Grace Bible Church Gillette, Wyoming

1. Paul proceeds to give the conclusion to his sermon with an appeal to receive the Savior (“therefore”). He was speaking to fellow Jews (“brethren”) and the Gentiles proselytes (“men”).

2. The whole point of the sermon was that they needed to “know” (gnostos - made known) that in fulfilling the promise to the fathers, the Savior provided forgiveness of sins.

3. They also needed to know that it was only “through” (dia with genitive - agency) the agency of Jesus Christ (cf. Ac 4:12). He is the divine agent that made atonement for sin. On this basis, forgiveness of sins is made possible as well as the proclamation of it.

4. “Forgiveness” here, is the Greek word aphesis (from aphiāmi) and literally means to “send away.” In regard to “sins,” (combined with hamartia 12 of 17 uses), it has the basic idea of putting or sending sin away from the sinner.

5. In the OT, the idea of forgiveness included atonement through sacrifices made by the priests (Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35 cf. He 9:22). The idea of sending away sin was illustrated in the sending of the scapegoat out into the wilderness (“send” Lev 16:10; “released” Lev 16:26). In addition, God promised that He would send away the sin “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps 103:12) and that He would remember them no more (Is 43:25; Je 31:34; Jer 50:20).

6. However, the OT sacrifices were only a temporal covering of sin until Christ’s atonement would completely remove sin (Jn 1:29).

7. Forgiveness of sins is one of the themes of the apostles’ kerygma.

a) It was spoken of by the prophets (Ac 10:43 cf. Is 33:24; Jer 31:34; Eze 16:62-63) and is an attribute of God (Ex 34:7; Nu 14:18; Dan 9:9; Mic 7:18).

b) It has been granted through the exalted Prince and Savior (Ac 5:31).

c) It was not only provided by Christ but given to His witnesses to proclaim it (Ac 13:38).

d) It was preached on the Day of Pentecost, the first sermon of the church (Ac 2:38).

e) It is offered to all who exercise faith in Christ (Ac 26:18).

B. Forgiveness of Sins Was Only Through Faith in the Savior (Ac 13:39a)

1. Faith in the Savior alone was a part of this message of forgiveness (lit. “and in this One all the ones who are believing”). It was not faith in one’s works or in the Law of Moses.

2. Faith in Christ alone was another theme of the apostles’ kerygma.

a) Faith in Christ is the only basis for forgiveness of sins (Ac 10:43).

b) Faith in Christ is the basis for forgiveness and signs (Ac 3:16).

c) Faith in Christ is the basis for forgiveness and gifts (Ac 11:17).

d) Faith in Christ is the basis for forgiveness and an inheritance (Ac 26:18).

C. Freedom from All Things was Through the Savior (Ac 13:39b)

1. The word “freed” from all things, comes from the Greek word dikaioō, which typically means to be righteous or to be declared righteous. But when combined with the preposition “from” (apo), in this context, it means a “liberation from sin which holds man a prisoner” (WSNT).

2. Paul is speaking in reference to all that the righteous Law holds against man’s sins. Only Christ’s atonement is able to satisfy the demands of God’s law, making forgiveness of all sins available to all who believe (Ro 3:28; Ga 2:16; Ga 3:11).

3. Furthermore, the Law of Moses could not (ouk dunamai - not capable) free man from his violations of sin against the Law (He 10:1-4). Neither the priests nor their continual sacrifices could do this, only Christ’s sacrifice for sin accomplished this “once for all” (He 10:10-12).

4. The combined ideas of forgiveness and the freedom from the violation against the Law are found in Col 2:13-14.

II. WARNING AGAINST REJECTION OF THE SAVIOR (Ac 13:40-41)

A. Paul Warns of Rejection from the Prophets (Ac 13:40)

1. Paul reminds his brethren of what the prophets said about the consequences for rejecting God. To reject Christ’s fulfillment of the promises is to reject God.

2. Therefore, without fail, similar but graver consequences will “come upon” (eperxomai - come against or dome down, i.e. judgment) those who reject the Savior.

B. Quotation from Habakkuk 1:5

1. The prophet Habakkuk gave a prophecy of terrible judgment against Israel’s rejection of God.

2. Because of great turmoil and violence among the nations as well as Israel’s continual disobedience and sin, Habakkuk asked God why He had not intervened (Hab 1:1-4). God replied that He indeed was about to intervene but not in a manner that Israel would believe (Hab 1:5). Because of Israel’s continual rejection, He was “raising up the Chaldeans” to lead Judah away into Babylonian captivity (Hab 1:6-11).

3. The LXX reads “scoffers” (kataphronātās - those who look down upon in derision) for Israel who looked down upon God’s commands and warnings of captivity.

4. They would “marvel” (thaumazō - amazement) though not in a good sense. It would be in disbelief that the Lord was disciplining them. It was a chastising “work” that God was doing in which they “would never believe,” though they had been forewarned. Judah would “perish” (aphanizō - disappear, destroy) as a free nation.

5. The “work” of sending Jesus as Savior was a work of God. But He would perform a work of judgment if they looked down upon and rejected the Savior. In fact, they would never believe the consequences brought upon them by their God. They would perish by the work of His eternal judgment.

III. INITIAL RESPONSE OF THE HEARERS (Ac 13:42-43)

A. They had an Interest to Hear Again (Ac 13:42)

1. Though not stated, the names “Paul and Barnabas” were added by most translators to identify the pronoun, “they” (autōn).

2. Paul and Barnabas were leaving when the “people” (also added. Note, the KJV sees the first “they” as “the Jews” and then add “Gentiles” instead of “people”) began “begging” (imperfect of parakaleō - call alongside or implore) them to teach more on these things the following Sabbath.

3. Obviously, the working of the Holy Spirit caused great interest in what Paul had just preached.

B. They Were Encouraged to Continue in Grace (Ac 13:43)

1. When the meeting had officially “dismissed” (luō - dissolved), some from both groups, Jews and God-fearing proselytes, followed Paul and Barnabas for more instruction.

2. The parting words of Paul and Barnabas were for them to “continue in the grace of God.” It is doubtful, though possible, that some had been saved at this point (cf. Ac 13:48). Their message was for them to keep pursuing an understanding of God’s grace, which was unfolded in the coming of Jesus the Messiah. Having come to the threshold of salvation, the people were encouraged to go forward rather than reject the Savior (cf. He 2:1-3).

IV. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

1. The marvelous message of forgiveness of sins is still in effect for us today. The only hope of having our sins removed is by faith alone in the person and work of Christ (Ep 1:7; Col 1:14; He 10:15-22), not works or even a mere fancy with religion. The believer can be confident that Christ has completely removed his sins from him.

2. The judgment for rejecting the Savior is still in effect for us today, both in its reality (Mt 25:46; Mk 9:43-48; 1Th 1:9) and its message (Ro 1:18; 5:9; 1Jn 5:12).

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516