Lesson by Pastor John Skaggs

Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

P. O. Box 1173

Claypool, Arizona 85532

520-425-8345

Date: o9-10-00

Sermon Number: 022, Text: Acts 13:13-41

Topics Addressed in this Lesson

(The Good News)

Paul Preaches The Gospel

"Salvation is worth working for. It is worth a man’s going round the world on his hands and knees, climbing its mountains, crossing its valleys, swimming its rivers, going through all manner of hardship in order to attain it. But we do not get it in that way. It is to him who believes." DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY (1837–1899)

To this statement Paul would have added his amen. Salvation is worth all effort and all earthly treasure but it cannot be obtained by work or price. Man must be saved if he is to escape to torments of hell but he will only be saved on God’s terms. Those terms are simple, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." In today’s lesson we will see the apostle Paul attempting to convince his fellow Jews that salvation is not by work or price but by faith in the man Christ Jesus.

"Salvation is a picture-word that expresses the idea of rescue from jeopardy and misery into a state of safety. The gospel says that the God who saved Israel from Egypt, Jonah from the fish’s belly, the psalmist from death, and the soldiers from drowning (Exodus 15:2; Jon. 2:9; Ps. 116:6; Acts 27:31), SAVES ALL WHO TRUST CHRIST FROM SIN AND SIN’S CONSEQUENCES! (J. I. Packer)

What are believing-sinners saved from? They are saved from the wrath of God, the dominion of sin, and the power of death. They are saved from being mastered by the world, the flesh, and the devil. That the unbeliever is under the wrath of God is seen in John 3:36 NASB. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

(Romans 1:18-19 NASB) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (the know the truth but continue in their sin) {19} because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them."

(Romans 3:9-11 NASB) "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; {10} as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; {11} THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD." Therefore, or, this is why, all men are deserving of, shall experience, and are presently under the wrath of God. If a person dies under the wrath of God eternal torment will be his reward. When one is saved they are saved from the wrath of God.

Further the believing sinner is saved from being mastered by the world, the flesh, and the devil. That unbelievers are mastered by the world is seen in the following texts. (John 8:23-24 NASB) "And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; YOU ARE OF THIS WORLD, I am not of this world. {24} "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."

What does Jesus mean when he says, "You are of this world?" We find a partial explanation in Ephesians 2:1-2 NASB. "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, {2} in which you formerly WALKED ACCORDING TO THE COURSE OF THIS WORLD, according to the prince of the power of the air, (the devil) of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience." To "walk according to the course of this world" is to be a son or daughter of disobedience like all who do not know Christ." It is to be worldly minded instead of heavenly minded. This is what it means to "be of and mastered by the world."

That we are mastered by the lusts of our own flesh is seen in Romans 8:7-8 NASB. ". . . because the mind set on the flesh (set on pleasing and satisfying the body) is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, FOR IT IS NOT EVEN ABLE TO DO SO; (The person who is of the world, the unbeliever, does not have the ability to subject himself to God. Rather, he is enslaved to his flesh, his passions, and lusts.) {8} and those who are in the flesh (slaves and servants of the flesh) cannot please God." When a person is saved he is saved from the wrath of God and from being dominated by his flesh. The Christian does not have to obey his lusts.

Finally we see that all who are without Jesus are slaves of the Devil. (1 John 5:19 NASB) "We know that we (believers in Christ) are of God, and the whole world (everyone else) lies in the POWER of the evil one."

