Salvation Made Simple — Peter’s Preaching in Solomon’s Portico
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning Church! It’s good to see each and every person who has made it out today and we also want to say good morning to all those who may be joining in with us online.
It’s a good day to be in the house of the Lord, Amen!
Today, we are going to be continuing on in our study of the Book of Acts and this morning we are going to be picking up in Verse number 11 of Chapter 3 if you’d like to be making your way there.
Last week, if you will remember, we looked at man who was lame from his mother’s womb and we seen how every single day someone would take this man and set him at one of the entrance gates to the temple and because of his condition he would sit there and ask people for money.
And we seen how a divine encounter changed this man’s life forever when he got more than he bargained for by asking Peter and John for some money.
“Silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I unto thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” was the reply that came unto him.
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear but what he needed to hear because immediately this man was cured of his lifelong ailment and got up and walked!
Not only did he walk but we seen how this man began to leap, and praise God!
He entered the temple with thanksgiving in heart and praise on his lips for what God had done for him.
And we’re going to pick up this morning with the second half of this message that I’ve entitled “Salvation Made Simple — Peter’s Preaching in Solomon’s Portico.”
The Bible says in the Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
And we’re going to see this verse play out before our very eyes this morning in scripture and my prayer is, that if there is someone here today who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, that by the end of this message, the Holy Spirit will take these verses right here and etch them upon the tables of your heart; I pray that conviction will come upon your conscience and that you will be gloriously saved before it’s everlasting and too late.
My prayer is that the mustard seed of faith that has been given to every human being will begin to sprout and that you will take that faith and put it into action and you will submit to God’s call to salvation.
With no further ado, if you have your Bible’s opened to Acts Chapter 3 Verse 11 would you say, Amen.
The Conveying of Conviction — (Vs. 11-15)
The Conveying of Conviction — (Vs. 11-15)
The first thing I want you to see this morning is…The Conveying of Conviction.
(Vs. 11-12a)
“So when Peter saw it”
Peter sees the crowd gathering and he uses this as a prime opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ!
As I began to think about this I began to wonder…how many times a day do we have prime opportunities of our own to share the good news of Jesus with an individual or a crowd and instead of taking the opportunity like Peter did here, we let it slip on by without ever saying a word.
Peter seen a door opened by God to share the good news of His Son Jesus and he took it!
(Vs. 12b-15)
“he responded to the people”
Vs. 12 — He begins with a question.
Vs. 13-15 — He follows it up with a statement of wrongdoing.
“Holy One” — referring to Jesus — “Holy” is the Greek word (hagios) meaning set apart or consecrated. It refers to something being sacred or blameless.
And then he says, he’s not just the Holy One but also the “Just” one.
“Just” means righteous and innocent.
Basically Peter was saying, “You took and innocent man and condemned him to death and took a man who deserved to be condemned to death and set him free!”
You took the Prince of life and killed Him!
The word “Prince” used here actually means...one who leads or originates.
The NLT actually says...
15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!
Peter strikes to the very core of the problem which is the sinful nature of mankind!
And I want to just take a moment right here and say…it’s easy to look at these men and say, “Oh ,what a dreadful thing these men did. These sinful men!”
But the reality is this morning Church, there’s not a single person sitting here who’s any better than these men!
We’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God!
There’s none righteous, no not one!
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all!
We are sinful creatures who needed a savior to save us from ourselves!
John said in...
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
And Peter makes sure to use this opportunity to drive this point home.
He Conveys Conviction upon the Crowd and then he continues by showing them The Formula of Faith.
The Formula of Faith — (Vs. 16)
The Formula of Faith — (Vs. 16)
There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in his name!
The Mighty Name of Jesus!
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Paul told the Corinthians in...
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
And then he told Timothy in...
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
To the Hebrews Paul said...
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
John the Baptist said in...
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
And John the disciple reiterated this same principle years later in...
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
This is the principle Peter was driving home with the crowd before him.
And the same principle I hope to drive home here today.
The only way dear friend you are getting to heaven is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The question I pose to you before moving on is simply this...
Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, as your personal Lord and Savior this morning?
If so, praise God for that!
But if you haven’t, dear friend, God has given you an opportunity here today to do just that. Won’t you make that move before it’s too late?
The Bible says in...
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Peter gives them the formula of faith which can only be in the one and only Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ and then he Requires of them Repentance.
Look on down with me at Verses 17-24.
The Requiring of Repentance — (Vs. 17-24)
The Requiring of Repentance — (Vs. 17-24)
Repent & Be Converted — Literally means to to return or to turn around.
It speaks of turning from your wicked ways and turning to God!
The Inspiring Invitation — (Vs. 25-26)
The Inspiring Invitation — (Vs. 25-26)