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The King’s People (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #18) (King’s Cross)
Christ Church on September 17, 2023
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He is Lord of All (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #17) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

One of the great lies of the Devil, embraced by modernity, is the inevitability of history – that time is like a stream, and you can’t stop it, you can’t reverse it, and everything that has come before is rushing down upon us. We see this in the victim-mentality of many: blaming childhood, parents, income level, minority status, abuse, addictions, or their oppressors, their governments, their bosses, or their persecutors.

But the Bible reveals to us a God who is before and outside of time and therefore not bound by time. He is Lord of time. And while there are many patterns and repeated themes (so learning from history is valuable), there is also true innovation, creativity, Reformation, and repentance (so freedom, responsibility, and surprising change are also possible). One of the great twists in human history was the gospel going to Gentile nations directly, tearing down the middle wall of separation between Jew and Gentile, destroying the enmity, and sanctifying them that they may all come to God in worship directly through faith and repentance in Jesus Christ. 

The Text: “Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? …” (Acts 10:21-48).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Having seen the vision, Peter went down and went with the men sent by Cornelius and came to his house where he had gathered many friends and family (Acts 10:21-24). Cornelius greeted Peter with great honor, but falling down at his feet in worship was not appropriate because as Peter insisted, he was a mere man (Acts 10:25-26). As they talked, Peter explained that it was not lawful for Jews to have close fellowship with Gentiles, but God had revealed to him not to call any man common or unclean – so he asked the purpose for his summons (Acts 10:27-29). Cornelius repeated the story of the vision and said that they had all gathered to hear what God commanded Peter (Acts 10:30-33). 

Peter begins preaching with the declaration that God is no “respecter of persons” and accepts all who fear and obey Him through the peace of Jesus Christ – the Lord of all (Acts 10:34-36). Peter traces the word they have heard from the baptism of John to His crucifixion and resurrection and the commissioning of the apostles as His official witnesses (Acts 10:37-41). They were ordered to declare that Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead, and just as all the prophets had testified, there is remission of sins by faith in Him (Acts 10:42-43). At this, the Holy Spirit came upon them all, causing them to begin speaking in different languages, magnifying God, and Peter called for water that they might be baptized (Acts 10:44-48). 

GOD SPEAKS THROUGH MEN

It’s worth pointing out that God prefers this method of communicating, which if you think about it, seems a lot more complicated and elaborate than we might think is necessary. Why not just have the angel tell Cornelius about Jesus? Instead, we have this lengthy process of visions, messengers, and discussion leading up to the message of the gospel, the gift of the Spirit, and finally, baptism. 

And God often works this way in our lives. The reason is that God delights in the story. He delights in the process, the tension, the time it takes because we learn to see more of His wisdom and power, and we have more to praise Him for. 

THE WORD & THE SPIRIT

While Cornelius misunderstood how to greet Peter, He was not wrong that by Peter’s presence, they were in the presence of God (Acts 10:33). When two or three gather in the name of Jesus, He is with them (Mt. 18:20). When the Word of God is proclaimed, God Himself is speaking (Rom. 10:14, 1 Thess. 2:13). And this is the way of the Spirit. The Spirit is often associated with time and creation: the Spirit hovered over the waters at creation, filled the artisans with wisdom to construct the tabernacle, and is given to believers to know God, know themselves, and know what they should do – so that they may grow in holiness. While God is free to give His Spirit as He pleases, the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Heb. 4:12). God delights in the process of reading, hearing, singing, preaching, and discussing His Word, and it is by that process that the Spirit falls.   

What does our land need? It desperately needs the Word of God, the word of peace to interrupt our spell, our curse, and turn us back to the living God. But the glorious thing is that it is right here – it’s right in front of us, if we only we listen, believe, and obey. 

CONCLUSION: ORDAINED JUDGE & REDEEMER

For Jesus to be the Judge of the Living and the Dead is for Him to be Lord of all time (Acts 10:42, Rev. 1:11). He is Lord of history. All of history answers to Him. But this means that we have an access point outside of History to change history. We are not trapped in the machinery of history, or at the mercy of the machinations of evil men or even our own past sin. Jesus is Lord over all. 

On the one hand, if there is a Judge over all, then there will be justice for all, and that justice will apply to us as well. But if there is a Judge who has access to the past, there is a possibility of mercy in the present. In fact, there is more than a possibility. The Judge Himself was crucified in the most cruel and cursed way by wicked men, and God raised Him from the dead, so that through His name, all who believe in Him may have their sins forgiven (Acts 10:39-40). And notice that: what men did in history, God overturned in history. 

