Acts 13:38

Acts 13:38 says, Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:  Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, is the only One Who can save. We must never forget the uniqueness of Jesus.  We can never be what He is, the only begotten Son of God.  The Bible tells us if we believe we will become sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Jesus.  We become so by adoption, and Jesus by birth.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.  Also, Paul pointed out that the Law of Moses could not save, but the good news was that Jesus could and would if they believed.  Paul declared Jesus to be superior to the prophets, to David, and to the Law.  He is the only way to salvation, and He stands ready to deliver all. Verse forty continues. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;  Paul was once again referring the Jewish people to the scripture, which they should have been familiar with.  We need to always base what we are teaching on the scripture, the Bible.  Verse forty-one concludes, Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.  The scripture warned them that even if God worked a great work in their midst, which He had done, that the despisers would only wonder and perish.  If we look to the Bible and only wonder if it is true without really accepting that it the only truth, we will never believe that God worked a great wonder when He had Jesus Christ die for our sins.  Then, we will be lost forever.  Verse forty-two states, And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Though most of the Jews were rejecting the gospel, the Gentiles asked Paul and Barnabas to preach God’s word to them the next Sabbath.  Verse forty-three adds, Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.  Many Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, encouraging them to continue in the grace of God.  That is all we can ever do.  We are saved by His grace and sustained by His grace.  Our independent streak or self-pride often rebels at the thought of being dependent on God's mercy, but that is where we will always be as His followers.  Verse forty-four continues, And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.   As Paul and Barnabas were preaching, news spread about it.  The next Sabbath, when the Gentiles had asked that the gospel be shared with them, nearly the whole city came to hear the word of God.  Paul and Barnabas were not there to entertain nor even to promote themselves but were there to share the word of God.  When Christians gather together today, this should be our number one priority. Verse forty-five concludes, 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.  The Jews were jealous that the Word of God was going to the whole world and not just them, so they stirred up trouble.  When people start being drawn to Christ, someone is going to try and stop them. Hopefully, it won't be those who call themselves His people.  Paul and Barnabas were accused of blasphemy, the charge the religious leaders brought against Jesus,   

Jesus was placed in the grave after He was crucified, and the religious leaders were just as responsible for His death as were the secular leaders.  When those who are supposed to be representing God work against Him and in harmony with the world, then they need a word as Paul delivered to the synagogue leaders that day.  Paul knew what the religious leaders believed about Jesus, because he had believed the same thing until his personal encounter with God on the road to Damascus.  People will never change their belief about Christ until they encounter Him personally.  Jesus did not stay in the grave, as God raised Him form the dead, as He had promised to their forefathers.  Neither did He see corruption.  Jesus is the only One Who fulfilled that promise.  David died, and like all other people, his body corrupted. Being a descendant of David was a point of pride for the Jewish people, but it did not bring salvation.  David could not save them.  Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, is the only One Who can save. We must never forget the uniqueness of Jesus.  We can never be what He is, the only begotten Son of God.  The Bible tells us if we believe we will become sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Jesus.  We become so by adoption, and Jesus by birth.  Also, Paul pointed out that the Law of Moses could not save, but the good news was that Jesus could and would if they believed.  Paul declared Jesus superior to the prophets, to David, and to the Law.  He is the only way to salvation, and He stands ready to deliver all.  This is found in Acts 13: 32-41.