It's marvelous. Okay, open your
Bibles, if you would, to Acts chapter 15. Again, we're continuing
our study of this wonderful book. The name and the message is known
unto God. God knows all things. He knows
all things. Before they happen, He knows
all things. All things. Everything. It's
absolutely incredible. He wouldn't be God if He didn't.
If he wasn't all-knowing, if he wasn't all-powerful, then
he wouldn't be God, would he? And you see, the God of man's
imagination is this. He wants to save you, but he
can't unless you let him. That's not the God of the Bible,
is it? Brother Tom, the God of the Bible
saved you and I on purpose. According to his will and purpose
for maternity. And he did it all by his almighty
power. We are mere receivers. Somebody give you a gift? A gift that you didn't earn?
gift that you didn't deserve, they just give you a gift. What
do you do? You receive it, don't you? That's
all we are. We just receive the grace of
God in Christ. It's absolutely marvelous. And
then we marvel that God saved us for the rest of our lives
upon this earth after we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God
and given faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We marvel
that God saved our souls. It's absolutely incredible. We don't deserve it. We can't
earn it. But he gives us salvation in
Christ. And what's the cost of our salvation? Well, you bought
with price, aren't we? The precious blood of Christ.
The redeeming blood of the God-man. God incarnate in the flesh. And
this is who, this is who Peter and James and John and Paul and
Barnabas, this is who they preach. They preach the sovereign. I
was talking to someone this week, and they said, well, you know,
there's several words that aren't in the Bible. And I said, yeah. And they said, one of them is
sovereign. I think I mentioned this to you guys, actually it
happened last week. And I said, yeah. I said, but it's all through the scriptures.
And I went home, I was thinking about it. We don't have kings very much
anymore, do we? But when a king reigned, Zane
and I were talking about this this week. When a king reigned,
he was called a king through his people, but there was also
another name that was used for kings. Somebody just say it? Sovereign. Amen, brother. You're
called a sovereign. What's the Lord Jesus Christ
called? King of kings and Lord of lords. Beloved, he says, Brother
Brian, he's a sovereign of sovereigns, man. He's king and he reigns supreme. And it's glorious. It's glorious. And he is the one who's had mercy
on us. He's the one who's had mercy on us. Let's stand up together
and read Part of the portion that we're gonna look at today,
in Acts chapter 15, we're gonna read verses seven to 11 together,
and then we'll work our way through a little bit more in this chapter.
Acts 15, verses seven to 11. And when there had been much
disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren,
ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us,
that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel
and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts,
bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost as he did unto
us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their
hearts by faith. Now therefore, why tempt ye God
to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither
our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved,
even as they. Oh, wonderful, wonderful, okay.
Now last week, we looked at verses one to seven, and the name of
the message was Law or Grace. Law or Grace. The Judaizers had
come in, to the church at Antioch, and
look what they had said in verse one. And certain men which came
down from Judea taught the brethren and said, except ye be circumcised
after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. Acts 15, one. Look at that. So they said, they
come down and they said, basically what they're saying is if you
don't keep the law of Moses, you can't be saved. Now, you
can take the word circumcision there and put baptism in there.
There's a whole denomination that says, except you be baptized,
you can't be saved. It's the same lie. It's adding
man's works to the finished perfect work of Christ, which pollutes
it. And it's no longer grace. I don't
care if it's a pinprick or something we do. It's no longer grace. Oh my. And self-righteous false teachers,
they're called the Judaizers. They were the same ones they
dealt with in Galatia, or the churches in Galatia. They crept
into the church at Antioch, and we see in verse 7 that they were
spreading the poison of their false teachings among the Gentile
churches, adding man's work to the finished work of Christ.
And we see that there had been Disputing so it remember last
week. We looked in the Greek. It was
heated. They were these were heated and Paul now let us always
remember this as we're talking to people who do not know Christ
We do not debate the Bible We proclaim what it says Don't
ever debate someone over the Bible Just proclaim what it says
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The
earth was formed in void, and darkness was upon the face of
the earth. And God said, let there be light, and there was
light. There it is. No need to debate about it. No big bang. God spoke it into existence. Period, right? Neither is there
any other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. That name is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't
it? Period. We're not to waste our time debating. Now, I used to love to debate
when I was in religion. But I realize now, it's just
a waste of time. Just present it. Just present it. You'll get enough
feedback, don't worry. If you just present the truth,
you'll get feedback. And then you can present some
more truth. Right? And talk about it. And
what did the Lord tell the gathering demoniac? Go and tell the great
things the Lord has done for you. He saved my soul. I've been
redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Praise his mighty name.
