Acts 5:42??

by Curtains 23 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • AnnOMaly
    AnnOMaly

    Acts 20:17-20 Paul is not discussing preaching to unbelievers but rather teaching those who already were Christians. He says;

      "However, from Mi·le´tus he sent to Eph´e·sus and called for the older men of the congregation. 18 When they got to him he said to them: "YOU well know how from the first day that I stepped into the [district of] Asia I was with you the whole time, 19 slaving for the Lord with the greatest lowliness of mind and tears and trials that befell me by the plots of the Jews; 20 while I did not hold back from telling YOU any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching YOU publicly and from house to house."

    A more accurate way to understand these scriptures in Acts is "we were teaching you at your homes" similar to the way Witnesses hold congregation book studies. Paul here relates his past activity in teaching "the older men of the congregation" privately within Christian homes. Early Christians did not have Churches but met in homes, and it is to this that Paul was referring.

    Not only that (great post btw, jwfacts) but the contextual background to this shows that Paul and others didn't go "from house to house" in the way JWs argue.

    • Acts 18:19-21 - Upon his first arrival, Paul preached in the synagogue;
    • Acts 18:24-26 - New disciple Apollos preached boldly in the synagogue; more experienced Priscilla and Aquila invited him to their private home to teach him further;
    • Acts 19:1ff. - Upon his next visit, Paul sought out believers.
    • Acts 19:8ff. - Paul spent 3 months teaching in the synagogue which ticked off the unbelieving Jews; he then had daily discussions with the new disciples in Tyrannus' lecture hall which, during those two years, attracted both Jews and Greeks from nearly all the Asian province (cf. Acts 19:26).

    No mention of going consecutively "from house to house" as a preaching method.

    • DanaBug
      DanaBug

      marked

    • AnnOMaly
      AnnOMaly

      And how did it come to be that Jerusalem was filled with the apostles' teaching (Acts 5:28)?

      They filled Jerusalem with their teaching by:

      • speaking to an assembled crowd that had heard the noise of the Holy Spirit and come to find out what was going on (Acts 2:5ff),
      • continuing to meet with the new believers in the temple courts and in their homes (Acts 2:46),
      • speaking to the people at the temple who had come running to them after witnessing a miracle (Acts 3 noting verses 11 and 12),
      • continuing to publicly perform healing miracles which brought the crowds to them (Acts 5:12-16).

      There is no evidence that even ONE door was knocked on to witness to unbelievers. The people came to them and the teaching was done in the temple courtyards! When the apostles were arrested and rescued by the angel, where could the apostles be found? Not on a street knocking on doors but,

      "'Look! The men YOU put in prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people.'" - Acts 5:25.

    • DesirousOfChange
      DesirousOfChange

      Does not Matt 10 suggest that the household would NOT be those already in the faith? "not deserving" or "does not take you in or listen"

      Matt 10:12-14 -- 12 When YOU are entering into the house, greet the household; 13 and if the house is deserving, let the peace YOU wish it come upon it; but if it is not deserving, let the peace from YOU return upon YOU. 14 Wherever anyone does not take YOU in or listen to YOUR words, on going out of that house or that city shake the dust off YOUR feet.

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