The work of Jesus Christ transforming lives can often best be understood in the pictures and stories of Scripture. While stories do not always state the doctrinal basis for divine action, they illustrate it and explain it. There is a sense in which the phrase, 'walking and leaping and praising God', describes precisely what happens to someone liberated from the power of sin by the saving work of Jesus Christ. While sin and Satan held him in lame bondage, he now begins to walk. And his liberation from the consequences of sin is not partial but total so that he celebrates by leaping for joy. His attention is not on the messengers but on the life-giver, so he praises God for His saving power through Christ Jesus.
While our passage is in no way allegorical, I would suggest to you that it clearly explains the power of Christ to transform lives. It is a beautiful picture of what happens when Jesus Christ intervenes savingly in a sinful, depraved heart. The end result should be the same, walking and leaping and praising God!
Our text gives the incredible story of Christ's power being displayed and 5000 coming to faith in Christ. The fascinating thing is that the man who was healed quite likely had seen Jesus, heard Him speak, and watched Him pass by whenever Jesus was in the temple. Yet, he had been unaffected by these early encounters with Christ--or had he?
Christ works by His Spirit toward the saving of lost men even when we do not realize it. He graciously brings salvation into reality by His mighty power to save. Christ uses His witnesses to proclaim His power to save. He saves us from sin's penalty and power that we might walk, leap, and praise God! When you truly know Christ, you can identify with this man who went walking and leaping and praising God.
There are some wonderful facets of truth about salvation and the work of evangelism found within our text. Let's give our attention to God's Word this morning.
I. An illustration of the lost world
How do you describe lostness? The book of Ephesians offers the clearest statements on the condition of a lost soul. Let me read these statements and then let's see how they are illustrated in our text.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest [Eph. 2:1-3].
Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ [Eph. 2:12-13].
This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness [Eph. 4:17-19].
All three of these passages state in clear terms the condition of every person outside of Christ. All picture the unbeliever in a condition of hopelessness and helplessness in desperate need of Jesus Christ. I believe we can see this illustrated in our text.
1. Ignorance
The passage from Ephesians 4:17-19 explains the 'ignorance' of a lost person. We can see this both stated and illustrated in our text. When Peter preached after the healing of the lame beggar, he explained to the crowd that they "disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted" to them instead. He goes on to point out that they, i.e., the Jews, "put to death the Prince of Life." You can almost sense that they were standing in the Temple environs in stunned silence, mulling over the strong accusations of the Apostle. The Messiah had been right in their midst and they had both disowned Him and put Him to death. They had chosen a murderer rather than the Holy and Righteous One. Then Peter points out, in verse 17, "And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also."
We must understand that ignorance did not mean they were excused. For he goes on in the next couple of verses and calls for them to "repent and return." But the ignorance was due to the darkness of the human heart and mind that is depraved and dyed by sin. As Paul put it plainly, "Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart."
The effects of the Fall have left humanity in ignorance concerning the Prince of life. While a person may have a high IQ and impeccable academic credentials, unless the lights have been turned on in his mind by the Holy Spirit, he will continue in ignorance toward the things of God. A person can hear the Word of God, quote the Scriptures, yet go on acting according to the dictates of his heart toward God, which is ignorance. Interestingly, he is even ignorant about himself. The unbeliever does not know and understand his own heart or else he would flee to God for mercy.
I think we best see this ignorance acted out by the way most people tend to ignore any confrontation with the gospel. Most people do not want to think about their sinfulness nor of God's holy justice. Most are satisfied to just live life without any serious contemplation of spiritual things. Most are grabbing for the transitory, temporal things of life and give no thought to the eternal.
We see this in the beggar. Out of ignorance he asked Peter and John for "alms" or monetary gifts rather than asking them to tell him how he could have life. The world does not know what to ask for. A man of the world will substitute all kinds of charitable acts and merciful deeds to assuage his mind and keep him from having to really look at himself and look at God. He is content to live in ignorance, thinking that ignorance is an excuse that will satisfy God. But our text is clear that it is not! Even the ignorant must repent and turn to God through Christ.
2. Unbelief
The last thing the lame beggar expected that day at the Temple was to be healed. He did not live with a consciousness of the supernatural. He had been accustomed to the same routine for years: wake up, be carried to the Temple, beg for money, get carried back home, repeat the same process. Even when Peter and John said to look at them, the man fixed his attention expecting to receive money, not a supernatural work of God. Why not expect something to happen? He was full of unbelief. And that is the condition of a lost man.
Paul describes a lost man as "strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Instead of exercising faith, he gives himself "over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness." The idea of believing the promises of God so that he has hope for eternity is foreign to the lost man.
