A New Beginning, Part Two

In the third chapter of Acts we see a crippled man receiving ministry from Peter and John. God publicly made this physically and morally challenged person instantly and perfectly whole and gave him a new beginning.

Can anyone experience such a new beginning? No and yes. It is only possible for a person who repents and turns to God. We cannot have a new beginning in Jesus Christ without saving faith, no matter who we are. But even those who were guilty of murdering Christ, the author of life, were given an opportunity to repent and trust in him. That demonstrates God’s great grace and rich mercy. In this study we want to examine what saving faith is, how we can have it, and what will happen when we have it.

A Miraculous Healing

In Acts 3 we read that Peter and John had come to the temple for the evening prayer, and as they entered the temple courts, a crippled beggar asked them for money. The disciples did not give him any because they did not have any. But after telling the crippled man they couldn’t give him silver or gold, Peter surprised him and said, “What I have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” And to everyone’s astonishment, this man who had been crippled from birth was instantly healed. He rose to his feet and began to walk, jump, and praise God. All those who observed this miracle were filled with amazement.

After the evening prayer ended, Peter, John and the healed man came out to the eastern part of the court of the Gentiles called Solomon’s Colonnade, and the people came running to them. They were amazed because of this indisputable miracle which had been performed in their midst. They all knew the crippled man, but now they saw him walking, leaping, and praising God. What a marvelous wonder!

The crowd concluded that Peter and John had performed this great wonder themselves. But the apostles vehemently disagreed with them. “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” Peter asked. In other words, we did not perform this miracle. God did it, Peter said. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the covenant, the God of their fathers, raised up his Son, Jesus Christ, whom they have murdered, and this Jesus Christ performed this miracle, Peter told the crowd.

By Faith in His Name

In verse 16 we read, “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.” That was the key. This miracle took place because the apostles trusted in the name of Jesus Christ. Not only were the apostles trusting in the name of Jesus Christ, but this cripple was also enabled to trust in the name of Jesus Christ. Peter told him, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!” which indicates this man had some understanding of who Jesus Christ is. He knew this person of history, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who had taught in the temple just weeks before. He had heard that Jesus healed the sick, performed miracles, and was crucified. He understood all of that. The truth is, Jesus was despised and crucified but God raised him up and exalted him. This Jesus Christ of Nazareth was doing these wonderful acts.

The man was healed by faith in Christ. Peter said the man was healed “in the name of Jesus,” meaning in his authority, his power, and his person. That indicated that Jesus was not dead but alive, which is true, according to the gospel message. What is the gospel? It is that Christ died for our sins, Christ was buried and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. It is that he appeared to many, ascended into the heavens, and is even now seated on the right hand of God the Father. It is that he is the sovereign Lord of the universe and all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to him. Neither Peter, John nor the piety of this cripple performed this miracle. Jesus Christ healed the crippled man.

The Gift of Faith

“By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.” Faith connects us to this Christ who is sovereign Lord. But let me tell you, not everyone has it. Saving faith in Jesus Christ is a unique kind of faith. It is not the faith we exercise when we buy stocks or when we put our money in a particular mutual fund or a bank. We can all have faith like that. But how can we have saving faith? It comes to us only as a gift from Jesus Christ.

Therefore, when Peter said, “It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him,” we can conclude that this crippled man had become a recipient of God’s gift of faith. You see, this man was chosen from all eternity by the Father to be saved. In time Peter and John came and commanded him to walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And what happened? The man was given life. He was strengthened and enabled to jump to his feet. Simultaneously he was given faith. It is Jesus Christ who regenerates us and it is he who also gives us vital faith by which we trust and rest in him now and forevermore. This man now had vital, saving faith.

Faith Comes from God

Saving faith is a gift from God. God alone can give us life, faith, and repentance. Salvation is by grace, and in Ephesians 2:8-9 we read,”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Philippians 1:29 also speaks about the gift of faith. “For it is has been granted to you. . . to believe on him. . .” In other words, God has given us the gift of faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. It is faith in the name of Jesus Christ, faith that he gives us as a gift, that made us perfectly whole. It has been granted, charizomai. It is a free gift, not something that we worked up or produced. Neither life, faith nor repentance are self-generated. All of these are gifts from God who has purposed from all eternity to save us.

In 1 Timothy 1 Paul tells us that he received this gift. “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 1:12-14).

Grace was poured out on Paul. It was a gift, in other words. Paul says he received grace in abundance along with faith and love. Oh, that is wonderful, isn’t it? Salvation from beginning to end is of grace. It is a gift.

That is what we see in this story of the crippled man’s healing. He was healed by faith in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth–faith in his name and in his authority. And if you are a Christian, then you know that Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. He is the sovereign Lord who is above all and over all. You will have no problem believing in that.

