Today I want to try to bring
a message from Acts chapter 2 verse 14 down to about verse 24. I hope to get that far. I'm taking
the title for the message from verse 22. Acts 2 verse 22. Here's the title of the message.
You men of Israel, hear these words. Oh, that we might hear
these words, that we might be blessed to hear the word of God.
Remember our Lord said, blessed are those who have ears to hear.
Hear these words, Jesus, Savior, Savior of sinners, Jesus of Nazareth,
a man of God. But this man approved of God. A man approved of God. I looked at that word approved
and it means set forth. The Lord Jesus Christ is set
forth as the God-man mediator. What a glorious man he was and
is. He is the God-man mediator. I
remember hearing a sermon years ago, back about 1981, by a man
by the name of Herman Moore. Many of you have never heard
of that name, Herman Moore. But he preached a message from
a text in scripture, and the title of his message was this.
I've never forgotten it. There's a man in glory with nail
print in his hand. What does his presence there
mean to me? There's a man in glory. Who is
this man? Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God. What does his presence there
mean to me? Well, it means I have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. It means I have
one who ever lived to intercede for me. Who is he? The God-Man
Mediator. For he is both totally and fully
God. And when he was manifest in the
flesh, he never stopped being God over all, blessed forever. He is the God-man mediator. Now think about this. That same
body they crucified, nailed to a tree. They took him down and
laid him in the tomb because he had died according to the
scripture. On the third day, was raised
from the dead in a glorified body, but yet still a real man. Where is he today? Seated at
the right hand of God. There is a man in glory. What
does His presence there mean to me? That means if one man
made it, another one can, being in that man who is approved of
God. He's approved of God, He's anointed
of God, and He is accepted of God, and we know from the Scripture
we are accepted in the Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is this one from Nazareth? He is God over all, blessed forever. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That's who the Lord Jesus Christ
is. He's called repeatedly in Scripture,
God, our Savior. That's who He is. Now, if you
look back in Acts chapter 1, When Peter and the other apostles
preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, they preached the
good news of salvation to sinners by the free and sovereign grace
of God. Now preacher, are you sure they
preach salvation by the free and sovereign grace of God? Yes,
I am. Because it says there that these
men preach the wonderful works of God. You see that in verse
11? What is the wonderful works of God? Well, everything He does
is wonderful because He is wonderful and He saves sinners by His wonderful
work of grace. Now, make no mistake, the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ is not about you. The gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ is not about you doing something to earn salvation. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is all about Him and His doing and what He must do for
us, not what we must do for Him. Now that's the difference between
False religion and God's truth. False religion says, God's done
all He can do, now it's up to you. You've got to act on it. The salvation of the Lord is
all by His doing. He accomplished it. He applies
it. He sustains it. Salvation is
of the Lord. Salvation is knowing Him. This
is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Notice
in Acts chapter 1 verse 12, and they were all amazed and were
in doubt, saying one to another. Some were sincere in knowing
what this means. What is all this about? They
were amazed and said, what does this mean? While others, notice
down in verse 13, some were amazed and wondered and others just
simply mocked. They mocked these men. And they
said, well, these men are drunk. These men are winos. They're drunk. They don't know
what they're talking about. Now, didn't they accuse the Lord
Jesus Christ of the same thing? Remember they called him a gluttonous
man and a wine beaver? Now, don't be surprised when
you take a stand for the gospel of God's grace that most people
Religious people especially will attack you and think that you
are crazy. These people did in that day,
and the apostles were preaching the wonderful works of God, and
they said, you're drunk, you're crazy, you're out of your mind,
you don't know what you're talking about. The gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ still has the same effect upon sinners today. Some
are blessed to believe the gospel, being granted faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and they fall in love with Him, they embrace Him,
they bow to Him, they submit unto Him, and they believe the
gospel. Some are blessed to believe while some are left to their
own devices, their own wicked heart, and remain hardened in
their sin against God, against the gospel, and they say to those
who are perishing, the gospel is foolishness unto us. But to
those who are being saved, Christ crucified is the wisdom and power
of God. Those who are blessed to believe
the gospel is a saver of life unto life. Those who are yet
remained hardened in their sin, they say, away with this man,
we don't want this man, crucify this man. And to them the gospel
is a saver of death unto death. Now, how is Peter going to answer
this situation? answer those who mocked the apostles,
and also answer those who sincerely wanted to know what just happened. Some of these folks were pricked
in the heart and saw that they needed a savior, needed forgiveness,
and needed salvation while others just mocked. And the gospel again,
I repeat, had the same effect upon sinners today. Now, here's
what Peter does, verse 14. But Peter, standing up with the
eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea,
and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, remember they were people from,
