Two Very Different Responses To Paul’s Sermon

Acts 13:42-52

Last week, we dealt with Paul's first recorded sermon where he spoke of the same message he preached everywhere else - justification by faith alone.

Today, we are looking at the response of the people to this message, which is the same responses that he had everywhere he went.

1. They got saved - an understatement of a lifetime.

How did it happen? There was no single miracle happened in this passage. There was just Paul preaching the Word. And Paul was not a very good preacher, as confessed by himself. It was the Word of the Lord - the message of salvation - that set fire among the hearts of people.

Remember the Parable of the Seed? That is how the gospel is spread. The seed is thrown and grows on its own. In the same way, we ought to have confidence in the Word of God - to grow and bear fruit on its own.

This is the initial reason.

There is a bigger reason. Verse 48 has given us the answer. "As many as were appointed to eternal life believed." That is basically talking about the 'doctrine of election'. People responded as such because God did His work of regeneration in their hearts first and they thus placed their faith in Christ.

(See John 6:44, John 3:3, 'Regeneration precedes faith')

Now Pastor Ian, corrects himself when he said there was no miracle in this passage, for something greater than physical healing took place here, that is the miracle of regeneration.

2. They got angry

There were people who believed but there were also those who refused to do so. The main reason they were objecting to Paul's message - the issue was that through this message the Gentiles were being saved.

During these times, the only way that the Gentiles were to be saved was to subject themselves to the Law of Moses, to be circumcised, etc. But the trajectory of the expansion of the kingdom of God changed when the Jews continuously rejected God.

The worst judgment on a nation is to no longer hear the Gospel - its warning and all. A terrifying thing.

People are being "given over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done." (Romans 1:28)

Heed the warning. Seek the Lord while He may still be found.