In Acts chapter 15, notice verse
11, verse 11 of Acts chapter 15. Peter, after listening to
arguments on both sides, whether circumcision avails anything
or not, whether believers should be constrained and put back under
the yoke and bondage of the law, he firmly stood up and assuredly
said these words that God gave him. But we believe through grace,
we believe. We believe through the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. that sinners are saved, whether
it be Jew or Gentile, grace, grace, grace alone. The title of the message has
one word, grace, grace. This is a message that Peter
delivered before all the elders who were gathered together to
consider this matter of salvation by the grace of God. He plainly
declared that God saves all whom He wisely saves, whether black
or white, young or old, Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, religious
or pagan, God saves whom He wisely saves by His grace. by the free and sovereign grace
of God alone. Creature merit, creature righteousness
has no part in it. When Paul and Barnabas had returned
to Antioch declaring how the Lord had blessed their ministry,
remember back in chapter 14 verse 27, when they were come and had gathered the church together.
They rehearsed all that God had done with them, how that God
had opened the door. God had opened their heart. God
had gave them ears to hear how he opened the door of faith.
God kicked it open and said, come on in. Sinners, welcome,
come ready. Unto the Gentiles. They declared
how God had blessed them. And while they had sweet fellowship
together, there it says they abode long time with the disciples,
talking about the free and sovereign grace of God. They were disturbed. They were disturbed. Some visitors
from up Jerusalem way, certain men which came down from Judea,
taught the brethren and said, You have to be circumcised to
be really saved. I mean, the Lord Jesus Christ
is just not enough. You've got to bring something
and add to it. Except you'd be circumcised after
the manner of Moses, and then they say down here that it was
needful, verse 5, for them to be circumcised, and commanded
them to, oh, by the way, and, and circumcision's not enough,
and you must keep all the law of God. I'm in trouble Because
I cannot keep the law of God and no sinner can these certain
men notice Paul doesn't call them here Brethren, he calls
them men. If you read Galatians chapter
2 about this visit to Jerusalem, Paul clearly there in chapter
2 verse 4, he calls them false brethren who came in to spy out
our liberty, which we had in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who were
these men? They claimed to be believers,
as it says in verse 5, who professed to believe, but it's obvious
they were legalists trying to gain God's favor or to remove
His wrath by the deeds of their good works, by the deeds of the
law. And they demanded others to be
circumcised in order to really be justified before God. What
were they doing? Well, they perverted the grace
of God by adding creature merit, didn't they? Remember that scripture
where it says a little leaven leavens the whole lump? You introduce
in any part creature righteousness, creature merit into the scheme
of God's grace, and you have another message altogether. Paul called it in Galatians chapter
1, another gospel, not the gospel of the grace of God. They perverted
the gospel of God's grace by adding creature merit into the
scheme. Beware of that ministry. Beware of that preacher that
declares unto you that salvation depends on something that you
must do. Something that you must bring. Because in essence they're saying
that the Lord Jesus Christ is not enough. Now let me ask you
this. Is He enough? If He's all you've
got, You've got everything God intended you to have. My God
shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory through
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not surprising then that
Paul and Barnabas took a firm, strong stand against these false
brethren and against their false doctrine. Can we do less in our
day? When Paul therefore, verse 2, and Barnabas had no small
discussion about this matter, They determined that Paul and
Barnabas and certain others should go up to Jerusalem and to the
apostles and elders about this question. And as they traveled
up to Jerusalem, they passed through Pharnacia and Samaria,
declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and it caused great
joy among the churches there. You mean God has saved others?
God has sent the gospel into other places. Isn't that encouraging
to you when you hear the gospel being sent here and the gospel
being sent here and people actually believing the gospel? I received
a letter from a man out in California. I've never heard from him before.
Travis Air Force Base. He ordered all the sermons that
the sermon set that we had put together He wanted to hear more
of the preaching of the gospel, but he told me that he attended
a meeting some 25 years ago out in California and he heard brother
Mahan preach the gospel and he said it changed his life and
And he was so encouraged to see the sermon audio ministry where
he could go and listen to more of that gospel of the grace of
God. Doesn't that encourage you? I mean, it encourages me. God
has his sheep where they are and they will hear the gospel. And he will send the gospel unto
him. I admire Paul and Barnas' boldness. After there had been much debate
in the matter, When they had come to Jerusalem, verse four,
they were received of the church and of the apostles and the elders.
