The Apostle Paul’s first sermon, Acts 13:13-52

So far in the book of Acts, we have studied the record of a couple of notable sermons, particularly the first message of Peter as well last sermon of the martyr Steven.  Today, we look at the first recorded message of the Apostle Paul.  As I noted last time, in this chapter, Paul transitions from being called Saul to being called Paul, and he is no longer called Saul on any longer, which indicates to me that he began his apostolic ministry at this point.  This apostolic commission was attested to with signs and wonders as an attestation of the Spirit’s appointing him as an apostle, but it is interesting that Paul’s first attendant miracle is not that of healing but of cursing.  He pronounced blindness on Elymas the magician as we saw earlier in this chapter.

And perhaps that illustrates the double edged nature of the gospel as Paul indicates in this sermon.  That on the one hand is offered salvation for those who believe it and accept it, but on the other hand condemnation and judgment is upon those who reject the gospel.  The gospel is a two edged sword, it cuts both ways. And we will see that illustrated in this sermon. 

For the sake of time we will forego some of the geographical details that give the context for this sermon.  But what should not be overlooked is that in vs. 13, after explaining the logistics of their trip, Luke says without fanfare or explanation that John Mark left them and returned home to Jerusalem.  We are not given the answer to the question of why in this passage.  And even later, in Acts 15, we are only told that Barnabas and Paul have a sharp disagreement over letting John Mark accompany them on a later mission due to the fact that Paul considered him a traitor to the cause on this first mission.  And so at that point, Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways.  I will add though that at the end of Paul’s ministry, he welcomed a much more mature John Mark in his company, so obviously there was reconciliation between them. 

However, I think the point needs to be made that the young man John Mark is illustrative of a type of Christian that is unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary for the kingdom of God and departs from the ministry.  And as such they can cause great harm to the cause of Christ.  In addition to hurting their own testimony by setting aside their calling, they also can be a source of great discouragement, even to the pastors of the church themselves.  I must confess I am so very often dismayed by young people falling away from the fervency of the ministry in favor of pursuing the desires of the flesh.  I would to God that we had a few men who are more like Timothy, that served God from their youth and matured to be great men of God.  But I’m afraid that so many today seem to fall victim to the appeal of the ungodly culture.  And obviously, that sin is nothing new.  It seems to have happened in the case of John Mark.  And it seems to be flourishing today in our times as well.  As mature Christians, we need to do all we can to try to encourage and strengthen the next generation so that they do not fall into the temptation of the world.

So skipping all the logistics, we find Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch, which is a town in Galatia rather than the Antioch of Syria you are probably more familiar with.  And on the Sabbath day they go to a local synagogue and are seated most likely in the seat reserved for rabbis.  Paul would have qualified for that position.  And there was a certain order of service that was followed in the Sabbath meetings which is helpful for us to understand. 

Notice vs. 15 says that after reading the law and the prophets.  Now this wasn’t just a haphazard approach.  But rather the Jews had a schedule for scripture readings that was practiced every Sabbath. The law which was read indicated the entire Pentateuch, broken down into 53 sections.  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy were divided up so one section was read each week so that the entire Pentateuch was read through in a year’s time.  And then following that there was read a corresponding section from the Prophets.  Now commentators tell us that because of this schedule they can pinpoint exactly what passages were read on that occasion, even though Luke doesn’t specify them.

But I don’t offer that as an interesting tidbit just to teach you some neat little historical fact so you can impress people at some Bible study some day.  The point I want to make is that Paul preaches his message as an exposition based on the very scriptures they had just read. I believe that what we have recorded here is actually just a synopsis or outline of Paul’s message.  The opening words of Paul refer to Deuteronomy 1-3 and that would have been the law section for the forty-fourth Sabbath in the year, which fell in July or August; and the corresponding passage from the prophets being Isaiah 1:1-27, from which he also preaches. He starts, as was the apostle’s tradition, from the Old Testament scriptures as the text of his sermon.

I happened to listen to a sermon by a very close friend of mine the other day who is also  a pastor of a fairly good sized church.  And as I listened to him, I was struck by the fact that he began his message without any Biblical context at all.  He just started talking about some topical thing going on in the culture.  At one point about 15 minutes into his message, he gave a vague mention of a brief verse of scripture which he did not quote or give a reference for.  At the 25 minute mark, he sort of paraphrased  the first part the first sentence from Genesis 1:1.  And at about the 35 minute mark, I cut it off.  Folks, if we should attempt to preach without the scriptures as our guide, then we foolishly rush in where angels fear to tread.  Paul preached expositionally, and that should be our example in the church as well. 

