Acts chapter 26, chapter 26. Now this is Father's Day. Somebody said a father is a man
who is forced to endure childbirth without an antecedent. I guess there is an element of
truth in that. And somebody else said a father is a man who exchanges
the currency in his billfold for snapshots. I like this. When a boy is four
years old, he says, my daddy can do anything. When he's seven
years old, he says, my daddy knows a lot. He knows a whole
lot. When he's eight years old, my
father does not know quite everything. Twelve years old, he says, well,
naturally, father does not know that either. And fourteen years
old, oh, father, he is hopelessly old-fashioned. Twenty-one years,
oh, that man, he's out of date. Twenty-five years old, he knows
a little bit about it, but not much. Thirty years, I must find
out what dad thinks about it. Thirty-five years, Before we
decide, we'll get dad's idea first." And he's 50 years old,
he says, what would dad have thought about that? And then
at 60 years, he says, my dad knew literally everything. And
at 65 years, he says, I wished I could talk it over with dad
once more. in the book of Acts chapter 26.
I'd like to read the first 18 verses. Then Agrippa said unto
Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched
forth the hand and answered for himself. I think myself happy,
King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before
thee, touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews,
especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and
questions which are among the Jews, wherefore I beseech thee
to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth,
which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem,
know all the Jews, which knew me from the beginning. if they
would testify that after the most straightest sect of our
religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged
for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto
which promise our twelve tribes instantly, serving God day and
night, hope to come, for which hope say, King Agrippa, I am
accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing
incredible with you that God should raise the dead? I verily
thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to
the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which thing I also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints did I
shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priest.
And when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
And I punished them oft in every synagogue and compelled them
to blaspheme. And being exceedingly mad against
them, I persecuted them even under strange cities. Whereupon,
as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief
priest, at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven
above the brightness of the sun shining round about me and them
which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to
the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, saying in the Hebrew
tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee
to kick against the pricks. And I said, who art thou, Lord?
And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise and
stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose,
to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou
hast seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto
thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles
unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes and to turn them
from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sin sins and inheritance among
them which are sanctified or set apart by faith that is in
me, and I'll add verse 19, whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient
unto the heavenly vision. Let us pray. Eternal Father,
we thank thee that in your good and merciful providence you've
allowed us to gather here again this morning. We thank Thee for
the singing of the hymns and for these special numbers that
we have been able to enjoy in our souls this morning. And,
Our Father, we ask that through the reading and the hearing of
Your Word that the Holy Spirit will come and, Our Father, affect
and touch and deal with the hearts of these dear ones that have
gathered here under the sound of our voice this morning. Father,
we do pray that Thy Spirit would do a great work in this meeting,
and we do pray that someone might be aware of the importance of
this hour, and that they might be made, our Father, to realize
that Jesus, the Lord Jesus, is passing by, and I pray that they
might realize that this is the hour. Today is the day of salvation. and that they might be enabled
by the Spirit of God to call upon the Lord savingly today,
that they might be able to believe unto righteousness this day and
pass out of the kingdom of darkness and death into the kingdom of
light, into the kingdom of liberty. I do pray today that thou would
visit us, O Lord, and I pray that thou would give us the liberty
of the Spirit to speak, that we might be able to say those
things which Thou hast laid upon our hearts. May the message be
clear, may it be plain. May we make a certain sound upon
the trumpet. We pray for the glory of Christ,
for the honor of His name. In His name, amen. I wanted to
speak this morning on the subject, a definition of a Christian.
