"THE SUBMISSION OF THE BELIEVING MAN"
A SALVATION WORTH SHOUTING ABOUT • Sermon • Submitted
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ACTS 8:35-38
INTRODUCTION
Acts 8:35-36 (ESV)
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
Acts 8:38-39 (ESV)
38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
This African nobleman had renounced idolatry and had taken a long and potentially dangerous journey that he might honor Jehovah the great God of heaven. His heart had become impressed with the things of God.
Oh my brothers and sisters here was a man who didn’t just want to discover God’s word. He wanted to do it. Some people are not really interested in doing what God wants. They are more interested in personal happiness than they are in spiritual holiness. That explains why some people once they are exposed to the truth of God’s word will still not obey it.
This man taught by Phillip was a receptive and responsive hearer of the word. He not only studied the word he submitted to the word. He didn’t just learn what God wants, he lived out what God wants. Because he was opened to the word he obeyed the word the moment he was convicted by the word.
To our visiting guest and friends and in some cases to our family our hearts desire and prayer to God for you is that like the Eunuch, obedience will characterize your response to God’s word this morning. If you will listen with an open heart and an open will I believe God will open up your understanding so that today you can and will obey His word.
As we ponder the passage there are two truths threaded into the tapestry of the text. They form the substance of the sermon and offers the homiletical hinges on which this message swings. Notice A PROPER ACQUISITION OF TRUTH IS IMPORTANT, and A PERSONAL APPLICATION OF TRUTH IS IMPERATIVE.
I. A PROPER ACQUISITION OF TRUTH IS IMPORTANT
The process of salvation always begins with a person being taught the right information.
A. FACTS- Before this seeking sinner could submit to the word he had to be properly taught the word. Acts 8:35
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. NKJV
Hear me today you can’t submit to just anything and be saved. I know there are good, decent and honest people who believe it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as your heart is right. I think I ought to tell you with all of the love in my heart, it does matter what you believe. If you want to be saved you have to obey the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We are:
· Liberated by the truth (John 8:320
· Purified by the truth (1 Pet. 1:22)
· Sanctified by the truth (John 17:17)
If you want to be saved you must obey the truth. If you have not obeyed the truth then all that you do for God will be in vain, even your worship. Matt 15:9
And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"NKJV
Hear me when I tell you the reason there is religious division in the world even though Christ prayed against it is because someone is not being taught the facts. What a person believes determines what he becomes and where he belongs. Apple seed always produces apples.
If a person is to be saved he must be taught the truth without addition, subtraction, distortion, or alteration. God has said what He expects us to obey. That and only that is what we must teach and obey.
I know to some that sounds narrow but I think I ought to tell you that truth is narrow. Mathematical truth is narrow. 1+1=2. There is no room for negotiations. That is just a fact that we must accept.
Biblical truth is also narrow. The fact is if people wanted to be saved in Noah’s day they had to be in the ark. Yes that is narrow but that was the will of God. The fact is that if people wanted to be saved in Rahab’s day they had to be with her in the house. Yes that is narrow but it was the will of God. Today if a person wants to be saved he has to get in Christ, the Body of Christ,, which is the Church of Christ. Yes that is also narrow but it is the will of God.
Listen to me this morning truth is so important to God that He has called on members of the Church to be the guardians of the gospel, the trusties of the truth. 1 Tim 3:15
15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. NKJV
The Greek word translated “pillar” is STULOS. It refers to a support column.
In Ephesus stood the magnificently impressive temple of Diana. One of its distinctive features was the 127 pillars. Each pillar was made of marble, some were beautifully bedecked with jewels. Each was overlaid with gold. Each pillar was the gift of a king and acted as a tribute to the king that donated it.
The Ephesians knew how tremendously beautiful pillars could be. The significance of the term would not have escaped them. The honorary significance of the pillars was secondary to their function of holding up the immense structure of the roof.
The church is being said to be that entity that holds up the truth that it might be displayed to all. We must hold up the truth about:
· Sovereignty of God
· Divinity of Christ
· Veracity of scripture
· Simplicity of the gospel
· Unity of the faith
The word that is translated “ground” is the Greek word HEDRAIOMA, and means, “support”. It is used only here in the New Testament. It refers to the foundation on which a structure rests. Thus in Paul’s metaphor the church is the foundation and pillar that holds up the truth. As the foundation and pillars of the Temple of Diana were a testimony to the error of pagan false religion, so the church is to be a testimony to God’s truth. That is its mission.
The truth is the divine revelation, including the truth of the gospel, the content of the Christian faith. It is the solemn responsibility of every church to solidly, immovably, unshakably uphold the truth of God’s Word. The church does not invent the truth, and alters it only at the cost of judgment. It is to support and safeguard it. It is the sacred, saving treasure given to sinners for their forgiveness, and to believers for their sanctification and edification, that they might live for the glory of God. The church has the stewardship of Scripture, the duty to guard it as the most precious possession on earth.
The Church has and must always stand in support of the truth. We must:
· Obey it to be saved
· Study it to be wise
· Follow it to be holy
· Share it to be faithful
· Love it
· Live it
· Tell it
· Preach it
· Practice it
· Declare it
· Do it
· Treasure it
· Apply it
· Appreciate it
· Appropriate it
The fact is my brothers and sisters and all of our visiting friends you cannot obey the truth and become a member of a denomination. If we obey what was obeyed by the first Christians we will become what they became. They never became members of a denomination.
