Sincere Sinners

I. Text: Acts 26:5-11

II. Confused about the way

A. Cornelius

B. Acts 10:1-8

C. Cornelius worshipped God and gave alms to the people He was a Gentile but desired to serve the true God He sent messengers to Peter who, by direction of God and an angel, followed the men to Caesarea

D. Acts 10:34

E. Peter learned that God had allowed the Gentiles to have access to the gospel

F. Acts 11:13-18

G. When retelling this event, Peter said that God told him to preach words of salvation to Cornelius. Though a worshipper of God and a generous man, he was still a sinner in need of salvation. Peter preached Jesus to them and the Holy Spirit showed, by bestowing the ability to speak in tongues on the Gentiles, that they could be baptized for the remission of sins (Mark 16:15-16)

H. Ethiopian Eunuch

I. Acts 8:26-31 – Phillip talks with the eunuch

J. The eunuch wanted to worship God

K. He had just come from Jerusalem to worship God, a long journey for a chariot He was reading the Old Law on his way back home

L. He certainly had his mind on spiritual things but he was confused about Isaiah’s prophecy of Jesus in Isaiah 53.

M. This prophecy tells how Jesus would be rejected, Isaiah 53:4-6 It also describes the saving power of Jesus’ sacrifice, Isaiah 53:10-12

N. Jesus is the way of salvation but the eunuch did not understand about Him.

O. Philip began to teach the eunuch about Jesus and, apparently baptism. When they came to a place with lots of water, the eunuch wanted to be baptized, Acts 8:36-38.

III. Application

A. The confusion in the religious world causes some to worship in ways that are wrong

B. 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 – Some acted like apostles and drew followers2 Peter 2:1-3 – False doctrines will take many away from the truth Jesus warned of those who, thinking they worshipped Him, would actually be sinning, Matthew 7:21-23.

C. We must seek those who desire to please God but have no direction regarding the proper way to go.

D. We must point them to Jesus and His pure doctrine from the Bible. We must not justify those who practice wrong things just because they are sincere and seem to love God—Cornelius and the eunuch were sincere, but lost

IV. On the wrong way

A. Paul – Thought he was on the way

B. Acts 22:3-11

C. Jesus appeared to Paul who was persecuting Christians Jesus told Paul to go to Damascus and receive further instructions Jesus sent Ananias to baptize Paul, Acts 22:12-21

D. Paul violently persecuted the church thinking that it pleased God.

E. Acts 26:5-11 – Paul thought he should do this1 Timothy 1:12-16 – He acted ignorantly yet he received grace from God As soon as he realized the error of his way, he repented and served Jesus

F. Apollos – Close to the way

G. Acts 18:24-28

H. Apollos enthusiastically preached what he knew What he knew, however, was not completely true Aquila and Pricilla took Apollos aside and corrected his error Upon hearing the truth, he boldly preached the word. Aquila and Pricilla could have concluded that since Apollos did not know better and seemed sincere that he would be just before God. Instead, the corrected his error and he boldly taught the complete gospel.

V. Application

A. There are some today who think they are on the way of salvation.

B. They believe their actions glorify God and please Him However, they are acting without God’s authority—as did Paul—and are not pleasing Him Our duty is to show them the truth that they may correct their error

C. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-15

D. God would send a delusion to distract those who did not love the truth Those who did love the truth, who did not practice unrighteousness, who obeyed the inspired word, would not be deceived. Remember, as quoted earlier, even Satan transforms himself into an angel of light; people will follow things that seem right but are not. Colossians 2:16-23 – Many things that appear godly are ungodly

VI. Losing the way

A. Sadly, some people who are on the way will either lose the way or turn around and return to the way of death.

B. Some willfully turn away from the truth

C. Demas’ love for the present world was more than His love for Jesus2 Peter 2:20-21 – Some escape sin only to return to it later

D. Some get lost because they do not keep their eye on the Savior and follow His voice

E. Kids will get lost while shopping with their parents when they become distracted by the allurements around them and quit looking at their parents.

F. Spiritually, we can lose our way through inattention.

G. Hebrews 2:1-3 – we can drift away from the way of salvation James 5:19-20 – wandering away from the truth

H. We must seek those who have lost the way and point them back to Jesus

VII. Conclusion: The characteristic of sincerity is that, when sincere people learn they were wrong, they change and obey the gospel. If a person rejects what God reveals, he is not sincere.