And so this is the message for all men, all nations: You cannot have this redemption apart from this Judge. But if you come before the Judge in true humility, you will see the scars in His hands and you will hear the glorious words: completely forgiven. This is true for every individual, every family, every city. This is true for every nation, even ours: Come to the Judge and be forgiven. 

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The Nations are Clean (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #16) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

In many ways, this passage is the hinge of the book of Acts. The whole book describes the continuing work of Jesus, and just as He promised, the goal is a mission from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Everything has been pointing to this: all the languages at Pentecost, Stephen’s message that God is not bound to one place, the conversion of the Samaritans, the baptism of the Ethiopian, the conversion of Saul, and now we come to Peter’s vision.

But while Jesus had clearly sent the apostles out to preach the gospel and disciple the nations, it had not yet been made clear that this meant that the Gentile nations could remain Gentile nations without converting to Judaism and still be full members of the household of God. Here, God declares the unclean nations to be clean. This means the nations can come to God. And since Jesus is Lord of the nations, this means that they will come.

The Text: “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always…” (Acts 10:1-20)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Luke emphasizes the faithful devotion of this Roman soldier, as does the angel who appears to him (Acts 10:1-4). The angel does not give Cornelius the plan, but he does give him instructions for finding out the plan from Simon Peter, which Cornelius then explains to his servants and a devout soldier in his house (Acts 10:5-8).

While they are on their way, Peter is in prayer on the rooftop and sees a vision of a great sheet being let down from heaven to earth, full of all kinds of ceremonially unclean animals (Acts 10:9-12). The Lord spoke to Peter by name, inviting him to “kill and eat,” and when he declined, the voice insisted by saying that what God has made clean, do not call common/unclean – and this happened three times (Acts 10:13-16). Then, while Peter was puzzling over the vision, the men from Cornelius arrived at the house asking for him, and the Spirit ordered Peter to go with them, doubting nothing (Acts 10:17-20).

WITH ALL HIS HOUSE (OBEDIENCE)

Nations are built out of families and households, and the kind of nation you get depends on the kind of households that make it up. Family is the building block of human society. You cannot have virtuous society apart from virtuous families. You cannot have faithful leaders who fear God and hate covetousness and all lies, if you do not have many families led by such men.

Not only was Cornelius a devout man, but he led his whole household in this piety (Acts 10:2, 4, 7). It seems all the more remarkable given the notorious reputation of Roman soldiers for often being brutal, rapacious idolaters. Here was a man who likely risked his job, his reputation, and his fortune in worshiping the God of the Jews. While all is grace, the angel of God specifically notes the obedient devotion of Cornelius in prayers and alms as noticed by God (Acts 10:4). Obedience put Cornelius in the path of God’s plan and blessing.

We are saved by grace, but we are saved for good works that God prepared for us to walk in, and God loves to reward the good works He prepared for us. We earn nothing, but like a faithful Father, God blesses obedience. Honoring father and mother is the first commandment with a blessing (Eph. 6:2-3). In a difficult marriage, a godly woman seeks the attention of God by her gentle and quiet spirit (1 Pet. 3:4). A godly man takes responsibility for his household and is particularly zealous to remain in fellowship with God and one another (Josh. 24:15, Job 1:5). We are not often given the whole plan, but we are given instructions for finding out the plan. Daily obedience in our families puts us in the path of God’s plan and blessing.

WHAT GOD HAS MADE CLEAN

The clean/unclean laws were part of the schoolmaster-law to lead Israel to Christ (Gal. 3:24, 4:2). It taught Israel to pay attention to what they ate, what they touched, who they had fellowship with in order to teach them that sin has infected everything and if it is not cleansed, it is infectious and it will only spread to everything. And you cannot appear before God in that unclean state. But when Christ came, Israel graduated from that schoolmaster and came into maturity, where the real clean and unclean distinctions must now be made not between different kinds of animals or people, but between sin and righteousness (2 Cor. 6:14-18). Sin is what destroys our fellowship, but we have fellowship with God and one another as we are cleansed by the blood of Christ, confessing our sins to God and one another (1 Jn. 1:7-9).

Food and drink are central signs of our fellowship, and everything is sanctified by the Word of God and thanksgiving (1 Tim 4:3-5). So we must not destroy fellowship for the sake of food and drink (Rom. 14:19-21). This can be done through a pharisaical strictness, demanding of others what God does not require. Or this can be done through pharisaical laxness, not requiring of others what God does require. Demanding that others cater to your food fads or preferences and making fellowship difficult is disobedience to this principle: rise and eat. And parents must not let children become little food tyrants or become tyrants themselves. Those with scruples about alcohol may not bind the consciences of others, but in our community, it is far more likely for drinking to become an occasion for harm. Honor God and love your neighbor.