Right? My, oh my. And we see that these false teachers
were teaching salvation through law keeping. But the law can
never save anyone, beloved. You know what the law does? It shows us we're guilty before
God. Now, do we love the law of God as God's people? Absolutely,
it's holy. It comes from our holy God. But
I'll tell you this, not one of us can keep it. And James even says, you wanna
keep one law, you gotta keep them all. See, people cherry pick things,
don't they? Say, well, oh, you gotta be like this, and you gotta
be like that. Well, what about all the other stuff? Oh my, it's awful. We are so
free in Christ that we don't know how free we are. It's absolutely
amazing. Listen to this in Romans 3, verse
19. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law.
Who's under the law? Every man, woman, and child born
into this world. That's who's under the law. But
the scripture says of the redeemed. Do you know we're not under the
law anymore? Galatians tells us, Brother Brian,
we've been redeemed out from under the law. And then Paul goes so far in
Galatians 5, verse 1, he says, don't be entangled again in the
yoke of bondage. Don't get tangled up in this
workspace stuff. Rest and trust in Christ and
Him alone. His burden's light, isn't it?
Oh, it sure is. We live our lives now looking
to Christ. Ordinary Christian lives. An
ordinary Christian life is looking to Christ all the time. Daily. Resting in his finished work.
And you know what? It's the hardest thing for us
to do. Isn't it? Just to rest. I told you I was
murmuring yesterday, right? It doesn't take long for us to
murmur, does it? I told you that in Sunday school.
Doesn't take long for us to murmur. Oh my, let's just rest in the
finished work of Christ. And do you know when our salvation
was complete? Now think of this, think of this. I preach a work
of Christ that was done 2,000 years ago. Brother Neil, we were redeemed
2,000 years ago. We were saved 2,000 years ago.
Now, that which had occurred had to take place in time and
space for us to, we just find out about it when we're born
again. Isn't that amazing? But as far
as our salvation, it's completed 2,000 years ago. So what are
these Judaizers saying? They're coming in and saying,
well, unless these folks are circumcised, they're not saved.
Well, that's another gospel, isn't it? That's another gospel, beloved.
That's not the gospel of God's grace in Christ. Oh my. Listen to this. Now we know that
all things Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. The lawful use of the law is
it brings all of us before God guilty. We're guilty. And God, by his magnificent power
and providence, when we're born again and given faith to believe,
we look to Christ. Thy people shall be made well
in the day of thy power. Oh my. Look to the one who finished
the work. Look to the one who redeemed
us out from under the law. Now from verse 7 to 35 here,
we're going to see, as we study this through the next few weeks,
that it brings forth the truth that God himself, through the
unified spirit of his apostles, stopped the mouth of those self-righteous
Pharisees who tried to mix man's works with the true gospel of
saving grace through Christ in him alone. Anyone that tells
you there's something you have to do to be saved, it's a lie.
Only Christ can save sinners. Only Christ, period. Salvation
is all of grace plus nothing. Right? Plus nothing. It's all Christ and Him alone.
All Christ and Him alone. And the true followers of Christ
will adhere to this truth that's set before us in the Scriptures.
Think of this, before we were saved, I don't know about you,
but before I was saved, I wanted nothing to do with the scriptures.
I was living my life, doing my thing, had no care. And not until my 30s, the Lord
arrested me. It's amazing. And then I found
out, brother Todd, that he saved me 2,000 years ago. And it was
amazing. Absolutely incredible. And my
life never been the same. Oh my. And now I don't understand
everything in this word, but by the grace of God, I believe
it. Right? Oh my. Oh my. Look, let's read verses seven
to nine again in Acts chapter 15. God's people will adhere
to what the scriptures say, and they'll unite together. They'll
unite together. If someone comes in trying to
pervert the gospel of God's grace, God's people will unite together.
We're going to see that here. And they'll say, no, that's wrong.
That's wrong. So the context is the Judaizers
have come to Antioch. They said, except you be circumcised,
you can't be saved. Okay? So they're adding to the
finished work of Christ. They're preaching a works-based
salvation, which is not salvation at all. It'll lead to damnation. Look at verses seven to nine. And when there had been much
disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, men and brethren,
know how that a good while ago God made choice among us that
the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and
believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness,
giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us. They're born
again. And put no difference between us and them, purifying
their hearts by faith. Now, what a statement this is.
Remember, Peter's been raised in Judaism. He's been raised
to stay away from Gentiles. He's been raised to look at Gentiles
as dogs. But something happened to Peter,
didn't it? Before he went to Cornelius'
house, he's had a vision, and God told him, there's no difference.
And he went to Cornelius' house, expecting to preach to Cornelius.
