Why does the gospel stir up so much trouble?

In Acts 17:1-15, the message of Jesus turns whole cities upside down. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt explains why the good news unsettles the world — and why that is exactly what it is meant to do.

In Thessalonica, Paul reasoned from the Scriptures for three Sabbaths that Jesus is the promised Christ who had to die and rise. Some believed, but jealous opponents stirred up a mob and dragged Paul’s host before the rulers, accusing the missionaries of defying Caesar by proclaiming “another king — Jesus.” Dr. Holt points out that the real opposition is spiritual, not just human. He then contrasts the angry crowd with the people of Berea, who were “fair-minded” and searched the Scriptures every day to test what Paul taught — a model for every Christian.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why did the gospel cause such an uproar? Because it announces “another king, Jesus,” and challenges the world’s idols and power. A message that calls for full allegiance to Christ will always unsettle the way things are.

2. What was the real source of the opposition? Dr. Holt points beyond the angry crowd to a spiritual enemy. The struggle over the gospel is ultimately not against people but against spiritual darkness.

3. What made the Bereans different? Rather than reacting with anger, the Bereans listened and searched the Scriptures daily to see whether Paul’s teaching was true. They show us how to test everything by God’s Word.

“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” — Acts 17:6 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Acts Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Is Jesus really the only way to be saved?

In Acts 4:1-13, Peter stands before the rulers who killed Jesus and makes a bold claim: there is salvation in no one else. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt explains why the name of Jesus is the one name that saves.

After Peter and John healed a lame man and preached the resurrection, the authorities arrested them — but thousands believed. Hauled before the council and asked by what power they had acted, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, pointed to “Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.” Then he declared that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Dr. Holt explains that this exclusive claim was offensive then and now, but it is the heart of the gospel: salvation is found in Christ alone.

Questions this study answers:

1. Does the Bible really teach Jesus is the only way? Yes. Peter says plainly that there is salvation in no one else, “for there is no other name under heaven ... by which we must be saved.” The New Testament repeats this truth elsewhere.

2. Why was this so offensive to Peter’s audience? The rulers had rejected and crucified Jesus, yet Peter told them this same Jesus was their only hope. The claim challenged their power and their pride.

3. What does this mean for other religions today? It means salvation is not one option among many. Christianity claims Jesus is the only Savior, which is why the message both draws people and provokes opposition.

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” — Acts 4:12 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Acts Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Does God pursue the outsider?

Yes. In Acts 8:26-40, God sends Philip into the desert to reach one searching foreigner — an Ethiopian official. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt shows how far God will go to save the people the world overlooks.

On a lonely desert road, Philip meets an Ethiopian official riding home, reading aloud from Isaiah 53 but unable to understand it. Philip climbs into the chariot and, starting from that very passage about the suffering servant, “preached Jesus to him.” The man believes and is baptized on the spot. Dr. Holt highlights the string of God-arranged appointments that brought them together, and reminds us that we all once started like the eunuch — lost and searching — and are now called to be like Philip, ready to point others to Christ.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why does God care for outsiders and rebels? Because His salvation reaches beyond Israel to people of every nation and background. Here He pursues a foreigner most would overlook, showing the wideness of His grace.

2. What was the Ethiopian reading? He was reading Isaiah 53, the passage about the suffering servant, without understanding who it described. Philip showed him it pointed to Jesus.

3. What hope does Acts 8 give for the lost people in our lives? It reminds us that God arranges “divine appointments” and uses ordinary believers to reach searching hearts. We were once like the eunuch; now we can be like Philip.

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.” — Acts 8:35 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Acts Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Should preachers teach only the easy parts of the Bible?

No. In Acts 20:17-38, the Apostle Paul charges the Ephesian elders to preach the whole counsel of God — not just the comfortable parts. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt explains why every truth of Scripture matters.

Meeting the Ephesian elders one last time, Paul reminded them how he had served them through tears and trials, holding nothing back. He warned that after he left, “savage wolves” would come — even from within the church — twisting the truth to draw people away. His answer was not less Bible, but all of it: the full counsel of God, faithfully taught. Dr. Holt notes that Paul speaks to a group of elders, not a single ruler, and that false teachers attack the same way the serpent did in Eden, with the whisper, “Has God really said?”

Questions this study answers:

1. What is the “whole counsel of God”? It is the entire message of Scripture — every doctrine, command, and warning, not only the popular parts. Paul says he held none of it back from the people.

2. Why did Paul warn about “wolves”? Because false teachers would rise up, even from within the church, twisting God’s Word to lead believers astray. Faithful elders must guard the flock by teaching the truth.

3. Why does Paul address “elders” rather than one leader? The church was led by a group of elders together, not a single ruler. Shared, accountable leadership helps protect the church from error.

