Latest / Admonition Podcast / The Plan of Salvation - Walker Cain - 08-03-2025
Transcript
- 0:00The plan of salvation.
- 0:04Salvation has been brought down.
- 0:07What kind of leader do you want to follow?
- 0:10One that has a plan or one that just goes day to day?
- 0:14Now, we need to remember there are some jobs where you have to go day to day.
- 0:20You can't plan it out and know exactly what is going to happen.
- 0:24Just ask a farmer.
- 0:25Now, a farmer still has a general plan.
- 0:30Our Lord had far greater than a general plan.
- 0:33Now we look throughout history and we can see so many different leaders who had incredible plans and they followed through with them.
- 0:41We can look at Nebuchadnezzar, a man who took the small people of Babylon and as a general and then a king turned them into an incredible empire in a matter of decades.
- 0:53We can then look at the Medo-Persians after them, their ruler Cyrus the Great.
- 0:59He and his people
- 1:00took the waters that flowed under Babylon, the Euphrates River.
- 1:04He took his army and said, hey, we want to get into this city that was walled.
- 1:10They saw the Euphrates River that flowed through it, and they said, let's take the waters of the Euphrates River and reroute it somewhere else so that the water level going under
- 1:20Babylon would be lower.
- 1:22And then they could just swim underneath and get into the city.
- 1:25And they ultimately crushed it.
- 1:27Now that was a plan.
- 1:29That was an incredible plan.
- 1:32Now without the Lord's providence would it have worked?
- 1:35No.
- 1:36But he still used that ingenuity.
- 1:38There was Alexander the Great who then conquered those Persians.
- 1:43There were the Romans after them.
- 1:45All of these had incredible leaders, whether they be kings, whether they be emperors.
- 1:51And they went above and beyond to accomplish their goals.
- 1:55Their goals were self-seeking.
- 1:57Their goals at the very best were nationalist.
- 2:02We serve a king.
- 2:04We serve a lord.
- 2:06Yes, he is a nationalist.
- 2:08He is for his own kingdom.
- 2:10But he is not seeking for his own benefit.
- 2:13Actually, he is seeking for his benefit.
- 2:16His benefit is your benefit.
- 2:18What he wants more than anything is for you to be in heaven with him.
- 2:25Let's look at the plan that our Lord had.
- 2:27Now he started from the very beginning, before the beginning of time, he had something in mind for us.
- 2:34If you will, turn to Acts chapter 1 and we'll look at when this plan came to its climax, the very hub of the Bible.
- 2:42The plan of salvation, yes, most of us in here, if not all, have heard it since we were little tykes, but it is not something
- 2:53to be bored over.
- 2:54It is not something that isn't exciting anymore just because we've heard it.
- 2:57It is the very reason we can be glad that we have life.
- 3:03Now let's look at six factors in the context of Acts chapter one that build us up to Acts chapter two.
- 3:12Acts 1 verse 1, the former treaties have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he, through the
- 3:23Holy Ghost, had given commandment unto the apostles whom he had chosen.
- 3:29If you're taking notes, note six key words, and the first being persons.
- 3:36In my Bible it's marked in brown.
- 3:38I'm not sure if you mark in your Bible, but if you do I'll share these colors with you.
- 3:43In brown I've marked the apostles and whom he had chosen.
- 3:49There are very specific people here.
- 3:51They're about to receive something very specific, but first and foremost, whatever it was, was to them.
- 3:58They received this commandment.
- 4:00Now verse three, to whom he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them 40 days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom
- 4:12of God.
- 4:13Things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
- 4:16Now verse 4, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have
- 4:28heard of me.
- 4:31Christ tells them to wait for something, and it is the promise of the Father.
- 4:36Now verse 5 he goes to describe this promise.
- 4:40For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." So we have persons.
- 4:51We now have persons that received a very specific promise.
- 4:56Now, verse 6, when they therefore come together, they ask him, saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore the kingdom again unto Israel?
- 5:06He said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.
- 5:15We mark the idea of persons, also have the idea of promise marked in a light blue, but we also have the idea of testimony, of witness.
- 5:30Now, ignore the fact that we have the idea of testimony and witness and think about timing.
- 5:36But wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he ye have heard of me.
- 5:40They are to wait for something.
- 5:42Now, verse 7, after they were asked a question, after Christ was asked, Lord, when will these things be?
- 5:48When will Thou restore the kingdom unto Israel?
- 5:50He says, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power.
- 5:57There are very specific persons that received a very specific promise with very specific timing.