And what did our dear brother do? He gathered up all his family
and friends, so they could hear the gospel, and the Lord saved
many of them. Oh, my. And look what Peter says
here. Again, he couldn't even enter into a house of a Gentile
by Jewish law. And he went in there and preached
the gospel, and now he's saying, there's no difference between
them and us. So how are we saved then? How are Jews and Gentiles
saved? Only by the grace of God. Only
by, remember he said, you must be born again, right? That's the only, the only way
we can be saved is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ by his
redeeming precious blood. Now who is Christ? Well, he's
God in the flesh. He's the God man. He's not any
ordinary man. He's the word who became flesh. My oh my. It's absolutely amazing. So we see in verse seven that
like in Antioch, they're now at Jerusalem and there's unbelieving
Jewish Pharisees here and they're disputing with Paul and Barnabas. Now these Pharisees, they weren't
saved. A.W. Pink said there's two types
of Christians. Professors, ones who just say,
oh, I'm saved, and possessors, ones who are truly born again.
We don't know who they are. We don't know. You can tell some
of them by what they believe. Right? Like it's not hard to
spot a Jehovah Witness or a Mormon or a Church of Christ person,
right? Or a Seventh-day Adventist person or a Catholic, and talk
to them and find out what they believe and go, yeah, believe
in the grace of God and Christ. Now, can the Lord save them?
Absolutely. I'm an ex-Catholic, will the
Lord save? Yeah, He can save whomever He wills. But if they're
in that religion, and they're following it, you can pretty
well assume that they don't know Christ. It's a miracle of God's grace
that we know Christ. And that's amazing, isn't it?
And the only way we know him is by revelation, right? He revealed
himself to us. Scripture says there's none that
seek it after God. There's none that understand it. He has to
seek us out, doesn't he? It's amazing. So these Pharisees
were professors of Christianity. And how do we know that they
were mere professors? Well, they were adding works to grace. So
again, if someone is adding works to grace, they don't know the
true gospel of Christ. I had a Church of Christ guy
one time, I was talking with him and I said, he said, well,
you have to be baptized to be saved. I said, well, what about
the thief on the cross? He said, well, it rained on him.
I said, are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? That man
did no works, did he? And the Lord saved him. Scripture doesn't even say it
rained, does it? Oh my, the lengths that people will go to to try
to prove their error. And those of us who came out
of religion, we know what it's like. We were there. I was. Oh my, it's awful. But praise
God, by the grace of God, He saves us and reveals this truth
to us that salvation's all in Christ and Him alone. And think
of this, think of this. There wouldn't have been any
disputes if true believers were there. There wouldn't have been none.
They would all agree that salvation's by grace alone. My, oh my. So we see after a long period
of time has elapsed, through much disputing, Peter rose up,
he got the attention of everyone who was present, and he gave
a true testimony of the power of God under the preaching of
his glorious gospel. Let's read from verse seven to
nine again. Men and brethren, middle of verse 9. Men and brethren,
you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us
that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel
and believe. And God, now did you notice what was in that verse
right there? God made what? Choice. Oh. Oh, God's elections are all through
the Bible. We don't know who the elect are,
so we preach the gospel to everyone, but God knows who they are. Oh,
my. Made choice among us that the
Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the gospel and
believe. Peter was a sent instrument of God by choice. And God, which
knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy
Ghost, even as he did unto us. And put, look at this, no difference
between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now we're
told in, I believe it's 2 Corinthians 4, 7, who made you to differ
and what do you have that you didn't receive? In the Greek,
that word differ is distinguish. So it's only God who's distinguished
us from those who are lost. We were just like them. Right? God saved us. Spurgeon has an
excellent sermon called, Distinguishing Grace, on that very verse. It's,
it's a wonderful verse. Brings forth how it's, it's God's
salvations of the Lord. It's of the Lord. And think of this. Peter is referring
to God's choice in sending him to the house of Cornelius. And
if the Lord had not made known unto him what God had cleansed,
that call not thou common, then Peter would not have gone into
the house of Cornelius. He'd have said, no way, I'm not
allowed to go in there. But see, God revealed to him in the words,
right, that call not common. Don't call them common. They're
my people. I have a people among the Gentiles.
