Preaching the Gospel As God’s Promise

Transcript

GR 1609
06/26/11
Preaching the Gospel as God's Promise Fulfilled
Acts 13:13-41
Gil Rugh

Turn to Acts 13 in your Bibles. As we've noted as we began this chapter, this marks a new phase in the ministry of the early church. From this point on the focus will more and more be on the Gentiles. Even the center of the ministry has moved, it has gone from Jerusalem to Antioch and Antioch becomes the focal point from which the Apostle Paul and others are sent out into the world because the focus is no longer on the Jews in Jerusalem, but carrying the gospel to the uttermost parts of the world.

This is Antioch. Jerusalem is just about straight south. They are going to go from Antioch over to Cyprus, Salamis and then over to Paphos is the way they have traveled so far in the opening portion of the chapter. Luke tells nothing about what happens when they come to Salamis or during the 90-mile trip across the island. We assume that as opportunity presented they would have shared the gospel. Luke just concentrates on two individuals basically here at Paphos. And that is a false Jewish prophet named Elymus and a Roman governor, if you will, Sergius Paulus. And that becomes indicative of what is taking place. The false prophet is Jewish and for his obstinate opposition to the message of the gospel he is struck with blindness. But the Roman governor becomes a believer and it becomes indicative of what is taking place. Israel is firmly confirmed in its lostness and spiritually blind condition, but the Gentiles will be receptive to the gospel. And we see something of what is going to be a pattern that develops through the ministry.

From Paphos here they travel 200 miles by ship across the Mediterranean here and come to Perga. And then they are going to go from Perga up to Antioch, up here, another Antioch. They left from Antioch over here, Antioch of Syria, and here they are going to go to what we call Pisidian Antioch to distinguish it. We noted there were numerous cities named Antioch because a Roman ruler had named them after his father, Antiochus. So we're talking about two different areas here.

Now we have Paul and Barnabas traveling together and we also have a young man named John Mark traveling with them, the end of verse 5. They had John as their helper. John, and he is also called Mark, sometimes just called John Mark, his Jewish name and his Roman name. Now that is significant because when they come to Perga in Pamphylia after they had crossed the Mediterranean there, left Cyprus, we're told John left them and returned to Jerusalem. Now Luke is giving a condensed account here. So he doesn't go into a lot of details that would be interesting. Just like at Cyprus he didn't say anything about ministry on Cyprus except what happened with Elymus, the Jewish false prophet, and Sergius Paulus, the Roman governor. What about any other ministry? Obviously he's pulling out those highlights that move us along.

We're told at Perga John Mark left. John Mark didn't go back to Antioch here, where they left from, he didn't return back here, but he went back to Jerusalem. That's where his mother lives. In Acts 12:12, after Peter had been divinely released from prison we're told, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John who was also called Mark. So we know that Mark's mother had a home there in Jerusalem. So what all precipitated this, we don't know. It does become an issue over in Acts 15 when it comes time for the second missionary journey. Paul speaks very harshly of what John Mark did in leaving them, he calls it a desertion. Verse 37, Barnabas wanted to take John called Mark along with them also. So they've returned from their first missionary trip, come back to Antioch, now they're ready for the second. Barnabas wants to take John Mark with them as he did on the first. But Paul kept insisting they should not take along him who had deserted them. Strong word, like a deserter from the military. I mean, as far as Paul is concerned there is no excuse, there is no space here. And this is a serious enough issue between Paul and Barnabas that they will part ways over it. Paul will take a new traveling companion and Barnabas will go a different route and take John Mark with him.

We know at the conclusion of Paul's life John Mark has persevered and in his last letter, 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul gives instruction that he wants Mark to be brought to Rome where he is imprisoned. And he says concerning him, for he is useful to me for service. So even though Paul is unwilling to have him as a traveling companion, later in his ministry he acknowledges Mark's faithfulness and that Paul will be willing to work with him and share with him at a later time.

