Silver and Gold We Do Not Have
Salvation is the greatest gift mankind will ever receive. Everything that the world offers pales in comparison. Peter and John were walking to the Temple they were approached by a man that was not able to walk since birth. He asked them for alms and Peter’s response to him was, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you in the name of Christ, rise and walk.” (Acts 3:6) While this verse does not directly point to salvation we as believers do not offer the world silver and gold, but what we do have we give in the name of Christ and that is the good news of the gospel. Like the lame man the world holds out its hands seeking alms of hope from an empty world but we offer the hope of Christ. We say rise up and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
This wonderful process of salvation begins with God the Father but the whole of this process is accomplished through the Triune Godhead. As we share our faith the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit play an active role in the presentation of the gospel. We know from Scripture God the Father draws the lost to Himself and He does this through the urging of His Holy Spirit. By His Spirit he begins to till the soil of the heart to receive the seed of the Gospel.
John 6:41-44 (NKJV)
41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.”
42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves.
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. (See also John 6:37)
Man is utterly incapable of coming to Christ on his own he must be drawn by God. Romans 3:11 says no one seeks after God. It is not in our nature to do so for we were born into sin. Since we cannot seek God we do what our sinful nature directs us to do and create a god in our own image. According to the Bible we are also blind and not able to see the light of the gospel without the hand of God moving in our behalf. But even our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God should shine on them (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) As we pray for a lost soul pray that God would move in their behalf. I would submit to you if God has burdened your heart to pray for someone who does not have Christ He may be using you through prayer that He may move in their behalf.
As God moves in our behalf the Holy Spirit makes us aware of our sinful condition through conviction of sin. Our Lord makes this very clear.
John 16:7-11 (NKJV)
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
He came to convict those who reject Christ, trusting in their own self righteousness, and to flee from the wrath to come. Yes, our sin separates us from God but it is the sin of rejecting Christ that sends us to hell. Verse 9 says He will convict the world of righteousness. The Spirit awakens a sinner by revealing Gods holiness and revealing the sinners unholiness and that his self righteousness will not stand before God. We have a great example in Isaiah Chapter 6.
Isaiah 6:1-7 (NKJV)
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”
In verse eight it says we will convict the world of sin; it is singular not plural. What is the sin talked about here? As stated earlier, it is the sin of rejecting Christ that sends unbelievers to hell. Due to our sinful condition we are not right with God. It is the desire of the Holy Spirit to reveal our sinful condition to us, and what does point us to? The Law. Charles Spurgeon said, “Preach the Law before Grace.” When one preaches grace he deprives the Holy Spirit of His convicting work and an unbeliever comes to Christ based on what He will do for them not what he did for them. Roman 7:7 says, What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Only when the Law has been preached showing our sinful condition before a holy God are we prepared to receive grace provided through Jesus Christ. If a person is not mindful of their sin the grace of Christ is cheapened and is a counterfeit grace and there is no repentance of sin. True grace can only be received when we understand our condition and see our need for a savior. Through the grace of God we are saved. (Acts 15:11) God the Father graced us with the gift of His Son who was fully God and fully man. For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9) It is through Christ are we justified freely by His grace. (Romans 3:24) and have peace with God. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Trinity is one God in three persons. This is implied throughout the whole of the Bible. Each person of the Trinity is distinct but all are God not gods. To leave out God the Father, God the Son or God the Holy Spirit will bring forth false conversions. This is the part we are to part we have been given to share the good news when the opportunity arises. We are to be a light and a witness. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15) To do this we must understand how to present the full Gospel.
Steve Laird
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