Going to look at the last few
verses here in Acts chapter 5. I'm taking the title from the
words found in verse 42. Acts chapter 5, verse 42. And daily in the temple and in
every house they ceased not to teach and to preach THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST. THEY WERE CONSTANTLY, ALWAYS
PREACHING, PREACHING, PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST. NOW, WHY DID THEY DO SO? WELL,
YOU REMEMBER, TURN BACK OVER TO ACTS CHAPTER FOUR, ACTS CHAPTER
FOUR, WHEN THEY WERE COMMANDED BEFORE, VERSE 18, ACTS 4, 18.
THEY CALLED THEM AND COMMANDED THEM NOT TO SPEAK AT ALL NOR
TEACH IN THE NAME OF JESUS. Peter and John answered and said
unto them, whether it's right in the sight of God to hearken
unto you more than unto God judge you, for we cannot but speak
the things which we've seen and heard. Again, if you look over
in Acts chapter five, verse 20, Acts chapter five, verse 20,
when the angel of the Lord broke these men out of prison, there
was a jail break. And verse 20, the angel of the
Lord, the messenger from God's throne said, go stand and speak. Acts 5 20 in the temple to all
the people, the words of this life. And then Peter declared
again in verse 29 of Acts 5, we ought to obey God rather than
men. And he preached the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. They just not, they did not just
preach about the Lord Jesus Christ. They preached him and him crucified. Now, let me give you a couple
of examples of that. Turn to Acts chapter four. Acts
chapter 4, whenever Peter had an open door, or Paul or the
other apostles had an open door, they always lifted up the name
of the Lord Jesus. In Acts chapter 4, verse 10 this
time, be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,
whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand
here before you whole. This is the stone, which was
set at nought of you builders, neither which is become the head
of the corner, neither is there salvation in any other, for there's
none of the name under heaven given among men, whereby we must
be saved." They preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Give me another example, turn
to Acts chapter eight, when the eunuch was returning from Jerusalem,
reading a prophecy of Isaiah, and God sent him a gospel preacher. In verse 34, the eunuch answered
Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet
this, of himself or some other man? You got it, Acts 8, verse
35. Then Philip opened his mouth
and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus,
the Savior. So they preached Christ. One
other example, if you'll turn to Acts chapter 11, and we're
gonna see this all the way through our study. Acts chapter 11, verse
19. Now then, they which were scattered
abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled
as far as Phanasi, Cyprus, Antioch, preaching the word to none but
the Jews only, and some of them were men of Cyprus, Cyrene, which,
when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecian, preaching
the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was
with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. So they didn't just preach about
him, they preached him. Now one other example. You don't
mind turning, do you? Acts 28, the last verses. In
Acts 28, I believe it's chapter 28, is it not? Yeah, chapter
28. When Paul was in prison for two years, verse 30, in his own
hired house, he received all that came unto him, preaching
the kingdom of God, teaching those things which concerned
the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, all confidence, forbidding
no man. So these apostles were preachers
of the Lord Jesus Christ, setting forth his person, setting forth
his word. Paul and the other apostles and
all the Old Testament prophets all preached Christ as everything
in salvation. Everything in salvation. found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now don't turn let me just read
this one to you over in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. Now therefore
you are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens
with the saint and the household of God and are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets. What is the foundation
of the apostles and prophets? Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. That's the foundation that God
had laid in Zion. Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ,
him crucified, his person, and his work. Now, look back to Acts
chapter five. Acts chapter five. When they
heard the apostles preach the gospel, Him, verse 31, hath God
exalted with His right hand to be Prince and Savior, for to
give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sin. And we're
witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom
God hath given to them that obey Him. Verse 33, when they heard
that, they were cut to the heart, and they took counsel to kill
these men. Many of these leaders of the
Jews, when they heard the message of Peter exalting the Lord Jesus
and saying that there was salvation in no other than the Lord Jesus
Christ, these men weren't indifferent. They got angry. They got mad. They got fighting mad. More than
that, they got killing mad. They were so mad, so angry. at
them and at God. They were ready to kill God's
servant. They were enraged to murder these
apostles, just like they murdered the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember
back in Acts chapter 3, where it says, you denied the Holy
One, verse 14, and the Just One, and you desired a murder to be
granted unto you. They said, give us Barabbas,
and you killed the Prince of Life. whom God raised from the
dead. Wow, you killed the prince of
life. I thought of this scripture,
I want you to turn and read this one with me, and this will help
us make this point. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians
chapter two, 1 Thessalonians chapter two. You remember that
movie that came out years ago? I didn't go see it, I don't recommend
that you go see it, The Passion of the Christ, you remember that
movie? And they showed in that movie how the Jews were so angry
and enraged at the Lord Jesus Christ that the Jews turned him
over to the Romans to be crucified. And that movie portrayed the
Jews in a very clear light at being guilty of the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, a bunch of those Jewish
people got upset. They didn't like that movie.