So when they had read the passages of scripture, they invited Paul to speak. Now this was the normal order of their service.  I suppose that they started out with 45 minutes from the praise band, accompanied by an interpretive dance number, and then followed that with a skit, you know one of those pantomime kinds where no one speaks, and then they showed a video clip of their mission trip, and finally Paul got up and cracked a few jokes for 15 minutes and closed with a heartwarming story.  No, I don’t think that is what the text tells us.  They read the scriptures and Paul stood up and preached from the scriptures. How antiquated.

Note also that Paul, like Peter and Stephen before him, preached the gospel from the Old Testament. Today we tend to think that the Old Testament needs be done away with in favor of the New.  But in fact, 2Tim. 3:16 says all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

So Paul starts out by prefacing his exposition by stating the historical context for the text.   His text is mentioned in vs. 18, which says “For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.”  And the translation of the words “put up” is an unfortunate rendering.  Because where Paul gets this idea is from Duet. 1:31 which was the text which was read in the law.  And that text speaks of God providing for His people all during that time, nurturing them, as a man might bear his son.  Listen to how the Deuteronomy text reads, Deut. 1:30 “The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.  But for all this, you did not trust the LORD your God.”

The text in Deuteronomy is talking about the rebellion of Israel, God’s chosen people and how God carried them even though they rejected the sovereign rule of God.  Please understand something.  The children of Israel were supposed to be a foreshadow of the church.  Old Testament Israel is not one dispensation which did not work out so it was thrown away and in it’s place the church was placed and we don’t have any relevance to the Old Testament nation of Israel.  On the contrary.  It was a picture, a foreshadowing of the church.  God dwelled in the midst of them in the Holy of Holies, just as God dwells in the hearts of His church today.  So what happened to Israel serves as a lesson for us.  Israel, from the very beginning rejected God’s rule, as Paul illustrates in his message. 

Paul goes on to say that for about 450 years God put up with them, God nurtured them, proving Himself to them over and over, rebuking them at times, even causing many of them to die in the wilderness because of their unbelief, but being patient towards them, that they might know the good news of His promises to them.  Then after that, Paul reminds them that they were given the judges up until the time of Samuel.  Then came the climax to their rebellion.  They asked for a king like the nations of the heathen.  God was supposed to be their king.  They lived in a theocracy.  But after hundreds of years of God’s kindness and providence towards them, they rejected the rule of God over them and asked for a human king.

The heart of God concerning this rebellion is found in the text from the Prophets that was read before Paul’s message.  It is found in Isaiah 1.  I’ll read just a few of the verses there to give you a taste of what the scripture said concerning Israel’s rebellion. “Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me.

An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know,

My people do not understand. Alas, sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD,  they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away from Him.  Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me? Says the LORD. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,  learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD, Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Oh, what a contemporary warning for the church, is it not?  The Lord said, I hate iniquity in your solemn assemblies. When you spread your hands in prayer, I will not listen. Wash and make yourselves clean. Remove the evil deeds from My sight.  Cease to do evil and do good.  That isn’t a message preached very often today is it?  If you continue to  rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.  This idea that we can sin and get away with it is not a Biblical principle ladies and gentlemen.  To rebel is as the sin of witchcraft.  To call sin good, and good sin, is to rebel against the word of the Lord. It’s to lie against the truth, and it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God.  I fear for the greater church today in America which is lying and subverting the truth of God’s word for a PC version dictated by the culture. 

Well, Paul says that Israel continued to rebel by asking for a king, so God gave them a king, he gave them Saul.  Saul was a man that people admired.  He was good looking.  He was tall and handsome and looked like a king.  But his heart was not right with God and he rebelled against God’s word.  So God removed him from power and gave the kingdom to David, a man after His own heart.

David sinned grievously in the sight of God, but David also repented with a broken and contrite heart which God did not despise.  The great danger to the church is not that we sin, but that we desire to justify our sin, as Saul did in his rebellion.  We want to say that what God declared as sin is not really sin.

Paul shows a contrast between the rebellion of King Saul, and the willingness to do the Lord’s will of King David.  David was called a man after God’s own heart. He had faults; he committed sin; but who does not sin? He was guilty of great offences; but he also evidenced sincere, humble repentance, and consequently God forgave Him.

Then Paul uses David to introduce Jesus, saying in vs. 23, “From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.”  To an Israelite, they looked for the promise of the coming Messiah to be a King, the son of King David, who would restore unto Israel the former glories. But Paul shows that the Messiah is not only to be King, but a Savior, to restore man to his former glory with God before the fall.

