I want you to take your Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter
16. I had a conversation with a dear
friend this past week, and that conversation I believe, was the way, the means in which
the Lord drew my heart to this message. And I want to read, in Acts 16,
I want to read verses 25 down to some somewhere around 34, 35. And
after we ask our Lord's blessing, I want to deal with a subject
that I think is the subject of all subjects, the question of
all questions. Acts 16, verse 25, And at midnight
Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God. And the prisoners
heard them, And suddenly there was a great earthquake so that
the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all
the doors were opened and every man's bands were loosed. And
the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the
prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed
himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried
with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all
here. Then he called for a light and
sprang in, came trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas and
brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. And they
spake unto him the word of the Lord, and all that were in his
house. And he took them the same hour
of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he
in all his straight way. And when he had brought them
into his house, he said, Meet before them, and rejoiced, believing
in God. with all His house. Let's pray
together. Our Father, have mercy. I ask
You, would You bless Your Word this morning and help us? For Christ's sake. Amen. What a question. Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Now this statement, believe,
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I shall be saved." I believe
it is one of the most misunderstood, abused truths that this world
has ever seen. I know that it does not mean
to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ exists Somebody says,
well, I believe that there's a Lord Jesus Christ. The demons
believe that. It doesn't mean that your belief
or your faith was the source of your salvation. Somebody says, I believe I'm
saved because I exercised my faith. You exercised faith because belief
was already there. You did not become regenerate
because you exercised faith. You believed
because God gave you life first. You cannot do, when you hear
this statement, what must I do to be saved? Let me tell you
what that statement is saying. It means that you of yourself
cannot do anything to be saved. You must believe. There is no doubt about that. But you remember this, the Lord
Jesus Christ said John 15 5, without me you can do nothing. Now you think about this paradox. You have no ability in yourself
to believe. And you must to be saved. You must What must I do to be
saved? I can tell you this concerning
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's from above. All men, the
Scripture says, has not faith. All men have not faith. Philippians 1.29, for unto you
it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on
Him, but also to suffer for His sake. Let me tell you what the already
made alive, what the regenerated sinner, what the one that is
born from above, believes. He believes, first of all, That
he can do nothing to save himself. And that he is saved totally
by the grace and power and will and purpose of Almighty God. He believes that. A believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ never trusts in his faith He never trusts his faith. As
I said before, faith did not die for you. But you must have
faith. Jonah 2.9 says this, salvation
is of the Lord. And when you look at The title,
the name, LORD, it's capital L-O-R-D, all caps, meaning the
eternal self-existent one. Salvation is of the triune God
in its eternal conception, eternally conceived, to its eternal accomplishment. Man has no part in it except
that he is the recipient of it. Man's will, man's works, man's
efforts adds nothing to salvation. He is the object of God's mercy
and salvation. Romans 9.23 says that he might
make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of honor
which he had aforeprepared unto glory. 1 Thessalonians 5, 9, For God hath
not appointed us to wrath, but obtained salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with him." A sinner must believe. He must believe. But he believes
that he was converted, that he was born again, not of blood,
Not because his mom and daddy was a believer, nor the will
of the flesh, not because mom and daddy wanted him to be saved.
Not of the will of man, not because he had a free will, but of God. He was born of God. Salvation
is not an uncertainty. Salvation actually had no beginning. No beginning. Now, I do understand
that there is a manifestation of salvation in time. That is true. That's true. Salvation. The salvation of God's elect
was eternally settled in that everlasting counsel of God's
will and purpose God purposed that mankind would not perish. That's what John 3.16, God so
loved the order of man, the world, the arrangement. God purposed
that mankind, because of his rebellion against God, would
not perish. And you just stop right now and
just think, had God not purposed, had God not elected, had God
not chosen to justly satisfy His broken law and establish
a righteousness that would actually be imputed to a people that He
purposed would not fulfill Be lost if God had not purposed
to do that. When man fell in the garden,
when Adam fell, everybody fell. And leave them alone. Leave them
alone. And they're dead. They're dead. People talk of
election as if it's some kind of an evil thing. Election. Election. Oh, the blessing. Mercy of Almighty God that would
elect, that would choose to show mercy. God Almighty sent forth
Jeremiah 31, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore,
have I called you. Chose to show mercy to you. He
chose according to His Word. We've read Ephesians 1 for so
many times. God hath from the beginning chosen
in Christ. We should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. But God, the Scripture says,
out of every kindred, tongue, people, blood, every family,
every family that this world has ever known, you're going
to find somebody in that ancestry, somebody That Almighty God, there
may be, as far as particularly in your family, there may be
one. You may be it. As far as you
know. But I can tell you that Almighty
God chose to show mercy to every representative, every family,
every nation, every kindred. God elected, selected, chose,
gave them to the Son for safekeeping. And He is their surety. He is
their life. He is their salvation. And Almighty
God, in electing grace, choosing them in Christ to be holy and
without blame before Him in love, saved them eternally. He saved them first. First. He saw their substitute slain
from before the foundation of the world, and there was eternally,
eternally. Now, here is where salvation
was found eternally. In God's will, God's purpose,
God's choice. There was no moving or procuring
or assisting help from the objects of God's mercy. They weren't
even there physically. And man now thinks that man is
the contributor? No, sir. You listen to this scripture,
1 Timothy 1.9, "...who hath saved us And called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. Who saved us in Christ. given us before this world ever
had any physical foundation. Oh, the blessing of the security
of God's salvation. He shall not fail. Isaiah 42. Let me read this for
you. Isaiah 42, verses 1 to 4. The Scripture says, Behold My
servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth."
