The Book of Acts, the third chapter. There are two things that I like
to read about, especially in the Word of God. One of them
are the prayers of those saints of God that's recorded in the
Scripture, the prayers of those who call upon God in Scripture. I like to read those prayers.
There are several of them. I think about John 17, the prayer
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I like to read about the prayers
of God's saints, but do you know what else I like to read about?
I like to read about those sermons. I like to read the sermons they
preached. And here we have, throughout the book of Acts, we're going
to see some of the sermons that Peter preached, some of the sermons
that the Apostle Paul preached, and here we have that again in
Acts chapter 3. Acts chapter 3, beginning at
verse 13, Peter declares unto this most religious crowd the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when the people in this
temple saw this lame man, this beggar, this man who had been
crippled for 40 years, this man who was born crippled, could
not, had never taken one step, not even a baby step. He was
crippled all his life and his condition led him to a state
of begging, depending upon others for mercy. Well, God in great
mercy sent this man two faithful servants who declared to this
beggar the truth. Peter and John standing, looking
at that man, said, silver and gold, I don't have any of that.
But you don't need silver and gold. What you need is grace
and mercy. And he says, that's what I have
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Stand up and walk. And
God healed him. God saved him by His grace. And
this man got excited. Imagine as his ankles, who were
gnarled and crippled, straightened out. His ankles and his legs
The muscles were regenerated and restored, and this man went
leaping and walking, demonstrating and rejoicing in his heart out
of his mouth, went, Praise us to Jehovah who saved me. Well, this man, as Peter and
John proceeded on into the temple, this man laid hold on them. He says here, that this lame
man, in verse 11, as a lame man which was healed, held Peter
and John. I believe he wrapped his arms
around them and would not let them go. And when all this multitude,
they knew this man. They passed this man by every
day and saw him begging. Maybe some of them were generous
and helped him along. When they saw this man, they
knew and recognized healed, leaping, walking and praising God. And
they saw this man hug up to Peter and John. They all ran with wonder
in their hearts. What happened? How can this be? Well, Peter, using this, by the
providence of God, this was ordered and ordained and decreed. Peter,
when he saw what was happening in verse 12, when he saw it,
answered the people and said, you men of Israel, Why do you
think this is impossible? Why do you marvel at this? Why
do you doubt this has happened? And why do you look on us as
though we did this? Why do you look on us so earnestly
as though by our own power, or by the name of Peter, or by the
name of John, we've healed this man, or we've repaired this man's
condition? Why do you look on us as by our
own authority, by our own power, or by my righteousness, by my
holiness, we've made this man to walk. So you see, when he's
got the attention, and this is all by the providence of God,
how God ordered this, God ordained this, God crossed this man's
path with two gospel preachers and used this message of Jesus
Christ crucified to heal this man. God brought all this to
pass and brought this focus together. And as Peter has the attention
of his crowd, what's he going to say? Well, the first thing
he does, he discredits himself. He says, what you're seeing here
is not something that's by human effort or human power. It's not
by my power, not by my authority or by my holiness. It's God who has done this. Peter, the first thing he does,
he takes their hearts and their minds away from the miracle and
points them to the Master. away from the man who is healed,
and points them to the healer, the Lord Jesus Christ. He takes
their focus off this man, off this miracle, and points them
to, not to Solomon's temple. He didn't say behold this great
temple. He said behold a greater than Solomon is here, the Lord
Jesus Christ. You know, that's what every true
preacher does. He takes the focus off of off
of self, and he points sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to him. He's the great physician. He's the great healer. And that's
what I've tried to do down through the years here. I've tried to
point sinners to the true Christ of God. Look unto Christ and
be ye saved. Not to the ordinances, not to
the pool, not to the Lord's table. Look to Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ. True servants point sinners to
Christ. Paul said, we preach not ourselves,
but the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter and Paul and John, they
all had the same message. As I read this book of God, turn
over here to 1 John. As I read this book of God, I
see that they all had the same message, because they all were
taught the same message from the same Lord. 1 John chapter
5. 1 John chapter 5, and here's
the message. Paul said, We preach not ourselves,
but the Lord Jesus Christ, and ourselves servants for your sake.
