53 "A Trustworthy Witness" Acts 22:1-22 | Sunday, June 28, 2026

You can remain standing. Take your

Bibles and turn to the book of Acts

Acts 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22.

Acts chapter 22 will be our text this

Acts 22 · chapter mention

morning.

We're in a series for our guests and new

folks. We've been in a series for over a

year now. We're in sermon number 53

through the book of Acts. And uh we've

gone verse by verse, paragraph by

paragraph, and seen the spread of the

gospel. The main idea that Luke wants to

get across is that Christ's work

continued by his spirit through his

witnesses from Jerusalem to Rome. And

we've been on that journey here through

the book of Acts and we have embarked on

the final section which is Paul's

testimony before the people of Israel,

the council at Jerusalem,

Roman kings and governors and eventually

we'll end up at Rome in his appeal to

Caesar. We saw last week Paul's or last

time I guess a couple weeks ago now that

Paul was arrested in Jerusalem. He was

falsely accused of teaching the Jews to

abandon the law of Moses, of speaking

against the Jews, of speaking against

the temple. He was accused of bringing

an Ephesian gentile man into the inner

court of the temple.

And he was misidentified as an Egyptian

assassin by the Roman tribune.

And so Paul has had a case of mistaken

identity and false accusations. And now

he is requesting from the chief captain

of the Roman guard that he could speak

to the people, the mob that had just

arrested and ruthlessly beaten him. And

if you'll look at verse 40, our text

this morning will be from chapter 22:es

1- 22. But I want to begin in chapter

21:40.

It says, "And when he had given him

license, Paul stood on the stairs and

beckoned with the hand unto the people.

And when there was made a great silence,

he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue,

saying,"Men and brethren, fathers, hear

ye my defense, which I make now unto

you." And when they heard that he had

spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they

kept the more silence. And he saith, I

am barely a man which am a Jew, born in

Tarsus, a city in Cissia, yet brought up

in this city at the feet of Galiel, and

taught according to the perfect manner

of the law of of the fathers, and was

zealous toward God, as ye all are this

day. And I persecuted this way unto the

death, binding and delivering into

prisons both men and women. And as also

the high priest doth bear me witness,

and all the estate of the elders, from

whom also I received letters unto the

brethren, and went to Damascus, bring

them which were there bound unto

Jerusalem for to be punished. And it

came to pass that as I made my journey

and was come nigh into Damascus about

noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a

great light round about me. And I fell

into the ground and heard a voice saying

unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest

thou me? And I answered, Who art thou,

Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of

Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And

they that were with me saw indeed the

light, and were afraid, but they heard

not the voice of him that spake to me.

And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And

the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go

into Damascus, and there it shall be

told thee of all things which are

appointed for thee to do. And when I

could not see for the glory of that

light, being led by the hand of them

that were with me, I came into Damascus,

and one Ananas, a devout man according

to the law, having a good report of all

the Jews which dwelt there, came unto

me, and stood and said unto me, Brother

Saul, receive thy sight. And the same

hour I looked upon him, and he said, The

God of our fathers hath chosen thee,

that thou shouldest know his will, and

see that just one, and shouldest hear

the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt

be his witness unto all men of what thou

hast seen and heard. And now, why,

terest thou? Arise and be baptized and

wash away thy sins, calling on the name

of the Lord. And it came to pass that

when I was come again to Jerusalem, even

while I prayed in the temple, I was in a

trance, and saw him, saying unto me,

Make haste, and get thee quickly out of

Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy

testimony concerning me. And I said,

Lord, they know that I imprisoned and

beat in every synagogue them that

believed on thee. And when the blood of

thy martyr Steven was shed, I was also

standing by and consenting unto his

death, and kept the raignment of them

that slew him. And he said unto me,

Depart, for I will send thee far hence

unto the Gentiles. And they gave him

audience unto this word. and then lifted

up their voices and said, "Away with

such a fellow from the earth, for it is

not fit that he should live."

As Paul gives his defense of his

ministry for Jesus,

I want to preach to you a message

entitled A Trustworthy

Witness. A trustworthy witness. Let's

pray. Our heavenly father, we ask for

the help of your holy spirit to

understand the truth of your word. May

he shine the light of truth upon this

scripture. And I pray that you would use

it to solidify

our faith in what we know and believe.

