by Matthew Borgstrom | Feb 18, 2019 | Uncategorized
It is very obvious from Col. 3, Eph. 5 and 1 Pet. 3 that way we operate in our God-given roles in marriage is a direct indicator of how much we fear and trust Jesus Christ. In other words, in the case of Eph. 5:22, submitting to one’s own husband is one of the...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Feb 11, 2019 | Uncategorized
Luke 7:36-50 gives us the proper perspective to answer one important question: Does the quality of your love for Christ correspond to the riches of his grace that you have received? Among other things, this text will demonstrate that there is a direct correlation...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Dec 31, 2018 | Uncategorized
If we were to summarize Paul’s farewell instruction to the elders in Acts 20 to the bare bones concepts, they are called to follow Paul’s example of possessing the character of Christ and the message of Christ. Are those the two concepts that define your Christian...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Dec 24, 2018 | Uncategorized
What does your life consist of? When Christ says, “I came that my people may have life, and have it abundantly,” is this the life we are hoping in? This life that came about through his death. This life that makes us more like him now and will...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Dec 17, 2018 | Uncategorized
There are a couple of biblical realities that have not only been evident on the pages of Acts, but they are realities we might have experienced ourselves or may perhaps experience in the future. On the one hand, Jesus promised hostility from the world simply due...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Dec 14, 2018 | Uncategorized
It’s a great danger to try to attach the name of Jesus to one’s personal ministry without being really linked to him, which is obvious by one’s refusal to do what he has said, namely with regards to ministry methods. What’s clear in the book of Acts...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Dec 4, 2018 | Biblical Fruit, Holy Spirit
The group found at the beginning of Acts 19 were stuck in the time, having received only the teaching of John the Baptist and not being familiar with the finished work of Jesus Christ in all its fullness. Upon the completion of God’s revelation, the NT knows of no...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Nov 26, 2018 | Equipping the Saints, Faithfulness, Obedience, Pleasing Christ
So upon reaching the end of Acts 18:23, we have seen God’s protection of the gospel through the encouragement of the messengers. The encouragement came first through human partnership in vv.1-5. What a privilege it is to have a spouse who is a partner in the gospel...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Nov 18, 2018 | Evangelism, Faithfulness, God's Word
If you remember from the first half of Acts 17, Paul has been chased out of the previous two locations, Thessalonica and Berea, and was led by some trusted brothers to Athens to wait for Timothy and Silas. It turns out neither the Holy Spirit nor Paul was going to...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Nov 12, 2018 | Bible Study, Following Christ, Word of God
In Acts 17:11, Luke points out something different, namely about the listeners in Berea. They were more noble-minded or open-minded than the Thessalonians. Don’t think of our modern mantra of tolerance; being open-minded to every new-fangled idea that any spiritual...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Nov 5, 2018 | Evangelism, Faithfulness
Yesterday, we took a break from Acts and heard a message from Colossians 4:2-6 about how to be a faithful witness. What Paul places of primary importance is steadfast prayer, wise living and gracious speech. Notice that sophisticated arguments are not needed, but...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Oct 29, 2018 | Adversity, Evangelism, Faithfulness
Thus far in Acts 16, we have seen 2 recipients of the Lord’s deliverance—a God-worshipping business woman named Lydia in vv.6-15 and a demon-possessed slave girl in vv.16-18. These two were such different individuals with vastly contrasting life circumstances that...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Oct 22, 2018 | Salvation
At the tail end of the Zaccheus account in Luke 19, Jesus says something that has become very familiar words: The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. Jesus Christ not only seeks after people, he saves them. And vice versa—he not only saves, but he is the one...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Oct 15, 2018 | Child-like Dependence, Faith, Following Christ
The way that the Holy Spirit guides Paul and Barnabas’ missionary efforts in the beginning portion of Acts 16 should cause us to give much more consideration to the Spirit’s providential guidance in our lives in the opening of doors and the closing of them. ...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Oct 8, 2018 | Discipleship, Equipping the Saints, Prayer
Does Paul’s concern for the churches in Acts 15:36 represent the content of our concerns or do our concerns sound like this: “I’m so concerned for that person because they got that bad health diagnosis or didn’t get the job they wanted or has serious financial...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Oct 1, 2018 | Biblical Fruit, Loving One Another, Obedience, Pleasing Christ
So what do we do with this instruction from the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. Animals which have been strangled during worship feasts for idols is probably one of the farthest thing from our minds. Nevertheless, the takeaway for all Christians for all time is that...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 24, 2018 | Biblical Fruit, False Teaching, Gospel, Grace, Holiness, Obedience
We read from Colossians 2:8-19 during our Scripture reading time because it’s actually easier than we might think to lose sight of Christ being the centerpiece. According to that passage, you can know you are thinking correctly about this when you have power over...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 17, 2018 | Adversity, Faithfulness, Following Christ, Theology
