Preaching the Gospel to a Sinner

Now here's our subject today,
preaching the gospel to a sinner. Preaching the gospel to a sinner. And if you'd like to follow in
your Bibles, and I wish you would, I'm going to be using several
verses of scripture, all of them, or most of them, from the book
of Acts, chapter 22. Would you turn there in your
Bible, Acts 22, and I'm going to read verses 14 and 15. Now
listen carefully. Verse 14, Acts 22, "...the God
of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his
will, and see the just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his
mouth, for thou shalt be his witness." unto all men of what
thou hast seen and heard." Who is speaking here? This is the Apostle Paul giving
an account of his conversion. That's what this is. It's Paul
before a group of people, a group of very religious people, ceremonial
Jews, These people had tried to have him arrested, put in
jail for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Paul is
giving in the Hebrew tongue an account of his conversion. And if you go back to verse 3,
and this is so interesting, I just haven't picked up anything lately
that was more intriguing and interesting than this account
of his conversion. The first thing he tells them
is this, that before he came to know the Lord, before Paul
was converted, before Paul was, as we say today, before he came
to believe on Christ. He was a very religious man.
Very, very religious. Who believed in God. And who
kept the law and the ceremony. Yes he was. Look at verse 3.
He says, I am a Jew. And he said this in the Hebrew
tongue. In the Hebrew. He was speaking Hebrew. Then
he said, I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews. My mother was a Hebrew. My father
was a Hebrew. I'm a Jew. I'm a ceremonial Jew.
I'm a traditional Jew. I'm a law-abiding, sacrificing
Jew." He said, that's what I am, from Tarsus, from the city of
Tarsus. And he said, secondly, I studied under Gamaliel. There
were two great schools in that day. One of them was the school
of Gamaliel. One of the most well-known teachers
of the Bible was Gamaliel. And Paul said, I was his disciple. I sat under him, learned from
him, and I was not only taught in the law, but he said I was
taught in the traditions of my father, and I was a Pharisee
of the Pharisees, a member of the Sanhedrin. And he said I
was a man who was blameless as far as the law, outward law,
is concerned. And I was very zealous toward
God. As you are, he said this fair
day, I was religious, moral, educated, steeped in tradition,
and full of religious zeal, zealous toward God, but I didn't know
God. didn't know God. And then in
verse 4 he continued, now listen to this, and he said, I was not
only zealous of the law, morality, religion, the tradition of my
fathers, and zealous toward God, but I persecuted this way, this
way, unto death, binding and delivering men and women into
prison. What did Paul mean by I persecuted
this way? Well, this way is the way contrary
to his way. His way was the way of works. This way that he refers to is
the way of pre-grace. His way was the way of ceremony,
Sabbath keeping, tithe paying. This way is the way of faith
in Christ, Jesus the Lord. His way was the way of merit,
human merit. This way is the way of mercy.
mercy through Christ Jesus. His way, man gets all the glory. This way, God gets all the glory. His way was a way of ceremony.
This way is the way of a crucified, risen, exalted Christ. And many seem to have that opinion
today. They are zealous toward God, they're religious, they're
moral, they're very pious, they're educated in the best religious
schools and seminaries. But they persecute this way of
grace, this way of mercy, this way of sovereign love, this way
of substitution, this way of the blood atonement, this way
of a crucified Christ. And they say, I'll worship God,
but not this way. I'll take salvation, but not
this way. And I'll go to heaven, but not this way. I'll go my
way, not this way. And that's what Paul is saying
here. He said, I persecuted this way. I had a way. There's a way
that seemeth right unto men. The end is death and destruction,
but there's a way. But Christ our Lord said, I am
the way. I am the way, the truth and the
life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. Well, let's see what
else he says, that I was a Jew, ceremonialist, legalist, separationist,
traditionalist, zealous toward God, didn't know God, and I persecuted
the only real way, I persecuted the truth, I persecuted the way
of life, I persecuted the way of mercy, tried to kill people
that believed it, hated them, cast them into prison. And verse
6 and 7 said this, and it came to pass, that as I made my way
to Damascus to arrest some more people for believing on Jesus
Christ and looking to him for salvation, about noon a great
light from heaven shone about me and I fell to the ground. Now look at this proud religious
Pharisee, this proud self-righteous religionist riding high, riding
on his white stallion leading his followers, his disciples
in opposition to Jesus Christ, going to put salvation out of
business, going to put God Almighty out of business, going to abolish
the name of Jesus Christ from the face of the earth, riding
down to Damascus to arrest some poor believers and cast them
into prison, and God arrested him. God met him. God crossed
his path. God encountered this man. and
a great light shone from heaven. And here's the grand results
of that meeting with God. He said five words, I fell to
the ground. I fell to the ground. And that's
where God will put every man and every woman with whom he
affectionately deals in mercy. He'll put them on the ground.