And then Paul and Barnabas declared all things that God had done
through the ministry. Isn't that what the gospel is
all about? It's not what we have done. That's
not the declaration of the gospel. When we declare the gospel, we
tell what God has done for us, not what we must do for him. After there had been much debate,
Peter stood up and cleared the air, verse 7, and when there
had been much disputing, Peter, old Simon Peter, the rock, he
stood up and said, men and brethren, you know how that God, a good
while ago God made a choice among us that the Gentiles by my mouth
should hear the word of the gospel Not only hear it, but believe
it. Now he's referring back to when
God called Peter to go to Cornelius' house and preach the gospel to
that Gentile. And when Peter got there, God
had done a work of grace already in their heart and prepared their
heart to receive the gospel. And Cornelius, when Peter knocked
on the door, said, I'm here. He said, come on in, we're all
here to hear all things commanded thee of God. And God sent the
gospel to that house and God by His grace saved them. And
Peter reminds them that God made a choice. Peter just didn't decide
one day to get up and go down to Cornelius' house. Remember
God sent him that special vision. And he sent him to preach the
gospel. Then first thing he declares here in verse 7 that God is sovereign
in salvation. You see that? How that God, a
good while ago, he made a choice. Salvation is not something you
choose. Salvation is something God chooses
for you. That's right. Remember John 15?
He said, you didn't choose me, I've chosen you. God made a choice. Now I make no apology for declaring
unto you the truth of God's elective, sovereign, unconditional grace. Turn to Romans chapter 9. You
remember this? Romans chapter 9. Verse 11, For
the children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might
stand. Election is God choosing a people
unto salvation. The purpose of God, according
to election, might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.
It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as is
written, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Do you have
a problem with that? A lot of folks do. What shall
we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. His hatred is a holy hatred.
For he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have
mercy. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then, it's not of him that willeth. Our Lord said, no man
can come to me except it were given him of my father. It's
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that shows mercy. I make no apology for declaring
unto you God's elective sovereign grace. What does that mean? That
means that God determined by his own sovereign will and purpose
who receives salvation. And this determination was made
before Adam fell. This determination and choice
was made from eternity. God has from beginning chosen
you unto salvation. Now, can word be any cleaner?
God made a choice among you that his sheep will hear his voice
and they will follow him look at verse 8 in our text Acts 15
verse 8 and God He knows the hearts God knows our need we
look on the outward countenance God looks on the heart And God
which knows the heart, He knows the hearts of His people, doesn't
He? He knows His sheep by name. You see, the foundation of God
standeth sure, having a seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. Before you ever knew anything
about the true God of Scripture, you know what? He knew you. Before
you ever heard the gospel of God's grace, He knew you. You
remember what the Lord said of Jeremiah? Before I formed thee
in the belly, I knew thee. Before thou camest forth out
of the womb, I sanctified thee and ordained thee to be a prophet.
That's not only true of Jeremiah, that's true of every one of God's
saints. chosen in Christ Jesus. God has a special intimate knowledge
who the elect are, where they are, and what they need. And
He'll cross their path with the gospel and call them by His grace. You remember from John 10, we
read and studied, He called His own sheep by name? He's personally
acquainted with His people. He passed by a man sitting at
a table collecting taxes from the Jews. His name was Matthew.
He walked up that table and said, Matthew, you're one of mine,
follow me. And he did. He walked one day
and old Zacchaeus climbed up that tree and the Lord was passing
through and the Lord knew all about Zacchaeus, knew what he
needed, knew his heart, said, Zacchaeus, Today, salvation come
to your house. Come on down. Come on down. And he skedaddled down that tree. Skedaddled to Christ. You see,
God knows our hearts and God bears witness in our heart by
giving us the Holy Spirit. Giving us the Holy Spirit. Now,
what is Holy Spirit convictions all about? What is it all about?
It's God convicting us and showing us what we are, but thank God
He doesn't leave us there. He shows us what we need. He shows us who we are, sinners,
and then He shows us the remedy, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord
said, when the Holy Spirit has come, He will take the things
of mine and show them unto you. Holy Spirit conviction is all
about the revelation of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. He gave
them the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 9 now. Verse 9. You see, it's only by the power
of the Holy Spirit that we believe. We believe according to the working
of His mighty power. Look at verse 9. He put no difference,
that is, God put no difference between us and them, purifying
their hearts. Now what does a guilty, vile,
sinful heart need? Purification. Sanctification. Justification. How does that
come? You remember faith worketh by love? By faith. Not by law. Not by works. Not
by law, but love. Not by works, but by faith. You
see, we study from Hebrews 11. You remember Hebrews 11 verse
6? We studied that over and over
without faith. Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. How so? A man without faith is
without Christ. You see, true saving faith doesn't
look in here. True saving faith looks to Him.
the exalted, risen, victorious, successful Lord Jesus Christ,
looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ, who's the author and finisher
of our faith. Salvation is received by God-given
faith. How does faith purify the heart?
True, saving faith looks to the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood
for all forgiveness, pardon, and salvation, doesn't it? The
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all our
sin. The just, it says in Scripture,
four times, not once, not twice, not three times, four times,
the just shall live by faith. And we can rightly render it
this way, the just shall live by Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at verse 10. Acts 15,
why, Peter asked this question, why tempt ye God? Why would you sin against God
in pointing people who've been redeemed from the curse of the
law and put them back under the bondage of the law? This is a simple illustration,
but I think it makes the point. You're in a house and it's burning
down. The fire department comes and
he runs in there and rescues you and carries you out and someone
else comes along and says, get back in that house. That's your
house. Wait a minute now. I've just
been rescued from that burning house. It's coming down. And you want me to run back into
that? Do I make my point? If righteousness comes by the
law, Galatians 2.21, you remember? Paul said, I do not frustrate
the grace of God, for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain. If I can get it done, salvation,
if I can do it myself, no need for Christ to come. Why would
you insult God by putting a yoke of bondage upon those who have
been set free, upon His disciples, which neither our fathers nor
we were able to keep?" Did you ever ask somebody, do you keep
the law? Well, most of the time I do. Really? To offend in one
point is to be guilty of all the law of God. To have one impure
thought is to be guilty of all the law of God. You see, the
law of God was given not to convert us, it was given to condemn us. The law is good and holy, but
it cannot give us life. It kills. The letter of the law
kills. The curse of the law curses every
man that continues not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them, not to look at them. I see people
with those signs. They stick them in their yard,
Ten Commandments. I do, do, do, do, do, do, don't
do, don't do, don't do. That's my salvation, do and don't
do. It is. You're lost. That's right, you're lost. You're putting yourself back
under the bondage of the law. Christ has set us free. That's
why Paul said, stand fast therefore in the liberty, well with Christ
has set us free. And don't be entangled again
with the yoke of, the yoke of, what's that word? Bondage. I've
been set free. Why put shackles on me again?
I've been set free. You see what he's saying here?
Neither our fathers nor we, we're not able to bear it. We're not
able to bear it, not at all. I love that message of free grace.
Peter rebukes the legalist with a powerful, powerful question.
Why would you insult God, disregard, discredit the sacrifice of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and put believers back under the curse of the law
when Christ has redeemed us? from the curse of that law. And he has, our Lord said, I
came to honor the law of God for you. Christ has already satisfied
the law of God for us in every precept and every penalty. Why
would you wanna go back? Saving faith doesn't look back,
it looks to Him, the author and finisher of our faith. There's
only one reason why any legalist and lost religionist would try
to bring believers back under the curse and bondage of the
law. They do not know the true gospel of Christ, nor do they
believe it. Nor do they have, nor have they
been set free themselves. They're still under the curse
of the law. You remember that saying, misery loves company?
These old self-righteous Jews were so bogged down in their
special days, feast days, ceremonies, they wanted to drag everybody
else down with them instead of setting everybody free. Now,
verse 11, Peter declares the gospel, but we believe that You
wanna know what I believe? I think I've made it clear over
these almost 21 years I've been preaching to you. We believe,
and surely you do, and I do, and this ministry is all about
the sovereign grace of God. We believe that through, through,
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. It reminds me of another scripture,
if you wanna turn to 2 Corinthians. 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 You
remember this verse 9 2nd Corinthians 8 9 For you know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ That though he was rich yet for your sakes
he became poor that you through his poverty might be made rich
We have the richness of his grace God who is rich in mercy for
his great love wherewith he loved us even when we're dead in trespasses
and in sin. Peter declares the gospel that
we believe and preach is nothing less than the gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ and we're determined to preach it. One preacher was asked by someone
who heard this particular preacher and said, does your pastor preach
grace? And he said, yeah, but he didn't
harp on it. I harp on it. I harp on it. Grace, grace, grace,
grace, grace. You see, we have to preach this
message. The Apostle said this, having
the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I have believed,
therefore have I spoken. We also believe, therefore we
speak. Salvation by the free grace of
God. Now, four things, four things. In verse 4, or verse 11, but
we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we
shall be saved even as others. Four things. Four things. First thing we see is this. We
need salvation. We shall be saved. Saved from what? saved from the
wrath to come, saved from our sin. Man is a total lost, depraved
sinner in need of salvation. You see, we've all sinned and
come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous No, not
one. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned everyone to his own way. Haven't we? There is
none righteous. No, not one. All are born in
sin. We all have a nature that is
wicked, that is not capable to produce one ounce of righteousness. Do you know what sin is? Well,
Some folks find sin in a bottle. Some folks find sin in a box.
Some folks find sin in this. Some folks find sin in, well,
I don't go to the picture show, therefore I'm not a sinner. Do
you know what sin is? It is what we are, not what we
do. What I am. I am a sinner. You'll never do business with
God until you know in your heart you're guilty, vile, and wicked
before Him in His sight. Well, I look pretty good. Yeah?
What's one worm comparing to another worm? We're still worms. When you compare a worm to Almighty
God, how do you look in His sight? You say we're guilty. Guilty. Guilty. How do we get that way?
How did we get that way? Well, you know, I drove 75 in
a 55 the other day. Really? We're born in sin, shaping
in iniquity. I was a sinner when I got here.
In Adam all sinned. That's what happened in the garden.
Ruined. Total ruin. A total fall. I noticed that song we sang a
while ago, you changed that word bruised. Slain by the law. It wasn't just not that we stubbed
our toe, we're dead in sin. Dead in trespasses and all have
sinned and Adam all died. Do you know yourself that way?
Do you see yourself that way by nature? That you have a principle
and nature of evil in your heart? Why do you think the way you
do? Why are those thoughts, even when you're dreaming? We have
filthy dreams. I can't even control what I dream
in my subconscious. It's wicked. Man by nature is
a vile, vile creature. You'll never sue for mercy until
you see yourself as a sinner. Never, never. You see, It's your goodness that keeps
you from Christ. Your sin will never keep you from Christ. It's
your so-called self-righteousness. As long as you see yourself as,
well, you know, I'm not like that Pharisee. I thank God I'm
not like that man. I'm just a little bit better.
You'll never sue for mercy. You'll never cry, God be merciful
to me, the sinner. The second thing we see is this,
that salvation that we so desperately need is we believe through grace
we shall be saved. You see, we're justified freely
by His grace through the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every
aspect of salvation is by the free and sovereign grace of God
alone, not of works, not of works, lest any man should boast. Now,
two scriptures I always quote on this, 2 Timothy 1.9, When
Paul writes to young Timothy, he said, reminds him, don't be
ashamed of me or the gospel, for it's God who saved us and
called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to God's own purpose and grace. which was given us
in the Lord Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world.
Every aspect of salvation is by the free and sovereign grace
of God, not of works. Then Titus 3, 5 said, not by
works of righteousness which we have done, not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us. You see, the wages of sin is
death, But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. What is grace? It's usually defined
as a free favor, unearned, unsought, free favor of God, sovereign,
His unmerited kindness freely bestowed on whom He will. We
read a moment ago, God said, I'll be gracious on whom I will
be gracious. Now, you remember the word, I
described to you before when we talk about faith, what does
faith stand for? F-A-I-T-H. Remember, forsaking
all, I trust Christ. Forsaking all, I trust Christ. We can take the same letters
in G-R-A-C-E, G-R-A-C-E, grace, and preach the gospel with those
letters. What does G stand for in the
scheme of God's grace? It's the gift of God, not of
work, lest any man should boast. It's the free gift of God. Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above. Salvation is the gift of God,
right? The wages of sin and death, the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What does
the R stand for? Think with me. What would the
R stand for? Redemption, redemption, redeemed. It's all through Christ's redeeming
blood. We are not redeemed with corruptible
things, but with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, G, gift. R, redeemed. How about the letter
A? G-R-A. What, what, what, what,
what? I can think of several. How about
atonement? Atonement. By that one atonement,
we're reconciled unto God. How about this word accepted?
We're accepted in the Beloved. We have access unto the Lord
Jesus Christ. And then we have boldness and
access with confidence by the faith of Him. He said, Come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, find grace
to help in time of need. Christ is our atonement. And
then G-R-A-C Of course, Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, He's everything
in salvation. But I thought about this word,
and this is a good word that describes our state and standing
in the Lord Jesus Christ. How about complete? Complete. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in the Lord Jesus Christ we stand
complete. Completely justified. Completely
redeemed. completely sanctified in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Everything we need to stand before
God is freely given. The Apostle put it this way,
now we've received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit
which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God. Of His fullness have all we received
grace upon grace. And there we see the only reason
for grace is grace. Grace, 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? G-R-A-C-E, E, E. What would be some good words
that describe salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ with the letter
E? Well, we know this, salvation's eternal, isn't it? Salvation
is effectual. I like that word. Effectual. All the priestly work of the
Lord Jesus Christ that He accomplished for His people is effectual. What does that mean? He got it
done. In our everyday shirt-sleeve
language, He got it done. He got it done. He said it's
finished. Effectual. Effectual. The effectual work
of Christ. He did actually obtain eternal
redemption for His people. Now, through our Lord Jesus Christ
we shall be saved. There is no possibility that
those given unto the Lord Jesus Christ in that covenant of grace
can perish. He's going to save every last
one of them. Every lost sheep. He gives them
eternal life and they shall never perish. Never perish. God only saves sinners one way. Look at the last part of verse
11. We shall be saved even as they. Peter had a real rebuke for these
self-righteous Jews. saying God will save the pagan
Gentile exactly the same way He saved the religious self-righteous
Jew, by His grace alone. He turns the table on them and
declares that God will have mercy on the Jew, The exact same way
as on the Gentile, by the free grace of God alone. We shall
be saved even as they. Circumcision was no advantage,
uncircumcision was no loss. Grace, grace, grace alone. We read over here in Galatians
5, don't turn back, I testify again to every man that is circumcised,
he's a debtor to do the whole law. Therefore Christ shall profit
you nothing." You go the works way, the law way, you'll never
have salvation. Here's a summary of what the
outcome of that conference. If someone was writing a report
on that conference, that Bible conference, I call it the first
Bible conference recorded in the Word of God, in the book
of Acts anyway. Here's a summary of that Bible
conference in Jerusalem. Grace alone. Peter stood up that
day, the paper said, next day in the Jerusalem Chronicle, Peter
said, salvation by the grace of God. Grace. Grace. Peter said also, it's
by faith alone. by faith alone, not works, lest
any man should boast. And then Peter said this, it's
Christ alone. The headline said, Christ alone.
Salvation, Peter said, it's Christ alone. And truly, same thing
he said in Acts chapter four. He hadn't budged a bit, he hasn't
grown any, said we, neither is there salvation in any other,
for there's no other name under heaven given among men, whereby
we must be saved. You see, and then to God's glory
alone. God forbid, with your glory,
save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, this is
the message of all Scripture. This was the theme of what we
call the Reformation. Martin Luther and all them old
timers. This is the heartbeat of the
Gospel, and it still is. Grace alone, faith alone, Christ
alone, the Word of God alone, to God's glory alone. In closing,
what was the response? Look at verse 12. all the multitude
kept silent, gave audience to Paul and Barnabas, Barnabas and
Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among
the Gentiles by them. Their response was this. They
hushed. They kept silent. They shut up.
Before God is pleased to open our heart, you know what He must
do? Shut our mouth. Stop, Armao. You see, I've never learned anything
by talking. Have you? Oh, to be eager to
hear His Word and hear the Gospel. There came a voice out of the
clouds saying, the Father speaks of the Son and said, this is
my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Hear Him. Hear Him. What do you think? Do you believe? Do you believe that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that you shall be saved? Oh,
well, you know, oh no. We are convinced, aren't we?
Salvation by grace and grace alone in the Lord Jesus Christ.