And I pray that it would convince the

lost of their need of Christ. In Jesus

name I pray. Amen. Thank you for

standing in honor of God's word. You may

be seated.

Today all of us are seated in a jury box

in a courtroom in Jerusalem.

Paul the Roman c or the Roman captain is

seated as the judge. And over here you

have somebody representing the people of

Jerusalem.

On this side, you have Paul, an apostle

of Jesus Christ.

He's been ruthlessly beaten by a mob,

chained and carried away before the

judge who identifies him as an Egyptian

assassin.

He's been accused of speaking against

the Jewish people. An accusation of

anti-semitism.

You might say that he speaks against the

Bible. He speaks against the temple of

God. He's charged with even polluting

the temple by bringing this Ephesian man

into the inner court. He's known for

preaching throughout Jerusalem and the

Roman Empire that Jesus of Nazareth is

the Jewish Messiah.

that he came and suffered for our sin on

the cross, [snorts] that he was buried

in a tomb and rose again the third day,

that he ascended into heaven and is

seated at the right hand of God,

something that seemingly would fall

under blasphemy.

[snorts]

The question in all of our minds is

something along these lines. How can we

trust

what this man is saying?

How can we believe that what Paul

testified to about Jesus of Nazareth is

really true?

How can we trust that he is a faithful

Jew as he claims to be when he's done

all these other things?

Why should I believe that Jesus is the

Messiah? Why should I believe that he is

the only way to salvation? Why should I

believe that Jesus rose from the dead?

You see, Paul is not the only one on

trial here.

The gospel is on trial. The Christian

faith is on trial. Because if Paul is

not a credible witness and carries no

divine authority, then the gospel that

he preached can be dismissed entirely.

But with these questions on our mind,

Paul asks the chief captain if he can

speak to us.

He is granted permission and he stands

up to give his defense and he tells us

why we can and should trust the witness

that he gives.

The testimony that he makes.

Onethird of the New Testament was either

written by Paul or about Paul. And many

of the core New Testament doctrines of

the church came directly from Paul's

letters, particularly about our

salvation through Jesus Christ.

Most of Acts narrates Paul's missionary

journey. See, Paul was not just a side

note to the Christian as an apostle. He

was the stones on which the foundation

of the church was built after Christ.

And so if Paul is not a credible

witness, if Paul does not carry divine

authority, if Paul has gone rogue and

invented his own religion, then his

gospel cannot be trusted.

And if his gospel is false,

then what happens to our faith? [snorts]

What hope do we have if Jesus did not

die for our sin in our place?

What hope do we have if he did not rise

from the dead and if he did not promise

to give eternal life to all who will

believe?

Well, thankfully we don't have to doubt

Paul's ministry.

And we can and should trust Paul's

message. Why?

What grounds do we have to know that

Paul's ministry was real and that his

message was true?

I introduce you to Paul's defense.

Paul gives us two reasons why we ought

to believe and trust what he says.

First, it's because of who selected him,

who selected him as a witness. But then

number two, it's who sent him as a

witness. That's what we find in our text

this morning. who selected Paul and who

sent Paul. Let's first begin with

looking at who selected Paul.

Paul begins his defense by recounting

where he came from. We read how he spoke

to them in the Hebrew tongue which they

would have spec expected him being born

in a Roman colony like Tarsus that he

would speak to them in Greek in the

common man's language. but instead he's

chosen to speak to them in their

religious language, Hebrew. And so it

says to us in verse two that when they

heard him speak in the Hebrew tongue,

they kept them more silent. They were

very interested to hear what this

well-educated man had to say in their

native tongue.

Paul says in verse three, "I am verily a

man which am a Jew. I'm not a Gentile.

I'm a man like you. We are family." He

says, [snorts] "Although I was born in

Tarsus, that Roman colony in Cissia, I

was brought up I was raised in this city

right here in Jerusalem. And not only I

raised in Jerusalem, I was brought up at

the feet of Galial, a renowned Pharisee

rabbi.

He learned from the best of the best,

the most religious among the religious.

At other places, Paul called himself

blameless according to the law in those

days. He says here that he was taught

after the perfect manner of the law of

the fathers. And he says that he was

zealous toward God as ye all are this

day. Paul says, "One day I had stood in

your shoes.

I was exactly like you. In fact, more

zealous than you from this standpoint."

He says in verse four, I persecuted this

way. This way refers to the Christian

faith. I persecuted Christians unto the

death, binding and imprisoning both men

and women.

