Have you ever received wrong directions from someone? when I was serving in student ministry, we would often drive students home at the end of the night, and on one occasion, we were driving home some students, and there was one student who didn't want to go home quite yet. I would find that out as we were trying to drop him off. He was one of the first students to be dropped off that evening, and as we approached the vicinity of where he lived, all of a sudden I noticed that there was something weird about the directions. He just kept saying, make a left, make a right, Go straight. Keep going straight. Make a left. Make a right. But I knew, eventually, that we're around the same area here, and he just keeps taking us around the vicinity. And finally, I caught on to what was going on. He said, yeah, I just didn't want to go home yet. Now, that's not a big deal. It made for a funny memory. But there are times when giving the wrong directions to people can be much more serious and have much more serious consequences than simply a little extra time and a little extra used gas. Over and over again in the scriptures, God spoke of those who led his people astray. Isaiah chapter 3 verse 12, Oh my people, your guides mislead you. They turn you from your paths. Isaiah chapter 9 verse 16, For those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up. Jesus, speaking in Matthew chapter 15 verse 14, said, let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. Now all the blind guides that I just referenced from those verses in Isaiah and Matthew chapter 15 had this in common. They confidently pointed people in the wrong direction to the harm of those who receive their misdirection. And if there are ever directions that you want to make sure that you have right, it's the directions on how to get to heaven. You want to make sure you know those directions, and you want to make sure that you're able to communicate those directions accurately. You don't want to give people the wrong directions when it comes to that, and of course a bunch of other things, but I'm talking about that at this moment. You don't want to just tell people something like, just believe in God. Reading James chapter two will remind you that even demons have that level of orthodoxy. You don't want to take commonly, you know, said modern evangelistic platitudes and use them as kind of substitutes for the gospel, right? So like a very popular phrase, I know people even in here that I love have used, and I don't think the people in this room would use it as a replacement for the gospel, but one thing that does get used as a replacement for the gospel by some people is that phrase that has been adopted by many, it's not about religion, it's about a relationship. That's not a gospel proclamation. I mean, it's true, right, that at the end of the day it's about having a living relationship with the living God, knowing who the living God is relationally. But then that's also connected with, you know, true and undefiled religion. To use language from James chapter 1, we are called to live out the doctrines of the Christian life. But what you want to do is you want to be careful that you know, above all, you want to know the directions on how to get to heaven, and you want to be able to communicate it accurately, and that's essentially what Peter did in the passage before us. All of the choreography that we've seen in Acts chapter 10, and a little bit before, has led to this point. The fact that Peter was even in Joppa. The fact that God sent an angel to Cornelius. The fact that Cornelius sent men to go call for Peter. The fact that God sent Peter a vision or gave Peter a vision. And then Peter received Gentiles into the home of Simon the Tanner. And then Peter went with Gentiles and even went into the home of Cornelius. All of that has been leading up to this. that Cornelius and those with him would be Gentiles who would hear words by which they would be saved, to use language from Acts 11, verses 13 and 14. And they made for quite an audience. Remember, I told you a couple weeks ago, in Acts chapter 10, verse 33, of the posture that these people had. It's a posture that all of us should adopt when we come together on the Lord's day and we hear God's word preached. They said, now therefore, we are all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God. I mean, they were receptive to hear what God would say through Peter, even as we should be receptive to hear, at the end of the day, the Word of God and the truth that is in accordance with the Scriptures being propounded. And so with that, we make our way into the text. We begin in Acts chapter 10, verses 34 and 35, where we read, Okay, if you look at verse 34, and really verse 35 too, this is essentially the preface to Peter's message. If you look at the text, we notice it begins by saying, then Peter opened his mouth. That expression, opened his mouth, connotes that something of significance about to come out. That's what the expression usually connotes. It's used from a word search that I did four times in the New Testament. It's used in Matthew chapter 5 verse 2 as a kind of preface to Jesus teaching the Sermon on the Mount. It's used in Acts chapter 8 verse 34 as a kind of preface to describe Philip as he opened his mouth to preach Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch in And here, it's