So come back to Acts 13. Pick up with verse 14. Now going on from Perga they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the sabbath day went into the synagogue. They are going to go from Perga up to Pisidian Antioch, Antioch called Pisidian Antioch because of its association with Pisidia, obviously. Now you just read that and you look on a map and say, okay, you just travel right up there. Let me read you what one person wrote about this. Luke's note that they went from Perga to Pisidian Antioch is extremely terse and one is apt to miss the difficulty of the trek. Antioch lay some 100 miles to the north across the Taurus mountain range. The route was barren, often flooded by swollen mountain streams and notorious for its bandits, which even the Romans had difficulty bringing under control. Antioch itself was in the high land, some 3600 feet above sea level.

You'll note there was no mention of ministry while they were here in Perga. So some of these things we just don't know, whether there was ministry that happened there, what precipitated. We do know from other accounts that Paul is ill at this time. And it's because of an illness that he makes this trip up to Antioch. Now this region up here, you'll see Galatia. Galatia covers this region, coming down here, up and around. This is sometimes called southern Galatia and this is northern Galatia. That is significant because as you are aware, later Paul is going to write a letter to the churches down here in southern Galatia, called the letter to the Galatians. And in that letter he makes reference to his ministry there.

Turn over to Galatians 4:13, but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you for the first time. So Paul says here it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you in Galatia for the first time. So evidently he is ill here and something about that illness causes him to travel to Antioch in Galatia to preach the gospel to them for the first time. Now it wasn't part of the plan, evidently, but the illness causes a change in plans. The most common guesswork on this is in this lowland region down here Paul may have contracted malaria and so he journeys to the higher land out of that region. But he is really seriously ill at this time.

Galatians 4:14, that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition, you did not despise or loathe. You received me as an angel of God. So whatever it was in his physical condition at this time, it could have made him a repulsive figure physically to these people. But they received him as an angel of the Lord. And what a blessing.

So we, in Paul's letter, get some fill in. We are not told exactly what the illness was, but it necessitated a move to Antioch in Galatia. And you may get some indication of what was impacting Mark. I mean, you start out on a trip, this is going to be exciting, you are traveling with Barnabas, your relative, and Paul. You go to Cyprus, you have a really striking conversion with Sergius Paulus, a miracle occurring in striking blind Elymus, the magician. But by the time you get over here Paul is seriously ill. Now they are talking about going over the mountains in a very difficult trip to a more northern city, higher elevation with who knows what. I mean, I read you the account of what this road was like and the trip like going from Perga to Antioch. And then you are doing it with Paul who is really sick and he is in somewhat of a repulsive condition. And it's in this condition and you can understand at least maybe what is going on and Mark's decision to leave and why Paul feels so strongly. At a time when you really need the support and help, Mark is going home to mom, back to Jerusalem.

So Luke gives us highlights, but a little bit of the details we can fill in from other accounts. You realize these missionary journeys of Paul, we think what a glorious even it is, and it is, but the actual carrying it out. Why does the Lord let Paul get sick? I mean, the last thing Paul needs at this point is illness in his life. But the Lord sees fit to bring illness, difficulty into his life and that's part of what He uses to bring him to Galatia and the ministry there.

Come back to Acts 13. You are aware as Paul unfolds something of the history of his ministry in 2 Corinthians 11. The Apostle Paul had a great and powerful ministry, but he did not have an easy ministry. And being a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul was not an easy thing because you got caught up in what he got caught up in. Here you have physical illness and there are going to be all kinds of persecutions and shipwrecks and beating and everything else. But he is used powerfully of the Lord in the ministry of the gospel. And that's going to be true in Galatia.

So Paul takes what is a patter for him, when he comes in verse 14, going from Perga they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. Then on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. Here he is in ministry. What's his physical condition? Well obviously still not looking very good because he commends them for their reception of him in the gospel when he came the first time. He goes to the synagogue because that's a natural starting point. He's a Jew, rabbinical background. You go to the synagogue. He's been a Pharisee. Here are those saturated with the Old Testament background. He can start with them, sharing with them from the Old Testament, showing how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. He is the Messiah, the Savior that God had promised. And here he will meet not only Jews, but Gentiles who are sympathetic to the Jews and some of them have joined the Jews in worship. And so you have a more receptive audience because you have a point of contact here.

