Acts 6 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Acts 6 in 5 Minutes

WHEN:

• We don’t have details to provide us with exact dates for the events of chapter 6.

• Historians estimate the events of chapter 6 occurred between 31-35 AD.

CHARACTERS:

• 12 Apostles – The men hand selected by Jesus to help lead the early Church.

• 7 Disciples – 7 men chosen to help with a problem amongst the Christian widows.

• Stephen – One of the 7 selected disciples, a man “full of faith” and the Holy Spirit.

WHERE:

• The events of chapter 6 occurred in and around the city of Jerusalem.

OUTLINE:

• 7 SERVANTS ARE CHOSEN TO HELP THE NEGLECTED WIDOWS (6:1-7):

  • The Hellenists complained their widows were being neglected by the Church.

  • The 12 Apostles thought it unwise to devote themselves to the problem because it would distract them from preaching.

  • They gathered the disciples and asked them to select 7 men from among themselves to commit to resolving the issue with the widows.

  • When the 7 men were selected, the Apostles laid their hands on them and prayed.

• STEPHEN IS ARRESTED AND BROUGHT TO THE COUNCIL (6:8-15):

  • Stephen, one of the 7 men selected to care for the Hellenist widows, was doing many signs and wonders among the people.

  • Those of the synagogue of the Freedmen, some Cyrenians, some Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia started disputing with Stephen.

  • They were unsuccessful in challenging Stephen, so they got false witnesses to accuse him of speaking “blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

  • They stirred up the people, elders, and scribes who seized Stephen and brought him before the Jewish council.

  • Additional false witnesses accused Stephen of speaking against the Law of Moses and the Temple.

  • They told the council Stephen was going around telling people Jesus was going to destroy the Temple and change the customs of Moses.

  • Those who sat in the council observed Stephen’s face to be “like the face of an angel.”

APPLICATION:

• The Church can and should be involved in various charitable programs, but it should never allow those things to replace the priority of preaching Jesus.

• Charity opens doors for the gospel but acts of charity have no eternal value if they are devoid of Jesus.

• The Apostles’ resolve to preach Jesus should emphasize it’s importance to the modern Church.

• It is not right or healthy to try to bear all the responsibility in a Church.

• Trying to fill too many roles can distract us from completing our individual responsibilities.

• Trying to fill too many roles deprives others of the chance to serve.