Evangelizing Pisidian Antioch

Do you get depressed when you listen to the messages of this world? I do. I watch television, listen to the radio, read all kinds of books and magazines, listening to the politicians and world leaders who are speaking all the time. But I have discovered there is one problem with the messages coming from these sources: There is no word of encouragement, no word of hope, no word of peace in any of them.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3 we read that God is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” Only the true and living God can speak a word of encouragement, a word of comfort, a word of hope, and a word of peace to us. He does so through the preaching of the gospel of salvation.

After Saul of Tarsus was converted, God commissioned him to go out as a missionary and preach this gospel of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts contains several summaries of Paul’s missionary sermons. In Acts 13 we find a summary of Paul’s first recorded sermon, given to the Jewish people in Pisidian Antioch, in Acts 14 we find a summary of Paul’s preaching to the Gentiles of Lystra and Derbe, and in Acts 17 we find a summary of Paul’s preaching to the Gentiles of Athens. In this study we will consider the summary of Paul’s preaching to the Jews and Gentile God-fearers in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch, as recorded in Acts 13:13-43.

Background

Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the church of Antioch in Syria sent out Barnabas and Paul as missionaries to the Gentile world. John Mark, a cousin of Barnabas, went with them as an assistant. After leaving Syrian Antioch, they sailed first to Cyprus, where they evangelized the island, and then went to Pamphylia, located on the southern coast of Turkey.

In Acts 2 we read that God-fearing Jews from Pamphylia were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Here Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark landed probably at the port of Attalia, which is known today as Antalya. From there they went inland twelve miles to Perga, a large Greek city. Visitors to Turkey can still see the ruins of the magnificent city of Perga which at one time boasted a temple to Artemis, a theater, and a stadium. The apostles did not preach the gospel in Perga at this time, although they did so later on. Scholars say that Paul may have become sick with malaria here, because in Galatians 4:13 Paul says it was due to an illness that he preached the gospel to the Galatians.

While the missionaries were in Perga, John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, quit the mission and went back to Jerusalem. The Scriptures do not tell us why John Mark quit, but perhaps he had become homesick or was unprepared to suffer hardship. Perhaps he resented the leadership of Paul rather than that of Barnabas. Whatever the reason, because John Mark abandoned this first missionary journey, Paul later refused to have him join the second missionary journey, as we read in Acts 15:38-39.

From the city of Perga Paul and Barnabas traveled north one hundred miles, crossing the Taurus mountain range, to the most important city of southern Galatia, Pisidian Antioch. This city was located 3600 feet above sea level, near Via Sebaste, the Roman road which ran from Ephesus to the Euphrates river. Like Syrian Antioch, Pisidian Antioch was founded by Seleucus I Nicator and named in honor of his father, Antiochus. It had become a Roman colony in 25 B.C.

A Message of Encouragement

Because of its large Jewish population, Pisidian Antioch had its own synagogue. So on their first Sabbath, Paul and Barnabas went to the synagogue to worship. This was their custom, just as it had been the custom of Jesus Christ.

There are two places in the Bible, Luke 4 and Acts 13, where we are given a glimpse of the order of service for synagogue worship. First, there was a recitation of the Shema, as found in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Then there was a prayer called Shemone Esreh, which consisted of eighteen benedictions. After that someone would stand up and read the scripture readings, first from the Law and then from the Prophets. Then the man would sit down and give a sermon, the most important part of synagogue worship. But if there were visitors in the synagogue, they were given the opportunity to preach the sermon. Finally, there would be a closing blessing.

In Luke 4 we see Jesus doing these things. As he entered the synagogue of Nazareth, he was given a scroll of the book of Isaiah. He stood up, read from Isaiah 61:1,2, sat down, and gave a sermon on the passage. And here in Acts 13 we read that the rulers of the synagogue recognized the two visitors, Paul and Barnabas, and asked them to give a message of encouragement to the people of the synagogue.

What do you think Paul thought of when the synagogue rulers made their request? As we said before, there is no message of encouragement to be found in the world. We can listen to all the messages, philosophies, and prognostications of learned people, but such messages will only add to our depression. In fact, if we are thinking people, we will commit suicide or engage in a great number of perversions, because there is simply no message of encouragement to be found in the world itself.

Only God can bring us a message of encouragement and he has done so in the person of Jesus Christ. This message of encouragement from heaven is found in the Holy Scriptures, in the history of God’s redemptive dealings with Israel. Paul knew this, and so when he heard the request, “If you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak,” he began to preach the gospel.

Jesus, of course, knew there is no message of encouragement to be found in the world. The address he gave to the people of Nazareth was the best word of encouragement anyone could ever hear. Do you remember what he said? “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your ears.” What he meant was that he, Jesus of Nazareth, was the fulfillment of the prophecy he had just read in Isaiah 61.

Jesus brought a great message of encouragement, hope, and eternal life to the people of Nazareth. Not only did he declare that he was the Savior, but he was encouraging his listeners to trust in him and be saved. What was the response of the people of Nazareth to this word of encouragement? They refused to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. In fact, they tried to destroy him.

In Pisidian Antioch, Paul also offered his hearers the best message of encouragement he could give. Paul spoke to them of God’s fulfilling his promise to the patriarchs by providing redemption through the son of David, the son of Abraham, Jesus the Savior. This message of hope and eternal life through faith in Christ is the best sermon anyone can give.

As we study this word of encouragement, we want to examine four points: First, the promise of redemption revealed in the history of the people of God, Israel; second, the presence of the Redeemer; third, the present blessings that flow from this Redeemer; and, fourth, the present warning this Redeemer issues to any rebel who refuses to trust in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation.

The Promise of Redemption

When Adam sinned, God took the initiative in revealing to him the way of salvation. God came to the garden seeking Adam, even though Adam had just sinned grievously against him. God clothed Adam and Eve with the skin of slain animals and promised them a Savior, “the seed of the woman.”

The divine initiative in our salvation is seen throughout the history of God’s dealings with Israel. In other words, the history of Israel is God’s redemptive history, the arena in which God revealed to us his plan of redemption. All history is linear, not cyclical or meaningless, and the goal of all history is Jesus Christ and our salvation in him. But especially in the history of Israel we see God acting in our behalf for our salvation so, like Stephen, Paul gave a review of the history of Israel in his sermon in Pisidian Antioch.

In Acts 13:17 Paul began, saying, “The God of the people of Israel. . .” and we must pay attention to that phrase. The true and living God is not the god of the Canaanites, the god of the Egyptians, or the god of the Babylonians. The true, only, living God, who created the ends of the earth by the word of his power, is the God of the people of Israel. There is no other.

In his description of the history of Israel Paul tells us that God always takes the initiative in saving us. So, notice, first, this God of the people of Israel “chose our fathers.” God is the God of election, and in Genesis 12:1 we read that God singled Abraham out, telling him, “‘Leave your country. . . . ‘” Why did God choose Abraham? That is a question we cannot answer. Abraham was a sinner and an idol worshiper, and yet, in his sovereign decision, God chose Abraham.

God told Abraham, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:1-3). And in Genesis 22:18 God again told Abraham that it would be through his offspring that all the families of the earth would be blessed. When we read Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we discover that this offspring, the Seed of the woman, is Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ that all the families of the earth will be blessed.

God chose Abraham, and then he chose Isaac and Jacob as well. Then we read that God did something else–he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt. In the Greek text it simply says “God exalted his people.” Pharaoh had wanted to destroy God’s people, but God prospered them and made them into a nation. Here again we see divine action and initiative.

Next, we read is that “with mighty power he led them out of that country.” Paul had spoken first of the period of the patriarchs, then of the period of Israel’s stay in Egypt, and now he was speaking about exodus. Remember how Pharaoh had told Moses, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him?” But here we find out that by his mighty power as demonstrated by ten plagues, God led his people out of slavery.

In verse 18 we read, “He endured their conduct for about forty years.” Another reading for the word translated “endured” is “took care of them.” That is true. God gave his people manna, water, warmth, protection from the sun and protection from their enemies for forty years while they wandered in the desert, so, indeed, he did take care of them. But the truth is, God’s people were rebels, and I think it is more accurate to say he put up with them for forty years. The Bible speaks very clearly about the patience of God.

What else did God do? In verse 19 we read, “He overthrew seven nations in Canaan.” God did it–not Joshua, not anyone else. Then we read, “[He] gave their land to his people as their inheritance.” God gave the land of Canaan as inheritance to his own people. “After this, God gave them judges.” In all of these things God was acting in mercy in behalf of his people. God did it!

