"Some Believed And Some Believed
Not" - Why?
Acts 28:24
The preacher was the apostle Paul. The
message preached was the gospel of Christ. Paul expounded the Scriptures,
testified of his own experience of the power of God, and persuaded his hearers
to trust Christ. Yet, we read that "some believed...and some believed
not." Why did Luke write that down? What does the Holy Spirit intend for
us to learn from this fact?
Without question, the intention of the
Holy Spirit is to teach us that THE SALVATION OF SINNERS IS NOT DETERMINED BY
THE ABILITY OF THE PREACHER. I do not mean to suggest that a person can be
saved apart from the preaching of the gospel (Rom.
WHY DID SOME BELIEVE WHILE OTHERS BELIEVED
NOT? All heard the same preacher preach the same sermon under the same
circumstances. Only one explanation can be given for the faith of those who
believed.They believed because God chose them in eternity, Christ redeemed them
at Calvary, and now the Holy Spirit called them and gave them faith by his
irresistible power and grace (John 1:12-13; Rom. 9:16-18). Their salvation was
entirely God's fault and the result of God's work.
WHY DID SOME NOT BELIEVE? Their unbelief
was their own fault and the result of their own work. They did not believe
because they would not believe (John
Don Fortner