Acts chapter 2. We have in this portion of scripture,
not all the words that Peter preached on this special day,
but some of the words. Notice in Acts chapter 2 verse
40, with many other words did he testify and exhort unto them. So we have just a brief sketch
or an outline of what Peter preached on this day. We know that Peter's
message, as we read down through this, was a very simple message. It wasn't full of great oratory
or clever illustrations. It was a very simple message. He said, you killed the Son of
God. They understood what he said. He didn't go into a deep theological
exposition. He said, you killed the Son of
God. Oh, that got their attention.
His message was straightforward. It was simple. It was to the
point. The bottom line is God has made this one whom you killed,
God has made him Lord and Christ, and you must answer to this one
whom you rejected." Very powerful message. Not only was it powerful
and simple and to the point, but it was also one full of scripture. Through this sermon, he refers
to the book of Joel, Joel chapter 2. He also refers to that Psalm
16. He also refers to Psalm 132 concerning
of the fruit of David's body would God raise up and send the
Messiah. He also refers to Psalm 110 where
the Lord said, Under my Lord sit at thy right hand till I
make thy enemies thy footstool. He clearly defined the redemptive
work of Jesus Christ coming to fulfill all Scripture. He clearly
declared that Christ is victorious, ascended, risen, seated at God's
right hand, and they heard this message. Some of them. I know
there were more than 3,000 people that heard that message that
day. But 3,000 of them heard not just in the ear, but were
pricked in the heart. convicted by God the Holy Spirit
and 3,000 of them were gloriously saved by the grace of God and
were given and added to the church such as should be saved. And they continued, it says in
the Gospel here with one accord, verse 46 and verse 47 of chapter
2, praising God and continuing in the Apostle doctrine and rejoicing
in Jesus Christ. My friends, this is evidence,
one of the evidences of true saving faith. Verse 42 says they
continued steadfastly in this doctrine of Christ and Him crucified. Now, I've divided this into five
points. The first one is this, in verse
22 down through verse 24, Peter declares unto us, and Peter preaches
unto us, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now I know we looked
at this last week briefly, and we'll look at it again. Here's
what Peter declares in verse 22. Jesus of Nazareth, a man
approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs."
They couldn't deny it. They could not deny this. Even
Nicodemus said, we know you're a teacher come from God, for
no one can do these miracles that you do except he's sent
of God, except God be with him. He's a man, Christ Jesus, that's
approved of God. You see that? Approved of God
by miracles and wonders and signs. which God did by Him in the midst
of you, as you also, you know this." This thing was not done
in a corner. He was set forth in a public
way, in a most public manner, declaring that this is the Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only Savior approved
and sent of God. The only one. There is salvation
in no other than this one. Jesus of Nazareth, the man that's
approved of God, the God-man. The Lord speaks from heaven and
said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. He's
pleased with Christ and those in Him. You remember from Romans
16, it talks of this believer named Apelles, approved in Christ,
accepted in the Beloved. And that's true of every believer.
Approved. as we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, Peter declares plainly that
Christ is the only Savior. The only Savior. Secondly, he
declares down in verse 23 that this One that died, died by the
determinate counsel of God. The decree of God. You see that?
Him being delivered by the determinate counsel. That's the exact purpose
of God. God's foreknowledge. God's foreordination. He was a Lamb that stood before
the foundation of the world as the Lamb slain, and in due time
He came. Sin of God. God decreed and determined
to save His people by the death of Jesus Christ, and He used
the hands of wicked men to further His own cause. Isn't that amazing? Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel of God. He's saying this. He's not only
the only Savior, he's the only sacrifice for sin. There's not
another. The only sacrifice for sin. God
made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him. Peter in his epistles
writes this. about the just one suffering
for the unjust that he might bring us unto God. Can I come
any other way than by that substitutionary work of Christ? No. The just
died for the unjust that he might bring us through that sacrifice. justifies in his blood. So he declares the only Savior,
the only sacrifice. And then in verse 24, he declares
that the Lord Jesus Christ is all satisfaction to God's holy
law and justice. God, who God raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holding of it. The Lord Jesus Christ, having
satisfied God's law, God's justice, the penalty of that law is that
the guilty must die. At Calvary, He took my sin, took
my judgment, took my guilt, and the wrath of God fell upon Him,
and so satisfied God's law that He said their sin and their iniquity
will I remember no more. delivered for our offenses and
raised again because he justified us there at the cross, at Calvary. He's the only satisfaction, the
only sacrifice, the only Savior for sin. There's not another.
Not another sacrifice. Only Christ. He declares the
gospel. Now, the second thing he does
is this. In verse 25 through verse 28, he also declares that
Christ, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to fulfill
all Scripture. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
died for our sins according to the Scripture. He quotes from
Psalm 16. I want you to find Luke 24. Luke
chapter 24. Peter declares that this one,
this Jesus of Nazareth, approved of God, died according to the Scripture,
and doing so fulfilled the Scripture, satisfied God. In Luke chapter
24, notice this in verse 44, Luke 24 verse 44, And he said
unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while
I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which
are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the
Psalms concerning me. You see, the Psalms and the prophets
are all about Christ. Then he opened their understanding
that they might understand the scripture, and said unto them,
Thus it is written, and thus it behooved, became necessary
for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in
his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you're witnesses
of these things. He's declaring that Christ died
for our sins, according to the very Word of God, according to
the decree of God. Now, back to Acts chapter 2,
verse 25. Acts 2, 25. David speaketh concerning
Christ, David's Lord. David is writing about Christ,
as all the prophets give witness of Christ. And he's speaking,
the Lord Jesus said, I foresaw the Lord always before my face.
as the God-man mediator. His heart, his eye was fixed
on accomplishing the Father's purpose. He said, I came to this
end to do my Father's business. I foresaw the Lord always before
my faith. He's on my right hand. Now watch
this. That I should not be moved. No one could persuade him to
a contrary path than other than going to the cross to die for
our sins according to the scripture. Turn over here if you will to
Isaiah chapter 50. Isaiah 50. He is on my right hand. I shall
not be moved. Isaiah 50. Now here is the God-man
mediator speaking. Isaiah 50 verse 7. The Lord God
will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." Isaiah
50 verse 8 now. He is near that justifies me.
Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is
my adversary? Let him come near. Behold, the
Lord God will help me. Who is he that shall condemn
me. They all shall wax old as a garment,
and a moth shall eat them up. I shall not be ashamed. I have
set my face like a stone flint, hardened. No one could deter
him from going to the cross and dying for his people. The Lord
Jesus was always about his father's business. Even at a very young
age, he said, I must be about my father's work. And that's
what he's saying here. Now look at verse 26 of Acts
2. Therefore did my heart rejoice. He rejoiced in doing God's purpose,
didn't he? For the joy that was set before
him he despised the cross, endured the cross, and despising the
shame. His heart rejoiced in the purpose of God, accomplishing
salvation. His tongue was glad. What did
he speak? He said, I speak not my words,
but the words of him that sent me, and my flesh shall rest in
hope. You remember what he told those
Pharisees? He said, you destroy this temple,
this body, and God's going to raise it up in three days. And
they thought he was talking about, oh man, it took hundreds of years
to build this temple. He said, I'm not talking about
that one. I'm talking about the temple of God. You destroy this
one and God will raise it up in three days. He knew and He
was certainly sure of His resurrection from the dead. He said, My flesh
shall rest in hope. And we can say that as believers.
Our hope is a resurrection hope. Now look at verse 27. Because,
He said, thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave, my body
in the grave, neither will you suffer your Holy One. The Holy
One. Who is this Holy One? Well, it's
the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord speaks with full confidence
that His body would not corrupt, but be glorified, that His departed
soul to paradise shall take up and reside again in His glorified
body. That's what He's saying there.
I believe it's a double meaning of His soul and of His body.
His body would not be left in the tomb, His body could not
see corruption because He put away our sin, and His soul would
not be separated from His body but for three days. And it came
again when that body was resurrected. It resides in that glorified
body, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's true of every believer
too. One day we shall have a resurrected, glorified body just like His,
to worship Him perfectly, to love Him without sin, to honor
Him completely and fully, to enjoy Him forever with no corruption. Now notice verse 28, Thou hast
made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full
of joy with Thy presence, with Thy presence. Christ is the firstfruits
of the resurrection. Our Savior has already experienced
what every believer shall enjoy. Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life. He is life. He said, I am he
that liveth and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. He is the firstfruit from the
dead that guarantees the whole harvest of his elect will be
raised and glorified together with the Lord Jesus Christ. He
said, because I live, you shall live. Now look at verse 29. He
goes on to say this, after quoting that psalm and making application
to the Lord Jesus Christ and those in Him, he says in verse
29, men and brethren, I want to openly and freely and boldly
declare unto you that David is not talking about David. The
Patriarch David, that he is dead, his body is dead, his body is
buried, and his grave is with us today. He's saying that David
was not writing about David, but the greater David, the Lord
Jesus Christ. The body of King David is still
dead. As it says down in verse 34,
David is not ascended into the heavens. Talking about the body
of David. David said, I will be satisfied
when I am raised with thy likeness. He's still looking for a resurrected
body. David is dead. His body is in
the grave. His soul is with the Lord, no
doubt about that. He said, David is both dead and
buried, verse 29, and his grave is with us this day. We can visit
his grave, wherever it would be, and that day I believe they
could. But he said, the Lord Jesus Christ, if you go to his
sepulcher, it's empty. There's no body there. He's resurrected. He's glorified. Look at verse
30 now. Therefore being a prophet, he
was God's prophet, God's king, speaking of David, and knowing
that God has sworn unto him with an oath. God revealed to David
that of his body, of his body that God would raise up the Christ,
that he would send the Messiah through his line, and he would
sit on the throne of glory. What a promise! It's an oath
of God. He could swear by no greater,
he swore by himself. This is the oath and promise
of God. He swore to David that the Messiah would come. God promised
the Messiah would come through his house. And this is quoted
from Psalm 132, verse 11. And we know that the Lord Jesus
Christ is tribe of Judah. He's the Lion of the tribe of
Judah. We know that He's the house of
Jesse. That was David's father. David
was of the kingly tribe of Judah. And He's the son of David. You
know, those Jews believed that. Those Jews knew that because
it was written in the Scripture. Turn over here to Matthew 22. Matthew 22. They knew that the
Messiah had to come through the house of David. What their problem
was, they denied that Jesus of Nazareth was that Messiah. That
was their problem. But they knew the Messiah had
to come through the house of David because they knew the Scripture.
Matthew 22, verse 41. The Pharisees. While the Pharisees
were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think
ye of Christ? Whose son is he? And they said
of him, well, they didn't have any problem with that. He's the
son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit
call him Lord? The Lord, and here he quotes
from Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit at my right
hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. How could he be
David's son and David's Lord? David's Savior? He's God. If
David then called him Lord, how is he his son? Look at the next
verse. And no man was able to answer
him a word, neither doth any man from that day forth ask him
any more questions. They couldn't understand how
he could be David's son, and yet David's God, David's Savior,
David's Redeemer. They knew that the Messiah must
come from the house of David. Find another scripture here.
Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1. The angel from
heaven said this. In Luke 1, verse 30, Luke 1, verse 30, And
the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found
favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive
in thine womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and call his name
Jesus, Saviour. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. He shall reign over the
house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no
end. Now look back to Acts chapter
2, verse 31. He seeing therefore,
he seeing this before. How did David see that? It was
revealed unto him by the Spirit of God. Same as it was with Abraham. Remember, our Lord said, Abraham
rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. Remember, our Lord said, Moses,
had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. Moses wrote
about me. He, seeing this before, spake
of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that his soul was
not left in the grave, neither his flesh did see corruption,
God revealed to him the glorious resurrection and victory of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's my third point. Peter
declares that he is a witness. This is his testimony. Verse
32. Acts 2, verse 32, down through
verse 36. Here is his testimony. This Jesus... Now, you remember what the messenger,
those angels, when the Lord Jesus ascended, he said, this same
Jesus? whom you see go away will come
again. This Jesus hath God raised up. This one that's Son of God,
tribe of Judah, house of Jesse, Son of David, this one that the
Scriptures declare and identify, behold the Lamb of God, this
one, this one approved of God, this Jesus, this Savior, God
raised up, whereof we are His witness. We're a witness of His
glorious resurrection. We'll see next week in our Bible
study, in 2 Peter 1.16, Peter said we were eyewitnesses of
His majesty, of His majesty. This Jesus approved of God. This Jesus that died and gave
Himself a sacrifice for sin. This Jesus that God raised up. Verse 33. This Jesus Verse 33, Therefore being by
the right hand of God exalted, this one that is exalted, this
one that is victorious, this one when he by himself purged
our sin, sat down at the right hand of God, this one that is
exalted having finished all of covenant promises, shedding His
blood, satisfying God. This one that is exalted at the
right hand of God, that is seated victorious over sin, death, hell
and the grave. This one, not another. This one. Friend, make sure you trust this
one, not a counterfeit. This one. Sin of God. Therefore,
being by the right hand of God, exalted. Exalted. What does the exaltation of the
Lord Jesus Christ mean? It means that all that God gave
Him to do, His work is finished, finished to the satisfaction
of God. God said, I'm well pleased. I'm
well pleased. His resurrection and exaltation
is a stamp and guarantee and approval. God put His seal upon
it. He said, it's enough. I'm satisfied. Justice is honored. And because
of that, Because the Lord Jesus Christ finished his work, whose
sacrifice God accepted, whoever lives to intercede for us, who
is coming again, because of all that God has shed forth, look
what it says there, this promise, the promise of the Holy Spirit,
which you now see and hear. Had the Lord Jesus Christ not
died, had he not been completely successful putting away all the
sin of God's covenant people, the Holy Spirit would not come
to reveal Christ. He said, if I don't run away,
if I don't die, the Holy Spirit won't come to convict us and
to call us and to glorify Christ in us. You see, it's a must.
Because he is successful, God has sent forth the Holy Spirit
just as he promised, and you hear and you see this happening
in your midst. We are a witness of these things.
Verse 34 says, David is not ascended to the heavens. Speaking of the
body of David, but he said this, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit
at my right hand. My Lord, Jehovah said to my Savior,
my Redeemer, sit at my right hand until every enemy is made
to bow at your footstool. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly, most assuredly, that God hath made
this same one whom you crucified, God hath made him both Lord and
Christ. David is yet rejoicing in the
exalted Lord Jesus. As Paul said, to be absent from
the body is to be present with the Lord. David's hope is a victorious
Lord Jesus Christ, the exalted One, seating, setting rather,
at God's right hand. And thy people shall be willing
in the day of His power, until I make all your enemies your
footstool. By nature, I'm an enemy of God.