Definition of a Christian. One time there was a father who
was talking to his young son, about what a Christian is, trying
to take the word of God and to show the young fellow what a
Christian was. When he was finished, he got
the shock of his life when the young man said to him, Daddy,
have I ever seen a Christian? Have I ever seen one? And I think
this morning at the outset of our meeting, it would be good
for us to ask ourselves that question. We're going to try
this morning when we are able to give you a definition, Bible
definition, of Christian. And I wonder if we've ever seen
one. I've always wanted to be a Christian. I really would like
to be one, wouldn't you? And I hope this morning that
we have that desire in our hearts, every one of us. We want to be
Christ-like. We want to follow the Lord Jesus
Christ. The disciples were called Christians
first at Antioch. They were called Christians,
Christ-like people. And that's what a disciple is,
someone who follows Christ, imitates Christ, and attempts to live
like the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I do not know whether King
Agrippa, and our text this morning, the Apostle Paul is talking and
visiting with, you might say, and preaching to, King Agrippa. I do not know whether King Agrippa
understood or realized the great mercy toward him that God Almighty
gave to him in allowing him to hear the king of preachers preach
the gospel. Do you suppose that he knew anything
about how merciful God was in allowing him to have this encounter
with the Apostle Paul? I'm quite certain that he did
not realize how important this encounter was. Paul was the king
of preachers, you know, and here he is preaching to a king. I
just wonder if Agrippa ever realized what a momentous hour that was,
what a tremendous hour that was when God Almighty in His providence
sent this preacher Paul to preach to this king. Now there's some
things in this chapter that we're going to notice, but I believe
that this, at least this, really impresses me. It is a momentous
and eventful hour, I believe, when God in grace crosses the
path of any sinner. Wouldn't you agree? I say it's
a momentous and eventful hour when God in his amazing grace
crosses the path of any sinner. Here the apostle Paul is, addressing
this old sinner, this old king, and trying to inform him of the
work of God in his own soul, and trying to show him what it
is that he's being tried for, and what it is that God has raised
him up for, Paul, and the ministry that the Lord has given him.
I thank God daily that he did not leave me alone. You know,
when I think about God having crossed my path, I thank God
daily that he did not leave me alone, that he did not pass me
by and leave me in my sin. and lead me in my unbelief."
You know, God's sovereign in salvation, and He can save you
or damn you. He can save you or pass you by. He can do it. God is sovereign.
He's on a throne. He's a sovereign God. Many are
left in their blindness and their unbelief. Well, there are some
here this morning that have the hope of the gospel in their heart.
There are some here this morning that can rejoice in sins forgiven,
and rejoice in their hearts that they are one of God's dear children,
that our Heavenly Father can indeed be called our Heavenly
Father. But there are those that are
left in their blindness and unbelief. Their hearts harden more and
more till they die in their sins and perish forever. Beloved,
we are conscious and aware that this is a true state of affairs,
that this is true. There are some that are left.
There are some that are passed by. Let me say that God would
be absolutely just if he passed by every man and sent every man
to hell. He would be absolutely just in
doing so because all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. The wage of sin is death, but God's gift is eternal life. And thank God he's been pleased
to give that gift unto those that he chose in Christ Jesus
before the foundation of the world. One day, and oh, what
a glorious day that was. We feel it to be that he crossed
our path and brought us out of nature's night into the light
of the gospel of his precious son. What a glorious day that
was. What a wonderful, wonderful day. He showed me that I had been
a failure. And I believe that all men by
nature are a failure. All men by nature do not measure
up. Men do not measure up to what
God demands. All ascend, as we pointed out.
And the Lord showed me that Christ came into this world not to merely
make an effort to save men, but actually accomplish the whole
of the world. Wasn't that a wonderful truth?
Wasn't it wonderful when the gospel became good news to us
that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world not to make an
effort but to truly to save his people and he accomplished the
whole of the work that was necessary to save a sinner from his sin.
He didn't come down here to make an installment. payment on my
salvation and leave the rest up to me? No. The Bible says
he finished the work. He paid it all. All the debt
that I owed, the Lord Jesus Christ paid that debt. His atonement
was effectual and it was sufficient. Bless God, it was sufficient
to blot out all of my iniquities and all my sin. It was sufficient
to satisfy God Almighty in my room instead in place. He did
not fail. Isaiah 42 and 4 says that he
shall not fail nor be discouraged, that he shall bring in everlasting
righteousness. He shall accomplish that work
that the Father sent him to do. What an hour! What a moment!
