The Word That Saves

Now our text this morning will
be found in the 13th chapter of Acts, verse 26. Acts 13, 26. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham,
and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this
salvation sent to you." A preacher was engaged to preach
the gospel in a prison service. He drove to the prison, got out
of his car, and went to the office and told them his business. He
was their They called the office of the
superintendent and told them that the minister was there who
was to conduct the service that day, and the assistant superintendent
came down to get him. The assistant superintendent
introduced himself, he was a young man, introduced himself to the
minister, and then led him to the chapel where the prisoners
were assembled for the service. The minister of the gospel opened
his Bible and stood up before those men who were in prison
for their crimes, serving time, and brought them a message about
sin and salvation and God's grace. He preached with unusual liberty,
and on the way out of the prison he was walking along with the
assistant superintendent And the young man said to him, Reverend,
the men to whom you preached today must have been moved by
your message. I'm sure that it will influence
them for good. There was a silence, and then
the pastor looked at the young superintendent and said to him,
My dear friend, were you influenced? where you moved?" And the assistant superintendent
of that great prison said to the preacher, you weren't preaching
to me. You were preaching to your convicts. The old man said, son, you're
mistaken. I was preaching to you. I was preaching to you as much
as to any of those You need the Savior the same as they need
the Savior. And you're just as lost as they
are. And death and judgment and eternal
hell is moving up to meet you at your coming too. There is
but one message for all men. There is but one Savior for all
men. There is but one gospel for all
men, and there is but one salvation for all men. And I say to you this morning
the same thing that Paul said to these people of Israel, to
you, to you, is this word of salvation sent to you. to you
preacher, to you deacon and elder, to you long-time associate of
the gospel, to you is this word of salvation sent. It is a word
of pardon to the condemned sinner. It is a word of peace, the only
word of peace to the rebel. It is a word of life to Adam's
dead race. It is a word of liberty to the
captive. It is a word of healing to all
who are diseased. It is a word of cleansing for
the filthy. It is a word of direction for
the lost. It is a word of comfort to those
who are in sorrow. It is a word of hope to those
who feel themselves to be helpless. To you is this word of salvation
sent, to you. I'm going to ask three questions
and answer them, I trust, from God's word. The first question
is this, what is this word of salvation which is sent to you
and to me? What is it? To you is this word
of salvation sent. What is it, this
word of salvation? And then secondly, how do I know
that it's sent to me? And then the third and very important
question will be, in what position does this place me? Now the first
question, open your Bibles to Acts 13, and let's look at this
carefully. And just get down to real business
in answering these questions today. What is this word of salvation? Paul said, Men and brethren,
children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth
God, to you, to you is the word of this salvation sent. To you
is the word of this salvation sent. What is it? Well, first
of all, the word of this salvation is the testimony that Jesus Christ
is the promised Savior. That's what Paul's been dealing
with through this message that he preached here at Antioch.
Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, is the promised Messiah. He is
the promised Savior. He is the promised Christ. I
was visiting with a Jewish couple one time. They were not believers,
a business associate. And I asked him this question.
I said, do you all still observe the Passover? I knew they didn't
observe it like Israel did in the Old Testament. But I said,
do you still observe the Passover? Oh, yes, they said we do. I said,
well, let me ask you this question. Are you still looking for a Messiah? Are you still looking for a Savior? And he didn't know. He turned
to his wife and said, Are we? She said, oh yes, yes we are.
Yes, we're still looking for a Messiah, we're still looking
for a Savior. And then she said something that
I didn't know, and I haven't had a chance to prove it or look
into it. She said, we leave a vacant place
at the table for him, for the Messiah who is to come. Well,
I said, I don't mean to start an argument, but we believe he
has already come. We believe the Messiah is Jesus
Christ of Nazareth. We believe the Savior to whom
God would send to Israel is Jesus Christ. Now this is what Paul
is saying here. In verse 17 of Acts 13, Paul
says, the God of this people of Israel chose our fathers He
exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land
of Egypt, and with a high arm he brought them out. God chose
Israel, a special nation, unto himself. He chose them. And God
divided Canaan, verse 19. He brought them into Canaan.
He destroyed seven nations, or seven powers, and gave them that
land and divided it according to the twelve tribes of Israel,
and that's where they dwelt. And then he said, God gave them
judges to rule over them, verse 20, 450 years, through Samuel
the prophet. And then God, they wanted a king. They said, give us a king like
the other nations. So God gave them Saul, King Saul. And he ruled over them for about
40 years. And then verse 22, Paul said,
and then God raised up David, the son of Jesse. to be the king. And God gave this testimony.
