A TWOFOLD TRANSACTION
[p. 63] A TWOFOLD TRANSACTION
I have in mind to dwell on two transactions in this chapter; one with the Lord Jesus directly, and the other with the brethren, the saints of God. This chapter is much used in the proclamation of the glad tidings, and I am using it now because it presents these two themes; a transaction between the Lord Jesus and a great sinner; and then a transaction between the saints, or one of them, and that same man. The second transaction is of as much importance as the first if the work of God is to be completed in us.
The first transaction is with the Lord, announcing Himself as Jesus: “I am Jesus”. Luke particularly emphasises that name as appearing in the earlier part of this book, for he would dissipate in the minds of men and woman all prejudice that is apt to be there against God, for generally He is not known. He is apprehended in people’s minds in a distorted way as if He were hard and exacting, whereas Luke would disabuse our minds of all such thoughts. He would emphasise Jesus as representing God here, and that name should not strike terror into anybody’s heart; it is calculated to appeal even to a child — “the name of Jesus”. Hence we find in this book that the writer commences by referring to “all things that Jesus began both to do and to teach”. In approaching man, the doing comes first; it is not exacting but helping and blessing man. Elsewhere we are told that He “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him”,
Acts 10: 38. The doing is placed first, and then the teaching, for teaching in itself will not represent God, we need the teaching exemplified.
[p. 64] Luke is referring to what he had written already to this believer called Theophilus, so we are directed back to his gospel for examples of the doings of Jesus, and of the teachings of Jesus. The aim is to clear the mind of any hard thoughts and misconceptions of God, for He was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses. In the well-known incident recorded in Luke of two persons, one of whom owed much to a certain creditor and one little, we are told that when they had nothing to pay, “he frankly forgave them both”. It was to convey the gracious attitude of God to sinners, and that is what the gospel by Luke emphasises.
Then in Acts 1 Luke speaks of Jesus going up into heaven, those who loved Him having beheld Him going up. Most of us here tonight love Jesus, and love, too, the thought of His going up. Luke ends his gospel by telling us that Jesus was “carried up into heaven”; heaven honoured Him by carrying Him up. Those who loved Him beheld Him, and then the angels tell them that the same Jesus whom they saw going into heaven should in like manner come back again. That is what we think about; but if you are not a believer in Christ you do not think of that. We who love Jesus think of Him as having gone up, and as coming back; and in the meantime we are seeking to make Him known here, to announce Him as glad tidings. How sweet and full the name Jesus is! It signifies “Jehovah the Saviour”, Matthew 1:21.
Then Peter takes up the same note, as recorded in the next chapter; he says, “God hath made that same Jesus ... both Lord and Christ”, Acts 2: 36, and, “being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear”. That is the Holy Spirit. Did [p. 65] you ever hear of the Holy Spirit? He is a divine Person sent down here by the Lord Jesus, and available to the believer. If you repent now and believe the gospel you will get the Spirit; He is given to all those who obey Christ, Acts 5:32. This is what came to light as Peter preached his first gospel address; what he said was about Jesus, and three thousand were converted on that day. The bearing of it is that anyone may be converted while listening to the gospel; you may be converted now.
Up to the chapter we have read there is no record of any direct transaction between a soul and Christ; the gospel was carried on mediately through others, as it is by me this evening. Jesus has gone to heaven, but has witnesses to speak of Him here. The preaching is through Jesus, whether He employs vessels or not, the work is His. He preached the glad tidings of peace to those afar off and to those that are nigh, Ephesians 2: 17.
Now the time has come to bring out this feature, that whilst you may hear the preaching and be convicted, there must, at some time or another in the history of your soul be a direct transaction with the Lord. I put that to every one of you here. Have you arrived at this point? Have you turned to the Lord? Has there been a direct personal transaction between the Lord and your soul? Let this search our hearts. He calls us by name. Has it never occurred to you that the Creator, the Upholder of the universe should have knowledge of you, and should know you by name? Here is a young man whose name the Lord knew, and he was no more commendable than you. Indeed, if there was one man on earth at that time who deserved to be utterly obnoxious to heaven it was this young man. Yet his name was known by the Lord Jesus; and so is yours, specially if there is any movement towards [p. 66] God. Evidently there was movement in Saul. The Lord refers in Acts 26: 14, to him as kicking against the pricks. The Lord was watching that young man, and knew what was going on in him from the time he held the clothes of those who were stoning the martyr Stephen.
We have great ability to conceal our inward motives and feelings, but we cannot conceal them from the Lord. He knows what is going on in your soul and in mine. The something going on may be extremely faint; as I was, saying the other day, quoting from Amos 3: 12: “The shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear”. The Good Shepherd sees there has been a little lending of the ear to the word at some time or other. It arrested you, though you did not give much attention to it; still there was something, and the Lord noticed it. Such is His keen interest in us that He notices the least bit of inclination for the word. In His vigilance the Saviour notices these things, “a bit of an ear”, not a whole one; the Shepherd rescues that from the mouth of the lion. You may have been uneasy sometimes; not always, for Satan watches to obliterate the impression made by the word. Maybe you are unhappy, your will is active. It says of the elder brother of the prodigal, that “he would not go in”, and the Lord says, “How often would I have gathered .. and ye would not”. This may be your attitude while the word of God says, You should submit now, your eternal welfare depends on your submission to Christ. Do not therefore continue saying, I will not. There is a struggle going on; your conscience has been touched, but you have not yet submitted. The Lord would save you, He has compassion on you, and says, ‘It is hard for you’. You cannot get rid of the effect produced by the light of God, although you may seek to drown it by the pleasures of this world. One inquired, “Whither shall I flee from thy presence?” Psalm 139: 7. And we read, “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do”, Hebrews 4:13.