The debate in the beginning of Acts 15 is virtually identical to the heresy in Galatians where Paul is combating the idea of making circumcision part of justification (being declared righteous by God through faith alone in Christ). What’s most insightful in...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 10, 2018 | Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Biblical Fruit, Equipping the Saints, Expository Preaching, Faith, Following Christ, Fruit Bearing, reformed Baptist, Reformed Theology, Suffering
There’s no doubt that in troublesome times, we are shaken in our faith and feel disoriented—What is happening to me? Why is this happening? Why am I stuck in this circumstance? I think we need to admit that much of this is due to faulty expectations about the...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 4, 2018 | Adversity, bible preaching, Biblical Fruit, Faith, Following Christ, Persecution, Perseverance
In this section of Acts 14, it’s the apostles’ unshakable resolve that is on display. It doesn’t matter where they go or what they encounter; they just continue to do what the Lord has called them to do. Thankfully we can gain great insight into Paul’s...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Aug 27, 2018 | Adversity, Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Biblical Fruit, Expository Preaching, Faithfulness, Following Christ, Fruit Bearing, Obedience, Pleasing Christ
Consider what has transpired in the verses we have covered in this chapter: Paul and Barnabas literally get banished out of the region of Pisidian Antioch at the end of Acts 13 and so they go to Iconium and do that same thing that just got them banished. There they...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Aug 20, 2018 | Biblical Fruit, Hating Christ, Heart Motives, Holiness, Killing Sin
In Acts 13:45, Luke specifically identifies what led the Jews to their hostility against the apostles–they were filled with jealousy. The leading Greek dictionary defined this term as intense negative feelings over another’s achievements or success.[1] We saw...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Aug 13, 2018 | bible preaching, Bible Study, Biblical Fruit, Word of God
As we think about the fork in the road that was put forth to the people in Paul’s sermon in Acts 13, here’s a great question with which to direct our thoughts: When the message comes to us, what do we do with it? I’m not referring to a one-time acceptance of...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Aug 6, 2018 | Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Bible Study, Biblical Fruit, Expository Preaching, Faith, Faithfulness, Following Christ, Heart Motives, Humility, Obedience, Sanctification, Trust
It’s our sin, rather than God’s stinginess, that creates a blockade separating us from God’s promises. But we know that Christ has remedied our sin problem, removing the condemnation that we deserved and granting us the power that is necessary to meet God’s...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jul 30, 2018 | Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Bible Study, Church, Word of God
Even though you are armed with the teachings of Christ, do you feel deficient or ill-equipped in your witness for Christ in this world? Perhaps you might be tempted to think that you are in charge of carefully strategizing how to make the gospel relevant to someone. ...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jul 16, 2018 | Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Biblical Fruit, Church, Expository Preaching, Missions, Pleasing Christ, reformed Baptist, Reformed Theology, Word of God
Let’s summarize how Luke describes the process of Barnabas and Saul leaving the church of Antioch at the beginning of Acts 13. The Spirit sets them apart, v.2, then the church releases them, v.3, and finally the Spirit is said to have sent them out, v.4. The church...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jul 9, 2018 | Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Child-like Dependence, Dependence, Expository Preaching, Faith, Faithfulness, Following Christ, Obedience, reformed Baptist, Reformed Theology, Trust, Unbelief, Word of God
After seeing how God advanced the gospel through the removal of a king in Acts 12, we need to ask ourselves: In what area do you doubt the power of the gospel? It could be the conversion of someone who has remained hostile or even indifferent to the truth of Christ. ...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jul 2, 2018 | Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Biblical Fruit, Church, Compassion, Faithfulness, Following Christ, Loving One Another
In light all that we have learned today in the Antioch church’s love towards the church in Judea from Acts 11:29, it’s helpful to ask: At what point does our love for others cease; in other words what are the barriers that we refuse to cross in order to...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jun 25, 2018 | Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Bible Study, Biblical Fruit, Equipping the Saints, Expository Preaching, Faithfulness, God's Glory, Obedience, Pleasing Christ, Word of God
These Christians in Acts 11:20 didn’t categorize people as churched or unchurched, meaning they didn’t treat mankind’s main problem as poor church attendance. Instead, it’s obvious that they classified everyone as either being reconciled to God through faith in...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jun 18, 2018 | Bible Exposition, bible preaching, Biblical Fruit, Discipleship, Equipping the Saints, Expository Preaching, Faith, Following Christ, Fruit Bearing, Holy Spirit, Killing Sin, Obedience, Perseverance, Pleasing Christ, reformed Baptist, Reformed Theology
It was very obvious in the early days of the church to identify when someone had fallen away from the faith. They left the real church and went to follow false teachers who clearly were not sanctioned by the apostles. In our day, they just hop around to different...