Remember, remember when the Lord said to Paul, go into that city,
we're gonna see it down the road, go into that city and preach
the gospel, because I have much people in the city? Paul hadn't even preached yet. Oh my. Oh, he knew us before
we ever knew him, beloved. Oh, it's wonderful. It's wonderful. And he wouldn't have went into
that house because it was forbidden by Jewish law for a Jew to go
into a Gentile house. And remember too, Cornelius was
a Gentile centurion. He was of the occupying forces. So he'd even be more reluctant
to go there. But Cornelius and many other Gentiles in his home
heard and believed the gospel. that Peter preached. It was made
effectual by God the Holy Spirit. So let us marvel as our Lord
Jesus Christ is all-knowing. He knows all things. He knows
our hearts. He knew the hearts of Cornelius
and those in his household who believed, and our sovereign Lord
gave those chosen Gentiles true saving faith. Just like if we're
here and we're saved, God gave us true saving faith. We didn't earn it. We didn't
deserve it. We didn't work for it. He gave it to us. It's a gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. It's wonderful. Oh my. So Peter here, He gives
a testimony of the grace of God at work in the Gentiles, of his
saving grace without works, because in the text there, there's nothing
mentioned about what they have to do. No, because it's already
been done. Christ already accomplished the
work 2,000 years ago. So he gives, Peter gives a true
testimony that God saves his people, without the works of
the law, by his grace alone. By his grace. Now, I like what
Norm says. God the Holy Spirit will never
put on our hearts to go contrary to the law. None of us want to break the
law of God, but we were lawbreakers by nature. But praise God. Now
here's something wonderful to praise God for. That in Christ,
he fulfilled the law for us in our room and place. Perfectly. Perfectly. Isn't that wonderful,
Sister Marjorie? That's wonderful, isn't it? Oh,
there's nothing we have to do. We just look to Christ. And then
it's our reasonable service to serve Him. Why is it our reasonable
service? Because we desire to do it because
He saved our soul. When something's going on here
in the church, I don't have to look for volunteers. If I mention
that it's something we need to do, you guys come on out, we
work together. Isn't that wonderful? It's absolutely
wonderful. The Lord is so good, but we do
it because we're serving God. We're serving our King. It's
wonderful. So Peter here tells them that
God's put no difference between those believing Gentiles and
the believing Jews, in verse 9. He said God gave them, God
saved them by His grace just like He saved us. Now this was
landshaking, because the Jews wanted nothing to do with the
Gentiles. Oh my. My oh my. And this testimony
by Peter was the same testimony that Paul gave of how God worked
among the Gentiles as he preached the gospel. And remember, we
saw in their text last week that they didn't boast about, or a
few weeks back, in the end of chapter 14, when they came back
to Antioch after the missionary trip, they didn't say, well,
look what God's done. Look what, look what, we won
15,000 souls to Christ. They never said that. Remember,
they didn't boast. In that one city, Brother Tom,
you looked at, 15,000 souls, the whole city was cut in half.
The Lord saved half the whole city. And they didn't say, well,
you know, let me tell you how many souls I led to Christ. No,
they gave God the glory, didn't they? They gave him all the glory.
They were so thankful, we got to preach the gospel to all these
folks. And the Lord moved and saved them. And now we got brothers
and sisters all through, all through the Mediterranean area,
Thessalonica, Philippi, In the Galatian, the Roman province
of Galatia, there's multiple churches now? Oh my! It's wonderful. And each time
they went on a missionary journey and came back, they would testify
of the great things God had done. They didn't brag about what they'd
done, because you know what? We're just instruments. We're
just tools that the Lord uses. But we're saved tools, aren't
we? Praise his mighty name. Washed in the precious blood.
What an honor it is for us to serve our great God and King.
What an honor, what a blessing. My oh my. Look at verses 10 and
11 now. Now therefore, why tempt ye God to put a yoke on the neck
of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able
to bear? But we believe. that through
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they.
This is magnificent. And we know who Peter's addressing.
He's addressing the self-righteous Pharisees who were among them,
which we see in verse five. Look at verse five. But there
rose up certain of the Pharisees which believed, saying that it
was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the
law of Moses. So they were professors. They
weren't possessors. They professed that they believed
in Christ, but by saying that you had to keep the law of Moses
to be saved, they're just false teachers, beloved. They're just
false professors. And there's still many among us, even to
this day. Even to this day. My. But look at this, these magnificent
verses here. Peter told these unbelieving
Jews that they were attempting to put a yoke, they were attempting
to put a yoke on the Gentile disciples that they themselves
couldn't even hold, and our fathers couldn't. Law keeping. Do you know the scripture says
that no one will be justified by the law? No one will be justified by the
law. So salvation then is either law or grace, isn't it? It's
one or the other. Only one can be true. I remember
talking to someone one time years ago, someone very dear to me,
and I was talking to them and they were telling me, well, salvation's
by your will, your free will. Now I know we all have a will,
don't we? But our will is bound to our nature. We know that. We know that. And we were talking,
and I took her to Ephesians chapter two, and I said, you see, the
scriptures here say that we're born dead in trespasses and sins.
