Reformed & Expository Preaching

The Apostolic Gospel (Acts 3:11-26)

Introduction Throughout church history, God's people have struggled with a persistent temptation: looking to the visible means of grace rather than the invisible power behind those means. We can think that the effectiveness of the gospel depends upon the piety of the minister. Certainly, a minister needs to have a piety that rests in the Lord. The minister needs to believe the gospel message. However, we also need to see that the human vessels are the means that God uses to build his church. We are called to be faithful to our God, but it is our God who nourishes and builds his church through his ordinary means. The Human Tendency to Look to Men When the lame man was healed at the Beautiful Gate, the man and the crowds did not immediately recognize the source of his healing. Instead, the man clung to Peter and John, looking to these apostles as the source of life and power. This response reveals a fundamental human pattern: we naturally gravitate toward the visible and tangible. We think that human piety makes God powerful. Rather, it is God’s power that cultivates human piety. Peter immediately corrects this misunderstanding, asking why they stare at him and John as if the healing came through their own godliness or power. Peter knows that it is not in his power, but in the Lord Jesus Christ. The crowds had witnessed a miracle and immediately assumed that the men performing it must possess extraordinary holiness. The signs do not testify to the man’s piety, but to the man’s credibility. The apostles make explicit that they did not heal the man. Their ability to heal is only because Christ has been raised from the dead, and they are sent as his witnesses. We see this same thing with Moses at the exodus. The sign testifies to his authority rather than his personal piety. This tendency to trust in the man persists in our own day whenever we find ourselves drawn to charismatic personalities or assuming that a minister's effectiveness correlates with his personal piety. Peter's rebuke reminds us that true faith looks past the clay vessel to the treasure within, recognizing that the power belongs to God alone. The minister is merely a conduit, not the source. The minister merely preaches the gospel and is not the author of life himself. The Promised Messiah Revealed Peter redirects the crowd's attention from the apostles to the "Author of Life.” He reminds the crowd that it is Jesus Christ, whom they had denied and sent to death. This title, servant, is drawn from Isaiah's Suffering Servant songs. Peter identifies Christ as the one who not only creates life but restores it. Christ is the suffering servant who overcomes the consequences of the fall and brings humanity from death to life. Peter boldly declares that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, whom Israel rejected because He did not fit their theological system. Peter’s point is that Jesus Christ is the very one foretold by the prophets. His mission is to suffer before entering His glory. The tragedy of Israel's rejection becomes clear when we understand what they rejected: not merely a teacher or miracle-worker, but the Author of Life Himself. They chose Barabbas, a revolutionary and murderer. They chose the very man who did what they accused Christ of doing. They preferred a Messiah who fit their expectations, one who is a political liberator, and denied the Suffering Servant who would bear his people’s sins. Peter’s point is that the Messiah's suffering was not an unfortunate detour but the very fulfillment of God's eternal purpose. The resurrection confirms that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the prophet greater than Moses whom God promised to raise up. The Gospel Invitation We would expect Peter to dismiss the crowd and tell them to go home. They are not worthy of the Messiah’s work. Peter exposed the crowd's sin and ignorance. Despite their failure, Peter extends a remarkable invitation: repent and turn to Christ for the forgiveness of sins. This call to repentance is not a demand for perfected righteousness but a call to submit to the Messiah for life. We see the Messiah as the sole sacrifice for sins. The Messiah is the life-giving power that transforms our mindset and orientation to turn to God rather than away from him, as we are naturally inclined to do without the Holy Spirit. Peter knows the grace of restoration personally. Remember that this is the same Peter who denied Christ three times, who was questioned by the risen Lord on the shores of Galilee, and who was restored despite his failure. Yes, and it was an awkward conversation. However, Christ is reassuring Peter that His grace is sufficient. Peter knows firsthand that the gospel invitation is extended not to the worthy but to the weary. Peter knows that he failed, but he proceeds in the confidence that the Lord upholds him until the end. Peter knows his need for a redeemer. The beauty of this invitation lies in its promise: sins wiped out, times of refreshment from the Lord, and the sending of the Christ who has been appointed for Israel. Peter emphasizes that this promise extends to all whom God calls, far beyond the immediate audience. The prophet, like Moses, continues to speak, and those who heed him find life. Peter gives a warning: those who refuse this prophet will be cut off from the people. Peter also gives the assurance that those who turn to Christ in faith and repentance find their sins forgiven and their hearts renewed. The gospel is not a call to admire the apostles or aspire to their spiritual achievements, but a call to find life in Christ alone. Conclusion The apostles do not seek the people’s worship. No, the apostles point us to the One who is worthy of worship. Christ, the Author of Life. Yes, the second person of the Trinity has done the Father’s work. The Father and the Son send out the Spirit to equip and empower God’s people to stand firm in the storms of this age. The one God who has been faithful to his people confirms the prophetic promise in Christ. Our best spiritual achievements only manifest themselves in the power of our Lord’s redemptive mercy. We are called to find our identity not in our own significance but in our Redeemer. We live under His authority rather than measuring ourselves against human standards. When we are tempted to trust in what our eyes see, we are called to walk by the eyes of faith. We are tempted to trust in the eloquence of the preacher, our Christian growth, our performance, but the call is to bow the knee in service to the One and only Triune God who calls us into his presence. The power that healed the lame man, that raised Christ from the dead, and that continues to work in His people today is the same power that calls us to bow the knee to Jesus Christ. Let us find our contentment in Him alone.

The Promised Son of David (LD 14; Psalm 132)

Introduction How do we know that God will keep his promises? It's a question we don't often ask out loud, but we might ask silently to ourselves. We may experience a setback in life, and we wonder if God is really looking out for us. Psalm 132 permits us to bring that question directly to God. Psalm 132 gives us God’s answer. The Promise God Made Long before Christ’s entrance into history, God narrowed his redemptive promise to a single line. He started with the potential of all humanity. In Genesis 3:15, the Lord said, “The seed of the woman.” We do not know the genealogy or the promised heir, other than that the promised champion would arrive from humanity. This would give the Lord a lot of options and a lot of opportunities to bring about the heir. The Lord makes his promise very specific and very narrow. He narrows the promise from all humanity to the tribe of Judah and David’s house. The Lord swears in 2 Sam 7 that he will build David’s line through the eternal heir, the messiah, who is fully human and fully divine. Two natures in one person. This will establish David’s line eternally. The second person of the Trinity will take on flesh to do what the first Adam could not and establish his eternal kingdom. This is wonderful, but then we see the stump of Jesse in Isaiah 11. It seems as if the line of David is cut off. This is the problem in Psalm 132. Where is David’s heir? Sure, the line continues, but Israel is back in the land. They dwell there without a visible king. Will God fulfill his promise? Will there be an heir on David’s throne for eternity? Sure, Isaiah shows us a shoot, but how strong is that shoot? The shoot seems like a small growth. Yes, we have assurance that the Lord has not forsaken his promise. However, can this small shoot carry the Lord’s majestic promise? The Prayer God Welcomes Psalm 132 is in the context of the exile. The psalmist wants to know if God has forsaken his promise. The psalmist does something striking: he reminds God of his own covenant. There's no Davidic king on the throne. The land is restored, but the promise seems stalled. Rather than walking away in despair or stirring up doubt in the congregation, the psalmist brings the tension straight to God. He says, “For the sake of your servant David, do not turn your face away." This is simply, “Lord, you made the promise, and now fulfill your promise.” Scripture gives us that reminder and permission to bring our frustrations to God and remind him of his promises. We can come before God, name his promises, and honestly say: Lord, help me see what I'm missing. In fact, Psalm 132 is encouraging us to do this. We are not going to the community and stirring up unrest, but bringing our frustration to God. Lord, this is what you say, this is what I see, and I need reassurance of your provision. The Answer God Gives The important thing is that we discern the Lord’s answer. This might be through Scripture, it might even be by his providence, where we see the answer to our request. However, Psalm 132 gives us God’s answer. God's response in verses 11–18 is not a scolding rebuke against the Psalmist. No, the Lord gives reassurance that his intention has not changed. We are impatient, but the Lord’s timing is perfect. The Lord will clothe his priests with salvation. A horn (powerful king) will sprout from David’s line. The Messiah will be anointed and equipped to perfectly fulfill his mission. His enemies will wear shame while his king wears a shining crown, and his priests are clothed with glory. In Christ, every one of these images finds its fulfillment. The Messiah came. The Lord fulfilled his promise in his perfect timing. Conclusion Has God forsaken His promise? The temptation is to think that God is looking for a new family to adopt. Psalm 132 assures us that God is not looking for a more deserving family to adopt. Apart from Christ, none of us is considered more deserving. But in Christ, we possess everything as heirs with Christ. Our Lord, who is our King, holds the promise. He wears the crown. He fulfills His word even when we think it is void. When we pray to God, and we rehearse the Lord’s promises to us, we know that the Lord fulfills his promise. He has never once failed to keep his word. Rest in that assurance. Proceed in the confidence that you are the Lord’s child as you take hold of Christ by faith. Live in the confidence and joy of that promise.

The Beautiful Gate and Better Gift (Acts 3:1-10)

INTRODUCTION We have a tendency toward being shortsighted in identifying our needs. This translates into the church’s mission. We can try to take the quick path: give money, alms, or some other quick solution. These are not necessarily bad things as we walk beside someone going through a tough season of life. However, earthly provisions will never satisfy the deeper needs. The Fall brings eternal consequences. The Fall brings deep spiritual problems. The Fall demands a divine solution. The man at the Beautiful Gate appears to have a financial crisis, but something bigger is at stake. What is the bigger issue? THE SCENE SETTING The church is gathering, praying, and growing. The apostles head to the temple at the 3 p.m. hour of prayer. This is a reminder that, as the sacrificial system is concluded, there is a precedent where the Apostles still use a building to facilitate fellowship. As the apostles enter the temple for a 3 PM prayer time, they walk through the beautiful gate. This would most likely be the Nicanor gate, which was a rather impressive gate. There is a shift in focus. We look at the way from the gate, and we see the irony of the gate. We see a human being who is crippled from birth. The gate’s name is almost cruel. Here is a man situated before a gate that celebrates beauty only to see a stark reminder that this fallen world is cruel. We might assume this man has done something to deserve this suffering. However, we must remember that a fallen world is far more complex than simple cause-and-effect connections. The Lord is angry with Job and the counselors for promoting such simple ideas as the righteous always receive blessings and the sinners always receive judgment. The Fall makes our lives more complicated. We do not know why this man is crippled, but we know that God will be glorified. We know that this man will be made whole. THE INVITATION TO FIX THEIR GAZE Peter calls the man to look at them. We might think that Peter is doing this to build a cult of personality around himself. Peter could be calling the crippled man to find his hope in the apostles. We need to be careful not to build the church around personalities, and this is not what Peter is doing. Peter is inviting this man to see that they hold out something greater than alms or a charismatic personality. They hold out the Gospel. Their miracle is not testifying to their power, but to their credibility. Miracles testify that the apostles have the same authority as Moses. Moses was given miracles to testify to his credibility. When he asks, “How will they know you sent me?” The Lord gives him miracles. Miracles do not testify to the man, but to the true Lord who sends his man to be his mouthpiece. Moses was sent from God, and so are the Apostles. They both testify to the same Gospel message. Peter heals this man in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This echoes back to the blind beggar in Luke’s gospel who knows that Jesus of Nazareth is the son of David. Life is not in the Apostles, but in the Apostolic Gospel that testifies to Christ being the Christ or the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. Truly, the apostles and prophets stand together testifying to the same glorious gospel message. THE GLORIOUS RESULT The man doesn’t just walk, but he leaps. A man who has never used his legs can now use them to their full potential. Peter does not prescribe physical therapy or training to help him make his legs whole. No, this miracle testifies that our wholeness comes in Christ. And he praises God, not Peter and John. The miracle accomplishes its purpose: credibility for the apostles as Gospel vessels. The man properly points his focus, giving glory to Christ. The crowd’s wonder mirrors Acts 2. The man who was most conscious of his brokenness most clearly understands the gospel’s gift. This means that we need to understand our brokenness to see that we need the Gospel gift. The miracle pictures the whole intention of Christ. Christ does not come to tear down, but to build up. The gospel makes us whole, no matter how broken we are. CONCLUSION What is the bigger issue? What were the apostles truly offering? The gospel. The crippled man thinks that he really needs a temporary provision: money, but he sees the greater provision: life. The Apostles do not merely bring poverty relief or simple social solutions, but the redemptive work of Christ. Christ’s work makes broken people whole. The church’s call is to bring the gospel first, then to share one another’s burdens. We walk alongside people, resisting hasty judgment, remembering that apart from grace we are nothing. Acts keeps pressing this point: in Christ we have life, joy, and restoration. The Gospel goes out to broken people. We were once not a people. We have been made people. Let us live for that Redeemer as we walk in His power. The Beautiful Gate and Better Gift (Acts 3:1-10) Pastor Paul Lindemulder Download [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53dd2688e4b0219ea2c81007/t/6a1eeb2d800e82332c9345b9/1780411441732/06+The+Beautiful+Gate+and+Better+Gift+%28Acts+3_1-10%29.m4a]

sons of God (LD 13; Romans 8:12-17)

Introduction People bring criticism against the Reformed people’s love for doctrine. People claim that if you go to a Reformed church, you will see that we are people concerned with the head, not the heart. That our catechisms and confessions are cold documents. These are documents fueling intellectual exercises that keep doctrine tidy but leave the soul unmoved. That we know about God without actually knowing him. The Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 13, communicates to us that God is very personal. In fact, we are brought into the Lord’s family. We are adopted as sons for the sake of our faithful Savior. We were the estranged children who had been brought near to God through the faithful son. So, is it fair to say that we are people who love doctrine and not the Lord? Is it fair to say that the Reformed faith makes one distant in relation to God? Children by Adoption The catechism is careful to distinguish between Christ's sonship and ours. Christ is the Son from eternity who is not created, not adopted, but of the same essence as the Father. When we confess the only begotten Son, we are saying that Christ is of the same nature as the Father. He has not sinned or done anything wrong. He is eternal, having the same attributes and nature as the Father. We are sons by adoption. And we need to be very encouraged by this. In the ancient world, adoption was not a consolation prize. In Roman law and in the Old Testament background, an adopted son received full inheritance rights. Abram understood this in Genesis 15, when he offered Eliezer of Damascus as an option to be an heir. Eliezer was not merely a faithful servant, but Abraham requested him to be the heir. Abraham is offering God an easy option, and not the challenge to bring a son through two elderly people without children. And Paul presses this further in verse 14. He declares that all who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. This language is important because all in the Spirit are sons possessing full inheritance. Note that firstborn sons are the ones who receive the greatest portion. Whatever your gender, whatever your genealogy, if you have the Spirit, you share in the inheritance of the eternal firstborn Son of God. You have done nothing to earn it. You have done everything to forfeit it. However, Christ, as a faithful son, secured His people to be coheirs with him as firstborn children. This love that the Father has for his children goes clear to the core of our heart. Why Submit to God? The Freedom of the Redeemed Our culture does not love submission. Even the word sounds like loss. But Paul reframes the question entirely in verse 15: you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Paul has already named the alternative. Living by the flesh is death. We see that in the fall. No, they did not fall dead, but they immediately broke fellowship with God. They were naked and ashamed. They thought they would find freedom in their rebellion, but they discovered that being estranged from God is a problem. Christ, washing the disciples' feet in John 13, says something remarkable to Peter: “ You are already clean.” Christ makes this declaration even before Christ is raised from the dead. Christ’s work is so certain that he assures his disciples of its benefit before it is officially confirmed. The disciples consciously know who Christ is, but they need to rest in his cleansing. John Murray captured it well: in Christ, we have moved from the courtroom to the family room. The legal question is settled. Yes, affirming with the head, but resting in the heart. Honoring God without Terror If submission sounds like an obligation, honoring God can sound like performance. We can think that we better make sure we earn our Lord’s favor. We have to make sure that we are doing the right things to prevent the Lord smiting us or harming us in some way. Paul does not want people to have this mindset of the Lord’s grace and mercy. He tells us in verse 15 that we have received the spirit of adoption, by which we cry Abba, Father. This is the same word Christ uses in Gethsemane. This is the time of his greatest anguish, of going to the cross. Christ is vulnerable; this is his darkest moment as he is about to face hell, and in this time of need, he cries out, “Abba.” We call on our heavenly Father as Christ calls on His Father. This is more like Dad rather than “master” or “Father.” It is communicating to us that we are brought near in the family in such a way that we have God’s attention. The reason we want to honor God is not out of dread. Rather, when we consider the inheritance, we see that we are: heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ. Not servants who have earned their way up. Not subordinate sons who receive a smaller portion. Fellow heirs. Co-heirs with the one who never sinned, never failed, and never rebelled. Christ does not gloat over his success, but rather freely shares everything he has merited with those who deserved none of it. Yes, we do consciously profess this with our minds, but the Spirit works in our hearts to see the joy of the new life. So, we cannot divorce the head from the heart. Conclusion The Heidelberg Catechism seeks to bring out the implications of being brought near to God. The Heidelberg Catechism is not a cold document. It is a document written for people who need to know who they are. People who feel the weight of sin and ask whether God is really on their side. People who wonder whether submission to Christ is freedom or just a nicer version of slavery. The Heidelberg Catechism summarizes Romans 8 with the assurance that you are not a servant who performed well enough to be elevated. You are not an orphan who has been adopted by an abusive or lonely father. You are an adopted child of the living God, a co-heir with his faithful Son, indwelt by the Spirit who prods you toward life and away from death. We honor God, then, not because we have conceded that a terrible master is preferable to a really abusive one. We honor him because he is ours, and we are his, and the inheritance is already secured in the one who went to the cross knowing exactly what the wrath of God costs. He knows the cost and went anyway. He did so in order to make sure we all share in his inheritance. Our life lived before the face of God is not an obligation, but a joy.

Devoted to the Apostolic Gospel (Acts 2:37-47)

Introduction There is a question that lurks underneath in the book of Acts. What happens when Christ is gone? Does he still work on His people, or are we abandoned in this world by a frustrated redeemer? Luke’s Gospel lays out the ministry of Christ on this earth. Acts lays out the ministry of Christ after his ascension into heaven. The Spirit has been given to the church, but how do we know that the Spirit really ties us to Christ and works out our redemption in Christ? I. Their Reaction The crowd's anguish is not performance. These are people who, not long ago, stood in Pilate's courtroom and chanted to crucify Christ. Peter does not let them appeal to peer pressure. They cannot defend themselves by saying they were victims of mob mentality. He addresses them as a group and individually: you all did this. Peter understands this kind of guilt personally. He is the man who looked at Christ when he denied Christ the third time. Peter also knows the awkward breakfast where Christ asks Peter three times if Peter loves him. Peter is not rebuked, but commissioned to care for Christ’s people. And that is precisely why Peter is the right man to preach this sermon. The crowd is cut to the heart. This is a stabbing pain. This leads them to ask the question: What shall we do? This is a vulnerable question. On one side, it reflects genuine contrition where they want to make this right. On the other hand, it carries a dangerous temptation: the hope that maybe they can balance the ledger themselves. The reality is, there is no way for them to undo their sin in their own strength. II. Peter's Solution Peter does not cite Deuteronomy 19 to condemn them. This is a real option. Moses prescribed that false witnesses receive the very punishment they sought for another. These people falsely accused Christ and handed him over to death. They bore false testimony against Christ. Peter could have called for a mass crucifixion. This would be the legal way to make it right. They wanted Christ to die on a cross, and so they could die on the cross. Instead: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Repentance here is not simply a change of opinion. It is a reorientation of the whole self. It is adjusting convictions to align with the Lord’s purpose. And notice the scope of the promise Peter gives them: "The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off." Peter is making a deliberate echo of Genesis 17:7, of the covenant God made with Abraham and his household. The community is set apart by the Spirit, and we would expect the Spirit to be present in the covenant community. The church is a covenant people, structured like a family, with children included in its promises. This is how it has always been since the Lord gave his first promise in Genesis 3:15. Baptism does not save, but it is the designation of a community set apart in Christ. Baptism is the sign of the people who have passed through the sea or the flood. It is the sign that the Spirit dwells in the midst of God’s covenant community. III. The Church Continuing: Luke tells us that three thousand are added to the fellowship of believers. This is amazing that this one sermon leads to such a commitment. We learn how this community functions: they devote themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. The word devoted implies a continual commitment to the Apostles’ teaching. They are going to learn more and more about the implications of the Gospel. They hear the Gospel, but they do not definitively know the Gospel. The Gospel is not a one-and-done message. We might be able to say it, but living it out is the Christian struggle. They also devote themselves to the fellowship of believers. The church family is not just casual fellowship. The community is members like two people in a business venture (Luke 5:10). This means bearing one another's burdens, contributing when others have a need, and a true commitment to one another. One is not on the outside looking in. The breaking of bread is communion of the saints. This would include the sacrament of communion, but also the sharing in the fellowship with one another. They share the common commitment to the devotion to the apostles’ teaching. The fellowship also continues to pray for one another. This is how the community bears with each other. The community is committed to seeing their fellow sojourner arrive complete in the goal of heaven. Conclusion Peter preaches a sermon that cuts these people to the heart. Peter is a hypocrite who denied Christ three times. However, the Lord still uses him. It is not because Peter is so eloquent, but because the Spirit works through the gospel. The Spirit comes to dwell within his people. We know that Christ has not left us, and he continues to work on us. We raise our families in the Lord. We sit under apostolic preaching that we will never exhaust. We bear one another's burdens. We pray. And we know that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church because the Lord who adds to his church is the Lord who has already overcome. Let us be a people devoted to the apostolic teaching.