But look what it says right here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2.
Verse 14, for you, brethren, became followers of the churches
of God, which in Judea are in Jesus Christ. For you also have
suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they
have of the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus Christ and their
own prophets, and have persecuted us. And they please not God.
They're contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the
Gentile that they might be saved. to fill up their sins always,
for the wrath has come upon them to utter to the uttermost." They're
guilty of the blood and the murder and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. But remember this, they were
gathered together for to do only what God's hand and God's counsel
before determined to be done. Yeah, they did what they wanted
to do. They did what their wicked heart inspired them to do, but
they only completed the purpose of God in the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, look at verse 34 and following. When they heard that, all these
councils, this senate, They were so filled with rage and hatred
against these men and against the Lord's Christ and against
God himself, the carnal mind, his enmity against God. But one
among them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law,
had a reputation among all the people, commanded to put forth
the apostles for a little space, and said to them, You men of
Israel, you take heed to yourselves what you intend to do as concerning
these men. Let's not be so quick to kill
them. For before, he said, the days there rose up Thutis, boasting
himself to be somebody to whom the number of men, about 400,
joined themselves, who was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him
or believed him, they were scattered, and it came to nothing. The other
example he gives is that of Judas of Galilee, in the days of taxing,
drew away much people after him. He also perished, and all, even
as many as obeyed him, they were dispersed. And now I say, refrain from these
men, and just leave them alone, for if this counsel or work be
of men, it'll come to nothing. But if it be of God, you can't
overthrow it, lest you fight against God. To him they agreed,
and when they called the apostles and beaten them, commanded them
they should not speak in the name of the Lord Jesus, they
let them go." So these two men, and you can see his reasoning,
these two other men, Thutis and Judas, They died and their followers
just were scattered. He's thinking in his mind, we've
killed the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if this thing is just of
men, like Judas and Thutis, it's gonna fizzle. It's gonna die
out. Their followers will be dispersed
and scattered, and we'll be done with this thing. If the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ be of men, it will come to nothing. If Jesus of Nazareth is a mere
man, it will come to nothing. But he's not a mere man. If the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is of God, and it is, YOU CANNOT
STOP OR HINDER THE CAUSE AND WILL AND ETERNAL PURPOSE OF GOD. WE CAN SAFELY CONCLUDE THAT THE
GOSPEL OF GOD CONCERNING THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED
RAISED FROM THE DEAD IS THE ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE OF THE SALVATION OF
GOD'S COVENANT PEOPLE. HE SAID ALL THAT THE FATHER HAS
GIVEN TO ME WILL COME TO ME AND THOSE THAT COME TO ME I WILL
NEVER CAST THEM OUT AND THEY WILL NEVER, NO, NEVER PERISH. Now, all these 2,000 years later,
the gospel of Christ is still what God has ordained to save
sinners. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is still the power of God and the salvation to everyone
that believes, because truth never changes, God never changes,
the gospel never changes, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the
same today, yesterday, and forever, forever. You cannot fight against
God and win, just lay it down. As my dear pastor used to say,
lay down your shotgun. Lay down your shotgun, you can't
fight against God. What's that old saying? In government,
in civil government, you can't fight against city hall? Well,
you can probably fight against city hall, but you can't fight
against God. You can fight, but you'll never win. Surrender,
surrender. You'll never win. Many have tried
to fight against God, and many have failed. God always wins. He knows nothing of defeat. You remember what he told young
Saul of Tarsus? It's hard to kick against the
purpose of God. We're going to see his conversion
in chapter 9. When God hinders, none can work. When God works, none can hinder. His purpose, his will, will be
done. GOD WHO HAS BEGUN A GOOD WORK
IN YOU, HE'LL FINISH IT. WHAT BEGINS IN GRACE WILL END
IN GLORY. HE WORKS ALL THINGS AFTER THE
COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL. THEY BEAT THESE MEN, AS IT SAYS
IN VERSE 40, THEY BEAT THESE MEN. NOW THIS BEATING HERE IS
A LASHING WITH A WHIP. NOW ACCORDING TO JEWISH LAW,
It was to be 40 stripes, remember? You couldn't whip a man more
than 40 times. So they'd always just whip him
39, just to make sure they wouldn't violate the law. These men were
severely beaten. Many people who were scurred
under the law died having their back lacerated and their inward
parts just oozing out. They beat them severely. and
they commanded them never to mention the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ again. Now you think of this. What if
they took Don Fortner, Todd Nybert, Gage Donicker, Frank Tate, what
if they took 12 of God's servants that you know and tied them up
in a public square and beat them and lashed them and commanded
them never to mention the name of Jesus Christ one more time? What do you reckon those men
would do? They'd suffer tremendously, but they would go on preaching
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Better to obey God than
to obey men, better to obey God and disobey men. They were commanded
never to preach the gospel again. Although their bodies were racked
with great pain, their hearts were full of great joy. They
did not enjoy the agony of body, but they rejoiced in the Lord
Jesus Christ always. Verse 41, they departed from
the presence of the council rejoicing counted worthy to suffer for
him." I tell you, we don't know anything of suffering for the
gospel like the early church did. Sometimes I wonder, sometimes
I almost think we ought to suffer more for the gospel than we do. I've been criticized a little
bit and I get my feelings hurt, but that's okay. But these men
were publicly beaten and commanded never to mention his name again.
What are they going to do? They departed. They rejoiced
daily in the temple and in every house. They just kept right on
preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the
Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice in
the Lord. Those who will live godly in the Lord Jesus Christ
shall suffer persecution. In everything, give thanks for
this is the will of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they went
right on preaching. They continued daily in the temple. In public and in every house
in private, they went out doing what the Lord said. You remember
what he said? The risen Lord said to those men, go into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature. You go and
preach. Go and preach. God will bless
the preaching of the word. They ceased not to teach and
preach. that is to declare the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there a distinction between
teaching and preaching? I think teaching is preaching,
and I think preaching is teaching. I think it's synonymous. We teach
and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord
give us the same determination to preach the Lord Jesus Christ
everywhere and all the time when God gives us an open door. I had a friend of mine who lives
in Rock Valley, Iowa, who was invited, he's a pastor of a church,
many of you know him, and he was invited to give a, what do
they call that, a graduation, a speech at the graduation, they
have a name for it, I can't remember what they call it, but he went
there and preached the gospel. HE WENT THERE AND PREACHED THE
GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TO DO.
GOD'S PREACHERS ARE ABOUT PREACHING THE GOSPEL. NOW, THE QUESTION
IS THIS, WHAT IS IT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST? WHAT IS
IT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST? WELL, LET ME GIVE YOU FOUR OR
FIVE THINGS. FIRST OF ALL, IS TO DECLARE IN PLAIN TERMS WHO
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS. is to declare in plain terms
who the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is totally and really the
eternal God. We make no apologies for it. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. He is both Lord and Christ. He is really and truly and totally
God, forever, eternal, and yet the God-Man Mediator, the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. The Lord Jesus Christ is
God, and He is a real man, bone of our bone and flesh of our
flesh, married in one blessed person. He's the God-Man Mediator,
and that's what we preach. As the God-Man Mediator, He is
the Lord, That we must answer to he is the christ of god anointed
in all of his office as prophet priest and king Call his name
jesus Savior, he shall save his people from their sin. We preach who he is god almighty
manifest in the flesh secondly We declare what he accomplished
What did the Lord Jesus Christ accomplish when He came and when
He died? In the fullness of time, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. When the Lord Jesus Christ
died for the sins of his covenant people, he did not die to make
salvation a possibility. His death wasn't an attempt to
put away sin. He made an atonement for the
full satisfaction of the sin of God's people laid upon him. We call that definite atonement.
We call that particular redemption. The Lord Jesus Christ laid down
his life for his sheep. He accomplished all of our salvation
by the sacrifice of himself, not with the blood of bulls and
goats. Our great high priest didn't bring that typical animal
sacrifice. He brought his own blood and
obtained for us what? Eternal redemption. Eternal redemption. He appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now, did
he get the job done? Did he try to put away sin? Did
he try to save somebody? The Christ of God accomplished
all God's purpose in saving his people. He said on Calvary 3,
it is finished. When he by himself purged our
sin, he sat down on the right hand of the throne of God to
declare, what is it, to preach the gospel? Declare who he is. And then what he did, honored
the law of God, fulfilled all scripture, satisfied God's holy
justice, put away our sin, justified us by his blood, sanctified us
by his spirit, and had glorified himself in our heart that we
might believe the gospel. Now, what is the preachy gospel? Thirdly, we declare why he suffered
and why he died for us. Why did he die? Wasn't there
some other way that God's justice and His law could be satisfied
other than the Lord Jesus Christ dying? Wasn't there some other
plan or some other means or some other method? No. because God
is holy and God says the guilty must die the guilty must die
the law of God must execute the guilty to be satisfied that's
exactly why the Lord Jesus Christ died having taken our sin to
himself by an act of God laying our sin upon him the Lord Jesus
Christ fully put away our sin to enable God to be just and
the justifier, to enable God to be a just God and Savior. That's why Christ died, to fulfill
all scripture, to satisfy God. He died for our sin. How did
he die? Paul said, for our sin, according
to the scripture. He said, I am God, beside me
there is none else. I'm the only just God and Savior. You got the first three? Who
he is? God Almighty manifested His flesh.
What did He accomplish? Put away our sin, establish righteousness
for us, satisfy God's law and justice. Why did He die? According
to the eternal purpose of God, Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel of God, you have taken and by wicked hand have crucified
and slain the Lord of glory. Okay, fourthly, where is He now? The tomb's empty. They took him
down from a tree and they put him in the tomb because he really
died for our sin according to the scripture. And having put
away our sin, being delivered for our offenses, he was raised
again the third day. You know why? Sin was put away. Delivered for our offenses and
raised again because he did indeed justify us. Having no sin, the
grave, death, and the law had no claim on him. Raised up from
the dead and we're raised up in him. WHERE IS HE NOW? SEATED
ON THE THRONE OF GLORY. YOU REMEMBER IN VERSE 31 OF ACTS
5, WHERE IS HE NOW? SEATED ON THE THRONE OF GLORY. YOU REMEMBER IN VERSE 31 OF ACTS 5, WHERE
IS HE NOW? SEATED ON THE THRONE OF GLORY. YOU REMEMBER IN VERSE 31 OF ACTS
5, WHERE IS HE NOW? SEATED ON THE THRONE OF GLORY. YOU REMEMBER
IN VERSE 31 OF ACTS 5, WHERE IS HE NOW? SEATED ON THE THRONE
OF GLORY. YOU REMEMBER IN VERSE 31 OF ACTS 5, WHERE IS HE NOW? SEATED ON THE THRONE
OF GLORY. YOU REMEMBER IN VERSE 31 OF ACTS
5, WHERE IS HE NOW? SEATED ON THE THRONE OF GLORY.
YOU REMEMBER IN VERSE 31 OF ACTS 5, WHERE IS HE NOW? WE DECLARE THAT HE'S COMING BACK
AGAIN. REMEMBER IN ACTS CHAPTER 1, OVER HERE IN VERSE 11 OF ACTS
CHAPTER 1, THE ANGEL FROM HEAVEN AFTER THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST ASCENDED TO GLORY AND SEATED ON THE THRONE
OF GOD, YOU MEN OF GALILEE, WHY STAND YOU GAZING UP INTO HEAVEN?
THIS SAME JESUS WHICH IS TAKEN UP FROM YOU INTO HEAVEN SHALL
SO COME IN LIKE MANNER AS YOU HAVE SEEN HIM GO INTO HEAVEN. Remember our Lord said in John
chapter 14, John chapter 14, you believe in me, believe also
in God. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go and prepare a place for you. I will come again and
receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be
also. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming
back. As a matter of fact, the scripture
says this, He's on his way. Revelation 1 verse 7, behold
he cometh. Behold he cometh. What does that
mean? That means he's on his way. When's
the Lord coming back? When it pleases him, but he is
coming back. And he is going to receive us
unto himself. What is it to preach the gospel?
Let me give you two more things. What is it to preach the gospel?
There was an old preacher back in London, England, by the name
of Rowland Hill. You ever heard of Rowland Hill?
And he said this, every time we preach the gospel, we should
preach the three R's. The three R's. You remember what
the three R's are? Ruin, redemption, and regeneration. The three R's. Every time we
preach the gospel, we preach ruin. These men, the way they
acted, manifest what we are, sinner, guilty, through and through. Redemption. What do guilty sinners
need? Redemption. He redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. And what do we
need? God has done a work for us, but
he must do a work in us. For salvation is a hard work.
We preach regeneration by the Spirit of God. Salvation is not
reformation. Salvation is not turning over
a leaf and starting over. Salvation is a new creation.
It's God making us new creatures in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
God raising us up from the dead. So I've given you a lot here,
the three R's. You remember the three R's now, right? There'll
be a test later. Ruin, redeem, regeneration. Here's one other thought. What
is it to preach the gospel? The apostle said this, what would
it have done to me if I preached not the gospel? My brother Mahan
used to give this outline, and we could preach the rest of the
afternoon on this outline. But let me give it to you quickly.
What is it to preach the gospel? Tell the truth about God. God
is holy. What is it to preach the gospel?
Tell the truth about man. He is a sinner, none righteous,
no, not one. What is it to preach the gospel?
Tell the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ, what he accomplished
for us. And to tell the truth about how
God saves sinners by his grace alone. Now there is a good, good
gospel track out there on the table entitled, What is it to
preach the gospel by Brother Mahan out there on the table. Now I'm gonna close with this. I was in Fairmont, West Virginia
on Thursday night, this last week, and preached for Marvin
Stoniker invited me to go up there to Katie Baptist Church
and to preach. Before Brother Marvin came there
to pastor that church, there was a preacher by the name of
Scott Richardson who preached there for 50 years. You probably
heard of him, you probably met him, Scott Richardson. Scott
Richardson, he'd been here before and preached, but he was a dear,
dear friend of Brother Mahan, and he preached the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ in no uncertain terms, constantly, faithfully,
always. Well, I heard this story, I'm
gonna give it to you, but I think it illustrates, they ceased not
to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Someone, complained to Brother
Scott one time after the service, and they said, all you do, I've
been coming here for several years now, and all you do is
preach Christ, Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. What he did, where
he is, why, all you do is preach Christ, Christ, Christ. You know
what he said? Will you put that on my tombstone?
Put that on my tombstone. I preached Christ. That's why
Paul said, I'm determined to know nothing among you, but Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. You can add that to my list on
my tombstone, okay? I've got a pretty good list.
You can add that. He preached Christ. He preached
Christ. He preached Christ.