He said, I found David, verse 22, the son of Jesse, a man after
mine own heart, which shall fulfill my will. Watch verse 23 now. Of this man's seed, of David's
seed, hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel
a Savior, Jesus Christ. And then he said in verse 24
and 25, John the Baptist identified him. John the Baptist said, this
is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. John
the Baptist said, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him.
Without him was not anything made that was made. The Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.
Verse 27, the religious rulers of Israel did not know him nor
recognize him, and they didn't even believe the voices of the
prophets which were read every Sabbath day in the synagogue.
And they fulfilled these very prophets in condemning Jesus
Christ to death. And they desired that Pilate,
that he should be slain, and Christ was crucified on a cross
But verse 30 says, but God raised him from the dead. God raised
him from the dead. This word of salvation which
is sent to you, first of all, is this, that Jesus Christ is
the Messiah. He's the fulfillment of every
Old Testament prophet. He's the fulfillment of every
Old Testament promise. He's the fulfillment of every
Old Testament type and sacrifice. This is the one for whom we look.
This is the Christ. That's what the Samaritan woman
said when she went down into her village and told the men,
come see a man that told me everything I ever did. Is not this the Christ? Is not this the Christ? That
was the question. Is he the Christ? And that question
is answered here by the Apostle Paul. He is the Christ. That
is this word of salvation. Now secondly, turn to verse 38. What is this word of salvation
which is sent to you? It's the testimony that Jesus
of Nazareth is the Christ. Secondly, it is the testimony
that through him, through Christ, through Jesus, is preached to
you. the forgiveness of sin." Look
at verse 38, "...be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren,
that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of all
sin." How can this man forgive sin? Only God can forgive sin,
but this man is God. I and my Father are one. He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father." God was in Christ, reconciling
the world under himself. He is God. Yes, only God can
forgive sin. One day our Lord said to a man
who was lying on the bed in front of him, Thy sins be forgiven
thee. And the people got all upset
and they said, Who is this man that claims the power to forgive
sin? Only God can forgive sin. That's
true. But this man is God. He's the
God-man. He's God incarnate. The Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. He made the world, and He
was in the world, and the world knew Him not. How can this man
forgive sin? Sin demands death. The wages
of sin is death. The soul that's in it, it shall
die. This man can forgive sin because he died. He took our
sins in his body on the tree. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was laid on him. By his stripes
we are healed." What is this word of salvation? Jesus of Nazareth
is the Christ. And through this man is preached
to you the good news of forgiveness of sins. What is this word of
salvation? Thirdly, quickly, verse 39, look
at it. And by him all that believe,
and by him all that believe, not all who work, all who earn
it, all who merit it, all who believe, are justified. The word justified is to be declared
totally without sin. Justified means more than pardon. It even means more than forgiving.
Justified means innocent of all charges, just as if I had never
seen. And by him all that believe are
justified from all things, from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses. It's the testimony What is this
word of salvation? It's the testimony that Jesus
Christ is able to justify us from all sin, past, present,
and future. The law cannot justify. The law
can reveal sin. The law can make sin to be the
hideous thing that it is. The law can make sin to be exceedingly
sinful. But the law cannot justify, the
law cannot even pardon, the law cannot take away guilt, but Christ
can. And this is the word of salvation,
the word of salvation which is sent to you is this, that Jesus
of Nazareth is the Christ. That's what Paul is preaching
here in this message to the people at Antioch. When he came to the
synagogue that Sabbath day, and the rulers of the synagogue stood
up and turned to Paul, the apostle, and said, Do you have anything
to say to these people? Paul came up, stood before them,
and declared three things. He declared, first of all, that
Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. He said, God chose our fathers,
God raised them up, God protected them, God provided for them,
God gave them a land, God gave them judges, God gave them a
king, God raised up David. And of this man David's seed,
God raised up the Messiah, the Christ, and this Christ is Jesus
of Nazareth, whom you crucify. You didn't recognize him, you
didn't know him, you didn't even believe the prophets which were
read every Sabbath day in the synagogue, and you fulfilled
what those prophets wrote concerning Christ by condemning him and
by crucifying him and by burying him, but God raised him from
the dead. He is the Christ. And the second thing Paul declared
unto these people is that through Christ there is forgiveness of
sin. And through Christ, we have the
only way of forgiveness. The law cannot save, the law
cannot pardon, the law cannot justify, but Christ can. And to believe on him is to receive
him and to trust him and to commit our souls to him. And that's
the way we receive this forgiveness. Approach my soul, the mercy seat
where Jesus answers prayer. there humbly fall before his
feet, for none can perish there. Thy promise, Lord, is my only
plea. With this I venture nigh. Thou callest burdened souls to
thee, and such, O Lord, am I. Bowed down beneath my load of
guilt, by Satan sorely pressed, By wars without and fears within,
I come to thee for rest. Be thou my shield, my hiding
place, there sheltered in thy side. I can my fierce accusers
face and tell them, Christ hath died. O wondrous love to bleed
and die, to hear, to bear the cross in shame, that guilty sinners
such as I might plead his gracious name. This is the word of salvation. All right, the second question
now. How do I know that it's sent to me? Paul faced these
people and said, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
How do I know? This is good news. We don't look
for a Messiah, He has come. Christ Jesus is the Messiah.
