1. Luke, a companion of Paul in preaching the Gospel, wrote both his gospel account and the Acts of the Apostles to his friend Theophilus. (Luke 1:4, Acts 1:1.) Luke, no doubt, wanted to convert his friend to Jesus Christ. These two powerful documents are filled with sufficient information by which Theophilus could base his decision. Theophilus means one who loves God. He, thus, was a person of faith and a good prospect for becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.
2. Think about what Theophilus had before him in these two rather lengthy letters. He had the story of Jesus’ birth, his teachings, the record of his death, burial, and resurrection, and the response of many to that gospel message. He knew then how he ought to respond to the gospel.
3. The place and role of the letters of the New Testament, at least in part, is to explain further the significance of what they had done in obeying the Gospel. It is important to recognize the value of Acts and also to see what is not covered in this book.

How God justifies a believer. There is a grave danger in thinking that Luke-Acts is all that we need. This is foundational, essential, and powerful to convert the lost. Think about the completeness of Luke-Acts, Romans (justification) and the letters (for Christian conduct and worship).

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teachings about righteousness." (Heb. 5:13, NIV.)

What if I sin (and we will) after I am baptized? This is not covered in Acts. We must learn this in other books of the New Testament. Baptism not only washes away your past sins, but it unites you with Jesus Christ. You "put on Christ." (Gal. 3:27.)

Think about one stopping after he preaches how to possess faith in God. (Ex. C. S. Lewis.) Or after preaching Jesus to produce faith in Him. (Ex. Billy Graham.) What if we stop after Acts? We must not do that. (Heb. 6:1f.)

The condition of little children before God. There are several "household conversions" in Acts. See Acts 10:2, 48, Acts 11:14, Acts 16:32-34, Acts 18:8, Acts 16:15. It is often asked if children were in these households? Were small children baptized along with their parents? There is no evidence that they were. In fact, all of the evidence about faith, repentance and baptism shows that the one being baptized must be an adult who is able to understand and respond to the Gospel. Little children are not lost.

In Acts, we have first generation Christians. There are no children who have been raised in "Christian homes." We should think carefully about baptizing young children. We do our children a disservice when we baptize them so young that they do not grasp the significance of what they are doing. Young people responding to the Gospel should understand some facts and information, but they must also understand the meaning of those facts. They should be able to reason abstractly and to understand spiritual principles and truths.

Personal experiences and witnessing. Acts is silence in the conversion accounts about the need for personal experiences or encounters with God in conversion. What we have is faith being produced by preaching the Word of God. (Rom. 10:17.)

Was Paul’s experience on the Damascus’ Road an example of personal experience in conversion? Well, it did indeed change Paul, but it qualified him to be an apostle by seeing the resurrected Christ. Saul’s conversion came in Damascus when Ananias told him to arise and be baptized. Jesus did not tell him what to do in the vision. Ananias, the preacher, told Saul what he should do to be saved.

No one today should wait for the Lord to appear to him or her as he did unto Saul of Tarsus. You will be waiting in vain. The retelling of unusual events surrounding one’s conversion is not the gospel, which saves the lost.

The topic of personal religious experiences is a much-discussed subject, especially among philosophers. There is an effort by some to provide evidence for the existence of God through personal experiences. Some believe that you can have a direct encounter with God. Such folks are known as mystics. Mysticism is "the doctrine or belief that direct knowledge of God, of spiritual truth, is attainable through immediate intuition or insight and in a way differing from ordinary sense perception." (According to Webster’s definition.) In addition, there are many levels at which personal religious experiences are claimed. It is true that just by living we have a continuous experience with reality. Others believe that God or his presence is sensed or known beyond the five senses, at some level. See The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, a noted philosopher, lectures presented in 1901-02. This classic notes the various levels in which religious experiences are claimed.

In the Scriptures, God is the One who has revealed himself to man through various ways. We know him, not so much by our intuition or perception of God, but by his self-revelation. We know God primarily through his Word. I could never know what to do to become a Christian without hearing the Gospel preached. "How shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14.) Some in the past had "experiences" which will never be repeated. Our "experiences" are not equal to theirs. We must not preach our personal experiences, but rather we should preach the word of their testimony.

The deaths of Peter and Paul. (Acts 28:30-31.) Acts does not record the deaths of Peter and Paul. It is believed that Paul endured two different imprisonments, and he was likely killed during the second one in Rome. Peter is believed to have suffered death by the cruelty of the same wicked ruler, Nero, and perhaps the same time as Paul.

Acts does record the work of primarily these two apostles, Peter and Paul. Peter is sent to the scattered Jews in the eastern part of the Roman empire. Paul journeyed west establishing churches all the way to Rome, reaching some of Caesar’s household. We are not saved by the deaths of Peter and Paul, but we are highly indebted to them for their life’s work. We are saved by the Gospel which they preached and wrote about.

The Gospel of Mark has been described by biblical scholars as "the memoirs of Peter." Mark recorded the life of Jesus as seen through the eyes of this beloved apostle and elder. All of humanity is included in the work of Peter (to the circumcised) and Paul ( to the uncircumcised).