I want you to take your Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Acts, chapter 8. The other day when Jessica came
and wanted to talk to me concerning confessing the Lord and baptism,
I began to think. upon that blessed conversation
that we had. And I truly believe the Lord
has directed my heart to come back to this passage of Scripture
in Acts chapter 8, and that upon my heart. And I'd like to preach. We've
gone through the book of Acts, but that's okay. will never exhaust. Ask this question, what does
hinder me to be baptized? And I'd like to this morning,
according to the leadership of our Lord, begin this message
with that question that a sinner A man that Almighty God was pleased
to show mercy to. Ask a preacher one day on a desert
road. An Ethiopian eunuch, the scripture
said. Ask Philip. After Philip had,
the scripture said, preached unto him Jesus. That's what it
says in verse 35, Acts 8. And then that eunuch asked that
question. Verse 36, As they went on their
way, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, See,
here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? Well now, obviously, Philip or
someone, this eunuch had been in Jerusalem and had been there
hearing some preaching. And obviously, he had been instructed on the nature, the meaning, the
design of baptism and the question reveals a heart,
a desire, a purpose to confess Christ in God's ordained means
of confession. Baptism is not salvation. Water does not save a sinner. Water does not wash away sin. But baptism is the way in which
a man or woman, born again, confesses what the Lord has done for them.
That's God's ordained means of confession. So here in that question,
what does hinder me to be baptized, I'd like for us to go back and
just consider again what led up to that question. What does
the Word of God have to say? Now, here's the amazing thing
about God's Word. It's life. It's quick. Blessed
by the Spirit of God. Now, men can hear it. Women can
hear it. You can hear it. But if Almighty
God is pleased to bless that Word, and to bless that Word
to the salvation of His elect, this is what He's going to use
right here. So as we preach this morning, those of you that know
him, I'm going to ask you to pray with me, Jim. I pray. I pray God have mercy. I pray
the Lord save somebody today. I pray the Lord call somebody
out of darkness today. What were the events ordained
of God that preceded that question. Well, I know this. I know that
the initial event that led to the Ethiopian eunuch's question,
I know this, was the eternal purpose and providential guidance
of Almighty God. I know that. I know that before
the foundation of the world, God ordained this meeting right
here. The scripture sits forth in verse
26. The angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise and
go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem
unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went, and behold,
a man of Ethiopia, and eunuch of great authority under Candacy,
queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure,
and had come to Jerusalem for to worship." Now, two men have
been mentioned here. One is a believer in the Lord
Jesus Christ, a preacher. of the gospel of God's free grace,
another unbeliever, a religious unbeliever, that the scripture
sets forth that God had proveniently, grace before grace, moved upon
to go to Jerusalem in order that he might have to
return on this desert road, two roads, He came from Jerusalem
back to where he was going in Ethiopia. This was the less-traveled
road. Back roads. Shortcut. Oh, the wonder of Almighty God
who has predestinated according to His own will and purpose the
salvation of His elect. As I've said before, Nothing
happens by accident. Now you know that. Not with the
Scriptures declaring that Almighty God works all things. He works
as you will. Orders as you will. Army of heaven. Habitants of the earth. Does
as you will. The reason that every person
is sitting here today is that Almighty God determined, purposed
that you be here. Now that eunuch right there was
exactly where Almighty God purposed that he would be. The steps the
scripture sets forth of a good man, ordered by the Lord. All steps are ordered by the
Lord. Ordered by God Almighty who purposed the meeting of these
two men. For His honor and the good of
His people. So the first cause, in this event
and every event, is the purpose, power, and pleasure of Almighty
God. Why did these two men meet? Because
God purposed it. Here's the second thing that
led up to that question. The Lord calls that sinner to cross
paths with His Word. and his preacher. Verse 28 to
30, it said he was returning and sitting in his chariot, read
Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip,
Go near and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither
to him, heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest
thou what thou readest? That eunuch had a copy of the
Scriptures. That was a miracle of God's grace.
Having a copy of the Scriptures. These things were handwritten.
And having a copy of God's Word. This man of great authority.
Almighty God had put that eunuch under the authority of that queen,
Candacy. Elevated that man to a high position
in her court for one reason. Get the Scriptures in his hands.
