Okay, let's be turning to Acts
chapter 13. Acts 13. We're picking up in about verse
15 when the Apostles Paul and Barnabas went to Antioch in Pisidia. And there, Paul preached the
Lord Jesus Christ to the Jews in their synagogue. They were
in the synagogue. They heard the reading of the
prophets and of the law. And they asked him if they had
anything to say. And so he stood up. And the thing
he had to say was Christ crucified. He preached the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, these truths are simple
truths. but they're taken for granted
today. People feel like they're familiar
and old and tired, but to you that are sinners, sinners in
bondage, sinners in need, to you these words are glad tidings,
glad tidings. This news is so glorious in salvation
that we're told at the end of our text, verse 42, Verse 42,
that when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought that these words, these words might be preached to them
the next Sabbath. And so we see actually a picture
there. It's foretelling of how the Lord
would bring this word to the Gentiles. That's a very prophetic
word there, when the Jews went out. and those after the seed
of Abraham. And so what Paul had said to
those Jews is very applicable. It's most applicable. It's all
applicable to the Gentiles. Everything he said to them is
a blessing to you that hear and believe, whether you are a Jew
by the flesh or a Gentile. All these things are the same
for sinners, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. So all that
our God promised believing Jews, he did the same to believing
Gentiles. These words are for you, you,
because Christ our Lord has a mystical body, a mystical body whom he
redeemed, and his people are all revealed in him by faith
through the giving of the Holy Ghost. revealed by faith. Now I want to highlight five
glorious truths to you this morning from what Paul preached to the
Jews here, and by extension to you that are Gentiles, who are
sinners in need, who cry out to the Lord, I want to hear these
words. Preach these words to me. Speak
these words to my heart, Lord. speak these words to my soul.
First, I'll give you the five. First, there is an election of
God. There is a chosen people of God. Second, we see how that God keeps
his word of promise to you who are his chosen beloved people.
Third, that Christ Jesus, the Son of God, came in the flesh
and accomplished the glorious redemption of his people given
to him by the Father before the foundation of the world, fourth,
that there is a resurrection of the dead, and then fifth,
that there is a new birth, that pictures and foretells, foreshadows,
is a down payment to you that these things are so, that God
has done this for you, for you. So these five things. So let's
pick up in Acts 13, verse 17, where Paul testifies that God
has a chosen elect people. A chosen elect people that he
chose, that he chooses to be gracious to. Verse 17. Paul tells us that the God of
this people, of Israel, chose our fathers. He chose our fathers
and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land
of Egypt, and with an high arm brought He them out of it. So, of all the peoples of the
earth, what Paul's saying here, of all the nations, of all the
tribes, of all the peoples of the earth, God chose Abraham. God chose the seed of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob to bring forth the Messiah. Right? To bring
forth the Messiah, that promised seed. And God's choosing of this
seed of people is further testified to in scripture that it doesn't
end with the lineage of Abraham according to the flesh. The election
is not limited to Abraham's physical seed, but that there is a spiritual
seed that is also the elect, the chosen of the true and living
God. And so it's from all peoples,
whether Jew or Gentiles, out of every kindred, tongue, people
and nation, right? And so, if you turn over with
me to Ephesus, to Ephesians, Paul's writing this to the church
of Ephesus, right? We're going to come back to Acts
13, but Paul's writing to the Ephesians in chapter 1, in verse
4, we begin, that it's according, right? This is the Gentile church
of Ephesus. These are Gentiles that Paul's
writing to. According as God hath chosen
Us. us brethren you that believe
you that hear and believe and rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ
God hath chosen us he chose the early fathers of Abraham Isaac
and Jacob and now we find that he has chosen us in Christ before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love having predestinated us He predestinated
us, brethren, unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Not according
to your works, not according to my works, but as it pleased
Him. He chooses whom He will, and
whom He wills, He hardens in their sin. But to whom He will
be gracious to, He will be gracious. for you upon whom he will have
compassion, he will be compassionate, he will show you mercy in and
by the Lord Jesus Christ to the praise of the glory of his grace
wherein he hath made us, you Gentile believers, hoping in
the Lord Jesus Christ where God is gracious to us and hath made
us accepted in thee beloved. And this gospel is only continuing
to be preached to this day, this world only continues to be in
existence to this day because there is yet at this present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. That's why God has continued
this world. because he has yet a people whom
he shall bring forth into this world and be gracious to them
and in revealing Christ Jesus to them, calling them out of
darkness. And so just as God delivered
the people of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt, so God delivers
all of his people today. That bondage in Egypt for Israel
there is a picture testifying of all of us by nature. We're
all born slaves to sin and death and ruined by nature. And just
as God plucked them out of Egypt, they didn't deliver themselves,
God delivered them. So God delivers us out of our
bondage, out of our slavery to sin, and death, and the devil,
and the way of this world. He delivers us, brethren. And
so our Lord does this. We can't do it, God must deliver
us by his glory and power. All right, so there's no difference.
What you see being testified of Israel, don't shut it off
there. It's the same for all his people,
Jew and Gentile. Second, Paul shows us that God
fulfills his word of promise to his elect people. He keeps
his word to his people. And so to do this, Paul begins
describing how that Israel was settled in the land of Canaan
when God brought them out of their bondage. And after he brings
them out of their bondage, He gave them judges to guide them,
to rule them, to help them, to minister the spirit to them.
And then he follows this up with kings. And there is the giving
of Saul, who is a picture of the old man of flesh. He came
forth first, and then came David. He's a picture of the new man
of grace. First comes the old man of flesh,
just like us, we're born of the flesh, and then comes the new
man, born of his power and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
so then he gives his spirit, which is eternal. Eternal, right? Because there's many kings that
came after David, but God gives us promise in David, in David
of this Messiah, of this promised seed. Look down at Acts 13, 22
and 23. And when God had removed Saul,
he raised up unto them David to be their king. to whom also
he gave their testimony and said, I have found David, the son of
Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of this man's seed hath God,
according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus."
Now, this promise began with our first parents. It was given
to Adam and Eve first. To all of us who are born of
Adam's corrupt seed, there's a promise of God, of what God
would do to save his people, how this one would crush the
head of the serpent and deliver his people from condemnation. then he revealed it to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and down to Judah, and then down to David,
right? So David, and it shows that from
his loins the kingdom of God would be established forever
and have no end. that we have eternal life in
the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Samuel, if you want to see
these, you can turn to these, but I'll go through them quickly.
In 2 Samuel 7, verse 12, our Lord, speaking to David, says,
and when thy days shall be fulfilled, this is David according to the
flesh, the actual King David in the flesh, thou shalt sleep
with thy fathers. And thou shalt see with thy fathers,
I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out
of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. And that kingdom,
once established, has no end. No end in Christ. Then over in
Psalm 132. Psalm 132, first in verse 11,
and then verses 17 and 18. Verse 11, the Lord hath sworn
in truth unto David. He will not turn from it. Of
the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. Verse 17, there
will I make the horn or the strength of David to bud, to be fruitful. I have ordained a lamp for mine
anointed. This is the word of God who is
the light of the world. who reveals to us the Father,
who reveals salvation to the hearts of his people. His enemies
will I clothe with shame, but upon himself shall his crown
flourish." His head is glorious, and he is our head, the head
of the body, the Lord Jesus Christ, our King, our all, brethren. And then again, in Jeremiah 23,
verses 5 and 6, The days come, saith the Lord,
that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king
shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice
in the earth. In his days, Judah shall be saved,
and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is his name, whereby
he shall be called the Lord our righteousness." And that's our
profession. That's our hope, brethren. that
I will be found not in mine own righteousness, which is after
the law, and stand before God in my works, in my thoughts,
in my deeds, in what I have or have not done, no thank you. But he is my righteousness and
my hope to stand before the true and living God who knows the
heart, who sees all, brethren, and nothing is hid from his sight.
We come to glorious God in the blood of the Lamb, who has expunged
and put out our sins, who has delivered us from all iniquity
and put it away forever, forever and ever, so that we stand righteous
in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our righteousness imputed
unto us, brethren. He's our glorious salvation. So this is the Savior who crushed
the head of the serpent and delivered His people, who made a public
spectacle of all our enemies and all who opposed Him. And
we stand triumphantly in Him. in him, in his glorious salvation. And as God fulfilled his word
in sending his Christ, so the Lord is able to send his word
into your hearts and to make him known to you and to give
you a hope, a true hope, a sure and certain hope in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Look to him. Cry unto him for
it. He says, I will be sought of
this by my people, and I'll do it for them. I will, and you
shall. He makes this known in the day
of his power, brethren. And so in Acts 13, 26 now, back
in Acts 13, verse 26, men and brethren, Paul said, children
of the stock of Abraham and whosoever among you that feareth God, whoever
you are, Doesn't matter what family you're born into, doesn't
matter what your background is, what you came from, whether riches
or poverty, whether ignorance or brilliance, doesn't matter.
Whosoever of you that feareth God, to whom God hath revealed
this, put this fear in you, made you to tremble, made you to know
your need, made you to hear his word, to you is the word of this
salvation sent. Do you hear it? Is there a sinner
in this room? Because this word is for you,
sinner. It's for you. God has sent it to you to give
you this good news and for you to hear these glorious, glad
tidings. Third, Paul tells us how. How can this be that a man, me,
a sinner, can be justified with God? How can this be? Because
God hath accomplished our redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, whom
he sent to save his people from their sins. We are delivered
by the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes I'm faithful
in what I'm supposed to be doing. Sometimes I'm not. Thankfully,
it's not me. It's not my faithfulness. It's
the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ that you're saved. Because he felleth not. He never
ceases. He never comes up short. He saves
his people to the uttermost. And he did so, when he sent his
son into the world, he sent forth a man, a voice crying in the
wilderness, in the spirit and power of Elijah, John the Baptist,
and he testified that this Jesus of Nazareth is the Lamb which
taketh away the sin of the world. Not every individual in the world,
but that there is one Savior, one salvation, given by God,
put into this world, sent into this world, even the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's who He is. There's one
Savior. If you're saved, if you're accepted of God and forgiven
of your sins, it's in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
the Savior of the world. There's not another. That's what
He's saying. So that some from the Jews and
some from the Gentiles and all various nations of the Gentiles
called out, out of bondage and darkness and slavery in that
bondage pictured in Israel and Egypt. So we are delivered ourselves,
brethren. And the apostles testified that
though the people of Israel, by and large, not all, some were
apostles and disciples, but some, most of Israel rejected him and
despised him. But they said in Acts 2.23, him
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. God did this to save you, his
elect people, whom he loved and chose before the foundation of
the world and put into the hands of Christ. God did this, ye have
taken. There were Jews there. You've
taken them and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. And so let me read what Paul
declares here because it speaks to, in our text, it speaks to
just how vile, how corrupt, how ruined in sin, how wretched we
are by nature. We didn't save ourselves. God
did this, accomplished this salvation, this glorious redemption in spite
of us. All right, and so it says in
Acts 13, verse 27 through 30, for they that dwell at Jerusalem
and their rulers, because they knew him not, none of us know
him until he reveals himself to us. Nor yet the voices of
the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day, they have
fulfilled them in condemning him." Man, we can read this book. There's people that have memorized
most of this book, a lot of it. and yet they still miss Christ.
If God leaves you to yourself, you could be a scholar, a scholar
of these things, and yet be dead in trespasses and sins, and have
no knowledge of the true and living God, completely miss Christ
and his salvation. And though they found no cause
of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be
slain. And when they had fulfilled all
that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and
laid him in a sepulcher. But God raised him from the dead. Our Lord Jesus Christ was raised
from the dead. He triumphed over all his enemies
and all your enemies who hope in him. He accomplished this
redemption in a most glorious and spectacular manner. And Paul
tells us in Galatians 2.20 that believers, all believers, are
crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, we live, yet not
I, Paul said, not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me. and gave himself for me. Though
a sinner I am, and he showed me my sin and my ruined, rebellious,
wicked nature, yet in Christ he's given me hope, the savior
of sinners, the one who accomplished our redemption. In verse 32,
he shows this is our hope, brethren, fixed in Christ. It's fixed in
him who went before us. Verse 32, and we declare unto
you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the
fathers, right, is made unto us. These glad tidings, these
are the spiritual blessings which are given to you. Spiritual blessings
given unto the family of God in Christ. Glad tidings of pardon. which we have received of God
by his word declaring unto us that you're free, you're forgiven,
you're delivered by the blood of Christ. These are glad tidings
of peace. I couldn't make peace with God.
I tried, I went this way and that way and tried that religious
thing and this religious thing, this work and stopped doing this
and I found no peace and no comfort. But the glad tidings are that
by Jesus Christ we are forgiven. That's peace, brethren, that's
comfort. That he's not looking at my sin
and my heart, he looks to his son and sees us perfectly righteous
in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now to rejoice in glad tidings
of life which is ours through the Lord Jesus Christ so that
God has revealed this mystery which scholars and brilliant
people, and people better than me, miss entirely. But he's made it known to you
that Christ is all, that he's my Lord and Savior, that he's
my acceptance with the Father. That's wonderful, brethren. Glad
tidings of righteousness, which is the righteousness of Christ
that is imputed unto us. and that by his promise we shall
be free of this body of sin when it lays in the dust and Christ
returns and by his commandment raises us with a new body forever
and ever. He does it. So in short, we've
received salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ, who undertook our
salvation, our need, by Himself as the surety of His people. Are you hungering and thirsting
for righteousness? These are glad tidings for hungering
sinners. I know we're dead. We're thick
and lethargic and sleepy. These are glad tidings, glad
tidings for sinners, glad tidings for those who know what they
are in this flesh, who know that we have no righteousness of our
own. These are glad tidings, blessed tidings. So God reveals
this understanding of the promise of his grace to sinners, first
made known to Abraham. and Isaac, and to Jacob, to Judah,
and David, and now is made known unto us by the Lord Jesus Christ. For God, who commanded the light,
who created the world, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, to publish these
glad tidings to you, brethren. Salvation is not by our works. It's not by your works or my
works, by our religion or our decisions or our prayers or our
walking in idol. It is by the glorious power of
God made known unto you effectually in your heart by Christ and by
the giving of his spirit and by his birth in you, by his salvation
and light and life which is given unto you. That's how you know. Fourth, Paul affirms that there
is a resurrection of the dead. There is a resurrection. Verse
33, God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that
he hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the
second Psalm, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And that means, what Paul is
saying there, is that when Christ was raised from the dead, God
manifested to all that this is the Son of God, the eternal Son
of God. This is how Paul said those words
in Romans 1-4. concerning our resurrection,
Romans 1, 4, and declare, Christ is declared to be the Son of
God with power. That's what he's talking about,
with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
of the dead. That's what he's saying. This
is the Son of God. This is very God. Come in the
flesh, brethren, who laid aside his glory for us. undeserving sinners. That's what's
being declared there. And Paul continues to speak on
this resurrection because the natural man can hardly believe
it. Sure, like in a sense here, we're
in church and we go along with it, but when you think about
it, it seems impossible. And yet it's so that we shall
be raised from the dead and live forever with our God. So Paul
goes on saying, verse 34, and as concerning that he raised
him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption,
he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of
David. That's what he's talking about,
the sure mercies of David, meaning Christ rose from the dead, but
he didn't go back to that grave a second time. He rose from the
dead, and after a short time, revealing himself, affirming
these things, giving the commission to his disciples, then he ascended
to the Father, and is now seated on the right hand of the throne
of God, ruling and reigning for evermore. So that this pictures
and testifies that he, as he conquered death, so you and I,
brethren, in him, by his glorious power, conquer death. And it's
first pictured and revealed in us by Him raising us from spiritual
death. You that believe Christ, you
that hope in the Lord Jesus Christ have been raised from spiritual
death and bondage and tinkering around and toying around and
playing games in religion with robes and garbs and chants and
songs and things that you thought once saved you. But now all that's
been shown to be put away by Christ, and you look to the Lord
Jesus Christ and live by his spirit, and hear his voice, and
he talks to you, not by a law written in stone, but in your
heart, and the giving of his spirit. And you have the truth
and light of God rising up in you as a fountain of living water
that never ceases and never ends. so that you are fit right now,
brethren, to stand before holy God. And he says, as I've raised
you from the dead and given you an ear to hear my voice and a
willing heart to follow me, so I shall come again in that day
of my choosing. And I will call you and raise
you from the dead, giving you a new body, just as I've given
you a new spirit and a new heart this day. And you'll be with
me. in a new heavens and a new earth
forevermore. Forevermore, all things are passed
away. Behold, all things are become new. Let me just jump
down that because of this, these sure mercies of David in which
God raised him from the dead, verse 38, be it known unto you
therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. Believe it. Your sins are put
away by the God-man mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that
by him all that believe, Jew or Gentile, are justified from
all things from which he could not be justified by the law of
Moses. He's done it. He's done it, brethren. Amen. Don't refuse from him.
Don't turn from him. Don't shut your ear to him. He
is the Savior whom the Father hath sent. He saves his people
gloriously, brethren. Turning from him, you'll be bearing
your own sins in that day of judgment. And you'll see him
on the throne judging you, whose word is true and righteous and
holy and perfect and sure and certain. Then fifth. Paul's warning confirms that
we need a new birth. These are the last two verses
here, verse 40 and 41. Beware, therefore, lest that
come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets. Behold, ye
despisers, and wonder, and perish. For I work a work in your days,
a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare
it unto you. That's how foolish and ignorant
and blind and deaf and dumb man is by nature, that he cannot
see these things. He cannot hear these things.
He will not believe these things except God give you the spirit. And you that believe Christ this
day, That is the testimony and power of God that He has given
you eternal life in His darling Son, Jesus Christ, who shed His
blood to put away your filth and your sin and your iniquities
and your trespasses and your transgressions away forever by
Him. It's by the Spirit of God that
your ear is open to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. It
is by that new birth of his spirit given unto you, that you follow
Christ and walk by faith in him. And though we don't see in ourselves
what we would see or what we should think we should see, we
wait patiently by hope for the fulfillment of his word of promise
to us unto the end. Unto the end. And you that continue
in Christ and hope in him, you will not come short. It's his
power upholding you. You persevere because He preserves
you in His grace and power. So these are the words. These words are the words of
Christ's salvation for sinners. And that's what the Gentiles,
when the Jews went out, they said, give us these words. Sirs,
we would see Jesus. Show us Jesus. Show us the Lord.
Let us hear these blessed words. And I pray, Lord, let us hear
these blessed words in our hearts unto the saving of our souls.
Amen.