Paul's First Missionary Journey - In Pisidian Antioch; Acts 13:13 – 52 Part 8

Church History: In the midst of his discourse, to engage their attention, he told his listeners that they should be concerned about all this "To you is the word of this salvation sent, to you first. If you by your unbelief make it a word of rejection to you, you may thank yourselves; but it is sent to you for a word of salvation; if it be not so, it is your own fault." Let them not peevishly argue that because it was sent to the Gentiles, who had no communion with them, therefore it was not sent to them; for to them it was sent in the first place. "To you men this is sent, and not to the angels that sinned. To you living men, and not to the congregation of the dead and damned, whose day of grace is over." He therefore spoke to them with tenderness and respect: You are men and brethren; and so we are to look upon all those that stand fair with us for the great salvation as having the word of salvation sent to them. Those to whom he does by warrant from heaven bring the word of salvation are, the native Jews, Hebrews of the Hebrews, as Paul himself was: "Children of the stock of Abraham, though a degenerate race, yet to you is this word of salvation sent; yes, it is sent to you, to save you from your sins." It is an advantage to be of a good stock; for, though salvation does not always follow the children of godly parents, yet the word of salvation does: Abraham will command his children and his house-hold after him. The proselytes, the Gentiles by birth, which were in some degree brought over to the Jews' religion: "Whosoever among you that fear God. You that have a sense of natural religion, and have subjected yourselves to the laws of that, and taken hold of the comforts of that, to you is the word of this salvation sent; you need the further discoveries and directions of revealed religion, are prepared for them, and will bid them welcome, and therefore shall certainly be welcome to take the benefit of them."