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Now, we have a full documentation
of Paul preaching the gospel
in this particular chapter in Acts.
If you look at Paul
preaching the gospel,
you can’t find many places
where Paul preached the gospel.
I’m not talking about
his teachings in the
book of Romans and
all the Epistles.
I’m talking about his preaching.
If I tell you today
that we have a recording,
an ancient recording,
if it’s even possible,
of Paul preaching the gospel,
would you want to hear it?
Here, we have a documentation.
The Holy Spirit saw fit to
document the preaching
word for word from
the beginning to the end.
There was another time
when Paul preached a sermon.
But it was not a complete
sermon because he was
stopped short by the people.
He was in Athens and
he passed by the city
and he saw the entire city
given to idolatry.
And the Bible says
he found one altar that
had an inscription:
“to the unknown God.”
He says:
“Guys, I saw there’s an altar
called ‘the unknown God’.”
“I want to tell you about this God.”
And he started preaching
about how this God in Him,
we live and move.
He’s a God that
takes care of people.
And He made us all
out of one common blood.
And then he started talking
about Jesus Christ.
When he came to the
part about Jesus Christ.
Before he could
preach the gospel—
he says: “By this Man,
God will judge the world.”
And the Bible says that
the people mocked him.
Some believed but
a lot of them mocked.
He was stopped short.
But here in Acts 13
in Antioch, Pisidia or
present day Turkey, he actually
preached the full gospel.
And word for word was recorded
for us all the way to the end
to the final part of the message.
Paul began by talking about
Israel’s history.
He was in
the synagogue talking about
the Jewish history, how Israel
was in captivity and
in slavery in Egypt.
And how God brought them out.
Then he talked about Joshua
and the allotment of the land.
Then Paul went on, again,
preaching about their history.
The time of the judges
and the first king,
who was Saul, king Saul.
Then he came to David.
The one appointed by God.
And from this man, David.
From his lineage will come the
Messiah, the Savior of the world.
When he came to that, people.
When he preached on
the resurrection, watch this.
This is the ending part
of Paul’s sermon.
And Paul says: “Therefore let it
be known to you, brethren,”
“that through this Man
is preached to you”
“the forgiveness of sins;”
“and by Him everyone who
believes is justified”
“from all things from which
you could not be justified”
“by the law of Moses.”
We have discovered
what Paul preached.
It is as good as finding a CD
of his sermon or an MP3
or a recording of his sermon.
We are hearing Paul
preach the gospel to an audience
who are not familiar with the gospel.
And we see what he deems
is important for them to hear.
Number 1.
He says:
“Through this Man,
Jesus Christ, is preached”
“to you the forgiveness of sins.”
It’s unqualified!
Unconditional!
It is a proclamation of
the offer of God,
the forgiveness of sins.
And it’s not a matter of
whether it’s contingent on
their repentance or their
behavior modification.
Whether it’s contingent
on how sorrowful they are,
how bad they feel.
It has nothing to do with them!
Notice what it says!
“Through this Man
is preached to you”
“the forgiveness of sins.”
Now some of us today
will go to Paul back then
and say: “Hey Paul,
you can’t just say this.”
“You got to tell them
they got to repent.”
“They got to be really
sorrowful in their heart.”
“And they must really
turn their ways.”
“They must turn a new leaf.
They must turn around to God.”
“You cannot just tell them
to you is preached the”
“forgiveness of sins.”
“How can you just offer them
the forgiveness of sins?”
But Paul knew something
that we don’t.
Paul knew God is not
looking at man anymore.
He’s looking at His Son.
It’s not about the leper
with all his sores.
It is about the wonderful Healer
in all His glory.
The focus is no longer
on the sinner.
The focus is on Jesus
and what He went through
for us at the cross in
His death, burial, and resurrection.
Now because of what
He has done,
God offers a free gift of the
forgiveness of sins to you.
“Through this Man is
preached to you,”
“the forgiveness of sins.”
It is only to be received.
Now, when you receive that,
that’s called repentance!
Because you are saying:
“I cannot save myself
from my sins.”
“I cannot save myself
from my judgment.”
“I have no other way but
to believe He is the One,”
“that this is the way.”
And you believe on
the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You believe and receive
the forgiveness of sins.
What does that mean?
You believe that you are
forgiven of all your sins
through Jesus Christ.
That’s the gospel Paul preached.
And notice there’s no
“until your next sin.”
He didn’t say:
“Through this Man is
preached to you,”
“the forgiveness of sins
until the next time you fail.”
No, it is unqualified!
It is unqualified!
It is unconditional!
And not only that,
he talks about justification,
which is the essence of the gospel.
Today, we hear a gospel
without the proclamation of
how in this gospel, is
the righteousness of God revealed.
The gospel is all about
justification by faith, people.
At one time in the 1800s
and the 1700s,
it came back strong.
God restored this truth and
people were liberated!
The Holy Spirit was able
to have free reign in
believers’ lives and
believers were transformed.
The Church became
a place of power.
Amen.
Where darkness stepped into
the Church, came out light.
Where sickness stepped
into the Church, came out healed.
Miracles were happening.
Friend, we have lost the gospel.
We need to rediscover
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It’s about justification by faith.
Here, after the forgiveness of sins,
it says: “and by Him,
everyone who believes”
“is justified from all things
from which you could not”
“be justified by the law of Moses.”
Do you see that?
And the word “justified”
here is “dikao”, which is the word
for “declared righteous.”
In fact, the Young’s Literal
Translation (YLT) brings it out.
Young’s says here:
“and from all things from which
ye were not able in the law of”
“Moses to be declared righteous,
in this one (in Christ),”
“everyone who is believing
is declared righteous.”
Oh, it’s so good!
Let me read that again:
“and from all things from which
ye were not able in the law of”
“Moses to be declared righteous,
in this one (in Christ),”
“everyone who is believing
is declared righteous.”
Friend, when Paul preached
the gospel to sinners,
He just preached
the unqualified gospel.
The unconditional gospel.
He didn’t look at them
that they must respond
in an appropriate way before
they can receive the gospel
He proclaimed for
people to believe.
Now, not everyone believed.
We’ll see it in a while’s time.
Not everyone believed
but many believed.
This is the gospel that
we have lost.
A gospel that talks about how
you have been declared righteous.
And it’s for you to believe that!
And when you believe right,
you will live right.
Don’t worry about that.
That will be the
fruit of the Spirit in your life.
But you cannot tell sinners
to clean themselves before
they come to Jesus.
You got to preach that
“through this Man is
preached to you”
“the forgiveness of sins.”
“And by Him, all who believe
are declared righteous”
“from which you cannot
be justified or declared righteous”
“by the law of Moses.”
Praise the Lord!
We are rediscovering the
gospel of grace that Paul preached.
Now let’s look at the reaction.
Paul knew that
among the people
in the synagogue,
there are many of them
who are more law conscious.
“No, you’ve got to change.
You’ve got to do this.”
And they will reject the gospel.
Paul knew that!
Paul knew that.
In fact, some of them
would go to Paul and say:
“Hey, Paul.
You cannot just say”
“and through this Man,
everyone who believes.”
“Just believe?”
“This is easy believism.
This is cheap grace.”
They’ll probably say that
if they are law conscious.
Would you correct Paul?
Would you tell Paul:
“It would be good for you to
qualify your statements a little bit.”
“Paul, I think you are making it
too unqualified, too unconditional.”
“Free offer to all?
Just to believe on?”
“That’s all they need to do?
I think this is easy believism, Paul.”
“I think this is cheap grace.
This is not grace.”
“This is hyper grace.”
Would you say that to Paul?
Look at what Paul preached.
And Paul knew.
Paul knew there would be opposers.
And here’s what Paul said.
“Beware therefore, lest what
has been spoken in the prophets”
“come upon you:”
“Behold, you despisers,
Marvel and perish!”
He is quoting from Habakkuk.
“For I work a work in your days,
a work which you will”
“by no means believe, Though
one were to declare it to you.”
God is saying:
“In the last days, I’ll do a work,”
“a work that when you hear it,
you will not believe.”
It’s too marvelous.
“Grace is too good.”
“God cannot be that good.”
“It can’t be that free.
It cannot be that unqualified.”
And Paul was saying:
“You people, I can see
fulfilled in you”
“what Habakkuk prophesied.
When God would release”
“the gospel of grace,
this will be your reaction.”
He calls them: “You despisers,
Marvel and perish.”
“So when the Jews
went out of the synagogue,”
“the Gentiles begged that
these words might be”
“preached to them
the next Sabbath.”
Who were the ones
that responded?
Those who did not know
about the law.
The Gentiles.
The Gentiles were there!
They were there at the synagogue.
Usually, they would be
sitting at the side,
not participating at all.
They were always looked upon
as people who had
no knowledge about the law.
But they were the ones
who were the first to respond.
They had no consciousness
of the law.
“Now, when the congregation
had broken up,”
“many of the Jews
and devout proselytes,”—
these are the Gentiles
who believed.
“They followed Paul and Barnabas,
who, speaking to them,”
“persuaded them to continue”
In what?
“…in the grace of God.”
“continue in the grace of God.”
Don’t start from faith
and then go to works.
No, in this gospel,
the righteousness of God
is revealed from faith to faith.
Not from faith to works.
If you maintain that faith,
that you are declared
righteous before God
through Christ, you will
always produce—
not dead works—
but good works in your life.
Amen.
Praise the name of Jesus.