· When the 3000 obeyed in Acts 2 they didn’t become a member of the Catholic church because it did not officially exist until 606 AD
· When the Samaritans obeyed the truth in Acts they didn’t become a member of the Baptist church because it did not exist until 1607
· When this Eunuch obeyed he didn’t become a member of the Presbyterian church because it didn’t exist until 1739
· When Saul obeyed in Acts 9 he didn’t become a member of the 7th Day Adventist church because it didn’t exist until 1830
· When Cornelius obeyed in Acts 10 he didn’t become a member of the Jehovah’s Witness church because it didn’t exist until 1879
· When Lydia obeyed in Acts 16 she didn’t become a member of the A M E church because it didn’t exist until 1816
· When the Philippian jailer obeyed the truth he didn’t become a member of the church of God in Christ church because it didn’t exist until the 1890’s
I’m just trying to tell you that everyone who obeyed the truth in the New Testament all became members of the same Church, the Church of Christ (Rom. 16:16). The fact is if you want to be saved you must do the same thing.
B. THE FAITH- To the facts preached to the Eunuch he responds in faith. Acts 8:37
Then Philip said,"If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said,"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." NKJV
Notice that this man’s faith was based on the facts of the gospel he had just been preached. To have saving faith you must be taught scriptural facts. Rom 10:17
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. NKJV
FAITH....
Believes the word of God
Obeys the commands of God
Stands on the promises of God
Relies on the mercy of God
Trusts the wisdom of God
Accepts the Will of God and
Enjoys the fellowship of God
II. A PERSONAL APPLICATION OF TRUTH IS IMPERATIVE
So many people make the mistake of failing to follow through on what they have come to believe. If faith fails to function it can’t be saving faith. The record declares “even so faith if it hath not works is dead…” (James 2:17).
This seeking sinner from Africa seems to be cognizant that his faith needed to be demonstrated. So he says, “see here is water…”
The subject of baptism is one that is hotly disputed and debated. When one studies the salvation event of those saints recorded for us in the book of Acts you become immediately aware that God put water in the plan.
Hear me today if you want to be saved you must do only that which is authorized. I think I ought to tell you being sprinkled when you were a baby is not authorized. Philip took the Eunuch to the water he didn’t bring the water to the Eunuch. I think I ought to tell you:
· Saying the sinner’s prayer has not been authorized
· Simply believing has not been authorized
· Inviting the Lord into your heart has not been authorized
· Living a good and moral life has not been authorized
If you want to be saved there is only one authorized plan. You have to go to the water, you have to be baptized.
· The first people who responded to the gospel message on Pentecost had to go the water Acts 2:40-41
· And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
· Saul of Tarsus had to go to the water Acts 9:17-18
· 17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
· Cornelius the Roman Soldier had to go to the water Acts 10:47-48
· 47 Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
· The Philipian jailer had to go to the water Acts 16:27-34
· 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
If you would be saved today you too will have to go to the water. Baptism is the only authorized plan through which we gain access to salvation. Gal 3:26-27
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
It is in the waters of baptism that we contact the precious blood of Jesus. There is no salvation apart from the blood. Heb 10:22-23
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. NKJV
What is the method of washing in the New Covenant? How is the blood of the Lamb of God sprinkled in our hearts? Contrary to what many assert, both takes place at the point of baptism.
Rom 6:4
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (KJV)
When we are baptized we are buried into the death of Jesus. It was in His death that He sheded His blood. It is in the waters of baptism that we come in contact with the precious blood of Jesus.
The blood of Jesus is the only basis that grants us access to God’s presence.
Heb 9:22
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (KJV)
It is in the waters of baptism that our sins are washed away. Therefore it is not possible to be saved before you are baptized. You can not be saved while still in your sins.
Acts 22:16
16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'
It was because this Eunuch believed the preaching of Phillip that he submitted himself to the waters of baptism. He wanted to be saved and he was too honest to know that he was taught the truth and not obey it. His honesty, sincerity and integrity demanded that he obey the truth he was taught.
My prayer is for you our visiting friends that your honesty won’t allow you sit where you are and not rise up at the time of invitation and be baptized. Honesty demands when you know better you do better. You know better today. You may not have known previously but you know now that to be saved you have to obey the facts as reveal in scripture. You know now that you can’t obey the facts and be a member of a denomination. The truth of scripture will only make you a Christian. I’m praying for you this morning that you will have same spirit demonstrated by this eunuch. I’m praying that you will come and be washed in the blood of Lamb this morning.
Conclusion
The landscape of this man’s life was forever altered. No wonder he went on his way rejoicing. Salvation is something to shout about. HE CAME TO THE WATER:
· A SINNER BUT LEFT A SAINT
· DOOMED BUT LEFT DELIVERED
· CORRUPTED BUT LEFT CONVERTED
· BEWILDERED BUT LEFT BELIEVING
· IN DARKNESS BUT LEFT IN THE LIGHT
· LOST BUT LEFT IN THE LORD
· AND FOUND A GREAT SAVIOR
· AND WAS WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB
· AND WAS BORN INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD
· AND WAS ADDED TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST REVEALED IN SCRIPTURE
· AND HIS SINS WERE FORGIVEN
· AND HIS PAST WAS RECTIFIED
· HIS HEART WAS PURIFIED
· HIS HOPE RENEWED
· HIS JOY ESTABLISHED
· HIS FUTURE SECURE
· HIS LOAD WAS LIFTED
· HIS SOUL WAS SAVED