This week's ongoing Bible study will be part 3 of Acts chapter 13

The Apostle Paul Concludes His Message

[Acts chapter 13, verses 32-41]

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As we left off last week in our ongoing studies of the writings of the apostle Luke, the apostle Paul was delivering his first message at the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, a city in what is now central Turkey. Paul's first sermon was of great effect, convincing many Jews and Gentiles alike that the Lord Jesus had been, and always will be, the risen Son of God. This week as we move on to part 3 of Acts chapter 13, Paul is about to wrap up his message for that Sabbath morning. So let's take up where we left off last week, beginning at verse 32.

“32) 'We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors 33) he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’ 34) God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ 35) So it is also stated elsewhere: ‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ 36) Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. 37) But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 38) Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39) Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40) Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41) ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’” (Acts 13, verses 32-41)

Paul's statement in verses 32 and 33 were prophetic in nature. That is, they proclaimed the Word of God and made it applicable to that present situation. In this case, Paul was preaching about the resurrection of Jesus Christ as he showed how his resurrection had been prophesied previously. God's promise to the ancestors of those in the congregation was spelled out in Isaiah 53: 4-7, and I quote, “4) Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5) But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6) We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7) He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” This passage of scripture was exactly what Paul was talking about.

As you all can clearly see from the above passage of scripture, the prophet Isaiah was foretelling the crucifixion of Christ. He then ties that into Psalm 2: 7, “You are my son; today I have become your father.” Though the world rejected Christ's message and then executed him, Paul is proclaiming the absolute truth of the Gospel to the entire congregation, both Jew and Gentile, something that had been unthinkable to himself and the congregation, owing to Paul's prior reputation as a merciless persecutor of the faithful. The day Christ was crucified, and his subsequent resurrection on the morning of the third day afterwards, cemented his status forever as the Savior of humankind. “God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ “ This is a reference to Saul, Israel's first king, anointing David as a young soldier in 1^st Samuel chapter 16 (starting at verse 1, for those who want to look that up).

“36) Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. 37) But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.” When King David's life was at an end, he was buried and his body decayed in the ground just like everyone else's. That includes other religious leaders of the past such as Buddha and Mohammad. Christ is the sole exception to this unpleasant fact of life and the reason for our faith! “I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.” There it is in a nutshell, people, Christianity summarized in 2 little sentences. Everybody has a problem with sin, which is simply defined as deliberate disobedience to God, or of refusal to believe in His existence or in Christ. Sin separates us from God our creator, rendering us unable to enter into eternal life with him when our bodies wear out and die. I would compare this to something like a broken-down car that cannot be repaired, or for which no parts are available. Just as there is nothing that can be done for a broken down old car or truck, so God can do nothing with human souls who refuse to serve their Maker.

The ultimate fate for those who refuse to believe, and there are a lot of them out there, is spelled out by Paul in verse 41, where he quotes from Habakkuk 1: 5: “Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.” There are those individuals who are going to be bound and determined to go their own way in life, thinking only of themselves. They stubbornly refuse to listen to anyone, they can't be taught anything, and their anthem is the old song from the 1960's, “I did it my way”. Jesus prophesied about these people when he said to the Twelve and the others with them, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matt. 7: 13-14) Jesus truly is going to perform some works “that you would never believe, even if someone told you.” Meaning, even if Jesus himself came and personally told a scoffer of his truths, they still wouldn't believe it. And so I give you all a solemn warning – the eternal life that you expect after your demise will not be forthcoming if you do not believe in the risen Christ. That fact bears some very careful though over the course of this coming week. And next week we'll conclude our study of Acts thirteen.