Okay, back to the book of Acts. Chapter 19. Excuse me. Acts chapter 19. I'm taking the
title or the message from the words found in verse 23. Acts
19 verse 23. At the same time, there arose
no small stir about that way. That way. No small. Now, if it's not small, that
means it's large. It's a large thing. Dr. Luke, the writer of these words,
uses a negative to give us an example. For example, down in
verse 24, brought no small gain unto the craftsman. So it means
he's saying there, by saying no small, it means it's large.
He uses a negative to show something how large it was. Luke's way
of saying it was a great rebellion, an uproar against that way, and
these people said, great, great, great is Diana of the Ephesians. There was a great uproar because
of Paul preaching the gospel of Christ. Now, there are not
many ways of salvation. There's just one way. There's
just one way. And we know that the Lord Jesus
Christ, he said, I am the way when the disciples asked Lord
show us the way he said. I am the way. I am the way, the
truth, the life. No one comes unto the Father
but by and through me. That way, or the way, is saying,
and it's synonymous with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That way. Now we've seen this
several times in the book of Acts. If you look back at chapter
9, chapter 9, remember Saul of Tarsus, when he was breathing
out slaughter and threatening against the Lord's disciples.
In Acts chapter 9 verse 2 says, And desired of him letters to
Damascus, to the synagogues, that if he found any of this
way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound
to Jerusalem that way. that way and then in Acts 24
if you turn over there and Acts 24 verse 14 when the Apostle
Paul makes his defense Acts 24 verse 14 but this I confess unto
thee that after the way which they call heresy, so I worship
the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written
in the law and in the prophet that way." We know from reading
the scriptures that Christ is that way. Now, I remember a story a friend of
mine told me about his grandson while they were driving in the
car. His grandson was probably five or six years old, just starting
to recognize some of the words as he was learning how to read.
And this little boy was with his grandfather, and the little
boy saw a road sign that said, one way. And he turned to his
grandfather, and he said, well, grandfather, there's a gospel
sign. See that gospel sign? And his
grandfather said, well, what are you talking about? See, that
sign says one way. He said, that's the gospel. And
that's so, that's the gospel. That's the gospel, how true it
is. Neither is there salvation in any other. There's no other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. So next time you see a road sign
that says one way, Think in your mind, Christ is that way. Now in Proverbs 14 we read, there
is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of death. There is a way that seems right
unto a man, morality or works or good deeds, but the end of
that way is death. You see, there's just one way.
If you drive, if you're driving in your car, and you decide to
go down the one-way street the wrong way, what's going to happen? It's not going to be good. You're
going to get in trouble. So there's just one way, and
you need to go in that one way, and that's Christ. Now, verse
21 and verse 22, So mightily grew the Word of God, verse 20,
and prevailed. After these things were ended,
Paul purposed in his spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia
and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there,
I must also see Rome. After these things were ended,
that is, after Paul had preached the gospel there in Ephesus,
For two full years after many had been converted and believed
the gospel, you remember in Acts 19 verse 18, many that believed
came and confessed and showed their deeds. Many were converted
through Paul preaching the gospel of Christ. And after that great
display of total commitment to Christ, remember all those people
who were converted? They took all their religious
books of idolatry and trinket and piled them all up in a big
bonfire and burnt them all? And the price was found to be
50,000 pieces of silver. They publicly demonstrated that
they were going the way following the Lord Jesus Christ, the way
alone. When Paul writes about his experience
there in Ephesus. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse
32 he said, I fought with the beast at Ephesus. Talking about
these people who were so head over heels with the goddess of
Diana. He said, I fought with the beast
at Ephesus. Paul purposed in his heart and
spirit to move on to preach the gospel in other places, through
Macedonia, through Achaia, to Jerusalem, and then he says,
I also must see Rome. I must see Rome also. Not as
a tourist, Not as a tourist, but rather a missionary. He wanted
to go there and preach the gospel. But little did he know that the
Lord would send him there as a prisoner. Remember when he
went to Jerusalem and he was got in trouble with the religious
people there, and then he appealed unto Caesar, and they shipped
him all the way over to Rome. We're going to see that in the
later chapters in the Book of Acts, and that's where we find
the Apostle Paul, when the Book of Acts ends, there in a Roman
jail cell. For two whole years in that jail
cell, he's preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Apostle Paul waged war on their idolatry. He exposed their idolatry
by lifting up Christ as the only way of salvation. And there was
a big stirring up of rebellion against God. Now we've seen this
repeated over and over in the book of Acts, haven't we? When
the gospel comes to town, two things happen. Rebellion and
revival. When the gospel is plainly declared,
there's a two-fold effect. One negative, a negative effect,
and a positive effect. Revival or rebellion arise in
opposition or repentance in submission. We studied this morning from
2 Corinthians chapter 3, saying we have such hope We use great
plainness of speech. They heard what Paul had preached
and despised it. Look at verse 26 in Acts 19. Moreover you see and hear that
not alone at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia this Paul,
this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people saying
that there be no gods that are made with hand. That is, Paul
preached the true and living God. You remember the idolaters
in David's day, they came to him and said, David, where is
your God? We know where our God is, right
over here in the temple of Baal. David, where is your God? You
remember his answer? Our God is in the heavens, and
he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Our God is God in the
heavens. Now, we need to always remember
that the Lord will bless the preaching of the gospel, to call
out his elect with the word of truth. As it says there in verse
20, the word of God grew and multiplied. He said, My word
will not return unto me void. It is the truth. Our Lord said,
You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
See, it's not the lives of men that set sinners free. You can
never learn the truth by listening to a lie, can you? You can never
arrive at the truth of the gospel by listening to a false message,
a false gospel. Without the truth of the gospel,
there is no regeneration, for it is by the word of truth that
we're begotten unto a living hope by the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the gospel truth, there
can be no justification. For we're justified by faith,
which faith consists in receiving God's truth. Faith comes by hearing,
and hearing what? The true word of God. God gives us peace through the
word, the Lord Jesus Christ. Without truth, there is no sanctification. For the Lord Himself says in
John 17, 17, we read this Wednesday night, sanctify them through
thy truth, thy word is truth. So we know truth is a lie. No
truth is a lie. The truth is the truth of God
that sets us free. Without truth, there is no salvation.
Without the truth of the gospel, the true word, where God has
chosen us unto salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2.13. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is distinct and different from the religion of men. What
a difference between saying great is the goddess of Diana than
worshipping the true and living God. How God has turned us to
God from idols to serve the living and true God. The gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ is distinct and different from the religion
of men. The way of free and sovereign
grace in the salvation of sinners is not One way among many, it
is the only way of salvation in Christ alone. Now hold your
place there and turn back to Paul's first sermon in Acts 13,
verse 38. Acts 13, 38. Be it known unto
you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sin. You see it? Acts 13, 38. Verse 39 says, By him all that
believe are justified from all things which could not be justified
by the law of Moses. There is just one way of salvation
and Christ is that way. The only way of redemption, the
only way to be redeemed, We're not redeemed with corruptible
things, are we? Silver and gold? But we are redeemed
with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, there's
just one way of redemption. He obtained for us eternal redemption
with His own blood. There's only one way of justification. There are not many ways to be
justified. There's just one way to be justified.
We're justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3, 24. I think I quote
that verse every time I preach, don't I? Justified freely by
His grace through the redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only, excuse me, one
way of regeneration. of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth." There's just one Savior, one gospel, one Lord,
one truth, one faith, and it's the faith of God's elect. The
faith of God's elect loves the truth. How do I know if I'm one
of God's elect? Because God has given you a love
for the truth of the gospel, for the word of truth. The apostle
said, though we or an angel preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we have preached, let him be accursed. Now look
at verse 23 again. Acts 19, 23. At the same time,
there arose no small stir. People were stirred up about
that way. They were stirred up in anger.
But you know there is a good thing, it's a good thing to be
stirred up with zeal in your heart to believe that way. That's a good thing. These folks
were stirred up in opposition, not in submission. They were
stirred up in opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I'm going
to tell you a story. I want to use an outline to close
this message from a Bible conference that was preached in Ashland,
Kentucky in 1954. In 1954. That's where Pastor
Henry Mahan was a pastor in 1954. He's 28 years old. And in that
1954 conference there were five men that our dear brother Henry invited to preach there. The
name of those five men was A.D. Muse, who was from Louisville,
Clarence Walker, who was from Lexington, B.B. Caldwell, don't
know where he was from, but I think from Michigan. There was a man
by the name of George Fletcher, then everybody knows the story
about Rolf Barnard. There was those five men that
preached in that conference all noted men who were preachers
of the sovereign grace of God. In that meeting, I don't know
how many times each one of them preached. It was a several-day
meeting, so they probably preached several times, but Rock Barnard
brought a message and he entitled the message, Six Stubborn Statements. That was a message I sent out
yesterday, a TV message that we had transcribed that Brother
Mahan brought on the TV program back in the early or late 80s,
I believe it was. But the title of that message,
that TV message, was Six Stubborn Statements. I'm going to go over those six
statements here to close this message. Someone said one time,
my pastor said this, when a man is confronted with truth, when
a man is confronted with truth, he must do one of two things.
