WEBVTT 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:14.779 In Acts chapter 2, we're going to start reading 00:00:14.779 --> 00:00:21.640 in verse 22, and we'll read through verse 36. 00:00:23.019 --> 00:00:28.760 Starting in verse 22 of Acts chapter 2. Men of 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:34.679 Israel, listen to these words. Jesus the Nazarene, 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:40.320 a man. attested to you by God with miracles and 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:43.840 wonders and signs which God performed through 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:48.079 him in your midst, just as you yourselves know. 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:53.340 This man, delivered over by the predetermined 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:59.039 plan and for knowledge of God, you nailed to 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:02.539 a cross by the hands of godless men and put him 00:01:02.539 --> 00:01:07.659 to death. But God raised him up again, putting 00:01:07.659 --> 00:01:10.939 an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible 00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:16.659 for him to be held in its power. For him to be 00:01:16.659 --> 00:01:20.829 held in its power. For David says of him, I saw 00:01:20.829 --> 00:01:24.409 the Lord always in my presence, for he is at 00:01:24.409 --> 00:01:27.870 my right hand so that I will not be shaken. Therefore 00:01:27.870 --> 00:01:31.790 my heart was glad and my tongue exulted. Moreover, 00:01:31.930 --> 00:01:36.969 my flesh also will live in hope, because you 00:01:36.969 --> 00:01:42.189 will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow 00:01:42.189 --> 00:01:46.140 your Holy One to undergo decay. You have made 00:01:46.140 --> 00:01:49.459 known to me the ways of life. You will make me 00:01:49.459 --> 00:01:53.459 full of gladness with your presence. Brethren, 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.319 I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:02.040 David that he both died and was buried, and his 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:06.599 tomb is with us to this day. And so, because 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:10.240 he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:13.509 to him with an oath, to seat one of his descendants 00:02:13.509 --> 00:02:18.629 on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the 00:02:18.629 --> 00:02:22.169 resurrection of Christ, that he was neither abandoned 00:02:22.169 --> 00:02:26.789 to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay. This 00:02:26.789 --> 00:02:29.889 Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all 00:02:29.889 --> 00:02:35.210 witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to 00:02:35.210 --> 00:02:38.050 the right hand of God, and having received from 00:02:38.050 --> 00:02:41.090 the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He 00:02:41.090 --> 00:02:44.610 has poured forth this which you both see and 00:02:44.610 --> 00:02:48.030 hear. For it was not David who ascended into 00:02:48.030 --> 00:02:51.750 heaven, but he himself says, The Lord said to 00:02:51.750 --> 00:02:55.330 my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your 00:02:55.330 --> 00:02:59.169 enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore, 00:02:59.289 --> 00:03:04.169 let all the house of Israel know for certain 00:03:04.169 --> 00:03:08.930 that God has made him both Lord and Christ. This 00:03:08.930 --> 00:03:14.819 Jesus, whom you crucified. Let's pray. Father, 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:18.300 I come before you this morning, Lord, I ask and 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:21.680 I pray for your help in proclaiming the gospel 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:26.699 of your blessed Son, your glorious gospel. Father, 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:29.979 I ask and I pray that the hearts and the minds 00:03:29.979 --> 00:03:34.180 of the people present would be receptive and 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:40.159 welcoming of the truths of your gospel. of the 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:44.219 person of the Lord Jesus. Father, I ask and I 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:46.780 pray that you would be honored and that you would 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:49.680 be glorified by all that is said and done and 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:54.120 thought and considered this day at this time. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:56.939 I pray this in Christ's precious name. Amen. 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:02.860 You may be seated. So if you will remember the 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:08.400 context of what's taking place here in... Peter's 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:14.919 sermon. Last week, we looked at the message and 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:18.519 the means of that message. So we looked at the 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:22.379 act of preaching and we looked at the message 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:27.120 which Peter declared to the nation of Israel 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:30.300 and to the nations that were present. And we 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:35.639 looked at verses 14 through 21 last week. And 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:38.839 if you'll remember, As we looked at that last 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:41.420 week, we talked about how the coming of the Spirit 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:45.420 and living on this side of the cross, we're in 00:04:45.420 --> 00:04:48.720 a new era. We're really, we're in the gospel 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:52.620 age, the age when the gospel is proclaimed, when 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:55.060 the mission of God is going forth, and where 00:04:55.060 --> 00:04:58.240 people are saved by the power of the gospel. 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:00.699 So we're living in that age, but that age will 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:06.540 come to an end. So today, I want to talk... really 00:05:06.540 --> 00:05:11.819 about what is the gospel of this age? What is 00:05:11.819 --> 00:05:14.740 the gospel which is to be proclaimed and to go 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:18.860 forth in this age? We know that in Acts chapter 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:23.519 1 that the primary role of the apostles was to 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:27.959 proclaim Christ, to be witnesses of Christ. And 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:31.600 here we see the fulfillment of that taking place. 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:37.240 So what is... I know it's a basic question, but 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:39.779 what is the gospel? We hear that term all the 00:05:39.779 --> 00:05:43.439 time, don't we? We hear the word gospel center. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:47.860 We hear gospel preaching. We hear gospel music. 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:51.500 We hear share the gospel. We hear present the 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:55.339 gospel. We hear consider the gospel. What is 00:05:55.339 --> 00:05:58.819 the gospel? We hear phrases like, well, that's 00:05:58.819 --> 00:06:04.920 gospel. Or that's a gospel conversation. So what 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:10.560 is the gospel? This is very, very important to 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:14.660 get the gospel right. Very, very important. Because 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:18.160 after all, this is the Christian message, isn't 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:21.800 it? The gospel of the Lord Jesus. And it's not 00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:24.720 just the message of Christianity, but this is 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:29.730 the Christian's message. So it's Christianity's 00:06:29.730 --> 00:06:32.430 message, but it's the Christian's message to 00:06:32.430 --> 00:06:35.670 the world and to those around them. So why is 00:06:35.670 --> 00:06:38.209 it so important that we get the gospel right? 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:41.449 That we proclaim the correct gospel? That we 00:06:41.449 --> 00:06:49.689 know what the gospel is? In Galatians 1, verses 00:06:49.689 --> 00:06:54.910 6 -10, we read just how important it is that 00:06:54.910 --> 00:07:00.170 we get... The gospel right. This is Paul writing 00:07:00.170 --> 00:07:05.269 to the church at Galatia. And he says this, I 00:07:05.269 --> 00:07:09.509 am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him 00:07:09.509 --> 00:07:14.189 who called you by the grace of Christ for a different 00:07:14.189 --> 00:07:18.589 gospel, which is really not another. Only there 00:07:18.589 --> 00:07:21.730 are some who are disturbing you and want to distort 00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:30.279 the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:33.860 from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary 00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:37.939 to what we have preached to you, he is to be 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:43.879 accursed, anathema, set aside for judgment in 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.439 the wrath of God in a unique and special way. 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:51.540 He is to be accursed. As we have said before, 00:07:51.819 --> 00:07:57.579 so I say again, Now, if any man is preaching 00:07:57.579 --> 00:08:01.920 to you a gospel contrary to what you have received, 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:07.379 he is to be accursed. It is vitally important 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:13.920 that we get the gospel right, that we understand 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:18.199 what the gospel is, that we have a working definition 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:22.819 of what the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is. 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:29.040 Here in this text in verses 22 through 36 of 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:32.340 Acts chapter 2, we have what may be one of the 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:37.179 greatest, most clear gospel presentations in 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:40.659 the history of the church. Peter beautifully 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:46.399 clarifies for us what the Christian message is 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:53.409 and what the message of the Christian is. which 00:08:53.409 --> 00:08:57.490 Peter preached on the day of Pentecost to the 00:08:57.490 --> 00:09:00.409 thousands of hearers which were in front of him. 00:09:00.509 --> 00:09:04.669 This message, think about what it brought about, 00:09:04.750 --> 00:09:10.450 the results of it. Nearly 3 ,000 people were 00:09:10.450 --> 00:09:13.809 saved, were pierced to the heart, and the Spirit 00:09:13.809 --> 00:09:18.190 of God came upon them and dwelt in them and regenerated 00:09:18.190 --> 00:09:22.230 them. and converted them, and dwelled in them. 00:09:24.850 --> 00:09:27.929 And 3 ,000 were added to the church that day 00:09:27.929 --> 00:09:32.590 as a result of this gospel message. As a result 00:09:32.590 --> 00:09:37.289 of what Peter has just said. Nearly 3 ,000 people 00:09:37.289 --> 00:09:40.490 came to Christ. One person in this, when they 00:09:40.490 --> 00:09:42.549 were working on this text, when they were preaching 00:09:42.549 --> 00:09:47.230 it, they titled it, The Sermon That Saved 3 ,000 00:09:47.230 --> 00:09:50.190 People. Now, I've never preached a day in my 00:09:50.190 --> 00:09:55.789 life compared to this. My goodness. This is a 00:09:55.789 --> 00:09:58.450 powerful text. But here's the thing I want you 00:09:58.450 --> 00:10:00.269 to see in this text, and we'll see it today. 00:10:01.289 --> 00:10:05.649 It's not complicated. It's a simple, straightforward, 00:10:06.129 --> 00:10:10.070 black and white message about who the Lord Jesus 00:10:10.070 --> 00:10:14.090 is. So today, first, we're going to look at the 00:10:14.090 --> 00:10:19.149 gospel according to Peter. In doing that, we're 00:10:19.149 --> 00:10:22.169 going to follow the natural break of this. And 00:10:22.169 --> 00:10:25.570 so, if you would, grab your Bible and just look 00:10:25.570 --> 00:10:27.690 at the Bible as I read through these sections, 00:10:27.750 --> 00:10:31.149 and you'll see these natural divisions as we 00:10:31.149 --> 00:10:37.649 look at them. So first, we see in verse 22, in 00:10:37.649 --> 00:10:40.470 looking at the Gospel according to Peter, we 00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:46.320 see the life of Jesus in verse 22. In verses 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:54.419 23 through 24, we see the death of Jesus. Then 00:10:54.419 --> 00:10:59.440 a lot bigger chunk in verses 24 through verse 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:04.659 32, we see the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:10.620 And then in verses 33 through 35, and we'll talk 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:13.259 about it a little different and a little bit 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:16.940 separated from the other three. In verses 33 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:23.940 through 35, we see the exaltation of Jesus. So 00:11:23.940 --> 00:11:27.960 already we can see that this is about the Lord 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:31.149 Jesus. It's about His work and who He is and 00:11:31.149 --> 00:11:34.450 what He's accomplished. So first, let's look 00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:37.970 at those individually. We see the life of Jesus 00:11:37.970 --> 00:11:42.409 in verse 22. He says, Jesus the Nazarene, a man. 00:11:43.730 --> 00:11:48.330 Jesus the Nazarene, a man. The life of Christ 00:11:48.330 --> 00:11:52.110 tells us about the humanity of the Lord Jesus. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:55.960 It tells us about the fact that He lived with 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:59.200 flesh and blood. It tells us of the incarnation, 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:06.100 God taking on flesh and dwelling among us. The 00:12:06.100 --> 00:12:10.340 Creator stepping in to creation. That's what 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:14.000 the life of Christ tells us about. It tells us 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.700 the fact that He was tempted as we are tempted. 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:21.600 It tells us the fact that He faced and He encountered 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:24.659 the troubles and the issues of this life yet 00:12:24.659 --> 00:12:30.500 without sin. It tells us that Christ was excellent 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:35.100 in His humanity. It tells us that Christ was 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:40.440 perfect and holy and pure in His humanity. The 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:47.210 text says, a man attested to you by God. miracles 00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:50.370 and wonders and signs and then it talks about 00:12:50.370 --> 00:12:53.370 how God did these things through him in their 00:12:53.370 --> 00:13:00.710 midst so in the life of Christ we see God working 00:13:00.710 --> 00:13:06.250 powerfully and God's approval of the person of 00:13:06.250 --> 00:13:10.389 Christ that he lived in a manner that was pleasing 00:13:10.389 --> 00:13:14.570 to the Lord that he lived in a manner that was 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:18.950 pleasing to the Lord's law, God's moral law. 00:13:19.769 --> 00:13:22.870 And so if you think about Christ and you think 00:13:22.870 --> 00:13:25.190 about Christ's heart, you think about Christ's 00:13:25.190 --> 00:13:28.509 perfection and His holiness and His purity, consider 00:13:28.509 --> 00:13:32.210 the Ten Commandments the moral law of God. And 00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:34.990 consider yourself in regards to the Ten Commandments 00:13:34.990 --> 00:13:38.549 and the moral law of God. The Ten Commandments, 00:13:38.549 --> 00:13:42.029 they don't just give us one simple negative, 00:13:42.289 --> 00:13:45.289 don't do this, but they also reveal to us the 00:13:45.289 --> 00:13:48.870 heart of God on that issue. So if the Bible says, 00:13:49.070 --> 00:13:53.049 you shall not murder, it also means that you 00:13:53.049 --> 00:13:57.750 shall love your neighbor. It means not just the 00:13:57.750 --> 00:14:00.690 action of murdering somebody, but it means the 00:14:00.690 --> 00:14:04.730 motive of hatred and enmity within your heart, 00:14:04.769 --> 00:14:10.899 which causes you. to murder them. So Jesus, in 00:14:10.899 --> 00:14:17.559 his life, in his living, never ever broke a single 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:22.059 commandment of the moral law of God. Not just 00:14:22.059 --> 00:14:27.220 in action. Not only did Jesus not ever murder 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:31.259 anybody, he only worshipped the Lord his God. 00:14:32.299 --> 00:14:36.779 He never made for himself an idol. He never worshiped 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:39.679 God improperly. He never took the name of the 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:43.740 Lord God in vain. He never broke the Sabbath. 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:47.960 He never dishonored his mother and father. He 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:52.070 never... He never lied. He never bared false 00:14:52.070 --> 00:14:55.429 witness. He never committed adultery in His heart. 00:14:55.570 --> 00:14:58.429 He never coveted anything that wasn't His. Not 00:14:58.429 --> 00:15:01.269 just in the surface action, folks, but Jesus 00:15:01.269 --> 00:15:04.769 never desired in His heart to do those things. 00:15:05.750 --> 00:15:09.309 His motives and His desires and His longings 00:15:09.309 --> 00:15:14.350 were pure and holy and perfect. The reality that 00:15:14.350 --> 00:15:17.730 he never did those came from a pure and a holy 00:15:17.730 --> 00:15:21.669 and a genuine and a sincere and a godly heart. 00:15:23.110 --> 00:15:27.110 So the life of Jesus, his living, shows us his 00:15:27.110 --> 00:15:30.850 perfection, his holiness, his keeping the moral 00:15:30.850 --> 00:15:34.970 law, but not just on his behalf. So when Jesus 00:15:34.970 --> 00:15:38.750 got to the end of his life, He had kept the law 00:15:38.750 --> 00:15:41.649 of God perfectly. And what are the wages of sin? 00:15:41.710 --> 00:15:44.190 The wages of sin are death. What is sin? The 00:15:44.190 --> 00:15:48.470 breaking of God's law. So Jesus never had any 00:15:48.470 --> 00:15:52.789 wages upon his own life because he never sinned. 00:15:52.789 --> 00:15:56.889 He never transgressed the law of God. So Jesus' 00:15:57.090 --> 00:16:01.830 active obedience to the law of God is what gives 00:16:01.830 --> 00:16:05.789 us our righteousness and our... keeping the law 00:16:05.789 --> 00:16:10.830 of God in his sight. So Jesus' life is very, 00:16:10.889 --> 00:16:15.009 very important. Jesus' life was not just for 00:16:15.009 --> 00:16:18.330 himself, but Jesus' life was to be the life and 00:16:18.330 --> 00:16:22.029 the place of his people. So when he got to the 00:16:22.029 --> 00:16:24.789 end of his life, when he got to the end of his 00:16:24.789 --> 00:16:28.370 perfect life, after he'd worked signs and wonders 00:16:28.370 --> 00:16:30.830 and God had worked through him in the midst of 00:16:30.830 --> 00:16:35.570 the people, He did not get what he deserved as 00:16:35.570 --> 00:16:40.409 having lived a perfectly holy life, did he? No, 00:16:40.409 --> 00:16:43.149 he got to the end of his life. And what does 00:16:43.149 --> 00:16:47.429 the text say? This man delivered over by the 00:16:47.429 --> 00:16:50.750 predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, 00:16:50.809 --> 00:16:55.649 you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless 00:16:55.649 --> 00:17:01.759 men and put him to death. Put him to death. at 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:06.259 the hands of godless men. So this holy and pure 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:12.119 and perfect and lovely Christ Jesus, who never 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:15.799 transgressed the law of God, who did not have 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:20.160 an imperfect bone in his body, got to the end 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.119 of his life and he had nails driven through his 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:25.339 wrists and he had nails driven through his feet. 00:17:27.150 --> 00:17:30.849 Was that for His life? Was that because of what 00:17:30.849 --> 00:17:35.710 He had done and how He had lived? No. His death 00:17:35.710 --> 00:17:41.589 was substitutionary. Meaning He died on the cross 00:17:41.589 --> 00:17:46.869 for His people to propitiate or to remove the 00:17:46.869 --> 00:17:53.490 wrath of God from the people of God. Jesus lived 00:17:53.490 --> 00:17:55.990 a perfect life, perfectly obeying the law. You 00:17:55.990 --> 00:18:01.789 and I, we don't. We break the law of God. We 00:18:01.789 --> 00:18:07.970 break the law of God fairly regularly. We commit 00:18:07.970 --> 00:18:11.730 adultery in our heart. We long for things that 00:18:11.730 --> 00:18:15.970 are not ours. We do not always worship the Lord 00:18:15.970 --> 00:18:20.099 our God and have no other gods before him. We 00:18:20.099 --> 00:18:22.960 commit idolatry in our heart. We worship God 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:26.000 improperly. We do not approach God in worship 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.400 reverently and in awe, and we take His name in 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:33.359 vain, and we do not love our neighbor as ourself, 00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:39.039 as God has commanded us. Now what do we incur 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:43.720 as a result of transgressing the law of God, 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:48.740 the anger and judgment of God? the just penalty 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:54.099 for breaking God's law. We deserve the wrath 00:18:54.099 --> 00:18:56.920 and the judgment and the anger of God to come 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:01.099 down upon our lives to destroy us for eternity 00:19:01.099 --> 00:19:06.460 because of our transgression of God's moral law. 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:09.660 That is what we deserve as a result of breaking 00:19:09.660 --> 00:19:13.299 His law. So when we come to the end of our life, 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:16.960 that is what we should receive. That is how we 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:22.599 should be paid. Yet, the Lord Jesus at the end 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:27.859 of His perfect life gets to the cross and He 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:33.299 bears the wrath of God taking the penalty of 00:19:33.299 --> 00:19:37.240 His people. He takes the punishment on behalf 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:41.200 of His people so that they would not suffer the 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:46.349 penalty of breaking the law themselves. So he 00:19:46.349 --> 00:19:51.349 was a substitute for those whom he died for. 00:19:52.210 --> 00:19:55.730 So his death was in the place of his people and 00:19:55.730 --> 00:20:00.970 his life was in the place of his people. The 00:20:00.970 --> 00:20:05.089 text tells us in verse 23 that he was delivered 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:08.970 over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge 00:20:08.970 --> 00:20:13.009 of God. The life, the death, the resurrection, 00:20:13.269 --> 00:20:15.529 the person of Christ, redemption as a whole, 00:20:15.650 --> 00:20:21.450 and humanity. It is not accidental. Not only 00:20:21.450 --> 00:20:24.230 does God know what's going to take place with 00:20:24.230 --> 00:20:27.230 foreknowledge, not only does He see down the 00:20:27.230 --> 00:20:30.490 quarters of times, but God preordains and decrees 00:20:30.490 --> 00:20:36.289 and predetermines and plans the future. If this 00:20:36.289 --> 00:20:40.190 is true with the Lord Jesus Christ and His gruesome 00:20:40.190 --> 00:20:46.630 death, then this is true for all of us. The Gospel 00:20:46.630 --> 00:20:50.289 which we proclaim and we'll see through this 00:20:50.289 --> 00:20:55.170 text is a sovereign, God -given, God -ordained, 00:20:55.250 --> 00:21:00.930 God -designed Gospel. It is a Gospel which is 00:21:00.930 --> 00:21:04.730 not... Plan B, it is a gospel which is not accidental 00:21:04.730 --> 00:21:09.450 or a backup plan, but it is the gospel of the 00:21:09.450 --> 00:21:15.730 Lord Jesus Christ fixing what Adam ruined, bringing 00:21:15.730 --> 00:21:20.170 us back to the original providential plan of 00:21:20.170 --> 00:21:24.990 God and redemption, redeeming all things, lifting 00:21:24.990 --> 00:21:29.730 the curse in due time. So he was delivered over. 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:33.299 We see that he was nailed to the cross by the 00:21:33.299 --> 00:21:39.720 hands of godless men. So we're marking about 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:43.940 his physical sufferings, but the cross wasn't 00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:46.099 just about physical sufferings, it was about 00:21:46.099 --> 00:21:52.180 spiritual suffering. We see that he took the 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:57.140 punishment of God's people on the cross. Now 00:21:57.140 --> 00:21:58.920 I think it's really important for us to realize 00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:02.400 If you are a child of God, if you are a Christian, 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:06.279 if you are a born -again believer, the death 00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:12.759 of the Lord Jesus tells us that if you are in 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:19.259 Christ, that God will never punish you ever again 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:24.299 because he took your punishment on the cross. 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.200 You will never again be under the wrath and the 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:30.539 anger and the judgment of God, and He will never 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:33.980 punish you. Now, that does not mean that God 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:39.079 will not, in love, in love for His beloved children, 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:44.759 discipline and correct, but it's always done 00:22:44.759 --> 00:22:49.319 in love. It's never out of Him being a judge. 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:51.990 It's never coming out of His wrath. It's never 00:22:51.990 --> 00:22:54.630 coming out of His judgment. It's always coming 00:22:54.630 --> 00:23:00.910 out of His great love. So the believer will never 00:23:00.910 --> 00:23:05.009 be punished because Christ has taken our punishment 00:23:05.009 --> 00:23:09.869 in His death. We will never be punished. I think 00:23:09.869 --> 00:23:13.289 it's important for us to realize that. Now, the 00:23:13.289 --> 00:23:16.230 Bible says that Jesus gave up His spirit. This 00:23:16.230 --> 00:23:19.589 text tells us, and Peter's telling this crowd, 00:23:21.029 --> 00:23:30.009 that Jesus died at the hands of godless men, 00:23:30.170 --> 00:23:37.230 but did he stay dead? Did he remain dead? Did 00:23:37.230 --> 00:23:43.549 he get overtaken? by the power of death? Was 00:23:43.549 --> 00:23:47.309 he consumed by death? Did he get held in the 00:23:47.309 --> 00:23:50.990 grave where his body rotted and he couldn't get 00:23:50.990 --> 00:23:55.849 out? No! This text tells us, and it spends more 00:23:55.849 --> 00:23:59.730 time on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, that 00:23:59.730 --> 00:24:02.690 death could not hold him. That it wasn't just 00:24:02.690 --> 00:24:05.329 that he was able to get out, but it says that 00:24:05.329 --> 00:24:09.470 death was incapable of holding him in its power. 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:16.579 That God rose Him from the dead. Verse 24 says, 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:22.759 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:26.839 the agony of death, since it was impossible for 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:32.480 Him to be held in its power. Jesus' resurrection 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:39.680 defeated our greatest enemy. Our greatest enemy. 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.160 Even greater than the devil himself. What is 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:49.259 the one thing that no person in this world can 00:24:49.259 --> 00:24:53.859 escape death? When we come to the end of our 00:24:53.859 --> 00:25:00.539 life, we die. We are consumed by it. All because 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:07.400 Adam disobeyed God and transgressed his law. 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:16.839 Sending all of humanity plunging into sin, wickedness, 00:25:16.859 --> 00:25:21.160 rebellion against its maker, against its creator. 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:29.539 Now, when Adam ate the apple, he did not drop 00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:34.579 dead at that minute, did he? No. He continued 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:39.430 to live physically for some time. But he died 00:25:39.430 --> 00:25:45.869 spiritually immediately. The death of Jesus brings 00:25:45.869 --> 00:25:50.089 about the death of death because of what Christ 00:25:50.089 --> 00:25:54.569 accomplishes and because the fact that the resurrection 00:25:54.569 --> 00:26:00.490 demonstrates that Christ made an acceptable payment 00:26:00.490 --> 00:26:08.079 for sins. It was acceptable. accepted the payment 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:12.779 which Christ gave for his people, giving them 00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:19.400 eternal life. We may still physically die. We 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:23.000 will have to walk through that door if Jesus 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:28.079 doesn't come back. But we do not have to fear 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:33.500 death. Death has no sting. Because we know that 00:26:33.500 --> 00:26:37.160 it's just a door that we step into glory with 00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:42.160 Christ. We go to be with Christ. We go to be 00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:46.180 with Him. We don't go in uncertainty into the 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:51.079 dark abyss. We go to be with Christ. We can have 00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:54.059 confidence and we can die well because death 00:26:54.059 --> 00:27:03.779 has no power. Christ. killed death. Death tried 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:08.539 to hold Christ in the grave, and death attempting 00:27:08.539 --> 00:27:12.940 to hold Christ in the grave by its power is like 00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:16.099 me trying to fill up the ocean with a glass of 00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:21.240 water. It's not going to happen, and it's ridiculous. 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:26.440 I cannot fill up the ocean with a glass of water. 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:30.480 It takes a whole lot more water than that. But 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:35.079 that shows just how great and mighty and powerful 00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:39.720 Christ is. He defeated death because He was raised 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:44.619 again on the third day. The resurrection, and 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:50.940 Peter goes on here to tell us about a prophecy 00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:56.319 which Christ fulfilled regarding the resurrection. 00:27:57.379 --> 00:28:00.200 It's one of the final proofs for the people of 00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:03.220 God, for the nation of Israel, that Christ was 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:10.039 their Messiah. That He was the promised one of 00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:12.759 Israel, the Holy One, as we saw in Proverbs, 00:28:12.940 --> 00:28:19.420 as we saw in Acts 2, the Holy One of God. That 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:22.259 was Christ. And He proved it and He demonstrated 00:28:22.259 --> 00:28:25.740 it because He fulfilled the scriptural prophecies. 00:28:26.569 --> 00:28:32.549 and because He rose from the dead. His resurrection 00:28:32.549 --> 00:28:37.849 was not just a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies 00:28:37.849 --> 00:28:42.450 as we see in verses 25 through 29 and then a 00:28:42.450 --> 00:28:46.529 little bit farther down in verse 31 and eventually 00:28:46.529 --> 00:28:51.529 in 35 again in verse 35. But we also see that 00:28:51.529 --> 00:28:55.829 the death of Christ or the resurrection of Christ 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:02.400 was God vindicating Christ, but it's also God 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:06.339 declaring that our sins are forgiven and that 00:29:06.339 --> 00:29:11.059 Christ was who he said he was. We don't have 00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:14.240 to question whether our sins are forgiven if 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:16.680 we're in Christ. We don't have to question whether 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:19.839 we have eternal life if we're in Christ because 00:29:19.839 --> 00:29:22.960 God accepted his payment when he rose from the 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:31.680 dead. He rose. historically in time. There's 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:33.779 several other things regarding the resurrection 00:29:33.779 --> 00:29:37.099 that we cannot talk about and that we cannot 00:29:37.099 --> 00:29:42.940 emphasize, but the doctrine is amazing. There's 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:47.900 a reason that Peter spends more time on the resurrection 00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:50.339 in this text and throughout the book of Acts 00:29:50.339 --> 00:29:57.619 than he does any other throughout the book. Now, 00:29:57.619 --> 00:30:04.160 finally we see the exaltation of Christ. We see 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:08.420 in verse 33, in verse 33 of our text, we read 00:30:08.420 --> 00:30:13.319 this, Therefore, having been exalted. Now it's 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:16.059 important that we pause there and we see the 00:30:16.059 --> 00:30:19.180 therefore, because that signals some sort of 00:30:19.180 --> 00:30:23.559 change in thought, some transition in this text. 00:30:24.290 --> 00:30:26.650 What has he presented up to this point? He's 00:30:26.650 --> 00:30:30.130 presented the life, the death, and the resurrection 00:30:30.130 --> 00:30:34.809 of Christ. Now he says, therefore, having talked 00:30:34.809 --> 00:30:37.549 about the life, the death, and the resurrection 00:30:37.549 --> 00:30:43.829 of Christ, therefore Christ has exalted to the 00:30:43.829 --> 00:30:48.930 right hand of God. We see in his exaltation, 00:30:48.950 --> 00:30:52.279 we see, that he's at the right hand of God, we 00:30:52.279 --> 00:30:56.160 see that he receives the Spirit, but we also 00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:01.160 see that he gives the Spirit. So in this text, 00:31:01.180 --> 00:31:04.339 when he talks about the exaltation of Christ, 00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:09.500 we see Peter bringing this full circle. You remember 00:31:09.500 --> 00:31:12.279 last week when we were talking about... Peter 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:14.980 preaching, he said, when he was explaining to 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:17.079 the crowds what they were seeing and what they 00:31:17.079 --> 00:31:19.220 were experiencing, and he explains the prophecy 00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:22.279 of Joel, and he explains to them what was taking 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:26.140 place, he said, this, what you're seeing and 00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:30.059 experiencing right now, this is that which was 00:31:30.059 --> 00:31:33.539 prophesied. So Peter's bringing us, circling 00:31:33.539 --> 00:31:37.150 us around. So the very reason which the Spirit 00:31:37.150 --> 00:31:40.009 of God was poured out in Pentecost and the very 00:31:40.009 --> 00:31:43.390 reason these great crowds, these thousands of 00:31:43.390 --> 00:31:46.190 people are gathered and Peter is addressing them 00:31:46.190 --> 00:31:50.210 is a direct result of the gospel of the Lord 00:31:50.210 --> 00:31:54.670 Jesus. It's a direct result of His life, His 00:31:54.670 --> 00:31:58.029 death, His resurrection, His ascension, His exaltation, 00:31:58.170 --> 00:32:01.890 His receiving the Spirit and Him giving the Spirit 00:32:01.890 --> 00:32:06.230 to His people. Him sending the Spirit and pouring 00:32:06.230 --> 00:32:12.769 out the Spirit upon His people. So even the people 00:32:12.769 --> 00:32:17.369 at that time, they were receiving the benefits 00:32:17.369 --> 00:32:23.369 of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So what 00:32:23.369 --> 00:32:27.589 is the gospel? What is the gospel of the Lord 00:32:27.589 --> 00:32:30.990 Jesus? How do we define the gospel of the Lord 00:32:30.990 --> 00:32:36.450 Jesus? So finally, let's talk about the definition 00:32:36.450 --> 00:32:41.990 of the gospel according to Peter. We see Peter 00:32:41.990 --> 00:32:44.950 explaining it and Peter giving this sermon about 00:32:44.950 --> 00:32:49.130 it. But what does Peter define it as? What do 00:32:49.130 --> 00:32:53.210 we see in this text up to this point? What all 00:32:53.210 --> 00:32:58.309 is the content of Peter's message in verses 22 00:32:58.309 --> 00:33:02.230 through 36? What's the content? What fills up 00:33:02.230 --> 00:33:09.089 this space? Just think with me. We see the life 00:33:09.089 --> 00:33:12.849 of Jesus. We see the ministry of Jesus. We see 00:33:12.849 --> 00:33:16.309 the miracles and the signs and the wonders of 00:33:16.309 --> 00:33:22.170 Jesus. We see the humanity of Jesus. We see Jesus 00:33:22.170 --> 00:33:26.289 among... The people. We see the death of Jesus. 00:33:26.349 --> 00:33:30.589 We see the suffering of Jesus. We see the physical 00:33:30.589 --> 00:33:33.329 suffering of Jesus and the spiritual suffering 00:33:33.329 --> 00:33:36.730 of Jesus. We see the delivery of Jesus by God 00:33:36.730 --> 00:33:39.930 to the people. The death of Jesus at the hands 00:33:39.930 --> 00:33:45.369 of godless men. We see the murder of Jesus. We 00:33:45.369 --> 00:33:48.869 see the defeat of death by Jesus. We see the 00:33:48.869 --> 00:33:53.599 resurrection of Jesus. We see the power and the 00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:58.819 deity and the Godhood of Jesus. We see the prophecy 00:33:58.819 --> 00:34:02.619 concerning Jesus. We see Jesus fulfilling that 00:34:02.619 --> 00:34:06.019 prophecy about Himself and Jesus as the Messiah 00:34:06.019 --> 00:34:10.980 of Israel. We see the people witnessing all of 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:14.760 this about Jesus and what is taking place in 00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:18.219 the life. We see the exaltation of Jesus. We 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:21.199 see the rule and the lordship of Jesus. We see 00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:23.860 Jesus receiving the Spirit and sending the Spirit. 00:34:24.500 --> 00:34:27.820 What do we see in this text? We see a whole lot 00:34:27.820 --> 00:34:31.159 about the person and the work of the Lord Jesus 00:34:31.159 --> 00:34:36.340 Christ. So if we want to define what the gospel 00:34:36.340 --> 00:34:40.099 is, we have to start with the person of the Lord 00:34:40.099 --> 00:34:45.179 Jesus. He filled... this sermon with Christ. 00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:49.500 He explains Christ. He instructs us about Christ. 00:34:49.699 --> 00:34:53.760 He builds upon Christ. It's all about Christ. 00:34:54.780 --> 00:34:58.320 That's why this entire text is about the good 00:34:58.320 --> 00:35:05.320 news. It's about the person and the work of the 00:35:05.320 --> 00:35:11.539 Lord Jesus Christ. It's not super overly complicated. 