Well, here Agrippa is listening to the man of the hour, one sent
by God himself to deliver this message of grace and salvation
unto him. Now, the woman at the well, What
an hour that was when the Lord Jesus spoke to her at the well
and she asked that she might be given the living water. And
what an hour that was when she realized how thirsty she was
and that she needed the Lord Jesus Christ. The thief on the
cross, you know, could have been crucified a day earlier or a
month later. I remember reading a story about
a preacher who went to a prison to preach And the first Sunday
he was there, he had a two-part sermon. And the first Sunday
he was there, he preached on the disease of sin. And he didn't
get to the second part, the cure or the remedy of the disease. And that week, three of the people
that heard him on Sunday were hanged. And so he was coming
back the next Sunday to preach the cure for the disease. And
so, Beloved, he tells us that when a preacher preaches, he
ought to, especially beings that we're preaching as dying men
to dying men, we ought to preach not only to the diseased, but
to cure in the same hour. Preach them both, so that we
don't lose anybody during the next week. And we'll be able
to tell them what it is that the Lord, well, anyway, the thief
on the cross could have been crucified a day earlier or a
month later. But God, in his wonderful and
merciful providence, predestinated in his purpose of grace to put
him on a cross beside our master to the end that he would bring
him to heaven, bring him to paradise, bring him to glory, that he would
save his soul when he was on the cross. Old Zacchaeus, he
could have been collecting taxes in some other Place that day
when the Lord Jesus passed by and he climbed up in a tree He
could have been clear over on the other side of town talking
to somebody about taxes And collecting taxes, but beloved he was right
there When Jesus passed by blind Bartimaeus could have had a cold
and could have stayed at home But no there he was crying out
Have mercy upon me, O thou son of David. What an hour it was,
an hour of mercy, an hour of salvation, an hour of healing,
an hour of grace, a time when the Lord would meet with an individual. I am compelled and I must thank
God that he had an hour when he touched my heart, when he
saved me, when he did not leave me in my sin. There was an hour. Do you remember the time when
God spoke to you and when God blessed you to give you the light
of the gospel and the truth of the gospel? I believe that this
is the way God works. I believe he has a set time in
Zion to meet with the souls of those that he's purposed to save. And I believe that this was Agrippa's
hour. And I don't know whether he realized
it or not, but it was his hour. Do you and I realize the blessedness
of this hour, the potential of this hour, this morning, The
possibility, the importance of this hour, this congregation
as it is this morning will never meet again. We will never meet
again just as we are this morning with the influence and the power
and the presence of God and the presence of personalities as
they're gathered here this morning. Never will we meet again. Do
we understand the importance of this hour that we're in right
now here in Great Falls, Montana. Oh, that we might redeem the
time, me with my tongue and you with your ear, for we'll not
pass this way again. We need to redeem the time. Well,
Paul preached in the presence of the king, and he had one shot,
and he aimed well, I believe. I believe he aimed well. He spoke
plainly the gospel. Now, there are some things that
I see in this chapter, and let me just point out a few of them
to you. His preaching was forceful. I believe that, and we see that
how he spoke there in verse 1, Agrippa, he said, Agrippa said
to Paul, you permitted to speak for yourself. Then Paul, he stretched
forth his hand, answered for himself, I thank myself happy,
King Agrippa. I'm happy. I'm glad to be here.
It's not a burden for me to be here. I'm glad. that I'm here
to be able to speak to you today. He was very courteous to this
king. And you know, we're not sent
into the pulpit to skin people, or as somebody well put it, we're
not sent in to rip hides and pour salt into them. We come
here as a courteous individual speaking to you the message of
God's grace and God's salvation. Paul, his preaching was very
bold, but it was not rude. It was not rude. We must not
be rude in our witnessing for the gospel. We must speak and
make sure that we're very, very kind and courteous in our presentation. Speak the truth in love is the
way that Paul put it in one of his epistles. Paul was persuasive,
but he was never apologetic. Paul did not apologize for being
God's minister, God's witness, God's preacher. He did not apologize
for being able to or having that treasure that he had in that
earthen vessel, his body. He didn't apologize for what
he had to say. He spoke with great plainness
of speech. He was the ambassador for Christ,
don't you see? And all believers, all true believers,
are God's ambassadors. And we're said of God. And we
beseech men and women by the mercy of God. We preach the gospel
in the stead of Christ to men and women that they would hear
the gospel and believe on the Lord Jesus. We must not apologize
for what we're about. And Paul spoke of himself. of
his experience on the road to Damascus, of his religious background. But listen to this. He spoke
of himself, but never for himself. And there's a difference in this.
