← Back to sermon library

to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 
3, as we continue our study in the Acts of the Apostles. We 
remember that in verses one to 10, Peter and John went to pray. 
They meet a lame man on the way and they heal him of his malady. Ultimately, they give him salvation 
in the name of the Lord Jesus. Actually, they don't give it, 
they communicate, they are the instruments. It is God who saves 
him. And here on the basis of that, 
Solomon takes the opportunity to preach a sermon in Solomon's 
porch. So I'll begin reading in verse 
1 to remind ourselves of the larger context. Now, Peter and 
John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, 
the ninth hour. And a certain man, lame from 
his mother's womb, was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate 
of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those 
who entered the temple. Hussein, Peter, and John, about 
to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes 
on him with John, Peter said, look at us. So he gave them his 
attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter 
said, silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give 
you. In the name of Jesus Christ of 
Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right 
hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received 
strength. So he, leaping up, stood and 
walked and entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, 
and praising God. And all the people saw him walking 
and praising God. Then they knew that it was he 
who sat begging alms at the beautiful gate of the temple, and they 
were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 
Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all 
the people ran together to them in the porch, which is called 
Solomon's, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded 
to the people, men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or 
why look so intently at us as though by our own power or godliness 
we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus, 
whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate when 
he was determined to let him go. But you denied the Holy One 
and the just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed 
the Prince of Life, whom God raised from the dead, of which 
we are witnesses. And his name, through faith in 
his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the 
faith which comes through him has given him this perfect soundness 
in the presence of you all. Yet now, brethren, I know that 
you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things 
which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets that the 
Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, 
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times 
of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that 
he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom 
heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, 
which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since 
the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, 
the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me 
from your brethren, him you shall hear in all things, whatever 
he says to you. And it shall be that every soul 
who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from 
among the people. Yes, and all the prophets from 
Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have 
also foretold these days. your sons of the prophets, and 
of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 
and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 
To you first, God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him 
to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities. Amen. Now let us ask God's help 
as we look to his word. Father, thank you for this written 
word of God. Thank you for the preaching of 
Peter. Thank you for the preaching of the apostles throughout the 
book of Acts and the continual emphasis, the constant refrain 
on the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. These men weren't seeking 
praise for themselves. These men were not trying to 
get followers after themselves. these men preach the centrality 
of Christ and Him crucified. And we would pray, Lord God, 
that we would see this one again as altogether lovely. And may 
you indeed fill us with your Holy Spirit, give us eyes and 
hearts to receive the truth, give us ears to hear and receive, 
and give us grace to stand amazed and to marvel and what a gracious 
and glorious Savior we have, and what a wonderful Bible we 
have, the consistency of it, the scope of the whole, the consent 
of all the parts to bring glory to God Almighty. And we pray 
these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, 
this miracle of healing in verses one to 10 sets the stage of the 
foundation upon which this sermon follows. And Peter does what 
he does in his sermon on the day of Pentecost. Remember that 
on the day of Pentecost, the spirit comes in great power. 
Men begin to speak in other tongues, which are languages, intelligible 
languages. And there are those who mock 
and say that they are filled with new wine or with sweet wine. 
So Peter stands up in the midst of that crowd, and he first of 
all says what wasn't the case, and then he says, what is the 
case? These men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it's only 
the third hour. But rather, this is what was 
spoken by the prophet Joel. And he tells us, Joel 2, 28 and 
following, is fulfilled before their eyes. And then he sets 
forth the glory and the supremacy of Jesus Christ in his life, 
in his death, in his resurrection, and in his exaltation. Well, 
Peter does the same thing here. Verse 12, he says, why do you 
marvel? Why are you so surprised if Christ could heal lame men 
in his earthly ministry, certainly he can heal lame men from the 
right hand of his father. But as well, it's not because 
of our power or our godliness. So he denies or he says what 
this isn't. It's not the apostles' power. 
It's not the apostles' godliness. It's not their virtue. So Peter 
essentially says, I don't have silver. I don't have gold, I 
don't have power, I don't have godliness. But what I have is 
the name of Jesus Christ, and that is powerful, and that is 
what men desperately need to hear, or they perish in their 
sins. So he says what this isn't, and 
then he says what this is. And he highlights the authority 
of the name of Jesus in verses 11 to 16. We saw that last week, 
and we noted that Peter isn't simply trying to inform them 
of a better biblical mindset. He's not simply passing along 
information that this Jesus is the one that was prophesied in 
the Old Testament. This Jesus is the one that is 
the yea and amen of all the promises of God. He's certainly doing 
that, but he wants them to believe on this Jesus. He wants them 
to come to this Jesus. He wants them to know this Jesus, 
to be saved by this Jesus. So he tells them about their 
sin. He tells them what is necessary for them to hear, because if 
a man, a woman, a boy or girl doesn't see their sin, they will 
never see their need for the Savior. The Savior summarized 
it well when he said, I didn't come to call the righteous, but 
sinners to repentance. In other words, you need to know 
something about yourself before you'll ever appreciate who Jesus 
is. If we have a low view of sin, 
we will inevitably have a low view of the Savior. And by low 
view, I don't mean we ought to have a high view in the sense 
that, wow, it's wonderful, but we ought to have a biblical understanding 
of what the Bible says concerning sin. It's not a small thing. It's no light matter. Breaking 
the law of God is condemned by God. Those who do so are liable 
to the punishment and to the judgment of God. Those who do 
so are liable to wrath and curse and judgment. In fact, note the 
language that the apostle appeals to in verse 23. It shall be that 
every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be utterly 
destroyed from among the people. That is the state or condition 
of those who hear the remedy for their sin and reject it. They despise it, they forsake 
it. This is why it's important for 
Peter to tell these people what they had done in terms of their 
rebellion against God. It's not our power, it's not 
our godliness, but rather it's the God of Abraham, the God of 
Isaac, the God of Jacob. He is the one that is over all 
of this stuff. He is the one who glorified his 
servant, Jesus, that servant of the prophet Isaiah, that servant 
found in Isaiah 42, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 50, Isaiah 52 and 53. 
That servant was glorified by the father, but that servant 
is the one you deny. That servant is the one you delivered 
up to Pilate. That servant is the one you rejected 
when given the opportunity to choose that servant, or rather 
to choose murdering, traitorous, wretched Barabbas, you would 
rather have Barabbas. But you killed the prince of 
life, Peter says to these men. You killed the very author of 
life. You asked for a murderer, and 
you despised the one who is in fact the prince of life. So he 
is doing this for a particular reason, and that particular reason 
is now found in verses 17 and following. So we've seen the 
authority of the name of Jesus, verses 11 to 16. Now we'll notice 
the necessity of repentance from sin in verses 17 to 21. And if 
we have time, we'll look at the consistency of the Old Testament 
witness to Jesus in verses 22 to 26. Because one of the reasons 
Peter keeps citing from the Old Testament is to highlight to 
these Jews that he is not doing something that the Bible already 
hadn't told them about. That's why he cites Abraham. That's why he cites Moses. That's 
why he cites the Old Testament witness. It's not Peter and the 
apostles that have misunderstood the scriptures. It's the unbelieving 
Jews that have misunderstood the scriptures. And that's why 
Peter grounds his message in that reality. But note first, 
with reference to this necessity of repentance, three things to 
consider here. First, the ignorance of the Jews. 
Second, the plan of God. And third, the call to repentance. 
But note the ignorance of the Jews in verse 17. Yet now brethren, 
now brethren there doesn't mean believers. Later on, he speaks 
of them as being sons of the prophets and of the covenant. 
That doesn't mean savingly. They had this attachment to the 
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When he calls them brethren, 
he is speaking as a Jew to fellow Jews. He's not speaking as a 
believer to fellow believers. He certainly hopes that they'll 
become believers. He certainly hopes that they'll 
repent from their sin and come to the Savior. But when he says 
yet now brethren, He is being gracious. You see, that sort 
of approach that only ever yells at people probably isn't balanced. We need to actually address people 
as image bearers of God and realize that, at least according to the 
flesh, they might be brethren. So he's not shy in bringing conviction 
for sin. He is not shy in telling them 
that they denied and they delivered up the holy and the just one. 
But he comes to them and he says, yet now brethren, you see what 
Peter wants to do or Peter is doing? Peter wants them to listen. 
He wants them to pay attention. He wants them to come to the 
Savior. Peter is being all things to all men so that he might win 
some to Christ. And when he says, I know that 
you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. He is not minimizing. He is not excusing. And he is 
certainly not mitigating their guilt and culpability in the 
crucifixion of the Savior. All the stuff that he had previously 
said is true. They did deliver him up to Pilate. 
They did deny him. They did do these wicked and 
terrible things, asking for Morabius and yet crucifying the very Prince 
of Life. The idea here is that ignorance 
does not imply innocence. It's intriguing because Paul 
in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 13 tells us that he acted ignorantly, 
and then he goes on in verse 15 to describe himself as the 
chief sinner. The book of Numbers specifies 
that there is a necessity for atonement even over what's called 
unintentional sins. In other words, if you went out 
during the day and you did some horrific or atrocious thing, 
and it wasn't intentional, there was nevertheless atonement required 
so that you would have right relationship to God and the community. That was necessary. So when Peter 
says, I know that you did it in ignorance, again, we are not 
to understand this as innocence, any more than we are to understand 
Paul in 1 Timothy 1, 13. Paul is the one that before his 
conversion held the garments of those who were throwing stones 
at Stephen. Saul had blood on his hands. 
Saul dragged men and women, both, off to prison. Saul was consenting, 
giving hearty approval to the death of Stephen when he was 
martyred. So whatever ignorance means, it cannot mean innocence. 
What I think ignorance means is ignorance of their scriptures. 
Ignorance of the truth of God's word. You did it in ignorance 
because nobody in their right mind would have ever denied and 
delivered up the one that their Old Testament scriptures announced 
was coming to them. You did it in ignorance, not 
innocence. That doesn't excuse it. What 
you've done is wicked. What you've done, you're responsible 
for. What you've done, you're culpable for. But they were ignorant 
of the truth. They didn't see that Christ Jesus 
was the man prophesied in the Old Testament. The ignorance 
was an ignorance of the spiritual truth concerning the Messiah 
and how Jesus fulfilled all those things. It's kind of like the 
ignorance that people have today. Again, they hear the word of 
God preached. They read it for themselves. 
They see that Jesus is this one prophesied in the Old Testament. 
They see that Jesus is this one who lived in obedience to the 
Father's law. He died as a sacrifice at the cross. He died as a substitute 
for sinners. He was raised the third day. 
And yet, in their ignorance, they continue to reject him. 
They continue to despise him. And they continue to think things 
like, well, that's not really important. It's an amazing thing, 
brethren, that in North America, people really don't think a lot 
about eternity. We think about today, and we 
think about 5, 10, 15, 20 years. We think about retirement. We 
think about weekends. We think about schools. We think 
about marriage. We think about certain significant 
life decisions. But we don't think about death. 
We don't think about judgment. We don't think about Hebrews 
9. It is appointed for man to die and then judgment. We don't 
think about eternity. We don't consider where will 
we fly away? We don't consider what lies on 
the other side of the grave or the tomb. We don't think about 
that. And I suppose, or I suspect that 
some in this place right now don't give thought to these things. 
You're ignorant. Boy, I don't want to go to that 
church again. He told me I wasn't as smart as a rock and he told 
me that I was ignorant. Exactly, precisely. The Bible 
is clear as to who Jesus is. The Bible is equally clear as 
to who you are. All we like sheep have gone astray. Every single one of us has turned 
aside. There is none righteous, no, 
not one. There is none who seeks after 
God. There is no fear of God before the eyes of carnal man. 
The Bible is crystal clear. Why, in ignorance, will you continue 
to resist and reject this? Why would you continue to plan 
for future education or future marital plans or future retirement 
plans without thinking of the truth that you may die today 
and stand in the presence of a holy God? Why is it that way? Why do we have this native predilection 
against considering God? Heaven eternal things you ever 
try to talk to somebody about the truth of the gospel especially 
here in North America Why would I need the gospel? What good 
news is there for me? I'm rich. I'm successful. I got 
a wonderful family I got a wonderful wife. I got wonderful kids. I 
got a wonderful bank account. I've got a wonderful retirement 
plan All this stuff is in order It's because the church, by and 
large, has reduced the gospel to a message of niceness and 
happiness, and have forgotten the fact that it's a gospel of 
righteousness. We tell those well-adjusted humans 
in North America, you're a sinner, standing justly liable to the 
wrath and fury of God Most High. Let's see if maybe that will, 
even that doesn't arouse them. I mean, you still need the power 
of the Holy Spirit. We're hardened. We're deadened. You're ignorant this morning, 
I bid you, I plead with you, I encourage you to stop. Especially those raised in the 
church, those who have heard the gospel every week, those 
who have heard the gospel every night with faithful parents. 
Those who have read the gospel for themselves, why in ignorance 
would you continue to resist and reject the only one there 
is to save you from your sins? You see, that's what I think 
he's saying. It's not you're ignorant because you're just 
not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier ignorance. It's a 
willful ignorance and rejection of the truth of God's holy scriptures 
that testify that Jesus is the man. See, toward the end of the 
sermon, he's going to appeal to Moses and this Moses-like 
prophet. He's going to appeal to Samuel 
and the rest of the prophets who spoke of Messiah. He's going 
to appeal to the Davidic king in that subset there. And then 
he's going to appeal to Abraham. You see, all of these things 
testify something that should have been obvious, something 
that should have been clear, something you should have gotten, 
just like those Pharisees at the triumphal entry. Why are 
these people calling this man the son of David and singing 
hosannas to him? Jesus says, I tell you the truth, 
if these men don't do it, the rocks are going to rise up and 
do it. That's a willful ignorance. That's a rejection of the truth 
of Holy Scripture. So he's not saying it's that 
you're just not intellectually bright, but rather you have a 
willful ignorance, you have misread the scriptures, and it's the 
apostles who have come now to interpret properly. Now note, 
secondly, the plan of God, verse 18. Intriguingly, what they did 
actually served the plan of God. You see, God's sovereignty is 
comprehensive. It includes even the wicked acts 
of men. If you want more detail on this, 
I point you to our Confession of Faith. The chapter on divine 
providence is very helpful. The discussion in most of the 
the standard reformed systematic theologies is most helpful. We certainly don't have time 
this morning or the ability and competency to explain every jot 
and diddle between God's sovereignty and the evil acts of men. But 
suffice for us now to say that the evil acts of men are included 
in the plan of God and overruled to serve the glory of God and 
the good of his people. And that's precisely what verse 
18 says. Notice, "...but those things which God foretold by 
the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ would suffer, 
he has thus fulfilled." The hearer's ignorance is on further display 
in the fact that God foretold this by all the prophets, specifically 
that Christ would suffer. See, most everybody knows that 
the Jews had this expectation of a Messiah that would be this 
sort of royal authority that would subjugate the Roman Empire, 
and the Jews would have predominance. There'd be a chicken in every 
pot. There'd be a car in every driveway. 
There'd be a job for every man. The Jews would be elevated to 
a place of great earthly esteem and prestige. But the Old Testament 
continually preached a suffering Messiah. You say, well, where 
does it preach that? I know it does in Isaiah 53. 
It does that all over. We're gonna consider Genesis 
3.15 in more detail tonight, but consider Genesis 3.15. He 
shall bruise your heel. The devil would bruise the heel 
of the seed of the woman. That implies suffering. I'll 
argue tonight it implies death. Genesis 22, remember when Abraham 
is told to go up to Mount Moriah with his son, his only son, the 
son that he loves, and to sacrifice him, Mount Moriah, the site of 
the future temple. Abraham takes him up there and 
Isaac's bright enough to say, you know, we got the fire, we 
got the wood, we got everything but the sacrifice. What does Abraham 
say? The Lord will provide. And then 
when we read in verse 13, they see this ram caught in the thicket. 
Abraham takes that and sacrifices it instead of his son. That's not just written to tell 
us nice moral stories about life in Abraham's day. It's to point 
us to Jesus. The whole Levitical system. What's 
Israel taught? Israel's taught, Leviticus, what 
Michael Morales rightly identifies, that Israel is taught that the 
way to God, the way to Yahweh, is through a bloody knife and 
a smoking altar. Again, it's not that the blood 
of those bulls and goats could ever take away sin. Paul tells 
us that later in Hebrews. But they point us to Jesus. In 
other words, this idea of a suffering servant, this idea of a suffering 
Messiah, this is not confined to one small location in the 
Old Testament. Psalm 22, we considered that, 
I think, two weeks ago on a Sunday night. Psalm 22 actually gives 
us more information about the physical torments that Christ 
suffered on the cross than the gospel records do. Psalm 22 details 
the suffering of Messiah even more vividly than Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, and John. For those who say we shouldn't 
sing the psalms or not many psalms because it doesn't have Jesus, 
we get more Jesus to some degree in Psalm 22 than we do in Matthew, 
Mark, Luke, and John. Now, I'm not saying get rid of 
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Jesus is the focus of the Psalms. 
Jesus is the Psalms. It's all about Him. Doesn't He 
do this with His disciples? He starts with Moses. He goes 
to the Psalms. He goes to the prophets to show 
how all those things testified of Him. And it wasn't the Messiah 
that they had envisaged. It wasn't the Messiah that they 
were expecting. It wasn't a chicken-in-every-pot sort of Messiah. It wasn't a 
subjugate-the-Roman-government Messiah. but it was rather a 
suffering servant that would give his life in the stead of 
his people, just like that ram caught in the thicket, just like 
that suffering servant in Isaiah's prophecy, in Isaiah 53. He was 
bruised, he was stricken, he was afflicted. He was a man of 
sorrows, he was acquainted with grief. The chastisement for our 
peace was laid upon him. They missed that. They were completely 
baffled by that. They didn't interpret it properly. 
Peter is not only preaching the gospel to them, but he's giving 
them a lesson in what's called hermeneutics or the science of 
interpretation. He's telling them the very scrolls, 
the very Torah, the very prophets, the very writing, the very things 
that you have hung your hat on, you missed the biggest point. 
You ever get that in your life? You miss the point sometimes? 
Your wife says, you know, the house burned down today, honey, 
and everything's been destroyed, and the rubble, and all is gone, 
and we just have nothing. And hubby replies by saying something 
like, but is the car OK? Hubby, we just lost everything, 
and your concern is for your car? You missed the point. Come 
home, hubby. We've got to do some fixing of 
some things. They missed the point. The testimony from Genesis 
to Malachi is Jesus. And they were ignorant. but they 
serve the plan of God. Notice this fulfillment, verse 
18, those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets 
that the Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. The things spoken by the prophets 
vis-a-vis the very suffering spoken by the prophets are fulfilled 
by these men that had received the prophets. You see why they're 
ignorant? It's willful, not innocence. 
It's culpable. They're responsible. They're 
sinful. They're responsible. One man 
says, or he summarizes the thought this way, God not only reversed 
your ignorant wickedness in putting Jesus to death by raising him 
from the dead, he actually used your folly as the means of fulfilling 
his own purpose, which he had previously declared through all 
the prophets. That's our God. Even the wrath 
of man shall praise him. Our God is the God who takes 
a crooked thing and can make something straight out of it. 
Our God is able to take Saul of Tarsus and raise him up to 
be Paul the Apostle. Our God is able to take the base, 
the ignoble, the despised and lowly things and raise them up 
and do amazing things. I mean, just consider, would 
you have picked the original 12? You'd probably pick companies 
and squadrons and battalions of men to take the gospel across 
the fruited plains. Jesus takes 12 men, one of which 
is going to betray Him. And the rest of the 11, they're 
not the kinds of guys that walk around like they're eight foot 
tall and bulletproof. I mean that Christ in the storm 
narrative in Matthew chapter 8. These guys are afraid. They 
wake Jesus from his slumber and they say, Lord, we are perishing. 
These are men that had been on the sea. These were men that 
had known this sea. These men were men that had probably 
experienced similar things. And yet, it's their cry that 
disturbs the Savior more than the storm itself. You've got 
Peter. Would you have chosen Peter if 
you knew Peter now? Well, he finishes great. In fact, 
this sermon on the day of Solomon's portico is wonderful. Peter denied 
his Lord three times. Brethren, God uses even the wicked 
acts of men for His glory and for our good. Now again, that 
may not satisfactorily fix all of life's issues for you. That 
may produce or present even more questions in your head. But settle 
it, that God is wise. God is eternal. God is good. I love the way Asaph, before 
he tells us, as for me, my foot nearly slipped. In Psalm 73, 
he starts off with this axiomatic truth, Yahweh is good. You see, 
brethren, that's what we need to keep in our heads. We need 
to understand that even the wrath of man does praise him, that 
even the wicked acts of men do serve him. I don't know how, 
and I don't know why. I can't explain the various aspects 
and terms of suffering and problems and life on this earth. I mean, 
there are things that just cause me to shudder when I consider 
it, as I'm sure there are for you as well. But brethren, God 
is good. He's on the throne. You know, 
the kids today say, oh, I got this. God's got this. And faith 
holds on, even in the midst of the trials, even in the midst 
of the storms, even when everything around us seems like it's crumbling. 
Isn't this the point of Psalm 46? Though the mountains crumble, 
though cham fall in to the Pacific Ocean, We're to be still and 
know that God is God, that he will be exalted among the nations, 
that he will be exalted in the earth. We have a text here, a 
classic text, that shows us that God uses even the wicked acts 
of men and brings good to pass. Joseph learned this lesson, didn't 
he? You think you've got family problems? Has anybody in your 
family ever wanted to kill you and then thrown you into a pit 
and then sold you as a slave? to a foreign people? Probably 
not. If they have, I apologize, that's 
a terrible thing. What's Joseph say when all is 
said and done in Genesis 50, 20? You meant this for evil, 
but God overruled it for good. You see, we try to Monday morning 
quarterback with God when we only have a piece of the puzzle. 
We get a little piece in the center of the puzzle and we flip 
out at God. Oh, I can't believe this! God's 
got it all figured out. God has it all purposed. God's 
told us our response in times of trial. Believe you me, brethren, 
Romans 8.28 isn't in your Bible to encourage you on the best 
of days. We know all things work together 
for good when I've got money in my account, when my wife is 
happy, when my kids are happy, when my dog does the dog thing 
outside. All that does show me that God 
is for me. Romans 8.28 means that God causes 
all bad things, all terrible things, all horrible things, 
all miserable things, all things that make you don't even wanna 
get out of bed in the morning, all the sorts of things that 
paralyze you, the sorts of things that make your guts feel like 
they're just in turmoil. He causes those things to work 
for good. See, faith just lays hold of 
that and says, yay, God, thank you. Faith starts Psalm 73 with 
Asaph, truly God is good to Israel. But as for me, he says, I almost 
lost my footing. I saw the wicked flourish, I 
saw the righteous suffer, and it just bugged me. This is the 
paraphrase of Psalm 73. It just drove me nuts when I 
saw that. I saw my brethren, the godly, 
the righteous, the faithful, suffering in their lives. And 
I saw these wicked people just prospering. Everything that they 
touch seemed to turn to gold, seemed to turn to money. They 
get the promotions. They get the beautiful people 
to surround them. They get the cars, the wealth, 
the houses. It didn't make sense for him 
until I went into the sanctuary. It's when I used the public means 
of grace, if I can be reformational in my approach here. It's when 
I went to church and I got God's perspective on the things around 
me. Then it made sense. Then I understood, 
thou dost surely put them in slippery places. They've got 
a recompense coming. Where has the righteous go to 
be with Christ? Brethren, faith holds these things. 
Faith can't explain all these things. If we could successfully 
explain every jot and tittle of the Bible, we would, in fact, 
be as God. There's always mystery. There's always conundrum. There's 
always enigma. I think the most dangerous people 
in the world are people who have the Bible all figured out. Really? The God who is from everlasting 
to everlasting? The God who is infinite, eternal, 
and unchangeable in His being, in His wisdom, and His power, 
and His holiness, and His justice, goodness, and truth? You've got 
Him all figured out? Brethren, the most of us don't 
have the day figured out. Getting out of bed is an accomplishment 
for some of us at some point in life. Finding the coffee maker. Stopping at stop signs. trying 
to make heads or tails out of how to deal with it. And yet 
some are gonna say, I got it all figured out. You do not most 
certainly have it all figured out. God is infinite and we are 
not. God uses even the wicked acts 
of men to accomplish his purpose. And that is precisely the thrust 
of verse 18. Those things which God foretold by the mouth of 
all his prophets that the Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. Well, these guys wouldn't have 
had to think long and say, well, He must have fulfilled them through 
us because we despised, we denied, we delivered up. We asked for 
Barabbas and we crucified the Lord of glory. So Peter tells 
them that even their wickedness is in the plan of God and God 
uses it for His glory and for His good. Again, faith doesn't 
have all the answers, but faith lays hold of God. such things. Now let's look finally at this 
call to repentance in verses 19 to 21. And for those of you who think 
that, oh, he said we'd get to 22 and 26, we're not. We'll just 
take up 19 to 21 and then finish. Note first, the commands given, 
and then secondly, the blessings described. I've often said that 
in the biblical record, God tells us certain things, and then he 
gives us these incentives as if we would need an incentive 
to come to God. Well, obviously we do because 
he gives them to us. You know, everyone in thirst, 
let him come. Let him come and buy and glut 
himself or delight himself in milk and in wine and in water. Isn't that the prophet's invitation 
in Isaiah 55? And he says, come, let your soul 
delight itself in abundance. What's God doing? He's not only 
telling you to come, but he's telling you why you should come. 
It's like when Jesus says, the son of man has come to seek and 
to save that which was lost. And in John 10, when he says 
he lays down his life that the sheep may have life and that 
they might have it abundantly. What is that but an enticement 
or an incentive? If I were to invite you over 
tonight and say, hey, come to my house. I'm going to make the 
best burgers ever. It's the best burgers ever that 
would be the enticement or the incitement for you to come. The 
command is come. The reason why is because you're 
going to eat the best burger ever. Now, please don't show 
up at my house tonight looking for a burger. My wife is away, 
and I simply don't want to cook burgers for everybody here. Do 
you see the point? God not only tells us to come, 
He gives us all these reasons why we should. That's what Peter 
does here. But the command's twofold. He 
says, first, repent. We've met this word already in 
Acts chapter 2. The preaching on the day of Pentecost, 
repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus 
Christ for the remission of sins. That's no new word. Repent, Peter 
says. Repent simply means to change 
one's mind, to feel remorse. Repent, be converted. Alexander 
defines repentance as this way. He says, regret or sorrow is 
only one of its ingredients. It's not just to feel bad about 
sin. If it was just to feel bad about sin, then Esau repented 
and Judas repented, but the scripture tells us they didn't repent. 
You see what I'm saying? Just because you feel bad over 
sin doesn't mean you're repenting. A lot of people out there feel 
bad over certain things they do. Right? Doesn't mean they 
repented. The repentance exhorted here is a change of 
mind. It's a change of heart. It's a change of view. Now, certainly 
fruits follow that, but it is that. He says, regret or sorrow 
is only one of its ingredients. Evangelical repentance in its 
widest sense is an entire revolution of the principles and practice 
of the heart and life. In other words, it's Paul. in 
Philippians chapter three, what things were gained to me, these 
are like dung now. I want no chuck with those things 
anymore. I have Jesus. See, that's what 
Jesus does when he comes to a sinner. He doesn't just tack himself 
on or glom on to your already excellent life. No, he revolutionizes 
the way you think about life. There is this transformation. 
There is this change that occurs. And Peter says, repent. And then 
notice he says, be converted. New King James translates it 
that way. It almost sounds like it's a passive, be converted, 
something has to happen to you. Now, this is certainly true in 
John 3. Something has to happen to you. It's a passive form of 
the verb, be born again, or be born from above. This has to 
happen to you. And we should translate it that 
way in John 3. Here, it's not a passive, be 
converted. Rather, it's an active, be converted. Turn is maybe a 
better rendering of the term. The New King James translates 
it converted. A lexicon says it means to change 
one's mind or course of action for better or for worse, turn, 
return. Now, the better commentators 
that I read sort of encapsulate the two terms this way. Repent 
from your wickedness and turn unto God. That's a good way to 
understand what Peter is saying here. Here's your wickedness. 
