christ when he said that 'he had not been abandoned to the Place of Death, nor had his body undergone corruption.' It was this Jesus, whom God raised to life; and of that we are ourselves all witnesses. And now that he has been exalted to the right hand of God, and has received from the Father the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, he has begun to pour out that gift, as you yourselves now see and hear. It was not David who went up into Heaven; for he himself says- -'The Lord said to my master: "Sit on my right hand, Till I put your enemies as a footstool under they feet."' So let the whole nation of Israel know beyond all doubt, that God has made him both Lord and Christ--this very Jesus whom you crucified." When the people heard this, they were conscience-smitten, and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles: "Brothers, what can we do?" "Repent," answered Peter, "and be baptized every one of you in the Faith of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and also for all those now far away, who may be called by the Lord our God." With many other words Peter enforced his teaching, while the burden of his exhortations was--"Save yourselves from the perverse spirit of this age."










He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him: "We have found the Messiah!" (a word which means 'Christ,' or 'Consecrated'.) Then he brought him to Jesus. Fixing his eyes on him, Jesus said: "You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Kephas" (which means 'Peter,' or 'Rock'). The following day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip, and said to him: "Follow me." read more.
Philip was from Bethsaida, and a fellow-townsman of Andrew and Peter. He found Nathanael and said to him: "We have found him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and of whom the Prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, Joseph's son!" "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" asked Nathanael. "Come and see," replied Philip.


Then their eyes were opened. Jesus sternly cautioned them. "See that no one knows of it," he said. But the men went out, and spread the news about him through all that part of the country.

"Be careful not to say anything to any one; but go and show yourself to the Priest, and make the offerings for your cleansing directed by Moses, as evidence of your cure." The man, however, went away, and began to speak about it publicly, and to spread the story so widely, that Jesus could no longer go openly into a town, but stayed outside in lonely places; and people came to him from every direction.

And, when they saw it, they told of all that had been said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds were astonished at their story,

But this is in your favor--You hate the life lived by the Nikolaitans, and I also hate it. Verse ConceptsHatredGod Hating ThingsHating Evil

I know your life, your toil and endurance, and I know that you cannot tolerate evil-doers. I know, too, how you tested those who declare that they are Apostles, though they are not, and how you proved them false. You possess endurance, and have borne much for my Name, and have never grown weary.









I commend to your care our Sister, Phoebe, who helps in the work of the Church at Cenchreae; And I ask you to give her a Christian welcome--one worthy of Christ's People--and to aid her in any matter in which she may need your assistance. She has proved herself a staunch friend to me and to many others.

But Peter took Jesus aside, and began to rebuke him. "Master," he said, "please God that shall never be your fate!" Verse ConceptsInsightPeter, The DiscipleRebukeLack Of InsightNeverContradictingPassionroadblockspeter

Jesus insisted upon their not telling any one; but the more he insisted, the more perseveringly they made it known, Verse ConceptsUnwise ZealGrowth In ProclamationChrist Concealing ThingsSpreading StoriesChrist's Orders

At that moment she came up, and began publicly to thank God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the deliverance of Jerusalem. Verse ConceptsMessianic HopeTelling Of JesusThanks For Christ