00:35:12.440 --> 00:35:17.880 It's about who Christ is and about what Christ 00:35:17.880 --> 00:35:22.159 has accomplished and what He has done. With an 00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:28.400 emphasis, with a heavy emphasis upon the life, 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:31.920 the death, and the resurrection. We see those 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:36.239 three elements which were accomplished in the 00:35:36.239 --> 00:35:40.559 humiliation, And the triumphant nature of his 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:43.280 resurrection, we see those three elements identified 00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:46.980 over and over and over in the preaching of the 00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:50.900 gospel in the Bible. We see Acts chapter 15, 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:55.659 his life, death, burial, resurrection. We see 00:35:55.659 --> 00:35:57.719 all through the book of Acts those three things 00:35:57.719 --> 00:36:03.460 emphasized. They're important. It's about the 00:36:03.460 --> 00:36:09.139 life, the death, And the resurrection and the 00:36:09.139 --> 00:36:14.159 person who accomplished those things. That is 00:36:14.159 --> 00:36:18.820 the gospel. The message of Christianity is about 00:36:18.820 --> 00:36:21.300 a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. The message 00:36:21.300 --> 00:36:24.619 of Christianity is about what a person has accomplished 00:36:24.619 --> 00:36:29.659 and done in history. What Jesus Christ has done 00:36:29.659 --> 00:36:34.119 in history. The gospel is not. And this is important, 00:36:34.260 --> 00:36:37.820 I think. Because it helps me clarify in my mind 00:36:37.820 --> 00:36:41.340 a lot of times what something is by understanding 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:47.000 what it is not. So the gospel is not an ethic. 00:36:47.900 --> 00:36:53.920 The gospel is not a morality to live by. The 00:36:53.920 --> 00:36:57.699 gospel is not a way of life. The gospel is not 00:36:57.699 --> 00:37:03.380 a principle. The gospel is not even an idea. 00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:10.760 The gospel is a living, breathing person who 00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:15.039 is exalted and reigning and who lived on earth 00:37:15.039 --> 00:37:18.619 and who was killed on earth and who rose from 00:37:18.619 --> 00:37:23.380 the dead. It's a reality which took place. It's 00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:25.500 not a principle. It's not an idea. It's not a 00:37:25.500 --> 00:37:28.340 morality. It is about the person and the work 00:37:28.340 --> 00:37:33.000 of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to be very 00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:36.840 careful about those distinctions. The gospel 00:37:36.840 --> 00:37:40.940 is not, here is Jesus, this great and wonderful 00:37:40.940 --> 00:37:45.420 teacher, now go and be like him. That's not the 00:37:45.420 --> 00:37:51.059 gospel. The gospel is Jesus did everything because 00:37:51.059 --> 00:37:56.079 you could do nothing. The gospel is all of Christ 00:37:56.079 --> 00:38:03.440 and none of us. The gospel is not. Jesus loves 00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:07.960 you. Accept him into your heart. That's not the 00:38:07.960 --> 00:38:12.300 gospel. Who is this Jesus? Do I want him in my 00:38:12.300 --> 00:38:16.039 heart? Who is this Jesus? Jesus, what did he 00:38:16.039 --> 00:38:23.199 do? What has he accomplished? Who is he? In this 00:38:23.199 --> 00:38:25.059 text, I think it's important to clarify this 00:38:25.059 --> 00:38:29.059 as well. In maybe one of the greatest gospel 00:38:29.059 --> 00:38:33.329 presentations of all time, The word love is never 00:38:33.329 --> 00:38:40.889 used. The gospel is not just a thing of a ball 00:38:40.889 --> 00:38:45.150 of fluff. It's a heavy reality about what Jesus 00:38:45.150 --> 00:38:49.969 Christ has accomplished. Does God love us? Yes. 00:38:51.170 --> 00:38:54.230 Does God love His elect in a special and unique 00:38:54.230 --> 00:38:59.349 and electing way? Absolutely. But you also have 00:38:59.349 --> 00:39:03.409 to repent. And you have to believe and you have 00:39:03.409 --> 00:39:06.369 to trust in what Christ has done. The gospel 00:39:06.369 --> 00:39:11.110 is bloody. The gospel is gory. The gospel is 00:39:11.110 --> 00:39:14.289 challenging, but it's also encouraging and uplifting. 00:39:14.989 --> 00:39:18.050 We have to be careful about how we think about 00:39:18.050 --> 00:39:24.630 the gospel. The gospel is not keep the law. The 00:39:24.630 --> 00:39:27.969 gospel is not repent and believe. Why should 00:39:27.969 --> 00:39:31.420 I repent of? What am I supposed to believe in? 00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:36.380 Anything? Can I believe in Bob over there? No, 00:39:36.420 --> 00:39:38.940 the gospel is not repent and believe. That's 00:39:38.940 --> 00:39:44.800 the call or the response to the gospel. The gospel 00:39:44.800 --> 00:39:50.539 is not be a better person. That's not the gospel. 00:39:51.579 --> 00:39:56.420 The gospel is you're a sinner and Jesus was the 00:39:56.420 --> 00:40:01.800 only good person. Trust in His goodness, not 00:40:01.800 --> 00:40:08.719 your own. That's the gospel. This means that 00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:13.820 the gospel, based on what it is and who it is, 00:40:14.019 --> 00:40:18.280 the gospel is not something that we outgrow or 00:40:18.280 --> 00:40:23.300 we move beyond or we progress out of. Historically, 00:40:23.300 --> 00:40:25.440 I think the gospel is one of those things that 00:40:25.440 --> 00:40:29.079 you embrace the gospel, you believe the gospel, 00:40:29.260 --> 00:40:33.380 you hear the gospel, and you get saved, and then 00:40:33.380 --> 00:40:34.719 you kind of leave the gospel there, and then 00:40:34.719 --> 00:40:36.440 you move on to bigger and better and greater 00:40:36.440 --> 00:40:41.380 things in the Christian life. If the gospel has 00:40:41.380 --> 00:40:44.400 to do vitally with who the person of Christ is, 00:40:44.619 --> 00:40:47.579 then you will never outgrow the gospel because 00:40:47.579 --> 00:40:51.099 you... have to get to know Christ more to get 00:40:51.099 --> 00:40:56.039 to know the gospel more. The more you know Christ, 00:40:56.239 --> 00:41:01.699 the more you love the gospel, the deeper you 00:41:01.699 --> 00:41:05.679 dive into the person of Christ Jesus, the more 00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:10.039 you plumb the depths of the Son of God, the more 00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:13.280 you will realize your need for the gospel of 00:41:13.280 --> 00:41:17.280 the Lord Jesus. So it's not something we outgrow. 