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May I turn in your Bibles to 
Acts 13? Acts 13. Taking a bit of an excursus away 
from Zechariah for a few weeks. Looking at Acts 13 tonight in 
conjunction with our morning worship. We're starting the book 
of Galatians. An exposition of Paul's epistle 
to the Galatians. We argued this morning that It 
is the South Galatian theory that Paul wrote the book of Galatians 
to the churches visited on his first missionary journey. That 
first missionary journey took place in A.D. 47 to 48. The biblical text is 
Acts 13 beginning in verse 1 with the separation of Paul and Barnabas. 
on two gospel missions all the way through chapter 14, verse 
28. And basically, these two chapters 
trace the missionary enterprise of Paul and Barnabas as they 
served various cities. We won't have time, obviously, 
to look at all of this in detail tonight. Just a brief comment 
or two on Acts 13 and the selection of these men. I want to highlight 
the fact that it took place in the church. And then we'll pick 
up specifically with the mission to Pisidian Antioch. And I'll 
pick up reading in Acts 13 at verse 16. Then Paul stood up 
and motioning with his hands said, Men of Israel, and you 
who fear God, listen. The God of this people, Israel, 
chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as 
strangers in the land of Egypt. And with an uplifted arm he brought 
them out of it. Now for a time of about forty 
years he put up with their ways in the wilderness. And when he 
had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he distributed 
their land to them by allotment. After that, he gave them judges 
for about 450 years until Samuel the prophet. And afterward, they 
asked for a king. So God gave them Saul, the son 
of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years. And when 
he had removed him, he raised up for them David as king, to 
whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David the 
son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my 
will. From this man's seed, according to the promise, God raised up 
for Israel a Savior, Jesus, after John had first preached before 
his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 
And as John was finishing his course, he said, Who do you think 
I am? I am not he. But behold, there 
comes one after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy 
to loose. Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and 
those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation 
has been sent. For those who dwell in Jerusalem 
and their rulers, because they did not know him, nor even the 
voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, have 
fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no 
cause for death in him, they asked Pilate that he should be 
put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all 
that was written concerning him, they took him down from the tree 
and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. He was seen for many days by 
those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are 
his witnesses to the people. And we declare to you glad tidings, 
that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled 
this for us, their children, in that he has raised up Jesus, 
as it is also written in the second psalm. You are my son. Today I have begotten you. And 
that he raised him from the dead no more to return to corruption. 
He has spoken thus. I will give you the sure mercies 
of David. Therefore, he also says in another 
psalm, you will not allow your holy one to seek corruption. 
For David, after he had served his own generation by the will 
of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption. But he whom God raised up saw 
no corruption. Therefore, let it be known to 
you, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness 
of sins. And by him everyone who believes 
is justified from all things from which you could not be justified 
by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what 
has been spoken in the prophets come upon you. Behold, you despisers 
marvel and perish. For I work a work in your days, 
a work which you will by no means believe, though one were to declare 
it to you." So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the 
Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the 
next Sabbath. Now, when the congregation had 
broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul 
and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue 
in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath, almost the 
whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the 
Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and contradicting 
and blaspheming. They opposed the things spoken 
by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold 
and said, it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken 
to you first. But since you reject it and judge 
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the 
Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded 
us. I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should 
be for salvation to the ends of the earth. Now, when the Gentiles 
heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. 
