New Road Church

The Apostle Paul is here stoned to death...or so the unholy alliance of Jews and pagans thought. He recovered and continued his preaching. Later, he includes this event in a list of many of the tribulations he had faced in his Christian life. He had as an example the Lord Jesus Christ who himself suffered and who said that his disciples must daily carry their cross for his sake. Out tribulations are ordained by God for his wise and loving purposes, so we accept them and patiently pray for our deliverance. They are also steps in our ongoing entrance into the kingdom of God, or "Kingdom of heaven". Believers are in the kingdom now, and their path to the more immediate fellowship with God in the resurrected state has its tribulations, but the knowledge of this glorious end should be an encouragement to the suffering saint.

There is a widespread dispensation of mercies by God towards the people of this world, both elect and non-elect. We might think of this as the groundwork of grace, although we should avoid using the term "common grace". It is better to reserve this word for that special work of God which he carries out on his elect people, and the term is in any case usually associated with the "well-meant offer" of the gospel, which we deny. The word of grace itself is the gospel, and it is a valuable, life-changing message. Those who have been drawn into God's kingdom through it should desire to hear it and share it: to hear, because the saved should love to hear the gospel; and to share because it is our duty and joy to tell others of the sovereign grace of God.

The text in focus here is v48: "all who were ordained to eternal life believed". The order is critical. The sinner repents and believes on Christ because he was appointed to do so. This is not an election based on observing the future and electing on that basis. God elects his people, Christ died for them, and they shall all, without fail, be brought into God's kingdom in due time. This doctrine should be a source of great joy and comfort to the believer.

Paul offers three OT references to his audience as he delivers the gospel. His reasoning is that the covenant promises made to David were firstly widened to national Israel then to the true Israel. The blessings promised include forgiveness and life everlasting, and the evidence is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everyone who has ever died, including David, have suffered corruption in Hades, the grave. Yet the way for our resurrection was paved by Jesus when he raised himself from the dead.

Barnabas and Saul are called by a Roman official to share the gospel with him, a golden opportunity. They are opposed by another court official, a false prophet, but the Holy Spirit through Saul—or Paul, as he was to become—put an end to his opposition. The conversion of the Roman proconsul is the focus, though. It can be seen what the gospel was which he believed, why it took place when it did, and what the ultimate cause of the conversion was.

In the final instalment of our short series, we come to the Holy Spirit. The most common way of listing the triune persons is in this order, but they are listed in alternative ways in scripture. The Spirit is the only person whose personhood has been questioned. Yet the word of God clearly presents him as a person as much as the Father and Son. In this week's message, we consider his eternal nature, his life-giving and life-upholding power, and the various ways in which he has worked in the hearts of the saints.

The Son of God is considered firstly as God, then a son of the Father. We also consider his roles of messiah and judge.

It would be arrogant to think our doctrines of God adequately describe him. However, the doctrine of the trinity is the formulation which best reflects what we believe revelation tells us. There is one God, but three persons of the same "essence", a philosophical term. The first instalment is about God the Father, and the different types of fatherhood are considered. Principally, he is Father to Christ Jesus, and his fatherhood of the elect is an image of this heavenly relationship.

To be set apart is to be made holy for the Lord's service. Using Saul as an example, we can see how he was set apart from before he was born, set apart in his conversion, and set apart for the gospel.

Herod commits a great offence against God, and the Lord had determined to make an example of him. His crime? Accepting honour due to God alone. An angel afflicts him with a disease from which he soon dies. Rulers, like all men, have a duty to give God the glory in all things. Yet most rulers, like most men, neglect this, to their eternal ruin. God will not share his glory with another or be denied it. However, the Son of God does share it, but this is by virtue of his place within the godhead. The contrast in this story is stark: the voice of Herod is ended, as is whatever pitiful glory he had. Yet the word of God increased! This word of God was not the Bible as such but the preaching of the cross. We see that it is in this figure of the Christ that the glory of God finds its most glorious fulfilment.