So they go to the synagogue, after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, they would read verses from the Law. They had a schedule and verses from the Prophets. Then the synagogue official sent to them saying, brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it. So recognized that these are teachers, Jewish teachers that have come. And so they are asked if they would like to speak. Not uncommon. And traveling Jewish teachers that came to the synagogue, that's the center of sabbath day worship and really Jewish activity through the week as well centered in the synagogue at this time.

Paul stood up, motioning with his hand said, men of Israel. And so we have here in Acts 13 the longest of Paul's sermons that are recorded in the book of Acts. So we get an idea of how he covered his material in a fuller way. We have other sermons but they won't be recorded at such length. It's broken down into three parts, each part begins when he'll give a direct address to them. Like he does in verse 16, men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. So he directly addresses them. Then you come down to verse 26, he directly addresses them again. Brethren, sons of Abraham's family and those who fear God. Addressing them. And then down in verse 38, therefore let it be known to you, brethren. So those three times when he directly addresses them really break this sermon or message down into its three parts. And it's going to follow the Old Testament background for the coming of the Messiah, the coming of the Messiah and His rejection, execution and resurrection the second part. And then righteousness provided by faith in the Messiah. So you can see how it moves along. From the background leading up to the Messiah, to His coming and the events surrounding His rejection, crucifixion and resurrection, and then the necessary response of faith to be justified by the finished work of this Messiah. He'll be called the Savior, the One who has brought salvation, the One in whom there is forgiveness of sin.

So he starts out with the preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Really we're going to cover the first thousand years of Israel's history, going from Abraham to David. And he'll give some detail on that. And then the second thousand years he'll give no detail, he'll just skip from David to Christ. But he picks up verse 17, the God of this people Israel chose our fathers. Now this is addressed to the two groups that I have mentioned—men of Israel and you who fear God. And that would be Gentiles, God-fearers, those who would come to join with Israel in worshiping the God of Israel. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers. That is the first point. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, chosen by God. The sovereign, electing work of God. We start out with God's sovereign choice of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. From our studies at other times and studies you have done we know that Abraham came from a family of idolaters. His father, Terah, was an idolater in Ur of the Chaldees. God sovereignly reaches down, takes hold, chooses Abraham, Abram as he was known then. From Abram, Isaac and Jacob carry out the promises given to Abraham. So that's the starting point—God chose the fathers.

The second thing, he made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. So how did Israel become Israel, God's chosen people? God chose the fathers and so the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. From Jacob the twelve patriarchs from which come the twelve tribes. God's sovereign choice. Well how did they go from being just a family to a nation? Well remember 70 people went down into Egypt, fleeing starvation in the land of Palestine and in the land of Egypt for 400 years God builds them into a mighty nation. So they go down 70 people, the come out 400 years later, maybe 2 million people. They have gone from just being a large family to being a nation. So that's what he says in verse 17. And it is still God's action. The God of this people chose our fathers, and it's the God of this people who made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt. And it's the God of this people Israel who with an uplifted arm led them out from Egypt. So you see the emphasis on the sovereign work of God. And that becomes crucial for preparing them and building them to the point of the coming of the Messiah and the provision of salvation in Him is the sovereign work of God. This is all God's work.

So He led them out from Egypt. For a period of about 40 years He put up with them in the wilderness. Difficult time for the nation, but God was faithful. Watched over them, provided for them even though they were a rebellious people. Verse 19, when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance. You see how he is just giving a very concise highlight of what happened. God chose the fathers, God built the nation as a nation in Egypt and then brought them out. God watched over them 40 years in the wilderness. And then after He brought them into the land, He destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. Those seven nations are listed in Deuteronomy 7:1. They are the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. So background for this is clear. He has given them the land for an inheritance.