And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was 
being spread throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred 
up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, 
raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled 
them from their region. But they shook off the dust from 
their feet against them and came to Iconium. And the disciples 
were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Amen. As I said, this is about a year 
and a half to two year missionary journey, so it is difficult to 
try and say everything that I think needs to be said. But just an 
overview of this mission. In chapter 12, beginning in verse 
25, through chapter 13 and verse 4, we see the appointment of 
Barnabas and Saul to the missionary enterprise. And as I said, we'll 
make a few comments on that. But then the second leg, or when 
they first depart, they go to Cyprus. That's verses 4 to 12. That was Barnabas's home country 
or home region. So perhaps he had a longing and 
a desire to see that nation evangelized with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. We read the section where Paul 
and Barnabas are in Antioch in Pisidia. Again, in the southern 
Galatian region. There's another Antioch that's 
in Syria. That's where they are sent from 
and that's where they return to. Two different places. Syrian Antioch is down here. Pisidian Antioch is up here. So, please, don't confuse those 
two locations. And then in chapter 14, verses 
1 to 7, the apostle ministers in Iconium. We have a great statement 
there. It says, "...and they so spake 
that a great multitude, both of the Jews and of the Greeks, 
believed." Notice that in verse 1 of chapter 14. Beautiful statement. God does use means. He has just 
told us that God is sovereign. Notice in Acts 13.48, "...and 
as many as had been appointed to eternal life, Believed. God appoints men. God decrees. God chooses. God is sovereign 
in election. It will say that or reiterate 
that again in Acts 16 when Paul comes to Philippi and he speaks 
the word to Lydia at the riverside and it says, the Lord opened 
her heart to receive the word that was spoken by Paul. So we 
have the sovereignty of God on both ends. But in the midst of 
this, we see that God uses means. He uses effective gospel preaching. They so spoke that a great multitude, 
both of Jews and Greeks, believed. And then in verses 8 to 20 of 
chapter 14, the apostles go to Lystra. And here at Lystra, Paul 
is stoned. Paul is taken out of the city 
and left for dead. In fact, look at chapter 14, 
verse 19. Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium 
came there. And having persuaded the multitudes, 
they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing 
him to be dead. Now this is Pisidian Antioch. 
So they traveled for about 80 miles to get the Apostle Paul. Iconium was about 18 miles from 
Lystra. Again, they weren't jumping on 
a plane or a greyhound. They weren't, you know, riding 
a bike. They were walking. They had such hatred and animosity 
toward the apostle, they were literally chasing him down into 
these various cities. So they persuade the multitude 
to stone Paul. Notice, though, what we find 
in verse 19 at the end. They stone Paul and dragged him 
out of the city, supposing him to be dead. So He wasn't just 
a little injured. They supposed Him to be dead. They thought that He had given 
up the Spirit. They thought He was over and 
done with. But notice in verse 20, However, 
when the disciples gathered around Him, He rose up and went into 
the city. And the next day He departed 
with Barnabas to Derbe. Now Derbe was 60 miles from Lystra. Here He's been stoned to the 
point of being supposed dead. That doesn't keep him down. He 
gets up, goes into the city for the night, and then travels 60 
miles in order to get to Lystra. And there, or I'm sorry, well 
yeah, he goes to Derby rather, from Lystra, and there ministers 
the Word. Then they make their return journey 
back to Antioch, having gone through the various cities that 
they visited. Notice in verse 23, so when they 
had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, 
they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. So 
they went through the cities, they came back through, and they 
encouraged the saints, they appointed elders. And then notice something 
else in verse 22 of chapter 14. It says, "...strengthening the 
souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, 
and saying, We must, through many tribulations, enter the 
kingdom of God." It was not a difficult lesson to communicate. The apostle 
had been stoned. He bore on his body the brand 
marks of Jesus. For him to say, We must, through 
many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God, would not have 
surprised his audience. They would have understood this 
all too well. They would have seen the marks 
on him that he had recently received at the hands of lawless and godless 
men. So that is the outline, that 
is the larger picture, that is the journey that these brethren 
went on in 47 and 48. Now notice first of all the appointment 
of Barnabas and Saul. Now this may be a reminder, this 
may be review, this may be things that you already know, but it 
is helpful for us to understand the role of the church in gospel 
missions. In fact, the church is central 
in gospel missions. Notice in verse 1 of chapter 
13, now in the church, that was at Antioch, there were certain 
prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger, 
Lucius of Cyrene, Manan, who had been brought up with Herod 
the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord 
and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to me Barnabas and 
Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then having fasted 
and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away." The 
church is where godly and gifted men are cultivated. This ought 
to be a no-brainer. Jesus said in the Great Commission 
that we're to make disciples and then we are to teach them. 