To see Christ as King and not Savior was to miss the purpose of the Messiah and the point of salvation.  And just as grave an error can be made in reverse, which is to see Christ as Savior and not King.  The Jews were guilty of the first error, and the church guilty of the second.  We live without regard for the fact that Christ is King over all.

Hence it is necessary in order to receive Him as Savior that there would first be a baptism of repentance. The baptism of repentance; so it is called in Matthew 3:2; repentance being a precondition to receive the mercies of God in Christ resulting in  eternal life.  Faith is the outcome of repentance.  One cannot exist without the other.  To think faith is simply believing in the existence of God or Jesus Christ is to say that the Jews who witnessed Jesus’ life were already saved.  Believing in God doesn’t save you.  James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” 

Believing in Christ unto salvation requires first repentance, acknowledgement that you are a sinner, without hope, lost, and being willing to give your life completely to the charge and care of God so that you might be changed.  It requires a change of direction.  Salvation is not adding religion to your life.  It is not adding some Jesus to your life.  But it is dying to your old life, and being given new life in Christ so that we might live for Him. 

That is why Paul points out in his sermon that before Christ could come, John the Baptist came and preached baptism of repentance. Matt. 3:6 speaking of John the Baptist: “And [they]were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.”  Lots of churches practice baptism today, don’t they?  Some may sprinkle, some may dunk, we go out in the surf.  But do they teach that baptism is a mark or sign of repentance?  That we bury the old man in the water, and the new man is raised out of the water?  That is repentance, ladies and gentlemen.  It is not feeling sorry you got caught.  It is not feeling emotional, or weepy when you hear that Jesus suffered on the cross for you.  It is coming to the point of dying to sin.  Dying to the world.  Dying to your will.  And being raised up in newness of life.  Old things are passed away, all things become new.   And by the way, how does an infant confess their sins when they are baptized?  I don’t think they can.  You need to be baptized as a sign that you have repented and are saved, not as a means of salvation.

Paul then gets to the heart of the gospel message, and that is it is for you who fear God. Vs. 26.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  We fear God because we know that we are sinful, we know the depravity of our sin, and we know the judgment that God promises towards those who rebel against His word.  The gospel is for the lost.  Jesus said I came to seek and to save those that are lost.  Not those that are satisfied, those that are self righteous, those that claim to be religious.  But to save those that recognize that they are lost.

Then referring back to the prophets, Paul says that the rulers in Jerusalem unwittingly fulfilled those prophecies, by putting Jesus to death.  Though they found no fault in Him, yet they persuaded Pilate to execute Him.  But though the rulers of the Jews condemned Jesus, God proved Christ’s righteousness by raising Him from the dead.  God proved not only His righteousness, but also His divinity. 

So Paul quotes Psalm 2 to prove that Jesus Christ was not only the promised King and the Savior of the world, but also the very Son of God. Vs. 33, quoting Psalm 2, “YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.” And also he quotes Psalm 16:10 in which Christ is called by God “My Holy One.” 

Paul uses these Psalms of David to show that it could not of been of David himself that it was written, because David was buried and his body underwent decay.  But Christ who was raised from the dead so that His body did not suffer corruption. Vs. 36 "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;  but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.”

And I would also point out that years later Paul would write in 1Cor. 15:23 that Christ is the first fruits of those that are Christ’s. Meaning, that we that are saved will have the same benefits of Christ. As Paul said in our text, the holy and sure blessings of David.  Which are spoken of again in Romans 8:11 which says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” 

The point being, that as Christ was raised, so we too will be raised to eternal life.  But not only after we fall asleep in Christ, but also it has import on how we live in this present life.  As Matthew Henry said, “Our complete separation from sin, is represented by our being buried with Christ. But he rose again from the dead, and saw no corruption: this was the great truth to be preached.” 

