Acts Chapter 15, Clean Hearts, After this meta tauta, 1st church council soteriology, purified by faith, millennium, Rapture, Seeks After God, fornication porneia, eat anything diet, meat sacrificed to idols, don’t stumble brothers, living in sin, Common Law Marriage, disagreements

1. Acts 15
Acts Chapter 15, Keep the law are you kidding?, 1st
Church Council and 1st Split, clean hearts, after
this meta tauta, 1st church council soteriology,
purified by faith, millennium, Rapture, Seeks After
God, fornication porneia, eat anything diet, meat
sacrificed to idols, don’t stumble brothers, living in
sin, Common Law Marriage, disagreements

2. BIBLE IN FIVE
Pastor Dave Kooyers
Valley Bible Fellowship
Box 433
Boonville CA 95415
http://www.slideshare.net/dkooyers
www.ValleyBibleFellowship.org
(707) 895-2325
God bless you as you examine His Word,
Your servant in Christ, 2Cor. 4:5,
Dave Matthew 10:8 …Freely
you received, freely give.
These Microsoft PowerPoint
presentations are provided "for the
equipping of the saints for the
work of service, to the building up
of the body of Christ" (Ephesians
4:12-15). To help Christians to "to
grow up in all aspects into Him
who is the head, even Christ." So
that "we are no longer...tossed
here and there...by every wind of
doctrine." They may be
downloaded and modified free of
charge.

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."
• James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet
stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
• Col 2:16-17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by
what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious
festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17
These are a shadow of the things that were to come;
the reality, however, is found in Christ.

5. 2 Part Division Of Acts
Saint Peter by Peter Paul Rubens
The Apostle Paul, by Rembrandt van
Ryn, 1657 - Widener Collection

6. 2 Part Division Of Acts
• Peter is the key person in chapters 1-12;
• Paul is the key person in chapters 13-28.
• Act 12:17 Acts 12:17 Peter motioned with his hand for
them to be quiet and described how the Lord had
brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers
about this," he said, and then he left for another
place.
• Acts 15:7-11 is Peter’s last recorded sermon
• When Barnabas and Paul finish, then James starts in
Acts 15:13.
• That ends the story of Peter’s ministry in Acts.

7. 2 Part Division Of Acts
• “Peter” is used 152 in NAS, 53 X’s in Acts, 52 X’s in
chapters 1-12, once more in Acts 15:7, and James
calls him “Simeon” in Acts 15:14
• 91 X’s in gospels, 52 X’s in Acts chapters 1-12
• “Cephas” is used 8 X’s in NAS epistles, 4 X’s in 1
Corinthians historically, 4 X’s in Galatians, 2 X’s
historically, and 2 X’s in condemnation
• “Peter” is used once in 1 Peter, and 2 Peter
• Acts 15:7 ends the story of Peter’s ministry in
Acts

8. Acts 15:9, Cleansing Hearts
• NAU Acts 15:9 and He made no distinction between us and
them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
• KJV YLT NIV NKJ …purifying their hearts...
• NAU 2 Corinthians 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the
Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
• NAU Romans 5:5…the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to
us.
• NAU Galatians 4:6 …God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!“
• I thought it was God’s Spirit!
• Yup, Jesus is God!

9. Acts 15:9, Purified By Faith
• Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and
them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
• Eph 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do.
• 4161 ποίημα poiema {poy'-ay-mah}
• Meaning: 1) that which has been made 2) a work 2a)
of the works of God as creator
• Poem

10. 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.“…
• NAU Hebrews 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of
bulls and goats to take away sins.

11. Acts 15:10, An Unbearable Yoke
• NAU 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…..

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

13. 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.“
• Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by
the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the
grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ,
abound to the many.
• Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of
works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
• 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His
grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than
all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
• James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS
OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."
• Philip Yancey has said, “Grace means that God already loves us as
much as an infinite God can possibly love.”

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

15. 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).

16. 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.

17. After What?
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'
• 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,
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”

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

19. Rapture Any Day Now?, gracethrufaith.com
• Q. Re: Last Call. With so many being saved at present and
into the foreseeable future how could the rapture come any
day now? Would Jesus actually come and leave people behind
that he knows would be saved if they heard the gospel?
• A. According to my understanding of Romans 11:25 the
Church has a specific number, and when it’s reached the
rapture will take place regardless of any other
circumstances. But the rapture won’t put an end to people
being saved. Large numbers of people will be saved
afterwards, they just won’t be part of the Church. Some
scholars call them Tribulation Saints.
• The reasons I believe the rapture could happen any day now
are 1) there’s no prophetic event that has to precede it, 2) I
believe Acts 15:13-18 tells us it has to happen before the 70th
Week of Daniel can begin, and 3) signs that we’re in the end of
the end times are all around us.