And in verse four, it says, but God, who's rich in mercy, God's
moving, right? He's the one who's moving, and
he's the one who does the saving. And she says, well, what about
my will? And I said, well, our will is tied into verses one
and two, that we're dead in trespasses and sins. All we're gonna do
is choose sin until we're born again, right? Now our, see, our
old nature only wants to sin. When you're born again, you have
a new nature, beloved. Now we desire the things of God.
Now we desire to serve Him. We didn't before. Now we struggle
with sin. We didn't before. And you know
what she said to me? She said to me, well, only one
of us can be right. And I said, yeah, that's true. That's true. See, I used to believe
like she believed, that it was my choice and my decision. Now,
did I run to Christ? Absolutely. But only because
I was made willing by the power of God, the might of God. That's
all. But what a statement, right?
Only one of us can be right. Yeah. Salvation's all a grace,
period. Period. You guys know that's
all I'm gonna preach. It's all grace. There's no works
on our behalf. In no way does anything we do
justify us, but faith without works is dead. Well, what are
those works then? Those works, they won't justify
us, but they're evidence of our salvation. Why do we serve Christ? Because we've been saved. Why
do we desire to live a holy life? Because we've been saved. You ever think of this? You ever approached, I remember
in religion I used to approach it like this, well, I've gotta
go do my reading or I've got to go pray. You know what now? I get to read.
It's a privilege. I get to pray. It's a privilege. See, there's
a different mindset, isn't there? It's not a have to do, it's a
want to do. Isn't that amazing? Oh my. It's all work of God. It's all
Him. Look at verse 10. Look at this.
So these self-righteous Pharisees Peter tells them that they're
not able to keep the law of Moses, and neither were their parents.
Look at this. Now, therefore, why tempt ye God to put a yoke
upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor
we were able to bear? Now, a yoke, I didn't know how
big these yokes were. I was out yard-selling with a
friend of mine, an old fellow, he's in his 80s, love the guy,
and we were talking, and he goes, oh, look at those yokes over
there. And I'll tell you what, I had no idea. This yoke was
about from here all the way to, probably way over here, it had
two holes, right? And he says, well, that's where
they put the, they put it in the cattle. And this thing, it
must have been that thick. It was a beam about that wide
and about that thick. And he goes, that's a yoke for
oxen. That's what religion's like. Heavy yoke. We'll just burn down. But see, Christ says, my yoke
is easy, and my burden is light. My, oh my, beloved. Isn't it
wonderful? So the yoke there that he's speaking
about is the burden of the law, the yoke of the law. Just, oh
my gosh, I'm just such a... Yeah, we are sinners. But we're
saved sinners, saved by the grace of God in Christ. See how light
the yoke of Christ is? All our sins are forgiven, washed
clean by the precious blood of the Lamb. We're not bearing the
burden of our guilt. It's already been taken care
of. Do you know we've been freed from the penalty of the law?
We've been freed from the guilt of the law? We've been freed
from the power of the law, or of sin, I'm sorry. We've been
freed from the guilt of sin. We've been freed from the power
of sin. We've been, we're free from the penalty of sin. In one day, sister,
we're gonna be free from the presence of sin. And I'll be
glorious. See how light the burden of Christ
is? We're forgiven, Brother Tom.
totally forgiven, washed clean in the precious blood. And so
that God looks at us, that portion you read, and he says, he sees
us in Christ. I remember reading F.W. Kramacher,
knock my socks off, he said, when God looks at us and we're
clothed in the righteousness of Christ, which every believer
is, God looks at us and sees us in Christ. Oh, my. And if he's well pleased
with the Son, then he's well pleased with us in him. Oh, my. My, oh, my. So Peter boldly declared
to them that they were just as sinful as unbelieving Gentiles,
and they needed the grace of God in their lives. They needed
to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. to be accepted
in the sight of God. And look at verse 11. But we
believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus, we shall be
saved even as they. These are a continuation of the
words that Peter had told them, but we believe that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. My, oh, my. We see that salvation's
of the Lord, plus nothing, nothing we do. Oh my. My oh my. Let's read verse 12
now. It says, Then all the multitude
kept silence. Look at that. Their mouths were
shut. Wasn't there just much disputing and discussion going
on? Remember what the Lord said to
those demons? We know who thou art. Hold thy
peace. The Lord just shut their mouths. My, oh, my. Up to this point, Paul and Barnabas were talking,
and the Judaizers, and then Peter got up. Peter got up and spoke. Peter preached the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, which set the states
for Paul and Barnabas. Look at verse 12 now. Then all
the multitude kept silence and gave audience to Paul and Barnabas,
declaring what miracles and wonders had wrought among the Gentiles
by them, that God had wrought. Now look at this. The very people
who were disputing with him, their mouths are shut. How'd
that happen? By the power of God. Oh my. My oh my. And think of this. Those false
teachers had to listen. They listened to Peter say that,
and now they're listening to Paul and Barnabas say the very
same thing. And look at what Paul and Barnabas declared, what
miracles and wonders God had wrought among them by them. They
didn't say, well, we went here and we did this and we did that.