maybe perhaps connoting the magnitude of the moment. There Peter is in the house of a Gentile, somewhere that Jews of that day wouldn't be found, but there he is, and he opens his mouth, and what's about to come out is the gospel to Gentiles. It's an epic moment here. I do want to say, though, there is another time, at least that I know of, where that expression, opened his mouth, is used, and that's in Revelation 13, as it relates to the beast of Revelation, specifically Revelation 13.6, to describe the blasphemous words that would proceed from the mouth of the beast. I mention that to say this, being aware of that might help all of us to do a little bit more thinking before speaking. Right? When we open up our mouths, what's coming out? Complaining? Bitterness? Cursing? Backbiting? Slandering? False doctrine? What's coming out? Or is blessing, encouragement, truth, things that are going to edify those who are hearing? Sound doctrine? Are those things that are coming out? Look, you don't have an inspired narrator like Luke was, saying, then so-and-so opened his mouth. But you don't need that. Because when you open your mouth, God takes notice. He knows what's going to come out before you even speak. Before a word is on your tongue, He knows it all together. But when you speak, the words that you speak are significant. So this is just a reminder to us, I think, could be, that even as Peter opened his mouth and something great and significant was going to come out, let's just be mindful of the words that come out of our mouths when we open up our mouths and speak to others. And of course, when we're proclaiming truth, Then there's what Peter said. He begins by saying, in truth I perceive. Very literally, of a truth I understand. The NIV catches the sense of the words here. Now I realize how true it is. That's essentially what Peter was saying here. Now I realize how true it is. As a Jewish person, Peter was steeped in the Old Testament. He knew that God did not show partiality. He knew, Deuteronomy 10, verse 17, for instance, that said, Now let me say a few things about this partiality that's being spoken of here. In the context of Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 17 that I just quoted to you, the two verses earlier, God speaks about his sovereign election of Israel. He speaks about Israel being sovereignly elected. So God not being partial is not an anti-election statement, it's an anti-injustice statement. Because in Deuteronomy 10.17, we're told that God does not show partiality, nor does He take a bribe. He's not unjust. For instance, if you were to look in Deuteronomy 10.18, we're told He administers justice. So God, even though he chose Israel, Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 15, would not show partiality towards Israel in the sense of overlooking Israel's sins just because he had chosen Israel. That would be unjust partiality. He doesn't do that. Let me explain a little bit more about this partiality that God does not do. God doesn't let people off of the hook because of their ethnicity. If you need a textual example of that, you could look at Matthew chapter three, verse nine. Remember those that were around John the Baptist, and John the Baptist knew what they would be thinking in their minds. We have Abraham as our father. Having Abraham as their father, being genealogically connected to Abraham didn't excuse them from fleeing from the wrath to come. God doesn't let someone off of the hook because of their economic status. A poor person cannot enter into heaven because of their poverty. They're not saved via their poverty. They need to be saved, the same way anybody else does, through the riches of Christ's sacrifice. And in like manner, you could say very clearly that a rich person cannot bribe the just judge of the universe. they too must repent and receive his ransom, the Lord Jesus Christ. And by the way, so does everybody in between. The poor, the rich, everybody needs to come in through that same door who is the Lord Jesus Christ. But again, based upon Peter's knowledge of the Old Testament, when you look at the text, and he says, again, just looking at the text, verse 34, he opened his mouth, he said, in truth I perceive. It's like now I really understand that God shows no partiality. He knew this. He knew that God would judge sinful Israel. He knew that by knowing the Old Testament. He knew that God wouldn't exclude believing Gentiles, like Rahab the harlot, or Ruth the Moabite, or the Ninevites who repented at the preaching of Jonah. He knew these things, but it's as though Peter is saying this moment, now I really get it. seeing how God orchestrated this and I'm standing here in the presence of a Gentile that God sent an angel to and so on, I really get it now that God is not partial in the sense of giving the stiff arm to nations outside of Israel. We'll talk more about that in a moment. Look at the text. Look at verse 35. But in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. Now, before I explain to you what that text means, we have to take a moment, I think, to establish clearly what Peter did not mean here. If you want to talk about a dangerous verse to take and rip out of its context, Acts 10.35 is one of them. And you can do a lot of damage and you can come to a lot of wrong conclusions if you rip verses bleeding, as it were, right out