King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
Chapters: Acts Chapters 13-14
Message: Justified Through Christ
Hello My Friend,
Every time I read through the Book of Acts I am reminded of the great passages within it that I ought to be reflecting of more often throughout the year. In fact, at one time it I did not look forward to reading it, but now it is one of my favorite books that enjoy reading and learn more every time. That is compliments of the Holy Spirit who works through us as we mature in our knowledge and walk with Christ after we get saved. From the very beginning the Holy Spirit has always been the guide to every believer and while the Law of Moses was the foreshadow of what was to come, Jesus, is the proof that it has come to pass and salvation is available to all who believe in the Gospel.
[Acts 13:33-35,38-39 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. 34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. 35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.]
In other words, Jew or Gentile, the Law of Moses while it served its purpose at the time never justified sin, but Jesus does, but only for those who believe in Him. As we return to the reading of Acts, we learn that Saul, was still in Antioch with Barnabas when they were both led by the Holy Spirit to separate from the group they were with and minister the Gospel elsewhere. They did pretty well and found themselves in Salamis, where John happened to be and joined them.
[Acts 13:1-5 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.]
[the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work] This is when Saul officially begins his ministry and starts being known as Paul, which is the Roman name that was given to him. They found themselves passing the isle of Paphos, which was well known for their Greek mythology, when they were confronted by wicked man named Elymas, who called himself Barjesus.
[Acts 13:6-10 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: 7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, 10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?]
[wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?] Sergius, wanted to hear the Gospel so he invited Paul and Barnabas to come and speak, but Elymas was determined to keep them from doing that. However, Paul, confronted Elymas through the Spirit, and was blinded for a while, [Acts 13:11-12 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.]
[when he saw what was done, believed,] This is what Jesus did to Paul, but while Paul was converted this man was not, but Sergius sure was. The Holy Spirit will send us into some strange places sometimes to minister the Gospel, but this proves that it does not matter what religion or god people are brought up in, Jesus, will reach a true believer anywhere, [1 Timothy 1:15-16 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.]
The Holy Spirit does something in us that enables us to be bold and preach the Gospel, even more when we are facing affliction or persecution. After all that John went back to Jerusalem, but Paul and Barnabas now passing through Perga, went into a synagogue, and quietly listened to the service, but as they were reading the Scriptures they turned to Paul and Barnabas.
[Acts 13:15-17 And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. 16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. 17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.]
[Men of Israel, and ye that fear God,] Paul, first directs his message to the true Jews, meaning Israelites, to let them know that he was speaking to all who feared God, which means they had a love and respect for Him and sought His ways to prove that. It is probable that the rulers of the synagogue had met with them prior in private conversation before. Even if they had not agreed with the Gospel, at least they had the curiosity to hear what Paul had to say regarding what they had just read. Paul, gives them a little bit of a history lesson about their not having a king rule over them until Saul, who God appointed before he rejected Him and then handed the reign over to David, of whom Jesus would come in the flesh.
[Acts 13:20-23 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. 21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. 22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 23 Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:]
[Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise] You see, these people were still waiting for the Messiah to come and Paul was trying to show them that Jesus is the Messiah and it was foretold of all the way back then and has fulfilled the prophecies, [Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.]
Now, at this point, they were attentive to what Paul was saying, [Acts 13:26-30 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. 27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. 28 And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. 29 And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. 30 But God raised him from the dead:]
[the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God,] This time, Paul, directs his message to the children of Abraham, and this included many nations as well as Israelites, to let them know that this also applied to all who feared God as well. God, never intended for one nation of people to fear Him, He intended for all to nations to unite and form one nation under Him. Paul, goes on to reiterate this and took it a step further by telling the unbelieving Jews that the salvation was passed from them and given to the Gentiles.
[Acts 13:45-48 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.]
[when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy,] The Gospel needed to be presented to the Jews first, which God, knew that they would reject His Son out of pure envy. Beside the fact that this was part of the prophecy, it also served a purpose, it would lead the rest of the world to Christ. I know that sounds strange, but up until Jesus got here, the Israelites were known as God’s people, and He still looks over the nation even though they still reject His Son because that is the promise that He made to Abraham, [Romans 4:16-17 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.]
No matter where you go there is always going to be someone trying to cause a division, but we must stand by our faith and not be afraid to speak the Gospel to anyone God places on our heart. When Paul and Barnabas began speaking in the synagogue in Iconium they caused quite the stir again between the Jews and Greeks.
[Acts 14:1-4 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. 3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4 But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.]
[unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected] Does any of this sound familiar to you? This sounds like America, half the country is divided like you would not believe. And if you think that all the evil going on has to do with politics, race, or gender confusion, think again, this is all pure evil coming full force, and the tribulation coming quick, [Matthew 24:6-8,12-13 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.]
When they went on in Christ’s name and strength, he failed not to give testimony to the word of his grace. He has assured us it is the word of God, and that we may venture our souls upon it. The Gentiles and Jews were at enmity with one another, yet united against Christians. If the church’s enemies join to destroy it, shall not its friends unite for its preservation? God has a shelter for his people in a storm; he is, and will be their Hiding-place.
[Acts 14:8-11 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: 9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. 11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.]
[perceiving that he had faith to be healed,] Paul, only approached the man because he saw his faith in Jesus. The man no doubt did more than leap, he probably shouted through streets, grabbing the attention of the people. Since these people were unlearned and set in the doctrine of the Greeks, they automatically believed that Paul and Barnabas were some kind of gods sent down from the gods. Paul, quickly stopped them, showing them they were just ordinary people with the one and only living God on their side.
[Acts 14:15-17,19-20 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: 16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. 19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.]
[Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.] Do you see how and why God had decided to use one nation of people to bring others to Him? It is like this, every nation under the freewill of God is granted to believe what they want, and by nation I am referring to ancestry here as nation in regards to countries back then were often separated and formed of families. However, at any point God has never denied anyone the opportunity to be converted. It is like Paul said, ignorance to the truth saves no one, [Acts 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Acts 13:38-39 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for opening my eyes to the truth of the Gospel, and where my life was headed if I did not receive You as my Saviour. Now, I boldly proclaim my faith in You, and please forgive me where I have failed You on this. You are my Lord, and Saviour, I am nothing without You, and while there is absolutely nothing I could ever do to repay You for saving me from my life, my faithfulness to You will lead others to You, if only to show them that life without You is no life to live. I love You, Lord, and pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen!
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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