Then, because they wanted to be like everybody else, God’s people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul reigned until he was removed because of his rebellion and disobedience. Then God gave his people a king, David, concerning whom God said, “I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”

At this point, Paul brought the culmination of God’s dealings with the people of Israel. In verse 23 he said, “From this man’s descendants,” meaning from David’s descendants, “God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.”

The Promised Redeemer

In 2 Samuel 7:16 we find the Davidic covenant in which God spoke to David concerning his descendants, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” What does that mean? We know that the dynasty founded by David didn’t endure forever. The kingdom of Israel broke into two kingdoms shortly after Solomon’s death, and the last Davidic king ceased ruling over Judah in 586 B.C. But the idea expressed by God in 2 Samuel 7:16 is that David’s kingdom would endure forever through the son of David, Jesus. And so in Matthew 1:1 we are introduced to Jesus Christ as “the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Jesus Christ was the promised Redeemer, the fulfillment of God’s promise to David.

We find this promise of a Redeemer prophesied throughout the Old Testament, beginning, as we said before, in the book of Genesis. In Isaiah 11:1-5 we read, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse . . . .” Now, that shoot is not Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, or Zedekiah. The tree of the Davidic dynasty was cut down, and just a stump remained. So Isaiah wrote, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him–the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord–and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” This is a description of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Jeremiah’s prophecy the prophet speaks of the end of every kingdom on earth. But in Jeremiah 23:5 he sees something else: “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘where I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.'” Again, this is speaking about Jesus Christ, the promised Redeemer.

In Luke 1:32 the angel Gabriel tells us something about Jesus Christ: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end,” which reflects what Isaiah said, “Of the increase of his government there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7). And Jesus Christ himself said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

At the culmination of his review of the history of Israel, Paul presented his hearers with the Savior promised by God in Genesis 3–the Lord Jesus Christ, who was a direct descendant of David. And then, to make sure there was no confusion, he spoke about John the Baptist, who had been preaching repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. What did John the Baptist say? “Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am unworthy to untie.” John was also confirming that Jesus Christ was God’s promised Redeemer.

What does this tell us about God? That he loves us and takes the initiative to save us. Not only did he promise us a Redeemer, but he provided one in the person of Jesus Christ. Then, in his time, he seeks and saves his people through faith in that Redeemer. It is he who gave us this tremendous word of encouragement and consolation: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). That is the word of God to us.

The Presence of the Redeemer

The second point Paul made in his sermon was the presence of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, among his people and what they did to him. In Acts 13:27 we read, “The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus.”

This inability to recognize Jesus Christ is not peculiar to the Jews of that time. It is still true of most people today. The wise, the mighty, the powerful, the rich, the famous, and the beautiful people of the world still refuse to recognize Jesus Christ as the only Savior sent from God.

In John 1:11 we read, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” And in John 5:39-40 Jesus told the Jews, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” In other words, Jesus was saying, “The entirety of Scripture speaks of me, but you refuse to listen to me, you refuse to welcome me, you refuse to recognize me, you refuse to trust in me.” Such is the rebellion and stubbornness of unbelief!

How did the Jews and their leaders respond to the heavenly Redeemer among them? They called him a glutton, a Samaritan, a demon-possessed man, and a blasphemer. Paul himself joined with them and treated the Lord Jesus Christ with contempt until God arrested him, opened his eyes, and showed him that Jesus is the Savior, the hope of Israel.

What else did these Jews do? They condemned Jesus to death on the cross, as we read in Acts 13:27. Now, we must note here that Paul says in condemning the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jews and their leaders were fulfilling the words of the prophets, especially as found in Isaiah 53. (PGM) And in Acts 13:28 Paul says, “Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.” Here is the declaration from the mouth of Paul that this Lord Jesus Christ is sinless–the only sinless person who ever lived in the history of the world. Yet, notice, the Jews and their leaders asked Pilate to have this sinless man executed. Why? It was God’s will. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).

In verse 29 Paul tells us “they had carried out all that was written about him.” Let me tell you, we do not do anything other than what is ordained for us by God. Even in our greatest sin, we can only do what God has ordained that we do.

