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of
Acts 15 v.7b
*
PCJB
PP Presentation
devised and prepared
at
Gujranwala Theological Seminary
may be copied for non-commercial use only
February 2005
Acts 15 v. 7b
and then
He was writing
an account of what happened
from the time Jesus ascended into heaven
to Paul’s imprisonment in Rome
e
Acts 15 v. 7b (1 Draft) st
Note:
Relationship between “hear” and “believe” (Conjunction
“and” is consequential (links cause with effect)
Toggle (inter-change) structure of “from my lips” and
“the message”
Step 5 – Analyse the CONTENT
Ask QUESTIONS (Kipling‘s “six serving men“)
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and [might] believe.
Analysis:
Who was involved in this activity? – “God” – “you” – “the
Gentiles” – Peter (“my”)
From where did God make a choice? – “among you”
How did the Gentiles hear? – “from my lips”
What did they hear? – “the message of the gospel”
When did they believe? – after they heard this message?
Step 5 – Analyse the CONTENT(cont.)
Note the ACTION
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips
Who is doing the message
what? of the gospel
and believe.
God
makes a choice
of a
messenger
The Gentiles
hear the gospel
and respond
Step 6 – Check the CONTEXT
When they arrived in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were welcomed by the
whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported on what God
had been doing through their ministry.
But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before their conversion stood
up and declared that all Gentile converts must be circumcised and be
required to follow the law of Moses.
So the Apostles and church elders got together to decide this question.
At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as
follows: “Brothers, you all know that
God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles
so that they could hear the Good News and believe.
God, who knows people’s hearts, confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving
them the Holy Spirit, just as he gave him to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for he also cleansed their hearts
through faith.
Why are you now questioning God’s way by burdening the Gentile believers
with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?
We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the special favor of the Lord
Situation (Context before the passage)
We can see
how God’s sovereignty
works out
in preaching….
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and believe.
…when we consider:
Refer to Commentaries
Check a doubtful point with a Concordance
(or with the NIV Thematic Study Bible Index)
Step 10 – Expose the HEART-BEAT
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and believe.
What is the heart-beat of the text?
God has chosen preaching as an effective way of
bringing his truth to the world
Acknowledgements
are due to J.A.Motyer whose Preface to Haddon Robinson‘s “Expository Preaching“ provided the
inspiration for the lay-out of Frame 14
Also to Toni William for the Urdu translation and its computer setting
Step 11 – Apply the LESSON
Without preachers who preach God’s own
message (not their own) people will not be
able to hear and respond to the Gospel
So pray for more God-chosen preachers
(not simply man-appointed) to answer the
call to the Ministry of the Gospel
The End