of their context. My favorite example, perhaps, of this is Ecclesiastes chapter 10, verse 19. It's always a risky thing to just take a verse out of context. Ecclesiastes 10, 19 says, a feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry, but money answers everything. So somebody who just says, God, I'm just going to open the Bible. Just speak to me from any verse that I read. I'm just going to pluck one out of its context. Imagine if they show up at Ecclesiastes 10, 19. A feast was made for laughter. Wine makes merry. But money answers everything. So somebody not knowing the context, that Ecclesiastes is providing a kind of critique of life under the sun, the vanity of life under the sun, contrasted with the beauty and the purpose that is found in life under heaven. If somebody doesn't know that, they might look at this and say, wow, money is the solution to all my problems. The Bible says the money answers everything. You see how dangerous it is to rip verses out of their context? Well, here's a verse that people could do that with. People could look at this verse and say, look at Acts 10.35. In every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. There you go. If you just find people who fear God or their conception of God, wherever they might be found, and they do some right things, God accepts them. Well, let's understand that it clearly does not mean that. You gotta nuance this big time, in light of the context. First, I'm going to say, for starters, Cornelius, who is the most immediate example of somebody that Peter would be talking about here, he was a God-fearer, and he was doing righteous acts, like praying, fasting, giving alms, and yet the angel told him that he needed to hear words by which he and his household would be saved. Acts chapter 11, verses 13 and 14. So you see, even though he was a God-fearer, even though he was doing righteous things, and they ascended before God as a memorial before him, he was not saved by them. The text right in the context tells you he still needed to be saved. Now second point, in Peter's preaching, Peter is going to make abundantly clear, in like 10 verses, less than 10 verses, he's going to make it abundantly clear that the only way forgiveness comes is through receiving Jesus Christ and believing on him for salvation. That comes up in Acts chapter 10, verse 43. So this verse does not teach that somebody just fearing God and doing right things means they're saved, nor does it mean that somebody just fearing their conception of God and doing things that they believe to be in alignment with their conception of God, that they're saved. You know it doesn't mean that in light of the context. Acts 10, 43, Acts 11, verses 13 and 14. So what is Peter saying? Remember the context. What is Peter speaking about? He just said that God does not show partiality, Acts chapter 10 verse 34. So Peter is essentially saying that God does not stiff arm those who fear him by his grace, more about that in a moment, and who seek to do what's right in his eyes just because they are Gentiles. Rather, all who by his grace fear him and seek him, he will welcome them. That's the idea, I think, of the word accepted. More about that in a moment. He will welcome them and bring them to himself via the gospel. We'll walk through the language. I'll let you see it in the text. Peter says, look at the beginning of verse 35. But in every nation. Context, he's talking about what divine impartiality is. But in every nation. Not just the Jewish nation. But in every nation, God is not only the God of the Jews, He's the God of the Gentiles, to use language from Romans 3, verses 29 and 30. Not to mention, this is put here at the beginning of the sentence in the New Testament Greek, which is often a place of emphasis. as though to say Peter is saying, but in every nation, that's where the emphasis of divine impartiality is. God is gracious, showing favor towards people in all different parts of the world, all different ethnicities, not just limiting that gracious favor to the Jewish people. Peter continues saying, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. Who is the exhibit A example that Peter has in mind? It's right in front of him, Cornelius. Cornelius is the Exhibit A example. He was a God-fearer, and he was doing works that actually ascended as a memorial before God. Now here's part of the key to understanding this. There's that word that's there, accepted. It's the word dektos in the Greek. It's not used many times in the New Testament. It's a word that when you look at the other places in which it's used, it's a word that can mean welcomed, or it's a word that can mean God's favorable attitude towards something. So Cornelius still needed to be saved. Cornelius was not justified yet by faith. To use a football analogy, let me use a football analogy to help us understand this. God had brought Cornelius down the field. He's to the one yard line, but he's not in the end zone yet. God had brought him that far, and even though he was a Gentile, God, you might say, put out the welcome mat to him because he was somebody who by God's grace sought him. Let me just explain that briefly. He hasn't crossed into the end zone, but grace had taught his heart to fear. That's where the fear of the Lord comes from. You could look at Jeremiah 32, verses 39 and 40. You could look at Jeremiah 24, verse 