And there he was. Man had a precious book in his
precious scroll, precious words. And had led him to a particular
passage of all the passages Why was he reading that particular
passage? That's where the Lord directed
him to read. He ordered that. He was doing
everything that Almighty God directed him to do. He'd been
in Jerusalem hearing the Scriptures expounding. And there's no other
reason given. There is no other reason. Except
that Almighty God A purpose that he'd be in that place, at that
place, reading that exact passage of Scripture at the exact time
that Philip was going to be there. Crossed his path with the gospel. Caused him to read. Now was something
said concerning God's glory and God's sovereignty and God's purpose?
That the Spirit of God moved upon that man to search the Scriptures
and see if those things be so? I remember when I first began to
hear the Gospel, I'd take notes and write that down. Ephesians
1-4. 2 Thessalonians 2-13, but we're
bound to give thanks for you. Brethren, beloved of God, because
God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit, set apart by the Spirit, and belief of the truth. Check that out. I'd go and read
that. That's what they did in Berea.
They searched the Scriptures daily. It's what that preacher
is saying. Is that truly so? goes against everything that
I've ever heard. That doesn't gee-haw with everything
that I've been taught. But that's what God's Word said.
He was searching that Scripture right there. The Lord caused
him to read right there. He began to have a question.
But whatever the reason, the Lord caused that man to be right
where he was. And Almighty God's Spirit said
to Philip, go and join thyself. Glue yourself. That's what that
means. Join. Glue yourself to that chariot. How many chariots were there?
I don't know. But there was only one that that
Ethiopian unit was in. And the Lord told him, he said,
you go to that chariot. That's the object of my mercy
right there. That's the one that I've chosen
from before the foundation of the world. You go talk to him. Philip Rand, the scripture says,
obediently. Not fearing rejection according
to God's Word. And he heard that man reading
the Scripture. He heard him. He was reading
it out loud. I want to make sure that I hear
what I'm reading right here. I'm going to read this and make
sure that this is what it's saying. And he heard that man reading
out of the prophet Isaiah. And the Lord directed Philip
to ask this question, Understandest thou what thou readest? Do you understand what you're
reading? And here's the third reason for
that question. God gave that center, made that
center, directed that center to be honest and meek and submissive
concerning his ignorance. Now there's a miracle of God's
grace God Almighty would give A man, a woman, a spirit of meekness. Do you understand what you're
reading? Nobody wants to admit how ignorant they are. But by
the grace of God, this one did. Verse 31 to 34, and he said, except some man should guide
me." He desired Philip. He'd come up and sit with him.
The place of the Scripture which he read was this. He was led
as a sheep to the slaughter, like a lamb done before his shearer.
So opened he not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment
was taken away. And who shall declare his generation?
For his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered
Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speakest the prophet
this? Of himself or of some other man? He read the Scriptures. He was reading the Scriptures. And he just couldn't understand
it. Has that ever happened to you?
Have you ever read something in the Scriptures and then we
come together and then we go over those Scriptures together
and we expound them and talk about them and hear a preacher
set forth the meaning of that. And you think, why didn't I see that? Why didn't
I understand that? I read that, but he just... He was reading the Scriptures.
Do you understand what you're saying? What you're reading?
How can I? Except a man tell me, expound
to me, explain this to me. Oh, the wonder of God's mercy
to bring a man to admit, I'm ignorant and I need some help. He didn't start confessing how
smart he was. Paul says in Philippians 3, 7,
what things were gained to me, all of my education, all of my
so-called knowledge, those I counted lost. for Christ. This is what a believer says.
