Our gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we come now before thee, and we come, O Lord, for instruction, for light, for understanding. We come that we might know Christ. We come that we might be strengthened in Christ. We come that we might be blessed by Christ. We come that, O Lord, Thy grace will be made clearer to us and our faith confirmed in Christ. So Lord, we look up to thee now. Bless us indeed. We ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. My text this morning is Acts chapter 15 and verse 11. Acts chapter 15, verse 11. The words and the concluding words of Peter. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved, even us there. Now these words, which fell from the lips of Peter, are clearly, unmistakably infallible. They teach us, or show to us, in very simple, clear terms, the articles of our faith, or the summarization of our faith. And so my title is our great article of faith, our great article of faith. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. Now, I made a statement that Peter spoke these words, and these words are infallible, not because we believe Peter is the first pope some people erroneously teach, but we believe that he is expressing what the Lord has taught him, and what he has known, and what he has actually believed, and he is the one speaking for and on behalf of all the people of the Lord. And so here Peter speaks these words for us. Now what was the occasion? Why did Peter say these things? The early church was troubled by men. And it is still the same today. Men. For we read in verse one, and certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said, except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. certain men. Well, we would identify these men as Judaizers because, to some extent, they came from Judea, we may say, but Judaizers. And they came with one particular teaching which was against the teaching of the apostles, which was against the teaching that Christ revealed to his people. They are saying, or they said, except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. And we are told in verse two, when therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And the word question there means debate. There was a certain thing they were debating about and throwing it in. But who are really are these men? We want to answer that question because there are a lot of applications, even, and lessons for the church. Who are these men? We are told that when we read verse five, Badel rose up sitting of the sect of the Pharisees which believed. So it may appear that we are talking about men who have believed who are Jews and yet who could not throw away their Jewishness or the teaching of the Jews. So these men which have believed in the church came from the Pharisees. They've been there all along. And somehow, somewhat, they suppressed it, they kept it there, never voicing it out, till the martyr became a martyr. And so, then they said, yes, it is true. It must be so. It was needful to circumcise the Gentiles and to command them to keep the law of Moses. certain men. But there is another class of certain men. And that we read in Galatians 2.4, when Paul mentioned them as false brethren who came in privately, or quietly, stillily. They came in with the mind to cause confusion. It was as if to say they were determined to follow the apostles wherever they go preaching the gospel, to try to overturn the teaching of the apostles, false brethren. And their tactic or method was infiltrate, infiltrate, get in there so you could 10 things all around. And the lesson for us, I'm sure, and the application for us in this day and age has to be with people within the church, certain men who always come in. Now, Peter, later on, warns us in 2 Peter 2, verse 1, and Jude also mentions about such men in Jude, verse 4. certain men who have crept in on our ways. And having been in ministry for quite some time now, I've come to understand that we ought to be very careful, even as a church, many times. We ought to be very discerning. We love everybody to come into the church. And when people come in and they show works of grace in their hearts, we are happy for them. We pray for them. We baptize them even. We make them members. But are they truly saved? Are they the Lord's? Have they come in with an agenda? And again, I say this because I've been in some churches where there have been church splits and fights. And my own parent church, the Teshi Baptist Church, which is now called the Shalom Baptist Church, which has gone charismatic. We're in the heat of the battle with maintaining the Christian faith. Because certain men crept in, and they were determined to turn everything around. And that's one of the things I found with the charismatic movement. And indeed, I'm making a study, and maybe the Lord willing, I'll put it in a book. The idea is this. I find every charismatic doctrine as opposite and against historic Christian doctrine. Whatever it is and how you look at it, it is the same everywhere. And we see it over and over again. Even Christian duties and practices, the charismatics have turned it all upside down. And it's against the Lord, ultimately. It is disobedience to his word. And yet, my dear friends, oftentimes the Church of Jesus Christ, we sleep, And like Christ said in the parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew's Gospel 13, while men slept, the enemy came, and so tares. And often these things happen. And I thought I need to say a few words concerning this whilst we are looking into this passage. Certain men. But the end of verse two question, what was the question? What was the question? What was it all about? What was the debate? What was going on here? Well, the debate or the question was about justification by faith or justification by the works of the law. But to put it more correctly, it is not just justification by faith or justification by the works of the law, but it is justification by faith, you believe in Christ, plus the works of the law. So the gentiles who have believed, it was a contention of these people, they believed on the Lord, that is true, that is fine, that's great, but they