20. Who Wrote About The Rapture?
Acts 15:16, gracethrufaith.com
• Q. Am I correct in stating that Paul was the only writer of the New
Testament on the Rapture of the Church? And why is he the only
one? Is the Rapture talked about or referred to by some one else
through out the Bible? Thanks brother keep up the wonderful job!!
• A. I believe that the Doctrine of the Rapture was given primarily to
Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles. As for other Biblical writers,
John mentioned it in Revelation 3:10, and there are hints of it
in Acts 15:13-18 and 2 Peter 2:9.
• One of the clearest Old Testament passages on the Rapture is
in Isaiah 26:19-21 and there’s a hint in Isaiah 57:1 where the word
translated perish also means vanish. Zephaniah 2:3 is another one.
Then of course you have the examples of Enoch, Lot, and Daniel,
who serve as types of the church at various times. And there may
be other references I’ve overlooked.
• DLK adds hints are also in Hosea 5:15, Rev 4:1, John 14:3

21. 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.”
• Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
• Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please
Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and
that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

22. Acts 15:17, Seeks After God?
• Matthew 7:8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks
finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
• Psalm 53:2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of
men To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after
God… 3 Every one of them has turned aside; together they have
become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.
• Lam3:25 The LORD is good …To the person who seeks Him.
• John 4:23 …such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
• 1 Chronicles 28:9…the LORD searches all hearts, and understands
every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find
Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
• Psalm 40:16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You…

23. 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."
• For harmony with Jewish believers (only)
• NAU Acts 16:3 Paul wanted this man to go with him; and
he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews
who were in those parts, for they all knew that his
father was a Greek.

24. Acts 15:20
Abstain From Fornication
• KJV NAS NAU Acts 15:20…abstain from
…fornication ...
• YLT …and the whoredom…
• But the term is broader than “fornication” or
even “adultery” (like the divorce passages) it’s;
• 4202 πορνεία porneia {por-ni'-ah}
• NET ESV CSB NIV NKJ ... sexual immorality...

25. Acts 15:20, Eat Anything?
• NIV Acts 15:20 …to abstain from food polluted by idols,
from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled
animals and from blood
• NAU 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.“

26. 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.

27. 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.”

28. 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:…

29. 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.

30. Acts 15:20, Abstain From Fornication
• Acts 15:20 …abstain from…fornication…
• Joe's in the confessional... "Father, I committed
adultery“ "The priest starts thinking of the most
promiscuous women in town. "Was it with Marie
Brown?“ "I'd rather not say who it was.“ "Was it
with Betty Smith?“ "I'd rather not say," says Joe. So
the priest gives him absolution and Joe leaves. Later,
Joe's friend asks if he received absolution.
• "Yes, and two very good leads!"
• Exodus 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery.
• Proverbs 6:32 …adultery with a woman is lacking sense

31. Acts 15:20, gracethrufaith.com
Living In Sin, Common Law Marriage
• Q. …how do we mesh OSAS with what Paul says in
Galatians 5:19-21? I have 3 adult children who all
profess to be saved but all are committing fornication I
guess. They all seem dedicated to their mate but there
is no marriage for any of them. Paul seems pretty
definite when he says here that none of them who are
involved in sexual immorality will ever see the kingdom
of God.
• A. In our culture, it’s commonly believed that people
who live together without being legally married are
“living in sin.” But it has not been that way for most of
human history, nor is it that way in many countries
today. And even in the US, 15 states still have
“common law”

32. Acts 15:20,
Living In Sin, Common Law Marriage
• marriage provisions. While the Bible only authorizes
sexual relations within a marriage, it doesn’t specify
the conditions necessary to constitute a marriage. It
only says that a married couple cannot divorce except
under conditions of marital unfaithfulness.
• Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that the term
“legally married” is man made and not a Biblical
requirement. If your adult children consider
themselves to be married, are acting like married
couples act (being exclusive to each other, etc.), and
are holding themselves out to the world as such, then
in the eyes of the Lord they are married, and are not
being sexually immoral.

33. Acts 15:20,
Living In Sin, Common Law Marriage
• ESV Galatians 5:19-21…sexual immorality, impurity,
sensuality, …will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• NAU 1 Corinthians 6:16 Or do you not know that the one
who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For
He says, "THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.“
• NAU 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 …the unrighteous will not inherit
the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,
nor homosexuals, 10 …will inherit the kingdom of God.
• NAU Revelation 21:8…immoral persons …will be in the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone…
• NAU Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is to be held in honor among
all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators
and adulterers God will judge.

34. Acts 15:28, Our Burdens
• NAU Acts 15:28 ..to
lay upon you no
greater burden…
• Galatians 6:2 Bear
one another's
burdens…
• Matthew 11:30 "For
My yoke is easy and
My burden is light."

35. Acts 15:2 + 39 Hebrews 13:17, Sharp
Disagreements
• Acts 15:2 And when Paul and Barnabas had great
dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined
that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go
up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this
issue.
• This one is literally a; big deal, standing up debate
• Acts 15:39 And there occurred such a sharp disagreement
that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took
Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus
• [GING] παροξυσμός
παροξυσμός, οῦ, ὁ stirring up, encouraging Hb 10:24.
Irritation, sharp disagreement Ac 15:39.* [paroxysm] [pg
152]

36. Acts 15:39 Disagreements Are Inevitable

37. Acts 15:39, Disagreements
• Soteriology; Acts 15:2 And when Paul and Barnabas had
great dissension and debate with them…
• Missions; Acts 15:39 And there occurred such a sharp
disagreement that they separated from one another, and
Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus
• Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for
they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an
account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for
this would be unprofitable for you.
• Worlds reaction to our disagreements, Acts 18:15, Acts
25:19
• Don’t argue with God, Isaiah 45:9, 50:8, Mark 8:11
• Ecclesiastes 6:11-12, Matthew 7:3

38. Acts 15:35-39, Denominations
• Acts 15:35 is the last use in Acts of the phrase
“Paul and Barnabas”
• Acts 15:39 They had such a sharp disagreement
that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark
and sailed for Cyprus
• All the denominations are not splits in
Christianity, just different outreaches.
• Acts 4:36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom
the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of
Encouragement),

39. In Closing
• We are all fallen creatures
and all very hard to live
with. C. S. Lewis
• And we don’t relate with
mathematical precision…

40. THE
END