“For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” — Acts 20:27 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Acts Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Why do people attack the messenger?

In Acts 7, Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr — stoned to death for telling the truth. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt shows that God’s people are often attacked not for what they do, but for what they say.

Stephen, a man full of faith, was dragged before the ruling council on false charges. Instead of backing down, he walked them through Israel’s history and showed how God’s messengers had been rejected again and again — and now they had done the same to Jesus. As they raged, Stephen looked up and saw heaven opened, with Jesus standing at God’s right hand to welcome him. Even as the stones fell, Stephen prayed for his killers, echoing Jesus on the cross. Watching it all, and approving, was a young man named Saul — who would later become the Apostle Paul.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why was Stephen killed? Not for any crime, but for boldly telling the truth about Jesus. Like the prophets before him, he was attacked for his message, not his behavior.

2. What did Stephen see as he died? He saw heaven opened and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, as if rising to welcome him home. It was God’s assurance in his final moment.

3. How does Stephen’s death echo Jesus’ own? Like Jesus, Stephen entrusted his spirit to God and prayed for those killing him. His death also scattered the believers and helped spread the gospel further.

“Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” — Acts 7:56 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Acts Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Will you finish the Christian life well?

In Acts 20:17-24, the Apostle Paul says goodbye to the elders of Ephesus, determined to finish his race no matter the cost. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt asks a searching question: are you on track to finish well?

Paul was heading to Jerusalem, knowing that prison and hardship waited for him. Yet he told the Ephesian elders that none of it moved him; his one aim was to complete the ministry God had given him. Finishing well, Dr. Holt warns, is not automatic. He points to leaders like Solomon, Samson, and David — men who knew better, yet stumbled badly near the end — and urges us to make wise choices now, in prayer and self-discipline, so that we finish the race with joy.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why does Paul compare the Christian life to a race? Because a race must be finished, not just started. Paul wanted believers to see that staying faithful to the end takes endurance and intention, not coasting.

2. What does it mean to “finish well”? It means completing the life and work God gives you while still trusting and obeying Him at the end. Many start strong but drift; Paul aimed to cross the line with joy.

3. How can we stay on track? By dealing honestly with sin, staying in prayer, and keeping our eyes on Christ. Finishing well is the fruit of faithful choices made day by day.

“But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” — Acts 20:24 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Acts Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Is there really such a thing as an atheist?

In Acts 17:19-28, the Apostle Paul stands before the thinkers of Athens and points them to the God they do not know. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt shows from Scripture that deep down, everyone knows God is real.

Athens was full of idols, and the people even had an altar marked “To the Unknown God.” Paul used that altar as his starting point. He preached one true God who made everything, who needs nothing from us, who made every nation “from one blood,” and in whom “we live and move and have our being.” Drawing on Romans 1, Dr. Holt explains that people do not really lack the knowledge of God; they suppress it. Paul’s task — and ours — is to make the God they already sense known to them in Jesus.

Questions this study answers:

1. How are agnostics different from atheists? An atheist claims there is no God, while an agnostic says a God may exist but cannot be known. Paul speaks to both by proclaiming the God who has made Himself known.

2. What was Paul doing in Athens? Surrounded by idols, Paul reasoned with the city’s thinkers and preached the one Creator God to people who worshiped many false ones. He turned their altar “to the unknown God” into a starting point for the gospel.

3. Does anyone truly not know God exists? According to Romans 1, no. People know God through what He has made, but they suppress that truth. Paul’s job was to make the God they secretly know clear and named in Christ.

“I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you.” — Acts 17:23 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Acts Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Where did Jesus go, and is He coming back?

In Acts 1:1-11, Jesus is taken up into heaven forty days after rising from the dead. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt explains that the ascension was not a loss but a crowning — and that the same Jesus will return.

Before He left, the risen Jesus gave His followers many proofs that He was truly alive, told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, and sent them out as His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Then He rose into a cloud and was gone from sight. As the disciples stood staring upward, two angels promised that this same Jesus would come back in the same way. His going was actually good news, because now His Spirit would be with His people everywhere at once.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why is Jesus’ ascension good news? Because Jesus did not simply leave. He took His throne at the Father’s right hand and sent His Spirit to be with His people everywhere. His departure opened the way for the Holy Spirit’s work.

2. What did the angels promise the disciples? As the disciples watched Jesus rise into the sky, two angels told them that the same Jesus would return in the same way He had left — bodily and visibly.

3. What hope does Acts 1 give us today? It assures us that history is going somewhere: the Jesus who ascended will come again. Until then, His people are sent into the world as His witnesses, helped by His Spirit.

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” — Acts 1:11 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Acts Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.