must have the law, you see it. And again, go back to the law, the law of Moses. And again, there's a little thing to point out there. Sorry if I keep hopping on on this charismatic movement, because it is quite big in my country, and so sometimes I keep saying these things. They come to us saying, you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that's fine. But you need something else. to make you perhaps a fuller, better Christian. You need a second baptism of the Spirit, they will say. You need speaking in tongues. You need other things to make you a fuller and a better Christian. So it is not just faith in Christ alone, but faith plus. some other things. That is the issue. And it's been with us all this while and all this time. So the question or the debate is whether we are saved by grace through faith alone in Christ, or saved by works, or saved by grace, of course that would be something else, saved by grace through faith plus the works of the Lord. That is the martyr. and we are told in the passage before us that there was much disputing, verse 7, and when there had been much disputing or discussion, Peter rose up and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us that the gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe, and God, which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, quite empty God, put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved, even as they." Now, a few things I want to say before I come to my text here much more closely. In the words of Peter, In verse 7, Peter reminds them of the experience in Acts chapter 10, when he had his vision, and the vision was for him to go to Cornelius' house, a Gentile, and preach the gospel. And we are told when Peter went to preach the gospel, It is quite remarkable in that passage when we read that Cornelius had gathered all his friends and all his house together, ready to hear the word of God. It's an amazing thing. It's something we want to see, where people are gathered to hear the word of God. Families together, everyone attentive. Well, Peter preached, we are told. And as he preached, the Holy Ghost fell upon them. And they were baptized. Not baptized by the spirit, in a sense. The charismatists would take it today. But they were really, later on, baptized and believed. Now, Peter made reference to that. And later on, in chapter 11 of the Book of Acts, Peter was confronted by certain men again. certain disciples, why did you go to the Gentiles? And Peter said, he narrated the incident, and he said, when he had just finished speaking, the Holy Ghost fell on them as it fell on the apostles at the beginning. And so Peter was very sure in his mind that with God there's no respecter of persons. And the manner of salvation is the same for the Jew or the Gentile. It is faith in Christ alone. And so Peter was very clear in his mind, and he reminded the assembly that this is what has happened, and God bore witness by giving them the Holy Spirit and made no difference. And then he says, do not tempt God. And the word tempt in verse 10 takes us back to Acts chapter 5, and Ananias and Sapphira, when they tempted a Holy Ghost and died, we are told, because they lied. And we are also reminded in Hebrews chapter 3, when the author of the book of Hebrews, quoting from the Old Testament, especially from the Psalms, said the Jews, the nation of Israel, tempted God and provoked him in the wilderness for 40 years. God was grieved with that generation. we are told. So the word has reference to these incidents and it is a warning to us also, isn't it? And we can see. But before again I come to my verse, sorry I'm taking a bit while with this. I see here in these verses something about the way to salvation. The steps to salvation, if you might put it that way, because note in verse seven, and in the middle part of the verse, Peter's saying, men and brethren, you know how that God, that a good while ago, God made choice among us, that the gentiles not by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. You know, my dear friends, the first step to come into know Christ is to hear. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Peter here says that the gentiles by my mouth should hear the gospel and Now, the second thing in that verse simply says, you know, teaches us simply that you hear through someone sent. He was sent. Peter was sent to go to Cornelius' house. And we are sent in similar manner to take the gospel to many. So you see, quoting the Romans chapter 10, you know, which also quotes from the book of Isaiah, we must have beautiful feet. to proclaim the gospel, to be willing to go out there and tell people. So Peter could say that the Gentiles, by my mouth, God using him to proclaim the gospel. And there's an application there, isn't it? We must have gospel feet. People must hear, but we must take it to them. We must, indeed, take the gospel to them. And again, in that verse, we go to people with the gospel. Not again, Peter says, that the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the gospel. The true gospel. The word as it is. We all know Joel Austin, isn't it? He has so much influence in Ghana now with his motivational talks or speeches or whatever. And it's become quite fashionable these days for many people to want to hear motivational talks. And again, some of the big charismatic people in my country. have tended to blend some philosophy and motivational talks when they are preaching. And it is all in the context where people think that, look, we are a suffering people, we are a poor people, we are coming from very poor backgrounds, we are working and laboring and earning so little, and we are tired, discouraged, frustrated, afflicted in many ways. So when we come to church, pastor should say something to encourage us. and know the gospel. Say something to cause our hearts to be lifted up so that we can be encouraged, motivated in a way. Now my dear friends, I was telling Brother Peter and Pastor Northern that the problem we have in our country these days is the battle for the preaching of the gospel. the word of the gospel. People would not want to hear the gospel. The gospel tells