Children of wrath, even as others. And you know what? He made me
to bow at His footstool. And I own Him. I bow to Him. I love Him as the Lord Jesus
Christ. And my friend, by myself and
left in myself, I'll never bow. I must be made willing in the
day of His power. And that's the gospel of Christ. until all thy enemies be made
thy footstool." Bottom line, verse 36, therefore, therefore,
now it goes back to everything he has said, therefore, let everyone
know most assuredly that God had made this same Jesus Whom
you crucify, God has made Him Lord and Christ. He's the Lord and Christ. I'm
most fully confident that this One, He's saying this, whom you
hated, whom you despised, whom you rejected, whom you crucified,
this very One whom you despised and rejected is the very One
you must answer to. And that's true today. We must
answer to Him. You don't answer to me. To Him. To Him. You see, He is Lord and
Christ. God has made Him Lord and Christ. Now, He's not Lord by something
we do. There's a saying in religion,
make Jesus your Lord. You can't make Him Lord. God
made Him the Lord. He is Lord by His decree. I've set my King upon my holy
hills eye in Psalm 2. He's Lord by His death. He is
Lord by His death. He is Lord by enthronement. God
has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every
name, that at that name every knee will bow, every tongue will
confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You
will either confess now by His grace or you will confess in
that day and be condemned by His justice, but you will confess
that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He is Lord
by decree, by death, and by enthronement. And He's not only Lord, but He's
Christ. He's the Messiah. What does that
mean? What does the Christ mean? It
means that He's the anointed one. He's the anointed one Son
of God. It means that He's anointed in
all of His office. I must have a prophet to reveal
the gospel to me. He is that prophet. that Moses
said that God would raise up in Deuteronomy 18. He is that
priest. He's anointed not only in his
prophetic office, but in his priestly office. We have such
a great high priest who died in our room, in our stead, who
represents us before the Father with His blood atonement. And
we have the Lord Jesus Christ anointed in all of His offices
as prophet, priest, and potentate. King. He's King. He is Lord,
King of kings and Lord of lords. He said, all power is given to
me in heaven and earth. Quite a sermon, is it not? Verse
37, And when they heard, when they heard this, ah, well, let's
just go home. Well, some of them turned and
walked away. I'm sure there were more than
3,000 people that heard this sermon. There were probably tens
of thousands of people in Jerusalem on that day of Pentecost. But
there were 3,000 people that didn't only hear here in the
air, God pricked their heart. Their conscience was wounded.
They were convicted of their sin. They were shown that they
were sinners before God, and the only remedy is the Lord Jesus
Christ. They were pricked in their heart,
and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and
brethren, we're in a mess. What can we do to get ourselves
out of this mess? What shall we do? You know, that's
the first response of a natural man thinking he can do something
to get himself out of the mess he's in. What can I do to fix
it? There's nothing you can do. It's beyond your fixing. Salvation
with man is impossible, but not with God. With God, all things
are possible. What shall we do? Believe the
gospel of the Lord Jesus. That's what he said. Believe
the gospel. Peter said unto them, repent. Now, repentance, my friend,
is not something that lies within my power and ability to produce. It's not something that naturally
flows out of this. Yes, sometimes we have remorse
that we got caught. But true repentance is the gift
of God. Let me show you that. Turn over
here to Acts chapter 5. Repentance like faith come at the purchased
price, the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 5. Then Peter. And verse 29, And
the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather
than men. They commanded them not to preach
the gospel any more. And verse 30, God, the God of
our fathers, raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a
tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince
and savior, for to give repentance. You see, he gives repentance
at the expense of his death. He exalted him to his right hand
to be a prince and savior and to give repentance to Israel
and the forgiveness of sins. So my friend, don't do, believe
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Believe Christ and trust him. Trust him. And he says, Confess
Him. Trust Him and confess Him publicly. And do this because the Lord
Jesus Christ has remitted all your sin. The blood sacrifice
of Christ puts away all our sin. And the promise is unto you,
to your children, to many, and to as many as the Lord our God
shall call. He calls with the gospel. And
when He calls with the gospel, When he calls with the gospel,
my friend, you'll confess Him. You'll own Him. You'll love Him. That's why I don't, at the end
of the service, try to stand down here and persuade you to
come forward and confess Christ. I preach the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ and leave sinners in the hands of a merciful God. And if he's pleased to convince
you and convict you in the heart, as Pastor Mahan said, he used
to say, it'll leak out on you. It'll leak out on you. Well, we'll end right there with
that.