He says, you could look to the high

priest in verse 5. and the whole council

of the elders because I received letters

from them to go to Damascus with

authority to bring anyone who believed

on Jesus Christ back to Jerusalem bound

to be punished.

I was so zealous for God that I

persecuted Christians even to death.

In fact, Paul was such a zealous

Pharisee that it says back in Acts

Acts 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8 that he breathed out

threatenings and slaughter. It's as if

persecuting Christians was what Paul

lived for. The very breath that he

breathed

was to kill Christians.

But Paul tells them how he was radically

changed from a persecutor of Christians

to a preacher of Christ. How did that

happen? He says in verse number six,

"And it came to pass that as I made my

journey and was come nigh unto Damascus

about noon, suddenly there shone from

heaven a great light round about me, and

I fell to the ground and heard a voice

saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why

persecutest thou me?" I wonder in this

moment if Paul was wondering who this

was.

Perhaps faces of people he had

persecuted began to flash for his

through his eyes. Memories began to come

back.

But he's not left guessing for long

because

he says in verse number eight, "Who art

thou, Lord?" He knows that whoever this

is shining with a light of glory upon

him and calling to him down out of

heaven is none other than the Lord. The

question is, who is he? and he said unto

me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou

persecutest.

This man that Paul sought to stomp out

has now arrested his attention on the

Damascus road and revealed himself not

to be a body stolen out of a tomb by his

disciples, but to be the risen and

living and ascended Lord of heaven and

earth and over all creation.

I'm Jesus of Nazareth.

[snorts]

He says to him in verse number nine,

"And they that were with me saw me light

and were afraid, but they heard not the

voice of him that spake to me." This

appearance of Christ was specifically

and extraordinarily for Paul himself.

He says this in verse 11 or verse 10.

And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord? And

the Lord said unto me, arise and go into

Damascus, and there it shall be told

thee of all things which are appointed

for thee to do. Paul was appointed to

persecute Christians in Damascus. And

yet this encounter with Christ has

altered the the the entire direction of

his life.

Another appointment awaiting him. He has

a new Lord that he is calling upon here.

A new authority over his life. And this

encounter with the risen Christ changed

him forever. And I say to you today that

such should be the case in every

believer's life.

See, when when you encounter Jesus

Christ and you believe on him and accept

him as your savior, it ought to change

the course of your life because you not

only accept him as savior, you are

called to submit to him as Paul does

here as Lord. Can I ask you? You may

have accepted Jesus as your savior, but

is he your lord?

Has he changed your life, altered your

direction?

Has he taken you out of the kingdom of

darkness and translated you into the

kingdom of light as the apostle Paul

said in the book of Colossians?

Has he changed your life?

Have your relationships been submitted

to him? Has your lifestyle become

submitted to him? Are you living now

still for the pleasures of sin and the

pleasures of your own desires? or are

you living for the pleasure of Jesus

Christ and his call on your life?

Paul's life was changed. He was

converted. He was saved through this

encounter with Jesus Christ. But I also

want you to notice that Paul was

selected by God to be a witness of

Christ. If you look with me at verse

number 11, he says this. And when I

could not see for the glory of that

light, being led by the hand of them

that were with me, I came into Damascus,

and one Ananas, a devout man according

to the law, having a good report of all

the Jews, uh, which dwelt there, came

unto me, and stood and said unto me,

Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the

same hour I looked upon him, and he

said, Watch this, church. And he said in

verse 14, "The God of our fathers hath

chosen thee."

Do you understand the case that Paul is

building here? He has spoken to them in

a Hebrew tongue. He has identified

himself as a Jew, zealous as could be

for the law of God, caring about God's

honor and God's glory, religious in the

temple. And he says that he has this

encounter with Christ and God brings him

Christ sends him to this man Ananas who

himself is a devout Jew.

All the Jews testify that this man is a

good faithful Jew

and he told me the God of our fathers

chose me.

The case that he's building here is

this. Christianity is not a man-made

offshoot of Judaism. It is the

fulfillment of the Jewish faith.

Judaism finds its end in Jesus Christ,

the Jewish Messiah is what Paul is

saying. [snorts]

But notice what he was chosen for in

verse 14. The God of our fathers hath

chosen thee that thou shouldest know his

will.

You know what that means? Everything

that happened surrounding Jesus Christ

was according to God's will.