He's talking about Christ. I have put my spirit upon Him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall He not break. Smoking flax shall He not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he has set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait
for his law." You know what that means? He's going to do God's
will. He's going to save God's people. He's going to redeem and bring
unto the Father all that the Father chose in Him. John 17
says, "...as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that
he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."
He didn't come into this world to make salvation possible. No,
sir. No, sir. The Son of Man has come
to seek and to save that which was lost. They were saved in Him from before
the foundation of the world. And you know what's going to
happen? Almighty God is going to, therefore, call them with
a holy calling, a heavenly calling, an effectual calling. He lived obediently for them,
died for them, being made sin. bore their guilt in His own body. He is their righteousness, their
obedience before God, God Almighty, who looked and considered them
in Christ before the foundation of the world. He is their obedience. And He is their payment for that
which they in Adam and in themselves disobeyed. Those that the Father
eternally knew. Those that the Father gave Him. Christ came to get them. They're
His. And they're going to be with
Him. All that the Father has given me shall come to me. And Him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out." How do you know? How do you know?
How do you know that God is going to save them? How do you know? Because Almighty God said He
would. That ends it. That's the end of it. Isaiah
46 verses 9 to 11 says this, Remember the former things of
old, for I am God. There's none else. I'm God, there's none like me."
Declaring the end from the beginning. What did he say? He said, I've
saved them. And that salvation was given
them in Christ. From before the foundation of
the world. I am declaring the end from the
beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done. Saying, my counsel shall stand,
and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executed my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken it, and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed
it, and I will also do it. I will do it. I will. A believer. He believes that
man is totally depraved. That means no part of his being
pleases God, not in himself. A believer believes that God
does have a people, an elect people. A believer believes that
Christ died in particular for those people. A believer believes
that God's sheep, those that God has chosen to show mercy
to, are going to be converted. They shall be called out of darkness. And a believer believes that
God is going to keep them. They know this. Almighty God must have mercy
on me. Let me ask you this. Who shall be saved? Acts 13.48
says, as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed. Now, I've got a question for
you. And in this question, I've got three things that I'm going
to close with concerning believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's
my question. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Do you believe on the Son of
God? Now, here's the statement. A Philippian jailer asked the
Apostle Paul and Silas, what must I do? And he wasn't asking,
what do I need to do for myself in order that God would save
me? Because if he had asked that question, Paul would have never
given the answer. He did. Paul the Apostle, who was blessed
by the Spirit of God to set forth God's sovereignty, God's electing,
particular, redeeming grace. If Paul the Apostle thought that
he was asking, what can I do of myself, from myself, in order
to merit salvation? What can I do? He would have
never said this. His question was this. What's the evidence? What's the evidence of salvation?
What is the evidence of salvation? And Paul gave this answer. Believing
on the Lord Jesus Christ is the evidence of it. Now, I've got
three questions now in answer to the question that I just asked.
Do you, do I believe scripturally on the Lord Jesus Christ? Do
I believe? Here's my first question. Are
you concerned about believing Him? Are you concerned about
it? Do I believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ? Listen to me. It is not true
that believing on Christ has no apprehensions with it. It's
not true. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ In myself, there are some struggles
that go on. Paul said in Philippians 3.10,
that I may know Him. Can you ask that question? Oh, that
I may know Him. And the power of His resurrection,
the fellowship of His sufferings. Let me ask you this. This question,
can you make this statement out of Mark 9.21, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Does it bother
you? Do you struggle with believing? In proportion as we love and
value something, the more apprehension we have of its assurance and
its safety. God's people strive to enter
in. They strive to enter. They struggle. The striving of
sin that dwells within my flesh causes me to say, Lord, help
me. Lord, save me. I'm going to perish. Does it ever bother you when
you see the workings of sin that's still present in your flesh.
