NIKKI STEVENSON | Co-Host, Former Adventist Podcast |
My love for the book of Acts formed early in my life as a new believer. Less than a week after coming to faith in Christ, my husband and I attended the weekly Former Adventists Fellowship Bible study that happened to be in Acts chapter 2. We had no idea that it would take us ten years to finish the book. The length of the study was in part due to the nature of the book. Acts truly functions as a framework that orients us to the rest of Scripture. So, as we followed Luke’s historical account of the early church, we were constantly stepping into theological questions that launched us into different New Testament letters which helped us dismantle Adventism and rebuild our faith on the foundation of the Apostles’ teachings.
Now, when I think of Acts, I picture a hallway of doors that are illuminated with invitation. The hallway represents to me the forward moving historical narrative of the early church; the beckoning doors represent the New Testament letters that line the path of the hallway—letters that invite us to look more closely at the personal interactions between the apostles and the churches they were shepherding. What once was a book in which I had little interest became the narrative that turned seemingly disconnected stories into the living record of my spiritual family. The symbiotic relationship between the Acts of the Apostles and the rest of the New Testament letters breaths life into the whole New Testament, giving us a fuller picture of both genres and consequently, a fuller picture of God Himself.
Methods Matter
While I already loved Acts, it wasn’t until late in 2020 that I came to see the kind of person and writer that Luke was. I had known Luke wrote to Theophilus to give him a detailed account of Christianity, but I had not fully grasped just how deliberate, transparent, and disciplined his method was. During a season of life when those responsible to communicate truth to us were failing miserably, Luke stood out to me as a truth-teller who didn’t fear investigation.
During the coronavirus pandemic, world leaders and authorities sought to maintain order and control over massive numbers of people through large-scale policies. When questioned, the public requests for truth and transparency were met with deflection, obscured facts, limited details, unverifiable claims, and emotional pressure to comply. The methods of those seeking to manage the populace reminded me of the methods cultic leaders use to maintain order inside of their systems. Evasive maneuvering and distracting manipulation was on unmitigated display.
The methods of those seeking to manage the populace reminded me of the methods cultic leaders use to maintain order inside of their systems.
That December I decided to read the Christmas story from Luke. As I read, something new emerged on the pages of Scripture—I began to see Luke himself. Whether in his gospel or the book of Acts, Luke writes the way people write when they believe the truth can withstand investigation. He is not evasive. He does not attempt to control his reader. He is not manipulative. He provides more details than is necessary, he names witnesses and anchors events in time and place— all of which can be examined and tested against the broader record of history. He didn’t write as one afraid of being caught, but as one who seems to invite deep and honest investigation. Luke wrote as an investigative reporter who laid out one of the most compelling historical cases for the reliability of the Christian faith. Luke was a breath of fresh air!
Luke’s Invitation to Certainty
I have often heard the claim that the Bible was written by humans for the purpose of controlling people. However, an honest look at Luke’s writings makes that claim difficult to defend. Luke did not write to manipulate or coerce belief. He did not behave as one seeking to manipulate history, but as one who worked methodically and thoroughly to reveal it. As a result, he provided humanity with evidence that offers certainty for anyone willing to examine it.
Luke’s Gospel was written as a letter to a man he calls “most excellent Theophilus”. In his introduction he explains his purpose for writing:
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.”
Theophilus had already been taught the details of the Christian faith. Luke’s purpose in writing was to supply those teachings with organized evidence that would give birth to certainty. Today, Luke’s work provides that same certainty to every reader who approaches it with honest inquiry.
When we get to the book of Acts, Luke begins volume two of his work. His original purpose continues to guide him, but his focus shifts from what Jesus did during His earthly ministry to what He continued through the church. When we read Luke’s introduction in chapter 1:1-3 we see that he anchors everything in observable history:
“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”
Luke’s claims here are not based on private revelation. These are events that occurred publicly, in identifiable places, before eyewitnesses who were still living as Luke wrote. They were claims that could be investigated, and they were by Luke himself.