And here's what John says in 1 John 5. Verse 11, he says this,
This is the record that God has given to us, the eternal life,
and this life is in His Son. This life is in Christ. You see,
he points sinners to Christ. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
does not have life. These things are written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God." You see, true service. Just like
Peter did that day. He tries to turn them away from
them and from this man, and focuses on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
look at the next verse, back in Acts chapter 3. Acts chapter
3 verse 13. The next thing he does, how does
he begin? Well, he begins with God, the
God of Abraham. Now, not some pagan idol, not
some pagan idol, the God of Abraham. This is a God, the sovereign
God, who found Abraham. Oh, Abraham. Remember where He
found him? Down in the air of the Chaldees. Where did He find
him? He found him in gross idolatry. And God, by His marvelous grace,
said, Abraham, get out of your house! You mean, leave my family? Get out of that idolatry and
go to the land that I'll show you. And you know what? He believed
God. He was strong in faith, giving
God the glory. Abraham believed God and it counted
to him for righteousness, the God of Abraham. You see, he identifies
this God, doesn't he? He identifies this God as the
true and the living God, the God of Abraham. Who is this God
of Abraham? You know, this whole book tells
us about the God of Abraham. Turn over here to Isaiah 45.
The God of Abraham. The God of Isaac, the covenant
God, the God who is absolute, sovereign, and holy, and eternal
God. This is not some weak, impotent
idol. This is the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This is a God who is absolute
over all things. Isaiah 45 verse 5, he said, I
am the Lord. I am God. There is none else. There is no God beside me. I
girded thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know
from the rising of the sun from the west that there is none beside
me. I am the Lord. There is none else. He said,
I am the only just God and Savior. I form the light. I create darkness. I make peace. I bring and create
evil, calamity. I the Lord do all these things. You see, this is the God of Abraham.
He starts with God. Now turn to Isaiah 46. Look at
this. Isaiah 46, the God of Abraham. You see, Peter and John give
all the credit and glory to God alone. Not unto us. Not unto
us, O Lord, but unto thy name give honor and glory. Isaiah
46, verse 9. Remember, Isaiah 46, now remember the former things
of old. I am God, there is none else.
I am God, there is none like me. What's he like? He declares the end from the
beginning, from ancient times of things that are not yet done,
saying my counsel will stand. I'll do all my pleasure. Calling
a ravenous bird from the east, a man would execute my counsel
from a far country. I've spoken it. I will also bring
it to pass. I've purposed it. I will also
do it. You see, this is a God of Abraham.
This is a God that we worship, the true God, the living God,
not some pagan entity, but God who was sovereign, God who is
holy in all His ways, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac.
God promised Abraham a special promise seed. through Isaac,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And God said, through that Son,
that special Son, the Messiah, I will bless all my covenant
people. And then He's a God of Jacob.
Sovereign God. Jacob have I loved. Esau have
I hated. This is a God we worship. You
know, the only place where a sinner will truly worship is at the
foot of a sovereign God. Everything else is just idolatry.
That's right. God who is God, the God of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob. He said the God of your fathers.