people you're a sinner. You're on the road to hell. God's wrath is upon you. You are in danger. Your life is hanging on a thin thread which can snap any moment. You're a sin burden. You have a problem. Seek the Lord. Come to Him. Pray to Him. Repent of your sins. Forsake the world. These are all things we say in the Gospel. And people will not hear that. They prefer something else. Peter here shows us. They hear, they must hear the Word. We must take it to them. but our message should be the word of the gospel. Very clear, we must tell them the gospel and clearly show it to them in many ways and in many things. Showing how the Lord has done great and mighty things in changing hearts, changing lives, transforming them, granting unto them access by faith to heaven, granting unto them sonship to be the children of God, showing that there is in the future a home, a place, a heaven to go when God himself shall wipe away all our tears. These are things we must carry to our people and tell them And Peter here says these things, and the fact is they must hear and believe. And he speaks with certainty. They should believe. And truly if we preach the gospel, if we make every effort to take it to those who must hear, surely they will believe. The Lord would honor his word. His word will not go and come back to him void. It will surely accomplish. It may be a judgment and condemnation and a witness to others, but it will be. life to those who believe the gospel. And Peter makes all these things so clear in this passage. Then verse 8, and God which knoweth our hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost. That is what the Lord does. When we come to believe, the Spirit of God comes to take residence in our hearts. And we are sealed with the Holy Ghost. As Ephesians chapter 1 tells us, sealed with that earnest also of the Spirit, the sure pledge of the Spirit. And that, often I tell my charismatic friends, that when you people keep shouting, Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost, remember that He is God, the third person of the Trinity, and therefore you need not take the name of the Lord God in vain, but remember also that He is holy. holy. The triune God is thrice holy. And because of that, you will note in verse 9, Peter says, purifying their hearts by faith. That is the work. The heart is purified, cleansed, washed from every stain. And how I will love that hymn. There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. Every guilt is gone. Like little pilgrim, we carry burdens of sin. We come to the cross, the burden falls away and is all taken away and the heart is purified and we go through, of course we call it progressive sanctification. day by day, renewed and strengthened in the Word, and steering ourselves clear from sin, and persevering even in the work of the Lord. And so, my dear friends, these words by Peter, I think, were so very clear for me, and that's why I thought I should share it with you. But now, verse 11. Here is, for me, the capstone, the summary of it all. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. First note the word, we believe. It's Peter's conviction and affirmation. We believe. He's not saying something from his own mind. He says we because he knows that is a clear teaching and position of the church and the other apostles. So these men who are coming in really perhaps may have not known these things or perhaps they are agents of the enemy to cause confusion. and in the letter they wrote to subvert the souls of the Gentiles. You know, my dear friends, we believe. That is the conviction. Question is, what did they believe? Well, they believed God's revelation. Peter and the other apostles believed in the scriptures, Now we know that the scriptures they had then were the Old Testament scriptures or the scriptures they knew was the Old Testament scriptures. The New Testament scriptures were not yet written or just about being written. And so here he was referring to the Old Testament and all the types and prophecies and the promises in the Old Testament about the Messiah and everything that concerns the Messiah. The teaching of the prophets, the Psalms, Jesus Christ mentioned that in Luke 24 when he says, all that was written about me in the book of the law of Moses the prophets, and the Psalms concerning me. So it is everything. And they have come to believe these things. And they saw all, and not just that, they came to that conviction because in God's own sovereignty and providence, they were witnesses of these things. Jesus Christ says that again in Luke 24 when he says, and ye are witnesses of these things. They saw. They were there. They heard the Messiah. They walked with him. They heard his teachings. And on a few occasions, Peter will say, and we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And so when Peter says here, we believe, certainly speaks of the great conviction and the persuasion they have come to concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. How did they believe? Well, of course they heard. Now they saw scriptures clearly made plain to them. They believed by faith, they trusted, but much more, they believed because Christ rose again from the dead. They saw in the resurrection of Christ that great fulfillment of the work of salvation, that the Son of God, known perhaps before as the Lamb of God, in Revelation says, the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world, the Son of God came, and remember John's Gospel, chapter one, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld Him. They saw it all, we believed, and then He worked among them, died on the cross, buried, rose again from the dead, and showed himself alive to them. So when Peter says, we believe, it all has to do by the faith which they have and have expressed even in the Lord. So why did they believe? Well, they believed, my dear friends, sorry if I'm getting a little bit excited here, friends. Sometimes I have to remind myself, this is England. Why did they believe? My dear friends, they believed because, you see, they knew that justification by faith is the only approved way to God, right from King and Abel, all the way down