7. I think John Newton was right when he wrote, an amazing grace was grace that taught my heart to fear. The spirit of the Lord is called the spirit of the fear of the Lord. Naturally, according to Romans 3, there's no fear of God before the eyes of fallen man. So if fallen man does fear God, it's because of the grace of God. So here Cornelius is, by the grace of God, fearing God, and God, as it were, dektos, lays out the welcome mat. Even though he's a Gentile, he's welcome to come and hear the gospel and be received into God's presence, ultimately, forever via the gospel. That's the idea here. Again, to use a football analogy, God is the one who graciously brought Cornelius down the field to the one yard line. Remember, no one can come to the Son unless they are drawn by the Father. And again, no one would seek God. Romans 3 tells you that, that the fallen man doesn't, quoting Old Testament passages. No one does. Psalm 14, Psalm 53. You could look at the Psalms in the Old Testament teaching that too. But here's the idea. Cornelius feared God. He was seeking to do what's right in accordance with what God had revealed to him, and God, as it were, put the welcome mat out for him, and now he was going to hear the gospel through Peter. He responded to the light that he had by God's grace, and God was going to give him the light of the gospel, and he was going to believe and be saved. Now with that said, Peter proceeded to his gospel presentation. Look at verse 36. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. So that's where Peter begins. He starts by saying where this message was first issued. God preached peace. We're sent the word to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ. Cool thing to know about that word preaching. It's an inflected form of the Greek word euangelizo. which means to proclaim good news or glad tidings. So you get that sense here that he's proclaiming. He sent the message to proclaim good news. And what was the good news? The good news was peace through Jesus Christ. Now this assumes that without believing in Jesus as Savior, men and women do not have peace with God. And that's what the scripture tells us. You could look at Romans 5.10, Romans chapter 8, verses 7 and 8, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 3, Colossians chapter 1, verse 21, and you would find that we were at enmity with God in our minds, alienated from him by wicked works and so on. We did not have peace with God before the gospel. We were at enmity with God. But the good news is that God extends the offer of peace to men and women through Jesus Christ. I recently read of an exchange that F.B. Meyer is said to have had with a woman in England about receiving God's grace through faith, but she couldn't understand his message, and she told him that she couldn't understand his message. So the next day, whatever the context was, they were having tea, and he told her, Madam, may I please have a cup of tea? And she looked at the table, and she said, why, Dr. Meyer, you have a cup of tea. And then a little bit later on, he said again, will you please give me a cup of tea? And so she replied, why Dr. Meyer, don't you see you have a cup of tea right there at your plate? And then not too long after he said, please give me a cup of tea. I'm so tired and I need it. She was bewildered. She started to speak, but then she caught herself. She caught her breath and she said, oh, Dr. Meyer, I see it all now. What you mean is that the Lord's blessing, power, and forgiveness are right here before me, yet I am asking and asking for it instead of taking it and finding peace through our Lord Jesus Christ. You see how good the news is? The offer of peace, it's right here. It's being extended to you. You're not being asked to jump through spiritual hoops to get it. You are just being called by the grace of God to repent, to turn away from your sin, and just simply to receive it. Receive the beautiful offer of peace from the God of the universe through His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no peace with God the Father apart from believing and receiving His Son. It's there to be had. If only a person will just receive it. And yet unbelief and sin can make us so blind to what's right here. Good news. Simply receive it. If you receive it, then you have, by God's grace, peace with God. Bumper sticker theology is always risky. It can often be dangerous. But every once in a while, you find a bumper sticker that you look at and you say, ah, you know what? Kind of like that bumper sticker. I think of that one that says, know Jesus, know peace, right? N-O, Jesus, N-O, peace, right? Like without Jesus, you don't have peace. But then it says, K-N-O-W, know Jesus, K-N-O-W, know peace. It's true. If you savingly know Jesus, you're trusting him, well then you truly will know peace. Peace ultimately with God forever. Peter goes on and he basically implies that the gospel is available to all because Jesus, as he said, look at the text still, verse 36, because Jesus is Lord of all. So he's not only the Lord of the Jews, he's the Lord of all. He is over all. Savingly, he is the Lord of all who would believe in him from every tribe, kindred, and tongue. But ultimately, he's still Lord of everybody because at the end of the day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He is Lord of all. You would also