Now watch this. God hath glorified his Son. God
hath glorified his Son. This God whom you say that you
worship, they said, Abraham was our father. They said they worshiped
the God of Abraham, but when it came right down to it, our
Lord said, you of your father, the devil. This God, He said,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, this
God hath glorified His servant. Glorified His servant, His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't this the bottom line of
redemption? The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. God hath glorified His Son. Peter is plainly declaring that
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only true Messiah, the only true
Savior. Across the page in Acts chapter
2 verse 22, you men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth,
he's a man approved of God. among you by miracles and wonders
and signs which God did by Him in the midst of you, as you know
Him being delivered by the determinate counsel for knowledge of God
you have taken, and by wicked hand He crucified and He slain
the Lord of glory." You see, God has determined to save sinners
by the merit and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone, and that
gives Him all the glory in salvation. God has determined to glorify
His Son. And I tell you this, His people
also are determined to give God all the glory in salvation. We
say with Paul, Lord, not unto us, not unto us, but unto Christ. God forbid we should glory save
in the cross. Christ crucified. Christ alone. Christ always. God has determined
to glorify His Son. So the first thing He does, He
discredits Himself, and then He gives God all the credit,
doesn't He? God all the glory. God, the God
of Abraham. The God who is Almighty God. God has determined to glorify
Jesus Christ in the salvation of sinners. That He might be
a just God and Savior. So after doing that, The next
thing he does, he also declares their guilt, their sin. You see that in verse 13? Whom
you delivered up. You denied Him. You said away
with Him. Crucify Him. We have no king
but Caesar. Peter declares their sin and
their guilt. He said you denied Him. You disowned
Him. You know men love darkness rather
than light. You know why? because their deeds
are evil. We have an evil nature. Man,
the heart of man, fallen man, is desperately wicked. Who can
know it? You delivered him up and you
denied him. You desired a murderer to be
set free. Isn't that amazing? Give us Barabbas! He was a murderer, a man who
created sedition. rebelling against the government,
murdered those in authority, and they cried out for this man.
Pilate said, well, what about Jesus? What about the Savior? He said, behold your King. We have no King but Caesar. Away
with him. Crucify him. You desire to murder. You denied that Jesus Christ
is God. Look what it says over here in
chapter 3 of the book of Acts. He said, you delivered him up,
you denied him, and the president, Pilate, when Pilate was determined
to let him go, but you insisted, he delivered him over to their
will, and they had him killed. You killed the Prince of Life.
Look what it says in verse 14, you denied the Holy One. You
denied the Holy One and the Just One, and you desired a murder
to be granted unto you. You denied that Jesus Christ
is God. He denied that he is the holy
one of God. You deny that he is the just
one. They denied he is holy person.
And that's man by nature. We don't believe the true God.
We don't believe the truth. They denied his holy person.
We're ignorant of who God is. We're ignorant of the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? My friend,
He is God manifest in the flesh. That's who He is. Our Lord said,
you've seen Me, you've seen the Father. I am my Father. We're
one. One in nature, one in purpose, one in essence. One in unity. You denied the Holy One of God. You denied His holy person. You
denied the justice of God Mercy only based upon the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ. He denied that he is just to
save sinners based upon the blood atonement of Jesus Christ. He denied his holy person. He
denied that God must save sinners by Christ. They were going about
to establish their own righteousness, weren't they? How many of us
today have gone the same way? trying to approach God based
upon the merit of my hand, the merit of my doing. We too, like
these people, and we'd still be this way, we deny the Holy
One. We deny that He is just and justifier
of the ungodly through Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ
saves sinners in a just way. in a just way. He saves us in
such a way as to honor His holy justice, to magnify His justice,
not to compromise His holy character, and yet show mercy, not at the
expense of His holiness. He is holy when He saves us,
and He is just to save us. He is a just God and Savior. Look at verse 15. He said, You
killed the Prince of life. He said, You're the murderer.
You're the murderer. That's a pretty chilling charge,
isn't it? Murder. Guilty. Murder. You've killed the prince of life.
You've killed the giver of life. The author of life. Whom God
raised from the dead. We're all witnesses. Guilty of
murder. They desired mercy. Now you think
about this. They desired mercy for a murderer
and desired the Lord Jesus Christ to be killed who had demonstrated
great compassion on the miserable, the giver of life." Do you ever
see yourself as guilty? You say, well, I never murdered
anybody. You've deceived yourself. We're guilty. That's the bottom
line. We're guilty. Our Lord said to
be angry with someone is to be charged with murder. We're guilty. We're sinners. You see what he's
doing here? He's taking sinners, declaring
a true God, how God can be just and justify in Christ, and he's
declaring unto all of us that we're guilty. You know who needs
a Savior? Guilty men. I'm guilty. I'm a sinner. I confess. I'm
guilty of murder. So are you. We've all sinned
and come short of the glory of God. We've all sinned against
God. And that's what he's declaring
unto them. Guilty. That's charged. Guilty. Guilty. He killed the prince of life.