That teaching takes place in the context of the local church. Men ought to be reared in the 
body of Christ with reference to missionary service. We note 
as well that this is where the Holy Spirit obtains servants 
for gospel mission. He doesn't get on the phone and 
call some organization, but rather he comes to the church that is 
in Antioch and he separates unto himself Paul and Barnabas. This is where men are commissioned, 
where men are installed, where men are sent out from. They laid 
hands on them. They bore the authority of Jesus 
Christ. through the local church. They 
were not mavericks. They were not operating independently. They were operating in conjunction 
with the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, they returned 
to Antioch. So, this is where accountability 
is maintained. They go back to Antioch and they 
give a report. The modern missions report is 
based on this biblical principle. Antioch sent these men out. These 
men visited these various cities. They come back to Antioch for 
nurture, for encouragement, for building up, for exhortation 
and strengthening, and to be a means to comfort and encourage 
the Church of Christ. They then get ministered unto, 
they get some time to rest, and then God sends them back out 
into the mission field so that they can preach and teach the 
gospel. Note the emphasis upon the church 
and the Spirit in sending men out. The Spirit sent them out 
by instructing the church to do so, and the church sent them 
out, having been directed by the Spirit, to do so. We need 
to understand here, there's no individualism involved. A man 
doesn't just wake up one day and say, you know, I think I 
ought to be a missionary. No, He is recognized. He is approved. The Spirit of God makes these 
things clear. He is given in His Word specifically 
1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and 1 Peter 5, various portions in the book 
of Acts as to what a qualified man looks like. The Spirit of 
God is at work in rearing or raising up man for the task of 
gospel missions. Proverbs 18.16 says, a man's 
gift makes room for him. He does not make room for his 
gift. He doesn't come in and say, look, 
I'm the instructor you've all been waiting for. I am the missionary 
that you ought to subsidize. I am your man. No, the Spirit 
and the church work in conjunction. Obviously, the Spirit doesn't 
audibly speak to us now. He speaks to us in His Word. That's why we take everything 
to those passages with reference to men and their qualification 
with reference to gospel ministry. And as well, the church is directed 
by the Spirit. She does not act unilaterally 
without any guidance or aid. It's not a popularity contest. 
Not just because someone wants to do this or someone when he 
was five, his Aunt Bessie said, you know, I'd really love it 
if you became a missionary. And so everything has to bow 
down to Aunt Bessie's dying wish so that this guy can go be a 
gospel missionary. That is not the way we are to 
treat this. And remember from what we saw 
this morning, Paul had been converted for 14 years before he went on 
this journey. See, I think we missed it to 
a large degree. We take young guys and we send 
them out. I'm not saying it's wicked, but 
I am suggesting that some of our older guys ought to be going 
out. In this regard, I think Andy 
Hamilton serves a good example. Andy Hamilton faithfully labored 
for many years as a pastor in the United States. After his 
children were raised, after they were grown, after they were moved 
out, he then went to the Far East to begin labors as a missionary. I would not lay down a rule. 
I would not say a man who's 25 shouldn't or can't go to the 
mission field. But I certainly think we ought to encourage more 
older men, more hoary heads. to take up that blessed privilege 
of going where, if I may use the statement, no one else has 
gone before to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, that is 
very key with reference to our understanding of missions. Acts 
13, 1-4. Now, let's get to Pisidian Antioch. We notice Paul's sermon. Paul brings it. He goes to a 
synagogue. This was a ready-made audience. 
There would be people assembled together to hear the Scriptures. So Paul takes this opportunity 
to set before them the Lord Jesus Christ. One commentator says 
the whole atmosphere is Jewish. The day is the Sabbath. The venue 
is the synagogue. The lessons are from the Law 
and the Prophets. The listeners are men of Israel. 
And the theme is how God, the God of the people Israel, has 
brought to Israel the Savior Jesus as He promised. Luke is 
evidently anxious to demonstrate that Paul's message to the Jews 
was substantially the same as Peter's. That Paul did not turn 
to the Gentiles until after he had offered the Gospel to the 
Jews and had been rebuffed. And that far from being an innovator, 
Paul was declaring only what God had promised in Scripture 
and had now fulfilled in Jesus. And this is precisely what the 
Apostle does. He reviews redemptive history 
in verses 17-22. He shows that this was a time 
of preparation. This was a time of anticipation. 