Now, are you going to trifle with God, and to carry on this conflict with Him? Are you stronger than He? The Lord calls Saul by name, and says, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks”. The first movement towards repentance gives you a place in heaven. The Lord knows everyone’s name, of course, but it is one thing to be known in the sense that He knows all things, and another to be known on moral grounds. As soon as there is the least movement of repentance, the thing is recorded in heaven, you have begun to add to the history of heaven. If the history of heaven could be written as the history of the earth has been, you would have records of repentance and conversions; that is what heaven takes notice of. As soon as you begin to repent towards God, and to have faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, you begin to make history in heaven. Maybe you have never made any history on earth; many aspire to it, but I prefer to make history in heaven. Every true Christian has a name and fame in heaven. The Lord said to His disciples, “Your names are written in heaven”, Luke 10: 20. He also says, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth”, Luke 15: 10. It is not only that there is joy over a great many, such as the three thousand who repented at Pentecost, but over one sinner. That is how it was with Saul, the Lord called his name twice, and it was in the Hebrew tongue. If I were a German, He would speak to me in German, and if I were English, in English. He would avoid everything that might prejudice me against what He seeks; that is, my salvation. He would speak to my heart and secure my heart. No doubt Saul would [p. 68] have understood Greek or Latin, but the Lord speaks in Hebrew, his mother tongue.
The Lord had said, “I am Jesus”. You may say, You speak to me of Jesus, His grace, His gentleness, His attractiveness, but I have never seen Him or heard Him. Have you not? Had Saul not seen Him or met Him before? He had. He had persecuted Him. He had taken those who believed on Jesus, and were like Him, to prison; he had come across Jesus in that way; and in this sense there is not one here tonight who has not come in contact with Jesus. His people are sitting around you here, they are like Jesus; they think of you with compassion, they pray for your salvation. The whole atmosphere in this room is in your favour, and I appeal to you now about these transactions, first with Jesus, and then with the disciples of Jesus. Turn to Jesus now, and then you will be ready for the brethren. Saul says, “What shall I do, Lord?” This is a very good question. Jesus had spoken to him, and the light shone round him, and now the next move was his. What was he to do? Nothing like what the Roman Catholic Church would tell you; they would give you a long list of penances and things to do. The Lord Jesus gives you nothing like that to do. He says to Saul, “Go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”.
The Lord sends Saul into the city, and that brings me to the second transaction; that is, with the brethren. Some of you here have never had that, though maybe you are saved. I know of young persons who have confessed the Lord and know their sins forgiven, and yet have never come to this transaction with the brethren. The Lord would say to them exactly as He said to Saul, “Go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”. Perhaps there is a young person here who has been converted for a year or so, and has had a transaction [p. 69] with the Lord, but has had no transaction with the brethren. If so, I would like to speak to you of it tonight. Now Saul had fallen to the earth, he was blind, seeing no man. Is that the state of your soul? Perhaps you can see men, though they be “as trees walking”, Mark 8: 24; but Saul saw no man. Moreover in that state he did not eat. Some people are fed in a state of blindness in wrong associations, before they know forgiveness or adjustment with God. Saul did not eat, he was left blind and hungry for three days and three nights. Now the next move must be from the saints. Can they help him?
Ananias goes to Saul and says, “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost”. Saul had been breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, but he will never do that again; he is a blind and penitent sinner. He is about to be completely saved, the work is about to be finished. Ananias says, “Brother Saul”. Is it not sweet to be addressed as a brother? It belongs to the family; as believers on Christ we are brought into the family of God, John 1: 12, 13; we are also brought into the fellowship of God’s Son, 1 Corinthians 1: 9. Let me appeal to you now. How many of you here have confessed the Lord, but have never had this transaction with the brethren? The brethren putting their hands on you is fellowship; they commit themselves to you, linking you thus with all that are calling on the Lord out of a pure heart. There is an Ananias here who would be very glad to put his hands on you now and call you “brother”. That implies that you are identified with the saints; they put their hands on you as confirming the work of God in you; they identify themselves with you.
[p. 70] Peter says, as to the case of Cornelius, that it was God who did it, and “What was I that I could withstand God”, Acts 11: 17. He accepted it, and those in Cornelius’ house were baptised as having received the Holy Spirit. Would you not like Ananias, so to speak, to put his hands on you and call you brother? You will understand that I refer to one or more of the dear brethren in this town. The scales fell from Saul’s eyes, “he received sight forthwith and arose and was baptised”. He would see Ananias, the brother sent to him directly from Jesus. “And when he received meat he was strengthened”. Then he abides certain days with the disciples; he is thoroughly in fellowship. And then he preaches Jesus, in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
Thus in this remarkable account of the conversion and introduction into the assembly of Saul of Tarsus there is light and guidance for all who would obey Christ. May the Lord grant help to us all by what has come before us!
Pages 71 - 157 — “The Defence of the Testimony”, Belfast, 1914 (Volume 21).