THE THREE R'S OF REDEMPTION (Division III B)

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto god, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18). 

  I. RECOGNIZE THE SITUATION – Acts 26:18a

A. The Payment for Sin – Rom. 6:23a

B. The Provision for the Sinner – Rom. 6:23

 II. RENOUNCE SIN AND SATAN – Acts 26:18b

A. Renounce the Practice of Sin – Acts 26:18a

B. Renounce the Promoter of Sin – Acts 26:18b

III. RECEIVE THE SAVIOR - Acts 26:18c

A. Receive the Pardon from Sin – Acts 26:18ca

B. Receive a Place with the Saints – Acts 26:18cb

C. Receive the Promise from the Savior – Acts 26:18cc

Introduction:  Acts 26:18 is one of the main verses I have used in evangelistic meetings as well as in discipleship classes.  This verse was given to Paul when he was commissioned to be the apostle to the Gentiles.  It involved three distinct concepts that a person must know to come to the Lord Jesus Christ: I. Recognize the situation; II. Renounce Sin and Satan; and III. Receive the Savior. Today I will talk about III. B. Receive a Place with the Saints.

III. RECEIVE THE SAVIOR

B. Receive a Place with the Saints – Acts 26:18c

“And inheritance among them which are sanctified” (26:18cb).

I understand that an “inheritance among them which are sanctified” (Acts 26:18b)  means the riches that the redeemed will have one day when all the saints meet together in heaven, but as a new Christian, I learned that I received a place with the saints. At the age of 18 I attended church for the first time. I went every night during a week of evangelistic meetings that they called a revival, and I was saved on the last night. It was  a thrill to be accepted among the consecrated Christians in the church. I hadn’t given one thought about an inheritance in heaven at the time.  I was not thinking about finances but about fellowship. 

The next week after the evangelistic meetings, on Saturday night I made arrangements with the rancher I worked for to borrow his car to go to church on Sunday morning. He graciously let me use it. I really appreciated being able to drive to the church and see all the people again. I had promised the rancher to take the car back as soon as church was over, so as much as I wanted to stay and enjoy the fellowship, I had to leave right after the last “amen” was said.

A week later on Saturday night I asked if I could borrow the car again. The rancher frowned slightly and said no, that I couldn’t. I put my horse in the corral and gave him feed and hay so I could go to church the next morning. I got up early and saddled my horse in time to have a leisurely ride to town. It seemed that everyone was glad to see me. Everyone wanted to shake my hand.  One rancher called me “Brother.” How exciting! 

The third Saturday night I didn’t ask the rancher for the car; I simply made sure my horse was in the corral and had feed, hay, and water. I woke up early the next morning, excited to know I would soon be back in church seeing my brethren again. When I went out to the corral, the first thing I saw was that the gate was open. “Oh, no,” I thought, “they let my horse out on purpose.” I knew they thought they were doing me a favor—they had already told me they were worried that I was becoming a fanatic. So I put on my Sunday-go-to-meetin’ clothes which included my new boots, and took off jogging for town on the unpaved country road. After two hours I arrived at the church—just as everyone was leaving. Even so, I was thrilled to see and greet the people. My new boots no longer looked new, but it didn’t matter—I never gave them another thought. I just wore my scuffed boots to church every Sunday after that. (New boots cost a week’s wages, and that was if I had a good job.)

My feelings about church might be akin to what we read in Acts chapter 2: “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (2:42) . . . . “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (2:46).

To this day, I look forward to meeting with the assembly of the brethren.  Here are two of my favorite verses: “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). And “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:1) I know these verses are talking about the temple in the Old Testament, but they express how I feel about church.

When I was in Germany with the Air Force in 1954, I was taught and memorized Acts 20:32: “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” It was further impressed upon my mind when a speaker we had at the Service Men’s Center stressed that when people depart from loved ones, they often commend them to God. (Think of the hymn “God Be with You ‘till We Meet again.”) The Apostle Paul, however, knowing he would not see his beloved brethren of the church of Ephesus again, commended them to the Savior, to the Scriptures, and to the Saints.

Some time back we were privileged to preach in a church in the mountains of Southern Mexico several times over a period of a few years. The sweet fellowship we had with the people there will always be among our most cherished memories. Different circumstances made it impossible for us to continue going there. When we visited, they would have meetings all day for as long as a week, and most who came would take off work to attend. Many walked a considerable distance from their homes to be there. Some of the older members only understood an Indian dialect so sometimes I spoke in Spanish with a Nahuatl translator. The people would memorize the verse I spoke on and my outline (usually three points) after each service. The last night I was there, I spoke on Acts 20:32. I will give my Spanish outline here for my bilingual readers:

  I. Que les vaya bien con Dios – Hechos 20:32a

 II. Que les vaya bien con la Doctrina – Hechos 20:32b

III. Que les vaya bien con los Discípulos – Hechos 20:32c

Since we had to leave after the service the night I preached this message, there wasn’t time for them to repeat the verse and outline back to us as they usually did. However, as we left we had to go around three sides of the square to get to the highway, and one man came running to cut us off long enough to show us he had already memorized the verse and outline. As I have met brethren from that town in other places or talked with them on the telephone, this message seems to be the one they remember best.

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Here I have discussed division III B. Receive a Place with the Saints (Acts 26:18cb) in my outline of Acts 26:18. Next week I plan to talk about III C. Receive the Promise from the Savior (Acts 26:18cc)

I welcome constructive comments.

