Today is Pentecost
Sunday. As l said last week in part one of this message, the festival of Pentecost didn’t originate
in the first century. It dates to the Exodus of Israel from Egyptian bondage.
The festival is known in the Old Testament by several synonymous titles: The
Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Harvest, and also the Feast of the First Fruits
(Exodus 23:15-17; Leviticus 23:10-16; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:16).
The word ‘Pentecost’ comes from the Greek word
meaning ‘fifty.’ According to Moses, Pentecost was to be celebrated 50 days
after the Passover Lamb was slain. Many (but certainly not all) Jews today
still celebrate Pentecost – called in Hebrew, ‘Shavout’ – even though Jews no
longer sacrifice a lamb on the first night of Passover.
Since the days of Christ’s crucifixion on
Passover, many Christians have recognized Pentecost to be the final
brushstrokes – so to speak – of the painting God began in Exodus. Those final
stokes occurred when God's Passover Lamb was slain on Calvary, and with it,
protection and salvation from the angel of death in much the same was as Israel
was spared the death of the firstborn on that first Passover night in Egypt.
On that first Pentecost after God's Lamb was
slain on Calvary, Peter and the others stood on the Temple grounds to proclaim to
the assembled priests and laity that Jesus is God's sacrificial Lamb who alone
could remove their sins.
As an aside, let’s remember that shortly before
this event, Peter and the others cowered in terror in that small room. Their hopes which centered around Jesus as their Messiah lay
buried in a borrowed tomb. They knew the Romans and Pharisees would be looking
for them also.
But something happened to the disciples after
Jesus rose, ascended, and sent them His Holy Spirit. Luke records Peter’s fearless
declaration this way: “Therefore let all
the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord
and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they
heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the
rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit . . . And with many other
words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved
from this perverse generation!” (Acts 2:36-38, 40)
Something happens to a
man or woman who suddenly realizes what Peter and the others realized: “In
God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm
56:11)
Of course, what
happened to Peter and to the others happened again and again throughout the
book of Acts and throughout church history. Saul of Tarsus is a great example.
At first, he was a feared and murderous religious terrorist. He made it his
all-consuming goal to destroy Christians and the fledgling church. But then he
met Christ – and the terrorist became a passionate flame for Jesus the Christ. And
like Peter and the others, Paul quickly began to proclaim this same Jesus as
mankind’s only hope for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life.
Listen to what he wrote
to the Christians at Rome: (Romans 1:16-17): “For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in
it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as
it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by
faith.”
We looked at that text last week, and I want us to return
here for a while because of its critically important message for you and me in
the 21st century. We are SURROUNDED by pagans – even in many of our
churches and pulpits. Pagans who deny the supernatural. Pagans who deny the
divinity and simultaneous humanity of the Lord Jesus. Pagans who turn the grace
of God into an opportunity to remain sexually immoral. Pagans who kill babies
in the womb. Pagans who mock our biblically based faith. Pagans who hold to the
form and rituals of religion, but by their lifestyles deny the Holy One who
gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
“I am not ashamed of the gospel.”
Like
I said a moment ago – something happens to a person who suddenly realizes what
the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth has done for us. Something had happened
to Peter before he stood fearlessly toe to toe with those who murdered Jesus. Something
happened to the apostle Paul before . . . well, Chuck Swindoll wrote it this way as he
reflected on Paul’s trial before King Agrippa and Governor Festus as Luke
records it in Acts 26:
“Momentarily
forgetting the difference in rank and status, Paul now spoke face to face with
Agrippa . . . . In unguarded abandon, he exclaimed, "I would wish to God,
that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me
this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains" [26:29].
In
another reflection related to Paul’s unashamed and fearless boldness and how
that boldness applies to our time, Swindoll referred to when Mother Theresea of
Calcutta spoke at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. In
attendance were numerous dignitaries, including then President Clinton and Vice-President
Al Gore. Swindoll writes:
“The
gracious nun from Calcutta spoke plainly and courageously about the evils of
abortion and the devastation that dreadful lapse in morality continues to have
on our already splintered culture. While she read from a carefully prepared
manuscript, no one in the room moved a muscle. In fact, many of the
well-dressed dignitaries smiled nervously, appearing cool and collected on
their refined exteriors, but churning wildly within.”
“As
the ancient political officials had sat glaring at Paul, so the nobility of
Washington sat silent, their consciences throbbing in their chests.”
Characteristically of Swindoll, he again brought home the application of the
ancient message which is ever current: “The challenge [to us] comes in those
private, unguarded moments when you face opposition to truth—in the halls of
the university, in a company board room, at the school PTA meeting, in the
athletic director's office, or while seated on a plane. . . .
You
may never be summoned to stand before kings and queens or be invited to address
the political elite or high-ranking military officers; but you will have your
own opportunities to stand and deliver.”
I
end here his quote, but I reiterate Swindoll’s point: You and I will have our
own opportunities to stand tall for Jesus – even when we least expect it. And oh, God help us remain bold in the
face of darkness, whether in our families, or in the dining room, or the
doctor’s office, or the supermarket, or wherever else it might be.
Neither
Peter, the other apostles, nor Paul were ashamed of the gospel. Why? “Because
they knew it to be POWER of God to salvation to everyone who believes.”
Christian!
It was the power of God that made the former terrorist what he became for
Jesus. It was the power of God that made a small, frail nun in Calcutta what
she became for Christ on that day in Washington. It was the power of God that
made the heroes of faith in that 11th chapter of Hebrews what they
became for God. And it is the power of God that makes me AND YOU what we are for
Christ when we stand toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose with the forces of darkness.