argue that this clearly appears to be, at a minimum, an implicit witness to the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. And let me just add one more thought. This is a little bit of an extended pastoral application, but I think it's warranted. If you call Jesus your Savior, but you do not live like he's your Lord, you should really question whether or not Jesus is your Savior. Don't take my word for it. God's word tells you this. God's word tells you in a whole bunch of places this kind of thing. I'll give you two verses. In 1 John 2, verses three and four. Now by this we know that we know him. If we keep his commandments. He who says I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. You could know a lot about Jesus. You could have a lot of information about Jesus. You could even say, I look at the religions of the world, and I think Christianity is a better option than all of the other ones. I think Jesus wins. You can do all of that. And at the end of the day, you may not be saved, because if you are truly saved, you're not only going to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord in this kind of general way, but you will apply it to your life personally. He saved me from my sins. He rules my life now. I'm not perfect. I still have to be saved, but I'm still saved by His blood, and I'm still a fallen man or fallen woman, but I know that He's my Lord. There's a new spirit that's come into me, the Holy Spirit. I'm a new creation in Christ. I have a new direction. I have a new agenda for my life. So if a person says, Jesus is my Lord, but they live like they are their Lord, or sin is their Lord, then you have to question. You want to question yourself, you'd question somebody else. And you say, John said, if we say that we know him, but we live in disobedience to him, we don't keep his commandments, we are lying. That's so important. A good reminder for all of us. When Peter continues to unpack gospel history, in verses 37 and 38, he says, the word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him. So beginning in verse 37, Peter says to Cornelius and company, the word you know. So they had some knowledge of Jesus's earthly ministry. How much did they know? I don't know. How did they know? I don't know. Did they know from Philip? Philip moved right to where Cornelius was, like in Caesarea, see Acts chapter eight, verse 40. Did they know via Philip? Did they just know because during Jesus's earthly ministry, word had spread so far about what he had done? I don't know. But we know that they knew some amount of imperfect knowledge about what Jesus Christ had done. So Peter said, the word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. Peter's telling Cornelius and company a little bit of history, gospel history. Let me just tell you a little bit of gospel history. You might remember that John the Baptist was the predicted forerunner of the Messiah. John preached a baptism of repentance to Israel. It was shocking to many in Israel that John the Baptist would call them to be baptized so as to be prepared, showing that they were repentant, and to be prepared for the coming of the Messiah. You might remember that Jesus in those days, he went to be baptized by John because God demanded that kind of obedience from Israel in those days. But Jesus told John to do it because it was appropriate for all righteousness to be fulfilled. Let me just remind you, Jesus stood in your place at the Jordan River. and Jesus hung in your place at the cross. One can be a reminder that you're not only saved by his death, but you're saved by his life. He fulfilled all righteousness. He stood in the place of sinners at the Jordan River, doing what God had called the people of Israel to do in that day. And then you can be reminded that you're saved ultimately, of course, by his death, because he hung in the place of sinners at the cross. So he's telling them a little bit of history here, and that Jesus's earthly ministry would begin in Galilee. Remember, after Jesus was baptized by John, then the Holy Spirit leads him into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan for 40 days, and then what happens after that? We're told in Luke chapter four, verse 14, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. So it's a little bit of the history that Peter is essentially unpacking there. And then you look in verse 38, it's as though Peter flashes back to the baptism of John where God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Now in the Old Testament, Old Testament kings, Old Testament priests, they were anointed with what? Oil. and the oil would be poured upon their heads, and it would be emblematic of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Well, Jesus was not anointed with oil at the Jordan River, but instead, as we're told in Luke's Gospel, Luke 3, verse 22, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit because, as the text reads, the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him. So you look at all those anointings in the Old Testament with oil, and it's pointing to what the reality ultimately is, God empowering a person through the Holy Spirit. And think of Jesus in the Jordan River. The Holy Spirit descends in bodily form upon him, and he is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was given the Holy Spirit without measure. John chapter 3, verse 34. This showed him to be the Messiah. You could look at Luke chapter 4, verses 18 through 21. And this is one of the many reminders that even as Jesus was truly God, Colossians 2.9, the fullness of the deity dwelt in him in bodily form, this is a reminder that he is also truly man. Because as the one who is truly man, God the Father gave the Holy Spirit to his son, poured out the Spirit upon him at his baptism. And notice what he did through the power of the Holy Spirit. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Look at this king. Look what he did. He goes about in perfect diligence doing good and freeing those who are under the tyranny of Satan's oppression. That's what he did. If you know history, and the more you look at history, the more you can be amazed at what Jesus of Nazareth did. Because when you look at other kings and what they did when they traveled from place to place to place, they didn't do what Jesus of Nazareth did. You take somebody like Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great conquers the known world in about 10 years or so, and as he's going from place to place, the amount of casualties that are ascribed to his military campaigns range. Some say, conservatively, they're in the low hundreds of thousands. Some estimate as high as into the millions. That's what that king did as he went from place to place conquering. You know what this king did as he went throughout all of Judea? He was healing and doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. What an amazing king. What a taste of the kingdom. That's what it's like to be in his kingdom. He went about doing good. Now, let me give you a little bit of application here at this point, and I think it's helpful. In a world when it can so often feel like you don't know what to do, right? Like, what am I going to do about the UN situation? You could pray about it. What am I gonna do about multiple attempts? Evidence showing inside job is a likely candidate here of what's happening with a presidential candidate. What can I do? Well, you could pray about it. It's not that you can't do anything. What can I do about what's going on in our world and geoengineering happening in the skies? What can I do about that? Well, you could pray about it. You might not know what to do, but I'm gonna tell you this. When you don't know what to do in the light of the world in which you're living, you can always do good by God's grace. Even if you're in a hospital bed and you have consciousness, you could still pray, you could still be a light and speak words of kindness to somebody. If you have that capacity to speak, you can say words of kindness to somebody, share the gospel with somebody, you can do good. I would encourage you to take the question that David asked in 2 Samuel 9, verse 1, and then apply it to yourself. As a Christian, in 2 Samuel 9, verse 1, David said, is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul that I may show kindness to him, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Is there anyone left from the house of Saul that I could show kindness to for Jonathan's sake? Why don't you take that and you kind of apply it to yourself as a Christian. Is there anyone to whom I may do good to today for Jesus' sake? Just think about that. So you may not know what to do in the great macro scheme of the world, but don't worry, God's got that under control and you can pray, but don't overlook the good works that are before you to do. You can do good. To use language from Spurgeon, the same ministerial empowerment that empowered Jesus there at the Jordan River, the person of the Holy Spirit, is the spring of our ministerial empowerment. Henry Morris said, the modern world tends to ridicule do-gooders, but if Jesus is our example, we should also go about doing good. You have received that mandate. God has called you to go about doing good. Galatians 6, verse 9 says, And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. The writer of Hebrews said, But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Hebrews 13, verse 16. So note, by the way, you can grow weary in doing good. Note, you can neglect to do good. So all the more you want to be intentional to persevere in doing good and to be intentional about doing good. Because you can grow weary in it and you can neglect it. As a matter of fact, you can be so overcome by evil that you don't want to do good and you end up doing evil without realizing it. But the scripture tells you in Romans 12 verse 21, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. To use language from John Wesley, do all the good you can in all the ways you can to all the people you can as long as ever you can. Do good. You may not know what to do in a given situation, but I'll tell you what to do. Do good. Is there anyone to whom I may do good today in Jesus' name? It's a helpful way to live. I'll move on from some other additional comments I'd give on this verse for the sake of time. Let's look at verse 39. And we are witnesses of the things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. So Peter, here, the consensus appears to be that he's speaking of himself on behalf of the other apostles, and we are witnesses of all these things. They were called to be witnesses, Acts chapter one, verse eight. In light of what Peter says in Acts 10, 41, he likely has the other