Daily Worship, Spirit and Word - May 15, 2024

Paul and Barnabus preached and persuaded many Jews to ‘continue in the grace of God.”

“Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.” (Acts 13:43–46, NKJV)

After the Jews believed in Christ Jesus, many of them turned away from grace because they were offended. The were not happy about the younger brothers receiving the grace of God. (It’s similar to the parable of the prodigal son.) Many believing Jews could not accept the fact that Jesus came to extend salvation to those who did not belong to or follow the Old Testament Law Covenant. So, even though they were persuaded (faith) by the word of grace, their past beliefs and prejudices choked out their faith.

Are you persuaded to continue in the grace of God? Yes. Now that we are persuaded to continue in the grace of God, let us continue to be persuaded and to persuade ourselves further through fellowship with God. We fellowship with God through fellowship with His Presence, His Spirit, His Word, and His People. We grow in our faith when we practice our faith.