This was a time of looking forward to something greater that was 
to come. He highlights God's sovereign 
election of Israel as a people in verse 17. He notes the election 
of God, the exodus, the wilderness and the conquest. He highlights 
the period of the judges and he brings that to its culmination 
in the election of the king, King Saul. Saul had reigned for 
40 years and after Saul, then come David. And David was a man 
after God's own heart. And yet the kingdom had not been 
realized. David was not the king ultimately 
prophesied in the Law and the Prophets, but rather it would 
be of David's seed, the son of promise, who would come to do 
what God had intended for Israel. Notice in verse 23, from this 
man's seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel 
a Savior, Jesus. And now He begins to show this 
time of fulfillment. Anticipation leads to realization. Promise leads to fulfillment. What we have in Jesus is the 
fulfillment of all of the promises of God. They are yea and amen 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He came according to the promise 
specifically of 2 Samuel 7. You may look at that another 
time. You may look at that tonight. 2 Samuel 7 is a foundational 
passage pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember in our 
studies of the covenant of grace, those various historical covenants 
with Adam and then with Noah and then with Abraham and then 
with Moses and David. God made a promise to David that 
of His seed, He would raise up a king. He would install one 
on David's throne who would reign forever and ever. Well, Peter's 
already asserted to us in Acts 2.30 that this took place at 
the resurrection of Jesus. When He sat down at the right 
hand of God Most High, He occupied David's throne where He must 
reign till all of His enemies are made His footstool and it 
will be an eternal reign. So you see what Paul is doing. 
He goes into the synagogue. He opens their own Scriptures. 
He begins to show them the Law. He begins to show them the Prophets. 
He begins to unfold to them their own redemptive history. And then 
he says, that history pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. He 
is preaching Christ in this particular instance. Jesus was installed 
as Savior after the preaching of John the Baptist. Jesus is 
the Davidic King and promise made to Abraham for the redemption 
of Israel. He goes on to trace the person 
and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. What happened to this 
one? This one came to his own, but 
his own received him not. How do we know they did not receive 
him? Well, he was arrested. He was delivered up to Pontius 
Pilate. He was tried. He was ultimately 
crucified. He was buried, but God raised 
him from the dead. So you see, Paul connects with 
his Jewish audience from their own prophetic literature. And 
then he shows how this prophetic literature leads inevitably to 
the Messiah, to the Lord of Glory, to Jesus Christ the Savior. He was crucified. He was buried. And he was raised from the dead 
according to the Scriptures. Notice verse 29. Now, when they had fulfilled 
all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from 
the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by 
those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are 
His witnesses to the people. And we declare to you glad tidings, 
that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled 
this for us, their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. 
As it is also written in the second psalm, you are my son. 
Today I have begotten you. Psalm 2 and verse 7. Many theologians 
take this as a reference to the eternal generation of the Son. I'm not here to dispute that 
particular doctrine, but Paul applies this specifically to 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He's declared the Son of God 
with power. And then he goes on to highlight 
the fact that He would be raised, that He would bolt out of the 
grave. And he alludes to Psalm, or he 
quotes from Isaiah 55 and then Psalm 16. And then notice what 
Paul does. He applies his message. He applies his message. He doesn't 
just stop at verse 37 and say, okay, now go home. A lot of preaching 
does just that. A lot of preaching informs and 
it instructs and it should inform and it should instruct. You should 
always come and learn under preaching. You should learn at least the 
passage that is under review or under consideration. You should 
always learn. The Puritans have the right idea. We go to the 
heart through the mind. We seek out the heart but through 
the mind. We don't want emotional ism. 
We don't want to make you turn up the heat in here and just 
talk about bad things so that you'll make a decision for Christ. 
You should be informed what the Scripture says. There is applicatory 
preaching throughout the book of Acts. And by applicatory preaching, 
I mean, therefore. Again, he doesn't just set the 
data out there and say, okay, now go home, have tea, coffee, 
and just sort of think about it. No, look at what he does 
in verse 38. Therefore, he says, he wants 
their wills moved. He wants them to decide. Now, these are biblical terms 
if couched in their context of God's sovereignty. He wants them 
to consider the truth. He says, therefore, let it be 
known to you, brethren, that through this man is preached 
to you the forgiveness of sins. Now, this would have struck a 
Jewish audience pretty amazingly. Who did they associate the forgiveness 
of sins with? But God. Isaiah 43, God says, 
He says, I am He, even He who blocks out all your transgressions 
for My name's sake. Remember that scene in the Gospel 
account, specifically in Mark 2, where those four men bring 
the paralytic. They can't get in because there's 
so many people. So what they do is they open 
up the roof and then they lower the man down. It's an amazing 
scene. What does Jesus say to that man 
on the bed? He said, son, your sins are forgiven. What do the Pharisees do? Who 
is this man? Only God alone can forgive sins. 
