82 Bible Verses about Gospel, Responses To

For Moses writes that, as for the righteousness which results from Law, 'those who practice it will find Life through it.' But the righteousness which results from faith finds expression in these words--'Do not say to yourself "Who will go up into heaven?"'--which means to bring Christ down--' Or "Who will go down into the depths below?"'--which means to bring Christ up from the dead.read more.
No, but what does it say? 'The Message of Faith' which we proclaim. For, if with your lips you acknowledge the truth of the Message that JESUS IS LORD, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with their hearts men believe and so attain to righteousness, while with their lips they make their Profession of Faith and so find Salvation. As the passage of Scripture says--'No one who believes in him shall have any cause for shame.' For no distinction is made between the Jew and the Greek, for all have the same Lord, and he is bountiful to all who invoke him. For 'every one who invokes the Name of the Lord shall be saved.'

I would, therefore, have you know, brothers, that through Jesus forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, And that, in union with him, every one who believes in him is absolved from every sin from which under the Law of Moses you could not be absolved.

Calling for a light, the Governor rushed in, and flung himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. Then he led them out, and said: "What must I do to be saved?" "Believe in Jesus, our Lord," they replied, "and you shall be saved, you and your household too."read more.
Then they spoke to him of God's Message, and to all his household as well.

But now, quite apart from Law, the Divine Righteousness stands revealed, and to it the Law and the Prophets bear witness-- The Divine Righteousness which is bestowed, through faith in Jesus Christ, upon all, without distinction, who believe in him. For all have sinned, and all fall short of God's glorious ideal,read more.
But, in his loving-kindness, are being freely pronounced righteous through the deliverance found in Christ Jesus. For God set him before the world, to be, by the shedding of his blood, a means of reconciliation through faith. And this God did to prove his righteousness, and because, in his forbearance, he had passed over the sins that men had previously committed; As a proof, I repeat, at the present time, of his own righteousness, that he might be righteous in our eyes, and might pronounce righteous the man who takes his stand on faith in Jesus.

Upon this the Jews began murmuring against Jesus for saying-- 'I am the Bread which came down from Heaven.' "Is not this Jesus, Joseph's son," they asked, "whose father and mother we know? How is it that he now says that he has come down from Heaven?" "Do not murmur among yourselves," said Jesus in reply.read more.
"No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him to me; and I will raise him up at the Last Day. It is said in the Prophets--'And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who is taught by the Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that any one has seen the Father, except him who is from God--he has seen the Father. In truth I tell you, he who believes in me has Immortal Life. I am the Life-giving Bread. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, and yet died. The Bread that comes down from Heaven is such that whoever eats of it will never die. I am the Living Bread that has come down from Heaven. If any one eats of this Bread, he will live for ever; and the Bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I will give for the Life of the world." Upon this the Jews began disputing with one another: "How is it possible for this man to give us his flesh to eat?"

Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ has received the new Life from God; and every one who loves him who gave that Life loves him who has received it.

Come to me, all you who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest!

True, God looked with indulgence on the days of men's ignorance, but now he is announcing to every one everywhere the need for repentance,

Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.read more.
The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be lit up; But, if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be darkened. And, if the inner light is darkness, how intense must that darkness be! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is unclouded, your whole body, also, is lit up; but, as soon as your eye is diseased, your body, also, is darkened. Take care, therefore, that the inner Light is not darkness. If, then, your whole body is lit up, and no corner of it darkened, the whole will be lit up, just as when a lamp gives you light by its brilliance."

Ask, and your prayer shall be granted; search, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you. For he that asks receives, he that searches finds, and to him that knocks the door shall be opened. Who among you, when his son asks him for a loaf, will give him a stone,read more.
Or when he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, wicked though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those that ask him! Do to others whatever you would wish them to do to you; for that is the teaching of both the Law and the Prophets.

And so I say to you--Ask, and your prayer shall be granted: search, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you. For he that asks receives, he that searches finds, and to him that knocks the door shall be opened. What father among you, if his son asks him for a fish, will give him a snake instead,read more.
Or, if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you, then, naturally wicked though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him!"

Everyone, therefore, that listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it may be compared to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock. The rain poured down, the rivers rose, the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, for its foundations were upon the rock. And every one that listens to this teaching of mine and does not act upon it may be compared to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.read more.
The rain poured down, the rivers rose, the winds blew and struck against that house, and it fell; and great was its downfall."

