Acts 14:46,47 - We had to speak the word of God to you first

13:46

Paul and Barnabas grew bold. They spoke out quite clearly what was happening. The Jews had had the chance to hear the word of God. More generally, Jesus had come to live among the Jews, He had taught them and done many miracles amongst them, but they had rejected Him. Here Paul had spoken the gospel to them, but again they had chosen to reject it. They had chosen to reject eternal life. The situation is this, we are all sinners deserving of judgement and in need of forgiveness. The gospel offers that forgiveness, if we choose to reject the gospel then we are choosing to stand before God on our own merits, and that will not end well. Or, as it says in John 3:19 (a verse rather less frequently quoted that John 3:16), the light came into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

13:47

Paul then cites Isaiah 49:6. The Jews found it difficult to comprehend that God was so concerned for the Gentiles, yet the Scriptures themselves clearly stated (and this is only one example, Isaiah is full of them, and we can go right back to Gen 12:3) that God’s concern and His plan of salvation is for the whole earth. Now we also need to be careful, for there are those who misuse this concept, for example there are those who would say we now need to understand that God loves gay people and that we need to accept homosexuals. Now on one sense they are right, God does indeed love gay people, and the gospel is for all people, but that does not mean that homosexuality is good. The moral standards were in no way watered down by the gospel, if anything they were strengthened. The gospel is the most inclusive and diverse message on earth. The inclusivity is that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, I have, you have, they have (whoever they might be). The diversity of the gospel is that anyone who comes to Christ in faith and repentance is justified and freely receives the gift of eternal life.