Spurgeon's sermon on that, he says, I like to think that the 
dust from the roof fell on the faces of those Pharisees. I like 
to think that those proud men got some dirt on their face when 
they looked up at what was going on. They associated forgiveness 
with Jehovah. And rightly so. Who can forgive 
sins but God alone? So what does Jesus then do? He 
says, which is easier, to say to the man, your sins are forgiven 
you, or take up your bed and walk? Well, it's easier to say 
your sins are forgiven you. Because nobody can verify that, 
right? I could set up a booth in the 
middle of the city and have you come to me and say, your sins 
are forgiven you. Well, you wouldn't know. So what 
does Jesus do? He says, take up your bed and 
walk. We oftentimes look at that narrative 
and go, wow, what a miracle! He caused this man who was paralyzed 
to take up his bed and lie. No, that simply was a proof or 
an evidence. That simply was an exhibit of 
the greater miracle that Jesus has authority to forgive sin. We're not supposed to go, wow, 
look at the guy who took up his bed and walked. We're supposed 
to go, look at the Son of Man who has authority to forgive 
sin. When Paul said, therefore, let 
it be known to you, brethren, that through this man is preached 
to you the forgiveness of sins, he was asserting the deity of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. He is equating Jesus with Yahweh 
of Israel, as the one who said, I, even I am He who blots out 
your transgressions. Now notice what he goes on to 
say. He says in verse 39, And by Him 
everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you 
could not be justified by the law of Moses. You starting to 
get savvy as to why he had to write Galatians? This is what 
he's preaching. What do you think the Judaizers 
are doing? No! You can't just tell people 
to believe. They've got to believe and... 
You can't just make an assertion like verse 39 and say, by Him 
everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you 
could not be justified by the law of Moses. You can see where 
the Judaizers were saying, He's an enemy to the law of Moses. 
He's got problems. He's got issues. He preaches 
a law-free gospel. He is telling sinners to believe 
and they'll be forgiven. We can't have that. Hence, one 
of the reasons he took pen to paper to write to the Galatians. Because men came on his heels 
and said, what Paul says is good, but you also have to add to that. 
This thing we call circumcision. You have to add this right. You 
have to throw that in the mix in order to complete the package 
so that you may stand before the Lord God Most High. Paul 
says no. You believe. You look to Christ 
to believe the Gospel in the language of John Calvin is nothing 
else than to assent to the truths which God has revealed. You believe and you will be justified. Justification by faith alone 
in Christ alone is preached by Paul in Pisidi and Antioch. And 
he ends with a warning. Again, his preaching is a good 
model for our preaching. He reaches back into the prophet 
Habakkuk and he says, which you will by no means believe, 
though one were to declare it to you." In the context of Habakkuk, 
God, through the prophet, announces that Judah is going into captivity. Nebuchadnezzar and his armies 
are coming. They are a bitter and a hasty 
nation, and they are going to demolish Jerusalem. They are 
going to leave captive all the people of Judah. And in Paul's 
context, the idea is this. You reject, you despise something 
far worse than Nebuchadnezzar and his armies coming to decimate 
your city is going to happen to you. In other words, you need 
to believe and you'll be saved. But if you reject it, you will 
be damned. If you refuse him who speaks 
to you, then you will be consigned to hell. Notice what happens. Actually, before we get to the 
response, I just want to finish with a quote again by another 
commentator. He says, we need to remember 
that Paul is addressing Galatians. Only a few months or so later, 
he will be writing his letter to the Galatians. It is very 
striking, therefore, that he brings together here at the conclusion 
of his sermon five of the great words which will be foundation 
stones of his gospel as he expounds it in his letter. Having referred 
to Jesus' death on the tree, he goes on to speak of sin, faith, 
justification, law, and grace. That, essentially, is the epistle 
to the Galatians. It is a letter concerned with 
the atoning work of Jesus, the sinfulness of man, faith, justification, 
law and grace. That's a great summary of Paul's 
preaching there in Pisidian Antioch. Well, notice finally the response. Look what the Gentiles do. Wish 
we had more of these kind of Gentiles today. Look what verse 
42 says. So, when the Jews went out of 
the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached 
to them the next Sabbath. Have you ever begged for the 
Word of God? Oh, we're too dignified to beg. Well, if we really understood 
the power of God's Word in our sinfulness, we would be beggars. 