Because of the fall mankind is destined to suffer the eternal wrath of the living God for sins committed. No one will escape, for all have sinned and are slaves of the world, the flesh, and the devil. The good news, the gospel, is this. Christ died for sinners according to the scriptures. He came into the world to save sinners from the wrath due them. Christ, the merciful God and Savior of all who come to Him by faith lived, was crucified, buried, raised from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of God FOR THE PRESENT AND PERPETUAL BENEFIT OF BELIEVING SINNERS. This is the good news, whether you are a thief, a murderer, or a so called, "ordinary sinner", Christ is your only hope of heaven. He alone can forgive your sins, wash you with His blood, and make you acceptable to His Holy Father. He alone can make the vilest sinner clean. He alone can change the leopard’s spots or the color of a man’s heart. Jesus is the Good News. Because of Him no sinner is beyond the grace of God. The Bible tells us that all who come to Him will be welcomed and saved to the uttermost. All who call upon Him will be heard and forgiven their many and horrible sins against the Holy God who made them. All the weary that come will find rest for their never dying souls. This is the good news. This is what Paul preaches to the Jews in the synagogue. Our text for today is found in Acts chapter thirteen, verse thirteen.

The Law describes what a man must be he can have a relationship with God. In short, he must perfect. Therefore, all men are condemned, for no man is or can be perfect. The prophets all spoke of the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of sinners. Without exception they predicted the coming of Jesus Christ the Lord. They even spoke specifically of His redemptive work on the cross. So, the Jews had been exposed to the gospel even before Paul came on the scene. However, they did not understand what they read. Neither did they understand what would happen when they ask Paul to speak.

" . . . the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, "Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it." {16} And Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: (The "God Fearers" were converted gentiles.) {17} "The God of this people Israel chose (a reference to national election) our fathers, and made the people great (in number) during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm (This phrase speaks of the exercise of God’s power in bringing the plagues and setting His people free from slavery.) He led them out from it. {18} "And for a period of about forty years HE PUT UP WITH THEM IN THE WILDERNESS. (Here is the long suffering of God toward sinners.) {19} "And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance-- all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. {20} "And after these things He gave them judges (to govern the nation) until Samuel the prophet. {21} "And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. {22} "And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.' ("Some may question the designation of David as a man after God’s heart. After all, he was guilty of cowardice (1 Sam. 21:10–22:1), adultery (2 Sam. 11:1–4), and murder (2 Sam. 12:9). A man after God’s heart, however, is not a perfect man. He is a man who sees his sin for what it is and repents of it. That David did (Pss. 32, 38, 51); divine chastening had a perfecting work. David may justly be termed a man after God’s heart because (unlike Saul) his greatest desire came to be the doing of God’s will. It was from his line that the Messiah came." MacArthur, John F., Acts: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press) 1996.) {23} "FROM THE OFFSPRING OF THIS MAN, ACCORDING TO PROMISE, GOD HAS BROUGHT TO ISRAEL A SAVIOR, JESUS, {24} after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. (With these words Paul declares that the promised Messiah had come, He was Jesus.) {25} "And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.' (John’s ministry was well known to Paul’s hearers. All in the audience must have known that John the Baptist had identified Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, John 1:29, 36.) {26} "Brethren, sons of Abraham's family, (by blood) and those among you who fear God, to us the word of this salvation is sent out. {27} "For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets WHICH ARE READ EVERY SABBATH, FULFILLED these (the words and predictions made by the prophets) by condemning Him. {28} "And though THEY FOUND NO GROUND FOR PUTTING HIM TO DEATH, they asked Pilate that He be executed. {29} "AND WHEN THEY HAD CARRIED OUT ALL THAT WAS WRITTEN CONCERNING HIM, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. {30} "BUT GOD raised Him from the dead."

Concerning "all that was written concerning Him" consider the following texts. Luke 18:31 "And He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which ARE WRITTEN THROUGH THE PROPHETS ABOUT THE SON OF MAN will be accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33 and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again."

