In Acts 13:26, Paul was speaking in the synagogue at Antioch. Up to this point, after Paul’s conversion, he had been traveling with John the apostle and Barnabas, only teaching matters concerning the Jewish people. Israel had rejected their Messiah and God was offering them one last chance to confess their great mistake. However, in verses 14 and 15, the Jews in the synagogue asked if Paul or Barnabas (at this point John had returned to Jerusalem) if they had any word from the Lord.
At this point Paul began to speak. He started by giving testimony of Jesus being the promised Messiah. Then, in verse 26, Paul explained that he had a word of salvation. In verses 36 through 39, he then revealed this salvation was completely outside of the Old Testament law. It expanded far beyond the sacrificial system Israel had been given. Now, forgiveness of sins was completely through the work of Jesus.
From this point on, Paul preached this salvation message. In verses 42 through 46, many Jews and non-Jews accepted the words of Paul. However, there were other Jews who could not accept Paul preaching this salvation, especially to non-Jews outside of the Israel covenant.
However, Jews were not the only people who struggled with accepting this salvation of grace. In Acts 14:8-15, Paul and Barnabas arrived in Lystra. After healing a man, the Roman polytheistic people believed Paul and Barnabas to be gods. They were prepared to bow down to them and offer sacrifices. This has been a continuous pattern among men, to desire idols and offer sacraments. Even for non-Jews, a purely grace gospel was not easy to accept.
Even the apostles and elders of the Jerusalem church had to meet to consider this grace salvation. In Acts 15:4-7, there was a debate whether there was salvation offered to people outside of the nation of Israel. Some within the Jerusalem church insisted that the Gentiles needed to be circumcised and keep the law. However, this meeting concluded with Peter affirming the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, defending their doctrine. Paul mentioned this in Galatians 2:7-9.
Yet, even after Peter’s defense of Paul’s ministry, he still struggled with Paul’s grace gospel. In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul addressed Peter’s own hesitancy to consistently affirm this new dispensation of grace. This was because Paul’s ministry was completely different from the Jewish covenant and obligations. Peter himself confessed this in 2 Peter 3:15-16.
The fact is, while the dispensation of grace provides a salvation that is incredibly simple, it is hard to accept. Humanity has struggled with just receiving it as it is. It is so simple and so straightforward, many have insisted there must be more to it. Because the Old Testament law was so highly structured and taught in length, many people cannot resist the urge to mix in some of Israel’s obligations. This has led to great confusion and division amongst Christianity. In fact, Paul’s ministry was rejected by many even in his own lifetime as he attested in 2 Timothy 1:15. However, we must stand firm on the full word of God, including our age of grace (1 Cor.1:18-25).