So you see what he has done from the time of the call of the fathers to the possession of the land after they have conquered it. All of this took about 450 years. Four hundred years in Egypt, 40 years wandering in the wilderness and 10 years from the crossing of the Jordan until the dividing and distributing of the land in Joshua 14. So that's about 450 years. After these things he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. You see how we are moving along here, he wants to move us through the time of the judges to Samuel the prophet. Why is that important? That moves us to the kingship in Israel because it is Samuel that is used of God to anoint Saul as king and then David as king. So He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

They asked for a king and God gave them Saul. You'll note the stress here—they took the initiative on wanting a king. So God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin for 40 years. Incidentally, this is the only place in the Bible we're told that Saul reigned for 40 years. If you go back in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 13:1 it says there he reigned 32 years. But you'll note those numbers there are in italics, the numbers aren't there in the original manuscript and they filled that in. But here we're told clearly Saul reigned for 40 years. Interestingly, Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, also says that Saul reigned for 40 years—18 years while Samuel was living and then after Samuel died he lived another 22 years is the way Josephus breaks it down.

Okay, verse 22, after He had removed him. We see the initiative of God here. He removed Saul. He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, I have found David the son of Jesse a man after My heart who will do all my will. What Paul does here is pull together three passages from the Old Testament. They will make the statement that I have found David the son of Jesse a man after My heart who will do My will. Psalm 89:20, 1 Samuel 13:14, and Isaiah 44:28. So pulled together here, these Jews, no argument here. They understand the pulling together here like we might do. We might say about what God says in His Word, and we might string together portions of several verses because this is what God said, even though they do not all come from the same, exact passage. We have conflated it, bringing together from several. That's what he does here. You see God's sovereign choice of the son of Jesse and he is the right man, the chosen man to be the king after God's own heart, the one that will do the will of God.

Now you'll note what happens. Between verses 22 and 23 Paul jumps a thousand years. So the first thousand years from Abraham about 2000 years B.C. down to David we are about 1000 B.C. So that's the first thousand years of Israel's history. He filled in the key events from the choice of the fathers to the building of the nation—wandering in the wilderness, the conquering of the land, the establishing of the kingship. That brings us to David who was about 1000 B.C., Abraham about 2000 B.C.

Now verse 23, from the descendants of this man according to promise God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus. Nothing filled in from there because the important connection here is the sovereign work of God in raising up David and they are all familiar with 2 Samuel 7 and the promises regarding David and his descendants. Called the Davidic Covenant. So we are prepared for the Messiah. Everything between David and Jesus, we don't need to fill that in because the important connection is Jesus is the fulfillment of what was promised to David the king. So from the descendants of this man, according to promise God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.

Come back to 2 Samuel 7. This is the promise he is talking about in this particular connection. Verse 11, God says to David, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you. Verse 12, when your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant, your seed after you who will come forth from you. And I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever, I will be a father to him, he will be a son to me. That particular aspect of it carries us to Jesus Christ, the fulfillment. So that's according to promise. He's tying them, the promise given to David, the man after God's own heart, that God raised up to be king. The one that God promised would have the throne over Israel forever.

You come back to Acts 13:23, from the descendants of this man according to promise. In other words he is saying, to fulfill the promise given regarding the seed of David. God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus. How quickly and directly he comes to the point—who is Jesus? He is the descendant of David, He is the fulfillment of the promise given to David.

After John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel, and while John was completing his course, he kept saying. What do you suppose that I am? I am not He, but behold One is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie. John the Baptist had come to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. He was recognized in Israel as a prophet. So these Jews here over in Galatia, Paul knows they are familiar with the ministry of John the Baptist and the message that he proclaimed. He's the one who would go before the Messiah in fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3, preparing the way for His coming. The one prophesied in Malachi 3:1. So he came preaching a baptism of repentance before the Messiah was introduced to the nation. Calling the nation to repent. Why? The Messiah is coming and His winnowing fork is in His hand because they knew from the Old Testament Scriptures, when the Messiah comes, He will bring judgment on all His enemies and He will establish a kingdom for those who belong to Him. So John the Baptist prepared the way.

