Acts Explained: A Bible Study

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 th...

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 pa...

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,...

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&r...

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...

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 ever...

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...

What makes a church healthy?

Not gimmicks or the latest program. In Acts 2:38-47, the early church grows through simple, God-given habits. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt points to three marks of a healthy church: sound teaching, real fellowship, and prayer.

After Peter preached at Pentecost, about three thousand people repented and were baptized in a single day. But what happened next is the real test. Luke tells us the new believers &...