That's right, the proud must be brought down, must be humble.
And the high must be brought low. And the self-righteous must
be exposed, they must be slain. God will bring a man down before
he lifts him up. God will strip a man before he
clothes him. God will put him in the dust
before he exalts him. You see, God Almighty is known
to them that are of a broken heart. David wrote, the sacrifices
of God are a broken heart, a broken and a contrite spirit. O Lord,
thou wilt not despise. God resisteth the proud. God
resisteth the proud. He gives grace to the humble.
God saveth. These are all scriptures. God
saveth such as be of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Let me tell you something. The greatest enemy of your soul
is human pride. That's right, God said six things
I hate, yea, seven are an abomination to me, and the very first one
he names is a proud look. A haughty spirit goeth before
a fall, a proud look before destruction, and God will bring a man down.
If God's going to deal in grace and mercy with a sinner, he'll
strip him and break him and bring him into the dust. He'll make
his headquarters in the dust. That's right, because the Lord's
going to have all the glory. Now look at verse 8, 9, and 10. Here's this proud religious Pharisee,
and God has encountered him, God met him. And the Lord broke
him and put him in the dust. And there he is lying on the
ground, blinded by that light of God's holiness. And that's
what brings a man down, is a sight of the holiness of God. It brought
old Job down. Job said, I've heard of you,
Lord. But now, man, I seeth thee in your holiness, and therefore
I hate myself. I repent in sackcloth and ashes. And if you read the book of Isaiah,
this dear man, Isaiah, oh, I tell you in chapter 5, he just woes
everybody. Woe is you, woe is them, woe
are they. And then he said in chapter 6,
I saw the Lord high and lifted up in his holiness and his beauty
and his glory filled the temple, and I cried, woe is me. I'm undone. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean
lips. I'm cut off." Even when the beloved
John heard the voice of Christ on the Isle of Patmos and turned
and saw him, he said, I fell at his feet. I fell at his feet
as a dead man. The best posture for a believer
is at the feet of Christ. And here's this proud Pharisee
lying on the ground, blinded by the light of God, blinded
by his holiness and his glory. And Saul of Tarsus looks up,
tries to look through those sightless eyes, and he cried, Who art thou,
Lord? Who art thou? And the answer
came back. I'm Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou
persecutest. I am this way." Remember back
there he said, I persecuted this way? I persecuted the way? The way? God's way? And Christ
said, I'm Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. Jesus
of Nazareth, made in the likeness of flesh, but very God of very
God. Jesus of Nazareth, I was dead,
but I'm alive forevermore. Jesus of Nazareth, Lamb of God,
but King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus of Nazareth, a sacrifice
to put away sin, now exalted to be a Prince and a Savior.
That's who I am. Oh, that we might meet him. That
we might meet him. And this will happen when a man
meets him. We've been doing business with preachers, shaking hands, Arguing with soul winners and
joining up and signing cards and pledges. Not many folks have
met the King. Not many folks have incarnated
the Son of God. Not many men have done business
with him, with whom we have to do. And this is what happens
when a man does business with him. He fell to the ground and
he said, well, who are you? And he told him. And then Paul
said, Lord, what will you have me do? What will you have to
do? He's ready to listen now. You
know, not many folks are ready to listen. It's hard to find
a listening ear. There are plenty of mouths going,
but not many ears tuned in. Hard to find a listening ear.
Are you ready to listen? Have you ever been ready to listen?
Oh, to find someone who has ears to hear. Our Lord said, he that
hath ears to hear, let him hear. Take heed how you hear, what
you hear. He's ready to listen now. And
usually a man is when he's brought in that shape. He's read to listen.
Well, look at the next verse, verse 12 and 13. And one name
Ananias came to me, came to me, a devout man, came to me. In
other words, God sent him a preacher. They got him up from the ground
out there on the road to Damascus and took him to this town, to
a street called Straight, I believe it was, and he was blind for
a long time, several hours. Finally, God sent him a preacher.
