Paul’s First Recorded Sermon

Acts 13:13-41

- The first recorded sermon of this great missionary - Saul.

- When we read this sermon, we find the same exact message that he was preaching all throughout his entire ministry.

- Preliminaries found in verse 13 ->

a. the great team of Paul and Barnabas was going to be ripped apart.

b. John Mark left due to a change in leadership

- Paul's reputation as a Pharisee gained him an opportunity to speak. This proved God's faithfulness in working complicated things out.

Three-Part Sermon of Paul:

1. Jesus is the culmination of the history of Israel

"Men of Israel and you who fear God..."

- Paul started by rehashing the history of Israel to emphasise how God has graciously worked by preserving, growing and rescuing that people. The next thing was JESUS.

- Why was he referencing John the Baptist? John was so famous and influential that he silenced the Pharisees and the fact that he expressed reverence for Christ implied Christ's infinitely greater position than him.

2. God's promises to Israel was fulfilled in Christ

"Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham..."

- Even Christ's crucifixion was not a failure but rather was the fulfillment of God's promises.

- God is not slow to fulfill His promises

(Psalms 2:7, Isaiah 55:3, Psalms 16:10)

- We have to remember the place we now hold in the progress of God's work regardless of how long ago since the promise was made.

3. Through faith in Him, you can be forgiven

"Let it made known to you brothers..."

- This classic statement about justification by grace alone has been delivered to us many times before but this time he presented it differently - saying that the most perfect law that was given couldn't free us from sin, we needed something/someone else.

- What do we do to get this salvation? - we resti in the One who did fulfil the law in our behalf.

Believe in Christ. This is the way!

Verse 41 says, “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”