00:41:18.380 --> 00:41:23.199 We mustn't ever forget that the Christian daily 00:41:23.199 --> 00:41:28.019 needs power to overcome sin in their lives. We 00:41:28.019 --> 00:41:31.219 don't just need to be freed from the penalty 00:41:31.219 --> 00:41:39.340 of sin in our lives. So what is the gospel? The 00:41:39.340 --> 00:41:49.220 gospel is the redemptive, substitutionary, satisfying, 00:41:49.220 --> 00:41:55.920 pleasing, redemptive work of Christ, the person 00:41:55.920 --> 00:42:02.380 of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. It's 00:42:02.380 --> 00:42:07.900 who it is and what he did. It wouldn't be the 00:42:07.900 --> 00:42:12.400 gospel, and we just focus on the works and leave 00:42:12.400 --> 00:42:15.380 out the person. It wouldn't be the gospel if 00:42:15.380 --> 00:42:17.300 we just look at the person and leave out the 00:42:17.300 --> 00:42:21.000 words. Those are two extremes. We can't separate 00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:24.400 the two and we can't pull them apart. It's who 00:42:24.400 --> 00:42:29.980 Christ is and what Christ did and what Christ 00:42:29.980 --> 00:42:37.480 accomplished. So what does this matter to us? 00:42:39.159 --> 00:42:41.840 Well, there's people in here who have never embraced 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:44.840 the gospel. There's people in here who have never 00:42:44.840 --> 00:42:49.019 believed and trusted in the gospel. There's people 00:42:49.019 --> 00:42:50.880 in here, there's kids, there's young people in 00:42:50.880 --> 00:42:53.460 here who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ and 00:42:53.460 --> 00:42:56.800 they haven't believed in the person and the work 00:42:56.800 --> 00:43:00.719 of Christ. That has not been credited to their 00:43:00.719 --> 00:43:05.559 account yet. That righteousness, His sin -bearing, 00:43:05.679 --> 00:43:11.420 wrath -satisfying death is not there for them 00:43:11.420 --> 00:43:15.739 yet. So this is an urgent plea and an urgent 00:43:15.739 --> 00:43:18.880 call for anybody that has not believed in the 00:43:18.880 --> 00:43:22.260 Lord Jesus and turned from their sin and trusted 00:43:22.260 --> 00:43:27.559 in all that He is and who He is to do that. To 00:43:27.559 --> 00:43:30.900 look to the Lord Jesus and consider Him. Believe 00:43:30.900 --> 00:43:36.519 in Him. Trust in His life, His death, and His 00:43:36.519 --> 00:43:40.519 resurrection. Don't go to God without Christ. 00:43:42.100 --> 00:43:46.400 Don't die and stand before God without Christ 00:43:46.400 --> 00:43:55.860 standing with you. You will not make it. You 00:43:55.860 --> 00:43:57.880 have no goodness. You have no righteousness. 00:43:58.099 --> 00:44:01.239 You have no holiness in yourself. You need the 00:44:01.239 --> 00:44:04.960 gospel of the Lord Jesus. You need the person 00:44:04.960 --> 00:44:08.659 of Christ. You need His righteousness. You need 00:44:08.659 --> 00:44:15.449 His life. You need the person of Christ. This 00:44:15.449 --> 00:44:20.449 gospel was a confrontational gospel. In this 00:44:20.449 --> 00:44:25.969 text, we see Peter repeatedly saying you. Now 00:44:25.969 --> 00:44:29.190 he's talking to Israel. He's talking to the Jewish 00:44:29.190 --> 00:44:33.469 people present. He's talking to them because 00:44:33.469 --> 00:44:37.809 many of them, Jesus walked among them. He was 00:44:37.809 --> 00:44:41.300 around them. They saw him in his resurrection. 00:44:41.780 --> 00:44:44.679 They saw him in his death. Some of them were 00:44:44.679 --> 00:44:49.000 yelling, crucify him, crucify him. He's talking 00:44:49.000 --> 00:44:55.139 specifically to the nation of Israel. But he 00:44:55.139 --> 00:44:59.400 did not withhold the gospel. He knew that that 00:44:59.400 --> 00:45:04.940 nation needed to come face to face with the person 00:45:04.940 --> 00:45:10.420 of Christ Jesus. So take heed whenever you do 00:45:10.420 --> 00:45:14.940 share the gospel, which is not complicated. But 00:45:14.940 --> 00:45:18.480 when you talk to individuals about the person 00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:22.219 of Christ and who he is and what he's done, take 00:45:22.219 --> 00:45:26.079 heed that when you do that, don't try to walk 00:45:26.079 --> 00:45:30.340 around the issues. Don't try to get around the 00:45:30.340 --> 00:45:34.079 offense. Don't try to get around the call to 00:45:34.079 --> 00:45:37.340 repentance. their sinfulness and their need for 00:45:37.340 --> 00:45:39.820 a Savior. Don't try to avoid that. Don't try 00:45:39.820 --> 00:45:45.719 to soften that. Let it be and allow the gospel 00:45:45.719 --> 00:45:51.360 to do what the gospel does. To confront people 00:45:51.360 --> 00:45:54.840 in their sin and show them their great need for 00:45:54.840 --> 00:45:59.519 a blessed Savior. So as a confrontational gospel, 00:45:59.579 --> 00:46:04.360 that does not mean that we are unloving. We should 00:46:04.360 --> 00:46:07.460 always be loving in our proclamation of the gospel. 00:46:08.239 --> 00:46:14.579 But we can still love and confront sin. We can 00:46:14.579 --> 00:46:20.639 still love and proclaim the pure, clear, transparent 00:46:20.639 --> 00:46:25.340 gospel of the Lord Jesus. It's more loving to 00:46:25.340 --> 00:46:28.420 yell at somebody who's about to go over a cliff 00:46:28.420 --> 00:46:31.940 to their death than it is to just... Whisper 00:46:31.940 --> 00:46:37.099 gently and kindly, hey, hey, come on. No, we 00:46:37.099 --> 00:46:41.920 need to allow the gospel to do its work. We need 00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:44.539 to present them with the facts, the truths, the 00:46:44.539 --> 00:46:47.260 reality of what Christ has accomplished and what 00:46:47.260 --> 00:46:51.719 he has done. I think finally we have to remember 00:46:51.719 --> 00:46:55.980 that as we share the gospel, as we proclaim the 00:46:55.980 --> 00:47:00.440 gospel, or if we don't proclaim the gospel, we 00:47:00.440 --> 00:47:05.050 don't. Share the gospel. We do that in light 00:47:05.050 --> 00:47:10.289 of Christ's current state and condition. Where 00:47:10.289 --> 00:47:14.010 is Christ now? What is Christ doing now? Christ 00:47:14.010 --> 00:47:16.909 is exalted. He's ruling and he's reigning. He's 00:47:16.909 --> 00:47:20.730 not dead. He's not in the grave. He's living. 00:47:21.309 --> 00:47:25.780 He's the head of the church. So remember, as 00:47:25.780 --> 00:47:28.659 you go into this world, remember as you talk 00:47:28.659 --> 00:47:31.920 to individuals about the gospel of the Lord Jesus, 00:47:32.119 --> 00:47:40.719 that Christ is risen, He's reigning, and He's 00:47:40.719 --> 00:47:46.780 ruling. That if they reject the gospel, they 00:47:46.780 --> 00:47:50.500 don't just reject an idea, but they reject Christ. 00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:59.519 That if we... Deny the gospel going forth. We 00:47:59.519 --> 00:48:02.980 deny telling people about a risen and exalted 00:48:02.980 --> 00:48:07.199 Lord. We must share, we must communicate and 00:48:07.199 --> 00:48:10.360 proclaim the gospel in light of the reality that 00:48:10.360 --> 00:48:15.320 Christ is exalted, He is risen, and He is reigning.