We have seen in our study of John's Gospel that many of the encounters Jesus had with Jewish religionists dealt with the subject of their unbelief. Study, for instance, John 5 and 6. Notice how Jesus chided the Jews for their unbelief. Unbelief essentially does two things: it denies the clear revelation of God in His Word and it denies the power of God to accomplish what He promises.
Some of you are unbelieving this day. You have heard the Word of God over and over, but in your heart you are denying its truthfulness by your unbelief. You have heard of the power of God to save sinners, but in your heart you are denying His power to save you by your unbelief.
My friend, the same Savior that worked supernaturally in the life of the lame beggar is ready to work supernaturally in your life if you will trust Him. The same power that raised the lame man up to walk and leap, can be applied to your sinful life to raise you to walk and leap in the joy of Jesus Christ.
3. Bondage
Ephesians 2 offers one of the most striking comments found in God's Word about a lost man. He is in bondage to the god of this world, he lives as a son of disobedience, he constantly indulges himself in the lusts of his flesh and darkened mind, and he is a child of wrath. That is bondage! It is a bondage to Satan, a bondage to the flesh or sinful nature, and a bondage to the spirit of this world which rebels against God. It is an enslavement from which there is no human means of escape. Just as this beggar lived in an endless cycle of sitting and asking for alms only to repeat the same thing the next day, an unbeliever lives in an endless cycle of lostness. He goes from one degree of unbelief to another. His heart gets more and more callused by his sinfulness and rejection of God's truth. He has no liberty in his life from sin, Satan, or self.
It is interesting to see how man has the amazing capacity to escape many things. Our prison systems over the years have worked hard at making prisons inescapable. They have come up with intricate security devices that are supposed to be fool-proof. There are automatic doors, generally several automatic iron gates that can only be opened in a secured control panel, thick, reinforced steel concrete walls, video surveillance cameras, 15-20 feet high chain-link fences with razor wire toppings, normally an additional fence with razor wire outside of the first fence, and to top it off, plenty of guards with the latest high tech equipment for preventing escapes. But what happens inevitably? Someone escapes!
While this is true of mere human bondage, it is not true of spiritual bondage. There is no escape by human power. Man cannot merely will himself out of bondage or wish himself out of bondage. He cannot pile up heaps of merits and deeds to climb out of his bondage. He is enslaved so that only a Power from outside of this world can liberate him. And that Power is a Person, Jesus Christ the Redeemer and Lord.
Does this description of the lost person reveal the real you? Do you find yourself living in ignorance of God and ignorance of your own spiritual condition? Do you persist in unbelief in the promises of God and the power of Christ to save? Do you recognize that you are in bondage to sin, Satan, and the world with no hope of escaping on your own? Then I would announce to you that your only hope is Jesus Christ the Lord! Repent and believe Him, then go walking and leaping and praising God!
II. An examination of the Christian witness
While we see the condition of a lost person illustrated in our text, we also see a clear pattern for a Christian witness illustrated. The way Peter and John dealt with the lame beggar is precisely the way we, as believers, are called upon to bear witness of Jesus Christ. There are at least three dimensions to this Christian witness which we need to see in our text.
1. His authority
The Christian comes in the authority of Jesus Christ. He does not approach a lost world by his own wisdom or in the strength of his own personality. My brethren, strictly in ourselves we have nothing to offer this lost world! Our only claim which we can present to the world is the Lord who has saved us.
Peter told the beggar, "In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!" That is a very literal translation of the Greek. Peter was not dallying when it came to the solitary power to liberate this man from his bondage. Peter did not draw attention to himself. He pointed the man to Christ alone. He understood that there was no virtue in himself (see v. 12) that could raise this man. So, he stood in the authority of Jesus Christ.
The term "name" carries with it a lot of weight that we need to see. It was not simply the sound of those words, 'Jesus Christ the Nazarene', that Peter had in mind. By "name" he implied "the full revelation of the person mentioned." The title that the angel gave to Joseph for the baby, "Jesus," meant "Jehovah saves." It was our Lord's given name and "refers to his birth, ministry, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension." It was a title that encompassed His saving work. The title, "Christ," means "Anointed One" or "Messiah," and emphasizes that Jesus is the "exalted Son of God." Or as Peter adds in his sermon a bit later, Jesus is "the Holy and righteous One...the Prince of life." [Kistemaker, 123]
The beggar had heard of Jesus Christ and had probably seen Him in the Temple. But he had never believed. Peter was confronting him with the full revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior, the Lord. In this authority of Who Jesus is and what He has accomplished redemptively, life was offered to this beggar. And I would hasten to point out that the man had more than strength in his ankles. He continues to go through the temple praising God, not man. His whole life was radically changed by the authority of Jesus Christ.
