This sermon was preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cherry Log, Georgia on Sunday, February 24, 2012 by Pastor Paul Mims. WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN FAITH? Acts 13:13-41 A pastor, known for his lengthy sermons, noticed a man get up and leave during the middle of his message. The man returned just before the conclusion of the service. Afterwards the pastor asked the man where he had gone. "I went to get a haircut," was the reply. "But," said the pastor, "why didn't you do that before the service?" "Because," the gentleman said, "I didn't need one then." In our scripture passage we have a short outline of Paul s first recorded sermon. We have before us what a first century Jew thought of the Christian faith. His name was Paul. He was studying to become a Rabbi. But God reached into his life with such a profound revelation that he was converted to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Jewish Messiah. Then, after about ten years of preaching in the area of his home town of Tarsus in Cilicia, he was brought to the church in Antioch in Syria where believers were first called Christians. After a year of teaching the faith there, the church followed the Divine direction of the Holy Spirit to designate Paul and Barnabas as missionaries. Their vision was to establish Christian churches across the Mediterranean world. They come to another city named Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they attended worship at a Jewish synagogue and Paul was invited to speak. Our scripture text for today is an account of his very first recorded sermon. His sermon topic might well have been, What Is The Christian Faith? for he explains it very carefully and in logical detail. I. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS THE FULFILLMENT OF JUDAISM. (vv.16-23).
Paul begins by saying, The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, and with mighty power he led them out of the country, he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, he overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years. After this God gave them Judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do. From this man s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. This is very similar to Peter s sermon on Pentecost in Acts 2 and to Stephen s speech before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7. All three of these recorded sermons trace the history of Israel up to the coming of Messiah. Many Jews the world over in our present day are coming to believe as these first century Jews did. At the same time, there is just as much denial in the Jewish community that Jesus is not the Christ and is not the fulfillment of Judaism. But we proudly today say that Judaism as portrayed in the Old Testament is the foundation of the Christian faith. We have a very close spiritual kinship with Judaism and that is why the Christians of America insist on our government being friends with Israel. II. CHRISTIANITY OFFERS THE WAY OF SALVATION. (vv.26-29). Paul said, Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The old covenant allowed for a person to be given salvation through the observance of the Law of Moses and animal blood sacrifice looking
forward to the coming of the Savior. Now that he is come, he provided the clear way to God by his atoning sacrifice on the cross. Back in the 50s, there was a well-known radio host/comedian/song writer in Hollywood named Stuart Hamblen who was noted for his drinking, womanizing, partying, etc. One of his bigger hits at the time was: "I won't go hunting with you, Jake, but I'll go chasing women." One day, along came a young preacher holding a tent revival. Hamblen had him on his radio show, presumably to poke fun at him. In order to gather more material for his show, Hamblen showed up at one of the revival meetings. Early in the service, the preacher announced, "There is one man in this audience who is a big fake." There were probably others who thought the same thing, but Hamblen was convinced he was the one the preacher was talking about -- some would call that conviction -- but he was having none of that. Still, the words continued to haunt him until a couple of nights later he showed up drunk at the preacher's hotel door around 2 a.m. demanding that the preacher pray for him! The preacher refused, saying, "This is between you and God, and I'm not going to get in the middle of it." However, he invited Stuart in, and they talked until about 5 a.m., at which point Stuart dropped to his knees and with tears, cried out to God. That is not the end of the story. Stuart quit drinking, quit chasing women, quit everything that was 'fun.' Soon, he began to lose favor with the Hollywood crowd. He ultimately was fired by the radio station when he refused to accept a beer company as a sponsor. Hard times were upon him. He tried writing a couple of Christian songs, but the only one that had much success was "This Old House," written for his friend Rosemary Clooney.
As he continued to struggle, a long-time friend named John took him aside and told him, "All your troubles started when you got religion. Was it worth it all?" Stuart answered simply, "Yes." Then his friend asked, "You liked your booze so much, don't you ever miss it?" His answer was, "No." John then said, "I don't understand how you could give it up so easily." Stuart's response was, "It's no big secret. All things are possible with God." To this John said, "That's a catchy phrase. You should write a song about it." And as they say, the rest is history. The song Stuart wrote was "It Is No Secret." "It is no secret what God can do. What He's done for others, He'll do for you. With arms wide open, He'll welcome you. It is no secret, what God can do..." By the way... the friend was John Wayne, and the young preacher who refused to pray for Stuart Hamblen? That was Billy Graham. (Selected) III. CHRISTIANITY IS BUILT ON THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. (vv.30-37). Paul continued in his sermon; When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus solves our doubts, proves that his teachings are true, is the very heart of what we believe, resolves our fear of death, assures that we serve a living Lord, and is a portrayal of our resurrection life both now and eternally. There are over 300 scripture in the New Testament that refer to the resurrection of our Lord. Let s look at a few of them. John 20:24-25 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came, so the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord! Luke 24:36-43 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, why are you troubled and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; s ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, Do you have anything to eat? They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. Acts 1:3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke of the kingdom of God. I Corinthians 6:14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. I Corinthians 15:56-57 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that
enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. I Peter 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for you. Dr. Pedro Ara Sarria perfected a technique for preserving the body and applied it to Argentina's Eva Peron. The embalmed body was kept intact but, for political reasons, was moved from place to place. It went from his laboratory in Buenos Aries to a military camp, to a dusty storeroom in Bonn, Germany, to a secret grave in Milan, Italy, to an attic in Madrid, back to a chapel in Argentina, and finally to a family tomb. What happens to our bodies after we die may not be very important. What happens to the spirit, the true person, is very important. Whether our bodies are buried, cremated, lost in an explosion, or buried at sea, it makes no difference. The real concern is that the soul be at home with God. Matineua said, "We do not believe in immortality because we cannot prove it, but we try to prove it because we cannot help believing in it." Emerson said, "When God wants to carry a point with his children, He plants His arguments into the instincts." Certainly, we have an instinct for immortality, an affinity for the infinite. We feel certain there is more beyond this life. If there is not, then our own nature has played on us a cruel joke. The risen Christ assures us that our instincts are right. IV. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH PROCLAIMS THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS vv. 38-41. Paul concludes his sermon by saying, Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
A Sunday School teacher had just concluded her lesson and wanted to make sure she had made her point. She said, Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin? There was a short pause and then, a small boy spoke up. Sin, he said. It is a sure thing that we sin and come short of the Glory of God. But the glorious truth is that we can be cleansed and forgiven for every sin that we have ever committed. Look how the Bible exaggerates this truth in Psalm 103:12 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. How are you going to get free from the sin in your life? The counselor can t psycho-analyze it out. The surgeon can t cut it out. Your shower can was it off. The church can t take it from you. Your friends can t absolve you. The new age religions are powerless to deal with it. The government can t legislate it away. Only through the death of Jesus on the cross can you hear those blessed words in your soul, Father, forgive them. That is why we Christians are so happy. We are redeemed. That part of us that was marred by sin has been mended by grace and we are whole again and can live with purpose and assurance. That is why we sing. When you look at other religions they do not sing. We visited a Buddhist Temple in Japan they did not sing. We visited Muslim Temple in the Middle East and they did not sing. We observed the Hindu s in worship in India and they did not sing. But go into a Christian church of any kind and they are singing praises to God for the great salvation that he has given us in Christ. We sing: My faith has found a resting place not in device or creed: I trust the everlasting one His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument - I need no other plea, It is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me. (Eliza Hewitt)
One day we will join the hosts of heaven as John saw them: In a loud voice they sang: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! (Revelation 6:12). PRAISE BE TO HIS NAME!