apostles in view, though some think maybe he's speaking about the six Jewish brothers who are with him. The point is that there were many eyewitnesses to the good and the healings that Jesus did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. Cool thing to note here. Peter says the word you know. He said that earlier. You heard about this. But now Peter's saying we saw this. It's as though he's telling the Gentiles what you heard about. It's not fairy tale. It's not just a story. We actually saw this happen with our eyes. Christianity is rooted in historical truth and eyewitness testimony. It's a good reminder for us. Then he speaks of Jesus' death. He said, whom they, the Jewish people, particularly, we know, the Jewish religious leadership and those who would call for Jesus' death, they killed Him by hanging on a tree, by hanging Him on a tree. The tree is a euphemism for the cross. Not hard to see why that would be. The cross was comprised from the wood from a tree. And why did Peter use that language? My guess would be, perhaps he called to his mind, and maybe was calling to mind for the readers, or the listeners, Deuteronomy 21 verse 23. Remember God had said in the Old Testament, for he who is hanged, context, on a tree, Deuteronomy 21, 22, and 23, he who is hanged on a tree is accursed of God. Remember Paul quoted this in Galatians 3.13 to show us the significance of Jesus hanging on a tree. Paul said, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. Now, there's a lot I could say there. I'm gonna move on, because Peter moves on, so let's move on. But he's basically saying, this is the beautiful thing that happened. Christ hung, as he's going to explain, for the remission of sins. Christ hung, and we know that he was cursed with the wrath of God being upon him, so that we might be blessed. That God's wrath would be upon him, so that God's blessing, forgiveness of sins, would forever be on us through Christ. Well, then he moves to the resurrection. Look at verses 40 and 41. Him God raised up on the third day and showed him openly, not to all people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead. And you have to love this. God, whose word is impeccably trustworthy, nonetheless displayed Jesus openly. God gives this amazing evidence. I mean, if there's anyone who could say, just trust me, it would be God. And we should trust every word that comes out of God's mouth via the scriptures, of course. But when it came to the resurrection, God provided open, manifest, visible testimony that he raised his son from the dead. In God's plan, his design was not for his resurrected son to walk the streets of Jerusalem displaying himself to everybody in the city. But that didn't mean that God didn't appoint in his design for there to be witnesses. He did. And the list of witnesses to the resurrection is rather large. Just in case you're not familiar, let me just remind you how many people saw Jesus rise from the dead, or saw him after he rose from the dead. Mary Magdalene, the other women on the road, as we see in Matthew 28. Cleopas and the other disciple on the road to Emmaus. Peter had a personal encounter with the risen Christ. Ten out of the eleven apostles saw the risen Christ on the resurrection Sunday evening. A week later, all of the apostles would be there, the eleven, because Thomas would be there as well. Seven disciples by the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Five hundred disciples saw him at one time. James had a personal encounter with the risen Christ. James, the Lord's brother. The disciples that saw him ascend into heaven. Paul on the road to Damascus. Many people were able to witness the fact that Jesus rose from the grave. God displayed it openly, manifestly. Nathan Busenitz in his book, Reasons We Believe, he passed along the account of a Buddhist in Africa who was converted to Christianity. And when asked why he changed religions, he replied, it's like this. If you were walking along and came to a fork in the road and two men were there, and one was dead and the other was alive, which man's directions would you follow? And I love that. That was that Buddhist way of saying, you know what, Jesus rose from the grave, and if He's telling me how to get to the Father, I'm going to take His word for it. The unbeliever might say, if only I saw the risen Christ, then I too would believe. I think Spurgeon's words provide a fitting response to such an erroneous mindset. Spurgeon said, When every strip of land in the far off east has been an exposition and a confirmation of the prophecies of Scripture, if men are yet unconvinced, do ye suppose that one dead man rising from the tomb would convince them? If the Holy Scripture be not in the hands of God enough to bring you to the faith of Christ, then, though an angel from heaven, then, though saints from glory, then, though God himself should descend on earth to preach to you, you would go on unwed and unblessed. If you look at the end of the verse here, that statement, even us who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead was a witness to the fact that Jesus had a real, physical, bodily resurrection. When we get to verse 42, Peter says, and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. You see, part of the message that Jesus had ordained for Peter to preach about a judgment to come and that he's the