Man: Our Depravity and Sin

Acts 2:11–23 NASB95

11 … we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.” 14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; 18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy. 19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. 21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

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Intro

Maybe you’ve heard this question before, “If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound?” It seems like a funny question, it almost sounds like the beginning to a bad joke, but it’s actually an old philosophical question. Put another way you might ask, does perception determine reality? It may seem like a pointless question, who cares about the tree in the forest no one sees or hears, but there’s a very similar argument going around in the world about sin. If no one sees my sin is it still wrong? If no one is hurt by it and no is offended can it really be sin? Both are a relativistic way of thinking that ignores the objective reality. The world would like to think that what is true is limited to what we can see and hear. The world would like to think that what is right is limited to what we reason to be right, but both are gravely mistaken.

Truth is not limited by what we can perceive. No human-being witnessed creation being spoken into existence, but it is no less true. God has revealed it to us in His Word. If anyone asks, “Yes, a tree does a make a sound should it fall in the woods.” The world doesn’t revolve around us. We don’t need to be present for it to be true.

Similarly sin is not limited to witnesses, degrees of harm, or our own reasoning. In spite of what the world may think about it, sin is no less sin. God has revealed Himself to us in creation and in His Word such that we know what it is to fall short of the glory of God.

That really is the important point we get to today in the text. On the heels of the disciples proclaiming the mighty deeds of God - Their glorious God worthy of glory and worship - the crowd responds in questioning and mockery. Right from the beginning the sin of mankind is made evident in the display of God’s glory, but Peter comes to drive home the point. He’s come to show these people not just their sin, but their sin against God. Sin is never in isolation. Sin is like darkness, it’s always defined by the absence of light. In order for these people to really understand the sin and darkness their in they need to be shone the righteous light of God. It is God who will judge in the end. It’s God who sets the standard in His own holy character, and in the end it is God who these people reject in their sin.

If you were here last week, we recognized just how personal this message was that was coming from the disciples. The Holy Spirit is working through the disciples to speak in the language of each and every person in that gathering that day. There was no question that God wanted His glory proclaimed personally to everyone who was listening that day. You’ll see this personal tone extends through Peter’s address. Peter wants everyone to know, “You have fallen short of His glory, and you have nailed Jesus to the cross.

Acts 2:23 NASB95

23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

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Sin is personal because sin is against God - Sin is the active rejection of the person Jesus Christ. This morning we take time to emphasize the importance of leading those who hear our witness to an understanding of their own sin, but it’s important they realize they haven’t fallen short of our glory; They haven’t fallen short of our standard. They’ve fallen short of the glory of God. Our job is the same as Peter’s. In our witness we lead them to the cross of Christ, not just so that they would see their sin, but they would ultimately see the one who bears our sin. The one that we sin against is the one who saves and redeems that is Jesus Christ.

In sharing our faith we must guide the sinner to the cross of Christ for it is Christ who they have rejected and Christ who can redeem them from coming judgement.

Sinful Man Bears Bad Fruit

Sinful Man Warned of Coming Judgement

Sinful Man Rejects the Righteous Savior

Sinful Man Bears Bad Fruit

This morning we pick up where we left off last week: Verses 12 and 13 show us the response of some of those in the crowd to this proclamation of the disciples. If you weren’t here last week, the disciples have just been openly granted the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in order to proclaim the mighty deeds of God. It’s a proclamation that invites others to worship the one true God who is worthy of their worship!

It’s before this proclamation of God’s glory that sin becomes all the more visible.

It’s easy for a mess to be hidden in the dark, but when the light turns on there’s no hiding it any more. When the presence of God walks into the garden after Adam and Eve have sinned they know they will be exposed and so they try to hide from God. When the presence of God’s glory is put on display for all to see in wind, fire, tongues, and the proclamation of God’s might deeds how does the sinful man respond? Many simply don’t know what this means yet. They ask the appropriate question, “What does this mean?” And yet others put their heart on display, they resort to mockery. “They are full of sweet wine.”

