How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart
Week 6: Chapter 6 — Acts: The Question of Historical Precedent
Read Chapter 6 of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Key texts: Acts 2:1–4; Acts 8:14–17; Acts 19:1–7.
Previewing Week 6 of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 12-week guide when you’re ready.
Acts is the story of the early church's explosive beginning — but does the way the Spirit moved then set the pattern for how He must move now?
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Fee and Stuart describe Acts as a 'unique genre' — it is primarily historical narrative, but it has been used by many Christians as a source of normative prescriptions for church life and practice. What is the difference between a historical precedent and a theological norm, and why does the difference matter?
2.The authors argue that Luke's primary intent in Acts is theological and historical — to show how the gospel moved from Jerusalem to Rome, from Jews to Gentiles. How does keeping this purpose in view change the way we read individual episodes in Acts?
3.Fee and Stuart present what they call the key hermeneutical question for Acts: when is a pattern in Acts merely descriptive of what happened, and when is it normative — prescribing what should always happen? What criteria do they offer for making this judgment?
a.How does the presence or absence of an explicit command in the text help answer this question?
b.How does the consistency of the pattern across Acts itself help or hinder the case for normativity?