The Old Testament is simply full of references to and prophecies about Jesus. It begins in Genesis. He was the Seed of the woman who was to and did bruise the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). He was the virgin-born Son whose name was "God with us" (Isa. 7:14). He was the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God of Isaiah 9:6. Micah 5:2 foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:1). The Messiah was to be a descendant of Abraham (Gen. 12:2–3), Jacob (Num. 24:17), and Jesse (Isa. 11:1), and Jesus was (Matt. 1:1; Gal. 3:16; Luke 3:32). He was to be a descendant of David (Jeremiah 23:5; 2 Sam. 7), and He was (Matt. 1:1). Psalm 110:4 predicted that the Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and Jesus was (Heb. 6:20). Centuries before He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, Zechariah 9:9 predicted that the Messiah would do just that. Psalm 41:9 predicted Judas’s betrayal, and Zechariah 11:12 the exact amount of money he would receive for doing it. The fulfillment of these prophecies and dozens more provide overwhelming proof that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed Israel’s prophesied and long-awaited Messiah. MacArthur, John F., Acts: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Press) 1996.

Even the horrible crime of the crucifixion fulfilled prophecy. Paul declares in verse twenty-nine that when they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross. Think of the prophecies fulfilled on the cross. The prophets said that the Messiah would be a reproach, one at whom the people would wag their heads (Ps. 109:25; cf. Matt. 27:39); that the crowds at the crucifixion site would stare at Him (Ps. 22:17; cf. Luke 23:35); and that His executioners would divide His clothing among themselves by lot (Ps. 22:18; cf. John 19:23–24). Psalm 69:21 predicted He would be given vinegar and gall for His thirst, Matthew 27:34 records the fulfillment of that prediction. Jesus’ cry from the cross "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46) was the fulfillment of Psalm 22:1, and His words "Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit" (Luke 23:46) were foretold in Psalm 31:5. His executioners did not break any of His bones (John 19:33), just as Psalm 34:20 predicted would happen. Zechariah 12:10 foretold the piercing of His side with a spear, this is recorded in John 19:34. The fact that the Old Testament predicted that the Messiah would be crucified is amazing since the Jews did not use that form of execution in Old Testament times. Yet Psalm 22 and Numbers 21 picture such a death (John 3:14).

Christ’s burial also fulfilled prophecy. Victims of crucifixion were often thrown into mass graves, yet after Jesus’ death, they laid Him in a tomb. His burial in this manner was a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9, which says, "His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death." Paul is working hard to show his Jewish audience the overwhelming evidence in support of Jesus being the promised Messiah.

In verse 30 Paul declares that God raised Jesus from the dead (cf. Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40). Of all the proofs that Jesus was the Messiah, this is the greatest. {29} "AND WHEN THEY HAD CARRIED OUT ALL THAT WAS WRITTEN CONCERNING HIM, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. {30} "BUT GOD raised Him from the dead."

As evidence for the resurrection, Paul reminds them that for many days Jesus appeared to the very men and women who were now spreading His gospel. Acts 13:31. "and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. {32} "And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, {33} that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'THOU ART MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN THEE.' {34} "And as for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no more to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.' {35} "Therefore He also says in another Psalm, 'THOU WILT NOT ALLOW THY HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.' (This prophecy could not have been given in reference to David.) {36} "For David, AFTER HE HAD SERVED THE PURPOSE OF GOD IN HIS OWN GENERATION, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers, and underwent decay; {37} but He whom God raised did not undergo decay." Of course he is speaking of Jesus, the Nazarene.

The Jewish people were aware that they and all other humans were sinners. But they did not know what to do about sin. Job ask for all men, "How can a man be in the right before God? …How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman" (Job 9:2; 25:4)? This was the question. The answer that Judaism offered was that one must be circumcised, keep the Sabbath, keep the laws of God, in order to be saved. This is of course something no man can do. All have fallen short of God’s requirement of perfection. The law is very effective in condemning men but it offers no power to restrain the sinful tendencies of man’s fallen nature. The law cannot change the inclination of a man’s heart, which is inclined toward sin from birth.

