Acts 13 Devotional

Justified Where the Law Could Not

“Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”Acts 13:39 (BSB)

The mission to the nations begins in a worship service. While the church at Antioch is worshiping and fasting, the Holy Spirit tells them to set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work he has called them to (13:2). In the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch, Paul walks through Israel's history and shows how God kept his promise to David by bringing the Savior Jesus (13:23). Jesus was condemned and buried, but God raised him (13:28-30).

Then Paul gives the good news in plain terms. Forgiveness is announced through Jesus, and everyone who trusts him is declared right with God in every way the law of Moses never could (13:38-39). When Gentiles hear this, they rejoice, and those God had appointed to eternal life come to faith (13:48). Behind each person's faith stands God's own purpose. Even when opposition drives them out of town, the disciples are filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (13:52). Your standing with God rests on what Jesus has done, not on how well you keep the rules.

To think about: What rule or standard are you still trying to keep in order to feel right with God, and how does this chapter speak to that?