Does that ever bother you? Does it bother you that you try
to pray and you find yourself, as we've talked about before,
wondering in my mind, where have I been? What am I doing? I'm supposed to be talking to
the Lord of glory. Why am I thinking that? Does
it? Bother you? Are you concerned
about believing Him? These fears, let me give you
some comfort on this. These fears are a token for good. Those struggles, they are a token
for good. They're like smoke. You know,
smoke is not fire. But I'll tell you one thing,
it proves the existence of it. A smoke that comes up. You know
what I can say? There's fire down there. That
fire hadn't gone out. Strugglings and strivings and
warrings within. They're not salvation. Those
struggles are not salvation. But they indicate there's a concern
for Him. Lord, that I might know You.
Here's my second question. What is my estimation of Christ. 1 Peter 2 says this, unto you therefore
that believe, he is precious. Now let me tell you what that
means. Let me just bring it down to where we can understand it. Is he all you've got? Is he all you've got? Is He all you have for life? Whatever you trust in, whatever
you believe, whatever you're resting in, whatever it is, it
better stand before God Almighty on its own merit. It better be
perfect. If you're trusting in your decision,
you better believe this, it better be a perfect decision. If you're
trusting in your church membership, If you're trusting in your baptism,
if you're trusting in speaking in tongues, whatever you're trusting
in, it better be perfect. There better not be one deviation
in it. Not one discrepancy. He's all I've got. He's all I've
got. Consider him who was rich. The firesakes became poor, and
Lord, I know, I know that's true. I know that's true. Oh, Lord,
help me. Help me. For I struggle with
believing that as I ought. I know that He died. The Scripture says He died. Under the judgment of Almighty
God, under God's wrath for His people. I know that. He said
that. He said, John 10, 15, I lay down
my life for the sheep. And He turned to some Pharisees
and He said, you're not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice and they
follow Me. You're not My sheep. My sheep
hear Me. They rest in Me. They trust Me. Here's the thing. I know, I know
He's precious. I know that He's the only hope
that a sinner has. And Lord, in knowing that, I
go back to point one. Lord, I struggle with belief. And I know all the while, Lord,
I don't have any confidence in my flesh. I know that. I walk
down an aisle. Three or four times. Three or
four times. I've been in the water. I've
been in the water, I know, at least three times. Thinking back,
well, maybe it didn't take. I might have to make a sanction.
Maybe I wasn't assured. Maybe I didn't feel like I should
have. Maybe I had a bad day that day. I know this. He's the only hope
that I've got. Your brother's got you safe.
He's all you've got. That's all you need. And then
thirdly and lastly, do you want, do you truly want to follow after
Him? Do you want to? Now, I know the
struggles. I've already talked about that.
I know the struggles. I know the strivings. I know
that which goes on. I know something about the war
within. But has He given you a heart
to long after Him? is obedience to Him, your heart,
your desire. Lord, I want to. I want to. I want to know You. Lord, I want
to see You in these Scriptures. Lord, I want to hear Your voice.
You said You're sheep. Hear Your voice. Lord, speak
to me. Lord, help me. We've been going through Hebrews
11. These evidences of faith. Scripture says Abraham believed.
Abraham obeyed. Noah moved with fear. Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice. Don't you know that those men
and those women that were spoken of in Hebrews 11, they struggled
just like we do. There was a heart that God had
put within. And they knew, He's my only hope. I struggle. He's all I've got. He's precious. He's precious.
And I want to follow after Him. A believer, though he knows that
the struggles are there, he seeks his honor. He wants to hear his
word. He longs to follow him in obedience. And all the while, he knows this,
Lord, unless you save me, I have no hope. Now, let me ask you
this. Knowing something about the struggles
that you have. Knowing something. Struggling, striving after to
be found in Him as your only hope. He's precious to you. He's
all you've got. Not your free will. Not your
baptism. Not your church membership. Not
your decision. I'm talking about your salvation,
all of grace. to you according to the Scriptures,
in Christ Jesus before the world began, and then having saved
you eternally, called you with a holy calling, awakened you
to your condition and need of Him. And you found those gloryings
and strivings, and you knew by faith, He's all I've got. He's all I've got. I have nothing
else. I don't have anything else. And I walked to follow after
Him. You believe that? Then God's done something for
you. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen.