From the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster we present Let the Bible Speak. It's good to have you join us today as we spend time around the Word of God, preaching Christ in all His fullness to men and women in all their need. Hear, may his loving voice ever resound! Jesus, our dearest friend, while on life he remains, Holy Comforter, presence divine, Thou in our lowly parts graciously shine. with joy divine. Savior, light, worthy Thine, here may we sing, ♪ Come to our hearts, delight ♪ ♪ Make every burden light ♪ ♪ Cheers of our waiting sight ♪ ♪ We long for thee ♪ Let us please pause as we're met in the presence of the Almighty. Let us still our hearts and let us pray. Our Father under God, we do thank Thee for this meeting today. We do thank Thee, Lord, for the words that we've been able to sing together. We thank Thee, Lord, for Thy presence thus far. Lord, I pray that Thou would be pleased to brood over us for the remainder of this special time together today. We do pray especially as the word of God is read and as comment is passed upon it through the preaching of thy word. We do pray that thou would be pleased to bless Dr. Ken Elliott as he would come later on and preach Thy Word. We thank Thee that Thy Word is all-powerful. We thank Thee, Lord, that it has the power to change a man, woman, boy, or girl. And Lord, I pray that Thou would be pleased to bless in this meeting today. For Thy glory alone we do plead. Amen. There's a lovely portion of Scripture. It's found in the New Testament in the book of Acts. Perhaps we'll turn to it now. Acts chapter 10, verse 34 through to verse 45, please. Acts chapter 10, breaking into the chapter at verse marked 34. Let us hear the Word of the Lord. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, is Lord of all." That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Him God raised up the third day and showed him openly. not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophet's witnesses, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter. because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. Amen, and we do pray that the Lord Himself might bless this, the reading of His own inspired Word to our hearts. One of the hymns of our hymn book starts in a very personal way, speaking of the trust that the individual can have in the Savior. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, trusting only Thee, trusting Thee for full salvation, great and free. We're going to sing that hymn just now. I am trusting thee, Lord Jesus, trusting only thee. brave and free. I am trusting in your hard work, and I believe I am trusting, trusting now. I am trusting, being more plenty in that rich and low. Trusting in the Lord. singing to guide me how the road shall lead. I shall never fail. Words which love thyself shall give thee must remain. For thy great and tender mercy Crouching on the mountain top. We greet thee, Lord Jesus, better than before. It's a great pleasure and privilege for me to be here tonight to have this opportunity of preaching the Word of God. So we want to bow together in prayer and commit this time to the Lord. Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for Thy presence with us. We thank Thee for Thy Holy Word. We pray that we might receive it into our hearts. May the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. And we pray that Thou will grant the power of the Holy Spirit for the preaching of the word just now. We ask these things in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. I want to draw your attention tonight to the words of verse 43 of Acts chapter 10. We read these words. To him, give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. It was not a normal or a usual thing to happen, but it happened anyway. And that was something with tremendous consequences when a prominent official from the Roman security services showed an interest and a desire and showed concern that he had about a soul's salvation. That concern, that desire, led him to inquire of a preacher. The preacher's name was Peter, one of the apostles. And God sent Peter to this man. And the word of God was preached in that household there, in the household of Cornelius, the name of the Roman official. And he was a man of great influence, being a centurion in the army. Through that information, whenever Peter was preaching it in Acts chapter 10, something remarkable happened. God mightily intervened with the result that Cornelius and his household got wonderfully converted. Now, the interesting thing is that right up until this particular time, first of all in Jerusalem, And then in the wider area of Judea, and then in Samaria, many people were getting converted. But now in Acts chapter 10, we're reading that the door is being opened to the Gentiles. And in the course of Peter's sermon in that household of Cornelius, He uttered these words, and that's the words of our text, verse 43 of Acts 10, to him, give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Remission of sins, what would that mean? Well, if we take the word sins, sins is something that we do and say that is a violation of the word of God. Sins is something that happens because we are born with a sinful nature that we have inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve. And the Bible tells us that there's not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. none of us are exempt from this malaise and this malady. We learn elsewhere that the apostle wrote that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So every one of us is a sinner Remission? Remission of sins? Well, remission means forgiveness. And this is exactly what we need because we are sinners. And in the course of us preaching, Peter hit on this tremendous truth. Now, I want you to notice this matter of remission of sins tonight. And I want you to notice, first of all, the person by whom it is procured. We're left in no doubt who the person is. In that statement that Peter made in verse 43, he speaks of him. To him, give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. The him is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And my, what marvelous things are told about him in this particular sermon, at least the record that we have of it in print. We see the identity that he bore. He is none other than the Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God the Son, the Savior of sinners. We are told about Him there in verse 36, the word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. And then in verse 38, How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. He went about doing good. And that's very interesting because we have not only the identity of the person by whom this remission of sins is procured, but we have the ministry that he was exercising. He was going about the land of Israel doing good. healing all those who were oppressed by the devil, and bringing sinners to himself in repentance and faith. But notice the cruelty that he suffered. If you notice verse 39, we are told that, we are witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Such cruelty the Son of God suffered at the hands of His detractors, not only by the Roman soldiers who crucified Him, But because the Jewish authorities hounded him, they found him guilty, so called. But they said, our law forbids the death of any man. We can't kill him. We want you to do it, he said to Pilate. But he suffered grossly at their hands. But notice the dignity he possessed. In verse 40, we are told, him God raised up the third day. It showed Him openly. Death could not hold its prey. The Lord Jesus Christ arose triumphantly over death and the tomb. But notice again, the duty that He directed, Peter is telling us in verse 42. He commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. That's the duty. The preachers were out bringing the message. Cornelius knew who to send for, to bring him to his home, to hear the words of everlasting life. And notice in our text, this is the testimony that Christ attracted. To him, give all the profits. Witness, through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Ladies and gentlemen, this testimony of the prophets is worthy of a deep study. You go back from Genesis right through to Revelation, and you will learn there that the servants of God, those known as the prophets, had wonderful things to say about the death. the atoning death of Christ, his virgin birth, his atoning death, and his bodily resurrection, and his coming again. And the wonderful thing is, they are still giving it in Peter's day. Peter is saying here, to him, give all the prophets witness. He's not saying they gave witness. That was true, of course. But what Peter is saying is, even now, in the written, living, eternal Word of God, these prophets are still giving witness. You may remember that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to the two on the road to Emmaus long ago. And they were mystified at the fact that Christ was put to death and there was no sign of his resurrection. And they said, besides all of this, this is the third day that these things have happened. And the Lord Jesus Christ had this to say to them. We read it in Luke chapter 24 and verse 26. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them and all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." What a testimony. And my dear hearer, let me say this to you tonight. The only way that we can receive remission of sins is through the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving work on the cross at Calvary. To Him, give all the prophets witness. Later, or earlier, Peter said, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. And you and I would do well to receive this witness into our hearts and lives tonight. Receive it, and believe it, and act on it, and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior at this time. But there's something else to notice in this tremendous truth of the remission of sins. Not only the person by whom it is procured, but the principle by which it is realized. Let's read the words again in verse 43 of Acts 10. to him give all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." The principle here is that this remission of sins has to be received by us, has to be taken by us. It has to be appropriated by us. Let me illustrate. If you're hungry, You realize that the hunger pangs are getting a grip. We have to recognize that there's a sumptuous meal prepared for us, that being the case. But it's not going to do us any good unless we appropriate it. It's the same with remission of sins. It's the same with God's salvation. Christ has provided a forgiveness of sins through his precious blood, but it has got to be experienced by us. It has got to be received by us. Look at it another way. If we have debts that we cannot pay, and we're facing great difficulty, But a very kind benefactor comes on the scene and stands in for us and pays the debt that we owe. That's good, but we have got to appropriate it to ourselves and say, yes, that is for me. I accept your offer. I accept your payment. It's the same with God's salvation. We are hungry sinners. Sin has left us that way. There's a hunger that the world can't satisfy, but Christ can, and he has provided the satisfaction in the forgiveness of sins, in this remission, and all that's associated with that, the salvation of our souls and the gift of eternal life. You and I have a debt that we can't pay ourselves. It's the debt that has come about because of our sins. But through God's payment, through Christ's payment on the cross at Calvary, God accepts that. And to show that He accepted that, He raised him again triumphantly from the dead. That's a tremendous truth, friend. You and I are poor, bankrupt sinners. God's payment twice will not demand, first at my bleeding, sure at His hand, and then again at mine, if we will receive Him and accept the payment that He has paid as paid to God on our behalf. or if someone's suffering, they have some disease, the doctor knows how to deal with it, whether by medication or referring such and one to surgery. It's not going to do us any good unless we appropriate the medication, receive it, or submit ourselves to the care of the surgeon. We have a terrible disease called sin, and the only remedy is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what we need. This is what it means to believe in Him, to rest in Him, to trust in Him as Savior. Then I want you to notice, in the final instance, the promise by which this remission of sins is assured. Notice the wording, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. This promise is uninhibitive in its affirmation. It doesn't say might. It says, shall receive remission of sins. The Lord Jesus says, come unto me, all ye that labor under heavy laden, and I will give you rest. John 6 and 37, him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. And it's unlimited in its scope as well. It says, whosoever Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. God loved the world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall. Salvation full at highest cost, he offers free to all. That includes you. And may God grant that you would receive it and receive Christ as your Savior today. you will never regret it, and you'll become the recipient and one who will experience this remission of sins. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Father and our God, we give thee thanks for the glorious message of the gospel, the glorious gospel. We thank thee that God so loved the world that he gave us only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And we are reminded of the words that the apostle wrote, that God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We pray that it would please thee to bless the going forth of thy word. We thank you for those words of Peter whenever he said to Cornelius and his household, to him give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him, shall receive remission of sins." What an experience! And we pray that it would be the experience of all who have heard the Word of God just preached. May we receive with meekness that engrafted Word of the Lord, which is able to save our souls. And we do pray that Christ will be magnified in all the response that there is to His holy word just now. We ask these things in His name and for His sake. Amen. Thank you for spending some time with us today around the Word of God. We look forward to joining with you next time as we seek to let the Bible speak once again. 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