Every one who comes to me and listens to my teaching and acts upon it--I will show you to whom he may be compared. He may be compared to a man building a house, who dug, and went deep, and laid the foundation upon the rock. Then, when a flood came, the river swept down upon that house, but had no power to shake it, because it had been built well. But those who have listened and not acted upon what they have heard may be compared to a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The river swept down upon it, and the house immediately collapsed; and great was the crash that followed."

"All who drink of this water," replied Jesus, "will be thirsty again; But whoever once drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst any more; but the water that I will give him shall become a spring welling up within him--a source of Immortal Life."

"I am the Life-giving Bread," Jesus said to them; "he that comes to me shall never be hungry, and he that believes in me shall never thirst again. But, as I have said already, you have seen me, and yet you do not believe in me. All those whom the Father gives me will come to me; and no one who comes to me will I ever turn away.read more.
For I have come down from Heaven, to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me; And his will is this--that I should not lose one of all those whom he has given me, but should raise them up at the Last Day. For it is the will of my Father that every one who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have Immortal Life; and I myself will raise him up at the Last Day."

So Jesus went on to say to those Jews who had believed him: "If you remain constant to my Message, you are truly my disciples; And you find out the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."

I am the Door; he who goes in through me will be safe, and he will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy; I have come that they may have Life, and may have it in greater fullness.

"I am the Resurrection and the Life," said Jesus. "He that believes in me shall live, though he die; And he who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

But Jesus had proclaimed: "He who believes in me believes, not in me, but in him who sent me; And he who sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as a Light into the world, that no one who believes in me should remain in the darkness.

As Jesus was going along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the Sea, for they were fishermen. "Come and follow me," Jesus said, "and I will set you to fish for men." They left their nets at once, and followed him.

As Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew--casting a net into the Sea; for they were fishermen. "Come and follow me," Jesus said, "and I will set you to fish for men." The two men left their nets at once and followed him.read more.
Going further on, he saw two other men who were also brothers, James, Zebediah's son, and his brother John, in their boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus called them, And they at once left their boat and their father, and followed him.

Going on a little further, he saw James, Zebediah's son, and his brother John, who also were in their boat mending the nets. Jesus at once called them, and they left their father Zebediah in the boat with the crew, and went after him.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax-office, and said to him: "Follow me." Matthew got up and followed him.

As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting in the tax-office, and said to him: "Follow me." Levi got up and followed him.

After this, Jesus went out; and he noticed a tax-gatherer, named Levi, sitting in the tax-office, and said to him: "Follow me." Levi left everything and got up and followed him.

So those who accepted his teaching were baptized, and about three thousand people joined the disciples on that day alone.

Now those who had been scattered in different directions, in consequence of the persecution that followed upon the death of Stephen, went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling the Message--but only to Jews. Some of them, however, who were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, on coming to Antioch, addressed themselves also to the Jews of foreign birth, telling them the Good News about that Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, so that a great number who had learned to believe came over to the Lord's side.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly, and said: "It was necessary that the Message of God should be told to you first; but, since you reject it and reckon yourselves not worthy of the Immortal Life--we turn to the Gentiles! For this is the Lord's command to us--'I have destined thee for a Light to the Gentiles, a means of Salvation to the ends of the earth'." On hearing this, the Gentiles were glad and extolled God's Message; and all those who had been enrolled for Immortal Life became believers in Christ;

On the Sabbath we went outside the gate to the river-side, where we supposed there would be a Place of Prayer; and we sat down and talked to the women who were gathered there. Among them was a woman, named Lydia, belonging to Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth, who was accustomed to join in the worship of God. The Lord touched this woman's heart, so that she gave attention to the Message delivered by Paul, And, when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us to become her guests. "Since you have shown your conviction," she said, "that I really am a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house." And she insisted on our doing so.

But, though Jesus had given so many signs of his mission before their eyes, they still did not believe in him, In fulfillment of the words of the Prophet Isaiah, where he says--'Lord, who has believed our teaching? And to whom has the might of the Lord been revealed?' The reason why they were unable to believe is given by Isaiah elsewhere, in these words--read more.
'He has blinded their eyes, and blunted their mind, so that they should not see with their eyes, and perceive with their mind, and turn--And I should heal them.' Isaiah said this, because he saw Christ's glory; and it was of him that he spoke.

