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The conclusion of the sermon:
v. 38. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins;
v. 39: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses.
v. 40. Beware therefore lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets,
v. 41. Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
v. 42. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
v. 43. Now, when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
Since the facts adduced by Paul proved the Messiahship of Jesus, he could now continue his discourse by offering to his hearers the benefit of Christ's mediation before God. He wants it clearly understood by all that through Christ, through the power and completeness of His redemption, forgiveness of sins is announced to them, not as a prize to be earned or merited, but as a gift to be accepted. Paul literally declares: And from all that they could not receive absolution and righteousness from in the Law of Moses, in this every one that believes is justified. Far from yielding to the Law any ability to justify, as some commentators have believed, Paul rather denies that there is such a thing as justification by the Law. He appeals to the experience of his hearers. In spite of all their efforts to fulfill the Law, they must have had the feeling that all such attempts were hopelessly inadequate. The harder they tried to live up to every demand of the Law, the more. they must feel the condemnation, not the justification, of the Law. All the more necessary, then, it was for them to turn to Christ, in whom every one that believes is justified. His words imply that the justification, the righteousness of Jesus, is present before all men, but that only such as accept its blessings by faith actually join the ranks of those that are justified before God. To impress these last points upon his audience, Paul adds a final word of warning. They should beware lest the saying in the book of the prophets find its application with them, Hab_1:5 : See, you shameless people, and wonder, and perish, for a work I do in your days, a work which you will not believe, even if someone explain it to you. That is the punishment which strikes such as despise the message of the Gospel and harden their hearts against its glories. They see, but do not understand; they wonder, but do not believe; they become the prey of spiritual and, finally, of eternal death. The great work of redemption through the merits of Christ, done before their very eyes, they will not, and therefore finally they cannot believe, no matter how often it is pictured to them. This warning is fully in order today. Every one that hears and reads the Word of the Gospel should be sure to make the application to himself and accept the comfort of the forgiveness of sins earned by Christ, lest he receive the mercy of God in vain. The discourse of Paul made a deep impression, even though no immediate emotional reaction occurred. As he and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, those that were present earnestly begged them to repeat all these words, to proclaim the Gospel-message to them again on one of the days between the Sabbath, that is, on Monday and Thursday, when services were also held in the synagogue. And when the services of the morning had been closed an& the assembly dismissed, many of the Jews, the descendants of Abraham, as well as pious proselytes, such Gentiles as had accepted the Jewish doctrine and by circumcision become proselytes of the covenant, followed Paul and Barnabas, and the missionaries took the opportunity to talk to them and to exhort them to hold firmly to the grace of God. When people have once shown an interest in the message of the Gospel, they must be encouraged again and again to put their trust in, and cling firmly to, the grace of God. The power of the Spirit in the message will do the rest.