Here's the third thing. Peter declares Christ's victory. God raised him from the dead. Whereupon we are witnesses Look
down at verse 18. But those things which God before
had showed by the mouth of all his prophets Christ should suffer,
he's fulfilled. He's victorious. Peter declares
the absolute victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not defeated
nor dead. He's the living Christ. He's
the exalted Christ. You remember back in chapter
2. Turn over there. Chapter 2, verse 32. Chapter
2, verse 32, this Jesus, have God raised up whereof we're all
witnesses. You see, He's not defeated nor
dead, He's living, He's exalted. Therefore being by the right
hand of God exalted, having received of the Father the promise of
the Holy Spirit, He has shed forth this which you now see
and hear. For David is not ascended into
the heavens, but he says, Himself the Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand, victorious, until I make all thy foes your
footstool. Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus whom
you crucified, God hath made him Lord and Christ. He's not
defeated, he's exalted. He's fulfilled everything. In
his life, in his death, in his resurrection, all things spoken
of him by the prophets, it says in verse 18, he has fulfilled. You think of all those prophecies,
all those types, all those pictures, to him give all the prophets
witness. They all speak of the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that Passover lamb. He
is that rock that was smitten. He is that brazen serpent that
was lifted up. He is that manna that fell from
heaven. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the fulfillment of all prophecy. He has fulfilled all salvation
for us. The Lord Jesus Christ. He said
on Calvary's tree, it is finished. Those things which God hath aforeshowed,
verse 18, by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should
suffer, he's fulfilled. Turn back to the book of Luke,
chapter 24. Oh, he's fulfilled all things. You think about this. The law
of God honored for me perfectly. My sin perfectly put away. Righteousness charged to my account. at the expense of another, fulfilled
all things for His covenant people. According to the Scripture, He
died for our sin. According to the Scripture, Luke
chapter 24, verse 44, these are the words, which I spake unto
you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which are written, this is Luke 24, verse 44, written in the
Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me. It's all about Christ. Then he opened their understanding,
that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them,
Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer,
to rise from the dead the third day, that repentance and remission
of sin should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these
things. He has fulfilled all covenant engagements. He is the
charity of the covenant, the sacrifice of the covenant, the
mediator of the covenant. You see, Peter declares the victory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Something else he declares in
verse 16. Peter declares the power of the Lord Jesus Christ
to save sinners. What does a great sinner need?
A great Savior. Look at verse 16. Peter declares
unto us His name and His name. Now, there is no other name under
heaven. It says in chapter 4. There's no other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved. It's in who He is that
gives power and merit to what He did. His name, through faith
in His name. Now make sure you got the right
one. Make sure you have the one that's victorious, that's conquering,
that's not defeated. The right one. His name, through
faith in His name, hath made this man whole. Perfect, sound,
strong, whom you see and know. Yes, faith which is by Him. You see, faith is a gift of God.
Faith is not something that blooms in us. It's not native to our
dead heart, is it? You know what's native to us?
Unbelief. Faith is something that's planted
by the hand of God. Faith is a gift of God. It's
from Christ. Faith which is from Him hath
given this man perfect soundness." Perfect, complete salvation.
You see, my friend, faith looks to Christ. True, saving faith
looks to the exalted, victorious Lord Jesus Christ. That's saving
faith. This faith that's true and saving
looks out of self to Christ. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Christ is both the source of
faith and the object of faith. And Christ gives us complete
salvation that's received by... How is it received? By believing. By faith alone. Faith receives
the Lord Jesus Christ as God's gracious gift to us. Being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And in Christ we stand perfect. Perfect soundness. You know what
that means? Complete. Complete. Let's go
over here to the book of Colossians and see that in Scripture. Colossians
chapter 2 of Colossians. In Him, in Christ, for in Him,
Colossians 2 verse 9, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. He's holy and He's just. In Him
dwelleth all the fullness of God. He is God and you are complete
in Him, verse 10. We are complete in Him. Can you
add anything to completeness? When it's done, it's done. We
are completely forgiven, completely justified, completely redeemed,
completely accepted, completely, completely whole in Christ, which
is the head of all principality. He's my Lord. He's the Lord of
all principality and power. We have. You see what he's doing
here in this sermon? That's what I try to do in every
sermon. Identify who God is. Identify our problem. And then
point you to the remedy, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the
same thing he's doing here. The Christ of God that has fulfilled
all things for us. Now, lastly, let me give you
this. Peter presses upon them to believe the gospel, to believe
the gospel. Repent, therefore. Repent, therefore. And be turned, be converted,
that your sin may be blotted out. When the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord, he shall send Jesus
Christ in the message of the gospel which was preached to
you before. He presses upon them the necessity
to believe the gospel. He does the same thing back here
in chapter 2, you remember? Verse 38 of Acts chapter 2, Peter
said unto them, when they said, what shall we do? He didn't say
nothing. Well, just do nothing. No, he
said, look to Christ, believe the gospel. Our Lord said, except
you repent, you'll perish. Then Peter said unto them, repent.
