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The setting is a synagogue in a place called Antioch in Pisidia. Paul and Barnabas are on what many call “Paul’s First Missionary Journey”. They have been invited to speak and Paul has stood up and is delivering a speech. He has just shown that Jesus comes through the lineage of King David. He’s about to reveal “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all t

Paul is teaching in a synagogue in a place in Asia Minor named Antioch in Pisidia. He brings up something that all have longed for up to this time in history but that, even for those faithfully practicing Judaism at the time, was unattainable. That topic is the forgiveness of one’s sins. “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;” (Acts 13:38) The New American Standard Version says this a different way: “Ther

One recent afternoon I was writing on my Book of Acts Bible study text and I sensed that some of what I was writing could easily be made into a helpful and insightful article. I was so tempted to copy out a section of the study and put it into a file to work on later. I knew, though, that someone was about to come visit with me in my office and that, if I did this, I would not be totally in the session. I would physically be there but…I would not be PRESENT. My soul would not

“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?” (Proverb 1:22a) In this verse, David does something interesting. He identifies a personal quality (“simplicity” – silliness, foolishness, being EASILY SEDUCIBLE [presumably by satan’s lies]) but, first, he labels the people who live by this trait with the VERY SAME WORD. In other words, however we choose to behave habitually makes us into that. We take on the identity of that behavior which we entertain and that identity