“When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree.” Here Paul began to explain the gospel, declaring that the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified and died. This is the first thing and we must believe it if we are to come to saving faith in Christ. The gospel is true and consists of facts that we must believe. It is not mythology. It is that which happened in history in the person of Jesus Christ.

In time and space there came Jesus Christ the Savior, the hope of Israel, and what did his people do to him? They killed him by hanging him on the tree. Then they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. That is the second thing we need to believe, that Christ died and Christ was buried.

But that is not the end of the story. In Acts 13:30 Paul says, “But God raised him from the dead.” Yes, it was God’s will that he was crucified; yes, God’s will that he was buried, but it was also God’s will that he was raised up on the third day according to the Scriptures. Again and again, in verses 30, 33, 34, and 37 the very fact of resurrection is boldly declared by Paul to the world–to the mighty, to the philosophers, to the scientists. All must face this issue that God raised his Son from the dead, that his body did not see decay, but was raised to life, and that he alone is the Savior.

What is another aspect of the gospel? “He was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem” (verse 30). Not only that, the people who saw him after he was raised from the dead became witnesses themselves to others of this tremendous fact. Just read 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. Christ died, Christ was buried, Christ was raised, and Christ was seen, even by Paul himself, and those who saw these things became bold witnesses, such as the apostle John, who wrote in 1 John 1:1, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the word of life.”

Therefore, when we preach the gospel, we speak of what happened in history, of what God has done in time and space. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not mythology, not an opinion, not an idea that you can treat with contempt and brush aside easily without paying any attention. No, God did something! The meaning of all history is found in the history of Israel, and the glorious culmination of all of this is that Jesus Christ died, was buried, was raised, was seen, and who reigns and rules to the uttermost part of the earth.

Then Paul contrasts Jesus Christ with David. He tells us that David was a good man who served God in his own generation. However, David died and his body saw decay. The son of David, Jesus, who was crucified and buried according to God’s promise in Psalm 16:10, died, but he was raised to life again. His body did not decay and he will never die again.

Not only did David serve his God in his generation, but the Son of David serves God forever and ever. He is serving him right now by saving all who will come to him. Remember what he said in Revelation 1:17-18: “I am the First and the Last. I am the living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” That is the Jesus Christ we are talking about.

Do you want a message of encouragement? Look to this Jesus Christ and be saved, all the ends of the earth. He is the ever-living Savior, the ever-living King of kings and Lord of lords. Of the increase of his government there shall be no end. Let me assure you, whoever you are–philosopher, scientist, mighty man–one day you will die and your body will decay. But God will raise you up and cause you to face him, his Son, to whom he has given all authority in heaven and on earth. Don’t be so quick to brush aside the claims of this Jesus Christ. I urge you to call upon his name even this day and be saved.

Present Blessings from the Redeemer

The third point we want to examine from Paul’s sermon is the present blessings that flow from this Redeemer. First, however, we want to note that these blessings are holy and sure, as we read in Acts 13:34. There Paul quotes from Isaiah 55:3 as found in the Septuagint: “I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.” What do you think this means? It means that the blessings God gives his people are holy because they flow from the Holy One, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Additionally, they are sure, meaning they are permanent. They are not like a dream that you see once and then it goes away. God gives his people holy and sure blessings which no one can take away.

1. The blessing of God’s grace. Look at Acts 13:43. After Paul finished preaching, some people believed what he had told them. Verse 43 tells us, “When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.” Some of those who heard Paul’s message immediately received the encouragement he was offering them by trusting in this Jesus Christ. They were so excited to hear that God had sent a Savior in Jesus that they began to trust in him and believe in him right away. And this verse tells us they were urged to continue in the grace of God, meaning they had already received present blessing of grace which had flowed from the Redeemer to them. What is grace? It is the unmerited favor of God. It is heaven offered to the hell-bound sinner. We merited hell and condemnation, yet God in his mercy offers us grace.
2. The blessing of forgiveness of sins. In Acts 13:38 we find another blessing. Paul declared, “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” We must always remember that these blessings come through Jesus, not through anybody else. There is no other person from whom these blessings will flow.

   But there is hope through Jesus, Paul says. He will give you grace and forgiveness of sin. In other words, Paul was saying, “Right now to you this blessing of forgiveness is proclaimed.” That is the emphasis there. And in the Greek it says “through this one,” meaning Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham; Christ, who was condemned; Christ, who was despised; Christ, who was crucified; Christ, who was buried; Christ, who was raised from the dead; Christ, who was seen ascending into the heavens; Christ, the King of kings–this Christ is the one who forgives our sins.