through the ages. You cannot come to God by wax. You come to God by faith. And they believe. And that was made sure. Why did they believe? They believed because it is the only way every sinner, it does not matter whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, every man, every woman, every child, everyone, will be accepted by God, to believe by faith. Why did they believe? They believed because they saw that justification by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone is the way to life. And we believe that is what Martin Luther was led to see, isn't it? when he read those texts in the Bible, that just shall live by faith. Paul would later say in Galatians 2.20, you know, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. You see, my dear friends, Justification by faith in Christ alone is life. It is spiritual life. It is a super abundant spiritual life. Jesus says in Gospel of John chapter 10 verse 10, I am come that they might have life and they might have it more abundantly. So it is communion with God. It has been brought into fellowship with the triune God. Life, spiritual life, and it is eternal life because it will not end with death. It continues on, and it will be forever and ever. Justification by faith, friends, is life. And of course, Peter also says here, we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that little word through is very important, through, showing that this life must be mediated or channeled through And here he says, we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, he's the mediator. He's the one through whom such blessings flow. One grand old hymn will say, praise God, from whom all blessings flow, every blessing. It flows from Him. It flows from Christ to everyone who believes. The God of all grace, 1 Peter 5.10, God of all grace in everything bestowed freely through the Lord Jesus Christ. But what a word about grace there. Through the grace, well, that also means we are only serving We do not merit it in any way, in anything. And the Lord graciously gives us to us through the grace. Note, therefore, the definite article, the grace. Specific, saving grace, yes, we know. but it is specific, personal, effectual grace poured out onto us in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is grace abounding for the chief of sinners, John Bunyan, right? That's what it is, grace poured out from his lips, Psalm 45, from Christ to us. I came across in my study many years ago this quotation by a man called George Bishop, and permit me for me to say it, I mean to bring it to your attention. I don't know much about George Bishop, but I came across this quotation concerning grace, and it is such a sweet one to me. Quote, We see clearly grace is a provision of God for men so fallen they cannot lift the acts of justice, so corrupt they cannot change their own nature, so averse to God they cannot turn to him, so blind they cannot see, him, so deaf they cannot hear him, and so dead that God himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection. End of quote. It is all God. It is sovereign. It is pardoning. It is bestowed upon us freely. And that we see in the text here, but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. What a word. It means grace will never fail. Grace will complete what grace began. The Lord will not save us and leave us there. One of the men who have helped me quite recently in ministry, an older pastor, not of a true Reformed persuasion though, but an older pastor, I went to him and complaining about one or two things in my church. And he gave me these three illustrations which stuck in my mind. He said, look, my son, God will never give you a burden. to carry without giving you what to carry the burden with. He said, God will not ask you to climb and take the ladder away from you. And he said, God will not take you into a battle and leave you there, as was done against Uriah. All right? He will be with you in the battle. He will strengthen you even in the battle and He will bless your heart. And you know, it has stuck with me and it teaches me quite clearly that when God is working, that work shall surely stand. We shall be saved. Of course, it might appear that Peter was talking about, not about his conversion, but talking about perhaps salvation from this world, you know, or the second coming of Christ. But when you put it all together, whether it is for our conversion or our glorification, or even for our day-to-day temporal temptations we have saved from them, delivered from them, whatever it be, The martyrs and the appointees, we shall be saved. The Lord will save his people. And everyone who believes shall be saved. And the psalm we read, Psalm 84, O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. We are truly blessed when we trust in him and trust him forever. We shall be saved, even as they, in the same manner. And so, my dear friends, I think I have to do crash landing. Well, but I need to come to an end and to conclude. We are looking at a text. that for me captures, verse 11, captures our five solas. Scriptures alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, the glory of God alone. Period. Acts 15, 11, but we believe. that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they. It puts everything together. We believe the scriptures. We believe by faith. We trust in the grace of the Lord so bestowed We believe in the person of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we do so for his praise and glory. And may I ask, especially young people here, have you believed? Have you really trusted the Lord? Have you come to that conviction that this faith, this faith which we proclaim is the true faith. Can you say with great conviction, I believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, I shall be saved. Can you say that? Have you really? I pray that dear friends, we would hold on to this, even as a church. Because what the devil does is to attack this great doctrine of justification by faith and love. And we ought to be very careful and be on our guard and pray and work hard and be able to stand as individuals and as a people. And may God bless us in so doing. Amen.