Two Pauls and a Blinded Sorcerer
(No. 1781)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MAY 18, 1884,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished
at the Doctrine of the Lord." Acts 13:12.
CYPRUS was by no means a reputable island–it was devoted to the
goddess Venus and you can imagine what her worship was–and what would
be the fruitful licentiousness which sprang of it. It was the native
country of Barnabas and, as he was, at first, the leader of the
missionary party sent out by the Church of Antioch, it was fit that
Barnabas and Saul should begin preaching there. Landing at one end of
the island, the two Apostolic men traversed it till they came to
Paphos, where the Roman governor resided. Now, this Paphos was the
central city of the worship of Venus and was the scene of frequent
profligate processions and abominable rites. We might call it, "the
place where Satan's seat is."
Athanasius styled its religion "the deification of lust." Neither men
nor women could resort to the shrine of Venus without being defiled in
mind and depraved in character. Yet it was no business of the Apostles
to stay away, either from Cyprus or Paphos, because they were the
resorts of the gay and vicious. On the contrary, there was a special
need for them to go there with the purifying waters of the Gospel. The
more wicked the locality, the more need for Christian effort in that
very spot.
Moreover, the Holy Spirit had sent the missionaries to Cyprus and,
therefore, they might safely enter the caverns of dark obscenity and
proclaim the word of salvation among the openly abandoned. Nor need
they fear of success, for publicans and harlots have frequently been
known to enter the Kingdom of God before self-righteous Pharisees. Even
the vilest of open sin is not so hard to deal with as a proud heart
which abhors the Doctrine of the Cross because of its humbling
character. Let us not refuse to plow up any kind of soil–great
harvests come from broken rocks! Happily for the two servants of the
Lord, God had prepared their way as He prepares the way of all His
servants, for whenever He sends a sower forth to sow, albeit that a
part of the land which he sows may be rock, or trodden path, yet there
is always a portion which is plowed before the sower comes.
God has a prepared people wherever He sends a minister to gather them
in. He does not mock us by sending us on fruitless errands. If He bids
Philip go down to the way which leads from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is
desert, Philip does not find it a desert spiritually, for there he
gathers one of the sweetest flowers that ever bloomed in the garden of
the Lord. So now, when Barnabas and Saul come to Paphos, it shall not
be to break their hearts over the filthiness and obscenity of its idol
worship, but to find for the Lord a jewel amid the mire! The chief
magistrate of the island was a candid, studious, prudent man. He
possessed an intelligent and inquisitive spirit, and was desirous to
know all that could be known. Pliny mentioned him among the authors
from whom he quoted. This man was anxious to discover the truth if it
could be discovered–he had said with Pilate, but not as Pilate, "What
is truth?"
A certain Jew who was expert in the dark learning of the East and
practiced sorcery had obtained considerable influence over this ruler,
whose name was Sergius Paul. But instead of teaching him the truth,
this false-hearted Jew imparted to him the mysteries of the Magi and
the superstitions of sorcery. Bar-Jesus was this mountebank's Jewish
name, but he was false to it, for he was no son of Jesus, but one of a
generation of vipers! Sergius Paul, hearing that there were other
Eastern teachers in the island, and being dissatisfied with the
teaching of Elymas, sent for Barnabas and Saul to teach him the Word of
God. What a door of hope for this prudent man! What a splendid opening
for the two preachers of
Christ!
Barnabas and Saul can go to court and hold a meeting in the proconsul's
palace with one of the best of hearers as the center of their
congregation–for a really prudent man is one of the most hopeful of
listeners to the Gospel if his pru-
dence has not curdled into sophistry–and his knowledge has not
fermented into self-conceit. It was a hopeful omen for the rest of the
island that its proconsul was so free from prejudice that he called the
two missionaries to his hall and desired to hear from them the Word of
God. Barnabas and Saul accepted the invitation and I think I see them
both opening their commission in the deputy's presence. Good will
surely come of such an opportunity! We are all looking for memorable
results, but stop!–we must postpone our hopes, awhile, and look around
upon facts.