THE THREE R'S OF REDEMPTION (Division III A)

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto god, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me” (Acts 26:18). 

  I. RECOGNIZE THE SITUATION – Acts 26:18a

A. The Payment for Sin – Rom. 6:23a

B. The Provision for the Sinner – Rom. 6:23

 II. RENOUNCE SIN AND SATAN – Acts 26:18b

A. Renounce the Practice of Sin – Acts 26:18

B. Renounce the Promoter of Sin – Acts 26:18b

III. RECEIVE THE SAVIOR - Acts 26:18c

A. Receive the Pardon from Sin – Acts 26:18ca

B. Receive a Place with the Saints – Acts 26:18cb

Introduction:  Acts 26:18 is one of the main verses I have used in evangelistic meetings as well as in discipleship classes.  These words were said to Paul when he was commissioned to be the apostle to the Gentiles.  The commission involved three distinct concepts that a person must know to come to the Lord Jesus Christ: I. Recognize the situation; II. Renounce Sin and Satan; and III. Receive the Savior.

III. RECEIVE THE SAVIOR - Acts 26:18c

We have come to the last division of Acts 26:18.  The first two divisions were 1) to recognize the situation and 2) to repent of sin and Satan.  Number 3, the last division, is titled Receive the Savior. 

A. Receive the Pardon from Sin – Acts 26:18ca

“That they may receive forgiveness of sins” (26:18ca).

Several years ago I was teaching a home Bible class consisting of teachers from local schools.  I wanted to teach them the “Three R’s of Redemption” from Acts 26:18.  I had very much in mind something that was reported to me as coming from Dr. Chafer of Dallas Theological Seminary: “Give people something to believe before you ask them to believe.” I said the essence of the evangel can be divided into three parts, 1) Recognize, 2) Repent, and 3) Receive. One of the teachers said, “Listen to that!  We were told number 3, to receive.  We didn’t know anything, and they didn’t mention repent. 

In one of the first classes I took on how to preach, the teacher said a sermon should have three points and a poem. But most of the time the audience forgets the three points. Sometimes they remember the poem. But the three ingredients of evangelism are clearly stated in the great commission given to the Apostle and I believe they were given in the right order.  1, 2, and 3. 

Sometimes, however, the listeners get confused with the math and fail to understand the message.  I remember the first time I was given a combination lock. After trying to make it work for about an hour, someone showed me how to do it—you have to put each number in the right place, and turn the knob in the right directions until you stop with number 3. Then the lock opens. It always opens if you do it correctly.

Recently I talked to a twelve-year-old boy who thought he had accepted the Lord, but he was very sad. He said he just kept on sinning and mentioned some of the sins. Then he asked me why God made him if He knew he was going to sin. I told him God loved him and wanted fellowship with him. He said he wanted to quit sinning, to receive Jesus, and to be His lamb and follow Him.  (He had in mind John 10:27-29.)  I told him to go in a room by himself, have a talk with Jesus, and tell him everything he had told me. That is what he should have done in the first place.     

Again, Acts 26:18 says, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.”  Remember!—this verse is the great commission given to Paul to be an Apostle. (cf. Rom 1:1; 1 Cor1:1)  The emphasis of the Gospel is that the sinner who is converted to Christ receives forgiveness of sins—all sins. We read in Micah 7:19 “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” And again we read in Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” The Gospel of God gives us a plain path to pardon, to peace, and to the palace in heaven. (cf. Rom 5:1-5)

The moment a sinner is saved, he is removed from the reign of Satan and transported into the reign of the Son of God. Paul says in Colossians 1:12-14: “¹²Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: ¹³Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: ¹⁴In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” 

In Mexico I talked to a man in his 40’s, whom I had known since he was a teenager. His wife, formerly a devout but unhappy Catholic, out of desperation started taking Bible classes and is now an enthusiastic Christian. The man likes the change in his wife. He said he is thankful that she is faithful in church is following the Bible. But he said the Christian life is too hard for him. He does not want to give up his worldly lifestyle, which is basically wine and women. I told him I could not live a Christian life either, but Christ wants to live His life in me and in every Christian. That is the only way we have power to overcome Satan and His sinful system. I asked him to read Colossians 1:13: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son,” to show him that God has the way out of sin for those whom He saves. I told him again we can’t get out of Satan’s system by ourselves, but if we really want to be saved, the Lord will transport us into “the kingdom of His dear son.” Intellectually, he finally understood, but I could tell he was having an emotional battle. 

He saw that the way out of sin was to let God deliver him. He didn’t really want to die in his sins, but I wasn’t sure he was ready to give them up. I think he might have made some kind of decision right then if I had asked him to, but I didn’t want him to say something he didn’t really mean. I told him all sinners had to come to this point, and if he realized he was going to hell and wanted to be saved, God would forgive his sins and give him victory over sin. Then he understood Colossians 1:14, which says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” 

Lest I be misunderstood, let me say that all Christians sin. In 1 John 1:8 we read: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” However, Christians don’t practice sin. A Christian will sin, but wants not to sin. His conscience will bother him when he does, so he will ask for forgiveness. We find comfort in I John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But with this verse, note also Proverbs 28:13: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

Here are two important verses associated with the Biblical concept of conversion. One is in 1 Pet 2:24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed,” and 1 John 3:5: “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

Here we have discussed division III A. Receive the Pardon from Sin in our outline of Acts 26:18. Next week we plan to talk about III B. Receive a Place with the Saints – Acts 26:18cb. 

I welcome constructive comments.