All right, look with me again at 1 Peter, or I'm sorry, Acts chapter 28. Acts 28, look beginning with verse 22. It says, we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest. These men came to Paul and they said, we desire to hear what you think. And for as concerning this sect, We know that everywhere it is spoken against, not for, not in favor of, but against. Things have changed very little in our day. Men still speak against the gospel. They speak against the truth.

This gospel, it declares many truths, but listen, it declares the truth about God, about who God is, the God of eternal existence, the God of all creation. The word says this, that all things were made by him. And without Him was not anything made that was made. He's the God of all creation, the God of eternal existence.

He's the God of sovereign mercy. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I'll be gracious to whom I will be gracious. Sovereign, sovereign grace. He's the God of all righteousness. The Lord who is long-suffering, of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgressions, and will by no means clear the guilty. He's the God of unchanging grace. He said, I am the Lord.

I change not. Therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. He's a God counter to the thoughts of this world, a God to be feared and to be reverenced. You know, that's not the God declared in most so-called pulpits today. This generation, like many before, does not fear God. Why is that? Why is that? Well, most of what people hear today is a false God.

That's what's declared in most places, a false God, a weak God, little g, a failing God, a weak and disappointed God, a God whose hands are tied. They say this, they say, He has no hands, but your hands. No eyes, but your eyes. No feet, but your feet. Men have been taught a lie, an absolute lie. Listen, the God of the Bible is totally independent of his creatures. He has all strength. He has all wisdom. He has all power. He's not dependent upon man. Turn with me to Psalm 50. Look at verse seven. Hear, O my people, and I will speak. O Israel, and I'll testify against thee. I am God, even thy God.

I'll not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings to have been continually before me. I'll take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds, for every beast of the field is mine. The cattle upon a thousand hills, I know all the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beast of the field are mine. If I were hungry, if that were even possible, if God were hungry, he said, I wouldn't ask you. The world, who does that belong to? He says, it's mine and the fullness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. It's all his.

And this gospel, the true gospel declares the truth about Almighty God, a God who is to be feared, a God who is all-powerful, a God who is, listen, truly God. This gospel declares the truth about man, about man. You know, this world has been convinced and the religion of this world has convinced us, false religion has convinced them that We're to come to God with the idea of helping him out of his dilemma. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Who needs the help? We do. And who is able? He is. He is.

Just listen to what God's word, just listen to a few of these verses about what God says about man. It says there's none righteous. And then he says, no, not one. Somebody ever say that there's none and then you think, well, there's got to be at least one, right? That's anticipated here, isn't it? There's none righteous. No, not one. There's none that understandeth. There's none that seeketh. after God. Oh, we'll seek our pleasure. We'll seek our comfort. We'll seek our glory. We'll seek our will. We'll seek our own, won't we?

But not God. Not apart from Him drawings. It says, they're all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. And let's hear it again. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Man has no fear of God. They don't fear God. We don't tremble at his presence. In Psalm 41 10, it says this, or Psalm 4 10, it says, be still and know I'm God. I'll be exalted among the heathen. I'll be exalted in the earth. And even self-professing religious people don't fear God. You know, if men truly feared God, we wouldn't even open our mouths. We would be silent, completely silent in His presence. We would speak in a way that honored him. Our worship wouldn't be, listen, marked with shouting and carrying on, but with reverence and fear. Turn to Job chapter 40. Job chapter 40, look beginning with verse 3. Job 40 verse 3, Job answered the Lord and he said, behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? What am I going to say to holy God?

Once I've spoken it, twice. Once I've spoken it, but I'll not answer ye. Twice, but I will proceed no further. Man is dead. You hear that? Dead in trespasses and sin. In John 5 40, our Lord said, you will not come to me. You will not come to me that you might have life.

If God enables me to come to him, listen, I must come to him as a guilty sinner. I must come to him begging for mercy. Listen to David's cry in Psalm 51. He said, have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness. According to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgression. We come to him as a sinner seeking mercy.

This gospel, it declares the truth about God. It declares the truth about man, it declares the truth about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who is very God, a very God. He is God. He's the Messiah. He's Jesus Christ. God in human flesh. And He came down to this earth and He died. He died on the cross in the place of His people. And He is a victorious Savior, a conquering Savior. My friends, He's a successful Savior. Call His name Jesus, for He shall. He shall save His people from their sin. He's a covenant Redeemer for a covenant people, the people he promised to save.

