Paul's gospel message focussed on how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies, especially those about His resurrection. Forgiveness of sins was announced, with a warning not to reject or ignore the message of life (Acts 13:38-41). Having spoken the truth, the apostle knew that God was still speaking to the congregation; and so he waited to see how people would respond.

Before Paul and Barnabas had left the synagogue, there was consensus among the people to invite them back to teach on the next Sabbath. They wanted to explore the Scriptures about Jesus. But after the congregation had dispersed, it was clear that the Holy Spirit had already taken the message right into many people's hearts. They were convinced that Jesus is God's Messiah and they believed that He died to take away their sin and give them a new living relationship with Father God. They had welcomed the grace of Christ.

The new believers were hungry to grow their faith. They were spiritually young and immature, but they were alive … and they knew it. It was obvious to Paul and Barnabas that they had grasped, and been grasped by the grace of God. And so they spent time with them; teaching and answering questions in the usual way the rabbis tutored their disciples. The apostle's objective was that their new faith should not be crushed but be nourished by God's truth.

It is a great privilege to evangelise. Presenting the real Jesus to people who have little understanding about salvation, cuts through the spiritual darkness and fog. The Holy Spirit is at work, interpreting His Word to hungry hearts and confronting them with the need to repent. Our responsibility then is to 'follow through'. Like infants, new believers need spiritual older siblings to help them to live their new life. They need encouragement when facing opposition, rebuke and correction when they are wrong, and training so that they can live for Jesus and serve Him effectively (2 Timothy 3:16-17). In business it is called mentoring; in the Christian life it is called disciple-making (Matthew 28:19-20). Learn how to be a spiritual mentor, and make disciples for Jesus' sake.