Look around you. Who do you see? Most of the folks here are what we call Christians. At some point in their life, maybe a long time ago, maybe recently, they realized Jesus Christ was absolutely necessary for assurance of eternal life, and for strength and comfort in this life.
Now, think about the people you know. Even people you are close to. Some may be very religious and devout. Another is a really good person – they don’t cuss or drink or smote or chew (or go with girls who do).
They treat their husband or wife with respect; they don’t kick the dog, beat their children; they pay their taxes—they may even go to church regularly.
They’re good people—But. is Jesus their Savior?
That’s the bottom line. The most important question of life is, “Do you have a relationship with God?” If these good people haven’t received Jesus Christ into their life, trusting and committing themselves to Him, then they don’t have a relationship with God.
From every outward appearance these three were good people. Yet each one needed Jesus Christ.
Acts 8:26 - 39 (NIV) 26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian£ eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth. 34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized? 38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
This man was the Treasurer of the court of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. (Candace and her husband reigned Ethiopia c. 25-41 A.D.) He had been to Jerusalem to worship God (v.27). Did you hear that? He had traveled all the way from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship because he was seeking to know God.
As he returns home, he’s reading the book of Isaiah. Notice, here is a person who worships God, is seeking to know God, but is lost. He has no hope of eternity in heaven. He’s as lost as the worst sinner in the world is lost.
Evidently he was a proselyte to the Jewish religion. He knew there was one God. He knew there was a creator and sustainer. So he was willing to travel the long distance to Jerusalem.
Now get this—at the Temple he wasn’t even allowed into the inner court with the Jewish men. There was tremendous racial prejudice. He was a Gentile and a black man. He could not go into the inner temple. There was intense prejudice against non-Jews.
In spite of his treatment by the Jews, the Ethiopian risked it as he sought God. Afterwards he traveled home, but his seeking soul was not satisfied. He hungered to know God intimately, so he was reading Isaiah 53, the messianic prophecy about the Messiah.
At this point Philip came to him and shared Christ (v.35). The Ethiopian accepted Jesus Christ right then, and was baptized. And tradition says that Queen Candace became a Christian under his influence and led Ethiopia to become a Christian nation. What a story!
Acts 9:1 - 6 (NIV) 1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
We are introduced to Saul when Stephen was stoned to death at the end of chapter 7, and v. 1 of chapter 8. Saul was there holding the coats of those throwing the rocks.
Saul is sure he already knows God. And he was very zealous and busy working for God—he thought. He believes Christianity is a new cult, and a danger to Judaism. So he works to destroy Christians.
He believes he has a relationship with God, and what he is doing is for God. But, he is lost. He’s put his trust in his religion, in his busy-ness, and in his heritage. But he is still lost.
This is how Saul described himself: he was born a Jew, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day. A Hebrew of Hebrews. As to the law, blameless. A Pharisee.
He was racially correct, religiously correct, nationality correct . . . but, as lost as can be. Then he met Jesus as he was on his way to persecute the Christians of Damascus?
The blinding light, the voice of Jesus like thunder in the ears of his friends, and his subsequent blindness. Yet, with all that, Saul still was not a Christian. He needed someone to tell him about Jesus. God had just the person—Ananias.
Acts 9:10 - 12 (NIV) 10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
Ananias was a devout Christian. But he was afraid of what Saul-the-persecutor could do. Ananias was one of those Saul was coming to arrest. But he obeyed God, went and shared Jesus Christ with Saul. And Saul became a follower of Jesus.
Look at Acts 9:20 (NIV) At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. This is what happens when Jesus comes into your life. There is a change. We are new creations.
Cornelius was a devout and God-fearing man. Acts 10:1 - 2 (NIV) 1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.
We know right away from v. 2 that Cornelius was a good man, and a respected man in the community, but he was lost. He loved the God of the Jews. He admired Jewish culture and manner of facing life. In turn, he was loved and respected by the Jewish people of Caesarea. He was a semi-proselyte to Judaism, stopping short of circumcision.
Cornelius was the kind of person everyone liked and admired. He was an asset to his community. He wanted to give back to his community. But he was lost, as lost as the worst sinner. Why? Because he didn’t have Jesus Christ.
God knew the goodness of Cornelius. He knew about his giving to the poor. God even heard his prayers (vv. 3-6). But if that was all that was needed, Jesus would not have had to endure the cross. Cornelius was lost. Someone needed to tell him about Jesus.
So God sent Peter to Cornelius. Peter, like Ananias, didn’t want to go to a Gentile. It was a racial prejudice thing. Peter didn’t want to share the Gospel with anyone other than his own kind.
But God doesn’t care who or what you are. God loves everyone the same. He doesn’t see skin color, country of birth, language or ethnic group. Jesus died for every person. Even the apostles had to learn that truth.
God told Peter, “I love Cornelius. You go and share Jesus with him.” To Peter’s credit, he overcame his prejudice and obeyed God. He told Cornelius and his family about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and that all who believed in Him would receive forgiveness of their sins.
Cornelius believed in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, and was saved. His family also believed. Acts 10:48 (NIV) So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
The Ethiopian was earnestly searching for God, but he was lost. Saul was sincerely serving God, but he was lost. Cornelius was a devout religious man, and did many good things, but he, too, was lost.
We must be very careful of the sin of universalism. Universalism is the belief that because Christ’s death was for all, then all will be saved in the end, no matter what they believed or didn’t believe.
The Bible doesn’t teach this at all. But we become guilty of a modified version of universalism when we think that just because someone is a good person, or devout, or regularly attends their church, then they must be a Christian.
Always remember—people without Jesus Christ are lost. It’s that simple. It’s that real.
Phillip Brooks of Boston was on his deathbed and would see no visitors. When his friend, Robert Ingersoll, the agnostic, heard that his friend was sick, he called at his home and was admitted at once. “I appreciate this very much,” said Mr. Ingersoll. “But why do you see me when you deny yourself to your other friends?” Phillip Brooks answered, “I feel confident of seeing my other friends in the next world, but this may be my last chance to see you.”
The Bible affirms the lostness of people from beginning to end. It also has the solution: the only answer for lostness is Jesus Christ.
Salvation is a gift from God. You cannot earn it. You can’t do enough good things to become a Christian. Being respected in the community isn’t enough. You cannot balance the scales in your favor. Your religion cannot save you.
People live in the “hope” that when they appear before God at the end of their days, all their good actions, words, and thoughts will outweigh all their bad ones. They are going to be horribly surprised.
All of us know someone who believes this. Some of you here today believe this. “Well, the Man Upstairs is watching out for me. He knows I really am trying.” [Dan Barks: Agnostic…..If there is a God, He knows I would believe in Him]
People learn about Jesus from people who know Jesus. All three were led to Christ by someone. Philip eagerly followed God’s directions to the desert to tell the Ethiopian about Jesus. Riding in a chariot, this official from Candace’s court accepted Christ as his Savior.
Ananias, though afraid of what Saul could do to him, fearfully shared Christ with Saul in Judas’ house. After Saul was saved he became Paul, the greatest, most influential preacher and missionary the Christian world has ever known.
And Peter overcame his prejudice and went to Cornelius’ house and told Cornelius and his family about Jesus, and how to be saved. There, in their home they became Christians and into the true family of God.
The bottom line is that we are the human instruments that God uses to share the good news about Jesus Christ.
We are not here to play at church. We are not here for our own comfort. Our purpose here is not committee and business meetings. Our primary purpose is to worship God and to reach the lost. Our methods of reaching people for Jesus must be as diverse as the people we are trying to reach.
God promises that if we will be faithful and obedient to Him, He will bless, and our church will grow. Look at the people you touch every day. Do they know Jesus?