That is why I speak to them in parables, because, though they have eyes, they do not see, and though they have ears, they do not hear or understand. And in them is being fulfilled that prophecy of Isaiah which says--'You will hear with your ears without ever understanding, And, though you have eyes, you will see without ever perceiving, For the mind of this nation has grown dense, And their ears are dull of hearing, Their eyes also have they closed; Lest some day they should perceive with their eyes, And with their ears they should hear, And in their mind they should understand, and should turn--And I should heal them.'

Afterwards, when he was alone, his followers and the Twelve asked him about his parables; And he said: "To you the hidden truth of the Kingdom of God has been imparted; but to those who are outside it all teaching takes the form of parables, that-- 'Though they have eyes, they may see without perceiving; And though they have ears, they may hear without understanding; Lest some day they should turn and be forgiven.'

His disciples asked Jesus the meaning of this parable. "To you," he said, "the knowledge of the hidden truths of the Kingdom of God has been imparted, but to others in parables only, that 'though they have eyes they may not see, and though they have ears, they may not understand.'

The rest grew callous; as Scripture says--'God has given them a deadness of mind--eyes that are not to see and ears that are not to hear--and it is so to this very day.'

This, then, as one in union with the Lord, I say to you and urge upon you: Do not continue to live such purposeless lives as the Gentiles live, With their powers of discernment darkened, cut off from the Life of God, owing to the ignorance that prevails among them and to the hardness of their hearts. Lost to all sense of shame, they have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, in order to practice every kind of impurity without restraint.

By the seed which was sown among the brambles is meant the man who hears the Message, but the cares of life and the glamour of wealth completely choke the Message, so that it gives no return.

Those meant by the seed sown among the brambles are different; they are the people who hear the Message, But the cares of life, and the glamour of wealth, and cravings for many other things come in and completely choke the Message, so that it gives no return.

By that which fell among the brambles are meant those who hear the Message, but who, as they go on their way, are completely choked by this world's cares and wealth and pleasures, and bring nothing to perfection.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

No servant can serve two masters, for, either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will attach himself to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

for Demas, in his love for the world, has deserted me. He has gone to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

Unfaithful people! Do not you know that to be friends with the world means to be at enmity with God? Therefore whoever chooses to be friends with the world makes himself an enemy to God.

Do not love the world or what the world can offer. When any one loves the world, there is no love for the Father in him;

He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not help me to gather is scattering.

He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not help me to gather is scattering.

To be earthly-minded means Death, to be spiritually minded means Life and Peace; Because to be earthly-minded is to be an enemy to God, for such a mind does not submit to the Law of God, nor indeed can it do so. They who are earthly cannot please God.

No one, however, spoke freely about him, for fear of the Jews. About the middle of the Festival week, Jesus went up into the Temple Courts, and began teaching. The Jews were astonished. "How has this man got his learning," they asked, "when he has never studied?"read more.
So, in reply, Jesus said: "My teaching is not my own; it is his who sent me. If any one has the will to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching is from God, or whether I speak on my own authority. The man who speaks on his own authority seeks honor for himself; but the man who seeks the honor of him that sent him is sincere, and there is nothing false in him. Was not it Moses who gave you the Law? Yet not one of you obeys it! Why are you seeking to put me to death?" "You must be possessed by a demon!" the people exclaimed. "Who is seeking to put you to death?"

When the Jews gathered round him, and said: "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us so frankly." "I have told you so," replied Jesus, "and you do not believe me. The work that I am doing in my Father's name bears testimony to me. But you do not believe me, because you are not of my flock.read more.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me; And I give them Immortal Life, and they shall not be lost; nor shall any one snatch them out of my hands. What my Father has entrusted to me is more than all else; and no one can snatch anything out of the Father's hands. The Father and I are one." The Jews again brought stones to throw at him; And seeing this, Jesus said: "I have done before your eyes many good actions, inspired by the Father; for which of them would you stone me?" "It is not for any good action that we would stone you," answered the Jews, "but for blasphemy; and because you, who are only a man, make yourself out to be God."