and be baptized, confess Christ, every one of you, and do this
in the name of Jesus Christ. For in the name of Jesus Christ,
through His sacrifice, is the remission of sins. And you shall
be blessed of God. You shall be blessed of God.
Repentance, as I said before, is a continual change of mind
and heart from self to Christ. It's a state of being. I am in
a state of repenting. I'm in constantly my heart and
my mind set on things above. My affection, my heart is set
on Christ. That's a repentant heart. A repenting
heart. Repentance is not a goal we achieve. It's a grace we receive. It's
the grace of God. Faith and repentance go together.
Where you find one, you find the other. from the sovereign
hand of God. Pastor Mahan used to explain
it this way, it's like a sheet of paper. When you get a sheet
of paper, there's always two sides, isn't there? That's the
way of faith and repentance. Faith and repentance, they come
together. They come from the sovereign
hand of God. Repentance toward God and faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith, now listen to this, true
faith, where it says here, repent, And be turned, we turn to God
from our idols that you may, that you know that your sins
are blotted. My sins are blotted. Blotted. That means they're gone. Now,
let me ask you, this is not a trick question. But you know, most
people in religion, they'll read that and this is what they think.
They think that their repentance puts away sin. If you think that, you think
wrong. True repentance acknowledges that Christ put away my sin. You see the difference? If you're
trusting your repentance, you're lost. You need to repent and
look to Christ. That's right. Repentance doesn't
put away sin. What about faith? Well, I'm trusting
my faith. I'm not. Faith doesn't put away
sin either. Faith is not my Savior. Christ
is my Savior. I look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see what I'm saying? That's what he's saying here.
True faith and true repentance and a true turning. Be converted. Going that way. Not going that way no more. We
turn to God, as it says in 1 Thessalonians 1, 9, we turn to God from our
idols. to serve the living and true
God. Let's turn over and read that.
I want you to see this. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 1
Thessalonians chapter 1. What he describes, how do we
know of our election? 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Our
gospel didn't come word only, but it came in power in the Holy
Spirit with much assurance. Now this is 1 Thessalonians chapter
1 verse 9. For they themselves show of us
what manner of entering in we had unto you, how you turn to
God from idols to serve the living and true God. How did we turn? He turned me. He turned me. and to wait for His Son from
heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even the Savior, who delivered
us from the wrath to come." Turn me, Lord. Turn me. Keep me turned. Keep me looking
to Christ. You see, true faith, repentance,
and conversion are the means that God gives to us that reveals
unto us how sins are put away by the effectual blood atonement
of Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ cleanses
us from all sin. Does that make sense? Don't trust your faith. Don't
trust your repentance. I hear people all the time say,
well, my faith got me through. I'm not trusting my faith. There's
no salvation in faith. I'm not trusting my faith. I'm
trusting Christ, the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look back at the text now. I'm
going to close. Read verse 19 again. Acts chapter
3. and be converted, that your sin
may be blotted out. When the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord, He shall send Jesus
Christ, which before was preached unto you." How are we refreshed? I'll tell you how we're refreshed.
We're refreshed by the preaching of Christ. The preaching of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Believers are continually refreshed
by the preaching of Christ our appointed Savior, and we look
to Him." Well, that's quite a sermon, is it not? And that's just part
of it. We'll continue there by God's grace next week.