   We read about this also in Acts 10:43, “All the prophets testify about him”, that is, about the Lord Jesus Christ, “that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” And in Jeremiah 31:34, in reference to the new covenant God is establishing with his people, the Lord says, “For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.” Praise God for the present blessing of forgiveness of sins!

3. The blessing of justification and imputed righteousness. The present blessing of justification also flows from this Jesus Christ to us. In Acts 13:39 we read, “Through him,” again meaning through Jesus Christ and no one else, “everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses.” Paul elsewhere tells us “by observing the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16).

We are all sinners, and all we say and do is marked by sin. We must forget about the notion that we can save ourselves by good works because it is an absolute impossibility! “How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?” we read in Job 25:4. And in Psalm 51 David says man is sinful from the time of conception. And this is true of all sons of Adam. All have sinned, all are guilty, and all are under God’s wrath, and we cannot help ourselves by trying to keep the law. Why? Because the law only condemns us. It is not able to justify us and impart life to us, Paul writes in Galatians 3.

How, then, can we be put right with God? How can we be acceptable to God and have fellowship with him? There is only one way: through Jesus Christ. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. By faith in Jesus we are put right with God. The moment we trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, God declares us righteous–not guilty–as though we had never sinned. At that time he also imputes the righteousness of Christ to us. The present blessings we experience include the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, and justification by God.

Have You Received God’s Message of Encouragement?

In Acts 13:39 we read, “Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.” What a wonderful word that is: Everyone! God chose Paul as an apostle to articulate this wonderful truth, that God justifies the Gentiles as well as the Jews by grace, as we read in Galatians 3:8. And in John 3:16 we read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

There is no difference between people! All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and all are welcome to believe in Jesus Christ and be justified by faith. There is no discrimination between Jew or Gentile, man or woman, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, black or white, old or young, great or small. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will be saved.

What does it mean to believe in Christ? It means a total entrustment of ourselves to Jesus Christ. It means we own him as our King, as our Lord, and as our Savior. It means we live by Jesus Christ. It means we believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried in our place, and was raised up for our salvation and justification.

Do you have need for encouragement? In Acts 13:15 the synagogue rulers told Paul and Barnabas, “Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak,” and Paul spoke of salvation through Christ. And in Acts 13:26 we read, “Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.” God sent this message of salvation, this message of encouragement, to us as a gift. Will you receive it, embrace it, and trust in Christ and be saved?

In Acts 13:32 Paul declared, “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us. . . .” This word of encouragement is not just for the people of Pisidian Antioch! It is for us as well. And what is this good news? In verse 38 we read, “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”

Young man, old man, young girl, old woman, would you apply that message to yourself? It doesn’t matter who you are. This good news was sent from Jerusalem through Syrian Antioch, Cyprus, and Pamphylia. Finally, in Pisidian Antioch there were two people sitting at the back of the synagogue, who were asked, “Do you have a message of encouragement for us?” And one of those people came forward and began to speak about Jesus Christ.–the only message of true and lasting encouragement.

A Final Warning

The fourth point Paul made was a warning not to neglect this message of encouragement. In Acts 13:40 Paul said, “Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you,” and then he quoted Habakkuk 1:5, “Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.”

The Greek word for “scoffers” means those who despise the gospel, those who despise God’s prophetic word, and the word for “perish” means “to vanish.” So when God says, “I am going to do something that you would never believe, even if someone told you,” that is speaking about judgment for anyone who rejects his prophetic word.

What was Paul saying to his listeners? Don’t treat the Lord Jesus Christ with contempt, because God will deal with scoffers. “Wonder and perish,” God is saying, meaning, “Don’t brush aside what I have done for you. In the fullness of time I took the initiative and sent my Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those who were under law that they might receive the full rights of sons. Don’t treat this wonderful plan of salvation with contempt by not embracing it.” This is the warning of God.

In closing, then, I urge you to consider these points carefully. As the writer of the Hebrews says, may we not neglect this great salvation offered to us in the word of encouragement spoken by the apostle Paul. May we, rather, receive it, embrace it, and begin to serve the Lord Jesus Christ even this day. Amen.