So they ordered them out of court, and then began consulting together. "What are we to do to these men?" they asked one another. "That a remarkable sign has been given through them is obvious to every one living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But, to prevent this thing from spreading further among the people, let us warn them not to speak in this Name any more to any one whatever."read more.
So they called the Apostles in, and ordered them not to speak or teach in the Name of Jesus.

At this the High Priest was roused to action, and he and all his supporters (who formed the party of the Sadducees), moved by jealousy, Arrested the Apostles, and had them placed in custody. An angel of the Lord, however, opened the prison doors at night and led them out.read more.
"Go," he said, "and stand in the Temple Courts, and tell the people the whole Message of this new Life." When they heard this, they went at daybreak into the Temple Courts, and began to teach. The High Priest and his party, on their arrival, summoned the High Council, including all the leading men among the Israelites, and sent to the jail to fetch the Apostles. But, when the officers got there, they did not find them in the prison; so they returned and reported that, While they had found the goal barred securely and the guards posted at the doors, yet, on opening them, they had not found any one inside. When the Officer in charge at the Temple and the Chief Priests heard their story, they were perplexed about the Apostles and as to what all this would lead to. Presently, however, some one came and told them, that the men whom they had put in prison were actually standing in the Temple Courts, teaching the people. On this, the Officer went with his men and fetched the Apostles--without using violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people-- And then brought them before the Council. The High Priest demanded an explanation from them. "We gave you strict orders," he said, "not to teach in this Name. Yet you have actually flooded Jerusalem with your teaching, and you want to make us responsible for the death of this man."

O! stubborn race, heathen in heart and ears, you are for ever resisting the Holy Spirit; your ancestors did it, and you are doing it still. Which of the Prophets escaped persecution at their hands? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One; of whom you, in your turn, have now become the betrayers and murderers-- You who received the Law as transmitted by angels and yet failed to keep it."

Paul went to the Synagogue there, and for three months spoke out fearlessly, giving addresses and trying to convince his hearers, about the kingdom of God. Some of them, however, hardened their hears and refused to believe, denouncing the Cause before the people. So Paul left them and withdrew his disciples, and gave daily addresses in the lecture-hall of Tyrannus.

But, just as the seven days were drawing to a close, the Jews from Roman Asia caught sight of Paul in the Temple, and caused great excitement among all the people present, by seizing Paul and shouting: "Men of Israel! help! This is the man who teaches every one everywhere against our People, our Law, and this Place; and, what is more, he has actually brought Greeks into the Temple and defiled this sacred place." (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in Paul's company in the city, and were under the belief that Paul had taken him into the Temple.)read more.
The whole city was stirred, and the people quickly collected, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the Temple, when the doors were immediately shut. They were bent upon killing him, when it was reported to the Officer commanding the garrison, that all Jerusalem was in commotion. He instantly got together some officers and men, and charged down upon the crowd, who, when they saw the Commanding Officer and his men, stopped beating Paul.

For you, Brothers, began to follow the example of the Churches of God in Judea which are in union with Jesus Christ; you, in your turn, suffering at the hands of your fellow-citizens, in the same way as those Churches did at the hands of the Jews-- The men who killed both the Lord Jesus and the Prophets, and persecuted us also. They do not try to please God, and they are enemies to all mankind, For they would prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles with a view to their Salvation, and thus are always 'filling up the measure of their iniquity.' But the Wrath of God has come upon them to the full!

Therefore we must give still more heed to what we were taught, for fear we should drift away. For, if the Message which was delivered by angels had its authority confirmed, so that every offence against it, or neglect of it, met with a fitting requital, how can we, of all people, expect to escape, if we disregard so great a Salvation? It was the Master who at the outset spoke of this Salvation, and its authority was confirmed for us by those who heard him,read more.
while God himself added his testimony to it by signs, and marvels, and many different miracles, as well as by imparting the Holy Spirit as he saw fit.

What good is it to a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what could a man give that is of equal value with his life? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my teaching, in this unfaithful and wicked generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his Father's Glory with the holy angels."

I will show you of whom you should be afraid. Be afraid of him who, after killing you, has the power to fling you into the Pit. Yes, I say, be afraid of him.