He always does. He always does. If God is pleased
to deal in mercy with a sinner, he'll send him a preacher. He'll
send a preacher of the gospel. He won't send a singer now, and
he won't send a professional soul winner, and he won't send
a fast-talking con man, he won't send a fellow with his hand out
begging for money. He'll send a preacher. His preacher. His prophet. That's right, he
sent Philip to the unit. Philip didn't take up an offering
either. He came to the eunuch with the gospel of Christ. He
sent Peter to Cornelius. He sent Paul to Lydia, to the
Philippian jailer. And if God ever deals in mercy
with your soul, and ever reveals his holiness in your sin, and
ever shuts your mouth and opens your ears and puts you in the
dust, and you ever cried, Lord, what will you have me do? He'll
send you a preacher. For whosoever shall call on the
name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?"
God sends his preacher. He commissions him, he anoints
him, he ordains him, and he sends him. And Paul wrote in Ephesians,
in whom you trusted. After you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, that's when you trusted him,
when you heard the gospel, the gospel, the only gospel, the
gospel of God, the gospel of his glory, the gospel of his
grace, the gospel concerning his son. All right, Ananias came
to Saul of Tarsus, and here's the message that he preached
to him. Want to hear it? Or better still, why don't you
read it? Here in chapter 22, verse 14 and 15. Paul said, and
he said to me, and he said to me, the God of our fathers hath
chosen thee. Now evidently Ananias didn't
know you weren't supposed to preach election to sinners, because
that's the first thing he said. That's the very first thing he
said to this Saul of Tarsus, this heathen, pagan, philosophical
religionist, this moralist, moralistic, ceremonialist religionist. He
said the God of our fathers had chosen you. In other words, the
first thing the preacher told the sinner was the salvation
of the Lord. It's not something you do for
God, it's something God does for you. I want that to be, I
want clear there, is what Anna and I said. I want you to understand
that salvation is of the Lord. If God's not waiting on you to
do something, God came down here to do something for you. In other
words, you didn't choose me, I chose you. We love him because
he first loved us. Tis not that I did choose thee,
for Lord that could not be. This heart of mine would still
refuse thee, but thou hast chosen me." Salvation always begins
with God, not with the sinner. Because it's an eternal matter.
Did you know salvation is an eternal matter? That's right,
we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. So it has to
begin with God, because we weren't alive back there in the beginning,
before the foundation of the world. We didn't have any say-so.
God Almighty decreed what was to happen, known unto God are
all his works from the beginning. That's what the Word said. Salvations
of the Lord, because it's an eternal matter, and another reason
salvations of the Lord is because sinners are dead. Saul of Tarsus
wasn't on his way to a prayer meeting when God struck him down.
He was on his way to kill Christians. Sinners are dead in trespasses
and sin. God has to give them life. Dead
men don't make decisions. You have to quicken who were
dead in trespasses and sin. The initiative is God's initiative. And salvations of the Lord because
sinners have a contrary will. Our wills are contrary to God's
will. Christ said, you will not come
to me that you might have light. This is condemnation. Light is
coming to this world. But men love darkness. They love
darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. My friend,
the miracle of salvation. This is what Ananias is saying
to Saul of Tarsus. Salvations of the Lord. The God
of our fathers hath chosen thee, just like Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord. Saul, you found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. Just like Abraham of old was
called out of Ur of the Chaldees, God Almighty sent me to call
you in His Spirit to awaken you. You see, the miracle of salvation
is of the Lord from beginning to end, Alpha to Omega, for by
grace have you been saved. Through faith, that not of yourself,
it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
We're His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. We're born of
God. born from above. We're not only
born of God, we're taught of God. No man cometh unto me except
my Father draw him, Christ said, and they shall all be taught
of God. He that hath learned of the Father cometh to me. We're
not only taught of God, but we're called of God. He called us by
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his
own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ before the
world began. He called us We're kept by the
power of God through faith unto him that is able to keep you
from falling. And then we're glorified by God.
Whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed to the image
of his Son. Whom he predestinated, he called.
Whom he called, he justified. Whom he justified, he glorified. What shall we say to these things?
Well, if God be for us, who can be against us? So Ananias came
to the center, and the first thing he said, God chose you. God chose you. God wouldn't pass
you by. God set his affections on you.