- 6:05God has left this
- 6:07in his own power.
- 6:08Now this word for power is a Greek word, exousia.
- 6:11Think of our word executive.
- 6:14He has the authority, he has the right, he has control over the time.
- 6:20Now that's not the only thing he has control over.
- 6:23God has a very specific time in mind, but he also has power that he is going to give to these apostles.
- 6:31He says,
- 6:33the times and seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.
- 6:36But verse 8, ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you." Now, we have exousia in verse 7.
- 6:46This describes God's authority.
- 6:48But in verse 8 we have a different word, dunamis.
- 6:53What does that sound like in our English language?
- 6:56Dynamite.
- 6:58We can think of exousia like a police officer's badge.
- 7:03It says, have the authority to uphold the law.
- 7:07And we can think of dunamis as the tools the police officer uses in his job.
- 7:13He has a vehicle.
- 7:14He has a firearm.
- 7:16He has the other things that he needs to fulfill his job.
- 7:20He has the authority, exousia, and he has the power, the dunamis.
- 7:24Now these words have overlap in how they're used.
- 7:27We can look at Ephesians for that.
- 7:29But they still both have those distinct definitions.
- 7:33Now we've looked at very specific persons that received a very specific promise at a particular time.
- 7:41Now earlier I mentioned the idea of testimony and told you to ignore that.
- 7:44Now think about the idea of testimony.
- 7:47If we go back up to verse 3.
- 7:50When Luke is describing the apostles, he says to whom he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the
- 8:02things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
- 8:05It is very important to note that the apostles saw Christ.
- 8:09They saw him in his life, they saw him in his death, and most importantly, they saw him after he rose from the dead.
- 8:18Paul, an apostle that would become an apostle later, saw Christ.
- 8:24in that bright light.
- 8:25No, he didn't see Christ physically on this earth, but he saw the evidence firsthand and heard Christ's voice when he went blind on the road to Damascus.
- 8:34This idea of witness for the apostles is vitally important.
- 8:39These are very specific persons that received this promise, that received power at a very specific time with a very specific testimony.
- 8:48Now looking through all of this, there's a final aspect of the context and its stability.
- 8:54Now, verses 9 through 12, Christ was taken back up into heaven and the angels look at the apostles who are gazing up there and saying, what are you doing just standing here?
- 9:05This same Jesus who went up is going to come back down in the same way.
- 9:10Now, verse 12, then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day journey, a Sabbath day's journey.
- 9:22Looking at verse 13, we mention the persons at the very beginning of this lesson.
- 9:27Verse 13 describes the 11 apostles that remained after Judas killed himself.
- 9:33Verse 14, these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, which the women and Mary the mother of Jesus had with his brethren.
- 9:43Verse 15, and in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of names together were about 120, men and brethren, this scripture must needs have
- 9:53been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
- 10:02For he was numbered with us and obtained part of this ministry.
- 10:07Peter goes to describe the betrayal Judas had against Christ and the fact that Judas killed himself after his betrayal.
- 10:15Now verse 17, for he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry.
- 10:21Remember that Judas was an apostle.
- 10:24He had a very specific role and a role that if he continued with Christ, m
- 10:29was very specific in leadership.
- 10:31The apostles were the ones that would have the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
- 10:35What would have been bound in heaven would be bound on earth.
- 10:41Not that the apostles had authority over what was said in heaven, but they had the authority to tell earth what was already bound in heaven.
- 10:50Now, they had this leadership.
- 10:53Notice that whatever happens in Acts chapter 2, the thing that we are building up to, God did not allow that to happen before he had established his leadership.
- 11:04There's not supposed to be 11 apostles, there's supposed to be 12 apostles.
- 11:08That was God's plan at this time and he was going to make sure that there were twelve apostles before he established what was coming.
- 11:17Now, Judas had died but they were going to ultimately establish this man named Matthias.
- 11:24Now, looking at verse 21, describing the qualifications for this man,
- 11:29They say, wherefore of these men, which have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day that
- 11:39he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection?
- 11:47Again,
- 11:48The main qualification here for an apostle was that he be a witness of Christ's resurrection.
- 11:55They appointed these two men and ultimately justice was named an apostle.
- 12:02So we saw very specific persons that received a very specific promise.
- 12:07This promise of the Holy Spirit and they would have power.
- 12:11And this happened at a very specific time.
- 12:14This specific time was the day of Pentecost as will be seen very soon.
- 12:19Now, with all of that, there was also the testimony they had.