You've done these horrible things. You have done these wicked things. 
And the way that you are approach life now going forward is to 
repent of those things. Change your mind as to the legitimacy 
of crying out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Change 
your mind with reference to what happened there at Golgotha. Change 
your mind from what you've done in terms of the Lord of glory 
and turn to God. Now, brethren, I just would like 
to make obvious the obvious. Notice what Peter is saying to 
these Jerusalem sinners. He's telling them to turn to 
God. What does that imply? It means 
that God, this is the most excellent thing ever, will actually receive 
them. Isn't that incredible? We see 
that in chapter 2 as well. Jerusalem sinners. Remember, 
that's who Peter's preaching to both in chapters 2 and 3. Now, why do I call them Jerusalem 
sinners? Because they were the sinners 
that cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. They 
were the ones humanly responsible for the death by crucifixion 
of the Lord of Glory. And yet God the Lord, through 
His inspired Apostle Peter, tells them to repent from their sins 
and to turn to God. And the promise is that when 
they turn, He will receive. Beautiful that the Lord most 
high shows that kind of grace. He shows that kind of mercy. 
He shows that kind of, I speak in the manner of man, the willingness 
to receive sinners. Notice the blessings. Notice what he says, verses 19, 
B to 21. He says, repent, verse 19, and 
therefore, and be converted that your sins may be blotted out. 
That's the first of the blessings described, that your sins may 
be blotted out. For those of us who have had 
their sins blotted out, isn't this the best thing ever? You 
hear little girls talk like, that's the best thing ever. Well, 
anybody who's been forgiven of their sins knows what the best 
thing ever is. It's not a new car, it's not 
a summer home, it's not a big bank account. It's the reality 
that my sin or the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not 
in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no 
more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. That's the best thing 
ever. And that's what Peter says, for 
those who repent of their sins, those who turn to God, that your 
sins may be blotted out. The language is rich and beautiful. The verb means to remove so as 
to leave no trace, to remove, destroy, obliterate, to get rid 
of it completely. We see the verb in Psalm 51, 
David's psalm of repentance. David says in Psalm 51 9, hide 
your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. That's 
a very appropriate prayer for a man who is guilty of the sins 
of adultery and murder. This is a very appropriate way 
for a sinner to pray when he comes to God. He asks God, hide 
your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. We see 
the same idea in the prophet Isaiah. You can turn to Isaiah 
43. Isaiah 43, this whole idea of 
blotting out sin. We've seen the commands, repent, 
turn, and the blessings. The first is the blotting out 
of sins. Notice in the prophet Isaiah 43, 25, I, even I am he 
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not 
remember your sins. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that 
what we rejoice in? And isn't this what gets us out 
of bed in the morning, gets us to church on Sunday? I mean, 
brethren, when all is said and done, Christians aren't a people 
that are better than anyone else. Christians aren't the virtuous 
among the earth. We ought to always be ready to 
say with Peter, are you following because of my power of godliness? 
Because I ain't God either. But we've got forgiveness. We've 
got sins blotted. We've got Yahweh of Israel making 
this pronouncement that he does it for his sake. His name is 
on the line. His faithfulness is at stake. His glory is what is uppermost. Notice in the prophet Isaiah 
44, 44, 21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel, 
for you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my 
servant. O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted 
out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, 
your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed 
you. I mean, we see that right now, 
don't we? Might not be a cloudy day, but it's a smoky day. You 
go further into the interior, it's very smoky, such that you 
can hardly see anything. We all know what a cloudy day 
is. I know in the midst of August, we forget what it's like to have 
all those clouds. Brethren, in a month and a half, 
we will remember all too vividly. We will know this passage like 
we've never known it before. When that rain comes and those 
clouds are stuck in the sky, what does it do? It blots out 
the sun. We can't see it. We don't think 
it's there. And God uses this analogy to 
tell us what He does with our sin. I have blotted out like 
a thick cloud your transgressions, and like a cloud your sins. Return 
to me, for I have redeemed you. The verb is used in Colossians. 
Colossians chapter 2, the apostle is highlighting the blessings 
of salvation in Jesus Christ. Colossians 2, 14 and 15, having 
wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against 
us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the 
way, having nailed it to the cross, having disarmed principalities 
and powers. He made a public spectacle of 
them, triumphing over them in it. This whole idea of having 
wiped out that which was contrary. He has taken it out of the way. He has blotted out our iniquities. 
Now, some of you may be here this morning laden with iniquities. Some of you might have done bad 
things this morning, might have done bad things last night. There 
might be something horrible in your past, and you're just thinking 
about it, and you hear about preaching on sin, and you start 
to think, man, I've got my share of issues. Well, there's a way 
to be rid of those issues, and it's in the person and in the 
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a way to unburden your 
soul this morning. There's a way to find peace with 
God. There's a way to that joyous 
and blessed reception of heaven itself, and it's to come to the 
Lord God Most High through His Son, Jesus Christ. Seriously, 
is there anything better than the forgiveness of sins? There 
just isn't. Blotted out sins is a most blessed 
thing. Remember that woman, which was 
a sinner? She comes into the house of the 
Pharisee, she finds our Lord, she humbles herself before his 
feet, she takes her hair, she weeps over his feet, she wipes 
him thoroughly, and she is showing the love that she has. Why? Because 
her sins, which were many, were forgiven. Therefore she loved 
much the greatest lovers of Jesus are those who at least at one 
time were the greatest Sinners against Jesus and that's what 
that woman which was a sinner illustrates Think about King 
David think about David's psalm there Psalm 51 Think about the 
rest of the Psalms that David composed if you had one thought 
if you had to summarize David Well, you probably say well, 
he was the king of Israel. Okay get that in terms of his religious 
life. You'd say he loved God Didn't 
he? I mean, you just read his Psalms 
and that's what comes out. He loved God. He really loved 
God. There was one time he was going 
to be excluded from the very promised land itself. He didn't 
want to go because it would remove him from the presence of God. 
