AND NOW WHY TARRIEST THOU?
Text: ACTS 22:1-16
INTRODUCTION:
1. In Acts 9,
we have the story of the conversion of the apostle Paul.
2. In Acts 22
& Acts 26 we see Paul giving his testimony.
3. This morning
we will look primarily at the testimony given in Acts 22. It begins at verse 1 and goes on to
verse 21. In verse 22 and
following, we see that the Jews assembled there that day did not appreciate his
testimony.
4. When Paul
was converted, the Lord told him to go to Damascus (Acts 9:6-9).
5. Meanwhile,
the Lord spoke to Ananias in a vision, and directed him to Paul
(9:10-19).
6. As we study
Paul’s words in Acts 22, we will examine them in the context of Acts 9.
7. With that in
mind, let us now look at our text, Acts 22:16. “Why tarriest thou?” Let us ask the Holy Spirit to
apply these words to our hearts this morning.
I. WHY TARRIEST THOU? FIRST YOU HAVE TO BE
SAVED.
1. There are
certain people who teach that this Scripture teaches “baptismal
regeneration.” They believe
that Ananias was telling Paul to get baptized in order for his sins to be washed
away (Acts 22:16).
2. That is not
what Ananias was saying. Before I go further, let me state some basic
hermeneutical principles.
Hermeneutics is the science and art of Bible interpretation.
3. An important
principle: Always compare Scripture
with other Scripture. In other words, Scripture is its own best
commentary. All the passages touching on a particular matter (e.g.,
baptism or salvation) need to be studied and harmonized before truth is
found.
4. There are
many Scriptures which teach that salvation is by grace through faith. Ephesians 2:8, and 9 says, “For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (cf.
John 3:16; Romans 10:13).
5. If we are
going to study what the Bible teaches about baptism, we should look at other
Scriptures dealing with this important subject. For example, we would go to Acts 9
and see that Paul was saved before he was baptized.
6. We should go
to Acts 26 where we would find that Paul does not even mention his baptism. Not because baptism is unimportant, but
because baptism does not have anything to do with one’s conversion to
Christ. It always follows
conversion (cf. I Cor. 1:17).
7. In Acts 8,
the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized after he was saved.
8. In Acts 10,
Cornelius was baptized after he was saved.
9. In Acts 16,
Lydia was baptized after she was saved.
10.
In Acts 16, the Philippian jailer was saved after he was saved.
11. Therefore, after all these relevant
passages have been studied and compared, we can be sure of our
interpretation. The best interpreter of the Bible is the
Bible itself. And the Bible teaches
that baptism comes after conversion, not before.
12.
Another important Biblical
principle: All Scripture must
be taken in its proper context. This means that the
interpretation of Scripture should be looked at in the light of the verses and
book in which the passage is found.
13.
This is perhaps the most violated of all the principles and is why there
are so many cults and false doctrines around today. It has been rightly said, “A text
without context is a pretext!”
14. The washing away of sins is not
from baptism, but by “calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 9:16; cf. Acts
2:21; Rom. 10:13, 9).
15.
Have you called on the name of the Lord?
II. WHY TARRIEST THOU? ARISE, AND BE
BAPTIZED.
1. Now that it
is established, that salvation by God’s grace through faith in Christ must come
first, let us look at next: “Arise, and be baptized…”
2. Baptism is a
picture of the washing away of sin.
But sins are not washed away by water – only the shed blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ can wash away our sins.
3. First John
1:7 says, “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.”
4. Baptism is
one of the two church ordinances.
All new converts are commanded to be baptized, but baptism does not save
anyone (cf. Mark 16:15, 16).
5. By getting
baptized, Paul was publicly identifying with the Lord Jesus Christ and with His
church. By taking this step of
obedience, Paul was forever disassociating himself from the Jewish religion and
their rejection of Christ (cf. Acts 2:37, 38).
6. The word
“repent” in Acts 2:38 means the Jews had to turn from their unbelief, and turn
from their sin (specifically the crucifixion of Christ – Acts 2:36), and believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ.
7. Repentance
and faith are two sides to the same coin.
Our Lord said in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
8. The apostle
Paul said in Acts 20:21, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks,
repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ.”