- 12:22They are witnesses of Jesus.
- 12:25They are witnesses of His resurrection.
- 12:27And finally, stability.
- 12:29God made sure that the leadership was set in place before He established what was coming.
- 12:35Now, with all of that groundwork laid, we are now ready for Acts chapter 2.
- 12:42And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
- 12:45They were all with one accord in one place.
- 12:49And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
- 12:56And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire, and it sat upon each of them.
- 13:01And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
- 13:09Now those that received this baptism of the Holy Spirit,
- 13:13were the apostles.
- 13:14Verse 26 says, they gave forth their lots and the lot fell upon Matthias and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
- 13:22The last group referred to was the apostles, were the apostles.
- 13:27They were the ones that received the promise of the Holy Spirit, which was the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
- 13:34They were overwhelmed with this power.
- 13:37Now, verse 5, and there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
- 13:45They received the power in verses 1 through 4.
- 13:48Now we mentioned the idea of timing.
- 13:51God mentioned He had a very specific time.
- 13:53Now we get to look at why that time was so specific and why that timing is so powerful.
- 13:59The day of Pentecost was either the most or second most busy day in Jerusalem, perhaps second to Passover, depending on what historians you read.
- 14:10Now, verse five, looking down at verses nine through 11, this power that is being shown by the Holy Spirit is shown to what was essentially the known world at the time.
- 14:24Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, and Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, and Egypt, and in parts of Libya about Cyrene,
- 14:36and strangers of Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians.
- 14:40We do hear them speak in our own tongue the wonderful works of God.
- 14:45What was being spoken in Acts chapter 2 was shown to the world.
- 14:50God had all of these people brought to the same place and then they would later spread out and give it to their homelands.
- 14:57God was very specific in His timing.
- 15:00He made it to where whatever was going to be established would spread throughout the world.
- 15:05This is beautiful.
- 15:07This is a plan like no other.
- 15:10They received this power.
- 15:12We see how incredible the timing was with it being the day of Pentecost.
- 15:17Now, when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
- 15:27And they were all amazed and marveled saying one to another, behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?
- 15:33And how hear we every man in his own tongue wherein we were born?
- 15:39They recognized the power.
- 15:40Now the specific power of the Holy Ghost here was speaking in tongues.
- 15:45They were able to speak in languages they had not learned.
- 15:48The Galileans this time were what many would consider us Southerners.
- 15:55Now, I'm from the South and I like being in the South.
- 15:59But how they looked at Galileans is how much of the world would look at us.
- 16:04Now, that didn't keep them from serving God.
- 16:08And that didn't mean they cannot be used throughout the world.
- 16:13Moving forward, are not all these which speak Galileans and how hear we every man in our own tongue wherein we were born?
- 16:22They all heard in their own language.
- 16:25And we look through verses 9 through 11, all that heard.
- 16:29Now verse 12, and they were all amazed and were in doubt, saying one to another, what meaneth this?
- 16:36They asked a very important question, what meaneth this?
- 16:40If you will, turn over and look at verse 22 in Acts chapter two.
- 16:45Peter ultimately starts to preach a sermon, and it is the first gospel sermon.
- 16:51And he says in verse 22, "'Ye men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the
- 17:02midst of you, as ye yourselves also know.'" Three things are mentioned here.
- 17:06We have miracles, have wonders, and we have signs.
- 17:11Now these are not three different powers of God.
- 17:15They all refer to the same thing, but different parts of that same thing.
- 17:20The idea of miracle emphasized the supernatural aspect of the wonderful works God did.
- 17:26The fact that he worked outside of the rules that we abide by.
- 17:31He was able to go beyond nature.
- 17:33And then there were wonders.
- 17:35This referred to the reaction of the people that saw miracles.
- 17:40Not only was it outside of nature, it was something that amazed the people that saw it.
- 17:45And finally we have a sign.
- 17:48Now this is where the power of the miracle really comes into place because a sign is when the people look at the miracle and they say, okay, this means something.
- 18:01What does it mean?
- 18:02Now with that in mind, turn back and look at verse 12.
- 18:06And they were all amazed and were in doubt, saying one to another, what meaneth this?
- 18:13They saw that it was a sign.
- 18:14They saw the evidence.
- 18:15Keep that word in mind.
- 18:16They saw the evidence and were like, okay, what is happening here?
- 18:20We need to be listening.
- 18:23Others mocking said, these men are full of new wine.
- 18:26There were those that would not listen.