He must believe it or reject it. He must receive it or turn
from it. He must preach it or deny it. There's no middle ground. There's
no middle ground. You can't straddle the fence
here. Our Lord said, if you're not with me, you're against me. There's no middle ground. You
can't straddle the fence and have it both ways. You can't
have both grace and works. You can't have law and faith.
It's either one or the other. You can't have both. If it's
true, and the Gospel is true, it must be believed, it must be received, it must
be preached if it's true. That's what we preach. We preach
the truth of the gospel. Now here's these six statements.
I'm not going to wear you out with them. I've got about 15
minutes here left. I'll try to limit myself to 30-35
minutes so I don't wear you out or wear me out either. I can't
preach as long as I used to. I'll lose my voice. But here's
point number one. God is either absolutely God,
absolutely sovereign over all things, or he's not. There's no middle ground. Either
God rules and reigns over all things, God is God in heaven
and earth, or he's not. Now, which is it? Well, if you
believe the way, you believe that God is God in all things. Now, it doesn't matter what our
opinion is or the opinion of others. What does the Word of
God teach? And it certainly teaches with
great plainness of speech that God is God. Whatsoever the Lord please, Psalm
135 verse 5. Whatsoever the Lord please, that's
what He does in heaven, earth, seas, and all deep places. God
is God over all, absolutely sovereign. And we use these four things
to categorize His sovereignty, and I don't know if it's a wise
thing to do, but I don't know how else to describe it. God,
we say, it is true, He is absolutely sovereign over all things. He's
sovereign in creation. He created all things by the
word of His power, according to His wisdom, according to His
will. He created all things in heaven
and earth by His sovereign will and purpose. So He's sovereign
in creation. He's sovereign over all things
in providence. What He decreed in eternity,
He brings to pass in time. Of Him and through Him or to
Him are all things, Romans 11. Verse 36, He worketh all things
after the counsel of His own will. So He's sovereign in creation,
providence, and then He's sovereign in salvation. What do we mean
by that when we say that He's sovereign in salvation? It simply
means this, God will save whom He will. He says, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy. I'll harden whom I will. Our
Lord prayed that in John 17, Father, you've given me power
over all flesh, that I should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given to me. He's sovereign in creation. I
don't have any problem with that, do you? I believe God's Word. He's sovereign in providence.
known unto God are all of his works from the beginning. Remember,
we studied that. He's sovereign in salvation.
He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he's sovereign
in reprobation. That is, there's vessels of mercy
prepared before unto glory, and there's vessels of wrath fitted
to destruction. Now, that's just so. He'll harden
whom he will as well. So, you got point number one.
God is either absolutely sovereign or he's not. And this book says
with great clarity that God is God. He said, I've spoken it,
I've purposed it, I bring it to pass, I will do it. None can
stay his hand or say unto him, Lord God, what doest thou? He
does according to his will in the army of heaven and among
the habitants of this earth and none can stay his hand and none
can say unto him, I don't like that. You may say that, but it's
not gonna change the fact that God is God. Who are you to reply
against God? Paul asked that question in Romans
9, doesn't he? Now here's point number two.
Either all men are totally, fully depraved and dead in sin with
absolutely no ability to please God, or improve their condition,
or to save themselves, or to put away their sin, or they're
not. Men are either totally sinful
and dead in sin, or they're not. Now again, it doesn't matter
what you think or what someone says, what their opinion may
be, what does God say about the fact that we are dead in sin? Well, let's see if we can find
out. Turn to Romans chapter 3. Romans
chapter 3 says in verse 9, the last part, that Jews and Gentiles,
that they're all under sin. Does that include you? Does that include me? that we're all under sin. That
includes all men, and Adam all died, and Adam all sinned. As
it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. There
is none that understandeth. There is none that seeks after
God. They're all gone out of the way. They're together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher,
with their tongues a fused deceit. The poison of Asp is under their
lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their
feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. The way of peace they don't know.
