'A Prince and a Saviour'

Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. - Acts 5:31

    When Peter and the rest of the apostles stood before the high priest and the Sadducees, they were commanded not to teach or preach in the name of the Lord Jesus. 'Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men' (5:29). They gave three specific reasons why they had to go on preaching Christ and him crucified to all who would hear them.

    1. Jesus Christ is the exalted Lord of glory

    'The God of our fathers hath raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour' (5:30-31). If Jesus Christ is indeed our only Lord, we must obey him!

    2. This Prince and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the sinner's only hope

    God has exalted him 'to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins' (5:31). Sinners have no hope without Christ. He alone can give life to dead sinners. Christ alone can change the heart. Only Christ can forgive sin. If we do not tell perishing sinners about him, they will perish for ever under the wrath of God.

    3. 'And we are his witnesses' (5:32)

    The apostles were the representatives of Messiah, the Prince. They were, by the power of God the Holy Spirit, acting by the authority of God himself. They asserted that their teaching and preaching could not be set aside by any earthly, human authority, civil or ecclesiastical. Are we his witnesses? If so, we are under the constraint of love and allegiance to Christ our almighty, sovereign King, to proclaim him to men, in so far as we are able to fill the world with his doctrine.

    Our mission as his witnesses is twofold. First and foremost, we seek to exalt, magnify and glorify the name of God our Saviour. Above all else, let us seek the glory of God (1 Kings 18:36-37). Second, we seek the salvation of God's elect, realizing that it is not possible for sinners to be saved until they know Christ and that they cannot know him unless someone tells them who he is and what he has done (Rom.1:16-17; 10:13-17; 1Cor.1:21-24;Matt.28: 18-20).

    Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?

    We know that Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1-3). We also know that Christ Jesus is a real man, God incarnate (1Tim.3: 16;Isa. 9:6). He is the God-man, as much God as though he were not man, and as much man as though he were not God. But in the text under consideration, the Holy Spirit describes the Lord Jesus Christ in his saving character as 'a Prince [King] and a Saviour'. Those who are so taught of God that in their hearts they know Christ as both 'a Prince and a Saviour' are saved persons. They bow to Christ as their Prince and trust him as their Saviour. Some see Christ only as a Prince to regulate their lives. So they have a lifeless religion of laws and works. Others see Christ only as a Saviour to keep them out of hell. Because they do not recognize Christ's lordship, they live as licentious antinomians. Their religion, having no real effect upon their hearts and lives, is a useless religion. Only those who see the Lord Jesus Christ as both 'a Prince and a Saviour' are true believers. True believers resign themselves to Christ's will and subject the passions of their souls to Christ, their glorious Prince. They yield themselves to his will, direction and control as their Lord. At the same time they trust Christ as their Saviour, realizing the infinite sufficiency of his righteousness and the infinite merit of his blood as the sinners' substitute for the pardon of sin and everlasting acceptance with God.

    No one is saved until he bows to Christ the Prince, acknowledging him as his Lord (Rom. 10:9-10; 1Cor.12:3; Luke 14:25-33). As C. H. Spurgeon says, 'No man has truly given himself to Christ until he has said, "My Lord, I give thee this day my body, my soul, my power, my talents, my goods, my house, my children, and all that I have. Henceforth, I hold them at thy will, as a steward under thee. Thine they are. As for me, I have nothing. I have surrendered all to thee!"' If we would have Christ as our Saviour, we must have him as our Prince, our Lord and King. If he is not our Ruler and Commander, he is not our Saviour. One of the first instincts of a newborn soul is to fall at the Saviour's feet in adoring, worshipful submission, crying, 'Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?' (Acts 9:6). A person saved by the grace of God does not need to be told that he is under solemn obligations to serve Christ. The new life within tells him that! It is no burden to the believing heart to be under Christ's yoke. It is our delight! He who believes gladly surrenders to Christ as his Master (1John 5:2). As soon asa sinner sees the glory and grace of God in Christ by faith, he willingly bows before his throne crying:

    All to Jesus I surrender,

    All to him I freely give!

    I will ever love and trust him,

    In his presence daily live.

    Christ must be acknowledged as our rightful Prince and trusted as our only Saviour. He is a Prince with sovereign authority and power. He is a Saviour with infinite merit and grace. Jesus Christ, the God-man, has established the grounds of salvation—righteousness ! He has paid the price for salvation—his own blood! And he possesses the power to save all who come to God by him (Heb. 7:25; John 17:2).

    What are the conditions of salvation?

    That may appear to be a strange question to some, but Acts 5:31 sets before us two things required by God, two conditions that must be met before a holy, righteous and just God can save any sinner. They are 'repentance . . . and forgiveness of sins'.

    Repentance is the work and gift of God's goodness and grace (Rom. 2:4;Zech. 12:10). It is a change of character, a change of heart brought about by the regenerating power and grace of God the Holy Spirit. Without genuine repentance there is no faith in the heart, no salvation wrought in the soul, no true hope of life to come (Isa. 55:6-7; Matt. 9:13; Mark 6:12;Luke 13:3; 24:47; Acts2:38; 20:21; 2 Tim. 2:25; Rev. 2:5). Repentance is constant. Like faith, it is a lifelong grace. Yet repentance is no grounds for salvation. Repentance cannot satisfy justice and atone for sin.

    Forgiveness must be granted by God our Saviour. In order for a holy, just God to forgive sin four things must be done. First, the sinner must be punished. Secondly, justice must be satisfied. Thirdly, the sin must be removed, put away, annihilated from record. And, fourthly, the sinner must be made righteous. This can be accomplished only through the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and the free imputation of his righteousness to us by the grace of God (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:24-26).

    This repentance and forgiveness of sins are the gift of Christ to all the Israel of God, to all who look to him in faith. Every sinner who looks to Christ is forgiven of all sin forever and is saved (Isa. 45:22). Once a sinner knows that he is forgiven, he truly repents of his sins (Ps. 32:1-5; 51:1-17; Zech. 12:10).