Here we see Luke’s method emerge. He investigates, verifies, and organizes the evidence so that the reader can evaluate it for himself. This is the pattern we see as we move through the book of Acts. This is not the kind of writing produced by one who is seeking to deceive and control; it is the work of someone who wants to make the truth known and who provides the kind of evidence that makes certainty discoverable.
Why Acts is One of the Strongest Historical Foundations for Christianity
Luke’s work in his gospel and in the book of Acts shows us that the Christian faith is anchored in verifiable human history. It is not merely a philosophical system or a collection of private religious experiences. It is public, testable, and rooted in real events.
As a side note, this is why, when unbelievers attempt to redirect the conversation toward internal Christian debates—about the age of the earth or the ethics of the Old Testament— I encourage them to set those questions aside and first deal with the life, death, burial, and empty tomb of Christ. The details of the gospel are verifiable and testable. Once the identity of Christ is established, the rest of Scripture must be approached the way He taught it. By God’s grace the gospel shaped human history in ways that left trails of evidence no worldview can ignore.
I believe that a God who inspired and preserved a book like this is one who does not fear honest questions. God is not hiding.
Luke understood this and devoted himself to preserving the details surrounding Jesus and His church. He knew that evidence for Christianity rests completely on who Jesus is, and that is why he grounded his account in geography, names of political and religious leadership, and in eyewitness testimony—to offer certainty. For this reason, I believe that Acts provides one of the strongest historical cases for the reality of the empty tomb. It is also why I believe that God invites investigation. I believe that a God who inspired and preserved a book like this is one who does not fear honest questions. God is not hiding. We do not have to suspend all personal intelligence and simply take the word of Luke; we are invited to examine the evidence compiled by Luke so that we can discover certainty for ourselves. I thank God for Luke and I thank Him for Luke’s works!
This is why I want to spend this year walking through the book of Acts with you. Not to pressure belief among those who are still struggling to trust, but to invite you to examine together what Luke actually wrote. I’m not a theologian, and I cannot exhaust the depths of truth and evidence in every passage. But I would like us to notice, together, the reliability and integrity of Luke’s methods and consider what the evidence tells us about God.
When we begin Acts 1 and 2 next time we will see Luke’s methods emerge right away. We will see him name people and places, even marking distance and travel (1:12,13, 23; 2:5-22). And we will see him take care with time and sequence (Acts 1:2,3; 1:12-15; 2:1, 41)—two areas of weakness in fabricated narratives. We will also see his emphasis on eyewitnesses and watch him deal honestly with public reactions and tensions (1:2-3, 21-22; 2:3-12, 37).
Walking Through Acts Together
This walk through the book of Acts won’t be a verse-by-verse commentary, and it will not be a loose devotional. I am not promising that I have every answer to every question that emerges, but I am promising to walk through the book with honesty and care. My goal is to notice the trustworthiness of the text and the integrity of Luke’s methods. Along the way, we will pay attention to how the narrative unfolds in light of the foretold purposes of God in the Old Testament. We will seek to honor the authorial intent of each passage and to consider the interpretations and expectations of the original audience. In doing this, I believe we will come to know more of God Himself.
Inevitably, as we walk through any book of the Bible, we will encounter places where our previous Adventist worldview distorted the Biblical text. While these moments can be unsettling, they are also precious opportunities to lay aside false teaching and receive God’s true revelation of Himself and His work in the world. It is in these places that we come to know Him more deeply; it is where we renew our minds with truth and conform our hearts and lives to His revealed will.
As we move down this hallway of church history together, we will mark the places in the narrative where the New Testament letters were written. Not for the purpose of detouring, but to offer us a door to step into for reading on our own between articles, allowing these letters to fill out our understanding of the birth, growth, and progression of the church.
So I hope you will join me on this walk through Acts in 2026—not as spectators, but as those who want to engage in honest investigation. If you do not yet know what you can trust, perhaps this will be a place to begin your search for truth. And if you already trust the God of the Bible and believe His Word, I hope this will be an opportunity to be blessed by time spent sitting at Luke’s feet, seeing what God has for you anew in this beautiful account of the birth of our beloved church. †
- Why I love Acts: History, Honesty, and the Search for Truth - January 8, 2026
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- Read the Bible, Please - August 28, 2025