Jesus went through towns and villages, teaching as he went, and making his way towards Jerusalem. "Master," some one asked, "are there but few in the path of Salvation?" And Jesus answered: "Strive to go in by the small door. Many, I tell you, will seek to go in, but they will not be able,read more.
When once the master of the house has got up and shut the door, while you begin to say, as you stand outside and knock, 'Sir, open the door for us.' His answer will be--'I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say 'We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets,' and his reply will be-- 'I do not know where you come from. Leave my presence, all you who are living in wickedness.' There, there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets, in the Kingdom of God, while you yourselves are being driven outside. People will come from East and West, and from North and South, and take their places at the banquet in the Kingdom of God. there are some who are last now who will then be first, and some who are first now who will then be last!"

When any one hears my teaching and pays no heed to it, I am not his judge; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects me, and disregards my teaching, has a judge already--the very Message which I have delivered will itself be his judge at the Last Day. For I have not delivered it on my own authority; but the Father, who sent me, has himself given me his command as to what I should say, and what message I should deliver.read more.
And I know that Immortal Life lies in keeping his command. Therefore, whatever I say, I say only what the Father has taught me."

For if those who were once for all brought into the Light, and learned to appreciate the gift from Heaven, and came to share in the Holy Spirit, and learned to appreciate the beauty of the Divine Message, and the new powers of the Coming Age-- if those, I say, fell away, it would be impossible to bring them again to repentance; they would be crucifying the Son of God over again for themselves, and exposing him to open contempt.

How much worse then, think you, will be the punishment deserved by those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God, who have treated the blood that rendered the Covenant valid--the very blood by which they were purified--as of no account, and who have outraged the Spirit of Love? We know who it was that said-- 'It is for me to avenge, I will requite'; and again-- 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.

Beware how you refuse to hear him who is speaking. For, if the Israelites did not escape punishment, when they refused to listen to him who taught them on earth the divine will, far worse will it be for us, if we turn away from him who is teaching us from Heaven.

These men are like springs without water, or mists driven before a gale; and for them the blackest darkness has been reserved. With boastful and foolish talk, they appeal to the passions of man's lower nature, and, by their profligacy, entice those who are just escaping from the men who live such misguided lives. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corrupt habits; for a man is the slave of anything to which he gives way.read more.
If, after having escaped the polluting influences of the world, through knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, men are again entangled in them, and give way to them, their last state has become worse than their first. It would, indeed, have been better for them not to have known the Way of Righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn away from the holy Command delivered to them. In their case is seen the truth of the proverb-- 'A dog returns to what he has vomited' and 'A sow after washing to her wallowing-place in the mud.'

And a man came up to Jesus, and said: "Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain Immortal life?" "Why ask me about goodness?" answered Jesus. "There is but One who is good. If you want to enter the Life, keep the commandments." "What commandments?" asked the man. "These," answered Jesus:-- "'Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not say what is false about others.read more.
Honor thy father and thy mother.' And 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost thyself." "I have observed all these," said the young man. "What is still wanting in me?" "If you wish to be perfect," answered Jesus, "go and sell your property, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; then come and follow me." On hearing these words, the young man went away distressed, for he had great possessions.

And, as Jesus was resuming his journey, a man came running up to him, and threw himself on his knees before him. "Good Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to gain Immortal Life?" "Why do you call me good?" answered Jesus. "No one is good but God. You know the commandments--'Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not say what is false about others. Do not cheat. Honor thy father and thy mother.'"read more.
"Teacher," he replied, "I have observed all these from my childhood." Jesus looked at the man, and his heart went out to him, and he said: "There is still one thing wanting in you; go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall heave wealth in Heaven; then come and follow me." But the man's face clouded at these words, and he went away distressed, for he had great possessions.

And one of the Presidents asked Jesus this question--"Good Teacher, what must I do if I am to gain Immortal Life?" "Why do you call me good?" answered Jesus. "No one is good but God. You know the commandments--'Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not say what is false about others, Honor thy father and thy mother.'"read more.
"I have observed all these," he replied, "from childhood." Hearing this, Jesus said to him: "There is one thing still lacking in you; sell everything that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; then come and follow me." But the man became greatly distressed on hearing this, for he was extremely rich.

To this Peter and the Apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging him on a cross. It is this Jesus whom God has exalted to his right hand, to be a Guide and a Savior, to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.read more.
And we are witness to the truth of this, and so is the Holy Spirit--the gift of God to those who obey him." The members of the Council became frantic with rage on hearing this, and were for putting the Apostles to death.

