Sermon Tone Analysis

Let it be known

Let it be known…

“Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”

As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath.

And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.”

“Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”

As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath.

And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.”

(1) Let it be known… that Jesus forgives sins

The teaching here begins with these arresting words: ‘Let it be known to you therefore, brothers’ this is the expression that Peter used in his sermon at Pentecost.

, “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.”

, “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.”

, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

This phrase “Let it be known to you”, is use by Peter and Paul to gain the attention of those they are speaking to as well as to command them to take to heart what is being said.

Let it be known means that the information that is being presented is valuable, worthy of deep thought, and that it is understandable and truth.

Here Paul is proclaiming that everyone should known that there is a man, there is one, who has the power to forgive sins.

, says it this way, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

And that man, that one, and that name is the Jesus Christ our Lord, the Son of God who is our atonement for sins and through His sacrifice on the Cross justifies us.

The Greek (dikaioō) is often translated “justified” and means “to declare innocent, to justify.”

The Jews sought to deal with their sin through living by the Law of Moses.

But the law cannot free a person from sin, not only because all people fail to keep it but also because it was never designed to bring about effective atonement for sins, teaches us that

, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”

The passage teaches that only the one who believes in Christ and His saving sacrifice is free from sin and acceptable to God.

The Gospel in the OT: Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Habakkuk.

Gives us the understanding that any attempt to be justified by the law always leads to a curse, for righteousness comes only by faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

All those indwelt by the Holy Spirit enjoy the blessing of Abraham.

Paul had just spoken in about “those of faith who are sons of Abraham” implying that being a son is not enough unless you are a son by faith; now he moves to those who rely on works of the law.

They find themselves in the situation that Paul talked about in

, “For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.”

Paul understood that if he rebuilt the house of “law,” with its demands and condemnation his efforts would have only confronted and confounded him.

Paul knew that those still attached to law-observance were exactly this position.

They have failed to obey the law, and so they stood under the curse on unfaithful Israel.

They stood in stark contrast to Abraham and all believers, who are blessed.

The history of Israel and human experience demonstrates that all fall short of what God demands, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that all are therefore under the “curse,” because no one is able to keep everything commanded in “the law.”

We see that the OT itself points out that righteousness cannot be achieved through the law, as illustrates, when it says,

, “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

In Paul uses to show that the law is not of faith.

It shows that we should keep God’s statues and commands and if we do we will live.

In the Mosaic covenant, salvation was through faith in God’s promise and his atonement, culminating in the Messiah.

But now that the new covenant has come, those who insist on the entrance requirements of the old covenant do not have the benefit of sacrifices, so they must “do” all that the Mosaic law requires in order to “live” eternally.

But If we accept through faith that Jesus Christ has paid it all then there is nothing left for us to pay.

But if we denied Christ and his sovereign sufficiency, then we must pay for own way to salvation by keeping every law perfectly.

So the divine curse is the result of disobedience.

But the burden of the curse has been lifted by Christ’s work on the cross.

Paul says in, , have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

Paul understood that Christ’s death was for him personally and we must understand Christ’s death was for us personally as well.

Now we see Paul focuses on Christ’s substitutionary work for others.

Christ hanging on a tree not only brought blessing to Israel but took place so that … the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles as well.

The coming of the Spirit in new power is one of the central benefits of the new age brought in by Christ.

As , says, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.

This one will say, ‘I am the LORD's, ’another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD's,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.”

Paul now teaches in our text at , “…that through this man forgiveness if sins is proclaimed to you.”

As believers not only do we have forgiveness of sins, but also the living presence of God within us.

Like Peter in 10:43, Paul proclaims ‘through Jesus there is the forgiveness of sins’, but there is no offer of the gift of the Holy Spirit, nor a challenge about baptism in the name of Jesus.

We must assume that Luke has given us an abbreviated version of what was said and remember that there was further teaching about the gospel and all of its implications throughout the week and on the next Sabbath which we will deal with next week (vv.

42–44).

But two things are particularly striking about this offer of forgiveness: first, its comprehensive and definitive nature and, second, its provision through Jesus.

A Jewish audience may well have wondered why they needed such forgiveness, but John the Baptist’s preaching had made it especially clear that ‘all the people of Israel’ needed to express a radical repentance, to be ready to meet their God.

Look at what John says in , “ Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am?

I am not he.

No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.”

Furthermore, the prophets had promised definitive forgiveness and cleansing as an essential part of the renewal of Israel in the end time.

Look at what Jeremiah says in , “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ from the least of them to the greatest, declared the Lord.

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

God will finally remedy the long-standing problem of his people, namely, that they are circumcised in body but so few are circumcised in heart, and because of this so few truly know the LORD.

The benefits that God will provide—knowledge of the Lord and forgiveness—were all offered in the OT but all-too-rarely appropriated.

There will be no need for a faithful remnant within the covenant people to teach the unfaithful majority to know God, for all covenant partners will know him.

This covenant will include only those who know him, and he will remember their sin no more.

, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.

And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

The restoration of God’s reputation first requires the external renovation of his people.

God’s actions are naturally sequential: (1) gathering and return (v.

24) (2) precede cleansing (v.

25).

Purification with clean water echoes God’s earlier cleansing of his people (16:4, 9) and once again relates to ritual cleansing in the Mosaic law (cf., e.g., ; ; ).

The reference to cleansing by sprinkling “clean water on you” recalls the cleansing by sprinkling for touching a dead body (, ), perhaps suggesting that the idols of are comparable to dead things.

This picture of cleansing by water should be seen as the background to Jesus’ words in , “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”.

You also could compare it to the mention of “my Spirit” in .

Thus, Ezekiel’s prophecy refers both to outward cleansing by a ceremony and to inward, spiritual cleansing.

God’s initiative moves from external to internal with the gift of a new heart and new spirit.

, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

“I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

according to the fruit of his deeds.”

The outer purification will be no use without the inner disposition to live rightly before God (36:27).

The connection of “water” (v.

25) and “Spirit” (v.

27) lies behind .

I will put my Spirit within you predicts an effective inward working of God in the “new covenant.”

The provision of such forgiveness through Jesus is a consequence of his exalted, eschatological status.