This is no different than what Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake" (II Cor. 4:5). Our authority is found, not simply in the divine commission we have to go as witnesses or ambassadors for Christ, but in a divine Person. Our authority is the revelation of Jesus Christ and all He accomplished for sinners.
My brethren, our goal as witnesses is not to try to convince people that they need to go to church. Our goal is to present to them the solitary authority in the universe that can save them, Jesus Christ the Lord. Let's think through on our witness. Have we neglected the only true authority we have and exchanged it for something that sounds good but cannot save?
2. His confidence
I like the true confession of Peter to the beggar: "I do not possess silver and gold;" and later to the crowd that gathered: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?" We need to see what Peter was getting across. His confidence was not in his own resources, power, or piety, but in Jesus Christ the Lord.
Peter saw that he was bankrupt! The only thing he had was the grace of God given to him in Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ and His saving work in Peter's life, he was an empty man. Now, to have such a view was not typical Peteresque! He was the one who stood out in the Gospels as being self-confident, proud, haughty at times, always knowing what to say. He was a 'can-do' sort of person. He actually would have fit in well as an American Christian! But this radically changed between his denying Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Peter no longer had confidence in the flesh. His confidence was in Christ alone to save.
Our adults will study this truth in depth in just a few weeks in Philippians 3. Paul was a man who had all kinds of human accolades. He had the right heritage, the right race, the right academic background, the right ancestry, the right occupation, the right abilities. He said, "If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more...." Yet, once Paul summed up all of those things that we might admire and think would qualify him to be a great instrument in God's hands or give him great standing before God, he adds, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (Phil. 3:4-9).
Do you realize that the adequacy of Christian ministry is not in you but in Christ alone? When we can humbly stand before the Lord, realizing our own bankruptcy apart from Him, and cast ourselves in absolute dependence upon the Holy Spirit, then we understand what kind of confidence Peter and John had for their witness for Jesus Christ. This is the kind of confidence that can be ours as we exercise our gospel witness. We must leave off trusting in self and cast ourselves in dependence upon Christ as our solitary confidence.
3. His ministry
Peter's ministry was not to 'win friends and influence people'. He was not out to develop a 'Simon Peter Fan Club'. He was not out to start the 'Peter Sunday School Class'. His ministry was to give away what he had not purchased.
We are to freely give away Jesus Christ to a lost world. "But what I do have I give to you," Peter told the beggar. How those words need to be driven in our hearts as evangelical Christians! Do we know what we have as Christians? Do we realize that we have eternal life, the indwelling of the Spirit, a right standing with Almighty God, the character of Jesus Christ implanted within? Do we realize that most of the world does not have what we have?
With the horrible terrorist attack that took place in Saudi Arabia this week, I have thought even more about the futility of Islam. It is likely that the terrorists who detonated this 5000 lb. bomb in front of an American military apartment complex were Muslims. They seethe with hatred. They live with vengeance at the forefront of their minds. They walk in fear of breaking Islamic law and being beheaded or disowned. They follow their religion with legalistic fervor. Strangely, Muslims are giving away what they have. All over the world people are coming to Allah and Mohammed his prophet and embracing what Muslims give away. They live in bondage and futility, yet they gladly give it away.
Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses deny the God of the Bible. Instead, they have a strange god of their own making which they slavishly follow. They live with legalisms. They have a works-mentality. They are afraid to even investigate the clear teachings of the Gospel for fear of converting to Christianity. Yet, they what they have they give away. The Mormons have more missionaries than any Protestant denomination. The Jehovah's Witnesses knock on more doors than any evangelical group. They too live in bondage and futility, yet they gladly give it away.
"But what I do have I give to you...." Can you say that about your own witness for Jesus Christ in this world? What we have is a gift from God. Salvation is wholly of God's grace. And we are invited, yea, even commanded to give away this glorious gift to others. Not that we can save anyone else, for that is impossible. But we can give away the message of the Gospel of Christ, which can lead a sinner to embrace Christ and be saved.
Brethren, there are a lot of good things which we can do for others in this world. We can provide food and clothing for the poor, we can build houses for the needy, we can provide relief for the suffering, we can assist in the merciful endeavors of Christianity. And all of these things are good and should not be neglected! But, what we must be more concerned about than any other is, "But what I do have I give to you," giving away the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is our ministry! This is our mission! Everything else is secondary in terms of our actions and ministry. Let's not substitute something good for the best. Yes, let's be involved in all of the social and merciful activities of Christianity. But let us give even more priority to giving Jesus Christ to a lost world!