And he reminded them, verse 25, John kept saying, I am not the One, I am not the One. The One that I am preparing the way for, who is coming after me, I'm not even worthy to be a slave to that One. I'm not even worthy to latch or unlatch the sandals. Beneath what a slave would do. He's so far beyond me. So don't mistake me as a fulfillment. But you see what Paul is doing. He has brought the Old Testament and the promise to David down to the present time and he is establishing the validity of Jesus by the ministry of John, a recognized Jewish prophet, because he was here announcing that the Messiah was coming. So it's not like Paul just pulled this out of the air. You are familiar with the ministry of John the Baptist. And what was John's ministry? It was a baptism of repentance. That was known among all the Jews and even as you left the land here it would have been carried about, the message of the prophet claiming the coming of the Messiah.

So now he has the support of John that there is reason to believe that this Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises. So he's moved us along to the time of Christ. So we've covered 2000 years here, the first thousand years we had some details, the second thousand years just make the connection between David and the promises to David and Jesus. Then he supported the fact that Jesus is the Promised One, first of all with the ministry of John the Baptist.

Then he addresses them again. We come to this second part of the message. Brethren, sons of Abraham's family and those among you who fear God. So again, what would be the makeup in the synagogue here? The Jews and the Gentiles who had become God-fearers, worshipers of the God of Israel. He addresses them both again. To us the message of this salvation has been sent. You sitting here, it's to us the message of this salvation has been sent. The Messiah has come, there is salvation in Him, He is the Savior in all aspects. The Jews were looking for the salvation promised with the establishing of the kingdom and the deliverance that that would bring to them as a nation. But first they have to experience the spiritual salvation. So it's Jesus, a Savior, verse 23.

Now he tells those who are listening, it's to us the message of this salvation has been sent. He wants to tell what has happened. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, recognizing neither Him, they didn't recognize Jesus, who He was, nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. So he speaks of the blindness and the spiritual insensitivity and hardness of the nation Israel. Those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, the Jewish leadership, they didn't recognize Him and they didn't recognize the prophecies that had been given regarding Him, and so in their spiritual blindness they ended up being instruments that fulfilled the prophecies concerning His rejection and condemnation. Remarkable. They read from the Law and the Prophets every Sabbath, the Messiah prophesied there comes and they don't recognize Him. They don't see the fulfillment of those prophecies in Him. So they proceed to reject Him and crucify Him, which fulfilled certain of the prophecies, like in Isaiah 53.

That's a word of warning as well to those sitting here. He'll come back to that at the end of the message. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. You know there always discussion and there is unease when we talk about blaming the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The ultimate responsibility for the crucifixion of Christ in the New Testament is placed on the nation Israel and the leadership of the nation. That does not mean that we as Gentiles have the right to mistreat or despise the Jews. Paul is here presenting the message of salvation to Jews, but nonetheless the fact is the Jews took the initiative. Pilate would have released Him. That does not free Pilate from responsibility before the Lord, but nonetheless here is a Gentile ruler claiming the innocence of the Man and telling them, I'm going to let Him go. And the Jews closing him in so he feels he has no alternative but to do what they want and crucify Him.

So you'll note, those who live in Jerusalem, verse 27, and their rulers, verse 28, though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. And when they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. Really, just a concise presentation of the rejection of the Messiah of Israel, the One who is the fulfillment of the promise given to David. This is the descendant of David who had fulfilled the promise. And we have seen how God is going to work here because even in their condemning Him, their blindness to the prophecies concerning the Messiah resulted in their being instruments of fulfilling those prophets in their unbelief and rejection and crucifixion of Him.

So they asked Pilate that He be executed. They carried all that was written concerning Him. Paul emphasizing the sovereignty of God in this. This is what God had prophesied. He doesn't go into the passages, he just declares before them that they were fulfilling Old Testament Scriptures, and Isaiah 53 being one of the fullest of those accounts.