There's a great deal of difference. There's nothing wrong in you
giving your testimony as long as that testimony is glorifying
to God. As long as it sets forth a picture
of how God lifted you up and saved you, and as long as it
exalts and lifts up the amazing grace of God, then it's all right
for you to talk about your experience. But when you begin to talk about
yourself in such a way that you draw attention away from God
and the gospel and the grace of God onto yourself, then, beloved,
that's wrong. The Lord, in verse 16, gave him
a commission. Look at verse 16. He said, but
rise and stand upon thy feet. Now, the Lord Jesus spoke to
Paul here, and in verse 15, when the Lord spoke to him, that light
came out of heaven and above the brightness of the sun shined
round about him, and those that journeyed with him on the road
to Damascus, he heard this voice. speaking unto him, saying in
the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is
hard for you to kick against the pricks. Paul had been out,
Saul of Tarsus had been out, you see, turning Christians,
trying to turn them away from the way of truth and the way
of righteousness, and he compelled them to blaspheme, and he was
mad against them. And he persecuted them, even,
he said, unto strange cities. But the Lord Jesus revealed himself
and said, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And Saul couldn't
understand who it was talking to him. And so he said in verse
15, Who art thou, Lord? Who art thou, Lord? And Jesus
said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. Now, of course, the Lord Jesus
and his people here are identified as one. If you persecute the
Lord's people, you persecute Jesus. You persecute Christ. And so he said, I'm Jesus whom
thou persecutest. But rise, here's the commission,
but rise and stand upon your feet. For I have appeared unto
thee for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness,
both of these things which you've seen, and of those things in
which I will appear unto thee." So, beloved, the Lord has given
him to be a minister and witness. And might I say that we don't
make ministers? God makes men ministers. God calls men to preach. If any
man minister, let him minister with the ability which God gives,
that God in all things may be glorified. Men are called of
God to preach, and they're given a message by God, and they're
to preach that message. But men say, well, sometimes
I hear churches say, well, we ordain so-and-so to the ministry. Well, that's an act of man. But
it's God that makes ministers of the gospel. Pray, therefore,
the Lord of the harvest, that he will thrust forth labors into
the field. Now, notice this commission was
twofold. He was to witness of the things
that he had seen. Now, beloved, you cannot tell
what you do not know anymore, but you can come back from some
place where you haven't been. You have to find, you got to
be taught the truth of God, and you have to see some things,
be instructed in some truths out of the Holy Word of God before
you're going to be able to bear witness of anything. Paul was
to be a witness of things that he had seen. You cannot, listen
to me, you must have the truth revealed to your heart. This
has been the trouble, I think, for years in the professing church. men in teaching and preaching
positions who have never seen anything. They've never seen
anything of the Word of God, the truths of God's Word. And
you and I, and I tell you again, you cannot tell what you do not
know. You've got to see something before you're able to bear a
witness. And Paul knew what he was talking about. Don't you
think he did? He knew exactly what he was talking about. Now,
I've not had all the Apostle Paul, and I'm not an apostle,
and you're not either, but I've seen Christ by faith. Have you?
Have you seen the Lord Jesus Christ by faith? He knew what
Christ had done for him. Paul knew what Christ had done
in his own life. He had seen enough to know some
things. And the question is, have we?
Have we seen anything? Has God revealed anything to
us? Now, beloved, God is sovereign
on the throne. or someone else is, who is it? Have you ever
seen God as a sovereign sitting on a throne? Do you believe in
the Godhood of God? Do you believe in the deity of
the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe in the absolute
sovereignty of a holy God? Do you believe in it? Well, either
God's on a throne or somebody else is. And I choose to believe
that God is. God has made it known. He's revealed
it in His Word. He's sovereign and He is on a
throne. Well, the sinner is either dead
or he's not. Which is it? Have you seen anything? Do you know whether a sinner
is dead in his natural state or not? Do you know whether he
needs a spiritual resurrection or not? Do you know whether he
needs regeneration or not? Do you know? Well, beloved, if
you've seen anything, you know that the sinner is dead. You
cannot be slightly dead. You are dead or you are not,
either one or the other. And we've got to know which one
it is. Now, beloved, you're either in Christ or out of Christ. Which is it? Examine yourself
to see whether or not you're in the faith. Are you in Christ
or are you out of Christ? Now, beloved, a man that's converted,
a man that's saved, is in the Lord Jesus Christ. A man who
is lost is out of Christ. Have you seen enough to know
the difference, to know whether or not you're in or out? of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Paul knew that he was in Christ. If men come to Christ, they either
bring themselves or God brings them. Which is it? If a man gets
to the Lord Jesus for salvation, how'd he get there? How did he
get there? Was it an act of his own will? Was it due to his upbringing? What was it that got him to Christ? Well, Jesus said that no man
can come to me except the Father, which sent me draw him. Except
the Father droid, all that the Father giveth me shall come to
me, and they that come to me I will know why it's cast out,
but how to get that? How'd they get there? They got
there by the Father's drawing. They got there by being brought
by the Lord Jesus Christ. They had to be drawn unto the
Father. Have we seen enough to know that
or not? Do sinners bring themselves or
does God bring them? Well, beloved, I tell you the
reason why we're hearing what we are from the pulpits is because
those doing the preaching haven't seen anything. They haven't seen
anything about these truths in the Bible. All God's people will
persevere or none of them will. Which is it? Which is it? Well,
what have you seen in the teaching of the Word of God? I say all
of God's people will persevere unto the end or none of them
will. Which is it? That's the question.
Well, I'm here to tell you this morning According to what I read
on the pages of Holy Scripture, that all of them are going to
persevere unto the end. Jesus said, I give unto my sheep
eternal life, they shall never perish. Neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them to
me is greater than all. No man can pluck them out of his hand. The saints of God are preserved
forever. Their feet are kept, and the
Lord will sustain them and bring them, everyone, home at last. to eternal glory. Now, these
things are to be known, my friend. They are to be known and they
have to be known. They must be decided upon. What
saith the Lord? Well, we've got to know. Have
we seen anything? That's the question. And Paul
said, I'm going to be a witness. God said, you're going to be
a witness of what you've seen. What you've seen. Now, if you've
not seen anything, then you ain't got nothing to talk about. And
you don't need to be opening your mouth, going out here in
the world and talking to people about something you don't know
nothing about. If God's made this clear to your heart, these
truths, then I think you ought to go out and be a witness. I
thank God for the day when I met these issues and God settled
them in my heart. Met them head on and God settled
them in my heart. These are settled things with
me. They're not up in the air. I'm 69 years old today, and these
are settled things with me. I'm not trying to find out whether
these things are true or not. I know they're true. These things
that I've talked to you about already here this morning. I've
seen some things since I've been in the way 50 years. I've seen some things for over
50 years. And I know what these truths are all about. Now, beloved,
I don't know the depth of these truths, but I'm not saying I
know all about them, but I am saying I know they're in the
book. That's what the Word of God teaches. Second notice in
verse 16 here, in the last part of verse 16, and those things
which I will appear unto thee. The Lord said you're going to
be a witness, not only what you've seen, but of those things in
which I will appear unto thee. He means the things that I will
yet reveal and teach you. I say to you this morning, O
children of the Heavenly King, O children of the Heavenly Father,
I say that these are the only things that a preacher can preach,
is what they've seen and what the Lord reveals to them, what
He makes known unto their heart, what He has seen and what God
has taught Him. We cannot go beyond that, and we must not.
Now in verse 17 God tells Paul he will deliver him, God's servants. Look at verse 17, delivering
thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I
send thee. You see God had a people that
he wanted Paul to preach to and in the way he would have a great
deal of difficulty, he would run into many adversaries and
there would be many that would try to kill him. But I'd like
to make this statement, God's servants are immortal until their
work on earth is done. until it's done. And when their
work on earth is done, then they'll be taken out of this life. But
they're safe until that time. Now in verse 18 he gives us the
definition that we've been looking for. The definition of his task. And here's Paul's task. And at
the same time as we have his task, we have in these things
the definition of a Christian. He says, I send you to open their
eyes. Now, Paul is being sent of God
to the Gentiles, and he was a missionary. He was a servant of God with
the message of grace and salvation. And God says, I've sent you to
open their eyes. Now, then, your eyes are now
open, Paul. Your eyes are now open, and I'm
sending you. I'll use you to open the eyes
of others. Now notice the first thing I'd
say about a Christian is that there's someone whose eyes have
been opened. Somebody whose eyes have been
opened. Now this is not a small matter, not a small thing, when
we understand by the Word of God that men's minds are blinded
by the God of this world, and men by nature that their eyes
are closed and they do not see the things of God. But their
eyes have been opened, these that are Christians, and their
eyes have been opened to see themselves who they are. Do you know who you are? Do you
know who you are? Do you know what you are in a
state of nature? Do you know that you're lost, that you're
undone without God and His Son for the one of faith and love
in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know that? Do you know
your true condition before God? Do you know who you are? A sinner,
that's your name. You're born in sin, lost, dead
in sin, and you need to know who you are. Do you know who
you are? Do you know, my friend, do you know who He is? Do you
see God? Do you know who He is? Can you
read the pages, on the pages of the Holy Scriptures, the descriptions
given of God and His holiness and His power and His justice?
Can you read? Do you know who God is? To see
Christ as Master and Lord, as Savior, to see His sufficiency.
These people's eyes are open to see that. Who they are, who
God is, what they are and what God is, and they're brought to
see that Jesus Christ is Lord, Savior, and to see His all-sufficiency,
that He's able to save to the uttermost all that come unto
God by Him. I've seen enough to convince
me that I need mercy, have you? I've seen enough to know that
I need mercy and also I need his help and I need his grace. I'll never forget one time I
was reading in the Psalms and I remember the shortest prayer
that I come across in the Psalms where David said, Lord help,
Lord help. Now beloved, a man don't pray
that kind of prayer unless he knows he's in trouble. Lord help. help. And I say to you that I've
seen enough to convince me that I need the Lord's help. I need
His grace. I've seen enough, have you, to
convince me that the only one who can help me is Christ Jesus.
He's the only one who can. He's the only one who can deliver
my soul from the devil's hell. He's the only one. that can stand
in my room instead in place and answer to God for me. He's the
only one who can suffer from my sin. He's the only one capable
of saving this poor sinner. I've seen enough to convince
me that only in Christ will I find what God demands of me. I've
seen that, I've seen enough to convince me of that. Have you?
Have you? Everything God demands of you,
have you seen that only in Christ you can have that? If you have,
then glory to God. I believe you could rejoice in
salvation if you could say that. That what God demanded of you,
He provides for you in the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that
a man has to be perfect to go to heaven? Did you ever hear
that? Gotta be perfect to go to heaven. You gotta be as holy
as God. You gotta be as perfect as God.
You gotta be as righteous as God. You gotta be as just as
God. You gotta be free from sin as
God is free from sin. You say, Preacher, is there anyone
like that in the world? No. Not anyone like that in the
world, not in the flesh, and not in religion, not in the ordinances,
not in the law and under the law. But I make bold to say,
but in Christ, all are like that. Amen? All are like that. And
so, beloved, you come to see enough to convince you that only
in Him do you have what God demands of you. Only in Him will you
have righteousness and holiness, and only in Him will you have
forgiveness. Now in Christ, there's no sin, no condemnation, no judgment,
no charge to God's elect, because Christ fulfilled a law, imputed
to me a perfect law, righteousness, and before God I'm as holy as
the Holy One, I'm as righteous as the Lord Jesus Christ. In
Christ, Beloved, that is so. Perfect in Him. Holy and without
blame before Him. If it were not true, then God
could not love us. If it were not true. He could
not accept us. He could not look upon us. He
could not have anything whatsoever to do with you. I'm telling you
what I see and know. And God would not have anything
to do with you. He wouldn't touch you with a
ten-foot pole unless you was in Christ and was as holy as
He is. He's the mediator and there's
nothing to be had outside the Lord Jesus Christ but judgment
and eternal wrath. Salvation is not in a profession,
it's in a person. Have you seen enough to learn
that? It's in a person. Somebody said walk the aisle,
make a profession. Many, many people walk the aisle,
make a profession and go right on to hell when they die. I'm
telling you salvation is being married to a person, and that
person is Christ, being joined to Him. He that is joined unto
the Lord is one spirit. We must be joined to Christ.
We must be in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is
my salvation. Christ is my salvation. If it
wasn't so, why did old Simeon say, mine eyes have seen thy
salvation when he saw the baby Jesus? He looked on the baby
Jesus. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Now thy servant is ready to depart.
He's ready to die now. He's seen thy salvation. Christ
is my salvation. I've already died. I already
went to hell. Do you believe that? Well, I've
already paid for sin in Christ. It all happened on Calvary. Everything
necessary to save my poor soul has already happened outside
of myself on a gory tree on a hill called Calvary. Already happened.
Already happened. Happened long ago. We see this,
not with our eyes, but with our hearts. We see this truth. And this is the first definition
of a Christian. The eyes of their soul are open. and they see these things that
we just mentioned. Well, the second thing they see,
and I'll hurry to finish here, from darkness to light they have
been brought, notice this, and to turn them from darkness to
light, from darkness to light, they have had a real change take
place in their life, these people have. The believer's not only
been turned in knowledge, but he's been turned in his experience. 2 Corinthians 5 and 17 says,
if any man be in Christ, he is. He is. If any man be in Christ,
he is. We're not a Christian in creed
only, but indeed. Just look at it. He is a new
creation. Not ought to be, not may be.
Not going to be. He is a new creature if he is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer is a changed person. Actions and attitudes have changed. Manners and motives have changed. He's different. He's in Christ.