And He died that we might live. His blood was shed to cleanse
us from all our sin. And He can justify us, pardon
us, give us a clear, clean, white slate in the presence of God
Almighty. Present us without blame, faultless,
unreprovable. And I know this is my message.
Well, three reasons why I believe it's sent to you and to me. Number
one, our Lord, before he went back to glory, stood on that
mountain and spoke to his disciples. And he said this to his disciples,
Go ye into all the world and preach this gospel, this good
news, to every creature. to every creature. I'm one of
those every creatures. He said to the disciples, all
authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore
and teach all nations. I'm certainly in one of those
nations. The scripture says our Lord has
a people out of every kindred, every nation, every tribe, and
every tongue. And Paul said, in Christ there
is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither male nor female, there
is neither born nor free, but Christ is all. So this gospel
is to be preached to every creature. Are you a creature? Then the
gospel is preached to you. The second reason why I know
this gospel is sent to you and to me is this. It meets my needs. The gospel is for sinners. Christ,
the scripture said, came into the world to save sinners. I'm
a sinner. The gospel is to save the lost. Christ said, the Son of Man has
come to seek and to save the lost. I'm lost. The gospel is
for the guilty, and I'm guilty. The gospel is for those who cannot
save themselves. I can't. The gospel is for the
spiritually bankrupt. That's me. The gospel is for
those who have sinned. I have. A medicine which so fits
my disease is certainly meant for me and meant for you. And
then the third reason why I know this gospel is sent to you and
to me is this. Right now, we're listening to
it. this glorious gospel of redemption,
this gospel of substitution, this gospel of God's saving grace,
we are by God's providence right now listening to this gospel
message. God sent to you the preacher,
and God sent the preacher to you. God sent to you the preacher,
and God sent you to the preacher. This message is for you. I know
it is because God has crossed your path. When our Lord came
to the woman at the well, it was no accident. The Scripture
said he must needs go through Samaria. That was the Heavenly
Father's charted path. That was the Heavenly Father's
course for the Redeemer, to cross the path of this needy, guilty
sinner. Now, the third question. In what position does this place
you and me? Turn to Acts 13 again. Verse
40 and 41. Now, Paul stood before these
people on that Sabbath morning, and he declared, Jesus is the
Christ. By his death he hath redeemed
sinners. By the shedding of his blood
he put away all our transgressions. And he is able to justify us
from all things from which the law could not justify us. And
this word, this glorious good news is sent to you. God has
sent it to you by his providence and by his purpose. God has crossed
your path. God has confronted you with the
gospel. Now thirdly, in what position
does this place you? Verse 40. Beware therefore, lest
that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets. Beware therefore,
lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets.
What did the Prophet say? Behold ye despisers, and wander
and perish. For I work a work in your days,
that is a work of salvation, a work of redemption, a work
which you shall in no wise believe. though a man declare it unto
you." Let's start with the good news. That's the bad news. Let's
start with the good news. In what position does this gospel
place me? Here I am. I've listened to the
gospel. I've listened to the gospel of Christ. The issue is
not the Baptist Church. The issue is not Brother Mahan. The issue is not the doctrines
of sovereign grace. The issue is Jesus Christ. This
is what Paul declared, he is the Messiah, he is the Christ.