- 18:27In our world today, there will always be those that just mock when they see evidence, when they see truth.
- 18:32But we need to keep our eyes out for those that are looking, that will ask, okay, what is this?
- 18:38When there are those in the world that say, okay, why are their lives so amazing?
- 18:42Why are they so happy?
- 18:44When they ask, meaneth this?
- 18:45They aren't seeing miracles, they're just seeing God work through us.
- 18:50Are we ready to show them what Peter is about to show?
- 18:54Now, verse 14, but Peter, standing up with the 11, lifted up his voice and said unto them, ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken
- 19:07to my words.
- 19:09God is about to describe a plan.
- 19:12And in this plan the first thing they had to do was hear something.
- 19:17Ye men of Israel and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you and hearken to my words.
- 19:23We mentioned the first thing that they heard was evidence.
- 19:27They heard evidence in the miracles that would take place.
- 19:30But now they heard evidence in prophecy.
- 19:35Verse 14.
- 19:37For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day." Peter is saying, listen, it's too early for men to be drinking.
- 19:44This is not because they are drunk.
- 19:46This is an actual miracle.
- 19:48But then verse 16, but this is spoken, but this that which is spoken was spoken by the prophet Joel.
- 20:07shall dream dreams.
- 20:08And all my servants and all my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit and they shall prophesy.
- 20:17And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood, fire, and vapor of smoke.
- 20:23The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord come.
- 20:30And it shall come to pass.
- 20:34that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- 20:39The great and notable day of the Lord in Joel chapter two was the day in which those that called on the name of the Lord would be saved.
- 20:47Now Matthew 721 says, not everyone that saith to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
- 20:56But this says whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- 21:00We have to ask a question, what does it mean to call on the name of the Lord?
- 21:04It doesn't mean just to say his name.
- 21:06Calling on the name of the Lord, think about calling on the name of the law.
- 21:11If you watch an old western and they say stop, and they tell you criminal, stop robbing the bank in the name of the law.
- 21:17They wouldn't use those words, but you get the idea.
- 21:20They're calling on the authority of the government.
- 21:24This is Peter calling on the authority of Christ and saying, listen, if you call on the name of the Lord, if you obey this authority, you will be saved.
- 21:35Now the first thing that they heard was evidence.
- 21:38Now what is the rest of what they have to do to call on the name of the Lord?
- 21:44That is what Acts two is about, how to call on the name of the Lord.
- 21:48Well first, after hearing the evidence, one must hear the essence of God's word.
- 21:55Now when we use the word essence, think about essential, the thing that is core, the heart of a message, of a concept, of an idea.
- 22:05What is the core in the heart of God's word?
- 22:09It is the thing where everything behind it looked towards it.
- 22:11Everything after it looks back to it.
- 22:22Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know." Peter says, listen,
- 22:32you've seen the evidence, you saw the works that he did.
- 22:35Verse 23, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, he have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain whom God hath raised up, having loosed
- 22:47the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should beholden of it.
- 22:5225 and 26 show more prophecy as we talked about earlier.
- 22:56Verse 27, as David describes the resurrection of Christ, says, thou wilt not leave not my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to seek corruption.
- 23:07Verse 27, thou hast made known to me the ways of life, thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
- 23:15Peter then speaks more about David, and ultimately in verse 31,
- 23:19He says that David spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption.
- 23:27This Jesus God raised up, note this, whereof we all are witnesses.
- 23:33Remember in Acts chapter one how important that idea of witness was.
- 23:37The apostles had to be witnesses.
- 23:39They had to establish another witness of Christ's resurrection before Acts chapter two was going to take place.
- 23:47Now, looking at all of that, it mentioned the death, the bare ill, the resurrection, and witnesses of Christ.
- 23:55If you will, turn to 1 Corinthians 15.
- 23:591 Corinthians chapter 15.
- 24:01Now, even if you don't turn there, I will.
- 24:04And we'll all read it together.
- 24:06Starting in verse one, moreover,
- 24:09Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory that
- 24:20which I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
- 24:25for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again
- 24:36according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve.
- 24:41After that, he was seen of about 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain as of this present, but some are falling asleep.
- 24:50After that, he was seen of James, then of the apostles.
- 24:54And last of all,
- 24:55was seen of me also as of one born out of due time.
- 25:00Years ago a Baptist preacher named Walter Scott said that the gospel was the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ.
- 25:09Now that is much of the gospel, but there's a fourth part missing from that.
- 25:16Verse five, what is the first word?