And after he suffered on the cross of Calvary, he cried out, it is finished. Men talk about all these things that man needs to do. We need to bow at his feet and worship him. He said it is finished, the work complete. He prayed to his father in John 17. He said, I've glorified thee on earth. I have finished the work that you gave me to do. Finished.

And now he's seated at the right hand of the father, expecting, not wringing his hands, not wondering. Not crying out his eyes because someone won't make a decision. He's expecting. My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. And this gospel, it declares the truth about salvation. Deliverance. Deliverance from sin.

Where is that found? Where is salvation found? I can tell you where it's not found. It's not found in the deeds of the law. We need to be reminded of that, don't we? By the deeds of the law, there shall be no flesh justified in his sight. Salvation doesn't come by a decision. It doesn't come through ordinances. It's not through church membership.

Where is it? Where is salvation to be found? One place. It's to be found in Christ and Christ alone. Not in man's purpose, not in man's plan. Salvation is in a person. We read this Wednesday night in Psalm 62. He only is my rock and my salvation. It's not in walking down an aisle. It's not in baptism. It's not in the law. It's not in anything we do or don't do. Salvation is in Christ and Christ alone.

But now when these truths are preached, when they're preached. That's what Paul did. Paul preached the gospel. He preached the truth. And we'll see that in these following verses here. He preached from Moses, and he preached from the prophets, and he testified to the kingdom of God.

I can remember as a kid, I don't know where I was, but I was in a church and they had nothing but New Testament Bibles. And I think there was something that said, we're a New Testament church. My friends, God doesn't change and neither does his gospel, neither does his message. How can we ever discount the Old Testament? Our Lord preached from the Old Testament.

But these men here, they came and they said, we desire to hear thee what you think as concerning this sect. And that word sect, it means, it's another word for heresy. And they reproached it. They hated it. They hated the gospel. See, it's not a human device. It's not a choice. It's not an option. Not an option of man's so-called free will. But it's of God. And it's by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In Acts 24, 14, I confess unto thee that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I, the God of my fathers, believing all the things which are written where? In the law and in the prophets. The Old Testament, it testifies of him. Well, back to our text, back to Acts 28, they said, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.

You know, it should not come as a surprise to us that the gospel, the gospel that declares the whole salvation of man from beginning to end, The whole of salvation is of the Lord. It's of the Lord Jesus Christ. That gospel, this gospel, it's as much spoken against today as it was by those Jews back in the time of Paul. That being said, is there ever a time in which the gospel should be more boldly preached than in our time?

Look again, Acts 28 verse 23. And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him in his lodging. They came to his house. And again, they said, this is a sect. This is heresy. You know, there have been people just in recent years refer to the gospel of God's sovereign grace as a cult following. Total depravity. Man is dead in trespasses and sin. Unconditional election. God chose a people in Christ. He determined who he would save. Limited atonement. Not limited in power, but limited to his people. Perseverance. Perseverance of the saints. Read on, read on.

The natural man, he hates, he hates it. And he'll say anything counter to it. Your friends at work or in different places, they can sit around and talk about just any type of religion and they can all be in agreement. But God's free and sovereign grace in Christ, it offends the natural man.

It says here, verse 23, he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus both out of the law of Moses and the prophets from morning to evening. Here we see Paul's response. Paul who shunned not to declare the gospel of God. Paul who said, necessity is laid upon me, and yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. He expounded and he testified of the kingdom of God. He preached the gospel, he declared the truth, persuading men, persuading them concerning Jesus.

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, He that is God, He that is the Son of God, He that was born of a virgin, who came to this earth and wrought miracles. He perfectly obeyed God's law. Jesus Christ, who laid down His life as sacrifice for sin. Jesus Christ, who made reconciliation and atonement The Lord Jesus Christ who brought in an everlasting righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ who rose again from the dead, who was ascended unto heaven, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, where he ever lives to make intercession for his people. Jesus Christ, who's going to come again someday, he's going to come again to judge both the quick and the dead, the living and the dead.

He persuaded them concerning Christ. You reckon he spoke of peace and pardon through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? or atonement, atonement and reconciliation by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, justification by His righteousness, complete salvation in Him. He persuaded them, persuaded them of their need of Christ and salvation by Him. Paul said this, he said, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we do this, we persuade men.