Generally speaking when sinful men are confronted by the glory of God they respond in 1 of 3 ways. (1) They run like Adam and Eve and try to hide. That is they pretend God doesn’t exist and define sin by their own terms. (2) They try to ascend to God. They appeal to their own works or means to try to bridge the gap. Or (3) which we see here, They try to bring God and His glory down. They ridicule and make a mockery of what is plainly true, right, and evident.

In this case they attribute the supernatural power of God to drunkenness. “There’s nothing for me to take seriously here, they’re all just crazy drunks.” It conveniently puts the mighty deeds of God into a plain little box they don’t need to deal with at all.

The fruit that’s clearly on display here is more than just a matter of understanding. “What does this mean? The fruit that these people display is a matter of the heart, “I don’t want to acknowledge the glory of God because of my sin.”

I hope this might set some expectations for us. If people are going to respond to the most magnificent display of God’s glory before them in this way, there’s a good chance they’re going to respond to us in the same fashion. Let’s not be surprised when people confronted by the glory of God which we proclaim try to avoid the matter. Let’s be attentive to the fruit which they display.

They may try to hide and simply don’t want to talk about it any more. They respond like Adam and Eve and close the door in your face.

They may try to defend themselves and point to the righteousness of their own position and raise themselves up. “Look what I’ve done..”

They may very well respond in mockery. “Who do you think you are so self-righteous? Who are you to judge?”

It’s all the fruit of the same heart. The heart which is offended by the glory of God does whatever it can in it’s own power to preserve itself. It’s here where we need to be careful as to how we respond. What do we do with mockery? What do we do when people avoid us? What do we do when people start to justify themselves and compare themselves to other people maybe even us?

If we’re not careful we can respond by merely addressing the fruit rather than addressing the heart of the matter.

Let’s see how Peter responds. He doesn’t avoid their mockery, but he makes it very clear that their mockery isn’t actually against any man it’s against God.

Acts 2:14–18 NASB95

14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; 18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy.

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Peter goes all the way back to Joel to say, God has been planning this very thing, this very harvest, for a long time. This is the very work of the Spirit of God you make mockery of. If we take a closer look, I believe Peter is actually using their own words against them to make the point. It’s subtle, but almost too coincidental to overlook.

If you’d like to you can turn back to Joel 2.

In the context of chapter 2 where this quoted verse appears, God is declaring the coming of a great harvest, much like we talked about last week. Pentecost is the celebration of the first fruits before the whole of the harvest is coming in. Notice the words used here. See if you can hear the words of mockery these men used?

Joel 2:18–19 NASB95

18 Then the Lord will be zealous for His land And will have pity on His people. 19 The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

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Again just a little farther down.

Joel 2:23–24 NASB95

23 So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the Lord your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. 24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.

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The mockery of these men assume the disciples are drunk, they’re full of sweet wine or new wine, but then Peter steps us and calls back to Joel which is declaring the coming of a great harvest that the Lord will provide full of grain, new wine, and oil. In a rather ironic way Joel agrees with the mockery of these men. Yes, full of sweet wine, but not in drunkenness in the way that you think. Full of the fruit that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Joel joins these two realities, (the fruitfulness of God’s people and the presence of the Spirit) He joins them together right before this verse which Peter quotes.

Joel 2:26–27 NASB95

26 “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. 27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.

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God has made clear to all the disciples and to all who are watching in this crowd, God is in the midst of His people. He’s come to dwell in them - in us. There’s fruit to behold in the mighty deeds of God proclaimed among His people. The point here is the contrast. Both Joel and Acts 2 lay out an extraordinary contrast between two kinds of people. That’s Peter’s point here. He’s making the same point Joel has made. “These disciples have become the dwelling place of God. This is fruitfulness, this is the great harvest we’ve all been waiting for! … Will you turn from your sin and fruitlessness and join in the harvest as Joel called you to so many years ago? Will you return to the LORD your God for salvation?

When we go beyond the fruit we can get to the heart of the matter.

