The seeds that fall on the road are those who hear the message, but then the devil comes and steals away the truth from their minds so they won't trust in God and be saved.
But these are written down here so that you may trust that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by trusting in him as he is you will have life.
Anyone who trusts in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to trust the Son will not experience eternal life but remains under God's condemnation.
I tell you the truth: those who follow what I say and trust the one who sent me have eternal life. They won't be condemned, but have gone from death to life.
So Paul and Barnabas spoke out strongly, saying “We had to speak the word of God to you first. But now that you're rejecting it—you're deciding that you're not worthy of eternal life—well now we're turning to the foreigners.
“Repent!” Peter told them. “All of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you, not by washing off dirt from your body, but as a positive response to God that comes from a clear conscience. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that makes your salvation possible.
But anyone who is a coward, who doesn't trust me, who does disgusting things, who is a murderer, who is sexually immoral, who practices witchcraft, who worships idols, who tells lies—their chosen place is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”