III. An invitation from the Lord Jesus Christ
This text contains a very clear invitation from Jesus Christ to all who do not know Him savingly. Perhaps some of you know a lot about Christ, but you honestly do not know Him personally and savingly. Maybe you are ashamed to admit this. Maybe you are even afraid of what others would think to know that you really do not know Christ savingly. My friend, I plead with you to forget about others during these moments. Listen to the words of our text as an appeal from the Savior to you.
1. See His power to save
You must see the power of Jesus Christ to save. After the lame beggar was healed, he went walking and leaping and praising God throughout the area of the Temple. It must have been quite a sight! Here was a man they had seen day after day, a man who had never walked. Suddenly, he was not simply hobbling around; he was walking and leaping! There was a spring in his step! And his tongue was loosed to praise God. Well, it did get some attention. "And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."
The Greek is a bit stronger than our English translation. J.B. Phillips catches some of this when he translates, "...they were all overcome with wonder and sheer astonishment at what had happened to him." They were absolutely overwhelmed by what they saw. They did not know what to say. There was a holy fear that broke over them [implied by Greek words]. They wanted to know what had happened.
There is a repeat of a truth we saw in Acts 2. When the Spirit of God does His work the world will begin to ask what is going on. My brethren, I wonder if our lives are so wrapped up in the world that there is no curiosity left about us? Does the world look at us and wonder what is happening? The world needs to be able to look at the churches of Jesus Christ throughout the world and see clear evidence that Christ is mighty to save!
The work in the beggar was simply an illustration that Jesus Christ is mighty to save! My friend, His saving work is not antiquated or out-moded. He is still ready to save sinners. Do you see this? Do you recognize that Jesus Christ alone can redeem you from your bondage to sin? Do you see that Jesus Christ alone can give you a new life? Do you see that Jesus Christ alone can forgive you of your sins and make you whole?
2. Believe His work that saves
It is one thing to see that Jesus can save, but quite another to believe Him personally. Peter goes on to explain in verses 13-16 that the very Person the Jews delivered up to death, provided redemption through His death. "And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know." This same truth has never changed.
It is faith in Jesus Christ who died to pardon you of your sins and to satisfy the judgment of God for you that unites you to Him savingly. Faith is not a complicated act. It means to trust or to embrace or to cling to. To embrace Christ means that you are letting go of whatever else you may be trusting or holding to. You must let go of your idols. You must let go of trusting in your merits to justify you with God. You must let go of clinging tenaciously to your church membership as being the thing that gives you eternal life. Then trust Christ and His saving work.
When Peter was explaining faith, the hearers understood that he did not mean simply believe historically in Jesus Christ. They all knew about Jesus. Many had seen Him, so they knew He existed. But none of them had trusted Him as God's Son and as their only Mediator to God. Faith releases our grip on substitute saviors and clings only to Jesus Christ.
My friend, have you trusted Christ alone to save you? Perhaps you are clinging to something else. Maybe you think that Jesus alone is not enough. You will never know His power to save you unless you release your hold on everything else. The hymn writer expressed it well:
I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus
Trusting only Thee;
Trusting Thee for full salvation,
Great and free. [France Ridley Havergal, I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus]
3. Obey His call to be saved
The call of God is found so clearly in verses 19-20: "Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that the times of refreshing may come from the present of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you."
Simon Kistemaker writes: "Repentance affects the totality of man's existence; it reaches the inner depths of his being and touches all his external relations with God and with his neighbor. Repentance is a turning away from sin; faith is a turning to God. Peter tells the people to turn to God, which in simpler language is: repent and believe" [p. 134].
When you repent you are acknowledging that your way is the wrong way and God's way is the only way. You are leaving all other affections behind and giving yourself wholly to Jesus Christ. You are resting in His grace, trusting in His merits, and clinging to Him alone.
The message of Jesus Christ when He began His ministry after His baptism was this same message: "Repent and believe in the gospel." Repentance and faith are twin graces given by the Holy Spirit. They are the soul's response to the gracious work of God through Christ. He calls...we repent and believe in response.
Do you see Christ as the only Savior and Lord? Do you recognize that He alone is your hope and life? Do you see that He alone can forgive you of your sins and justify you before the righteous judgments of God? Then come to Him in repentance and faith. Quit clinging to your own righteousness--it is only 'filthy rags' and unacceptable before God. Quit clinging to your church membership or your acts of Christian service--these things cannot satisfy the righteous demands of God upon your soul.
My friend, He is calling. Come to Christ. Come repenting of your sins. Come trusting Christ alone to save you. Then, go walking and leaping and praising God!
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