8. Outline: Conversions in the Book of Acts
by Dave Brown
The outline that follows is intended to aid you in your study of the conversions. Examples of conversions from the Book of Acts are given, along with a few key verses from each passage. Study these carefully, noting that while some examples give only a summary of what happened, others provide more specific details. Please do not be satisfied with what you know right now, or what you think you know—study diligently.
Christians are often accused of cherry picking what they want out of the bible. Do not be guilty of such a sin -- and it IS a sin. We are to base our faith on ALL that the bible teaches on any given subject, so we have tried to find all of the passages in the book of Acts that relate to conversion. In our previous articles we started with what we called DETAILED examples so that we could see how all of the conditions that Jesus established were satisfied by those converted to Christ in the first century. We cannot expect that all of the details will be given every time a statement is made that someone (or some group of people) obeyed the gospel. Quite often throughout the New Testament the figure of speech called synecdoche is used to represent the whole by giving one or more of its parts.
OUTLINE OF CONVERSIONS IN THE BOOK OF ACTS
1. Jews on the Day of Pentecost—Acts 2:14-41
a. “... God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (v. 36).
b. “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (v. 38).
c. “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized” (v. 41).
2. More Jews in Jerusalem—Acts 3:1-4:4
a. “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…” (3:19).
b. “...God raised up ... Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning you away from your iniquities” (3:26).
c. “... and the number of the men [who believed] came to be about five thousand” (4:4).
3. Still more Jews in Jerusalem—Acts 5:14
a. “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord…” (v. 14).
b. This happened, despite the recent punishment of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1f).
4. Priests, among others, were converted—Acts 6:1-7
a. “Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying…” (v. 1).
b. “... the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, ...” (v. 7).
5. People of Samaria, including Simon the Sorcerer—Acts 8:5-13
a. “But when they believed Philip as he preached ..., both men and women were baptized. (vv. 12-13)
b. "Simon also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip…” (vv. 12-13).
6. Ethiopian eunuch and treasurer—Acts 8:26-40
a. Philip “preached Jesus to him” (v. 35).
b. "... the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
c. Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
d. The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (v. 36-37).
e. “Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” (v. 38).
f. The eunuch “went on his way rejoicing” (v. 39).
7. Saul of Tarsus—Acts 9, Acts 22, and Acts 26
a. Saul believed in Jesus after the Lord spoke to him on the Road to Damascus.
b. He showed his repentance by asking, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” (9:6).
c. Ananias: "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (22:16).
d. “And he arose and was baptized” (Acts 9:18).
8. People of Lydda and Sharon—Acts 9:32-35
-- “So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (v. 35).
9. People of Joppa—Acts 9:36-43
-- “And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord” (Acts 9:42).
10. Cornelius, and his household—Acts 10:1-11:18
a. “Send ... for...Peter, who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.”
b. “Whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (10:43).
c. “Then God has also granted the Gentiles repentance to life” (11:18).
d. “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit ...?"
e. “He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (10:48).
11. Gentiles in Antioch of Syria—Acts 11:19-24
a. “A great number believed and turned to the Lord” (v. 21).
b. “A great many people were added to the Lord” (v. 24).
12. Sergius Paulus—Acts 13:6-12
a. “This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God” (v. 7).
b. “... the proconsul believed, ... being astonished at the teaching of the Lord” (v. 12).
13. Gentiles in Antioch of Pisidia—Acts 13:42-52
a. “Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord."
b. "And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (v. 48).
14. Jews and Gentiles in Iconium—Acts 14:1
-- “…and so spoke that a great multitude of the Jews and of the Greeks believed” (v. 1).
15. People in Derbe—Acts 14:20-21
-- “And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples…”
16. Lydia and her household—Acts 16:11-15
a. “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul” (v. 14).
b. “... she begged us, saying, ... come to my house and stay’” (v. 15).
17. Philippian Jailer and his household—Acts 16:25-34
a. He asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (v. 30).
b. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (v. 31).
c. “Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house” (v. 32).
d. “And immediately he and all his family were baptized” (v. 33).
e. "...he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household” (v. 34).
18. Jews and Gentiles in Thessalonica—Acts 17:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; 2:13
a. “Paul...reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (v. 2).
b. “And some of them (Jews) were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, ...
c. " ,,,and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas” (v. 4).
d. “They turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ...” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
e. “...you welcomed it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God...” (1 Thes. 2:13).
19. Jews and Gentiles in Berea (Acts 17:10-12)
a. “…they ... searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so (v. 11).
b. “Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks ...” (v. 12).
20. Gentiles in Athens—Acts 17:22-34
a. “These times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men ... to repent” (v. 30).
b. “Some men joined him and believed, ...
c. ...among them ..., a woman named Damaris, and others with them” (v. 34).
21. Crispus and other Corinthians—Acts 18:1-8
a. “Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household...
b. "... And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized” (v. 8).
22. Twelve men in Ephesus—Acts 19:1-7
a. These men were described as “disciples,” but had only been baptized into John’s baptism.
b. “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (v. 6).
We hope you have enjoyed this study, and encourage you to continue your study of God’s word. We hope we can help in every way possible. Please let us know. If you have any questions, please Contact Us.
Since there seems to be so much controversy over the subject of baptism, we will consider the following question in great detail:
Lesson 9. Is Water Baptism Essential to Salvation?