O! stubborn race, heathen in heart and ears, you are for ever resisting the Holy Spirit; your ancestors did it, and you are doing it still. Which of the Prophets escaped persecution at their hands? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One; of whom you, in your turn, have now become the betrayers and murderers-- You who received the Law as transmitted by angels and yet failed to keep it."read more.
As they listened to this, the Council grew frantic with rage, and gnashed their teeth at Stephen. He, filled as he was with the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes intently on the heavens, and saw the Glory of God and Jesus standing at God's right hand. "Look," he exclaimed, "I see Heaven open and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand!" At this, with a loud shout, they stopped their ears and all rushed upon him, forced him outside the city, And began to stone him, the witnesses laying their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

On hearing of a resurrection of the dead, some began jeering, but others said that they would hear what he had to say about that another time.

On the following Sabbath, almost all the city gathered to hear God's Message. But the sight of the crowds of people filled the minds of the Jews with jealousy, and they kept contradicting Paul's statements in violent language. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly, and said: "It was necessary that the Message of God should be told to you first; but, since you reject it and reckon yourselves not worthy of the Immortal Life--we turn to the Gentiles!read more.
For this is the Lord's command to us--'I have destined thee for a Light to the Gentiles, a means of Salvation to the ends of the earth'."

Just about that time a great disturbance arose about the Cause. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver models of the shrine of Artemis, and so gave a great deal of work to the artisans, Got these men together, as well as the workmen engaged in similar occupations, and said: "Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this work,read more.
And you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but in almost the whole of Roman Asia, this Paul has convinced and won over great numbers of people, by his assertion that those Gods which are made by hands are not Gods at all. So that not only is this business of ours likely to fall into discredit, but there is the further danger that the Temple of the great Goddess Artemis will be thought nothing of, and that she herself will be deprived of her splendor--though all Roman Asia and the whole world worship her." When they heard this, the men were greatly enraged, and began shouting--"Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

Some days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was herself a Jewess, and, sending for Paul, listened to what he had to say about faith in Christ Jesus. But, while Paul was speaking at length about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became terrified, and interrupted him--"Go for the present, but, when I find an opportunity, I will send for you again."

While Paul was making this defense, Festus called out loudly: "You are mad, Paul; your great learning is driving you mad." "I am not mad, your Excellency," he replied; "on the contrary, the statements that I am making are true and sober. Indeed, the King knows about these matters, so I speak before him without constraint. I am sure that there is nothing whatever of what I have been telling him that has escaped his attention; for all this has not been done in a corner.read more.
King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know you do." But Agrippa said to Paul: "You are soon trying to make a Christian of me!"

I have given them thy Message; and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, even as I do not belong to the world.

But, when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that God's Message had been delivered by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, exciting and disturbing the minds of the people.

But Elymas, the astrologer (for that is the meaning of the word), opposed them, eager to divert the Governor's attention from the Faith.

But the Jews, becoming jealous, engaged some worthless fellows from the streets, and, getting a mob together, kept the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason's house, with the intention of bringing Paul and Silas before the Popular Assembly; And, not finding them there, they proceeded to drag Jason and some of the Brethren before the City Magistrates, shouting out: "These men, who have turned the world upside down, have now come here, And have been harbored by Jason! They say that some one else is king--a man called Jesus!"read more.
On hearing this, the people and the City Magistrates were much concerned; And, before letting them go, they took bail from Jason and the others.

Saul approved of his being put to death. On that very day a great persecution broke out against the Church which was in Jerusalem; and its members, with the exception of the Apostles, were all scattered over the districts of Judea and Samaria. Some religious men buried Stephen, with loud lamentations for him. But Saul began to devastate the Church; he entered house after house, dragged out men and women alike, and threw them into prison.

On hearing his, we felt encouraged about you, Brothers, in the midst of all our difficulties and troubles, by your faith.

And the Lord's Message was carried throughout that district. But the Jews incited the women of position who worshiped with them, and the leading men of the town, and started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their neighborhood.

So much is this the case that we ourselves speak with pride, before the Churches of God, of the patience and faith which you have shown, in spite of all the persecutions and troubles that you are enduring.