9. According to
the Scriptures, baptism follows repentance and faith. To the Jews, baptism was a sign
that the new Christian was publicly cutting his ties with Judaism. In fact, it is still that way
today.
10.Here in America, where Baptists have been
around for hundreds of years, many people take baptism for granted. For many people, it is not a big
deal. But it is a big deal to God
(cf. Matthew 28:18-20).
III. WHY TARRIEST THOU? ARISE, AND GET BUSY SERVING GOD.
1. When you
compare the three accounts that describe the apostle Paul’s conversion (Acts 9;
22; 26), you will notice all three accounts emphasize the commission given to
him by our Lord (Acts 9:15, 16; 22:12-22; 26:12-20).
2. Immediately after he was
saved, Paul got busy serving God (Acts
9:17-25).
3. Notice that in his testimony
before the Jews, the crowd became enraged when Paul mentioned his ministry to
the Gentiles (Acts 22:21-23).
4. The Jews rejected the Gospel
and it annoyed them greatly that Paul (who had been a Pharisee) was now
preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21-23; cf. I Thess.
2:14-16).
5. When we take a stand for God
there will be opposition. Bro.
McGowan and I were passing out Gospel literature in the subway the other day and
I can tell you some people were very angry.
6. But thank God, some people
were very happy and they thanked us.
Not all of us can preach like Paul.
We are not able to travel around from city to city establishing
churches.
7. But we can all get busy
serving God. If you are not
sure what to do, do what Paul did.
He said to the Lord, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6).
8. Let me ask you – “Why
tarriest thou?”
CONCLUSION:
1. Let me summarize. First, Paul was baptized. Then Paul was baptized. Then he got busy serving God. But first he was saved. Are you
saved?
2. Many years ago, the great
evangelist RA Torrey preached a message entitled, “What Are You Waiting For,”
and he used Acts 22:16a for his text.
3. Dr. Torrey said, “I am going
to ask you who have not accepted Jesus Christ or have not publicly confessed Him
before the world, to put to yourself the question, ‘What am I waiting for before
I accept Jesus Christ and publicly confess Him before the world?’, and then I am
going to take up your answers and answer
them.
4. These are some of the
answers Dr. Torrey dealt with in that
message:
·
“I am waiting until I am
convinced.”
·
“I am waiting until I have enjoyed the world
enough.”
·
“I am waiting for my friends (or husband, wife,
etc.).”
·
“I am waiting for a
feeling.”
·
“I am waiting until I am a better
person.”
·
“I am waiting until I am sure I can hold
out.”
·
“I am waiting until I have done something that I could
not do (i.e., sin) if I were a Christian.”
·
“I am waiting till I am ready to
die.”
5. From Dr. Torrey’s message:
“If you wait until your deathbed before you accept Jesus Christ, the
overwhelming probability is that you will be lost forever. My first winter in Chicago I got home
late one night after a very busy day.
In the morning I had been lecturing to my students, answering letters and
doing other things. In the
afternoon I had been studying. At
night I had been out preaching. It
was after 11:00 at night when I reached home. My wife had already retired and…had
pinned a note on the droplight.
‘Dear Archie, There is a man dying down at 228 North Clark Street. They think he cannot live through the
night. They want you to call. Now whatever hour you get home tonight,
don’t go to bed until you have seen that
man.’”
6. Dr. Torrey went on to say
that he was tired but knew he had to go and see this dying man. He walked the four or five blocks to the
man’s apartment and went up to see him.
7. “I saw he was near his end
and whatever was done must be done quickly. I stepped at once to his bedside and put
my right hand on the outside rail of the bed and the other hand beyond him, and
then bent over him so as to be sure he would hear every word I said. It was over 35 years ago, but I remember
it as vividly as if it were last night.
Oh, how eagerly that dying man looked up into my eyes. I began to explain to him as simply and
as briefly as I could just what he must do to be saved. He drank in every word as I was
explaining to him the way of life, and, oh, how eagerly he was looking up into
my eyes. Suddenly there was a
little gurgle in his throat; and I was looking down into the eyes of a dead man,
and a dead man was looking up into my eyes, and I was trying to tell a dead man
what to do to be saved. Too
late!”
8. Dr. Torrey concluded his
great sermon by saying, “Oh, men and women, whatever you are waiting for, put
away your delay and accept Jesus Christ right now.”