He is the one of whom Moses wrote, he is the one of whom the prophets
spake, he is the one that the types and the promises and the
prophecies have foretold, that's who he is. And he's come down
here and died on the cross and been buried, and God raised him
from the dead, and God has highly exalted him and given him a name
which is above every name. And I don't ask you this morning,
will you become a Baptist, I'm asking you, will you become a
believer in Christ? Be it known unto you, men and
brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness
of your sins. And by him all that believe are
justified from all things from which the law could not justify
them." This is the question, this is the issue. Jesus Christ,
will you receive him, will you trust him, will you believe him,
will you believe on him as your Lord and Savior? That's the issue. Now, you're in a position of
great favor. Turn to Matthew 13. This is a
great blessing, this is a great favor which God Almighty has
bestowed upon you. Prophets and kings have died
without hearing what you've heard today. It says in Matthew 13,
verse 16, now listen to this, "'Blessed are your eyes, for
they see, and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto
you, that many prophets and righteous are good have desired to see
those things which you have seen, and have not seen them. Many
prophets and righteous men have desired to hear those things
which you have heard, and have not heard them." Oh, this is
a position of great favor. When King David took over the
throne of Israel, Saul had been killed, Jonathan had been killed,
David said to his servant, Is there any of the household of
Saul still alive? And the servant said, Well, there's
one boy. He's a crippled boy. His name's Mephibosheth. He's lame on both his feet. He
can't walk. He's down in the house of Lodibar,
the house of no bread, no pasture. David said, Well, go and get
him. They went down and got this ragged, crippled son of, grandson
of Saul, and they brought him up to David. David's fine, beautiful
palace. They brought this boy in and
sat him down in front of David's throne. There he sat on the rug
in front of David's throne, crippled, I'm sure ragged, poor. David said, Mephibosheth, you're going to be as one of
the king's sons. I'm going to take you into my
household, and you'll sit at my table and eat with the king's
son, and you'll never leave my household. You'll be one of my
heirs." And Mephibosheth looked up at him, and this is what he
said, "'King David, who am I that you should show such mercy to
such a dead dog?' And David looked at him and said, Mephibosheth,
I do this for Jonathan's sake. Your father was my dearest friend,
and I'm not doing this for your sake. I'm doing this for your
father's sake. You're going to benefit by it.
You're going to partake of the blessings. You're the one that's
going to gain. but I'm doing it because of a
relationship which I had with Jonathan and because of a covenant
which I made with Jonathan before you were ever born. And as I
stand as a great sinner before God Almighty, I'm guilty, I'm
sinful, I'm unworthy, I'm lain through the fall, I'm ragged
and dirty, and I've been brought this morning into the presence
of the And the King of Glory says, I've given my son to die
for your sins. I've given my son to put away
your iniquities and your transgressions. I'm going to take you into my
household, into my home, and make you one of the King's sons.
To as many as received him, to them gave ye the privilege, the
right to become sons of God. And I've given you this word
of salvation, believe on Christ and be saved. And I say, Lord,
who am I? that you should show such mercy
to such a dead dog. And the Heavenly Father said,
I'm doing it for Jesus' sake. I love your Savior. I love my
son. I made with him an agreement,
a covenant before you were ever born that I would show mercy
to his household, to his family, to his brethren. And that's why
I'm doing it. And brethren, this places you
and I in a place of position of great favor. and a position
of great hope, great hope. God has in his grace purpose
to save a people. I can be among those people.
God Almighty gave his Son to redeem a people, and I can be
among those people. God Almighty sent his ministers
into the world to declare the gospel of his Son, and I've had
the privilege of hearing it. You are in the group of people
this morning to whom God has sent his gospel, and the invitation
is extended to all who are thirsty. God says, come. To all who are
weary, he says, come. To all who are sinful, he says,
come. And the only requirement is to
believe it. Is to believe it. That's what
our Master said to his disciples before he ascended to heaven.
He said in Mark 16, go ye into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. And now
last of all, this places me in a position of great favor, of
great hope, of great promise. but it also places me, if I refuse
it, in a position of grave danger. Read this verse again that I
read while ago, Acts 13, 40. Beware, therefore, lest that
come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets. Behold, ye
despisers and wanderers perish, for I work a work in your days,
a work which you shall in no wise believe. though a man declare
it unto you." It's been declared, do you believe it? And one other
verse, I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 2, verse 3. Now listen to this, Hebrews 2,
verse 3. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation? To you is this word, the word
of this salvation How shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord,
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? God also
bearing them witness with signs and wonders and different miracles
and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his will. How shall we escape? Our Father, we thank Thee for
Thy Word. the word of salvation. We thank
Thee that Christ has come. We no longer look for the coming
of Christ as Savior and Redeemer, for He has put away our sins
with the sacrifice of Himself. We look for His coming to reign.
We look for His victorious, triumphant entrance into this world some
day But Christ has come and he has died and put away all of
our sins and transgressions and justified us from all things
from which we could not be justified by the law of Moses. Thou hast
led us by thy Holy Spirit to trust him, to believe on him.
Now we pray for all who are here this morning, all who've heard
this word of salvation. We pray, O Lord, that they have
heard not just with these natural ears but with the heart They
have been able to see, not just words on paper, but they've seen
the beauty and glory and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant,
O Lord, that they should be given faith to believe, to trust, to
receive Him, courage to trust Him, to rest upon Christ and
Christ alone. Minister to us in this hour For
we ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior,
and for his glory. Amen.

The Word That Saves

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