There's no fear of God before their eyes." Now that's either
true or it's not. It is true. Men are totally depraved. Men are totally sinful. In Adam,
it says that, in Adam, in chapter 5 of Romans, Wherefore, as by
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death
passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned. Now, we're either
totally sinful, unable to please God, unable to come to God, or
we're not. There's no middle ground. It's
either one way or the other. I'm saying this book teaches
that we are totally depraved and totally sinful. Unable to
believe the gospel without God giving us faith and repentance,
faith in Christ and repentance toward God. Unable to come to
the Lord Jesus Christ unless God the Holy Spirit effectually
draws us to Himself. Didn't our Lord say in John 6,
44 and 45 no man can come to me except the father which sent
me draw him that word there can means ability No man has the
ability to come to Christ unless he is drawn of God affectionately
drawn to the Lord Why because we're dead in sin? with no ability
to please God, believe God, or come to God. He quickened who
were dead. Now who does the quickening?
He does. So here's the third point. Almighty God either elected
and chose a people unto salvation before the foundation of the
world or He didn't. Now election is so. Throughout
this book we read the word elect, elected, an election over 20
times. Our Lord said, you didn't choose
me, I've chosen you. I know when you mention the word
election, the Bible doctrine of election, a lot of folks just
get upset and they get uptight. It is so. Either God elected
a people from all eternity unto salvation or He didn't. Now what
does the book teach? The book teaches that He did.
He elected a people. He elected a people unto salvation.
What does the Word of God teach? Well, in your bulletin today,
there's a scripture verse from Psalm 65, verse 4, and I hope
to be able to bring a message from that Psalm on Wednesday
night. And that verse says, blessed is the man to whom God chooses
and causes to approach unto Him. You see, the reason and cause
of our coming to Him is because God from eternity has elected
us unto salvation. Paul put it this way, we're bound
to give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God has from the beginning chosen you unto salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth were
unto he called you by our gospel. God did choose a people unto
salvation. Let me read this to you. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ,
according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy without blame before
Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made
us accepted in the Beloved. Sounds to me like somebody chose
a people unto salvation, and God did. I remember having a
conversation with someone in our family at one of these family
gatherings, and they started talking about election. And I
turned over to this scripture. I found the Bible in their house
there, and I turned over and read this scripture. And I read
it to them just as I read it to you. plainly as it can be,
according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world." I said, what does that mean? He said, it doesn't
mean what you're trying to make it mean. Well, what do words
mean? How can you get anything else
out of that? You see, he didn't want to bow to the truth of God's
electing grace. God either chose a people unto
salvation from all eternity, or he didn't. I'm saying this
book says that he did. There's the fourth point. You
imagine, I just imagine, in 1954, Brother Barnard preaching this
message, and he preached it much more clearly and much more powerfully.
He didn't preach a better gospel, but he was a better preacher.
That make sense? And my pastor as well. Brother
Henry's repeated this outline many times. I know I've given
this to you before. Here's the fourth thing. Either
the Lord Jesus Christ affectionately, fully, eternally paid the sin
debt for his elect covenant people or he didn't. Either the Lord
Jesus Christ dying on Calvary's tree for the elect of God having
fully accomplished their salvation and putting away their sin, either
he did that fully, totally accomplishing their salvation, or he didn't.
Now, which is it? What does this book teach? That's
all that matters, doesn't it? I know we've heard in religious
circles, God loves everybody, the Lord Jesus Christ died for
everybody, and God's doing his dead devil best to try to save
everybody, but they won't let him. That's not so. God doesn't ask your permission
to do things. God acts sovereignly as He will. He doesn't ask our permission.
Not at all. God doesn't need our help, our
assistance. The Lord Jesus Christ affectionately,
fully, eternally paid for the sin of God's people. Who did
the Lord Jesus Christ die for? Well, what does the Word teach?
It says that He died for His elect. He shall save his people
from their sin. It says that he died for his
sheep. The Lord said, I'll lay down my life for the sheep. It
says that the Lord died for his church. He bought the church
with his own blood. He loved the church and gave
himself for it. Who are these people called the
church? What does that word mean? They're called out. They're called
out with the word of truth. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
his people, his covenant people. brought again from the dead the
Lord Jesus Christ, that great, great shepherd of those covenant
people. Now there is no such thing This
book knows nothing about universal atonement, universal redemption. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
die for all the sins of all men. The Word of God does not teach
that. His blood was not shed in vain. Christ did not die to
make salvation a possibility, but rather to make it an absolute
certainty for those for whom he died. He obtained eternal
redemption for us with His own blood. He appeared once in the
end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of His own blood. The shedding of His blood, His
atonement for our sin, therefore, is most effectual to accomplish
all of God's purpose in saving His people. Now either He effectually
got that done or He didn't. Now, which is it? I know what
this book teaches, and I know what the saints of God believe.