He didn't want to take that as a job. He didn't want to leave 
the confines of Israel for fear of missing out on God. He loved 
God. He was a wretch that was forgiven 
much by God. So if you don't know this blotting 
out of your sins, listen to Peter, repent and turn. Notice as well, 
times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Repent 
therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out 
so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the 
Lord. Isn't that beautiful? Don't we all need times of refreshing 
from the presence of the Lord? Yeah, I like to go to the beach. 
That's not what's in view. It's not sitting on the beach. 
It's not seeing the ocean. It's times of spiritual refreshment. It's those encouragements from 
God most high. It's the cheering of the weary 
pilgrim. It's the supper of the Lord. It's the presence of God's 
people. It's the singing of psalms to God. It's the preaching of 
the word of God. It's private prayer with God. 
It's private reading of scripture with God. What do we gain from 
that? Our sins have been blotted out, 
but we have these times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. 
So I think you're crazy. Back to the rock, back to the 
worm. You're crazy if you are a believer 
in Jesus Christ and you don't use the means he's given for 
your good. Why? Why won't you use what God's 
given you that's a gift? I said this before with reference 
to the Sabbath. Oh, the Sabbath, it's terrible. 
It was a gift made by God, given for the good of man. Do you ever 
do that to your parents or to a spouse? They hand you a wonderful 
gift and you say, oh, that's miserable. That's terrible. That is just dastardly. Get it 
away from me. That's what the bulk of the church 
does with reference to the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the market day 
of the soul. The Sabbath is when the saints 
of Zion get to draw together with one another into the very 
court of heaven. It's where God is in the New 
Covenant community in a special way. Yahweh loves the gates of 
Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. You know, the 
devil will whisper to you on a Sunday morning, you've had 
a tough week, you've got a sniffle, you've got some issues, you've 
got some problems, you don't feel like going, you shouldn't 
go. Brethren, fight through that. Young families, it's the only 
day of the week where every shoe is lost, where every Bible is 
misplaced, where every diaper is dirty. It is the only day 
where all of those things converge upon busy parents to say, well, 
we should just stay home. No, do not stay home. Fight through it. Why? So that 
times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. 
You know, this week, Wednesday, you've got an early meeting. 
And the tendency is going to be, well, I'm going to sleep 
right up until the edge, get that quick cup of coffee, and 
make the meeting. Get up earlier and read your 
Bible. Why? So that times of refreshing 
may come from the presence of the Lord. Note my language. May come. It's not formulaic. If you approach God that way, 
you're approaching him the way Canaanites approached Baal. God 
is not manipulatable. God is not a vending machine. 
God is not the sort of deity that you put two coins in of 
prayer and out pops your blessing. Times of refreshing may come. But that may come as a blessed 
incentive. But brethren, you should still 
read your Bibles and pray. You should still come to church. 
Well, I'm not sure it's gonna come. The refreshing may not 
be there. Do what you're supposed to do. 
Let's just get, you know, real down to brass tacks. What happened 
to that ethic in our world? You know, just doing what we're 
supposed to do? That's almost a revolutionary 
concept. Why do you just go to work and 
work hard and be on time? It's because I'm supposed to. 
That's a legit argument. That's a good thing. But the 
promise of Yahweh is that those who repent, those who turn unto 
God, receive the blotting out of sin and that times of refreshing 
may come from the presence of the Lord. But that's not all. 
That's not the only incentive. I think these times of refreshing 
is actually Jesus. Notice in verse 20, and that 
he may send Jesus Christ who was preached or announced or 
rather appointed. There's a variant reading here. 
It's either that he may send Jesus Christ who was preached 
to you as we got in the New King James. Every other translation 
based on the other text type says, and that he may send Jesus 
Christ who was appointed to you before. Either way, the idea 
is this. I don't think the sending of 
Jesus in this verse is first or second coming Jesus. I think 
it's Jesus by his spirit and word. This is what Paul prays 
for the Ephesians, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through 
faith. You see, the blessing of God 
is the blotting out of our iniquity, times of refreshing from the 
presence of the Lord. And may I suggest those times 
of refreshing from the presence of the Lord are the Lord himself. It's that known Christ. To use an old Puritan word or 
Puritan phrase, it's a felt Christ. Now we can overdo that and get 
engaged in some pietistic existential experientialism that's just bizarre 
and has no truck with biblical truth. But brethren, there ought 
to be that known presence of Christ in the lives of God's 
people, because the Spirit dwells in us. The Word is our constant 
guide and source and encouragement. And this is what Peter holds 
out to those who repent and to those who turn, so that times 
of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that 
he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before. Now, 
this is a bit of a tricky statement in verse 21, whom heaven must 
receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has 
spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world 
began. Now, essentially, what I think 
is being said here, and again, we don't have time to get into 
all this, is that Christ, on His ascension, sat enthroned 
at the right hand of the Father. And He will sit enthroned at 
the right hand of the Father until the restoration of all 
things. The restoration of all things 
is when Jesus comes again in glory to judge the living and 
the dead. The restoration of all things 
is the new heavens and the new earth. The restoration of all 
things is the consummated glory that the people of God have in 
their future. So the idea is, I think reading 
through this, is that those who repent, those who turn to the 
Lord, receive that blotting out of their iniquities. Those who 
repent, those who turn to the Lord, are those who know those 
times of refreshing that may come from the presence of the 
Lord. Those who repent, those who turn to God, are those who 
will experience the Lord himself, by word, by spirit. It's not 
like Jesus is going to show up at the end of your bed in the 
morning and say, wake up, let's have a day together. That's not 
it, not the physical presence of Jesus, but by spirit and word, 
you have the presence of Christ. And this is the church's benefit 
and blessing This is the church's gift. This is the church's unspeakable 
glory to have until the restoration of all things. In other words, 
Christ enthroned at the right hand of the Father on high does 
not leave his church destitute. He does not leave them orphans. 