The fruit that we bear is only possible by the gracious work of God in us to change us from the heart. That’s what Peter appeals to. Look at the mighty work of God in His people!

By contrast: The fruit that the world bears is evidence that their hearts need to be changed and the gracious work of God is the only thing that can do that.

When we realize there’s not merely a fruit problem, but there’s a root problem, a problem with the heart that God needs to address we’re free to be instruments. Faithful with the task that God has given us and trusting life and growth and fruitfulness to come from Him. After all that’s where our life, our growth, and our fruitfulness has come from.

The next time someone closes the door in our face for being a Christ-like witness let’s not take it personally. They haven’t just rejected us for doing anything wrong (assuming we haven’t been jerks about it) they’ve rejected the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. We go as His ambassadors.

The next time someone tries to justify themselves by comparing themselves to others, let’s remember we’re not the standard. We don’t need to be perfect to call people to repentance. We too have fallen short and it’s our job to show people who they are before God not before anyone else.

When people mock us and try to tear us down saying, “who are you to judge?” let’s remember we’re not the judges in the room. We’re just the messengers of the one who will come to judge the living and the dead.

That’s the very message of Peter here as he continues here. He doesn’t appeal to Himself, or the disciples to call them from their sin, He points them to God’s coming judgement.

Sinful Man Warned of Coming Judgement

Let’s pick up there in verse 19 to finish this quote from Joel.

Acts 2:19–21 NASB95

19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. 21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

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Throughout the Old Testament we see this “Day of the Lord” coming up again and again, but it’s especially highlighted in the book of Joel. It’s this day of cataclysmic destruction in which the earth and the sky display signs of God’s wrath. Now when we think of the Day of the Lord it’s likely we tend to think of a future and final day of judgement, that day when Christ will return and judge the living and the dead. That’s a proper way of thinking of it, but as it’s used throughout Scripture “The Day of the Lord” can be understood more generally as a day when God will bring judgement. It’s sometimes used to describe a historical day of judgement.

This is important for us to recognize, else we can miss an important part of what Peter is saying here. In referencing Joel, he’s not only warning them of a final judgement he’s pointing them to the judgement which Christ endured. He’s going to make that clear in a moment, but first let’s get a grip on the warning.

From the very first chapter of Joel, this warning is going out to Israel of coming judgement. Destruction is near and their is no fruit to be found in the land.

Joel 1:15–17 NASB95

15 Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty. 16 Has not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of our God? 17 The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, The barns are torn down, For the grain is dried up.

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Fruitlessness is the evidence around them that the judgement is coming. The Day of the Lord is near.

Again Joel comes back to that warning.

Joel 2:1 NASB95

1 Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming; Surely it is near,

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When Peter addresses the Day of the Lord in the context of Joel the audience isn’t all of creation at the end of days. It’s Israel. Peter’s audience is mostly Jews coming from far and wide to celebrate Pentecost. For those who know the book of Joel, this warning is very personal. This message is for you in your language. This warning is for you who gather in Jerusalem as the trumpet is sounded in Zion. In a certain way Peter is sounding that trumpet in his sermon!

I believe it’s important that we make this point personal as well when come to share our faith.

We’ve spoken of our great and glorious God. It is He who is deserving of our worship.

And now we must in some way speak of the great glorious day of the LORD. It’s He who will judge on that final day.

Peter is not the judge here. He’s just the instrument. He’s the trumpet if you will.

For us we might look for opportunities to be that trumpet graciously showing people their place before God.

To those who may try to run from God saying, “You know God isn’t really for me.” We might respond plainly with, “Well you may come to that conclusion, but the truth is we were all made for God. We will answer to Him in the end whether we acknowledge Him today or not.”

To those who may try to justify themselves “What do you think God would say about you? Would He find you worthy of His house?”

To those who may try to make God small in mockery “Have you considered the good which God has done, and if you reject Him and the good He can do for you there is no other way to be saved?”