To these Jews, working hard to earn their salvation by keeping the law, Paul proclaims the most glorious, liberating, truth mankind will every hear. "Through Jesus, he says, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses." The atoning death of Jesus the Messiah fully satisfied the demands of God’s law. (Romans 8:1-4 NASB) "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. {3} For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, {4} in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Jesus was condemned and put to death thereby making forgiveness of sins available to everyone who believes in Him. That forgiveness is from "all things", it brings complete pardon for all sins. (Colossians 2:13-14 NASB) "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, {14} having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

Paul new that keeping the law freed no one from his sins. So he wrote, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law" (Rom. 3:28; cf. 1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 2:16; 3:11; Phil. 3:9). The forgiveness offered in Christ frees sinners from that which they could not be freed through the Law of Moses. It frees them from the guilt, the power, and finally from the presence of sin.

Paul closed his sermon with a warning against rejecting the salvation offered in Jesus Christ. (Acts 13:40-41 NASB) ""Take heed therefore, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: {41} 'BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH; FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS, A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU." This is a quote from Habakkuk 1:5, which words were spoken of God’s judgment coming upon Judah. God was going to use the wicked Chaldeans as His instrument to bring judgment on wicked Judah.

The end of those who scoff at the gospel message and reject Jesus as Savior and Lord is captured in a few lines spoken by Charles Spurgeon long ago. The title of the sermon was these words came from is, "A Message from God to His Church and People." Brother Spurgeon begins by quoting Matthew 7:13-14 NASB) "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. {14} "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."

He continues, "In my meditations I thought I saw a precipice, whose frowning steep overhung a sea of fire. Leading up to its brink I saw a road exceeding broad, a road which was crowded from side to side with a thronging multitude, who pressed and trod one upon another in their raging zeal to reach the summit of the crag. They went gaily on, merrily laughing, singing to sprightly music; many of them dancing, some of them pushing aside their fellows that they might sooner reach the end of what they knew so little. As I looked at that end which none of them could see, I saw a cataract of souls, falling in a ceaseless, headlong stream into depths unutterably profound. As the crowd came on rank by rank to the edge of this precipice, they fell, they leaped over, or were dashed from the treacherous crag, and descended amid cries and shrieks surpassing all imagination into a lake of fire, wherein they were submerged with an everlasting baptism, overwhelmed with destruction from the presence of the Lord.

I thought I heard their groans and moans their shrieks and sighs as they first caught sight of the terrible abyss and would have shrunk back from it, but were quite unable to. Even now I see before my eyes that terrific Niagara of souls descending by thousands every hour into

the gulf unknown. This is the broad way of which we had heard so often, wherein multitudes delight to walk. Sure and terrible is the doom of every one who treads therein. Among them perhaps your own children, perhaps your wives, your husbands, your sons, your daughters, your

parents, going in that motley crew, onward, swiftly onward, towards their dreadful end.

Christian men and women, hear the voice of God. My God will cast them away; their end will be destruction; they will be driven from the presence of the Lord. Let these thoughts, my brethren, burn in your souls until all coldness and indifference toward the lost are consumed. Men die, and their souls are lost. Men die and their bodies are laid in the grave, but their souls descend into hell." (End Quote)

Every person who does not commit themselves to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation is on the broad path that leads to destruction. If you were to interview the millions on this deadly pathway you would find a million opinions concerning the future state of the soul and how man might expect to find mercy from his Creator. Millions are confident that their way is the right way. But the Bible stands against all such opinion and states that there is one narrow way to God. That way is by faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. He alone can free you from bondage to the world, the flesh, and the devil and the wrath to come. He alone can wash your black soul and make it white as snow. It is Jesus and no other that can make you acceptable to God. Do not find yourself among those who scoff at this good news. For then you will join the millions who are even now cascading over the precipice into an eternal and horrible hell.

"Salvation is worth working for. It is worth a man’s going round the world on his hands and knees, climbing its mountains, crossing its valleys, swimming its rivers, going through all manner of hardship in order to attain it. But we do not get it in that way. It is to him who believes." DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY (1837–1899)