The great reformation theologian John Calvin said something similar; “Because we have the truth hereof in Christ, whilst that being buried together with him we put off the old man; therefore the old figure is past.”  What that means in layman’s terms is that the promise of Christ is for you as well, that promise of not seeing corruption; both the eternal corruption of the dead, and the practical corruption of the living.  Salvation frees us from not only the penalty of sin, but the power of sin.  Sin no longer has power over us if we have died to sin, buried it in the baptism of repentance.  So that we might no longer live to sin, but live to Christ.  That is the promise of salvation, that we might be freed from the corruption that is in the world.  In fact, that is one of the great benefits of the church to the world; that we are the salt of the earth.  We are the salt that prevents total corruption on the part of a dead and dying world.  But let us remember what Jesus said about that salt in Matt. 5:13  "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”  Beware Christian, that you do not lose your saltiness.  You are the light of the world.  Therefore, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The final point of Paul’s message is the great invitation to be saved.  Vs. 38 "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, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”  Notice that Paul repeats “to you”, “to you” and says, “everyone who believes.”  The good news of salvation is given to you, to everyone who will believe.  It is not exclusively a Jewish religion.  It is not only for the righteous.  But salvation is freely given and paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ to whosoever will call upon His name. 

However as I said at the beginning, the gospel of salvation is a double edged sword; it cuts both ways.  It saves on one side, and condemns on the other.  Because as Paul indicates, some will be scoffers, some will not believe, and they will surely perish as the former prophecy of Isaiah warned they would.  The same Messiah King who came the first time as a Savior will return the second time as a Judge.  And woe is he who disregards His sacrifice for sin and continues in his rebellion.

Well, that is Paul’s first sermon, what was the response on the part of the congregation?  I would suggest that it was pretty typical of the gospel message as it is preached everywhere.  There were some who were excited about it and asked for Paul to preach again the next week.  And then after the meeting was over their were some that followed Paul and Barnabas.  That means that they became disciples.  You know being saved is not the end, it is the beginning.  It is beginning a new life in Christ in which you walk after the Spirit.  It is becoming a disciple, a follower of Christ.  And that is why in vs. 43 Paul was urging them to continue in the grace of God.   What does that mean, to continue in the grace of God?  Well, it means to continue to follow Christ, to walk as Christ walked.

You know I was talking to a young person the other day and we got on the subject of Buddhism.  And this young person was sort of complimentary about the nature of Buddhism.  The proponents of that religion seemed to them to try to be nice people, they didn’t hurt animals, they didn’t believe in war, they tried to meditate and be kind and pursue peace.  It sounds good, but I tried to explain that this religion had no real hope for the afterlife.  The best that they could really hope for was to find some sort of transcendent state where they blocked out reality and found some sort of tranquility by eliminating all physical distractions, pain, loss, hunger, sleep or whatever.  Just training themselves to block out reality.  And I tried to point out the hopelessness of that existence, because all that stuff is still there when you come out of your meditation.

But then I tried to point out to this young person that if the church was keeping the commandments of Christ, then we would be the type of people that the world would admire, like they admired the Buddhists.  We would not only be able to offer them hope for eternal life, but we could offer a better existence here as well.  If we truly loved our enemies as Christ taught, if we forgave those who mistreated us, if we gave to them that needed, if we did onto others as we would have them do to us. If we loved one another.  If we served one another.  I’m not talking about replacing the gospel of salvation from sin for a social gospel of doing charitable deeds and yet neglecting their salvation.  But I am saying that the response of salvation is to do   works that glorify God. That we might be a light to the world.  As Paul said, to continue in the grace of God.  As God gave you grace, show grace.  Continue in it.

Back in our text, the Jews saw a crowd coming to synagogue the next Sabbath to hear Paul and Barnabas and got jealous.  So they stirred up some people and started contradicting what Paul was preaching.  They were even blaspheming.  I think that still happens today, people get jealous of our preaching and so that start backbiting and contradicting our teaching to keep others from coming to Christ. 

Well Paul got wind of it and he never was one to mince words. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’”

Then he and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet in protest and left town for Iconium.  See when the Israelites had to go over pagan territory outside of the nation of Israel they didn’t even want the dirt from that country to be carried on their shoes into Israel.  So they would make a big deal about stopping on the border and taking off their sandals and dumping the sand out of them before going into Israel.  Because they thought they were righteous and everyone else was heathen.  So Paul and Barnabas turn the tables on them.  As they are leaving town, they stop and shake the dust off their feet, indicating the were leaving the town of the heathen unbelievers.  Jesus said in Mark 6:11, "Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them."

Well, Paul laid out the gospel pretty clearly. I cannot improve upon it. I would just remind you in closing of the choice that he laid before you. To believe in Christ as King, as Savior and as the Holy One of God and in repentance and faith receive the forgiveness of sins.  Or to reject Jesus as King, as Savior and as your God and continue in self righteousness and rebellion.  One way leads to life incorruptible, one way leads to death and decay.   To you the gospel has been preached.  To you the choice is given.  I hope that you will turn from your sins and trust in Christ as your Savior today.