See, God had planned before the world

was ever created, knowing that if he

gives man a free will, man will

certainly choose to sin. Why? Because

man is not God and man cannot be

perfect. And therefore, he planned

before time ever began that he would not

send an angel, that he would not send an

ordinary man, but that he would send his

only son, perfect, holy, in perfect

unity with the Trinity, the divine son

of God, would come and take on human

flesh and lay his life down on the cross

as a sacrifice for the sins of all

mankind so that man could be restored to

the blessing of God and reconciled to a

right relationship with God through This

man identified in the Old Testament as

the just one.

God called him my righteous servant who

shall fulfill all my will. He's

identified in the Old Testament as the

holy one, the righteous one, the just

one. And Ananas tells Paul in verse 14

that God had chosen him to know his will

and to see that just one. Paul not only

heard, but what this tells us is he saw

the glory of Jesus Christ risen from the

dead. He saw him, but he also heard from

the voice of his mouth. But notice why

Paul was selected by the God of their

fathers. Verse 15. For thou shalt be his

witness unto all men of what thou hast

seen and heard. God selected Paul to be

a witness of Jesus Christ.

So Ananas tells him in verse 16, "And

now, why terest thou? Arise and be

baptized and wash away thy sins calling

on the name of the Lord." And we know by

Paul's testimony, he did just that.

See, when Paul was converted, he was

also selected by God to witness of Jesus

Christ. You want to know what that

means? That Paul did not hatch a plan on

his own. That Paul did not invent

Christianity or make up these doctrines.

Paul was not seeking Jesus Christ. He

was seeking to destroy his followers. He

told the Jews that I was just as zealous

as you are this day. What had they done?

mobbed him, beat him, attacked him,

bound him, carried him off. He said, "I

was just where you are. And what changed

was I saw the risen Christ and the God

of our fathers

selected me."

Selected me. You know what that means

for you today, believer?

It means that the words that we read

from Paul, the messages that he

preached, the accounts of his life, the

letters he wrote, it means this, that

they can all be trusted.

Because in God's sovereign grace and his

infinite mercy, he chose Paul. He

revealed his son to him in a way that

was undeniable. In a way that Paul could

do nothing but accept Jesus as the Lord

and the Savior of his life. But God

selected him to serve as an eyewitness

of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We

still read his witness today and you can

trust it. Why? He wasn't appointed by

man. He was not a self-aclaimed uh

preacher of the gospel. No, he was

divinely chosen by God who planned from

the foundation of the world to bring

redemption through his son Jesus Christ.

Paul began his defense by showing the

Jews that he was selected by God.

But now Paul shifts his defense to his

mission among the Gentiles.

See, because let's think about this real

quick.

What what Paul has set up. If Paul is a

Jew

and he saw the Jewish Messiah and he was

selected to be a witness by the Jewish

God, then what is Paul doing ministering

among the Gentiles? [snorts]

Why is his ministry in Cissia and Syria?

Why is it in Asia? Why is it in

Macedonia? Why is it in Ao? If if this

is a Jewish religion that comes from a

Jewish God with a Jewish Messiah and a

Jewish witness, then what is he doing

among the Gentiles? That is the heart of

their issue with Paul. It's as if he's

abandoned the Jewish faith and gone to

the Gentiles and is telling Jews

everywhere and Gentiles to abandon the

law and abandon the temple. And he

doesn't care about polluting the temple

and all those things. And what Paul is

showing them is none of that is true. My

Christian faith is not divorced from my

Jewish faith. It is the fulfillment of

it.

So why is he ministering among the

Gentiles? Well, that brings us to our

second point that Paul was not only

selected by God, but we find that he was

sent by the Christ. Would you look at

verse 17? It says, "And it came to pass

that when I was come again to Jerusalem,

even while I prayed in the temple, I was

in a trance." Why is Paul saying even

while I prayed in the temple, he's

continuing this idea to turn upside down

the the accusations that he's not a

faithful Jew? Does a faithful Jew pray

to God? Does a faithful Jew pray to God

in the or does an unfaithful Jew pray to

God in the temple? No. What's Paul

doing? Praying in the temple. He's still

showing them that that in my direct

connection of my prayer to the God of

our fathers in the house of the God of

our fathers, I was in a trance and I saw

him who Jesus Christ saying unto me,

make haste and get thee quickly out of

Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy

testimony concerning me. Why is Paul no

longer in Jerusalem?