He's not the same old person he was. Now the old man is still
there, but he has been changed. He's been touched by a touch
of the Master's hand, and he's different. and not only imputes
to his people a perfect righteousness, but imparts unto them a principle
of righteousness in their soul, which enables them to turn from
sin to the ways of God. A preacher does not have to browbeat
people in a saved church, in a congregation of believers,
true believers, to get them to love God and to love others,
to be generous, and to serve God, to be faithful to God, to
attend the house of God, to pray, to bear witness of the gospel,
know they're alive in the Lord. So the second definition of a
Christian is they're changed. Now we can read a multitude of
scripture to support and to back up this definition, but we don't
have the time this morning in this setting to do it. But in
the Word of God it's clear that we have been turned from darkness
to light. We've been turned. God has done
this work in our souls. Now, the third definition of
a Christian is, as he goes on to say here, that they may receive
forgiveness of sin. They've been delivered from darkness
to light, from the power of Satan into God, that they may receive
forgiveness of sin. Now, our acts are the result
of our natures. We were born with a sinful nature,
and by nature choice and practice, we commit sin. But my sin, O
the bliss," the song says, of that glorious thought, my sin,
not in part but the whole, are nailed to the cross and I bear
it no more. And that's good news, brother,
sister, we bear it no more. There's a couple of verses I'd
love to read in the book of Micah. Hold your finger here in Acts
and turn to Micah chapter 7. And I'll read verse 18 and 19,
a definition of a Christian. The third definition is somebody
whose sins are forgiven. And verse 18 of Micah 7 says,
Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passes
by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth
not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will
turn again. He will have compassion upon
us. He will subdue our iniquities, and Thou will cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. Now that's what the Lord has
done with the sins, and there remaineth therefore a remnant
through the election of grace, and their sins have been pardoned,
put away, and their transgressions have been put behind the back
of the Lord as far as the east is from the west, never to be
remembered again. I say that that's good news.
That's good news. Isn't it wonderful? Don't you
feel lighter even though you might be gaining weight? Don't
you feel lighter that your sins are gone? That the weight of
your guilt is taken away? That God has lifted the burden
of sin from off of you? This is very comforting. This
is reassuring. It gives us confidence that we
can know that our sins past, present, and now watch it now,
future. are forgiven. They're all put
away. Are you strong enough to take that future? Is it okay
with you that all of your sins, past, present, and future, are
under the blood? Is that alright with you? They're under the blood. Hallelujah. And it's not something
that we need to question. And the old song says, I'm safe
in the shepherd's fold, under the blood of Jesus. I am safe
while the ages roll. safe though the world may crumble,
safe though the stars grow dim, safe under the blood of Christ
Almighty. God cannot see one of my sins
under the blood. God will not remember my sins,
the sins and iniquities. He said, I will remember no more. So the believer is clean in God's
eyes, holy, Ephesians 1, 4, and without blame before Him in love,
before Him. And that's what's important,
isn't it? Before Him, we'll stand before God. And wouldn't it be
wonderful to be able to stand there wholly without blame before
Him in love, Him having loved us out of our sin. Oh, the depth
of His love and mercy. Now the fourth thing is that
they have an inheritance. That's the definition of a Christian.
Now what this means is that a Christian is somebody, listen to what it
says here, In this verse, he says that they have forgiveness
of sins and inheritance, and inheritance among them that are
sanctified by faith that is in me. They have an inheritance. In Revelation 21 and verse 7
that our brother read the chapter this morning, it says, He that
overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son. Now, beloved, we've been called,
the Scripture says, 1 Peter 3 and 9, to inherit a blessing. We're
looking forward to it. I am, aren't you? Looking forward
to this inheritance. What I am, I know God made me.
What I have, God has given me. And what I know, God's taught
me. What I will be, I will be by His grace. I will be by His
grace an inheritance. We have this inheritance, part
of it here, and we shall be joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ
in eternity. We have an inheritance. Thank
God we're not shut up just to have what we have here in this
life. We have an inheritance coming.
Christ inherits all things and we're joint heirs with Him. If
we're in Him, we're joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't
inherit it because of who we are. We inherited it because
of who we're in. Christ. We're in Him. And we
inherited it because God's well pleased with His Son and said,
I've turned everything over to Him. And so if we inherit all
things, it's because we're in Him to whom it's already been
given. All been given to Christ. And so in Him, we've got it.
So we're looking forward to that. You say, well, preacher, that
sounds kind of fatalistic. No, no, no, no, no. It's the
Word of God. I said what I am, God made me.