CONCLUSION: LORD OF THE NATIONS

The vision that Peter saw means that the nations are clean. The nations do not have to become Jewish in order to come to God. Russians, Japanese, Somalis, and Americans may come to the Father, through faith in Jesus Christ. The Church is therefore a multinational body from every tribe and tongue, but the nations still bring their own unique treasures into the Kingdom: people still live in tribes and speak different languages (Rev. 7:9, 21:24).

This cuts against fleshly prejudice and fleshly uniformity. And the best way to learn this dance is by building devout households that stay in fellowship and are ready to obey. Love and serve those closest to you first, beginning with the neighbors in your own house, working your way out from there, including your nation. And in this way, all of the nations will come to Christ.

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How the Church Grows (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #15) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

Frequently, part of the difficulty we have in understanding and applying the Bible to our lives is that we do not understand the characters involved. One such character is the Church. The word for “church” can simply refer to a generic human assembly, like the Elks Club or a political party’s convention. But part of the message of the Bible is that God has established an entirely different kind of assembly in this world called the Church, unlike any other human institution. 

The Text: “And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: but their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him…” (Acts 9:23-43).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

After his dramatic conversion, Luke says that Saul was in Damascus for many days preaching Christ as the Son of God and confounding the Jews before escaping out a city wall in a basket (Acts 9:23-25, cf. 2 Cor. 11:32-33). Notice the juxtaposition: radical conversion and confounding the Jews (sounds powerful) versus a narrow escape in a basket (sounds weak). In Galatians 1:18, Paul says that it was three years before he went down to Jerusalem, where they were still afraid of him for his former persecutions, but Barnabas brought him to the apostles and vouched for his conversion (Acts 9:26-27). Saul began preaching with the other apostles boldly before another plot arose, causing the brothers to exit Saul stage left back to his home town of Tarsus (Acts 9:28-30). And despite what might look like another setback, Luke insists that this controversy and movement produced peace in the whole church, being built up, walking in the fear of the Lord, being comforted by the Holy Spirit, and it multiplied (Acts 9:29-31).

Meanwhile, Peter was travelling in some kind of circuit and came through Lydda where he healed a man named Aeneas from an eight year sickness that had kept him bedridden, causing many to turn to the Lord (Acts 9:32-35). While we are tempted to think this was a great power in Peter, he says, “Jesus Christ is healing you” (Acts 9:34). Then in Joppa, a prominent woman named Tabitha/Dorcas was raised from the dead when Peter knelt down and prayed (Acts 9:36-41). And many believed in the Lord and Peter ministered there for many days (Acts 9:42-43). 

ORDINARY LIFE & EXTRAORDINARY POWER

Luke is a careful historian, but he is also summarizing and highlighting key events in order to make particular points. On the one hand, God really did work extraordinary miracles through the Apostles (1 Cor. 12:12). The Bible never assumes that just anyone can speak for God; in fact, anyone who claimed to but was lying was liable to a death penalty in the Old Testament (Dt. 18:20). So the Apostles were given unique authority to prove that they had the right to speak for God and write the New Testament – the signs confirm the Word (Mk. 16:20). At the same time, there was a lot of ordinary life most of the time, including somewhat humbling things like Saul being let down in a basket and fleeing various plots (Acts 9:25, 30). The apostles were not constantly working miracles, otherwise, why didn’t the apostles just call down fire or blindness on the enemies plotting against Saul? The reason is because humans are always tempted to focus on the wrong thing: miracles, signs, wonders, human brilliance. But the central glory, the central miracle is the transformation of ordinary human lives by the gospel. How was the whole church given peace when the same party that put Stephen to death was now plotting against Saul (Acts 9:29)? One big reason was that the one who had overseen that murder was now speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 9:29). The goal is to point to Christ. 

SIGNS OR PHILOSOPHY OR THE CROSS?

Elsewhere Paul says that the preaching of the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18). He says that everywhere he went the Jews demanded signs, and the Greeks demanded philosophy, but we preach Christ crucified, which is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks (1 Cor. 1:22-23). The problem was not with signs and philosophy per se, the problem was with a resolute refusal to believe combined with those demands. Many who say that they will not believe unless they see a miracle or hear a convincing argument will still not believe even then. Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God. He taught the truth, and He died and rose from the dead. The apostles reasoned from evidence, and on occasion healed the sick and even sometimes raised the dead (Acts 9:22, 40). But the fundamental question is willingness to submit, willingness to believe. If you are not willing, no amount of signs or arguments will convince you. But the Christian Church is the gathering together of those who believe in Christ, who fear the Lord, and have the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 

