The Acts of the Apostles

The Council at JerusalemActs 15:1-41

Lesson 15

Church History Biographies

John Newton 1725-1807

The full text of each of these biographies can be found tomorrow at dictationsfromthespirit.com

Click on the dropdown menu arrow and choose “Church History Biographies”

Church History Biographies

Francois Fenelon 1651-1715

The full text of each of these biographies can be found tomorrow at dictationsfromthespirit.com

Click on the dropdown menu arrow and choose “Church History Biographies”

The Acts of the Apostles

The Council at JerusalemActs 15:1-41

Lesson 15

Jews

Church Body Focus

The Law

Jews

Church Body FocusGentiles

The Law Idols/Nothing

Jews

Church Body FocusGentiles

Jesus&

Grace

Ephesians 2:14-16: For He Himself is our peace, who has made both [Jew & Gentile] one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Reconciled/Unity

The GospelGrace

• He acknowledges that God chose him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles

• He acknowledges that only God knows the heart of a person – including the Gentiles - and by giving them the Holy Spirit, they were accounted as believers

• He acknowledges that God doesn’t discriminate between Jew and Gentile, and it is God that purifies the heart by faith.

Main Points of Acts 15:7-9

Acts 15:10: Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear.

Acts 15:11: No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.

Acts 15:19-20: It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.

Don’t Stumble

Romans 14:20: Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

1 Corinthians 10:32: Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God.

How God’s Hand Guides His People1. God guides through church unanimity – verse 25a

2. God guides through gifted men and women in the body – verses 25b-27

3. God guides through the gifts of the Spirit – verses 28-29

4. God guides through desires we may have personally – verse 34

5. God guides through concerns we feel internally – verses 35-36

6. God guides through interpersonal difficulty – verses 37-39a

The Importance of Unity

Ephesians 4:3: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Colossians 3:12-14: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

The full text of this lecture can be found tomorrow at

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Acts 15 – The Council at Jerusalem