Dr. Pothana's Teaching

1. Detailed Study on The Book Of Acts
COACH Institute of Intercultural Studies
Hyderabad

2. Book of Acts
Chapter 15

3. Acts 15:1, All The Marbles
• Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea to
Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you
are circumcised, according to the custom taught by
Moses, you cannot be saved."
• Soteriology! And Christology are the biggies
• Gal 1:8-9 But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach a gospel other than the one we
preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As
we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is
preaching to you a gospel other than what you
accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

4. Acts 15:5, Keep The Law Of Moses?
• Acts 15:5 Then some of the believers who belonged to
the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The
Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the
law of Moses."

5. 2 Part Division Of Acts
Saint Peter The Apostle Paul
• Peter is the key person in chapters 1-12;
• Paul is the key person in chapters 13-28.

6. Acts 15:9, Cleansing Hearts
• . Acts 15:9 and He made no distinction between us and
them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

7. Acts 15:9, Purified By Faith
• Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and
them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

8. Acts 15:10-11, Try To Test God!
• Acts 15:10-11 Now then, why do you try to test God by
putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither
we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We
believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we
are saved, just as they are.“
• None have kept the Law;
• Rom 3:5-23…"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands, no one who
seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have
together become worthless; there is no one who does
good, not even one.“…
• . Hebrews 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of
bulls and goats to take away sins.

9. Acts 15:10, An Unbearable Yoke
• . Acts 15:10 …a yoke which neither our
fathers nor we have been able to bear?
• Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are
weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest.
• If your Christian walk is to hard, maybe you’re
using His yoke the wrong way…..

10. Acts 15:10, Disciples Training
• . Acts 15:10
…placing upon
the neck of the
disciples a
yoke…

11. Acts15:11, Grace
• Acts 15:11 "But we believe that we are saved through the grace of
the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.“
Philip Yancey has said, “Grace means that God already loves us as
much as an infinite God can possibly love.”

12. No Rest For Pastors
Matthew
11:30 "For
My yoke is
easy and My
burden is
light."

13. Acts 15:12, Miraculous Signs, Wonders
• Acts 15:12…Barnabas and Paul telling about
the miraculous signs and wonders God had
done among the Gentiles through them.
• 2 Cor 12:12 The things that mark an apostle —
signs, wonders and miracles…
• Matt 16:4 A wicked and adulterous
generation looks for a miraculous sign…
• Folks need to seek the miraculous God, not
His miracles, or His bread (John 6:66).

14. Acts 15:15-18, It Is Written
• Acts 15:15-18….as it is written:
• 16 "'After this I will return and rebuild David's
fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will
restore it, 17 that the remnant of men may
seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear
my name, says the Lord, who does these
things' 18 that have been known for ages.

15. After What?
Amos 9:11-13 "In that day
I will restore David's fallen
tent. I will repair its broken
places, restore its ruins,
and build it as it used to be,
12 so that they may possess
the remnant of Edom and
all the nations that bear my
name," declares the Lord,
who will do these things.
13 "The days are coming,"
declares the Lord,
Acts 15:16-17 "'After this (meta tauta) I •
will return and rebuild David's
fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it, 17 that the
remnant of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who bear my
name, says the Lord, who does
these things'
This phrase “after this” divides the
book of Revelation into 8 sections.
Amos uses “In that day” indicating
a yet future time from now.
James is saying “after the church
age”

16. Amos 9:11
Acts 15:16
Interpretations
of the Christian
millennium

17. Acts 15:17, Seeks After God?
• Acts 15:17 SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE
LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY
NAME,‘
• Acts 17:27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might
grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each
one of us;
• Romans 3:10, 10:20 And Isaiah is very bold and says, "I WAS
FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME
MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.”

18. Acts 15:19-21, Harmony With Jewish Believers
• Acts 15:19-21 "It is my judgment, therefore, that we
should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are
turning to God. 20 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. 21 For Moses has been
preached in every city from the earliest times and is
read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

19. Acts 15:20
Abstain From Fornication
• Acts 15:20…abstain from
…fornication ...

20. Acts 15:20, Eat Anything?
• Acts 15:20 …to abstain from food polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled
animals and from blood
• . 1 Corinthians 10:27 If one of the unbelievers invites
you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before
you without asking questions for conscience' sake.
• 1 Cor 8:13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother
to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will
not cause him to fall.
• 1 Cor 10:25-26 Eat anything sold in the meat market
without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, "The
earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.“

21. Acts 15:20, Don’t Stumble Brothers
• Rom 14:20-23 Do not destroy the work of God for the
sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man
to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do
anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
• 22 So whatever you believe about these things keep
between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who
does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23
But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats,
because his eating is not from faith; and everything
that does not come from faith is sin.

22. Acts 15:19-21, Bible Knowledge Commentary
• “The Gentiles were to abstain from three items: (a)
food polluted by idols, (b) sexual immorality, and (c)
the meat of strangled animals and... blood. Many Bible
teachers say these are only ceremonial matters. The
food polluted by idols is explained in verse 29 as "food
sacrificed to idols" (cf. 21:25). This then, it is argued,
looks at the same problem Paul discussed (1 Cor 8-10).
The abstinence from sexual immorality is explained as
referring to the marriage laws of Lev 18:6-20. The
prohibition against eating blood is taken to refer to Lev
17:10-14. All three prohibitions according to this
interpretation look back to the Jewish ceremonial Law.”

23. Acts 15:20, Without Our Authorization
• Acts 15:20…went out from us without our
authorization and disturbed you…
• Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea
to Antioch and were teaching the brothers:…

24. Acts 15:20, Abstain From Fornication
• Acts 15:20 but that we write to them that they
abstain from things contaminated by idols and
from fornication and from what is strangled
and from blood. [Acts 15:29, 21:25]
• Exodus 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery.

25. Acts 15:39 Disagreements Are Inevitable