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry
clay, set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. Here's
the fourth thing that led up to that question. He heard the
gospel preached. Now the scripture says in verse
35, we read a moment ago, then Philip opened his mouth and began
at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus out
of that Scripture. Now, here's the truth of the
Scriptures. No matter where you are, the
glory of Christ is there. Now, the Lord is going to have
to give us eyes to see it. But I'm telling you, the Lord
on the road to Emmaus, the two men, beginning at Moses, in all
the Scriptures, He expounded unto them the things concerning
Himself. This book, this is the book of
the revelation of the glory of God in the person, the face,
and the character of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who is the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, this is concerning Him. These are they
that testify of Me, the Scripture says, beginning at that Scripture. The gospel, as we've said before,
is absolutely necessary, required, essential in the salvation of
a sinner. Is a man saved any other way
than hearing the gospel preached? No. No. No. Romans 1, 16 and 17, this is
the truth. There are some that believe that
a man can be saved, a woman can be saved without the hearing
of the gospel. That's not so. That is not so. Romans 1, 16, 17, For I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto
salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, also to the
Greek. For therein, therein, is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall
live by faith. The thing that led up to him
asking that question, what doth end of me to be baptized, was
that Almighty God caused this man to hear the gospel of God
preached. When the Lord Jesus Christ, He
preached unto him, Jesus. Now let me tell you, Because
I know this, a lot of folks standing in pulpits and they're saying,
well now I'm preaching Jesus. I'm preaching the Lord. I'm preaching
the Lord Jesus. When Christ is preached, He is
set forth and told why He came into this world. Because men
are lost Helpless, dead sinners against God. They're told that
Almighty God has a people. That the Lord Jesus Christ is
their Savior. They're told why He lived in
the flesh. To establish a righteousness
that they could not. Because they're dead spiritually. They're told when Jesus is preached. He preached unto them Jesus.
They're told why He died. To atone for the sins of His
people. They're told why He came. Why
He lived. Why He died. He put away their
guilt. He was made sin, made a curse
to deliver them from the curse of the law. They're told they
could not do that. Let me ask you this. I've got
a question for you. It's really two questions. I've
got one answer. Let me ask you this question. The gospel. Now I'm going to tell you this,
you know this, not everybody standing in pulpit is preaching
the same thing. Now that's pretty obvious. Here's a question. How do I know the gospel that
I preach is the truth? And here's the second question.
How do I know that my profession is real? How do I know that the
gospel that I hear is the gospel of God's grace. How do I know
that? And how do I know that my profession, that all of my
hope before God, how do I know it's real? Here's the answer.
Who gets the glory for it? Who gets the glory for it? Is
the gospel that I hear Is it the gospel that sets forth that
salvation from conception to final finishing is all of grace? That is all of God's purpose
and God's will? Does it absolutely leave me out
of it for its accomplishment and satisfaction? And is my profession
such that He gets all the honor and glory and praise for choosing,
for saving, for revealing, for keeping, and that I have added
nothing to it. Is the gospel that I hear, does
God get all the glory? Is my profession such that He
gets all the glory? He preached unto Him, Jesus. Here's the fifth thing that led
up to that question. God gave my heart to believe. Thirty-six to forty. As they
went on their way, they came to a certain water, and the eunuch
said, See, here's water. What doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And here was his confession.
He answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God. You will have men say, well,
I preach that Jesus is the Son of God and came into this world
to make salvation possible. You just nullified it. A little
leaven leavened the whole lump. I believe salvation is all of
grace. I believe that salvation is of
the Lord. I believe that it takes God to
save a sinner. And all I have to do is, you
just rent it. That little you right there,
just that little bit, that's all it was, that's all it took.
Living the whole lump. God had sent a preacher, revealed
the ignorance of that man right there. Gave him a heart to ask. What's that saying? Philip preached unto him Jesus. Preached unto him Christ. He
saw some water. And he said, what doth hinder
me to be baptized? Philip's answer was the only
answer that any God-sent preacher is going to give. If thou believest with all thy
heart with an honest heart, that you have no power save yourself.
That salvation is all of grace. That you cast yourself upon Almighty
God's precious Son for salvation. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. I believe that Jesus of Nazareth
is the one promised by God. I believe that He is God in the
flesh. I believe that He is God's Messiah, came into this world
to sovereignly save sinners like me. And Philip baptized Him. And the eunuch went on his way
rejoicing. Now I have this one question
in closing. If you believe this gospel, if you believe this is the gospel
of God, if you believe that, if you believe this is the gospel
of God's sovereign grace, if you believe God's given you a
heart to believe that you have no power in yourself to save
yourself, God has given you provenient grace that has called and led
you, directed you to believe that God has elected a people,
that Christ redeemed those people, that the Spirit of God quickens
them and preserves them. And you have never obediently
confessed the Lord in baptism, then I ask you this question.
What does hinder you to be baptized? What hinders you? Baptism is not salvation. As I said at the beginning of
this message, water doesn't save. 1 Peter 3.21 says that baptism
is the answer of a good conscience toward God. It's the confession
of faith. It's not the putting away of
the filth of this flesh. It's the confession of the one
that does. I pray God bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake.