Notice, if you will, 28th verse. 28th verse. And we'll spend most
of the time looking at this 28th verse of Acts 20. The Apostle
Paul instructing the believers who were the elders from Ephesus.
He said, take heed. Take heed. That is, pay attention. Take heed. Be on guard. Take
heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, all the
church, all the congregation, all the believers, over which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, shepherds, pastors,
teachers. God gave those, we read in Ephesians
chapter 4, to feed the church, the church of God. Some manuscripts,
the older ones, Say, the church of the Lord. Same thing. The church of God. Which He purchased. He purchased this church. He
bought us. He purchased us with His own
blood. Blood bought. Or His property
bought with His precious blood. Now, the title of the message
this morning is taken from that text, verse 28. And the title
is, Purchased with the Blood of Christ. Purchased with the
Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, it is a common supposition
and believed among most religious circles, what we would call mainstream
Christianity, which I consider the religious beliefs of men
and the religion of the flesh, these three things that I'm going
to give you in just a moment, these three things are widely
held to. And we've heard these three things
all our adult life. These three things. Here's what
we hear in the religion of men. Number one, they say, God loves
everybody without exception. That's what we've heard all of
our lives. That's what's being preached all over this land today. It is an interesting study that
all through the book of Acts, you know how many times the love
of God is mentioned in all the books, all the chapters in the
book of Acts? Not one time. Not one time is
the word love even written down. Not one time. Now, the love of
God is declared in all those sermons, but it's a special love. Secondly, we've heard this all
of our life, haven't we? Number one, God loves everybody
without exception. Number two, here's what else
we hear, and this is common. We hear that Christ died for
all of the sins of all men without exception. That's what's being
said. That's what's being preached.
all over this county, this city, this town, this state, this country,
this world. God loves everybody and Christ
died for everybody. That's just what they say. Thirdly, we've heard this, and
this is being said today as well, God the Holy Spirit is trying
to save all men without exception, but somehow, somehow He's unable
to do so, somehow he's put off, or somehow he's frustrated by
your puny heart, your puny will. Now, isn't that so? You turn
on the radio, the TV, and that's what's being broadcast. And therefore,
because that is so common among religious circles that a lot
of people seem to think, and those who are not taught of God,
that it's so. My friend, those three things are not so. These
three things that are widely believed among religious men
are contrary to the true teaching of the Word of God. Now you say,
why make that an issue? Why make that an issue? Because
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is at issue. If He loves all
men, as they say, If he died for all, as they say, and tries
to save all, all men without exception, and then if he does
not perform it and do it, then what does that say of him? It
says that he is a colossal failure. Someone said years ago, and this
is a blasphemous statement, I even hate to repeat it, But I heard
this years ago from someone who hated the gospel of God's grace
and said that hell is a monument to the failure of God. Oh no,
my friend. Oh no, my friend. God doesn't
fail in any aspect of His glorious purpose. Hell is a monument to
the holy justice of God. The guilty must be punished. The Scriptures teach us plainly
that the Lord Jesus Christ is not a failure. I can make good
on that. Isaiah 42, when it talks about,
Behold my servant, my elect, and whom my soul delighteth,
in verse 1. And then in verse 4 he says this,
And he shall not fail. He shall not fail. He can't.
He can't. The truth of the Holy Scripture
is this. The love of God. Oh, the love of God. How rich,
how pure, how everlasting is this love of God. But my friend,
this love of God is manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it says in Romans
chapter 8. We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Nothing
can separate us from the love of God which is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's a sovereign love. He loves
His own in Christ. The truth of the Scripture is
that Christ died to save His covenant people. Did He do it? Did He get it done? He said He did. It is finished,
He said. John 17, he prayed, Father, I
glorify Thou me with the glory which I had with Thee before
the world. I finished the work You gave me to do. He shall save
His people from their sin. His people. The truth of the
Scripture is that God the Holy Spirit calls and quickens whom
He will, His elect, with an effectual, irresistible call that cannot
be frustrated. That's the call of God. You hath
be quickened who were dead. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of God's power. Now, back to Acts 20. That's the message the apostles
preached. That is the message that God's
church has declared from the first century down through the
centuries. Grace and grace alone. And this
is the message that Paul is giving the elders here at Ephesus before
he departs. Verse 27, he said, I have not
shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Paul is saying,
I didn't hold back. I didn't try to disguise. I didn't
try to cover up the gospel. He said, I plainly declared unto
you all the counsel of God. He defends his ministry by saying
that he told them the truth, how God saved sinners through
Christ and by the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Notice verse 20
in our text. He said, I kept back nothing
that was possible unto you, and I've taught you publicly, and
I've taught you house to house what I've taught you in public
and what I teach in private, is one and the same. He didn't
teach in the house privately grace and then publicly another
message. No, it's the same message. There's
just one gospel. There's just one Lord. There's
just one way. There's just one Savior. There
is just one God. He defends His ministry by saying
He told them the truth. For in salvation, Christ crucified
is all the counsel of God. Christ crucified in saving sinners
is all the will, purpose, and counsel of God. He's all of it.
The redeeming will of God to save sinners is seen in Christ
crucified. He said, I held back nothing
unto you. This is a faithful saying, and
this is worthy of all acceptation, that the Lord Jesus Christ came
to save sinners. Sinners. He suffered once, but
just for the unjust that He might bring us unto God. And my friend,
those for whom He died, they will be brought. For He says,
all that the Father hath given to Me, they will come to Me.
And those that come to Me by His grace, by His power, by His
call, He said, they will. I will in no way cast them out. Look at verse 28. Paul defends
his ministry and then he instructs them how to conduct their ministry
in verse 28. The first thing he says, he said,
be on guard. Take heed. Take heed to yourselves
and to all the flock over which God hath made you, the shepherd,
the pastor. Take heed to yourself. Care and
be on guard. Give attention to yourself, preacher.
We read this in 1 Timothy 4. Take heed unto thyself and unto
thy doctrine, and continue in them. For in doing this thou
shalt both save thyself and those that hear thee. I am to take
heed that my preaching be according to God's truth. I am to take
heed to make sure and feed you the gospel truth, the pure truth,
nothing but the truth, the whole truth. One old preacher said
of gospel preachers on this verse, he said, gospel preachers and
ministers of the gospel should take heed to their gifts, not
to neglect them, take heed to their time, not to waste it,
Take heed to their spirit, that it be one of temperance, governed
by meekness. And take heed to the doctrine
that you teach, and make sure that it is according to, thus
saith the Lord, according to the Scriptures. Give the unvarnished
truth. Would you have me do anything
less? I hope not. Oh, I hope not. We must boldly, in this day of
compromise and backpedaling, in this day in which we live,
my friend, God, help us to take a bold stand, to contend for
the gospel of God's grace and not give an inch, no matter what
the enemies of the gospel say. Take heed to yourself. And then he says, secondly, take
heed to all the flock. over the sheep of Christ, the
flock, the flock, God's sheep, God's people. We're to watch
over them with care and to feed them a steady diet of the Word
of God lest they be infected with the doctrines of men instead
of the doctrine of Christ. Remember we read in Ephesians
chapter 4 that when He ascended up on high, He gave gifts unto
His church? What did He give? He gave preachers. He gave teachers. He gave evangelists. He gave apostles for the benefit
and edification of the church that that might be rooted and
grounded upon Christ, the only foundation, and that they be
not carried about by every wind of doctrine. Oh, my friend, let's
get in this book and find out what God says, and let's take
a stand for God's truth to feed the flock. to take care of the
flock. It's my business as your pastor
to make sure that I declare what God says in His Word consistently,
faithfully, every time we come together. Not to play games and
get sidetracked here on this issue and that issue and other
issues. Our issue is Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ in Him
crucified. That is the issue. And then he
says thirdly, He said, the Holy Ghost has made you a shepherd
over God's flock, over God's people. God calls men and puts
men in the ministry to pastor the sheep, to minister over the
sheep, to preach the gospel to the sheep. Men don't put themselves
in the ministry. God puts His men in the ministry. God calls
them, and God equips them, and God puts them in the ministry.
Way back in 1981-82, when God was teaching me the gospel, when
I began to seek out a place where the gospel was preached, And I went there for one reason,
where Pastor Mahan ministered for so many years. I went there
for one reason. I didn't go there to exercise
a gift or try to seek some way to get into the pulpit or to
preach the gospel. I went there for one reason,
and that's to hear the gospel of God's grace in Christ Jesus. To get some sheep food, as my
friend Carter Brown told me when I first went there. and sat behind
Carter Joyce Brown. They're here this morning, sitting
right over here. And I first started in there
over at 13th Street, and I sat down behind him, and Carter turned
around and looked at me and said, what are you doing here? I said,
I came here to hear the gospel. And he said to me, oh, you're
after some sheep food, aren't you? I said, yes, I am. I want
to hear that which is true to the Word and that which honors
and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. God puts men in the ministry. I never sought it, thought it,
bought it in any way. God put me in the ministry. I
can truthfully say that. I can truthfully say that. Now notice the fourth thing he
says here in verse 28. Here is a strong and valid reason
why we are to take heed, to care for the Lord's elect, to feed
the sheep of Christ. He purchased this church with
His own blood. It is a special bought people. No wonder He tells us to take
heed, to take heed. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ was bought lock, stock and barrel. Bought, redeemed,
delivered, purchased, paid in full with the precious blood
of Christ. The church is His purchased possession
He bought us. He bought us with His own blood. Now, I want to consider three
things, three particulars concerning His powerful, precious blood
atonement which the Lord Jesus Christ gave on our behalf, which
He accomplished for us, and which He cannot fail. Three things
this morning. Number one is this. I'll give
you these three things. Then we'll come back and look
at each one of them. Number one is this. The particular person
that redeems. The particular person that redeems. God purchased us. Now that's particular. Particular
person that redeems. The particular price that was
paid. What was the price? Silver and
gold? Who is not redeemed with silver
and gold? His precious blood. He bought
us with His own blood. And thirdly, the particular people
that were purchased. Church. His elect. The Church of God. Now let's
look at the first thing. The particular person that redeems
us from all sin. You see, my friend, God, it says
there, God hath purchased you with His own blood. My friend, it's just not that
blood was shed, it's whose blood that was shed. Whose blood that
was shed. The Lord Jesus Christ is God
manifest in the flesh. God purchased the church with
His own blood. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
I'm saying as clearly as I can that the Lord Jesus Christ is
fully and totally God Almighty from everlasting to everlasting.
He is God. Beside Him there is no other.
This is the One who bought us with His own blood. We see the Lord Jesus Christ
as God manifest in the flesh. 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 with His own blood. Now who is this One who dies
such a brutal, agonizing, horrible death? Is He just a mere man? Is He just a historical man of
the past that everybody feels so sorry for? Is He just a mere
reformer? Is He just a mere prophet? A
religious man from Nazareth? Who is this man who dies on Calvary's
tree? He is God Almighty in the flesh. He's the God-man mediator. He
is both God and man in one blessed person. Totally God, so much
so as He was not man. Totally man, so much so as He
was not God. How can that be? I don't know,
but I believe it so. That's what this book teaches.
Fully God and fully man, and one blessed person. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,
and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
God. Our Lord said, you've seen me,
you've seen the Father. He said, I am my Father, we are
one. You see, my friend, it is who
He is. that gives infinite power, eternal
value, and saving merit to what He accomplished. It's who He
is. Find Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3. Hebrews 1 verse 3. Who being the brightness of His
glory, the brightness of God's glory, the express image, the
exact image of His person, upholding all things by the word of His
power. When He by Himself purged our
sins, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."
Who is He? He's God in the flesh. He's the God-man. Hebrews chapter
2, turn there. But verse 14, for as much then
as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy
him that had power of death, that is the devil, and deliver
them. Destroy him and deliver them. who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not
on him the nature of angels, but he took on the seed of Abraham.
Look at verse 17. Wherefore in all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren, he thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, that he might be a faithful, merciful,
and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation,
atonement for the sin of the people, For in that he himself
suffered, being tempted, he is able to save them." That's the
word. Succor them. Save them that are
tempted. Now, I put up a marker here in
the book of Hebrews because we're coming back in just a minute.
So who is this particular person who bought the church, who redeemed
and purchased us with his own blood? God Almighty. The Lord Jesus Christ is God
Almighty. God the Son manifests in the
flesh. Therefore, what He did has infinite
value, has infinite power and saving merit. He bought for us
and brought in everlasting righteousness and everlasting salvation. One old writer said this, that
the Lord Jesus Christ had not been a real man in the flesh,
God in the flesh, He could have no blood to shed. God is Spirit. Had He not been God, the blood
He shed could not have been sufficient price for our redemption. And that's so. He had to be God
and man in one person to die for us. Put away our sin. I tell you, this gives comfort
to the heart of the sinner. Knowing that what the Lord Jesus
Christ did for us cannot fail. Can never fail. I have redemption
because He redeemed me. I have forgiveness of sin because
He shed His blood. Now, here's a second point is
this. The particular price that was paid. Now, it's pretty obvious,
isn't it? The particular price that was
paid, purchased, verse 28, Acts 20, purchased with His own blood. Purchased with His own blood. The Lord Jesus Christ as a charity
of the everlasting covenant of grace, officiated as a great
high priest, but He did not bring the typical animal sacrifice,
did He? What did He bring? Let's turn
back to the book of Hebrews again. Chapter 9. What did he bring? The great high priest under the
law brought the designated blood of bulls and goats. Year after
year. Day after day. There were many
priests. There were many sacrifices. But
the Lord Jesus Christ, as our Great High Priest, didn't bring
the typical sacrifice. He didn't bring the sacrifice
of bulls and goats, did He? What did He bring? Hebrews 9,
verse 11 and 12. But Christ, being come a high
priest of good things to come, by greater, more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us." How much more shall the blood of Christ,
verse 14, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? The Lord Jesus Christ is that
great high priest that brought His own blood. He gave His own
life to put away our sin. Our sin demanded full payment.
It couldn't be a partial payment, could it? A partial atonement
will not atone. A partial price of redemption
would not put away sin. Our sin demanded full payment.
The payment the law of God demanded. The guilty must die. The Lord Jesus Christ took our
nature to Himself, sinless humanity, But He also took our sin to Himself. God laid on Him the sin of that
certain people given to the Lord Jesus Christ in that covenant
of grace. That's what took place on Calvary. God made Him sin for us. who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. He redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. The Lord Jesus
Christ died as the surety, as the sacrifice, as the substitute,
doing so made complete satisfaction to God's law, holy, holy. We are redeemed, not with corruptible
things, silver and gold, traditions of men, works or ceremony. We are redeemed. Redeemed how
I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb. Redeemed with His precious blood. He bought us. He purchased
us. He redeemed us. He delivered
us from the condemnation of our sin with His own blood. He stood
in my place condemned. That's why there is therefore
now no condemnation to those who are in Christ. He gave His
life, laid down His life that we might have forgiveness of
sin in Him. That we might have salvation
through His blood and through His death in whom we have redemption. I want to show you two places
in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 20. 1 Corinthians
chapter 6 verse 20. That'll work much better. 1 Corinthians
chapter 6. You're bought. You're purchased. You're a purchased possession.
You belong to Him. 1 Corinthians 6 20. He says, you are bought with
a price. Oh, what a price. Salvation by
the free, sovereign grace of God. But I tell you, it costs
the Lord Jesus Christ everything. You are bought with a price,
therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which
are His. Right across the page, 1 Corinthians
7, 23, you are bought with a price, be ye not the servants of men.
Oh, be the servant of God. Serve God. You're bought with
a price. His atonement, my friend, is not a partial payment. It's
full payment. It's complete and eternal payment
for sin. So much so, so powerful, so prevailing,
is this blood redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ, that God Almighty
said, their sin and their iniquity will I remember as long as you
hold out. Oh, aren't you glad it's not
as long as you hold out? Their sin and their iniquity,
He said, I remember no more. He put them away. He bought us. He redeemed us with His own blood. So the particular person, the particular price, thirdly,
the particular people that were purchased. Back to Acts 20, 28. He purchased the church of God
with His own blood. For whom did the Lord Jesus Christ
die? Now, this text of Scripture and
many others declare the unvarnished, perfect, holy truth of what we
call particular redemption. We don't preach and believe a
universal redemption. I'll get to that in just a minute.
We preach and teach a particular redemption. Some in the past
have referred to it as limited atonement in the fact that the
scope of it, not the power of it is limited, but the scope
of it, the design of it is limited as to God's intentions as to
whom He's going to save. And then it's been called by
others a definite atonement. Particular redemption. and definite
atonement. For whom did the Lord Jesus Christ
die? It says here that he purchased
the church of God with his own blood. And my friend, you can
mark this down. He's going to have what he purchased. He's going to take to glory what
he purchased. He's not going to leave it behind. The price was precious. The power glorious. He loved the church and gave
Himself for it. He gave His life for the bride,
and He's going to take that bride home to glory and enjoy her forever. Now, Pastor Mahan would ask us
younger ones these questions regarding when he was teaching
us, for whom did the Lord Jesus Christ die? For whom did the
Lord Jesus Christ die? And I've given this to you before,
but I want you to consider it again. Try this on your co-workers
in the morning. First time I heard this from
my pastor, first time I had an opportunity out of the gate,
when I buttonhole somebody on the job, I ask this question,
for whom did the Lord Jesus Christ die? Was it for all the sins of all
men? Now think with me. Was it for all the sins of all
men? Well, if that be so, then all men must be saved without
exception, for the blood of Christ is effectual. If He died for
all the sins of all men, then all men must be saved. Secondly, was it for some of
the sin of all men? If it was for some of the sin
of all men, then none will be saved. Because the Lord demands
full atonement for sin. Thirdly, now here's what it is. Here's where it is. Was it for
all the sin of some men, his elect, his sheep, his church? Absolutely. Those for whom He
died, those for whom He paid the debt, must go free. None can perish for whom the
Lord Jesus Christ paid their debt." Now think with me. If
He paid their debt in full, can God's justice demand of me that
it be paid again? That's why the Scripture with
clarity declares, who can lay anything to the charge of God's
elect? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up
for us all, all his elect, how shall he not with him also freely
give us all things? Who can lay anything to our charge,
the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies. It is
Christ who is dying. Yea, he rather is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession
for us. My friend, this is a plain truth
of Holy Scripture. This is the truth that has been
preached from this pulpit in the first meeting that was preached
here. Particular redemption, death and atonement, salvation
by grace. And I do pray it will be the
last message that's ever preached here. The particular, sovereign,
redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He cannot fail. Christ
died to effectually redeem his elect. That's so! I know that's
offensive to the religious generation in which we live, but my friend,
it's not offensive to God's people. In time, God the Holy Spirit
will cross the path of those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ
died with this gospel truth, and will make particular application
to the heart of the sinner, making them new creatures in Christ
Jesus. He'll cause us to hear, not just
in word only, but in power. The power of God the Holy Spirit. And He'll give us a great love
for Him. This is why He has instructed
us to go and preach the gospel to every creature. Not another
gospel now. The gospel of the grace of God. His gospel to every creature
and those who hear it and are given grace to believe it will
be saved by it. For it is 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. This will be our testimony. Those who are redeemed, who are
bought with His blood, look back to Acts 20, Acts chapter 20 verse
24. This will be our testimony. He
bought us. He chose us. He called us. He saved us by His grace. Paul said in the last part of
verse 24 of Acts 20, I received of the Lord Jesus. I received
freely to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Down in
verse 32, And now I, brethren, commend you to God, to the word
of His grace, which is able to build you up, able to give you
inheritance among all them that are sanctified. Trophies of His
grace. Trophies of His love. We read
this in Romans 3. being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, to whom
God has set forth to be propitiation through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are
passed through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at
this time, His righteousness, that He might be a just God and
Savior, that He might be just and the justifier of those who
believe this gospel. May God bless you to see your
need of Christ and the redeeming precious blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ to put away your sin. May God be pleased
to give you no other hope. It's a good hope through grace.
No other hope but Christ and Him crucified. That is our testimony
now. And that is our testimony and
will be throughout eternity unto Him who loved us and washed us
from our sin in His own blood. To Him be the glory and honor
both now and forever. For worthy is the Lamb that was
slain to receive all honor, glory, blessing, and power both now
and forever and forever.