The
power of God. Since He stands with us in every circumstance, who can stand
against us? Listen to His promise through the prophet Isaiah [51:12-13b]:
“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are
you that you are afraid of man who dies and of the son of man who is
made like grass, That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the
heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you fear continually
all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, as he makes ready to
destroy?”
God's
power. Power to defend. Power to go on the offensive against the enemies of the
gospel message. And power to change lives.
Christian!
If we are today the same as we were before we got saved – we’d better check
ourselves to see if we are, indeed, saved. Furthermore, if our walk with
Christ has gone into a slow idle and we are content to remain as we are – we’d
better check ourselves to see if we are, indeed, saved.
The
good news of Jesus Christ is the good news of the complete and utter erasure
of our sins from God's memory. The good news of the gospel is never-ending life
of incomprehensible joy and peace and love for all who die in Christ. And it is
the good news of the gospel message that ought to compel us to desire God more
and more as we grow older. From eternal death to eternal
life. The gospel is the power of God to salvation to EVERYONE who believes.
You might remember the ‘Dry Bones’ prophecy of Ezekiel 37. I
repeat it now because it so well illustrates what I’ve been talking about – the
power of God even over the spiritually dead like Saul of
Tarsus who became the apostle Paul. It illustrates the power of God over the
spiritually dead like Richard Maffeo whom God made as he is. It illustrates the
power of God over the spiritually dead like everyone else in this room before
you called Jesus your savior, lord, master.
Ezekiel writes (Ezekiel 37:1-6): “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and
He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and
set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. . . .
and behold, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I
answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O
dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ Thus
says the Lord God to these bones,
‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you
with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know
that I am the Lord.’”
Dry bones raised to vibrant life. Oh, how the world needs to hear
this. How our families and acquaintances need to hear this: Eternal life offered
to all.
BUT God adds a caveat, doesn’t He? He adds a stipulation to life
from dry rot, doesn’t He? The gospel is the power of God – for everyone who
BELIEVES.
We are not at all talking about a mere intellectual assent – “Yes,
I believe Jesus is God, I believe Jesus died for my sins, I believe Jesus rose
from the dead. Oh, and pass the biscuits please.”
Mere intellectual assent does NOT equal salvation. You will
remember the words of St James: (James 2:19-20) “Demons also believe, and
tremble with fear. But are you willing to recognize that faith
without works is useless?” (My paraphrase)
In other words, saving faith is
OBEDIENT faith to God's commandments. If we are
not striving to obey Christ, if we even marginally dallying with sin, enjoying
its passing pleasures – we’d better beware. The gospel is the power of God for
eternal salvation, but ONLY for those who obey the gospel, who repent of their
sins, and who strive against their sin nature to please their Savior.
The gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes; Everyone. Regardless of our backgrounds, our past histories, current
sins, regardless of what we have done or have not done – nor how often we have
failed to do right.
God imputes to those who come to Him with obedient faith with HIS
own righteousness. The sacraments do not save us. Church attendance does not
save us. Memorizing scripture does not save us. Doing good works does not save
us. What saves us in our faith – the same faith Abraham had. Hear it again from
the apostle’s pen:
(Romans 4:2-5) “For if Abraham was justified by
works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the
Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness.” Now to the one who works,
his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does
not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is
credited as righteousness.”
Faith. Faith that God sent His Son to die in our place, to bear on
Himself God's utter wrath for our sins. Faith that God is true to His promise
of eternal life for all who trust Christ as their atonement for their sins.
Faith that God will be true to His word to utterly and forever forgive and
forget our confessed sins.
It was that incredible truth of salvation by faith that seems to
have exhilarated the former pharisee who thought he had to meticulously follow
Moses to please God. Listen to what he wrote to the Christians at Philippi:
(Philippians 3:7-9) “But whatever
things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of
Christ. More than that, I count all things to be
loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that
I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness
of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith
in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the
basis of faith.”
The good news of the gospel is this and more: Our
salvation is a GIFT from God. Period. We can do nothing to earn it. And God
alone declares us righteous, not because we are in ourselves righteous, but
because God credits Christ’s righteousness by and through our obedient faith in
who Jesus is, what He has done for us, and WHY He has done it. Again, I will
remind us all what Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth: (2 Corinthians
5:21) “[God] made [Christ] who knew no
sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him.”
That is one reason Paul continues in this text
from Romans: “For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God
is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the
righteous man shall live by faith.”
Oh, may God make it so in each of our lives that
we never be ashamed or embarrassed or shy about such good news as the gospel
message. The good news that God's undefeatable in unfaltering power for a
changed life-trajectory, the power of God to receive from Him a clean slate not
just once at an altar, but every day, moment by moment, as we confess and
repent of our sins.
On that first Pentecost after the Lord’s
sacrificial death that Peter and the others proclaimed forgiveness of sins and
eternal life in the Lamb of God. It was after that first Pentecost that the
former religious terrorist proclaimed he was not ashamed of that gospel.
God loves you. We cannot say it often enough: God
loves you. God Himself forgives you of every sin you have ever brought to Him
in confession. No one has to remain outside of His embrace as long as we
still have breath. His salvation is always as close as our desire to pray for
His mercy.
So, won’t you pray – if not the first time, then
the 100th time? Pray for His mercy and grace to forgive you and to
save you.
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