What I have, God gave me. What I know, God taught me. And
what I will be is by His grace. And you said that kind of sounds
to me like hyper-Calvinism or fatalism. Well, all I know is
that my whole theology is summed up in five words, beloved. Salvation
is of the Lord. That's my theology. That's what
Jonah learned in the belly of the whale. Salvation is of the
Lord. Of God from the beginning to
the end. Not a human project. It's a project that only God
can accomplish. And bless God, it's His project. If you go to hell, it's your
own fault. But if you go to heaven, it's God's doing. God's doing. God's people have an inheritance
outside this world. And if they get there and enjoy
it, it's because of God's doing. And fifthly and last, and we'll
close, they're sanctified by faith. That's the fifth mark
of a Christian, definition of a Christian. They're sanctified.
That word sanctified means that they're set apart unto God by
faith. Now this is what sets them apart.
They're set apart by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Lord knoweth them in Nahum 1 7. The Lord is good, strongholding
the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him. He knows
them that trust in him. And so, beloved, we have their
eyes open, we have them as new creatures, we have their sins
forgiven, we have them having an inheritance, he's the heir
of God, and he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. He believes. Are you a believer? Well, turn
with me quickly to Romans The book of Romans chapter 4, and
I want to show you a couple things here. I'm talking about faith.
Look at verse 16. It says, Therefore it is of faith. This is what sets an individual
apart unto God. Everybody that God has anything
to do with, He gives them the gift of faith. They receive the
faith. Do we believe? This is what sets
the family of God, the living family of God, apart from the
world. This is God's mark on His oath. They believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. This faith is the gift of God,
and I say God gives it to anybody and everybody that He has anything
to do with in the matter of salvation. Verse 16 of Romans 4, Therefore
it is of faith, that it might be by grace to the end, the promise
might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of
the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who
is the father of us all. Now down in verse 23, or verse
22, and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. This
is talking about Abraham. Abraham believed God. It was
imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his
sake alone that it was imputed to him, but listen to verse 24,
but for us also to whom it shall be imputed, this is righteousness,
perfect righteousness, the righteousness of Christ, of God in Christ,
if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our
justification. Now then, beloved, turn to 1
John with me, 1 John chapter 3. There's a verse here I want
you to see that will help to solidify this, I think, in your
mind. We have the gift of faith given
to us, and this is what sets us apart. This is what a Christian
is, what a believer is, a believer on the Lord Jesus. Verse 23 of
1 John chapter 3. And this is His commandment,
God's commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son,
Jesus Christ, and love one another as He gave His commandment. But
this is His commandment that we should believe on the name
of His Son, Jesus Christ. Have we believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ? The Bible is so clear on this
subject that salvation is by faith. He that believeth on the
Son He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He
that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth on him. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." Faith sets men and women,
boys and girls, apart from the world. Faith, this is what sanctifies
them. This is the mark that sets them
apart. And this is what makes us different
from the world. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not how long we wear our
hair. It's not how short we wear our hair. It's not how long we
wear our sleeves. It's not what color of clothes
we wear. No, it's not. The thing that sets men and women
apart is faith. Sets them apart from the world.
This is what sanctifies them. Sets them apart unto God. Are
you a believer? You say, well, I look mighty
good. Well, you may. You may. But let me remind you,
it's not he that commended himself that's commended, but it's whom
the Lord commends. You say, well, I think I'm doing
okay, look pretty good, and so on. But I'm telling you what,
how about your heart? Is your heart purified by faith?
This is what sets men and women apart from the world and to God. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I'd like to be known As
a Christian, I'd like to be one. If there's anyone here this morning
that says, well, I went through those things and I believe God
has done these things in my life. I believe He's opened the eyes
of my soul. I believe I know something about who I am, something
about who God is. I think I know a few things about
truth about myself. I think God has done a work in
me to change me. I think He has. what I ought
to be, and I'm not what I hope to be, but thank God, I'm not
what I once was. I believe God has touched me.
He's done something in me. I believe He has. And I kind
of feel that my sins are forgiven. I feel they are. I feel they've
been blotted out. I feel they've been put away.
And I just have this faith in my heart toward God. I just believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then why don't you stand and
confess Him? Confess Him before men. Confess Him in baptism. Follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
Become a witness for Him. You know something that the world
needs to hear. And may God move upon your heart that you confess
Him before men. Father, in the name of Jesus,
we thank You for the privilege of preaching this morning. And
we do ask that Thou would give understanding of the message,
and that Thou would enable our Father, these dear ones, to receive
it. And I pray that Thou will do a great work of plowing the
hearts of the wicked, plowing the hearts of sinners, bringing
them, my Father, to that place where the seed of the Word of
God can be received into good ground. Do Thou affect, do Thou
bring to pass that which would honor and glorify Your great
name. Thank You for Yourself, Thou
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His name, Amen.