I. Notice first, opposition TO THE FAITH. The missionaries were not to
have it all their own way. Bar-Jesus, who was also called Elymas,
"withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith." As
Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses when he commenced his mission, so
this Jew, Bar-Jesus, opposed himself to the ministers of Christ. In
some respects, opposition to the Gospel is to be much deplored. Under
some aspects, the withstanding of the message of mercy is a very
grievous thing. Should the glad tidings be denied? Should the Doctrine
which God has given by express Revelation be held up to scorn? Woe unto
the men who dare thus to provoke their God! Behold, you despisers, and
wonder and perish!
No man can set himself against God and against His Christ without
frightful peril to his own soul. The greatest of men become base when
they rebel against the Light of God. "Be wise now, therefore, O you
kings: be instructed, you judges of the earth. Kiss the Son, lest He be
angry, and you perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a
little." Rivers of water should run down our eyes because of the wicked
who keep not God's Law. Our hearts should be filled with horror at the
blasphemy and presumption of those who set themselves with deliberate
intent to oppose the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ–especially
when they do it knowing something about it–and being half convinced of
its truthfulness. The rejection of known Truth is a crime which goes
very near to the sin against the Holy Spirit, if it is not that sin.
To oppose Truth when it is seen to be Truth, and to shut the eyes to
the Light of God when it is admitted to be Light, is a heinous offense
against the God of Truth and He will certainly avenge it. Let us pity
with all our hearts the men who oppose the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ! And the more so because we believe that in some instances they
know better and are violating conscience by their opposition. If half
the noise that has been made in this country against certain infidels
for wishing to exercise the rights of English citizens had been spent
in prayer for their conversion, it would have been a more profitable
use of zeal and would have been far more likely to bring down a
blessing upon the nation.
We are too apt to ban and curse antagonists instead of pitying and
praying for them. It is not yours and mine to shut the door in any
man's face, however depraved he may be! We are to stand and entreat him
to come to the Savior, regarding, even, if the judgments of God which
fall upon him are meant to last only for a season–and intended to lead
him to repentance–for this is the usual design of the chastening of
this life. Why should not the chief of sinners yet become a Believer?
Sometimes those who were the most opposed to Christ have been the first
to yield and have become the bravest champions of the faith! Saul of
Tarsus, himself, who was opposed by Elymas, had been a furious enemy of
that Gospel which now he earnestly proclaimed–and this fact must have
sustained his courage under the sorcerer's attack.
Saul did it ignorantly in unbelief, but there is reason to fear that
this Elymas willfully perverted the right ways of the Lord and set
himself deliberately, with premeditated malice, to keep back an
enquiring soul from the true faith. In such a case, opposition to the
faith is to be sadly deplored because of our pity for the enemy of the
Truth of God, who is, in this thing, an enemy to his own soul. But I
further notice that opposition is eminently overruled for good and,
therefore, it would be unbecoming in us to lament it or dread it. We
may not think so much of opposition as to yield to it so far as to
cease our testimony, or tone it down, or omit a portion of it!
The Apostle Paul, when speaking of a place where he hoped for great
success, said a great and effectual door was opened to him, and there
were many adversaries (1 Corinthians 16:9). It would seem that the
second clause was as good a sign of success as the first! Wherever
there is likely to be great success, the open door and the opposing
adversaries will both be found. If there are no adversaries, you may
fear that there will be no success. A boy cannot get his kite up
without wind, nor without a wind which drives against his kite. A
contrary wind does much more for us than we suppose. Adversaries
advertise the Gospel and so spread it! Opposing work, although in
itself, evil, is wondrously overruled by God for the best purposes,
since persecution often awakens natural sympathy, and this becomes a
ladder by which love climbs up into the heart.
The devil is growing a little wiser than he used to be, but he still
remains a fool, for if he looked back over his own history, he would
see that he has been the means of spreading the Gospel by the attacks
which he has made upon it! A little stream of Living Water flowed
through Jerusalem and wherever it went, it fertilized the earth and
caused it to bring forth and bud. It flowed on and became wider and
Satan said within himself, "If this continues, I cannot tell what will
come of it. I will, therefore, stop its flow." He looked around and
found a great stone, nearby–I think it bore on it the name of Herod.
This stone, the arch-enemy dashed into the bed of the stream, with
intent to turn it aside. Great was the fall thereof and, in consequence
of its force, the Water of Life splashed right and left, for they that
were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word of God!
Every drop of that little stream became the mother of another fountain
where it fell and so other lands were refreshed with the Waters of
Life. "Divide and conquer," said Satan–he divided–but he did not
conquer! His raging winds carry far afield the precious seed of Divine
Truth! Every tempest that he raises, speeds onward the boat of the
Church! Now, look! Saul of Tarsus desires to preach and tell Sergius
Paul about the eternal Truth of God–and Elymas must interpose. "What
good could that be?" cries one! "How can that be overruled?" It was
overruled–the Lord made the wrath of man to praise Him and brought to
nothing the subtlety of Elymas! In all probability, the opposition of
Bar-Jesus may have called the attention of Sergius Paul more intently
to the Doctrine of the Word of God. When a certain Doctrine is
neglected and half forgotten by the Church of God, there rises up a
bold heretic who rails at the Truth most bitterly–and then Christian
people remember it, defend it, and propagate it!
A Colenso attacks the story of the Exodus–and all eyes are fixed upon
Moses and the tribes of Israel. Some critic or other attacks the book
of Deuteronomy and straightway we get a host of books about
Deuteronomy! All the scholars of the Christian Church begin to study it
and, as a part of the Word of God, it is exceedingly valued. This
Elymas finds fault with the Gospel–and Saul and Barnabas are thus
called upon to clear up the points at issue–and by refuting the
magician's malicious errors, they make the Truth of God the more
apparent to the mind of the proconsul! So far so good. But this man's
opposition was further overruled, for when Saul looked at him and
pronounced upon him the solemn judgment of God–namely that he should
be blind and should not see the sun for a season–then the proconsul
saw what power attended the Word of the Lord and how truly it came
forth from the Almighty!
God, by that solemn judgment, set His seal to the Truth and let all men
know that it could not be reviled without the most solemn hazard to the
opposer. Blinded Elymas, seeking someone to lead him by the hand, was a
visible witness for the Truth against which he had fought! His
sightless eyes were a just judgment from God. He had shut the eyes of
his mind to the Truth of God and the Lord justly closed the eyes of his
body. As he groped for the wall, he was, against his will, a most
convincing witness to the Truth of the Gospel–and of the Divine
commission of Barnabas and Saul!
Depend upon it, the Lord will yet baffle all opposers and He will
establish His Truth above all the traditions of men–His adversaries,
themselves, being judges. Out of their own months will He condemn His
enemies. He will so confound and confuse unbelieving philosophers, that
their blindness shall bear evidence to the light of His Word, which
blinds the proud and self-sufficient. Men will again see how
"professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." Manifestly, even
before the eyes of the unlearned, it has happened–and will happen
against that learned skeptics will give vent to sheer folly and become
the victims of childish credulity till men shake them off and
say–"They are not the wise men we thought they were. And the
old-fashioned Gospel which they set themselves to overthrow is better
than their vaunted discoveries." So may it be right speedily!
Moreover, this Elymas, by his overthrow, made the victory of Christ to
be the more conspicuous. Here are Barnabas and Saul, two poor Jews, and
they are met by one of their own countrymen who has obtained the ear of
a ruler by acting the part of a courtier and a doctor. He knew how to
play his cards with the proconsul. How can these two men hope to
destroy his influence and establish the Cross of Christ in its stead?
If you had looked at them, you would have said Elymas was master of the
situation! He had a fullness of subtlety and no conscience to embarrass
his actions–he could use any cunning trick–while the missionaries
could only keep to the Truth of God. He seemed sure of defeating the
two simple-minded men!
But as soon as Saul drew forth the sword of the Spirit and told him
plainly that though he might be called the son of Jesus, he was the son
of the devil, the victory was speedy and the vanquished sorcerer begged
for help to make a retreat! Sergius Paul was one of the great ones of
the earth–in those days comparable to a king–and when he believed, it
was a
noble gain to the cause! A chamberlain of the queen of Ethiopia had
believed before him, but as not many great men, not many mighty are
chosen–the conversion of the Proconsul of Cyprus was a great triumph
for the Gospel! It is noteworthy that from this point, Saul of Tarsus
is called Paul, and we read no more of Barnabas and Saul, but of Paul
and Barnabas. If Saul had assumed the name of Paul from this memorable
conversion, it would not have been an unworthy act, for his joy at the
winning of Sergius Paul might fitly have expressed itself in a fashion
suggested by a common custom among Romans.
As Scipeo, after he conquered Africa, was called Scipeo Africanus, so
this man, Saul, after such a glorious winning of Sergius Paul for
Christ, might himself become Paul. It is very amazing, but from this
moment we do not find him called Saul except when he is telling the
story of his conversion and uses his old name. Luke, in the Acts of the
Apostles, henceforth calls him Paul, and that name must often have
cheered the suffering Apostle. When he was persecuted, he would
remember his own namesake, the Roman Proconsul whom he had brought to
the feet of Jesus–and Paul would see him standing in the front, as a
bright Believer–while Elymas in the background utterly confounded,
would serve as a dark figure to bring out the lights of the picture all
the more clearly!
Courage then, Brothers and Sisters, whenever you are trying to serve
your Lord! If you are assailed, take heart and hope that a great
victory is near! Satan would leave you alone if you were doing nothing
of any consequence against his kingdom. If he could foresee your
defeat, he has plenty to do and, therefore, he would spend his strength
elsewhere. But as he fears you, he assails you. If you were a mere
official, he would let you go on with your rigmarole, but since he sees
you to be a living servant of the Lord, he raises up an Elymas, with
smooth and slippery tongue, to speak against you. Be bold, and faint
not, for you shall find even the most crafty and cruel enemy to be the
unwilling agent of bringing greater glory to God! Be not afraid of a
man that shall die, nor of the son of man which shall be made as grass.
Go forward resting in the Lord, for greater is He who is for you than
all they that are against you! With a brave heart defy all opposers,
crying, "I will trust and not be afraid." Never let us be discouraged,
for the Lord is on our side. What can man do to us?
This opposition must have been, to Paul, very instructive, for it was
symbolic of the future. It seemed hard to teach this man, this Hebrew
of the Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, as touching the law, a
Pharisee, that he was sent to preach to the Gentiles, for even when he
went to Cyprus, he and Barnabas kept pretty much to Israel, preaching
the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. But now he is to have an
object lesson which will show him his full career as in a living
parable. Jew and Gentile are both before him! The Jew, Elymas, is
opposing with the most bitter venom–true picture of his race. Sergius
Paulus, the Gentile, listens with most prudent attention, candidly
weighing everything and, at last he believes–thus has it been with
many of the Gentiles! The chosen of God among the Gentiles accept that
which the Jews refuse. When Elymas was struck with blindness, what a
sorrowful picture he was of that blindness which has fallen upon
Israel!
"Blindness in part," says Paul, "is happened to Israel," and so it
happened to Elymas–"You shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a
season." That word, "for a season," is a door of hope, for as the day
came when Elymas could again behold the sun, so the day comes when the
blindness shall be taken from the heart of Israel–and the seed of
Jacob shall look on Him whom they have pierced. The scene before us is
a vivid description of the whole history of the Christian Church in its
relation to Jew and Gentile. Let us, therefore, look forward with the
expectation that wherever the Gospel triumphs, it will meet with
opposition–and wherever it is opposed, it will win the victory!
II. We have done with the opposition; now let us consider certain AIDS
TO FAITH. Sergius Paul, "when he saw what was done, believed, being
astonished at the Doctrine of the Lord." Kindly notice the words I have
selected for a heading to this second part of my discourse–"aids to
faith." I have not called miracles, causes of faith, for they do not
cause it, although they may lead up to it. What Sergius Paulus saw did
not make him believe, but it helped him to believe. What did he see? He
saw what was done.
First, He saw the great courage of Paul. In another case, boldness
struck a blow at unbelief, for when the rulers saw the boldness of
Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant
men, they marveled. In this case the effect would be the same. That
despised and persecuted Jew, Saul of Tarsus, fixed his eyes on Elymas
as though he were perfectly master of the situation–as indeed he
was–and without hesitation, or apology, addressed him, "O full of all
subtlety and all mischief, you child of the devil, you enemy of all
righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the
Lord?"
What made Paul bear himself so bravely? What had given courage to this
otherwise retiring individual, to come into the front and speak like a
hero, as he was? Brothers, I believe the courage of the minister is
often made a great blessing to undecided and trembling spirits.
Therefore, when you go to teach and preach, never exhibit doubt or
fear. The man who himself doubts, may beget doubters, but he cannot be
the father of Believers. If you have any question about what you have
to say, go home and wait till you have solved the problem. "I believed,
therefore have I spoken," is the Psalmist's statement, and it is a wise
one! Unbelief in a pulpit is like the rebellious angels in Heaven–the
sooner it is cast out, the better! Intense conviction on the mind of
Paul led him to speak thus plainly, sternly and even indignantly–and
we are sure that he did not err in so doing, since his warmth was not
the heat of his own spirit, but the fire of the Spirit of God, for we
read that he was filled with the Holy Spirit!
Let every teacher of Christ be thus filled and then let him speak
boldly as he ought to speak! Come not forward with your "ifs" and
"buts" and "perhapses," to prove that which is its own proof and bears
its own evidence upon its brow! Tell the message God has told you, as
from Him, and not as your own opinion! Deliver sound Doctrine because
you have been delivered into it, yourself, as metal is poured into a
mold. Speak because you cannot be silent! Speak because the Holy Spirit
has stirred you, in your privacy, to unutterable groans and now moves
you to speak out your soul before the sons of men! It must have been an
aid to Sergius Paul's faith to have seen the dauntless outspokenness of
the greater Paul. But when he saw Elymas blinded, that gave a further
impulse to him.
When God works in judgments among the sons of men, many are astonished
and inclined to hear what this Word may be which bears so solemn a seal
from the God of Judgment. O Sirs, I would to God that some of you who
have seen men die in their sins would be warned by what you have seen!
To many of us it has happened that we have seen the drunk in his rags,
perhaps in his delirium, possibly upon his deathbed. Some of us have
seen the unchaste diseased in body and despairing in soul. We have seen
the profligate in poverty and dishonor. We have seen the sluggard
hungry and homeless. And thus we have learned the result of sin upon
other men if we have never felt it upon ourselves. He that will go to
the hospital with his eyes open, or, perhaps, even call upon his next
door neighbor when his sins have come home to him, may see what sin can
do even upon the outward fabric of our manhood!
What it can do upon the soul can be guessed from the ruin which it
brings upon the body. The blinded Elymas is not before us, today, but
we know that the narrative is true and, therefore, without our actually
seeing it, the lesson should come home to every thoughtful mind. We
have probably seen with our own eyes instances in which other members
of the human body have been rendered horrible with disease engendered
by sin–and that ought to create in us a horror of all evil and incline
us to hear what the remedy of sin may be. He that has once seen the
sickness will long to know the antidote. He that has smarted under the
curse of sin will be anxious to learn the way by which the plague can
be stopped and men can be made anew in the image of God.
But if God's judgments and wonders are aids to faith, what shall I say
of His wonders of mercy? Blessed be His name, these are much more
common and can be much more easily seen! I cannot show you, today, a
man blinded because he refused the Gospel. But I can show you a great
many whose eyes have been opened by receiving the Gospel! They did not
believe it, nor wished to know anything about it–but they were
persuaded to come and hear the Word of God preached–and while they
listened, there fell from the eyes of their understanding, as it had
been scales, and they began to see! The glorious Light of God which
gleams from Jesus' brow was suddenly visible! The Glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ came streaming into their once darkened minds and
they saw and believed!
Hundreds of us who are now present were once as blind as bats to the
saving Truth of God, but we have been brought out of darkness into
marvelous light and we gladly bear our testimony to the power of saving
Grace! I, for one, can say, "One thing I know, that, whereas I was
blind, now I see!" What I could not understand is now clear to me! What
I could not receive has now stamped itself upon my very being, to my
heart's intense joy! I know, Brothers and Sisters, that thousands of
you would rise if I were to ask you to testify that the Lord has
renewed you in the spirit of your minds and has brought you into
spiritual life, light, and liberty! Glory be to God for it! It ought to
be a great help, to enquiring minds, when they see numerous conversions
all around them, for conversions are the standing miracles of the
Gospel, and if any man will only look into them and consider them,
awhile, he will perceive that they are the best attesting seals the
Truth of God can have!
Evidently there is a singular power in the Gospel which is not to be
found anywhere else. What is this power? From where does it come? Could
it go with a falsehood? We have seen the Gospel produce an amazing
revolution in a man– not merely a reformation, but a far deeper
change–a new birth, a complete reconstruction of his nature! How was
this done? I knew a man who was of a fierce temper–a troubler to his
own household when he happened to fall into his fits. He was so
passionate at times that I should not like to tell all the wild things
which he would do. I have seen that man, since conversion–and he has
had things to test him which might, as we say, have provoked a saint.
But he bore them patiently and in a manner which I desire to imitate!
The lion has become a lamb! He is gentle and tender–no one could think
that he was the same man! Indeed, he is not, for Grace has made him a
new man in Christ Jesus!
We have seen persons reveling in licentiousness who sinned greedily,
who could not be satisfied with any common sin–they have heard the
Gospel and become chaste and even delicate in purity, so that the very
mention of their former crimes has shocked them and made them weep!
Such persons have manifested a watchful care against the fault in which
they once delighted. They have been afraid to go near their old haunts,
or to mix with their old companions. What has worked this? What
teaching must that be which accomplishes such marvels? These changes
have sometimes taken place in a brief space of time. Look at Colonel
Gardiner, going to keep an appointment of the worst sort–and as he
waited for half-an-hour because he found himself early, he saw, or
thought he saw a vision of our Lord upon the Cross. And, being reproved
and melted by the sight, he fled from the spot, repented, believed and
lived a godly life! Until his death at the battle of Prestonpans, he
was one of the leading Christians of his day!
"That is an extraordinary instance," says one. I tell you I have met
with scores equally remarkable! Not a week passes over my head but I
hear of conversions which astound even me, as used as I am to these
miracles of love! The most unlikely people, those whom their friends
never accused of a touch of Methodism, who never spoke of religion
without a sneer, have heard the doctrine of our Lord Jesus and, before
long, they have repented of sin, have believed in the Redeemer and have
come to the front among earnest Christians–working for the Lord Jesus
Christ with all their might! Thousands of others who have been quietly
pursuing the paths of morality and outward religion, have,
nevertheless, experienced a spiritual change which, to them, has been
quite as memorable as if they had been turned from the grossest
immorality to virtue! These Lydias are as truly converted as if they
had been Magdalenes–and the change has been as real to themselves as
if it had been conspicuous to all beholders.
What is this change? Is it fact or fancy? Do I see the skeptics smiling
in a pretended pity for our folly? We are quite able to bear their
contempt! Will they be willing to hear a little reason? Sirs, do you
think that we are all fools? In what are we inferior to those who thus
despise us? Can we not manage our business affairs quite as well as
those who think us fanatics? Are we all deceived? It is an odd thing
that this deceit should lead hundreds of thousands, in all ages, to
seek after virtue and true holiness, to seek peace and live for the
good of others! This singular phenomenon of regeneration is not to be
denied, for its witnesses are countless! I claim that we have a right
to be heard even by those gentlemen who believe only in actual
phenomena. This is not to be put aside by a wave of the hand and a
sneer–all attempts in that direction are as unphilosophical as they
are insulting.
We testify of certain operations which we have seen in others and felt
in ourselves, by which the current of our thought is changed, our loves
and hates have been made entirely different, and our whole manhood has
been made anew! These operations, we believe, to be worked by the
finger of God and to be proofs that the Gospel is supernatural and
true. I do not say that this witness will lead any man to saving faith
by itself, but I do say that were not men's minds depraved, it would do
so. I say it ought, at any rate, to lead every man to give attention to
that Gospel whose operation is so remarkable.
A skeptical barrister in America took it into his head to attend a
Wesleyan meeting and he sat down apart from the rest merely to take
notes of what was said, as he might have done in a court of law. He
knew the persons who spoke, one after the other, and bore testimony to
the effect of the Gospel upon them. They were his neighbors and he
thought to himself, "If I were arguing a case and could put these
people into the witness box, and they were on my side, I should feel
quite sure of carrying my case, for they are well known for honesty and
truthfulness." Several persons, without any collusion, rose, one after
another, and though their stories greatly varied, yet they all came to
one point–that they had believed the Lord Jesus Christ–and by the
power of the Holy Spirit had been made totally new.
As the lawyer went out, he said to himself, "Their case is proved. I
cannot question the truthfulness of any of these witnesses. There must
be much more in religion than I thought." This led him to seek the
Savior for himself and he became a Christian. I pray that many here
present may feel that these wonders of mercy are a great aid to them!
And may the Holy Spirit lead them to attend to the Gospel which has
such power in it! Here I wish we could stop and sing that admirable
hymn–
"Questions and doubts be heard no more,
Let Christ and joy be all our theme!
His Spirit seals His Gospel sure
To every soul that trusts in Him. 'Tis God's inimitable hand
That molds and forms the heart anew.
Blasphemers can no more withstand,
But bow, and own Your Doctrine true.
The guilty soul that trusts Your blood,
Finds peace and pardon at the Cross.
The sinful soul, averse from God,
Believes and loves his Maker's laws.
Learning and wit may cease their strife,
When miracles with glory shine:
The voice that calls the dead to life
Must be almighty and Divine." III. But I must proceed. Lastly, let us
observe THE SOURCE OF FAITH. "Then the deputy, when he saw what was
done, believed, being astonished at the Doctrine of the Lord." It is
Doctrine, then, or faithful teaching, which brings men to Christ. Let
those who despise the Doctrine of God mind what they are doing, for the
Doctrine of the Cross is only foolishness to them who perish! Under the
influence of the Holy Spirit, the plain teaching of the Word of the
Lord leads men to believe in Jesus! I do not think it is any great good
for a preacher to stand up and cry, "Believe, believe, believe," if he
never tells you what is to be believed! There is plenty of this kind of
preaching around and the result is sadly transient and superficial.
Poor souls say, "We are ready to believe, but tell us what to believe!
We are ready to trust, but tell us what to trust in!" If we do not
preach the great Doctrine of the atoning Sacrifice. If we do not lift
up Christ as suffering chastisement in man's place, we have not put
before them the basis on which their faith is to be built!
Justification by faith and regeneration by the Spirit must be
continually taught.
The proconsul was, no doubt, astonished to see Elymas blinded, but he
was a great deal more astonished at the Doctrine which Paul preached
when he began to tell him that salvation was not by the works of the
law, but by faith in Jesus Christ–that the way to be accepted of God
was not by presenting to the Lord anything performed by us or felt
within us–but by laying hold upon the righteousness which Jesus Christ
has worked out and brought in! When he heard this good news, he might
well be astonished and yield his heart to Jesus! Dear Friends, the most
astonishing thing in the world is the Gospel! "We have heard it for a
long time," says one. Have you? You may have listened to it for
years–and all the while it may have gone in and out of your ears–but
still you may have never heard it. But if you have heard it inwardly,
and understood it, you will acknowledge that it is the miracle of
miracles, the masterpiece of Divine wisdom!
Listen! In the Gospel, God is just and yet merciful! He lays upon His
Son the chastisement of our peace and then He forgives us freely for
His own name's sake! In the Gospel, everything is of Grace–there is no
respect to human merit or human virtue–God gives freely to undeserving
sinners! And yet there is nothing like the Gospel for fostering
holiness and making men zealous for good works. It will not allow good
works to be the root of spiritual life, but it promotes, no, creates
good works as the fruit of that life. All the really good works in the
world are fashioned upon the anvil of Free Grace. Nothing ever produces
holiness but faith in the Holy Savior. And it is as wonderful as it is
true, that while the Gospel bids the sinner come to Jesus as freely as
if he were not guilty, yet it declares that without holiness no man can
see the Lord! It does not merely command holiness, but it produces it!
It is a wonderful system for clearing the guilty and yet for condemning
his sin. It is the glory of the Gospel that it can, at one blow, save
the sinner and slay his sin, absolve the rebel and end his rebellion.
This supernatural effect is not produced for a short time, only, but
forever! The Gospel does not renew a sinner for a season and then leave
him to re-
lapse–it gives an endless life, implants a deathless principle–and
secures ultimate perfection. It is written, "He that believes and is
baptized shall be saved." "He that believes in the Son has everlasting
life"–not a life that comes and goes, but a life that endures to all
eternity! All this can be done in a minute, so that a heavenly life
commences in less time than it takes your clock to tick–is not this an
astonishing work of the Holy Spirit?
As Sergius Paul heard of this, he was amazed and believed–do you
wonder? I say to you who do not understand the Gospel, if you need a
refreshing sensation–if you go in for novelty and desire something of
the common–begin to study the Word of God and to hear it without
prejudice. Here is a Doctrine which is always news, always glad
tidings– hear and your soul shall live! Turn from it and you will
perish! Angels have not yet grown weary of gazing into the depths of
the Gospel. It is written, "which things the angels desire to look
into." Two figures of cherubim were placed over the Mercy Seat of old,
standing with outstretched wings and gazing down upon the lid of the
Ark of the Covenant, which was called the Mercy Seat. This was meant to
set forth the desire of holy angels to comprehend the Gospel of
Propitiation. They cannot get a full understanding of all its mysteries
till you and I shall join them before the Throne of God and there
declare what Grace has done for us, "to the intent that now, unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the
Church the manifold wisdom of God."
Come then, my Hearers, come and candidly study what is to be believed!
Come and be astonished at the Doctrine of Christ Crucified! Incline
your ears, awaken your minds and yield your hearts! Be eager to be
instructed of the Holy Spirit who waits to teach you. If you are
willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land! If you desire
to know God, you shall know Him! The great Father is not far from any
of you. There is the light! It is not dim, nor far away. The fault is
in your eyes if you do not see. Oh, that you would cry out with
Bartimaeus, "Son of David, have mercy on me." Oh, that your prayer
would be, "Lord, that I might receive my sight." Then you would see and
believe–and live forever! God grant it this very morning, to the
praise of the glory of His Grace. Amen.