Now for most of us it’s unlikely we get to this point after a couple sentences like Peter has. It may take months. It may take years, but however long it takes before we offer this great invitation of Peter’s “Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.” They need to know what they need to be saved from. They need to know that the justice of God will be satisfied one day. The Great Day of the Lord will come and we have one of two choices. That’s it. Two choices. The judgement can fall on our own heads or it can fall on Jesus Christ. Until people recognize the price that needs to be paid - the guilt that they bear in their own hearts that deserves the just wrath of God - until they understand that they will never understand why Jesus had to come. Jesus’ death is pointless. His death becomes just like every other self-sacrificing hero known to man. He believed in what He stood for and was willing to die for it. The death of Christ was more than an honorable and worthy example, He was the sacrificial lamb. He was the substitute who endured the judgement of the great and glorious day of the Lord for those called upon His name in faith.

If Jesus is to be more than a worthy example - a noble and sacrificial leader - Which He is! - we must be there to show people where they stand before God. They must know God’s righteous judgement which will come upon all sin.

There is no hiding from it.

There is no overcoming it on our own.

There is no way for God to simply overlook it.

...

Now as much as it might take time for us to get to this point, let’s not leave too much time between this trumpet call and the call to look to Christ.

You can see how Peter uses Joel to direct their eyes from the coming day of the Lord to their Savior in a moment.

Those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, but He makes sure they understand what they’ve done with respect to Christ first.

Sinful Man Rejects the Righteous Savior

Acts 2:22–23 NASB95

22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

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At first this might seem unrelated, we’re moving on from the day of the Lord and now we’re talking about Jesus’ death, but if we look at the language this is the culmination of everything he’s been saying up to this point. You can see the parallel between God’s work through the disciples and God’s work through Jesus. God has just done a miraculous work by the power of the Spirit through the disciples and people there made a mockery of them. Sound familiar?

Peter removes the disciples from the picture entirely because at the end of the day it’s not about them. God worked numerous miracles through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit attesting to His divine authority.

He healed the sick.

He cast out demons.

He fed the 5000.

He raised the dead.

And how was He received? He was mocked, He was rejected, He was beaten, and He was crucified by the people. Peter shows them their sinful heart before the disciples and leads them all the way back to the cross. He shows them the fruit of their unbelief in the most personal of terms.

Acts 2:23 NASB95

23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

——

Because of their unbelief they refused to acknowledge the mighty deeds of God performed right before their very eyes. They refused to give glory and honor to the Son of God who was deserving of their worship, and because they found the glory of God revealed to them to be offensive they tried to remove God from the picture altogether.

Here’s where we see what’s really going on in the heart.

So far we recognize sin is more than just the fruit on the outside.

Sin needs to be addressed as sin before God who will judge,

But here we see the nature of sin: It rejects the revelation of God Himself. The unbelief that plagues every human being under the curse of sin works to actively reject the display of the glory of God even in the humility and graciousness of Jesus Christ.

If we look at Romans 1, Paul makes this really plain for us.

He frames sin within the context of God’s just wrath just like Peter does here.

Romans 1:18–19 NASB95

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

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Peter’s making this very argument to them but he’s not appealing to the evidence of God’s character in creation he’s appealing to the evidence of God’s character in God Himself displayed in the glorious works of Jesus Christ. Even that they attempted to suppress to the degree that they killed the Son of God.

Just to make the point all the more clear, Romans goes on to describe all the effects we’ve already seen.

Romans 1:21 NASB95

21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

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It’s from there in that unbelieving rejection of the person and glory of God that the heart is darkened and from that darkness comes all the bad fruit we’ve already spoken of.

Romans 1:28–31 NASB95

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;

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Can you see how Romans provides us the anatomy of sin from the inside out? It starts with unbelief in the heart giving way to the darkness of the heart to all the fruit on the outside? I take the time there because Peter’s gospel witness addresses every level sin from the outside in as we must. We begin with what’s plain before our eyes, the fruit of sin. We need to go deeper to the heart and one’s ultimate standing before God, but we must make that final step that Peter does.

In unbelief they’ve rejected God.

In response to the testimony of creation which declares the glory of God, they’ve denied the Creator God.