If this is a Jewish Messiah, if this is

a selection from a Jewish God, if he

himself is a faithful Jewish man, why is

he not preaching in Jerusalem? Here's

why. Because Isaiah 53 was fulfilled

when the prophet said, "Who hath

believed our report?" And to whom hath

the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He was despised and rejected of men.

See, just as Jesus was rejected by his

own in Jerusalem when Paul gave

testimony of Christ in Jerusalem, he too

was rejected by his own. And and Paul

says, "I even objected a little bit in

verse 19." He said, "And I said, Lord,

they know that I imprisoned and beat

every in this in every synagogue them

that believed on thee. And when the

blood of thy martyr Steven was shed, I

also was standing by and consenting unto

his death, and kept the raignments of

them that slew him." You know what I

think Paul is doing here? I I believe

that Paul is is stating, "But won't my

changed life

affect their belief?

Won't they believe if they realize the

transformation

that has taken place?" And yet, notice

Jesus's response in verse 21. He says,

"And he said unto me, Depart, for I will

send thee far hence unto the Gentiles."

See what Paul is conveying here is I

came to Jerusalem

and when I came to Jerusalem to preach

Christ, Jesus appeared to me. This

Jewish Messiah, the Christ said, "You

need to leave quickly because my people

will not receive your witness.

Therefore, depart. I will send you to

the Gentiles."

Paul's defense before this Jewish mob is

this.

I was selected by the God of our fathers

and I was sent by our Messiah.

That's what he says. And because of

that, they should have believed and

accepted his report, but they did not.

Look at verse 23 or verse 22. And they

gave him audience unto this word. The

idea that the Messiah sent the gospel

away from the Jews and to the Gentiles.

That was the breaking point for them.

They said, "No, I'm not listening to

this anymore." And they said, "Away with

such a fellow from the earth, for it is

not fit that he should live." They

called for his death.

If my daughters are playing outside

and I send my son to say, "Hey, go call

the girls in." And he goes out to the

sliding glass door and opens that up and

he shouts outside, "Girls, come inside."

What are they going to do? They're going

to blow him off. They're they're going

to say, "Says who?" You know, something

like that. And and just not pay any

attention to him. That's why I tell my

son, "Hey son, go tell the girls that

dad said it's time to come inside." Why?

That carries authority behind it. It

carries weight behind it. And you know

what happens when he goes out there and

says, "Girls, dad says to come in, they

are obligated

to believe him and to obey him." You

know what Paul's doing here?

He's saying, "I came to Jerusalem

preaching Jesus and you rejected me. And

Jesus sent me to the ends of the earth

to preach his name among the Gentiles.

And now I have come back to tell you

this.

Dad says so. [snorts]

The God of our fathers

stopped me in my tracks when I was ready

to kill Christians left and right. Jesus

showed up. I encountered him. I saw his

glory. It blinded me. I heard his voice.

He identified himself. He is the

Messiah. He is the Lord. And he told me

where I should go. And when I went, this

devout Jewish man came to me and said,

"The God of our fathers hath chosen

thee,

and the Messiah has sent me."

They should have been obligated

to believe and obey, but they were not.

But why was the book of Acts written?

It's good to go back to this every now

and then. You find the answer in Luke's

gospel

1:es 1-4 that Luke said he had written

both his gospel and then his second

volume the book of acts he had written

them to a man named Theophilos that he

might know the certainty of the things

which he had been taught. And [snorts]

that idea is what governs our

understanding of this book. And so when

we come to a text like this, we're not

just supposed to be uh scared of

rejecting Jesus like they were, though

we'll get to that here in just a minute.

God wants us to understand from this

text that we have a reason to believe.

We have a reason to be certain of what

we have been taught. And the reason that

he gives us here is because the witness

of the gospel that we received from the

apostle Paul, he was divinely selected

by God and sent by Jesus Christ. And

because he was, we should believe and

obey what Paul says in the Bible.

That's the point here. The gospel we

receive from him is trustworthy.

It came according to God's divine will.

He sent his son through the lineage of

David just as he said he would. He came

unto his own people and he was despised

and rejected just like God said he would

be. He was wounded for our

transgressions just as God said he would

be. He took the punishment to bring us

to peace with God just as God said he

would. But he also raised Jesus from the

dead. Just as David recorded by the Holy

Spirit, "Thou will not leave my soul in

hell, neither will thou sh suffer thine

holy one to see corruption." What does

that word holy one sound like? The just

one, the righteous one. David was

writing under the inspiration of the

spirit to [snorts] of the Messiah to

come. The just one that he would not be

left in the grave, that he would not be

left to decay, but he would rise from

the dead. God did what he said. Jesus

gave his life on the cross as a Passover

lamb to atone for our sins and to spare

us from the judgment of God to give you

eternal life if you would but believe on

him.

When Israel rejected their Messiah,

God selected and Christ sent witnesses

like Paul to take this good news of the

gospel message to all nations so that

all people might hear and believe and be

saved by the grace and mercy of God

through Jesus. And because it all

happened according to God's plan,

because God selected Paul to know God's

will, to see his son, and to hear his

voice, and because Christ sent him to

bear witness of his name, you can anchor

your soul to everything that Paul has

recorded by the Holy Spirit. You know

what that means? That when Paul preached

in Antioch in Acts chapter number 13,

that through Jesus is preached unto you

the forgiveness of sins. and by him all

that believe are justified from all

things. It means that if you've placed

your faith in Jesus Christ, you can know

this morning that all of your sins are

forgiven, past, present, and future.

That all of them are covered by the

blood of Jesus Christ, you can know that

God has declared you righteous in him.

It's certain. It's settled. When Paul

wrote in Romans 5:1, "Therefore, being

Romans 5:1

justified by faith, we have peace with

God through our Lord Jesus Christ." You

know what that means for you? That if

you've trusted Christ as your savior,

you are really at peace with God. Even

when you don't feel at peace with God,

Christ has made peace for you. It means

when Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:8

2 Corinthians 5:8

that when you are absent from the body,

you are present with the Lord. It means

that if you've trusted Christ, then you

can know without a shadow of a doubt

that if your faith is in him, the moment

you take your final breath in this life,

you will take your next in the presence

of Jesus Christ. Everything Paul said,

you can trust and mark it down as true.

Why? Because he was selected by God and

sent by Christ. Therefore, his witness

carries credibility and authority that

you can trust in. believer, this ought

to give you a strong sense of conviction

in the things that we hear from Paul's

mouth and read from his writings. And it

should fill you with the boldness of the

Holy Spirit to go into a city like

Boulder, Colorado or the nations around

the world and proclaim it not with fear

and intimidation, but with boldness and

courage. Why? Because we know it is

true. Should strengthen your faith,

believers.

Now, let me speak for a moment to those

of you who may be like Paul's Jewish

audience.

You're here. You're listening intently

to the truth of the gospel today. And

when God's redemptive plan is revealed

unto you, you will respond in one of two

ways. First of all, you could respond

like Paul did.

Paul was vehemently opposed to

Christianity.

But when he came face to face with the

reality of the risen and resurrected

Jesus Christ,

what was his response?

First of all, who art thou, Lord?

Reveal yourself to me.

He did not resist the voice he heard nor

the shining light of glory that he saw.

He said, "Who are you, Lord?" And when

Jesus revealed himself, saying, "I am

Jesus of Nazareth." What was Paul's next

response? What shall I do, Lord?

What shall I do?

Paul was no longer fighting and

resisting and opposing Jesus. Rather, he

was submitting himself to whatever this

glorious Lord required of him.

You know what Jesus did?

He didn't give it all to him from his

own mouth in this resurre in this

resurrection appearance.

He told Paul, "Go to Damascus.

Go to the house of this man named Judas

and a man named Ananas is going to come

to you." And consistent with the book of

acts, Christ worked through a

gospel.

Ananas comes to him

reveals that God had selected him to be

a witness of Jesus Christ. And what does

he say to him in verse number 16? And

now why terest thou? Don't delay any

longer is what that means. And he says,

"Arise and be baptized and wash away thy

sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

Question, does this mean that baptism

saves your soul? Does this mean that it

literally washes away your sins? No.

That would be inconsistent with the rest

of scripture. The way this is literally

written would be this. Arise and be

baptized and wash away thy sins as you

call on the name of the Lord as you

call. See, Jesus didn't reveal

everything to him. He knew who Jesus

was. But at that time, what was Paul's

question? What shall I do? And all that

Jesus told him was, "Go to this place

and I'm going to send you this witness."

And when Ananas came, here's what here's

what he told him. You need to be

baptized

and you need to wash away your sins as

you call on Christ. Paul believed Jesus

was risen.

But Paul had not yet called upon Christ.

He had come to this place where he knew

of Jesus, but he needed to know what he

was supposed to do.

And what the Bible teaches is that for

you to be saved first, the Bible teaches

that you must repent,

you must acknowledge that this is what

that word means. Acknowledge that the

way you were going was wrong. That your

opposition to God was wrong. Your

involvement in devilish things was

wrong. Your sin was wrong. Your your

your opposition to Christianity was

wrong. Your unbelief was wrong. You

realize that everywhere my life was

going like Paul was heading in the wrong

direction and now I am turning to Jesus

Christ because I believe that he is the

right direction. That is repentance my

friend. The Bible says you must repent

and then you must believe that Jesus

died for your sin and rose again from

the dead. That he alone paid the price

for your salvation. that he alone is the

way to God as he said, "I am the way,

the truth, and the life. No man cometh

unto the father but by me." You must

believe he is the only way.

But then the Bible also says you must

call upon his name. Is that what we see

in this text

that you need to arise,

you need to be baptized

and wash away your sin calling upon the

name of the Lord.

the calling upon the name of the Lord.

If you study what Paul teaches in Romans

Romans 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10, what does he say? That if

thou shalt confess with thy mouth the

Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine

heart that God hath raised him from the

dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the

heart man believeth unto righteousness,

and with the mouth confession is made

unto salvation. And in Romans 10:13,

Romans 10:13

Paul said, "For whosoever shall call

upon the name of the Lord shall be

saved." There's no magic prayer that

saves you. It's simply the faith in what

Jesus Christ did and the confession of

your faith in him, calling on him alone

for your salvation. The Bible says,

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of

the Lord shall be saved." Here's the

idea. Paul knows who Jesus is.

Paul believes that Jesus is the Jewish

Messiah, his only way to eternal life,

his only way of forgiveness. And as Paul

stands there in the waters to be

baptized, he confesses his faith in

Christ, calls upon Christ. His sins are

washed away and Ananas baptizes him to

symbolize his union with Jesus and his

death, burial, and resurrection as his

sins have been washed away by the blood

of Jesus.

You can respond today

as Paul did. That when you hear the

gospel, instead of resisting, instead of

rejecting, you're willing to submit to

whatever God's word says for me to be

saved. Repent, believe, and call on the

name of the Lord, and you can be saved

today.

>> [snorts]

>> Or

you can respond like the crowd did in

verse 22.

It says,

"And they gave him audience

unto this word and then lifted up their

voices and said, Away with such a fellow

from the earth, for it is not fit that

he should live."

They rejected his word.

It came to a point where something about

Paul's gospel message

crossed a line in their minds

and they stopped listening.

See, many people can be confronted with

the gospel. And you may be that this

morning where you're confronted with the

gospel and yet there's something along

the lines that you don't agree with,

something that you're unwilling to to

cross a line. And because of that, you

may never call for the death of

Christians like they did here,

but you may just walk away and utterly

reject it. I'm not going there. I don't

want to give up my sin. I think that

there's many ways to God.

I don't think you can really know for

sure. And therefore, you don't believe

and you don't call. And when you do not

respond to the gospel as Paul did, it

leaves you under the eternal wrath and

condemnation of God.

But God is willing to save you now

if you'll do what the Lord said. If

you'll obey the gospel of Jesus Christ,

believe on him, confess his name, call

on him for salvation, you can be saved.

How do you know that? How do you know

that, Pastor Mark?

Paul said it and Paul was selected by

God and he was sent by Christ and

therefore you can mark it down. This

came from the God of the Bible who is

the creator of the universe. He will

forgive your sin and save you right now

if you'll trust in his son Jesus.

believers, that ought to anchor our

faith in scripture and fill us with

boldness to proclaim the gospel to

others.

And because it's true, I urge you to

believe and call on Jesus today.

Let's pray. Our heavenly father, we

thank you for the saving gospel of your

son that he atoned for our sins

and promises eternal life if we do but

believe.

This is a message that you have

validated time and time again through

the countless witnesses that you sent

and selected. [music]

And I pray that as believers, we would

anchor our faith to these truths we

[music] hold. And I pray for those who

have not believed on Jesus that they

would understand and believe today. In

Jesus [music] name I pray. Amen.