Fully Devoted: The ChurchSample

Without Hindrance

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! Acts 28:30-31 NIV

These are the last words in the book of Acts. And with context, we quickly realize how weird this is! Paul has absolutely been through the wringer. His missionary journeys have been intense to say the least. He was beaten and left for dead, flogged a few times, often thrown in prison, forced to escape cities under the cover of night—you know, normal stuff. 

And what we’re reading in this chapter is the end result of Paul being bounced around by leader after leader and now living under house arrest. Wait … house arrest? And somehow he’s proclaiming the kingdom of God with all boldness and without hindrance. Sounds like being confined to one’s house would be a hindrance. So what’s going on here?

Well, practically speaking, Paul’s new primary method of communication is letter writing. He can't physically visit the churches he started anymore, so he dedicates himself to addressing problems, sending encouragement, and proclaiming the gospel in writing. As a result of Paul’s house arrest, we have the words that make up the vast majority of the New Testament.

From the very beginning of the biblical story, we’ve seen that God is a God who uses bad things for good. And this is still who He is. These not-so-great circumstances led to the spread of the gospel in a different and powerful way that we’re still reaping the benefits of today. Because God uses bad things for good. 

This raises some questions though. The gospel spread all over the world through some letters and a bunch of misfit missionaries on foot. They didn’t have the internet, planes, or social media. They couldn’t record a quick YouTube breakdown of the Kingdom of Heaven or send a mass invite to a sermon they wanted to preach. Yet, the good news of Jesus was preached and proclaimed without hindrance and the world was radically changed. In a matter of years, the same empire that had carried out Jesus’ crucifixion was declaring Christianity their official religion. 

So what happened? We have the means to get from one side of the country to the other in a few hours. But does the gospel go forth without hindrance? We have all manner of mass communication media. But is the good news that heaven has come crashing into earth the message that’s most boldly proclaimed? I think we would all agree that the answer is no. 

When we read Acts and then look at the state of the Church today, we’re invited to wrestle with the questions: Is God still moving? Is He still working now like He did then? Does the Church today look anything like it did in the first century? Should it? Why or why not?

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you think about those questions:

1. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

It may be tempting to play the blame game when it comes to the disparity between what the Church looked like in Acts and what it looks like today. We can throw shade at church leaders, our peers who just don’t have it together, or even God. We can wonder why He isn’t doing what He did back then right now. But really, that’s the wrong question. 

Throughout the biblical story, we’ve seen a God who desperately wants to partner with people to bring His goodness to all of creation. We see it in the beginning of the story, we see it through the nation of Israel, we see it in Jesus and His disciples, and we see it through the way the Spirit moved powerfully in the early church. And we serve the same God as they did. The same Spirit rests on us.

James writes about how God is not like us, in that He doesn’t change. His character is consistent and dependable. We can trust that who He was is who He is and who He will continue to be. This is why He introduces Himself to Moses in the burning bush as “I AM WHO I AM.”

2. We’re invited to partner with our Creator. 

We’re invited, not forced, to participate in what God is doing. The questions we ask about the Church in Acts should start with self-assessment. Are we sitting on the sidelines when we’ve been called into the game? Maybe the problem isn’t another person or a different ministry model—maybe it’s that, like Israel sometimes, we’re simply not acting like the partners we committed to be. We aren’t just meant to be coupled to a particular pastor or to a tradition; we are the Church and we are tied to Jesus.

3. Our plans may fail, but God’s purposes prevail. 

Finally, there’s no secret formula that the Church followed back then that we have to plug and play to figure out now. They weren’t following a formula—they were following Jesus. And so are we. This doesn’t mean we’ll never have conflict. It doesn’t mean we have to be perfect. But the beautiful thing is that even when we fail, God never will. He has a proven track record. Every time Israel got it wrong, God’s grace met them right there. Just think of the redemption cycle in Judges. God has always been working, overtly and behind the scenes, to set us up for success and catch us when we fall. Remember His grace and let it propel you as you wrestle with this part of the story and begin to play your part in it! 

Journaling Questions  

• What verses stood out to you the most from today’s reading? Write them in your journal.  
• What questions do you have about God and the Church based on the book of Acts? Write them in your journal. Process them with people you trust.  
• Think of a time when a constraint or difficult circumstance actually helped you be really creative or challenged you to come up with a new way of doing something. Journal about that time. How does that shape your perspective? 

Memory Verse

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV