chapter 18 and beginning at verse
24 continuing these sermons, these messages in the book of
Acts. What does a Christian believe?
What does a Christian believe? And are you a Christian? This
is the question that I would ask. Many people would say in
the world today, it's probably estimated that about one billion,
that's a thousand million people in the world today would say
that they're Christians, as opposed to any other religion. You know,
I don't know how many of us there are in the world, six billion
is it? Maybe it's more than that now. But one billion of them
say that they are Christians. But when I ask the question,
are you a Christian? You have to say, well I don't
know, it depends what you mean by that. You could go and ask
people literally this morning up the high street in Nethworth,
are you a Christian? And they'd say yes, but their
definition of what a Christian is is completely different to
what yours might be. There are all sorts of things
like that. I was listening to Henry on a message that he must
have preached 20 or 30 years ago but as always it's the same
message ringing out and he said people say to him, do you believe
in sovereign grace? And he said, I say to them, I
don't know. It depends what you mean. When you use the term sovereign
grace you might not mean the same as what the scripture means
when it uses the term or when it expounds the doctrines of
sovereign grace. We have to be clear what we mean.
Many think they're Christians but by what definition are they
Christians? Now in this passage from Acts
18, 24 down to verse 7 of chapter 19 we see a preacher and some
disciples and they're people who think they're Christians,
they appear as Christians, there's a lot of their behavior that
looks Christian but I think we can infer from the passage and
I hope I'm not going too far with this analysis that they're
not really until they are shown clearly what is called in verse
26 the way of God more perfectly until they're shown that and
they see that I don't know whether they are Christians I would think
probably not because a true Christian knows that way of God more perfectly
there is one way of God that you must know and it's that on
which your faith is built it's that on which you rest and trust
It's the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I want
to look at a preacher and some disciples, then I want to look
at some humble instructors, and then I want to look at this way
of God. So that's the outline of the
sermon this morning. A preacher and some disciples. Look in verse 24 of Acts 18. And a certain Jew named Apollos,
born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures,
came to Ephesus. this man, Apollos, he was a Jew.
He was born in Alexandria, which is in Egypt, and what we read
about him is that he was an eloquent man. He was good with words.
He was a good public speaker. He was an effective public speaker. You know the way it is, that
there are all sorts of public speakers, and there are some
that are very easy to listen to, and there are others that
are not so easy to listen to. Many would say that Our previous
Prime Minister was a very eloquent public speaker, but our current
Prime Minister doesn't seem to have the same facility and ease
with words, and he's not as easy to listen to as the previous
guy was, and so it is, that's just the way it is. This man,
Apollos, was good with words, he was easy to listen to, and
not only that, he was mighty in the Scriptures. Mighty in
the Scriptures. He was strong in the Scriptures.
He knew the Old Testament Scriptures. He was familiar with them. They
were familiar territory. He could cite them. He could
quote them. As something cropped up in conversation,
he knew just where to go in the Scriptures, because the Scriptures
had taught him. They had been his food. He'd fed on them. He knew the
Scriptures. He was mighty in the Scriptures.
He could cite them appropriately. No doubt he knew that they spoke
of the Messiah to come. And he was quite clear as to
what the Scriptures were about. And it says in verse 25, this
man was instructed in the way of the Lord. Instructed. The
word there is catechized. Now, do you know what a catechism
is? A catechism is a structured set of questions and answers. There are some famous reformed
catechisms that are a structured set of questions and answers
about doctrine. And the idea is that if you know
these things, you have a pretty good summary of what the scriptures
teach. Beware of people who make the catechism superior to scripture. Whether they do it deliberately
and overtly or not, they certainly do it without realising that
they're doing it. There's a lot of people whose
doctrine comes from a catechism in this world, in reformed circles. It doesn't come from the scriptures,
it comes from the catechism. Because they haven't got it from
the scriptures, they've got it from the catechism. But this
man Apollos was catechized, he'd been instructed in a structured
way as to what biblical doctrine was, the doctrine of the Old
Testament. This is pure speculation but perhaps he was taught by
his parents who perhaps had been disciples of John. It might fit,
historically it could well fit that they had been disciples
of John and that in all sorts of persecutions they'd moved
to Egypt and in Egypt, in Alexandria, on the coast in Egypt, This man,
Apollos, had been born. But they brought him up instructing
him in the doctrines that John the Baptist had taught. John
the Baptist. And what was John's doctrine?
It was a doctrine of preparation. It was a teaching of preparation.
Repent. Be baptized. Show that you're
washing away your sins symbolically because you're preparing the
way of the Lord. And, you know, in Isaiah chapter
40, comfort my people. And it talks about every valley
being made level and the rough places plain. Make a way for
the Lord to come because our God is coming to earth. Say unto
the cities of Judah, Behold your God. And John went out there,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He went out and the
people came to him and he said, Prepare the way of the Lord.
Our God is coming. These prophecies are going to
be fulfilled. There is one coming who is the
the long-promised Messiah the anointed one of God and this
man Apollos had been taught these things and he was fervent in
the spirit clearly he wasn't one of these kind of secret academic
studiers of these things he was fervent in the spirit and he
spoke and he taught diligently the things of the Lord but look
verse 25 he knew only the baptism of John What was it only to know
the baptism of John? Well the baptism of John, as
I've said, was a baptism of repentance and of preparation and of commitment
and of determination. Almost, I don't like to use this
phrase but I will anyway because I think it conveys what I mean.
You know we say New Year's resolutions and the turning over of a new
leaf and a determination to be different and to do things differently
and to get ready for this one coming. And maybe his parents
had been there the day when John pointed to Jesus of Nazareth
and said behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world he's coming repent for the kingdom of God is at hand
the Christ the God-man is coming the Lamb of God you see he was
a strong guy wasn't he and wouldn't we say in these days what a guy
to have on your side oh if we could have an Apollos here oh
how mighty it would be Powerful in the Scriptures. Really, really
good persuasive speaker. Fervent in the Spirit. Diligently
teaching the things of the Lord. But he only knew the baptism
of John. He only knew the baptism of preparation. That was all
he knew. Surely we would say he was an
eminent Christian, wouldn't we? Surely we would say he was a
powerful preacher. You must come and hear him, wouldn't
we? Doubt him at your peril. You don't cross paths with him.
He's mighty in the Scriptures. Do you know there are many, many
preachers today who are very, very effective preachers. They're
mighty in the Scriptures. They know the Scriptures. But
I wonder how far they've gone in terms of their knowledge.
Are they almost like this one, Apollos, knowing only the baptism
of John? Knowing only certain things and
not coming to the conclusion that we'll come to somewhat later?
And then look down in chapter 19. There's a preacher. There's
a preacher. And then look in chapter 19. There were certain
disciples in verse 1. Paul, having passed through the
upper coast, came to Ephesus. And finding certain disciples,
he said unto them, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? They looked like believers. They
certainly professed that they were believers. But they were
clearly lacking something. He said to them, Have you received
the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said to him, We haven't
so much as heard. whether there be any Holy Ghost,
in the terms of... I'm sure they'd heard of the
Holy Ghost, because if they were followers of the doctrines and
baptism of John, which they were, he spoke of the Holy Ghost coming,
and anointing, and baptizing with the Holy... Christ coming
and baptizing with the Holy... He spoke of those things, but
it must mean in the sense that the effects of the Holy Ghost
coming, they didn't know. They didn't know, they'd never
experienced it. Obviously, in these days, there were the charismatic
gifts. The Scripture wasn't yet completed.
And we see how it's worked out in that when the Holy Ghost came
on them in verse 6, they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
They demonstrated charismatic gifts, which today are not present
and haven't been since the completion of the canon of Scripture. The
Word of God is complete. What more can He say than, to
you He hath said, you who unto Jesus for refuge have fled? No,
the scripture is complete now, but then that was an evident
sign that the Holy Ghost had come upon them. But there's another
sign, I believe, that Paul discerned, that we would discern. These
people looked like believers, they'd been baptized into something,
but they were clearly lacking something which made him doubt
whether they were true believers. I believe what it was, was evidence
of Holy Spirit quickening. The Holy Spirit who comes and
makes a light. The Holy Spirit who comes and
shines the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ into darkened hearts. It's knowledge of Christ
that the Holy Spirit brings. You read John chapter 16. When
the Holy Spirit comes He will not speak of Himself. Those who
say, oh the Holy Spirit this and the Holy Spirit that and
we worship the Holy Spirit. Do you know the Holy Spirit when
He comes for sure He does not speak of Himself but He speaks
of Christ. He takes of the things of Christ
and shows them to us. Christ as a man on earth could
only be in one place at once. He was limited by a physical
body. And He said, I go away to you and it's good for you.
I go away from you and it's good that I go away from you. Because
if I go not away, the Comforter won't be able to come. But when
He goes away, the Comforter comes. And His Holy Spirit, it doesn't
matter if you're here in Nebworth, or if you're in Kentucky, or
if you're in Australia, or wherever you are throughout the world,
Christ is here. by the Comforter, by His Holy
Spirit. And Paul hadn't seen evidence
of that. You see, Jesus said in John 16
and verse 13, when He, the Comforter, comes, the Holy Spirit, He will
guide you into all truth. They didn't know these things.
You see, when the Holy Spirit comes into someone who's dead
in trespasses and sins, He makes that person alive to the things
of God. He puts spiritual life in. He
puts new life. There's a new man born within.
If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are
passed away. All things have become new because
the Holy Spirit comes and opens the eyes to see those things.
And what have they been baptized into? Verse 3, He asked them,
what have you... you're believers and you're baptized
believers, but what were you baptized to? And they said, unto
John's baptism. This baptism of preparation. Symbolical of preparation. Symbolical
of repentance and committal. But they hadn't come, verse 4,
to the object of John's baptism. What was the object of John's
baptism? It wasn't a preparation just
for its own sake. It was a prepare the way of the
Lord. It was prepare for Christ, the
Messiah, is coming. And in verse 4 he says, John
verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the
people that they should believe on Him. See, this is the object.
The baptism of repentance, saying that they should believe on Him
which should come after Him. That is, on Christ Jesus. That
Christ Jesus, the Messiah, the Promised One, the Anointed One
of God, that He was coming and He was the object of all of their
faith and their reliance for eternal life. You see, Knowledge
of Scripture, Apollos was mighty in the Scriptures, but knowledge
of Scripture on its own doesn't save. Oh yes, faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, but there are plenty
in this world today, in theological seminaries, in high positions,
in established churches, who know a lot about the Scriptures,
but knowledge of Scripture alone does not save. Knowledge of Scripture
alone does not bring saving faith and knowledge. Baptism, going
through a rite of baptism does not save. It has its purpose
but it does not save. Sincere works, fervent sincere
works for God in themselves do nothing. How many around us in
these days in ecclesiastical circles are just like this? A certain knowledge but without
knowing that way of God more perfectly. A preacher and some
disciples well now I want to turn your attention to some humble
instructors look in verse 26 of chapter 18 now we've come
across these two before Aquila and Priscilla they're right at
the start of chapter 18 and they've come to Corinth from Rome because
Claudius the Emperor had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome
and they'd come there and you remember that Paul joined himself
to them to their business because Paul was a tent maker and these
were tent makers by trade that's how they made their living by
making tents and they were there in Corinth and they were tent
makers and they went and heard Apollos preaching preaching fervently
he began to speak boldly verse 26 in the synagogue whom when
Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and
expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly." Some humble
instructors. Who were Aquila and Priscilla? I'll tell you who they were not.
They weren't preachers. They were not preachers. I'll
tell you something else. You think of the ministry of
the Gospel of Grace as something that is exclusive to the male
of the species. And in a sense, you're right.
It's quite clear in the scriptures that the pulpit is not the place
for a woman, and that's quite right so. And this isn't something
that you women kick and scream against, because I know you know,
when you believe the truth, you know that God's way is right.
There are certain things that men are just completely barred
from doing. They're barred from doing them
biologically and in all sorts of other ways. But preaching
is something, public preaching is something which is barred
to a woman. But Priscilla was a woman. She was a woman tent
maker, working with her husband, Aquila. Not a preacher, not a
preacher, a woman, a woman. And here's this mighty man, Apollos.
Mighty in the scriptures, strong, fervent. Who on earth could stand
up to him? Priscilla and Aquila were not
academic theologians. They weren't. They weren't professors
in a theological seminary. They hadn't been to a pseudo-Bible
school to get some sort of theological training. What had they done?
They'd listened to the gospel being preached by the Apostle
Paul. That's what they'd done. For
18 months, they'd listened to the gospel being preached by
a faithful preacher. You look at the number, I was
going to say young men, but they're all getting older now, but under
the ministry of Henry Mahan, there were many, many young men
who heard him. And of them, many became preachers
of the gospel of grace. And what theological training
did they have? Which theological seminary did they go to? Who
was the professor that they sat under? It was Henry Mahan, in
his pulpit, in the church, along with everybody else. As the gospel
was preached, that's what taught them their theology. That's what
equipped them and prepared them for the ministry. And look how
effective so many of those ministries have been. Oh yes, of course,
there have been those that for one reason or another have fallen
by the wayside, but it's been such a profitable thing. There
are those who are powerful preachers of the gospel today, well into
their late middle age, and they're there because they had that theological
training in that situation. Priscilla and Aquila had sat
under the professorship of the Apostle Paul. And I heard, I
think it was Bruce Crabtree at one of the conference messages
from somewhere, and he said, people say to me, Which theological
seminary did you go to? Who gave you the authority to
stand up in a pulpit and preach to people? Who gave you the license?
You know, in the days of John Bunyan, the reason they locked
him up was because they wouldn't give him a license to preach, but
he couldn't stop preaching. Woe was him if he didn't preach
the gospel of grace. He had to preach the gospel of
grace. Whether anybody would give him a certificate to do
it or not, he had to preach that gospel of grace. And when he
wouldn't shut his mouth, they shut him up in prison. and that
didn't shut up his pen because he wrote Pilgrim's Progress and
the Holy War and all of those things and God has done so many
mighty things through the ministry of that man who was not authorized
to preach the gospel. These were not academic theologians. These were simple tentmakers.
These were simple tentmakers who because of the theology that
they got from listening to a preacher of the gospel were able to listen
to Apollos. And what were they listening
for? All true believers are listening for this when you hear preaching.
When the gospel's being preached, what are you listening for? You're
listening to the words of a man. You're listening to the words
of a sinner, a fallen sinner. One who is no better than anybody
else in any way whatsoever. One who has to say, there but
for the grace of God go I in absolutely everything. But what
you're listening for is a voice. You're listening for a shepherd's
voice. All God's true preachers, all Christ's true preachers are
nothing other than under-shepherds. And they are only preachers insofar
as they speak with the voice of the shepherd. And so his people,
his sheep, Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. A stranger they
will not listen to. They'll detect. You know, as
who was it who said, you can fool some of the people, I'm
sure Rick knows, I can't remember, was it? It was Abraham Lincoln.
You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't
fool all of the people all of the time. You can fool some of
God's people for a while with a false prophet, but you can't
fool all of them all of the time. The true people will hear, will
hear the deficiency. They will hear, this is not the
shepherd's voice that's speaking to me. This is not the shepherd's
voice. When Christ speaks through his
servants, you hear the shepherd's voice speaking. And they'd heard
the shepherd's voice in the Apostle Paul, and when they heard Apollos,
There was something deficient. A good, powerful speaker, he
knows his Bible, but he's missing the key thing. It didn't answer. Apollos' preaching didn't answer
the vital question. When you go to hear somebody
preach, ask this question. Does it answer this question?
How can a man be just with God? Job chapter 9, I think verse
2 is it, or verse 5, somewhere around there. It's again and
again, three or four times in the book of Job. How can a man
be just? It is appointed unto man to die
once and after this the judgment. Oh, how can a man be just with
God? Does the preaching answer that
question? Or does it tell you, you must do better? You must
do this. You must try that. You're not
trying hard enough. Practice a bit more. I think
you know what I'm alluding to. Practice a bit more and eventually
you'll get perfect. Boy. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Practice makes perfect, does
it? We get more and more progressively holy until we've reached a state
where we're perfect enough to go straight to heaven. No, it
doesn't answer the question. There's only one thing can wash
away my sin. What is it? Nothing but the blood
of Jesus. If the message is not centered
on the atonement of Christ, the at-one-ment bought in the blood
of Christ, the righteousness that he credits to his people,
The sin bearing, where he who knew no sin was made sin, my
sin, for me, that I might be made the righteousness of God
in him. That answers those questions, doesn't it? It's that that gives
my soul peace. There's no peace in thinking,
if I try a bit harder I'll pull myself up by my bootstraps and
I'll get better and better until I'm an acceptable Christian and
God will accept me into heaven because I've tried really hard.
Not at all. That's not the gospel of sovereign
grace. That's not the truth that saves sinners from their sins.
And they knew this and they detected the deficiency of it in the preaching
of Apollos. So graciously, gently, this woman
and her husband took him to one side. And based on the theological
training that they'd had under the ministry of the Apostle Paul,
they showed him, they expounded unto him the way of God more
perfectly. How humble. You see, God said,
through the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1.27 that the foolish things
of the world would confound the wise. Do you know, I believe
it was said by Queen Victoria that she was so grateful for
the letter M in the alphabet because in that passage in 1
Corinthians it says not many wise not many noble are called
and it gave, it left the door open for some who are noble some
who are the Queen of the British Empire, for some to be called
that little letter M. Not many, because it didn't say
not any noble accord, it says not many, not many, just a few.
God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise, and the Holy Spirit brings that light which concerns Christ,
and you don't get this in a theological seminary. If anybody that listens
to me, and I know several of our brethren preaching, you'll
think that we've got this vendetta against theological seminaries
and in general I think you're probably right we actually have
because I think in large part the majority of them in actual
truth do more harm than good and have done down the centuries
in truth I'm not saying it's universal but I'm saying it's
a very very brave man who steps into a position to lead other
men to be effective ministers of the gospel through an academic
education I think there's no substitute for the regular practical
ministry of a man called of Christ to preach his gospel. Because
you see, irrespective of degrees, Psalm 119 and verse 99 says this. This is a humble believer speaking
in Psalm 119 verse 99. What qualifications have you
got, so-and-so? Ah, I have more understanding
than all my teachers. That's what the Word of God says.
The humble child of God who knows nothing other than that which
the Holy Spirit teaches, I have more understanding than all my
teachers. I don't care what academic qualifications
they've got, more understanding than all my teachers. Why? John
6 verse 45, Jesus said, they, his people, shall all be taught
of God. We're taught of God. You see,
this is so important. The ministry of every believer
Please, I know we're only a small group, but please do not think
that the ministry of Nebwith Grace Fellowship is down to Alan
Jellett, or to a certain extent to Peter Jellett. Now he's started
taking one or two of the studies. Don't think that for one minute.
It's the ministry of every believer. It's so important. Priscilla,
this quiet, certain woman. I mean certain in that she was
certain in what she believed. She was confident. And the prayer
of God's people. The prayer of God's people. Do
you remember when Moses, when Israel was lined up against Amalek,
the enemy of the people of God. And Moses went to pray. Do you
remember that? And his hands had to be held
up as he prayed to God. And he was tired and he couldn't
hold up his hands because he was just one man. And what happened?
I know it's symbolical language, but Aaron and Hur came. Because Moses couldn't hold up
his hands, because while he held up his hands and prayed, Israel
prevailed over Amalek. And when his hands dropped down,
Amalek prevailed over Israel. And so they said, we've got to
hold his hands up. And so others from the congregation, Aaron
and Hur, came and held up his hands. And so it is. The ministry
of every believer. Do you remember, it's a message
I preached years ago, and I've preached it once or twice since,
about Isaac at Beersheba, when they came to Beersheba. And the
Lord met with him. And it says there, that he built
an altar which is symbolical of the basis of our acceptance
with God. He built an altar and the Lord
met with them and they worshipped there and Isaac's servants dug
a well. They dug a well. They helped.
They did their bit. They dug a well to support that
ministry there. And so it is Priscilla and Aquila
humble, humble teachers of one who was so mighty in the scriptures
and they showed him the way of God more perfectly. in the last
few minutes, the Way of God. What is this Way of God? In what
way was Apollos' and the disciples' understanding deficient? Those
disciples that Paul came across and Apollos, in what way was
it deficient? It was deficient in knowledge
of the Way of God. That's what it was deficient
in. What is the Way of God? What is it? What is it that they
were deficient in? What is this Way of God? Rather,
shouldn't I ask, who is the Way of God? Isn't that the question
that should really be asked? Because that's where the answer
lies. Who is the way? The way of God is not a thing,
is not an it, it's a person. The way of God is a person. We
read in John chapter 14 and verse 6, Jesus said to his disciples
when they said, we don't know the way, and Jesus said, I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, and
that's what you must do, come to the Father for acceptance,
but no man comes to the Father but by me. He is the way to God. Why is He the way to God? Because
He is the only manifestation of the true God. And only He
meets all the criteria for acceptance with God for His people. Look
what Paul did in chapter 19 and verse 4. He told them that they
should believe on Him which should come after Him. This was the
goal of John the Baptist's baptism. They should believe on Christ
Jesus. And in that, there's far more that he said than just those
words there. He said, he expounded what those
words meant. That it was in Christ, the Messiah,
the Promised One, that there was acceptance with God, there
was forgiveness of sins, there was justification in Christ Himself. And he brought them to believe
and trust for righteousness, for forgiveness, for justice
that's satisfied. And they were baptized. You see,
they'd already been baptized into the baptism of John, which
was a baptism of commitment, and of determination, and of
turning over a new leaf, if you like. But now they were baptized
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And what's the difference? The
baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ is this. It's a baptism of unity,
of identification, of saying, I am in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When He died, I died there on that cross for my sins. In Him. When He lived perfectly before
the law of God, when He perfectly obeyed the law of God, I believe
that I perfectly obeyed the law of God in him and so I believe
that in him I now stand before the judgment seat of Christ clothed
in the righteousness of Christ and with my sins taken away and
blotted out of the books so that there is nothing there left to
condemn me I'm no longer trying to get ready for God but I'm
resting I'm resting in the finished work of Christ on behalf of his
people and look what it did to Apollos this teaching this perfect
this way of God more perfectly. Verse 28 of 18, he mightily,
now he's preaching, now he's been put right, now he's had
these humble believers show him, now he's been put right, he's
mightily convincing the Jews, and publicly he's doing this,
showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. This is
his message now, from the Scriptures, Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is
the Messiah. He knew the Old Testament Scriptures.
What do the Old Testament Scriptures speak of? These are they, said
Jesus, which speak of me. And beginning at Moses and the
prophets and in all the scriptures, he expounded unto the disciples
the things concerning himself. The Old Testament clearly speaks
of the Messiah, of the Christ. The question is, who is the Christ? The Jews today believe there
is a Messiah to come. What they don't believe is that
that Messiah is the Lord Jesus Christ who lived and died 2,000
years ago. for the sins of his people. But the fact that we
need, that we cannot be right with God, in and of our own strength,
and of our own doing, and of our own morality and righteousness,
the Scriptures are quite clear. It's only on the basis of this
one, the Christ, the Messiah. That's absolutely clear. In the
Old Testament, absolutely clear, the work of the Messiah. But
Jesus of Nazareth is that Christ, and this is what Apollos was
preaching. Jesus of Nazareth, who walked
the earth. Some of you saw him. He walked
the earth, not far from where he was preaching, not many years
before. He is that Messiah, and he showed how Jesus of Nazareth...
What do the Gospels show? They show over and over and over
again how Jesus, in every respect, from four different perspectives,
fulfilled everything that the Old Testament had said concerning
the Messiah that was to come. And Apollos' preaching became
the preaching of Christ. And like Paul, he became determined
1 Corinthians 2 verse 2 determined to know nothing other than Jesus
Christ and Him crucified I remember years ago when I was in Barrow-in-Furness
and we'd left the Brethren Assembly there and we'd come out and I
was on the phone to Bill and I said well I'm planning to teach
the people all sorts of things I'm going to teach them about
sin and then I'm going to teach them about this and Maybe you
could fit into that, and Bill said to me, he said, I've only
got one message that I'm going to come. He said, I'll come as
often as you want, but there's only one message I'm going to
bring, and that's the message of Christ and Him crucified.
Nothing else. Nothing else at all. Not morals,
not rules of life, not practice makes perfect, not law, but grace
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Sovereign grace. He proclaimed
Jesus as fulfilling everything the Scriptures said the Messiah
was. We've run out of time, but I'll give you these three things.
What do the Scriptures say about the Messiah? They say these three
things. He's the prophet of his people,
he's the priest of his people, and he's the king of his people.
He's prophet, priest, and king. The Messiah is that one mediator. There is one mediator, said Paul,
between God and man. The man, Christ Jesus. The Messiah,
the Christ. One mediator. No denomination,
No priest class. You know, you can forget it.
I mean, it really... I remember when the Church of England voted
to have women priests. And I think I wrote a piece for
Evangelical Times saying the issue is not whether the Church
of England should have women priests. The issue is whether
the Church of England should have priests. Men priests. All
believers are priests. Not a certain priest class that's
on a different level to the laity. The Scriptures know nothing of
that. Absolutely nothing at all. There is one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus. And He, our Messiah, our Christ,
is our prophet. He's the prophet to His people.
God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke to the
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to
us by His Son, by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who manifests
God to His people. He is the unique and perfect
prophet to His people. And as I said before, His preachers
are only His preachers insofar as they speak with His voice.
He is the prophet of His people. And we need a priest to mediate
for us. We need a priest to satisfy justice
for us. And He is the one. We have a
priest who is holy, blameless, undefiled, something which can
be said of no other human priest. But in Hebrews 7, 26, it says
it of Christ. Holy, blameless, and undefiled,
pure. One who didn't just take the
blood of an animal which can never take away sins into the
Holy of Holies, but he entered with his own blood by the sacrifice
of himself. Our priest, he was not only the
priest, he was the sacrifice. He's not only our priest, but
he is the altar on which that sacrifice is offered. And he
goes into the Holy of Holies and that veil of the temple was
rent from top to bottom. He's our sin bearer. And then
he's our king. He's the king of his people.
And oh, what a gracious king. Oh, what a benign dictator to
his people. There's no better government
than a benign dictator. You know what they say about
democracy? What a terrible system, but thankfully
it's nowhere near as bad as most of the other systems. But the
best is a benign dictator, but there are no benign dictators
in the world. But oh, Christ. Christ is such
a benign dictator. Every knee shall bow to him.
He is king of kings and lord of lords, but he's a friend.
and a brother to his people. He's our prophet, our priest,
and our king. And knowing this more perfectly,
this way of God more perfectly, they believed, they rested in
knowledge of a sure salvation, and they proclaimed it effectively.
And this is our only message. And this is what we'll stand
here and proclaim. and we'll leaflet and we'll put
on the internet and we'll advertise and Don Faulkner will come and
will proclaim this message and anybody that will come this is
the message that we've got for them we have no other message
we don't persuade people to join us for the sake of numbers we
preach this message because it is this and this alone that is
the salvation of sinners