And he said, look what God done. He gets all the glory, doesn't
he? He gets all the honor and praise. My, oh, my. So Peter had taught
the wonderful truths that salvation's by the Lord Jesus Christ himself
and him alone. And then Paul and Barnabas get
up and they say the same thing. Look what God's done. He saved
a bunch of Gentiles. Saved by the same grace, according
to the same mercy and grace which comes from God himself. Paul
and Barnabas, we see, declared the miracles and wonders God
had brought among the Gentiles. They preached the same gospel.
They were in unity. And we see, by the grace of our
sovereign Lord, Peter's message brought about a God-given silence. And then here comes Paul and
Barnabas. And they're going to preach the same message. Those self-righteous Pharisees
are getting a double dose, aren't they, of sovereign grace preaching. Oh, my. They preached, beloved. Oh, they proclaimed. They proclaim
the mercies of God's healing power, both of physical and spiritual
infirmities. They preach the miracle of God's
grace and the conversion of many Jews and Gentiles under the preaching
of his gospel. They proclaim the wondrous works
of God in blinding Elmias, the sorcerer at Paphos, and the healing
of the lame man at Lystia. They proclaimed the wonders and
power of God in delivering Paul and Barnabas from the hands of
those who had persecuted them. Just imagine how this would have
made those self-righteous Pharisees. They would have been seething.
They would have been seething at this. How do we know that?
Well, talk to someone who thinks they're saved by grace, or saved
by works, and tell them that salvation's only in grace alone,
and watch them seethe. Oh my. Let's read verses 13 and 14. And notice here too, notice what's
occurring here. The message that Peter preached
is the same message that Paul and Barnabas are preaching. They
have unity. The only ones causing dissension
is those who are adding to the finished work of Christ. Oh my, that's very important
for us to see that. Look at this in verses 13 and 14. And after
they had held their peace, so they didn't say a word, the Judaizers,
James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simon
hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles
to take out of them a people for his name. And take note that
James didn't interrupt Paul and Barnabas. My oh my, he listened to God's
missionaries. He listened to what they were
proclaiming. He listened to them give all the glory to the Lord
Jesus Christ. He listened to them testifying
of the miracles and wonders that he'd performed through them.
And he also had listened to Peter declaring the same thing among
the Gentiles at Cornelius's house. And then he stands up And he
says, and after they had held their peace, James answered,
saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simon hath declared,
that's Peter, how God at first did visit the Gentiles to take
out of them a people, look at this, for his name. Do you know
that we're a people taken out of this world for his name? He chose us in Christ. I asked the fellow one time,
are you saved on purpose? or by accident? And he said,
well, on purpose. And I said, well, that's election. That's God's choice. If we're
saved on purpose by God, then it's His choosing, isn't it?
Oh my, it's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. The apostle James, the son of
Alphaeus, was the pastor of the church at Jerusalem, so it was
fitting for him to close, or to speak at this time. It was
fitting for him to speak. Actually, his responsibility
to speak as being the pastor of the church at Jerusalem. And
he answered, getting the attention of all who were assembled and
said, men and brethren, notice that separation, men and brethren.
He didn't call them, okay, my brothers and sisters, men and
brethren. Harken unto me. James says, I
have something to say here. In other words, he's saying,
I've got something to say. And what did he say? He said, well,
Simon Peter had declared how God did at the first day visit
the Gentiles and took out of them a people for his name. So
James was telling the church at Jerusalem what Peter had already
told them, that he was the instrument that
God used at first to take the gospel to the Gentiles. when
he went to the house of Cornelius. And we see James was quick to
say that the purpose of our Lord in sending Peter to the house
of Cornelius was to what? Take out of those from amongst
the Gentiles a people for his name. Look at that. Isn't that wonderful? It's a
marvel that we are part of the number of these people. we who
are born again, blood-washed saints, that we are part of the
people taken out from this world for God himself, for his own
glory, to call upon his name. What a privilege we have to call
upon his name. What a privilege we have to gather together and
worship our king. Oh my. So we also see the distinguishing
grace of God here in saving his people from their sins. My, oh
my. Not everybody in the village
where Cornelius lived was saved, but God gathered a people from
amongst those who were gathered there, and he, by his providence,
bought them to hear Peter preach the gospel, didn't he? It's not
by chance that any of us are here today, it's by God's providence.
It's absolutely incredible. And it was all according to God's
distinguishing grace. He took some out, saved them
to be a special and peculiar people to himself. He separated
them from the rest of the world. That's what he did for his people.
How? By his powerful and effectual
grace. And he forms us into a church, a people redeemed by Christ alone,
to praise and glorify him forever. And there'll be one day when
all the blood-bought, redeemed church will be gathered together
in glory, and what a day that'll be. We get a little foretaste
of it here, don't we? And the love and joy we have.
It'll be even more incredible in glory. Now let's read verses
15 to 18. And to this agree the words of
the prophets as it is written. After this, I will return and
build again the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down,
and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up,
that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all
the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who
doeth all things, all these things, knowing unto God are all his
works from the beginning," when? Of the world. Before there was ever a sinner,
there was a Savior. The Word of God. You notice James didn't stand
up to the assembly and say, well, here's what I think that this
is saying. It doesn't matter what I think.
It's what does the word say. Right, Brother Brian? It matters
what the word says. I'll tell you what, there are
lots of preachers out there who give you their opinion. But my opinion don't
matter. What does the word of God say?
And look at this marvelous latter part. No one unto God are all
his works from the beginning of the world. You know, he knows
the end from the beginning. He knows the end from the beginning.
So James didn't say, here's what I think. No. God's ordained pastor
in Jerusalem there said, it is written. Thus saith the Lord. He went right to the scriptures,
didn't he? Oh my. And the New Testament had not
been written yet. And we see that James did what
our Lord Jesus and all his ordained apostles did. He preached Christ
from the Old Testament. He preached Christ from the Old
Testament. He plainly stated to that assembly that when God
called those Gentiles into the preaching of his gospel, it was
in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets. because it's the Holy Spirit
of God who inspired them to write those words. James could have
referred to many Old Testament scriptures that foretold of the
Gentiles being called by God during the gospel dispensation,
but we see that the Holy Spirit moved him to give the spiritual
meaning of Amos 9, 11, and 12. I'll read it to you. In that
day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that has fallen, and
close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his runes,
and I will build it as the days of old, that they may possess
the remnant of Edom, and all the heathen which are called
by my name. That's me. I was a heathen before the Lord
saved me. That's what we Gentiles are called in the Scriptures.
We're a bunch of heathen. Some say, don't call me that.
Well, that's why I call myself that, because that's what I was.
I'm not that now, but that's what I was. Right? And of all the heathen which
are called by my name, saith the Lord, and Lord, there is
Jehovah, the self-existent one, that doeth this. He is the one
who saves us. He's the one who chose us, Brother
Tom, out of all the people in this world. He chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. And notice in that verse
I quoted from Amos, he's saying, I love this, I will. I will do this. Look in the scriptures,
if you can get an electronic Bible or even on your computer,
and type in the words, I will. and be amazed when God says that. And also another good one is
fear not, which God says to us in Christ
as believers. My, oh my. So Amos is referring
to the gospel age when God would reveal under the preaching of
the gospel that in Jesus Christ, there's neither Jew nor Gentile.
There's neither bond nor free. We're one in Christ. Remember what, this is amazing.
Paul wrote at the end of Galatians, speaking to the Galatian churches,
Gentiles, who the Lord had saved, he says this, and if ye be Christ,
then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. It's not might be. Spiritual Israel is the church
of God. Listen to this again, Galatians
3, 28 and 29. And if ye be Christ, are you
Christ? Has he saved your soul? Are you
his? Have you fled to him for refuge?
He's the only hope for sinners. And if ye be Christ, then are
ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. My, oh my. My, oh, my. Turn, if you would,
to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. Paul, moved
by the Holy Spirit of God, wrote these words to the church at
Ephesus. Again, Gentile church. Bunch of heathens. Bunch of heathens. And this comes
after he's told them that you're born dead in trespasses and sins
and that there's no hope for us outside of Christ. And it
says, but God, but look what he says, look what he writes
down here in Ephesians chapter two, verse 13. Actually starting in verse 12,
we'll start at the, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were
far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. So we were born
into this world dead in trespasses and sins. alienated in our minds
from God by wicked works, the scriptures say. Whether we believe
it or not, that's how we are. We're born dead in trespasses
and sins. But for the believer in Christ, who's born again by
the Holy Spirit of God and given faith to believe on Christ, we're
bought nigh by the blood of Christ. We find out that Christ redeemed
us with his blood 2,000 years ago. Look what it says. Look at this. You who are sometimes far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ. But now in Christ Jesus,
you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ, for He is our peace. The only way to have peace with
God is through Christ. There's no other way. Look at
this, who has made both one, Jew and Gentile, one. That's
what that's referring to. Oh my. and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinance, for to
make in himself of twain, Jew and Gentile, of one new man,
so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God
in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and
came and preached peace to you who were far off and to them
that were nigh. to you who are far off the Gentiles,
and them that were nigh the Jews. And I preach to you today that
salvation is only in and through Christ alone. There's no other
way to be saved. Christ himself said, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. That negates Buddha. That negates
Muhammad. That negates any church. That
negates anything you do. There's only salvation through
the God-man, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and only by the
shedding of His precious blood, because, as verse 13 said, we're
made nigh by the blood of Christ. He's our peace, beloved. And
for anyone who flees to Him for refuge and casts themselves upon
Him, He will be that to you, too.
Isn't that amazing? Right? What do we say? What do
we say? Spirit and the bride say, come.
Right? Whosoever will, let him come.
I'm not afraid of those words. I know that whosoever will come
are bought by God, but whosoever will, let him come. Are your
sins overwhelming you? Do you feel like, oh, God can't
save me? That's just self-righteousness. Right? Has Christ ever turned
away one sinner that's ever come to him? Nope. Not one. Not one. Isn't that wonderful? So we preach
the gospel. The general call goes out, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. And notice
that, when Paul said that to the Philippians, he didn't say,
and be baptized. Or do this, or do that. He said,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. Look
and live, Isaiah says. Look to Christ and live. My,
oh, my. And look at verse 18. Look at
this. No one unto God are all his works from the beginning
of the world. My. James is boldly declaring here
that our Lord Jesus Christ is seated on his sovereign throne
of power. He's declaring him as a sovereign. And he says he
knows all things, everything. Oh, my. And James' words in verse
18, remember the context again? We've got to always remember
the context because people rip things out of context and use
them wrong. The context is concerning the conversion of the Gentiles.
Whether it be by grace or whether it be by law works. But we see here that the conversion
of the Gentiles was fixed and resolved by God in eternity. Our salvation was fixed by God
in eternity, and we didn't have a clue until he revealed himself
to us. I like what Tim James says, he
let us in on his plan. He let us in on what he purposed. We wouldn't have known it unless
he saved us. It's wondrous. It's absolutely wondrous. And
think of this. God knew it would be, because
he had determined that it should be. And accordingly, he foretold
it. If he says something's gonna
happen, it's gonna happen. Christ is coming back again. That's God himself. He's coming
back. Whether people mock it or not,
he's coming back one day. We just don't know when. We just
don't know when, but I'll guarantee he's coming back. And our king, our God, spoke
various times in scriptures of things that were to happen before
they came to pass. So James is saying, why are we
counting this new or strange that God's saving Gentiles? Because
we know that he knows all things, And therefore, he's purposeless. Again, if you're saved, we're
saved on purpose. Isn't that wonderful? According
to the will of God. And Peter was the instrument
that the Lord was pleased to use in the conversion of Cornelius
and many in his household. And the same is true of Paul
and Barnabas. They were just instruments that
the Lord used, just as I'm just an instrument that proclaims
the word of God. I have no power to save you. If my words are
the only words you hear, they're not gonna profit you nothing.
Nothing. My oh my. But if God speaks to
you through his word, It'll be effectual. All things are of
God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians
5 18. All things that happened in time
were purposed by God before time began and executed by God at
his appointed time for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, our
risen and glorified Lord and Savior. Now each of us have things
that happened in our lives probably that we say, how could that be? How could that be for my good
and for the glory of God? But then when we look back at
it in lenses as a believer, we say, yeah, it's part of what
made me who I am now, good and bad. When you make a cake, right? You put an egg in it, whatever.
And if it says to put a dash of salt in it, and you say, no,
I'm going to leave the salt out, it won't turn out right, will
it? You have to fall, whatever. whatever
is put there to make that cake. And when you bake it and it comes
out, it's a beautiful cake, isn't it? Think of all the things in our
lives, they all happened according to God's will and purpose for
us to make us who we are now. And now we as God's people are
being conformed to the image of Christ. He's still working
on us. Isn't that amazing? absolutely
amazing. So salvation in Christ isn't
labor, it's wondrous. Working for your salvation is
laborious, it's a yoke put upon you that we can't bear. But Christ
says, my yoke is easy, my burden is light. Oh my. And if by God's grace we do seek
the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do call upon him to have mercy
on us for Christ's sake, God the Holy Spirit will enlighten
our minds to this God-honoring truth that it was God who sought
us first. God sought me out. Did he seek
you out? Praise his mighty name. Praise his mighty name. My oh
my.