In response to the testimony of these disciples who’ve declared the mighty deeds of God, they’ve mocked the Spirit of God.

In response to the testimony of the Son of God who declared the good news and displayed before great and mighty deeds, they cried for the crucifixion of the Son of God

As Peter says, “You nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”

There’s no questioning whether or not they were involved. Peter puts them right at the scene as though they were the ones holding the hammer.

Talk about a personal accusation.

There are many who think they can remain neutral toward the revelation of God. Peter doesn’t exactly leave room for neutral ground, and neither should we.

There is acceptance of the truth in faith or the rejection of the truth in unbelief.

There is the acceptance of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ or the rejection of the mercy and grace of God revealed to us in Jesus.

That scene where Jesus’ own people cry out for his crucifixion is not just a picture of a lost and unbelieving Israel. It’s a picture of unbelieving humanity apart from Christ: Lost and making mockery of the love and grace of God toward us. There is no neutrality there.

It’s a weighty truth to share with those who we may be close to. It’s not an easy task to lead people to an understanding of their own unbelief and rejection of God, but it’s an essential facet of our witness.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a doctor and have to bring difficult diagnoses to people every day, but I think for the doctors and the patients among us, we can all agree it would be foolish to conceal a diagnosis as hard as it may be to bring it light. Treatment isn’t going to be fruitful - Recovery is going to be out of reach until the disease is addressed directly. Ignoring a diagnosis to make someone feel better is malpractice in most cases. Furthermore, a doctor who simply addresses symptoms while actively ignoring the heart of the issue isn’t helping the patient toward recovery.

In some sense, when we share our faith with our coworkers, our family, our neighbors, and friends we work as doctors carrying a difficult diagnosis. It’s not easy to put into words, but if we have a real love for that person. If we want them to know life eternal and make that full recovery from the curse of sin by the power of Jesus Christ, they need to know that they’re sin comes from a heart that rejects God. They need to know that sin isn’t a seasonal cold that passes with time, it’s the symptoms of a deeper disease of unbelief.

As we go and share our faith, let’s begin with prayer. Let’s just be honest. That kind of proclamation isn’t easy. We need the presence and power of God to declare such a message with boldness and love.

Let’s be a church that prays earnestly for the lost and just as earnestly for the boldness to bring that difficult diagnosis in love.

Let’s be a church that prays together to that end.

Boldness rarely comes in isolation. Sometimes boldness comes from those willing to spur us on to love and good deeds. The love that shows the unbeliever their unbelief and their rejection of the grace of God. The good deeds that love people enough to show them there is no neutral ground before God.

Let’s labor together for the salvation of the unbelieving.

In the end addressing sin is only a part of the picture of course. Our hope is for God to accomplish that work of salvation. The doctor’s work isn’t done even when he’s made the right diagnosis.

Let’s see the first glimpse of the remedy in Peter’s words before we close.

When we lead people to Christ so that they may see their sin before God, in that same moment they see the sovereign work of God to save.

Amidst the great rejection of Israel God was accomplishing salvation.

Acts 2:22–23 NASB95

this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God....

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There’s good news for Israel! There’s good news for these men and women who rejected the Savior of the World. There’s good news for our friends, family and coworkers who’ve come to see their unbelief.

The sovereign grace of God works through our very rejection of the Savior of the world in order to redeem us to Himself. In showing us the depths of our depravity he empties us of all claims to righteousness that we might receive through faith what we could never earn. Righteousness by grace through faith.

In exposing unbelief we make the way for the faith that grants the righteousness of Christ.

In the end we haven’t set out to crush people with their sin. We’ve set out to show them the depths of their need for Christ who has graciously offered Himself for sinners that we might be redeemed.

For such a great and glorious salvation, let’s not shy away from showing people the depths of their need.

In order that they might gain Christ as Savior and Lord, let’s not fall short of showing people their sin against the Lord of all.

Let’s Pray.

Jon and Lisa Caupp -

Miami Valley Church for the Deaf and Hearing -

Pastor Sollman as pastor.