It's His blood atonement that fully justifies us before God. It's His blood atonement that
redeemed us from all our sin. It's His blood atonement that
cleanses us from all our sin. It's His blood atonement that
pardons us, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sin, according to the riches of His grace. to the praise and
the glory of His grace. Here's point number five. Either
God the Holy Spirit effectually, irresistibly calls, draws, quickens,
and regenerates sinners by His will, or He doesn't. Now which is it? This Word of
God teaches that God saves sinners by His will, His grace. Salvation
is always by the sovereign will of God. Romans 9 says, it's not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
shows mercy. You see, God must effectually,
irresistibly call us out because of that fact that we are totally
depraved. We're totally depraved, unable
to believe the gospel, unable to see the beauty and glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ, until He turns on the light. You hath
he quickened who were dead. God who commands the light to
shine out of the darkness has shined in our heart to give us
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God that shines
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord is not trying
to save all men with no success. The Lord does not try to do anything. He does according to His will
all the time. He's not frustrated. The Lord
is not trying. You hear religious people say,
well, God is trying to save you, but you won't let him. Now, wait
a minute. You're not talking about the
God of the Bible. The God of the Bible does as
he will, with whom he will, when he will, for his glory. All the
time. Absolutely ruling and reigning
over all things. The Father has given him power
over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given to him. Here's number six. Either all
those saved by his sovereign grace persevere in faith, or
they don't. Either those for whom he saved
are absolutely eternally secured and saved forever, based upon
his dying, based upon his blood atonement, his grace, or they're
not. Either they persevere in faith,
or they don't. They're either kept by the power
of God, or they're not. This book teaches, again, He's
able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before
the presence of God's glory with exceeding joy. He's able to keep
you from falling. If God saves you, He's not going
to lose you. All that the Father hath given
to me, they will come to me, and those that come to me, He
said, I will never cast them out. He said in John 10, my sheep
hear my voice, I know them, they follow me, and I give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perish. No man can pluck
them out of my hand. My Father which gave to me is
greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of his hand.
You see, God, when he saves us, he saves us with an everlasting
salvation. Isn't that good news? You mean
my salvation doesn't depend upon me? Not at all. It depends upon
Him. Salvation is always determined,
dependent, and accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not
a cooperative effort. It's not God done His part, now
you got to do your part. That's not salvation that this
book teaches. This book teaches that Christ
is all and in all, in all things. This book teaches in Him was
all the fullness of Godhead bodily and in Him we are complete. In
Him Now we read when Paul preached
the gospel there in Ephesus for those two years, that the Word
of God prevailed and there was a great stirring up, some to
salvation and some to condemnation. The gospel was a saber of life
to some and a saber of death to the other. Now let me go back
to my story here, 1954. I was two years old in 1954.
Brother Mahan was 28 years old in 1954. In 1954, the same thing
happened in Ashland, Kentucky, where that Bible conference was
held. In that church where it was held, they split right down
the middle. They split over the gospel. Pastor
Mahan and a hundred or so others left and started a new ministry,
and there was a great stirring in that city for another, he
preached for another 50 years. That's how 13th Street Baptist
Church started. Now, it's interesting post note,
post script. About two years ago, that church
where that first meeting was held in 1954, there was an article
in the Ashland paper. Someone clipped it out and sent
it to me. The doors of that church at one time, in the 40s and 50s,
was the largest Southern Baptist church in Kentucky. Two years ago, I got that article.
about that church where that meeting was held in 1954, and
they closed their doors, abandoned the building, with no gospel
preaching at all again. That ministry, God put judgment
on it. It was many years later, but
they closed the door, abandoned the building, nobody there. How sad. Now for us, Judgment
fell on them for rejecting the gospel. Now for us, may God be
pleased to stir us up with the word of truth, the gospel of
God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and cause us to stand
for the gospel of His sovereign saving grace and not back down. Not compromise. Preach it as
it is. My pastor used to always say
this, you try to preach the gospel so as to remove the offense,
you remove the power. When you try to preach the gospel
so much so that you don't want to offend someone by calling
them sinners, what do they need to hear? They don't need to hear,
well, you're going to be okay. You pay your bills, don't you?
You go to church, don't you? You don't beat your wife, do
you? You take care of your family, don't you? You're going to be
okay. Not before God. Now, I'm all in on being a good
citizen. But being a good citizen is not
believing the gospel of God. I'm all for people being moral
and honest. But that's not salvation. If
you have salvation based upon your morality, what do you have? You have salvation by works,
not grace. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed and I'm persuaded that he's able. He said, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God and the
salvation to everyone, to everyone that believes it.