They took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. He had been executed by crucifixion, made a curse by being hung on a tree. Then they took Him down and put Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. That contrast we've seen earlier in Peter's messages where emphasizing what the Jews did to Christ, but what God did. You crucified Him, by the hands of godless men you nailed Him to the tree. But God raised Him from the dead. Same message. You'll note the message doesn't change. We're moving to other parts of the world, the message is the same. Doesn't matter whether Peter is preaching it or whether Paul is preaching it, this is the message. And you'll see the facts of the gospel here as Paul unfolds them in 1 Corinthians 15, the opening verses. The gospel which I preached to you that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, that He was seen by witnesses.

What is Paul covering here now beginning in verse 31? For many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. The same emphasis. The Jews rejected Him, crucified Him, buried Him in a tomb. God raised Him from the dead and had Him appear to witnesses who could testify to the reality of the resurrection. The death, burial, resurrection and appearances of Christ, that's the summary of Paul's gospel, the same gospel we preach today, the only gospel that brings salvation. A simple gospel message. What would you say when you are in Antioch, you're a man who has been sick, maybe still sick and here you are. What are you going to say to these people out here? Going to tell them the simple facts, a nice package of a sermon.

He appeared for many days to those who came up with Him from Galilee. Remember, you always come up to Jerusalem. Galilee is in the north, of course, of Palestine. But those, His disciples basically are Galileans. We saw that in Acts 2, they referred to them as Galileans there. So He primarily appeared, Paul doesn't bring his own personal account into play here because he is dealing with it as just facts he is presenting in the history of Israel. And those associated with Christ from Galilee, those are the ones He appeared to. Paul is an exception to that as we've seen in Acts 9. For many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers.

And now he is going to demonstrate from the Old Testament Scriptures that the promise given to the fathers has been fulfilled in the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so that these Jews understand that this is God's plan, this is God's Savior, this is God's Messiah. He's going to use in verses 32-37 three different Scripture portions, two from Psalms and one from Isaiah.

The first comes from Psalm 2:7. We preach to you, verse 32, the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, you are My Son, today I have begotten you, Psalm 2:7. Here is the presentation of Jesus as the Son of God. He's been raised from the dead. Remember Philippians 2 that He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name. The fulfillment, you are My Son, today I have begotten you. Here He is displayed. That's not the beginning of His being the Son of God, but He is the full display, Romans 1 began, that He was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. So he says here we have that fulfillment, that promise.

As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way. I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David. The promise here from Isaiah 55:3. The resurrection is necessitated because to David was given the promise of an eternal throne. But the problem with just human kings, they live and they die, they live and they die. You need someone who can sit permanently and eternally on the throne. So that's why he said, I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David. Therefore He also says in another psalm, Psalm 16:10, you will not allow your Holy One to undergo decay. For David after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation fell asleep. He died. He was laid among his fathers in a tomb, and he underwent decay, corruption. The normal disintegration process of the body when it dies. You understand. But He whom God raised up did not undergo decay, verse 37.

You see how simply, you can go back to Acts 2, sounds a lot like Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost regarding the Old Testament prophecies. Some of these the same ones that Paul is using here. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of these. So here now you have a descendant of David who is alive, who has been resurrected. And that fulfills what was promised. He can rule and reign eternally, He will never die again. He did not see corruption. Obviously David couldn't be the fulfillment of that. They honored David, they recognized the promises given to him. They didn't understand it would take the death and resurrection of the descendant of David to fulfill that. And in that could fulfill the promise to sit on the throne ruling, but in that death and resurrection He could provide salvation for the spiritual needs of the people as well.

So we are ready to pull this together in the third phase of the sermon, the third point, if you can put it that way. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Now he's going to tell you how you can have forgiveness, how you have righteousness. He is the Savior, His death is God's provision for you to have righteousness from God. You must believe in Him.

Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. The word translated freed, you may have a note in your Bible as I do. In front of that word freed you have a little #2, and if you go to 39 in the sidebar you have justified, literally. It's the word justified. Through Him everyone who believes is justified. Freedom gives you the idea but I want you to see it's the word justified, declared righteous. You are innocent, you are absolved from guilt, you are forgiven. God declares you righteous from all things which you could not be freed or justified through the Law of Moses. Remember this is in Galatia. Paul will write the letter to the Galatians to them.

