And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. Acts 28:24

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A literal rendering of the Greek would be, “And these, indeed, were persuaded these by speakings, and those disbelieved” (CG).

In the previous verse, the Jews came to where Paul was staying, and he spent the entire day persuading those listening concerning Jesus. He did this right from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. Now Luke records the results. He says, “And these, indeed, were persuaded by these speakings.”

Luke uses the same word just used in the previous verse and translated as “persuading.” Paul actively attempted to persuade his audience. The verb here is passive and is rightly translated as “were persuaded” rather than simply “believed.”

They went through a process of hearing the word of God and then being persuaded by what they heard. From there, Luke then records the state of the others with the words, “and those disbelieved.”

The verb is now active, and so, “…some were persuaded, and some disbelieved.” The context tells us that this was a voluntary act of free will to search out what is being conveyed concerning the message of Christ. And being persuaded still does not mean believing. If it did, the verb would have been active.

Paul reasoned with them, and they were persuaded that his conclusions were correct, but that does not mean that they accepted them. They could have said, “Yes, these Scriptures clearly indicate that what Paul says is correct, we just don’t believe the Scriptures.” Once information is conveyed, it has to be processed and then it is decided whether it will be trusted or not.

Thus, what Paul says in Romans 10:17 is borne out, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” After this verse, nothing is said about any of these Jews actually believing. In fact, Paul’s words seem to imply that none did.

There were some who were persuaded and some who simply disbelieved. Those who disbelieved may have said, “If you accept this nonsense, you are out of the synagogue.” From there, they may have walked away from Paul’s reasonings. If that were the case, it would mirror what John wrote in his gospel narrative, citing some of the same Scriptures that Paul will next cite –

But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. John 12:37-43

Life application: The Calvinistic model of salvation is that God first regenerates a person to believe. After that, the person then believes. And then, from that point, he is saved. This excludes any act of reasoning on the part of the individual, and it also excludes free will.

But this is not what the Bible teaches. If Paul believed that nonsense, he would not have spent the entire day reasoning with these people. He would not have even called them to his place of accommodation. What would be the point? In fact, what would be the point of telling anyone about Jesus at all?

But rather, the Bible is a book of reasoning out what it says has happened concerning the fall of man and what God has done to correct that event. Man chose to turn from God, and for the rest of the Bible, God’s redemptive plan is slowly and meticulously unfolded, showing us what He has done, is doing, and will continue to do to restore man to Himself.

If God was just going to regenerate a certain group, saving them after doing so, the Bible would be a galactically huge waste of effort. He could do that apart from the words of Scripture. Hold fast the truth that we need to share the message of Jesus with others. If we fail to do so, and nobody else steps up and does so, those people will not be saved.

Be a hero of the faith today! While Calvinists sit smugly in a church teaching nonsense and figuring that God will regenerate those whom He has elected, you can go out and do what is right, telling others the good news about Jesus.

Heavenly Father, help us to be responsible in our theology, understanding that You have given us Your word to read it, consider it, and carefully contemplate its truths so that we will properly conduct our lives before You all our days! Amen.