judge. That's part of the message, the reality of forthcoming judgment, and even to be specific, that Jesus is the judge. And as I told you two weeks ago, so I tell you again today, think of how startling it might be to think of this, but it's nonetheless true. Either Jesus will be your savior, or on that day, Jesus will be your judge. You have before you the most ultimate ultimatum. Yes, it's an offer of peace. It's amazing. The offer of eternal peace with God. At the same time, it's the ultimate ultimatum. Receive Jesus as Savior, or be assured, he will be your judge. Not in the beamer seat sense, the beamer seat sense where he's gonna judge the righteous deeds and believers and test the works, I should say, but in the sense of judging those who'll be sentenced to the lake of fire. I think this is important to note because much of modern evangelicalism has gone the route of leaving out words like hell or judgment or wrath. in exchange for words like hope, healing, and purpose? Does Jesus give you hope? Yes, eternal hope. Does Jesus give you healing? Yes, healing of my soul in so many times. Praise be to God, he's given us healing in the here and now. Thanks be to God for that. Does Jesus give you purpose? Yes, he does. But those words should not be a substitute for the other words like wrath and judgment and hell. God appointed Peter, preach. Not only that Jesus is Savior, but that Jesus is judge. And that brings us to the punchline, you might say, the response that the good news demands. Look at verse 43. To him, all the prophets witnessed that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. So look at the ground that Peter is covered, to use an outline from Spurgeon. He's covered Jesus' person, verse 36. He's covered Jesus' life, verses 37 and 38. He's covered Jesus' death, verse 39. He's covered the resurrection, verse 40 and 41. He's covered the judgment to come, verse 42. And now he moves to the subject of salvation and how to receive it, verse 43. Peter says to him, that is to Jesus, All the prophets witnessed that through His name. So they're pointing to Him in one way or another, saying that through His name, through His merit, through His sacrificial work, whoever believes on Him, whoever from every nation, Jew or Gentile, doesn't matter who they are, whoever believes in Him will receive the remission of sins. One of the most beautiful aspects of the gospel, and doubtless it's connected to every glorious aspect of the gospel, is the remission of sins. Remission of sins. I've seen multiple writers in preparing for today share the words of a well-known secular novelist who said, not long before she died, what I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness. I have nobody to forgive me. Unbelief, it blinds people to the one who is there, to the one who is offering forgiveness, complete forgiveness to all who believe in his son. In that reality, the fact that you could be forgiven for all that you've done should make you and me cheer, cry, praise, and stand amazed for the remission of sins. Just let those words flow off your tongue, the remission of sins, the forgiveness of sins. And when you know that your sins would be the anchor that would weigh you down to eternal judgment, while also being the blockade between you and a relationship with the living God, can there be any better news than the forgiveness of sins? When you know that the recitation of guilty deeds at the great white throne judgment would bring you not only shame, but it would be a prelude to the gavel of judgment falling upon you with inescapable finality, can there be any better news than the forgiveness of sins? when you know that your sin would not only have secured unending misery, or to use language from Hebrews, a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour all of God's adversaries. Can there be any better news than the forgiveness of sins? No wonder why David would say in Psalm 32 verse 1, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. No wonder why David would exclaim in Psalm 32 verse 5, And you forgave the iniquity of my sin. No wonder Jesus would say, Son, be of good cheer, or take courage, your sins are forgiven you. Maybe today is a fitting place to end today's message by saying to the son or daughter of God, Christian, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you. Thanks be to God. And to those who are outside of the Gospel, I invite you to enter in to receive that which is the difference between heaven and hell, the forgiveness of sins. through believing on Jesus Christ, that He is who Peter declared that He was, and that He is the only way to the Father, and that through His death and victorious resurrection, you can have the forgiveness of sins. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for the forgiveness of sins. How blessed we are to receive the forgiveness of sins. I pray, Father, that everyone in this room will, by Your grace, not only have received the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, and by Your grace, Lord, subsequently rejoice in the forgiveness of sins, but even those who come in today knowing You, that we might cheer, praise, stand amazed at this amazing gospel message, peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and the remission of sins. Thank you, Father. We love you. It's in Jesus' name we praise you for your word. Amen.