Come over to Galatians 2:16. Verse 15, we are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles. Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified, there is our word, by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus. Even we Jews have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law, since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. You see with false Jewish teachers infiltrating among the churches, Paul established in this region of Galatia, he has to write back and remind them even what he covered in his original presentation of the gospel. Justification is by faith, not by faith plus a mixture of the Law because by the works of the Law no flesh can be justified.

So back in Acts 13, through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through Him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified through the Law of Moses. He is the Savior. God's righteousness is provided in and through Him, in and through Him alone. The Law of Moses cannot bring God's righteousness to you. That's why the Scriptures prophesied the coming of the Savior, His death, His resurrection, so that He could be the fulfillment of the promises to David. But the fulfillment of the promises of David required a spiritual Savior as well as a physical Savior. And that is the One who brings righteousness.

So he closes with a word of warning. Therefore take heed, watch out, pay close attention here. So that the things spoken of in the prophets may not come upon you. He's talked about prophecies, he's talked about fulfilled prophecies. You better pay attention. There is a prophecy you don't want to be a fulfillment of. Behold, you scoffers, and marvel and perish. For I am accomplishing a work in your days, a work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you. Here he draws from Habakkuk 1:5. Here God is warning Judah of coming judgment at the hands of the Babylonians if they did not repent. Paul applies that to their situation, they can see. Now you have heard the message of God's salvation, and just like He warned through the prophets in the days of Habakkuk, if the nation did not repent, He would bring withering devastating judgment on those scoffers, those who refuse to believe. And you see how refusal to believe is used by God. That's scoffing at Him, refusal to respond to what He says. Then the judgment will be so devastating, you will perish. It will be a work you wouldn't believe. Though someone would describe it to you, the judgment is too devastating. The Jews had a confidence that God would never do that to us, we are His chosen people. And Judah had that false confidence. He warned them, unless you repent, through Habakkuk.

Now Paul applies that warning to them, you heard the message of the Messiah. You have seen He is the fulfillment of the Scriptures. His death, His resurrection fulfills what was prophesied in the Old Testament. That demonstrates He is the Savior, He is as He said back in verse 23, a Savior, Jesus. Forgiveness of sins is through Him. You can be justified, declared righteous by God through faith in Him. You better pay attention because if you don't, you are a scoffer in rejecting repenting of your sins and placing your faith in Christ. God will bring upon you devastating judgment beyond what could be described, just as He did when He warned the people through Habakkuk the prophet. They didn't repent, they continued to scoff. And they had a judgment they didn't believe could happen. So a warning to you, you will perish unless you believe.

The message is over. Simple, clear, no adjustments to the message. This is the message. It's the message of salvation, it doesn't change. Two thousand years later, what will we say to someone wherever God would place us, wherever God would take us. What do we have? We have the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the One that the Old Testament prophesied would come. What happened to Him is what the Old Testament said would happen. He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. He was crucified, buried, raised by the power of God, seen by witnesses. He is God's Savior. You better take heed. If you do not believe in Him, you will perish and the judgment that comes upon you is more than can be described, worse than you can think. And Paul would say here, we're done.

And we'll pick up verse 42. Paul and Barnabas are leaving, walking out. They had presented the gospel. Now the response is the responsibility of those who have heard it.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace in having the gospel, the good news, the message of your Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world carried to the world. Lord, we can appreciate what is happening here as the gospel moves to new parts of the world. And Lord, we can rejoice in that as here we are in a place far removed, thousands of years later, and yet the gospel has come to us, been passed down, and we through faith in Him have experienced forgiveness. We through faith in Him have experienced your righteousness, your verdict as the holy and righteous God and judge declaring us righteous through faith in Christ. We thank you for the message of the gospel. Lord, we thank you for the warning of being a scoffer, of failing to believe the truth concerning your Son. And Lord, this is a message that has been entrusted to us as earthen vessels so that we might carry it to others as well. Use us as instruments to that end. We pray in Christ's name, amen.