THE CHURCH LIKE NO OTHER

This is why the Church is no ordinary human institution. It is not based on human action or human wisdom. Christ said that He was establishing His Church on the Rock of Peter’s confession of faith, such that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it, giving keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, to bind and loose on earth as it is in Heaven (Mt. 16:18-19). This is not the Lions Club or a golf club. The Church is called the “Body of Christ,” such that what is done to Christ’s people is reckoned to Christ Himself (1 Cor. 12:12-27, Acts 9:4). The Church is called the “Bride of Christ,” for whom Christ died, to sanctify and cleanse and make completely holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27). The Church is a “holy priesthood,” the temple of the Holy Spirit, elect and precious (1 Pet. 1:5, Eph. 2:20-22). While God has also established families and nations, and we may establish other human institutions, no other assembly has such promises. 

CONCLUSION

The Church grows through the preaching of the cross of Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, crucified for sinners, raised from the dead, ascended to the Father, Lord of the Church, and Lord of the Nations. Or else if He isn’t, we really do have better things to do on Sunday mornings. But this is the message that has transformed the world: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified for our sins, He was buried, and on the third day, He rose from the dead. This historical fact, this message of the Cross is the wisdom and power of God by which the Church grows and the world turns to the Lord. We are in fellowship, but our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

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Christ is Lord of Saul (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #14) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

The Lordship of Jesus Christ means the submission and surrender and obedience of all. And this is good news because He died and rose again for our sins, and He knows what He’s doing – He is a gracious Lord. He rules for our happiness. But this may be one of the most hated Christian doctrines.

The lies of our flesh, the world, and the Devil say that God is withholding something from us, He has forgotten us, He would help but He can’t, or else that He isn’t really good. And these lies tempt us to panic, grasp, demand, get angry, and in various ways assert our own lordship which only makes us less happy. In this passage, Christ confronts the plans and misconceptions of Saul and Ananias, and what Jesus says to them, He says to every one of us: “arise and go.”

The Text: “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem…” (Acts 9:1-22).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Full of animosity, Saul takes his persecution on the road to Damascus, where Jesus confronted him with a bright, blinding light, and gave him radically new orders (Acts 9:1-9). Notice that Jesus addresses Saul personally, by name, and that He takes the persecution of His people personally, reckoning what is done to them as done to Him (Acts 9:4). Three days later, a disciple named Ananias was instructed by the Lord to go find Saul to restore his sight, and to baptize him so that he might receive the Holy Spirit, and despite his concerns, he obeyed (Acts 9:10-18). Saul immediately preached Christ in the synagogues, causing quite a stir, especially as his arguments increased in strength, confounding the Jews (Acts 9:19-22).

Kicking Against the Goads & Obedience to the Lord

When Jesus confronted Saul, He said, “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5). The image Jesus is using is taken from using oxen to plow a field, where a farmer often had a prick or goad that would be used to drive the oxen. Sometimes a goad might even be attached to the plow, such that if the animal kicked, the goad would prick them even more sharply. Sin makes people beastlike, slaves to their lusts, slaves to their passions, slaves to their emotions, slaves to their past. The call of Christ is the call to full and true humanity and freedom.  

Jesus graciously confronts Saul by saying that he is in rebellion and his rebellion is only making it more painful for himself. And Saul responds in surrender: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” And the command from the Lord is to “arise and go” (Acts 9:6). The same command is given a few verses later to Ananias, “Arise and go” (Acts 9:11). Who dares order people around like this? The One who made us, the One who suffered and died for our sins. The One who is worthy of all obedience. Jesus is Lord.

THE SORROWS OF THE WICKED

In Psalm 32, a similar warning is given in the context of confession of sin: “Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about” (Ps. 32:9-10).

The contrast in this psalm is between the sorrows and pains of our beastly stubbornness and the joy and relief of obedience and confession. If you are not a Christian, then you cannot have peace and joy when you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, when you are trying to be your own lord. But if you are a Christian, you cannot have peace and joy if you are refusing to obey your Lord, and in particular refusing to confess your sins. 

Years later, Saul/Paul wrote to Timothy: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (1 Tim. 1:15-16). 

Do not despair. Do not lose hope. If Saul obtained mercy there is mercy for you and there is mercy for anyone. 

CONCLUSION

“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Cor. 15:9-10).

God’s grace is not a flimsy, weak thing. His grace is fiery and fierce. His grace propels us to great and joyful obedience. In Christ, God’s authority and kindness are married. His will is almighty and all-gracious. He summons us to die, but the summons to die, is an invitation to begin to really live. Your own desires and plans are often not good, right, or healthy. But when you obey the Lord joyfully, you become a force for that good. 

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