what did I say, all these seventeen different nations, be this known unto you, and hearken
unto my words, you listen to what I have to say. These men
are not drunk as you think, seeing it is but the third hour of the
day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, and
it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will
pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters,
that is sinners, shall be blessed to declare the gospel, shall
prophesy, young men shall see visions, old men shall dream
dreams, and my servant and my handmaid, God said I'll pour
out my spirit upon them, and they shall declare the truth,
I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth
beneath, blood, fire, smoke, The sun shall be turned into
darkness, the moon into blood before the great and terrible
notable day of the Lord, and it shall come to pass, whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, Peter declares what just
happened was the exact fulfillment of what the Lord had promised
through the prophet Joel. Verse 16, this is that. In other words, this is not the
effect of new wine, this is the effect of having a new heart,
being made a new creature in Christ. This is the effect of
the irresistible covenant of God's grace in Christ. through
the blood of the sacrifice of assurity, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is that, fulfillment of
what God had promised. The God of peace that brought
again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. This is that, the fulfillment
of what God had promised. The prophet Joe, like all the
Old Testament prophets, had but one message. One message. What was their one message? To
Him give all the prophets witness. Take your Bible and turn to Acts
chapter 10. All the prophets, Joel, Ezekiel,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Him God raised up the third day, showed Him
openly. Acts 10 verse 40. Not to all
the people, verse 41, but unto witnesses chosen before of God,
even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the
dead, and he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to
testify that it was he which was ordained of God to be judge,
of the living and the dead, to him give all the prophets witness,
that through his name," here's this word again, "...whosoever
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Now, "...and
it shall come to pass." All the prophets tell us about what?
The Lord Jesus Christ. John the Baptist, the last Old
Testament prophet, what did he say? What did John say concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ? The whole dilemma of God that
takes away our sin. Verse 17, and it shall come to
pass. It shall come to pass in the
last days, because all the promises of God shall be performed. Not one promise God has made
will fail. Abraham and all believers are
persuaded that of all that God had promised, not one word shall
fail. God said, I've spoken it, I'll
bring it to pass, I've purposed it, and I will do it. Joel's
prophecy was concerning the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah that
was promised, He came. In the force of time, God sent
forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Why did He
come? To redeem His people. The Messiah
that came fulfilled every covenant promise of God. Not one word
shall fall. You remember Isaiah 42 verse
4? What does it say? Behold my elect, my beloved,
I put my spirit upon him, and then he says, and he shall not
fail. The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled
every gospel promise, every covenant promise by his obedient life. He honored the law of God for
us. Every precept that was given of God, the Lord Jesus Christ
honored it for us. Obedient in every way, every
aspect of His life, word, deed, and thought. Why is that so important?
His obedience is our righteousness before God. He fulfilled the
law of God for us in every precept. What kind of righteousness do
I need to stand before God? A perfect one. I can't do that. You can't either. Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. We
had that on the radio this morning. The Lord said, I didn't come
to destroy the law, I came to honor it. The Lord is well pleased
for His righteousness sake, for He will honor the law of God
and magnify it for us. By His obedient life, He honored
every precept of the law, and by His sacrifice unto death,
He honored the penalty of that law. The penalty of the law was
what? The guilty must die. That's why
He died. He's being made sin for us. He
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. Now the Holy Spirit has come
to apply to the hearts of God's elect what the Lord Jesus Christ
had accomplished for them. Now, if you'll turn over to John
chapter 16. John chapter 16, look at verse
7. The Holy Spirit upon the fulfillment of the Lord Jesus Christ as the
surety of the covenant, as the sacrifice of the covenant, because
He honored the law of God in every aspect and accomplished
salvation for us, now the Holy Spirit comes to reveal Christ
to our heart. This is what the Lord says here
in John 16, look at verse 7, Nevertheless I tell you the truth,
And he can't do anything less than that. It is expedient for
you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send
him unto you. Now where is he going? He's going
to the cross. He's going to accomplish salvation
by the sacrifice of himself. That is, the Spirit of Truth
has come, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment. Of sin, because they believe
not on Me. Of righteousness, because I go
to My Father and you see Me no more. Of judgment, because the
Prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say
unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Verse 13. Howbeit,
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, for he will guide you
into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things
to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine, and show it unto you. All things that the
Father hath are mine. Therefore said I, that I shall
take of mine, and he shall take of mine, and show it unto you.
Now, when the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished all salvation for
us, honoring the law of God, satisfying the justice of God,
now the Holy Spirit has come to reveal Christ to our heart
and to apply that salvation unto us by His grace. That's why He
says there, in the last days, verse 17, I will pour out My
Spirit upon all flesh. Flesh. Now what does fleshly
men need? What do fleshly men have in common?
Guilt, sin against God. I will pour out my spirit who
reveals the gospel unto us, who convicts us of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment. All flesh, that is all kinds
of flesh, Jew, Gentile, bond-free. He mentions young men, he mentions
old men. Black men, white men, what are
these all men about? Sinners. You see the Lord Jesus
Christ came to save what? Sinners of whom I am cheap. God has ordained through the
preaching of the gospel to call out his elect with the message
of Christ and Him crucified, out of every tribe, kindred,
nation, and tongue under heaven. And they all sang this one song,
worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive all honor. glory,
blessing, and power both now and forever. Aren't you glad
that the Lord Jesus Christ came, accomplished salvation? Aren't
you glad that God, the Holy Spirit, comes to us through the preaching
of the Word to quicken us to reveal Christ unto a heart that
we might declare unto all men everywhere that our salvation
is totally upon the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ
alone? Always! Only! Now, don't get
hung up on verse 19 and 20, where it talks about the signs and
wonders, blood, fire, smoke, vapor, the sun, the moon, and
so forth. Let me show you and tell you
what this means. The signs in heaven and earth
were given to show and to demonstrate the Messiah that was promised
has come, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God, He is
the Messiah." Remember the conversation with the Lord and the woman at
the well. She says to the Lord, we know
that when Messiah comes, He'll tell us all things. What did the Lord say? I that
speak to thee, I am He. I am that I am. He is the Messiah. He never denied
that He was not the Messiah. Rather, He declared that He was
the Messiah. And these signs that were given
here signify that He is the Christ of God, the anointed of God,
the man approved of God. These signs were typical and
symbolic in language to describe the judgment of God, threefold. The judgment of God against our
sin. When the Lord Jesus Christ was
made sin for us on Calvary's tree, what happened? Three hours
of darkness. God made Him to be sin for us
who knew no sin that we might be made to righteousness of God
in Him. His judgment not only against
our sin, but His judgment against the nation of Israel for their
rejection of the Messiah. You remember Pilate brought the
Lord Jesus Christ forth and said, Behold your King. What did that
nation say? He came into His own, His own
received Him, not away with Him. Crucify him, we have no king
but Caesar." The wholesale rejection of that nation upon the Lord
Jesus Christ, what did it bring? Judgment. Not many years after
that, in the year 70 AD, you can check this out, it's a historical
fact, the Roman army came and absolutely leveled that place
to the ground. Judgment, wrath, for the rejection
of the Messiah, the one Son of God. Thirdly, and we see a final
and last judgment against those that will not have the Lord Jesus
Christ to reign over them. The Apostle put it this way in
1 Corinthians, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let
him be anathema, let him be accursed. But now listen, in the midst
of all this judgment, there is a bright, shining light. Do you see that in verse 21? In the midst of all this judgment,
gloom and doom, because the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished
salvation for us, put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself,
and it shall come to pass, based upon that covenant surety, based
upon that sacrifice, it shall come to pass, it shall, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, what is all this about?
It shall come to pass many sinners from all walks of life indicating
that word whosoever. Now, whosoever is a big word.
My pastor used to say whosoever is a wide word. It's a wide word. I am a whosoever that said It's
written right here. It shall come to pass many sinners
from all walks of life that whosoever who are blessed to call upon
the Lord for mercy and forgiveness shall be saved. That ought to
encourage us to call upon the Lord, should it not? I gave you
a couple examples of that. The publican did. Lord, have
mercy upon me, thee sinner." And what did the Lord say? That
man went down to his house justified. Blind Bartimaeus, what did he
do? He called upon the Lord for mercy. Thou son of David, have mercy
upon me. And the Lord had mercy upon him. We are instructed in scripture
to come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy,
find grace to help in our time of need. Whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be justified. Turn to Romans chapter 10. It's
the same exact message that the Apostle Paul had, the same exact
message that Peter declared, the same exact message that Joel
had prophesied of because it comes all from the same source,
God Almighty. Romans 10. Verse 13, for whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him
and who they've not believed? How shall they believe in him
of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
somebody telling them the truth? A preacher of the gospel. How
shall they preach except they be sent? As it's written, Isaiah
52, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel
of peace, that bring glad tidings of good things. But they've not
all obeyed the gospel, as Isaiah said, who hath believed our report,
verse 17. So then faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word, the Christ of God. Faith comes by
hearing. There's got to be a hearing of
the gospel. There's got to be a preaching
of the gospel. You cannot call upon one in whom you have not
heard of nor believed. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord now. The Lord Jesus Christ. It's the
same message that John declared over in Revelation 22. Turn over
there. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, that ought to encourage
every needy sinner to call upon the Lord for salvation. The last
chapter of Revelation, that'd be 22, Revelation 22. I, Jesus, have sent my angel
to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root
and the offspring of David, tribe of Judah, lion of the tribe of
Judah, the bright and morning star, he's everlasting light
and salvation, and the spirit and the bride say come. And let him that heareth say,
Come, and let him that is thirsty, whosoever is thirsty, let him
come. He that is thirsty, let him come,
and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Freely. Salvation is by the free
grace of God, whosoever will. Let him take the water of life
freely. Salvation is not for everyone,
but it's for anybody that is thirsty. Did you get that? I was thinking about this scripture
this morning, sitting out on my patio, eating breakfast and
watching my birds. I've got a couple bird feeders.
And the sign on that bird feeder says this, whosoever of you little
birds, doesn't matter if you're yellow, black, white, or blue,
whosoever needs some bird seed, come and eat. Come and eat. Are you hungry? Come, little bird. Come and eat. Eat. It's free. Just come and
eat if you're hungry. Oh, but what if we're not hungry?
Well, they'll just fly away. They'll just fly away. Here's the point. Every needy
sinner made willing by the power of God will come to Christ and
drink of the water of life. Why do you drink water? Man,
I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. If you ever made
thirsty by the Spirit of God, you'll drink and drink and drink. You see in Him as a well of water
springing up into everlasting life. Whosoever will. You preach the free willism?
No, sir. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of His power. That's what I'm saying. Now,
shall be saved, you see that? It shall come to pass, whosoever
shall call, call out of need, call out of guilt, on the name,
that name which is above every name, of the Lord, the man who
is approved of God, shall be saved. Saved from what? Saved
from what? Well, from the wrath of God against
our sin. He delivered us from the wrath
of God by taking our sin to his own body. Call his name Jesus
for he shall save his people from their sin. Saved from what? From the wrath of God against
our sin. That's what I need. I've sinned
against God. How am I going to be delivered
from the wrath to come? Only in Christ. Saved from the
penalty of my sin against God. How can that be? Well, he that
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? Christ
hath died, yea, rather is risen again. Who is even at the right
hand of God, who also makes intercession for us? Saved from the wrath
of God against our sin, saved from the penalty of my sin against
God, Now, not given here in the book of Acts is what Joel says
in Joel 2 verse 32. Now watch this. The remnant whom
the Lord shall call. Now don't forget that. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Who's going
to call? The remnant of whom the Lord
shall call. The Lord shall call. Now, who
are these people? Turn to Romans 8. Romans 8. Who are these people whom the
Lord shall call? The remnant. What is this remnant? Well, the elect of God. There
is a remnant according to the election of God. Romans 8. Verse 28, And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. There is a remnant
who is going to call, because they are called according to
his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom
he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we say to these things?
Well, if God be for us, who can be against us? You see, the remnant
who the Lord shall call. Now, turn to second Timothy chapter
1. I guess this is my favorite verse
in the book of 2nd Timothy because it talks about that call of God.
You see we only call upon Him because He has called us. We
only love Him because He has first loved us. Now, 2 Timothy
1, 8, and 9, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our
Lord, nor me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God, who saved us, and
called us, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, who
saved us, and He called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which
is given us in Christ before the world began." You see, He
saved us before He called us, and it's all according to His
purpose and His grace given us in Christ. Now, turn back to
Acts chapter 2. Look at verse 39, For this promise
is unto you, and to your children, to all them that are far off,
even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many
other words did he testify, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward
Perverted generation, verse 47, Acts 2. Praising God, having
favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved. You see, our calling upon the
Lord is the result of His calling us by that eternal and irresistible
Spirit of God. Now, one more scripture on that
fact. If you'll find 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 26. He says, you see your
calling, brethren? 1 Corinthians 1.26. Your calling. You see His calling
is the remnant whom the Lord shall call. The calling, brethren,
You see that how not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble are called. This is that irresistible call
of God. effectual call, but God hath
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise,
God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the
things which are mighty, notice God has chosen, God has chosen,
God has chosen, and the base things of the world and things
which are despised have God chosen, yea, and the things that are
not, to bring the not to things that are, that no flesh should
glory in his presence, but of him Are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption? That according as it is written,
He that glory, let him glory only in the Lord. Now, back to
Acts chapter 2 verse 21. It shall come to pass that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, and the
remnant whom the Lord shall call, they shall call upon the Lord."
Now, make sure you call upon the man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
that is approved of God. Now, if you call upon an unauthorized
Jesus, You will not find salvation. Make sure you call upon Jesus
of Nazareth, the Lord Jesus Christ, the man, the God-man mediator
that approved of God, anointed of God, and accepted of God by
you. He's approved by, demonstrated
that he is the Messiah by miracles, by wonders and signs. He raised
the dead. He healed those who were in need,
which God did by Him in the midst of you, as you also yourselves
know." This is the man approved of God. He is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Make sure you call upon Him.
To call upon another Jesus, that's not salvation. Make sure you
call upon the Christ of God. Now, He's identified in the next
two verses. This Christ of God, the man that's
approved of God. I'll let you go with this. Verse 23, He's the only Or verse 22, He's the only authorized
Savior approved of God. This is my beloved Son in whom
I'm well pleased. Verse 22. Verse 23, He's the
only sacrifice for sin, Him being delivered by the determinant
counsel, decree of God, the will of God, the full ordination of
God. You have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. He's the only approved sacrifice
for sin. Don't look for another. Neither
is there salvation in any other but the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse
24, in closing, He is the victorious Savior. All you by wicked hand
have crucified and slain, but they only did what God determined
before to be done. We're going to see that in Acts
chapter 4. But he's a victorious Savior. Make sure you call upon
the one who is the Lord enthroned in glory, whom God raised up,
having loosed the pains of death, Because it was not possible that
he should be holding of death. Now, why was it not possible? Well, he was made sin for us,
right? And he put sin away, right? Therefore,
sin has no claim on him, judgment has no claim on him, nor on us
in him. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Nay, Paul said,
in all things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved
us, thanks being to God who has given us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, we call upon Him who
is the Lord, enthroned, sovereign, seated in heavenly, who will
have mercy upon whom He will have mercy. Is this the Lord
Jesus Christ upon whom you have called and are trusting and resting
upon him and him alone? All who do shall be everlastingly
saved in Christ. Now, one example, I'll let you
go with this. Act 16, you remember the Philippian
jailer? And Paul was sent to preach the
gospel to that Philippian jailer. And you remember the story in
Acts 16, verse 30. He said, sirs, what must I do to
be saved? Well, keep the law, you know.
Join the church, you know. Be baptized, you know. Sirs,
what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. Now notice, it's the man approved
of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved. Believe on Him. Trust Him. He
that believeth on the Son hath life. He that believeth not the
Son shall not see life. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me
hath everlasting life, shall not come into condemnation, but
is passed from death unto life. Now, call upon the Lord. And
thou shalt be saved. Make sure it's the man approved
of God. Make sure you've got the authorized
Savior, the one Son of God.