He is there with them. He is present among them. We 
see that blessed scene in the book of Revelation. Where is 
Christ? With reference to those lampstands. He's in the midst of them. Christ 
is with his people. The behold, I stand at the door 
and knock, Revelation 3.20. That is not a personal invitation 
text. That is a promise to churches. Those who hear my voice and those 
who open to me, I will come and I will stop with you. See, Peter has a high view of 
church, a blessed view of Christ relative to the church. And this 
is why, if you are sitting here this morning unsaved, you need 
to repent and turn to God. Why? Because your sins will be 
blotted out. Why? Because times of refreshing 
may come from the presence of the Lord. Why? You may receive 
the presence of the Lord himself in your life. And why? Because 
this is God's purpose and plan. until Christ comes and the restoration 
of all things is at hand, the consummated glory. In other words, 
Christ is at the right hand of the Father there to bring glory 
to the Father, to be sure, but to bring benefit and blessing 
and riches to his people, to his church. Beautiful, beautiful 
language that we ought not to jip ourselves out of because 
we're too lazy to show up at church, because we're too apathetic, 
or we're too lethargic, or we listen to the devil on a Sunday 
morning or on a Sunday evening rather than the word of God. 
Yeah, there's probably a hundred reasons why you may not need 
to come to church today, but don't listen to it. If Yahweh 
loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places 
of Jacob, guess where you ought to be? The gates of Zion. That's 
the correct answer. You see, Peter says what you 
need to do, and Peter says why you should do it. Jesus does 
this in his ministry as well. We'll close here. Jesus does 
this in his ministry as well. He doesn't just tell you, come 
to me. He says, come to me. And I will, I will rest you, 
Jesus says. Is that what we all want? Rest? times of refreshing. This world 
is pretty antithetical to biblical faith, isn't it? It gets pretty 
discouraging. Many of us have known of that, 
that, that, that, Ghermint, Hermit, Hermit or Ghermint, Gosnell, 
for many years ago. I remember when the, when the 
cops, the feds, first invaded his place of business, and they 
were horrified at the things they found in cupboards at this 
abortion clinic. After many years, they've made 
a movie of this, and it's called I think America's greatest serial 
killer, at least it's subtitled that way. Do you ever just think, 
I don't want to live in a world where there's a Gosnell? I think 
that. Somebody out there is probably 
saying, I don't want to live in a world where there's a Jim Butler. So 
I get that. I understand that it goes both 
ways. We all want rest. We're all weary. We're all heavy laden. I'm not 
talking about your work-a-day week. I'm not talking about, 
oh, I schlepped this around all day long and I'm just burned 
out tired. I'm talking about sin. When Jesus 
says, all you who are weary and heavy laden, he isn't talking 
about those farmers who just came in out of the field that 
are sweating and their muscles are aching. He's talking about 
those who are burdened with sin. It's that Davidic cry in Psalm 
130. Out of the depths I have cried 
to thee, O God. Lord, hear my voice. What is 
it that put him in that place? Lord, if thou, Lord, shouldst 
mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? That thought alone 
will bury the best of men. It says, but there is forgiveness 
with thee that thou mayest be feared. You see, Jesus not only 
says, come, but he says, come to me and I will give you rest. 
I will justify you. I will give you forgiveness of 
sins, and I will give you the righteousness that is my own, 
that will avail with my Father, because that's what I did in 
my life. I obeyed the Father perfectly, 
every jot, every tittle. And I did that for a reason, 
not just to set out an exemplary life, not just to teach Christian 
ethics, but to satisfy God's requirement for obedience. And I not only lived in obedience 
to that law, but I died on the cross. And again, not for some 
sort of moral sappy sort of thought that, oh, we should just be like 
Jesus. No, he stood in the place of 
his people. He bore the wrath due for our 
sins. He was a substitute. He was a 
sacrifice. So that based on His doing and 
His dying and His being raised on the third day, wretched sinners 
like us, who by God's grace repent and turn to Him, find that our 
sins are blotted out. Jesus gives rest. Jesus alone 
gives rest. Do not continue in that burdensome 
state of sin and misery, but come to Jesus. There's every 
reason in the Bible why you should come. I know there'll be out 
there people saying, well, here's a lot of reasons why you shouldn't. 
Might be teenagers, might be peers, you know. Well, if you 
come to Jesus, then you can't do this. Or if you come to Jesus, 
then you can't do that. Might be adults. You come to 
Jesus, you can't do this, you can't do that. Might be a theological 
system that says you can't come to Jesus because Jesus doesn't 
tell you to come. Brethren, listen to the Word of God. If Peter 
the Apostle on this day stands up and says, repent and turn, 
then by all means, may I say to you, repent and turn. And 
all the benefits that are outlined here will be yours in and through 
Jesus Christ the Lord. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank 
you for this sermon by the Apostle Peter. We ask that you would 
give us ears to hear it, hearts to receive it, minds to contemplate 
these things in the remainder of this day. I do pray for my 
brothers and my sisters here. I pray that you would encourage 
their hearts at the view presented in verse 18, that even the bad 
things in life God has control over, and he works them out for 
his glory and for our good. Increase our faith to accept 
this proposition. Increase our faith to accept 
the Bible's teaching on providence, not to be those that are scattered 
or those that are frayed. But may we draw nearer to you 
in times of hardship and crisis and trial. We ask as well for 
any here that are not saved, those who are in their sins, 
we pray that you would grant them the grace to repent and 
turn unto you. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close by singing 
the doxology. You can find that in your Trinity 
hymnal on page Roman.