- 25:20What is the first word before verse four?
- 25:25Why is it that we stop at verse four?
- 25:29Brethren, we have to keep this in mind here.
- 25:33We have a world where people are falling away from our Lord because they think the gospel is a fairy tale.
- 25:41They think that it wasn't real.
- 25:43Where is the evidence for it?
- 25:46In the very heart of the gospel, these four aspects that are seen in 1 Corinthians 15, these aspects that are seen in Acts chapter two, and if we had time that are seen
- 25:55throughout the book of Acts,
- 25:57show that the witnesses were vital in the gospel.
- 26:00They were a part of it like any other.
- 26:03The gospel is the death, the burial, and resurrection of witnesses of Christ.
- 26:08Now, what is the outcome of the gospel?
- 26:13Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was raised so that we could be redeemed from our sins as will be seen later in Acts chapter 2.
- 26:25Christ sacrificed everything for us and then he left proof for us.
- 26:30Now let's turn back to Acts chapter two.
- 26:33To call on the name of the Lord, to obey the authority of the Lord, the first thing they had to do was hear.
- 26:40They heard evidence in miracles, evidence in prophecy, they heard essence, they heard the whole of the gospel.
- 26:50Now third, they had to hear consequence.
- 26:55Verse 36, therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.
- 27:08They heard about how amazing this Christ was, the miracles and wonders and signs that he did.
- 27:17And then they hear you are the ones that killed him.
- 27:20We hear today our sins put him on the cross.
- 27:24We are the ones guilty for the blood shed by him, or not shed by him, but shed of him.
- 27:33Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
- 27:38This same Jesus whom ye have crucified is both Lord and Christ.
- 27:44They had to be convicted of their sin.
- 27:46To be convicted, they had to be told of their sin.
- 27:49But now,
- 27:50Verse 37, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?
- 28:00They saw the evidence and they realized that whatever is being spoken is real.
- 28:06They heard the word of God and then they believed it.
- 28:09They didn't question its validity.
- 28:11They said, okay, we have done evil.
- 28:14This is the Son of God.
- 28:15What do we have to do?
- 28:17Now also note here, heard God's word.
- 28:21They believed it enough to be pricked in the heart and say, okay, what do we have to do?
- 28:26But what is it that Peter told them?
- 28:29This same Jesus whom ye have crucified is both Lord and Christ.
- 28:34And they said, men and brethren, what shall we do?
- 28:38They did not explicitly say, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
- 28:47But they said, men and brethren, what shall we do?
- 28:50When we baptize souls today, we say, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?
- 28:56Because Romans 10, 10, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
- 29:03Confession is a vital part of this plan of salvation that we are seeing.
- 29:09Heard, believe, they are confessing Christ at this moment.
- 29:15But they did it.
- 29:16when they said, men and brethren, what shall we do?
- 29:19Because they acknowledged that they killed the Christ.
- 29:22Now, is there the potential, is there possibly the need for them to have said later on that they believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God when they would later obey the
- 29:31rest of the gospel?
- 29:32Certainly, that could certainly be the case.
- 29:35But at the very least, they confessed Christ here.
- 29:39Men and brethren, what shall we do?
- 29:43Now, they heard the gospel of Christ.
- 29:45They believed it.
- 29:47They confessed, but now Acts 2.38, then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall
- 29:59receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
- 30:02They were to repent and be baptized.
- 30:06This word repent is meta-nueo, meta, change, nueo, the idea of neuron, the idea of our mind.
- 30:15If any of y'all have a relative who's neurotic, it's that idea.
- 30:20But it's meta-nueo, a change of one's own mind.
- 30:24Now, a dear brother at the Memphis School of Preaching emphasizes that repentance isn't just a turning away.
- 30:34It is a deliberate and conscious changing of the will.
- 30:39If we look at the prodigal son, when he was in the pig pen, he said, he came to himself and said, why am I even here?
- 30:49Why am I here wanting to eat what the pigs do?
- 30:53He says, I will go back to my father.
- 30:56His point of repentance wasn't when he said he came to himself.
- 31:00His point of repentance was when he said, I will go back, when he decided that he was not going to live in that sin any longer.
- 31:08The repentance that we are to have today, this change of mind that leads to a change of life is a deliberate changing of the will of the way we live our lives.
- 31:19We change that for our Lord because he told us to.
- 31:21We look at how his word says to live and we apply it.
- 31:24Now we repent and we are baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins.