The God of our fathers, the eternal living God, had chosen you. And
then he said he had chosen you that you should know his will.
His will. Now I told you, as Saul told
us himself, he was a student of the scriptures. He was a learned
man. He was an educated Pharisee.
He was himself a teacher of the Scriptures. So he knew something
about God's will of command. He was a student of the law.
He was a student of the ceremonies and the sacrifices. He knew the
will of command, but he didn't know God's will of redemption.
Do you know God's will of redemption? The God of our fathers has chosen
you that you should know his will, his saving will, his will
of redemption, his will of mercy. Now listen to Hebrews 10. Listen
carefully. It's talking about Christ coming
into the world. Then said I, then said I, lo,
I come to do thy will, O God. In the volume of the book it
is written of me. I come to do thy will, O God."
He taketh away the first, the sacrifices, the tabernacle, the
priesthood, and he established the second. By the which will,
I come to do thy will, O God, by the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for
all. That ye should know God's will.
What is God's redemptive will? His redemptive will is in Jesus
Christ. In the person, office, work of
Jesus Christ. God sent his son to accomplish
his redemptive will. And the will of God is revealed
in the person and work of his beloved son. That's where you
learn the way of God, the will of God, the grace of God, the
love of God, the mercy of God, the wisdom of God, the power
of God. All of it's revealed in Christ.
No man knows the Father but the Son. It's all revealed in Christ. and he to whom the Son will reveal
him. Come to Christ and learn the will of God. He said, All
that my Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I'll in no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven not
to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this
is the will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath
given me I'll lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day.
That's the will of God. Now, Saul, God chose you, and
he chose you that you should know his will, his will of redemption,
his eternal will, his will that will not be defeated, for he
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I'll be gracious to whom
I will be gracious. Now, what's the third thing he
said to him? That you should see the just one. The just one,
not a just one, but the just one, the only one. Who is this
just one? The Lord Jesus Christ is the
just one. That's what Peter said back in
the early part of Acts, you crucified the just one. Jesus Christ suffered
the just one for the unjust ones that he might bring us to God.
Yes sir, God sent him forth as a propitiation, as a mercy seat,
that God might, through his obedience and death, be just and justifier
and redeem sinners like us. God has chosen you that you should
know his will and that you should see, see the just one. What is it to see him? Preacher,
you're talking about visions now and dreams. Don't ever listen
to a preacher who puts any emphasis on dreams. Not anymore. The word of God is complete.
No, to see him is to see him in his word. That's right, I'm
telling you the truth. To see Christ is to see him in
his word, see him in the promises, see him in the pictures of the
Old Testament, see him in the patterns, see him incarnate in
human flesh, see him obedient as our representative, see him
on that cross, crucified, as our scapegoat, as our sin offering. as our sacrifice, see him risen
as our justifier, see him ascended to the right hand of God, see
him seated as our intercessor. That's what it is to see him.
It's not to see a vision or to have a dream. God has nothing
to say to you that he hasn't said through his Son, in his
word. Nothing can be added to the testimony
of the gospel. Nothing can be added to the words
of Jesus Christ. The book's closed. The book's
closed, it's complete, everything you need to know about God's
in here. Believe the record that God hath given concerning his
Son. The Son of God hath come and given us an understanding
that we may know him that is true, and that we're in him that
is true, even in his Son, Jesus Christ. That's a true God in
eternal life. There was a fellow in hell one
time. that asked Abraham to send somebody back to the earth and
tell him not to come to that awful place. And Abraham said,
well, they've got the word of God. They got the word of God. He said, no, they'll believe
if one rose from the dead. Now, wait a minute. Abraham said,
if they don't hear the word of God, they won't believe though
one rose from the dead. One did rise from the dead and
they didn't believe him. And nothing can be added to his
word, to his testimony, to his truth. God's not going to bring any
more messengers than the one he sent, and that's Christ. That's
the final messenger. And watch this next line, and
he said that you should see the just one, see who he is, and
hear the voice of God at his mouth. He that heareth me, Christ
said, heareth him that sent me. For Christ is that prophet who
reveals Almighty God. Have you heard him? Heard him
speak through his word. We've got to hear him who speaks
from heaven, and who speaks through his word. Don't go past the word
of God. It's sufficient. Faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And that word reveals
Christ.

Preaching the Gospel to a Sinner

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Preaching the Gospel to a Sinner

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