Midweek Review #23 (Acts 13:42-14:7)

The Gospel as a Riveting Message

That they are riveted by this message. It is compelling to them. It's powerful in and of itself. Verse 42, 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.

There's our word, in the grace of God. Verse 44, the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. Notice in verse 44, people are riveted by this message. There's something that's just uber compelling about this message that Paul preached.

Something that just captures their attention. It's not a snooze fest. It's not boring. Dads, you know, you feel me here. Sometimes your kid comes to you and he's super excited about something he has to share.

It might be a cartoon he's seen on TV and it's about a little alien or something like that, and he goes on and on and he talks like a preacher. He could talk about it for 10 minutes. And the more he talks, the more your mind, what does it do?

It checks off. It checks out. And you are just hearing background noise as he shares about this story. There's just nothing compelling. There's nothing riveting about that. And men and women, you understand that as well in some of your conversations.

I hope, husbands, you never do that to your wife, right? Just check out while she's trying to talk. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most riveting, compelling message the world has ever heard. Consider just a couple of points of it.

The Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ

Number one, the idea that the God who made the universe, who flung the farthest star into the universe, came into our world and was born of a virgin named Mary, becoming a God-man in order to live a sinless life among us.

This person, Jesus, is God in flesh. If that doesn't capture your attention, if that doesn't light your fire, your wood is wet, as the preachers say. The Southern Baptists say that a lot better than I just did.

It should light your fire to think about that. God in flesh. Number two, that they took this God-man and willingly, the God-man lays down upon a cross and allows himself to be crucified at the hands of wicked men.

They raise him up and he hangs for six hours one Friday. He dies upon that cross. They bury him in a tomb, but on the third day he rises from the dead bodily, alive to reign forevermore, conquering death, conquering sin.

The work of Christ is riveting, amazing, powerful. Who could yawn if someone is telling you that? Notice they are riveted by what they're being told. That's the message. Third, that this is just not a fanciful tale that the preachers like to say, because they heard it from their parents and they learned it from others, and it's just a fable that's grown over time.

Know that this is rooted not from the made-up whims of men, but rooted in the scriptures which were written hundreds of years before it happened. In 39 books, as Hebrew prophets foretold every detail which came true in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah.

That all these things were written, and so you know it's not just whimsical, it is in fact the work of Almighty God. For who but God could do that? To say what he's going to do and then accomplish the thing that he said he would.

That's riveting to me. I study that subject with fascination. Every book of the Old Testament, chocked full with these prophecies of a coming Messiah who would suffer and die and rise. Riveting. But it gets even more personal.

Sin, Substitution, and Forgiveness in Christ

The fourth point, that you, you and me, we are wicked sinners who have offended a holy God, and if he gives me what I deserve, I will depart from him for eternity. I will not rise and stand in his presence, but I will go away from him in judgment.

And yet because of that blood that was put on the cross, the sin that I deserve to pay for has been paid for in full on the cross as Jesus died in my stead. And so I have forgiveness of sin by believing in the Son of God.

There's nothing more personal than that. There's nothing more eternal than that. This deals not just with what we like and what interests us, this deals with our eternal soul, our destiny. It's riveting.

And finally, the message of repentance. Whereas the first four points make you say, whoa, wow, wow, amazing, the last point demands everything from you. And it makes you say, whoa. It makes you say, what is this call that Jesus offers?

He says, take up your cross and follow me. He says, count the cost and follow me. He says, repent and believe. We must turn from our sins and put our faith in Jesus, and that's how we are united to him, by faith.

And his death becomes our death, and his resurrection becomes our life. If that doesn't sober you, something's wrong. And there is something wrong. You see, sinners like us, we don't respond the way a compelling message like that would have us believe.

So watch what happens next in the text.