- 31:33This word, baptize, if it wasn't transliterated from the Greek, would literally mean immersed.
- 31:40Baptize was a word used to avoid the idea of immersion itself.
- 31:45If we looked at Romans 6,
- 31:47The idea of we are buried with Christ in baptism to walk in newness of life.
- 31:51It further reinforces baptism isn't just a sprinkling, it isn't just a pouring, it is being immersed in water just as Christ was buried in the earth.
- 32:01We are to repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins.
- 32:08This word for is ace in the Greek, which means unto, a step towards.
- 32:14No other time in the Greek
- 32:16Many desire to say that this word ace means be baptized every one of you because of the remission of sins, because you're saved.
- 32:27In no other passage in scripture does it seem to be used in that way, and there is no reason for it to be used that way here.
- 32:33Repent and be baptized for, unto, as a step towards the remission of sins.
- 32:41Baptism is the point at which our sins are washed away.
- 32:46That is the preaching of the first gospel sermon.
- 32:54Verse 39 and 40, or verse 38.
- 32:59Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for
- 33:08the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
- 33:14And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
- 33:21They had a chance to be saved from the wickedness of that time, and we have a chance to be saved from the wickedness of our time.
- 33:30Now verse 41.
- 33:31then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day were added unto them about 3,000 souls.
- 33:40Brethren, right here is the turning point of history.
- 33:43Now, God was always in control, but this is the point God was waiting for, where God once said, okay, this is where I can establish my kingdom on earth.
- 33:53Now, he could have done it any way he wanted, but with the way he did it, this is the exciting time.
- 33:58This,
- 34:00is what we look back and say, want to be like this.
- 34:03We want to be saved like this and we want to live like this.
- 34:07"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day were added unto them about 3,000 souls.
- 34:14And they, continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, in fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers, and fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were
- 34:26done by the apostles." Brethren, the evidence kept continuing.
- 34:30They didn't have the entire Word of God, but instead they had miracles, wonders, and signs in that day showing proof that God was truly God, that this Word was truly His Word.
- 34:41This was the turning point.
- 34:44history.
- 34:48and all that believed to work together and had all things in common.
- 34:53After they were saved, they weren't to just go back to their homes, go back to their nations.
- 35:01They were now a part of something new, a part of something fresh, a part of something that was greater than anything else that had been.
- 35:09At the beginning of this lesson, we mentioned Nebuchadnezzar.
- 35:13We mentioned the Medo-Persians, Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, and then the Roman emperors who made an incredibly powerful empire.
- 35:24What was it that killed, that destroyed all of those nations?
- 35:28That stone cut without hands, I believe Daniel 2.42, that was the church.
- 35:33That was what God established and was established here.
- 35:38This is the kingdom that will never be destroyed, the kingdom that will stand forever.
- 35:44And they were now part of it.
- 35:47And all that belief together were together.
- 35:50and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
- 35:56And they, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking of bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and
- 36:06having favor with all the people.
- 36:08And the Lord added to the church such as should be saved.
- 36:15The Lord added to the church.
- 36:17This is God's model.
- 36:19This is model of salvation.
- 36:21This is his model of the everyday life of the Christian.
- 36:25The church was in its infant days.
- 36:27There were still things to be established.
- 36:29Elderships were to be made.
- 36:32The miracles would cease, 1 Corinthians 13.
- 36:35But this is the point where the church was born.
- 36:38The bride of Christ had now come into existence.
- 36:43We here today get to be part of that.
- 36:47This building is not the church.
- 36:49This building, we don't go to church.
- 36:52We are the church.
- 36:54We are the one singular body of Christ.
- 36:57The Lord did not add to the churches daily.
- 37:00He added to the church daily.
- 37:03He has a very specific way for us to live, a very specific way to be saved, and he beautifully showed us his plan and recorded it in Acts chapter 2.
- 37:13Now today, looking at the plan of salvation, here,
- 37:18believe, repent, confess, be immersed in water for their mission of sins, and finally remain faithful until death as they did at the end of Acts chapter 2.
- 37:32Is that how we are living?
- 37:34If you have not obeyed, hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized.
- 37:38Now you have an opportunity to come forward.
- 37:41But also if you are a Christian,
- 37:44and you are one of those that is breaking bread from house to house, one of those that is with one accord with God's authority.
- 37:53But you have strayed from the way.
- 37:55Now is an opportunity to come back with an appreciation for God's church, with an appreciation for how He tells us to live.
- 38:03If needs be, will you come forward as we stand?