It's with these Gentiles that we want that. We want to hear. 
We want to know. We want to understand. I realize 
there's a bit of a variant reading. I'm going with the New King James 
here. So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles 
begged. Pray to God that we would be 
beggars for the Word. Not that we would just like Bible 
study. There's a difference between 
liking Bible study and begging for the Word of God. There's 
a difference between nodding and some hearty agreement that, 
yes, I appreciate Reformed preaching. And being a beggar, being greedy, 
being desirous, wanting the pure Word of the living God. These 
Gentiles demonstrate, or at least these Gentiles in Pisidi and 
Antioch demonstrate to us something we ought to emulate. Notice the 
receptive Jews, verse 43. Now, when the congregation had 
broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul 
and Barnabas. It's been a bit of a change now. Up to this point, it's always 
Barnabas and Saul, or Barnabas and Paul. Now it's Paul and Barnabas. Paul is the man from Acts 13 
on. I don't want to be a man idolater 
or anything like that. But Luke's spotlight is on Peter 
in the first half of the book and Paul in the second half of 
the book. It follows Jesus' plan. You'll be my witnesses first 
in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts 
of the earth. Peter went to Jerusalem. Peter 
was in the area of Judea, Samaria, and then it was Paul who went 
to the uttermost parts of the earth. And so here, the Jews 
and about proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking 
to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. Now notice 
verse 44. It says, on the next Sabbath, almost 
the whole city came together to hear the Word of God. You 
know what that tells me? That the people there on the 
first Sabbath couldn't keep their mouths shut. That's a good thing. Not a bad 
thing. Good thing. Here's the way I 
suspect. After that first Sabbath, when 
they went home, or they were at the water cooler at work on 
Monday, or when they were at the marketplace on Tuesday, all 
they could talk about is what they heard the previous Sabbath. 
They were saying things like, you really should come to the 
synagogue on the Sabbath day. You really need to hear this 
Paul. Not because he's Paul, but because of the message that 
he's preaching. He's telling us of this Jesus whom the prophets 
pointed to. This Jesus who was crucified, 
but God raised up. This Jesus who, when we look 
to Him in faith, will be justified, will be forgiven. Where the law 
of Moses was powerless to bring that justification, this Lord 
Jesus Christ brings it to us. They went out and they told people 
They went out and they communicated. They went out and said, you've 
got to hear. I realize, brethren, that not 
everybody has the ability to give a three-point sermon. I 
realize that not everybody has the facility to go out and communicate 
the Gospel to everybody. But certainly you could say, 
you ought to come to church. Click on this sermon. Listen 
to this. Hear this. Understand this. I mean, every Christian should 
be a witness. We have been saved to proclaim 
the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous 
light. If we can't do it physically, 
we can point them to someone who can. You hear a good sermon 
on Sermon Audio, send the link to somebody. You really should 
listen to this. I think that's what was going 
on in Pisidi and Antioch. It doesn't just happen that on 
the next Sabbath, almost the whole city comes together to 
hear the Word of God, unless the people of God, or at least 
those who are somewhat curious, go out and say, you really should 
listen to this. You really should give an ear 
to this. You really should pay attention 
to what is going on on the Sabbath day. Notice the unbelieving Jews, 
verses 45 and 46. Envy, contradiction, and blasphemy. Notice verse 45. But when the 
Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy. And contradicting 
and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Blasphemy 
has gone through a bit of a redemptive, Christological shift. Blasphemy 
now, entails speaking against the gospel of Jesus Christ. It 
is not Paul that is blaspheming when he calls their attention 
to the Law and Prophets pointing to Jesus. Rather, it is those 
who despise, those who reject, and those who do not embrace 
Christ. They are the ones who are blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold 
and said, it was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken 
to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy 
of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For 
so the Lord has commanded us, I have set you as a light to 
the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends 
of the earth." So they then basically, symbolically do this. in accordance 
with Ezekiel's watchmen. Their hands are clean. They've 
declared the truth. The Jews have rejected and despised. So they now will become the particular 
missionaries to Gentile churches. And that is precisely what they 
do in the remainder of Acts 14 and 15, the second and third 
missionary journey. And incidentally, or interestingly 
enough rather, in Acts 28, when Paul is in prison, Jews come 
to him to hear the Word of God. It's amazing. So that's how the 
various people groups responded. Notice the Gentiles' response. Can't miss verse 48. Now, when 
the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the Word 
of the Lord and as many as had been appointed to eternal life 
believed. I've seen in my time people try 
to get out of the teaching of that text. People have tried 
to escape the clear, clear implication of God's absolute sovereignty 
there. It means what it says. It really means, as many as had 
been appointed to eternal life, something happened in the past 
by God appointing men to eternal life, it was those appointed 
to eternal life men that believed the gospel. Those appointed to 
eternal life men and women believed the gospel. James White says 
it this way, the most natural way to take the text to see this 
as Luke's explanation of why some who heard believed while 
others did not. You might scratch your head. 