We persuade them, knowing the judgment of the Lord. You know, all are going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ himself being the judge, And men are going to give an account, that's what Scripture says, of everything. Now listen, not just our outward appearance, but all that we've thought, all that we've said, all that we've done in this flesh.

Paul says, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. We persuade them, don't look to yourselves, but rather look to Him. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ and believe on Him to the saving of the soul. Salvation is by Christ and Christ alone. We can't emphasize that enough. Christ and Christ alone.

And He is both able and willing to save. Paul knew this. Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners. And yet, and yet he saved me. Yet he had mercy on me. Persuading men concerning Christ. And he preached from the law of Moses. Our Lord said this. He said, Moses, he wrote of me. He wrote of me. Those types and sacrifices recorded in In the writings of Moses, remember Abel's offering? You know, Cain brought an offering that pointed to the works of his hands. What did Abel bring? A blood sacrifice. In Exodus, we read of that Passover lamb. Take a lamb, a lamb for a house, shed its blood, put it on the door. When I see the blood, I will pass over you.

Our Lord even spoke of these pictures. He said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. All pointing to the sacrifice of our Savior, that the Lamb of God, the perfect, spotless Lamb of God whose blood was shed for His people, the Lord Jesus Christ who must die, He must lay down His life. And He persuaded them concerning Christ from the law of Moses and the prophets. We go back and read the prophet.

Prophet Isaiah wrote this. He said, therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel, God with us. The prophet Micah wrote, but thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall come forth unto me him that is to be a ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old and from everlasting, our Lord born in Bethlehem.

Isaiah wrote, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. That sacrifice for sin. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, the suffering of his soul, and shall be satisfied. The gospel right there in those verses.

By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquity. Can that speak of anyone? Anyone but the Lord Jesus Christ? A savior that laid down his life for his people? A Savior that put away, completely put away my sin. He persuaded them concerning Christ from the law of Moses and the prophets from morning till evening. Well, quickly look at verse 24.

Some believed the things which were spoken. Some believed and some, some believed not. Who are those that believe? Those who were ordained unto eternal life, those to whom it was given them to believe. He said, I've given. Faith is the gift of God. Those who heard the word, those that saw their need of a Savior, those who saw their need of Him, those purchased and saved by the blood of the crucified one. Some And that, boy, that causes our hearts to rejoice, doesn't it? But some, some believe not.

Full proof, clear evidence produced by the apostles that they were not Christ's sheep. Our Lord said this in John 10, 26, he said, to that group of men, he said, you believe not for this reason, because you're not my sheep. Well, quickly, turn with me to John chapter 9. John chapter 9. Our Lord was speaking here to a man that he had healed. This was a blind man that the Lord had healed. Look at verse 35. Jesus heard that they had cast him out. The religious leaders had cast this man out of the temple. Jesus heard that They'd cast him out, and when he had found him, he said to him, Does thou believe on the Son of God?

Listen to that question. We should carefully consider that question. Does thou believe on the Son of God? Do you believe on the Son of God? That's the question our Lord asked this man. This man that was born blind and given sight. And the Lord asked him, do you believe? That's a simple question, isn't it?

Do you believe on the Son of God? Now I want you to just think about this question for a minute. He didn't ask him, do you know you're going to go to heaven when you die? He didn't ask, do you know if you're God's elect? Do you believe? Do you believe? You know there's no question. There's no question that we answer that is more important than that question. Do you believe on the Son of God? You know the answer to that question is going to demonstrate whether you're going to spend eternity in heaven or hell. Isn't that a serious matter? Isn't that a most serious matter? You believe on the Son of God.

Look at verse 36. And he answered and he said, who is he, Lord? Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And the Lord answered him and he said, you both seen him? And it's me that's talking to you. You've seen him and you've heard him. And that man answered and he said, Lord, I believe. I believe. And he worshipped him. He fell at his feet and he worshipped him. He believed. Some believed. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He believed. Well, Mike's going to come. He's going to sing a special for us as a closing hymn. Mike, as you sit down here, let me just say this. You go out through the word of God.

We read Abraham. What we read about Abraham believed God. Peter believed God. He said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Job said this, he said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. He believed God, didn't he? And that's great to know, and we like to see those examples of faith. But here's the question. Do you? Do you believe God? These things are written in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, in the Psalms and by the prophets. These things are written that you might what? Believe. That you might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. and that believing, you might have life through his name. All right, Mike.