Hey, how come some of these Jews said, wow, this is great. Others 
said, we hate you. Why is it that some of the Gentiles 
believed and others did not? Why is it today that as the gospel 
is being preached throughout the earth, some embrace it and 
others do not? He goes on to say, the difference 
was not that some were better or more disposed toward the gospel 
than others. The very idea of being disposed 
toward the Gospel is utterly contrary to Paul's teaching in 
Romans 8, 7 and 8. The difference is that some were 
appointed to eternal life as part of the eternal decree of 
God, and others were not. That's the issue. It was not 
that I did choose thee, for Lord, that could not be. Hadst thou 
not chosen me, God, I would have continued to refuse thee. That's 
just a simple fact. We preach, we pray, we labor, 
we work, we proclaim, we do missions all under the conscious realization 
that our God is in the heavens and He does whatever He pleases. He is a sovereign being. Paul 
celebrates that fact in Ephesians chapter 1. He argues for that 
polemically in Romans chapter 9. Our God does not react. Our God is not waiting and wishing 
that some will jump on the good ship salvation. God has purposed 
a great multitude which no man can number, from every tribe 
and tongue and people and nation, as we saw there in Revelation 
chapter 5. Our God does not react to men. Our God is proactive. Our God is decreed. Our God is 
working all things according to the counsel of His own will. It is not of him who wills, nor 
of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. And blessed be God 
that He does show mercy. As many as had been appointed 
to eternal life believed. Luke ends this section with a 
summary report. The word spread. Verse 49. The Jews persecuted. And then 
we see the dust of judgment. Notice verse 51. But they shook 
off the dust from their feet against them and came to Iconium. And the disciples were filled 
with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Remember Jesus spoke of doing 
this? Remember that Jesus spoke of 
shaking the dust off your feet? One commentator says, the long-suffering 
and non-violent gentleness of Jesus' servants should not be 
mistaken for a lack of divine authority. Their message cannot 
be sworn with impunity. Rather, their dust-shaking ceremony 
previewed the day when God Himself will make an utter separation 
between those who have fled to Him for refuge and those who 
have fled from Him in rebellion. In a terrifying prelude to the 
final division, Jesus instructed His emissaries to give certain 
cities what they wanted, to withdraw the indicting and saving Word 
of God from them. That is sobering. That is fearful. And may it not be the case that 
God Most High shakes the dust from His feet with reference 
to this assembly. May we be beggars. May we be 
lovers. May we be those who delight in 
God's Word. May we be those looking to the 
Lord Jesus Christ in faith alone. Not looking to what we can bring. 
Saying with the hymn writer, nothing in my hand I bring. Simply 
to thy cross I cling. Being extraspective, as Machen 
says, not looking to ourselves and our own accomplishments and 
our own works, not seeing what we can add to this faith to present 
it to God for justification, but looking solely and alone 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. May that be what is found in 
this place. Well, let us pray. Father, we thank You for the 
Word of God in this first missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. 
Though we have just touched the surface, God, we pray that You'd 
help us to better understand the book of Galatians, to see 
it in its historical context, and to see the various threats 
that Paul encountered in terms of doctrine. We just pray, Father, 
that You would give us understanding in these things, give us encouragement 
and strength that we may contend earnestly for the faith which 
was once for all delivered to the saints. We ask now that You 
would go with Your people, that You would watch over us and protect 
us. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.