Another Man Is Healed

In Acts 14 we find another crippled man who was miraculously healed by Christ, this time through Paul. Beginning with verse 8 we read,”In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed. . .” We must stop here and note that many people would say, “Now, you see, this man had faith but he had it in himself and it was that faith that brought about his healing.” But we know differently, do we not? This man’s faith was given to him. The one who would also open the heart of Lydia that she may respond to the gospel (Acts 16) was here granting this crippled man faith. When we see faith in someone, what can we assume correctly? That the person has been regenerated. Why? Faith proceeds from that divine act of regeneration. Regeneration precedes faith.

Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed, and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!'” Notice, Paul did not go and help this man out, as Peter did. “‘Stand up on your feet! At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.” Those observing thought Paul and Barnabas were gods, but read verse 14: “But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ‘Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news.'” They were just men, instruments chosen by God to bring the good news in which these people would believe and be saved. And as we read further, we see that the mood of the crowd changed from adulation to antagonism toward the apostles. Paul was stoned and left for dead but God raised him up.

Without repentance and faith, our sins cannot be wiped out and times of refreshing will not come to us from the presence of the Lord. But praise be to God, he has given us repentance and faith, this unique faith, as he gave it to these crippled men.

The Effects of Faith

The crippled man in Acts 3 experienced a new beginning. What happened to him? The Lord Jesus Christ raised him up. For the first time in his life, he could jump up and was able to stand. His feet, ankles and legs received new strength and vitality from God. He stood, and then, for the first time in his life, he walked.

Now we know it is not easy for a person who never walked to begin walking, but God enabled this man to walk. Then, all of a sudden, what else did he do? He leaped. Why did he do that? He was filled with joy. He was experiencing a new beginning, a new life, repentance and faith, perfect healing and complete soundness. He jumped to his feet and began walking and leaping. What next? Let me tell you, this man praised God for the first time in his life. How can anyone receive the gift of new life out of God’s infinite mercy and not praise our God?

This man praised God. He had been introduced into the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Not only that, for the first time in his life, he was able to join the worshipers going into the temple. On his own he went through the court of women and into the court of Israel where he could stand and pray while the priest offered incense upon the altar of incense. His first act after his healing was to worship God. Blind Bartimaeus did a similar thing. After Jesus stopped and healed him, Bartimaeus immediately joined the throng of people going with Jesus and went to the temple to worship.

If you are truly saved, let me tell you, you will leap for joy and go into the house of God to worship because your cup will be running over with joy and praise to God. So we see this man praising and worshiping God for the first time and holding on to Peter. I am sure that he was listening to the gospel as Peter was preaching. He had believed in the gospel and now he was also witnessing to it by associating himself with the apostles. He did not run away after being healed. He was with Peter and John.

Later on, this man also stood boldly before the Sanhedrin. This was another opportunity to witness and we can imagine what he told them: “See me! It is true. I am over forty years of age. I was born a cripple. It is true! And Peter raised me up in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” And because of his boldness in standing before them, the Sanhedrin had to acknowledge the truth of this miracle. “‘What are we going to do with these men?’ they asked. ‘Everybody in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it'” (Acts 4:16). This man had received a new beginning.

What About You?

Are you leaping for joy in your heart? Or is the idea of Christian salvation old, stale, and no longer fascinating to you? God’s salvation should ever fascinate us. If we are not leaping for joy, we must pray to God and ask him to have mercy upon us. We must ask him to forgive the coldness of our hearts and fill us once again with the Holy Spirit that there may be the joy of salvation springing from the depths of our beings. Then we will leap like deer. Why? This is the messianic age. This is the age of salvation. This is the age when Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to bless us. This is a time of joy, of new beginning, of new life. This is a time for worship and praising God. This is the time for celebration!

The crippled man of Acts 3 was given physical health, but more than that, he was given the spiritual health of eternal salvation. That ended all his begging. He never went back to it. No man will go back to the Egypt, to the world, if he is truly saved and introduced to the joys of the kingdom of heaven. It is impossible for him to go back. If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. This man’s life of begging was over and a life of eternal joy, eternal hope, and eternal peace had begun. This man was now a success. Truly God sent his Son to bless him and he was blessed.

The Time of Blessing

This is the time of blessing. God has sent his Son to bless us. One day he is going to send him to judge everyone who refused to trust in him and put their faith in Jesus Christ, but now it is the time of blessing. What the locusts destroyed is now being restored to us. It is the time for repair and forgiveness. Every stain of sin has been removed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He is coming to bless us and he is the blessing.

Friends, how long have you been living a crippled, poor, miserable life–a life without joy, a life of materialism, a life that fails to make you leap for joy? I urge you to hear the voice of the Lord as the cripple heard it: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! Leap for joy! Praise your God! Repent and turn to God! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved!

Who can come to Christ? All may come. Even Caiaphas could be saved if he repented and believed on Christ. Even members of the Sanhedrin could be saved. They murdered Christ, but he came to bless them. They killed the author of life, but even to them is given this mighty invitation: “Repent, believe, and you shall be saved. Your sins will be wiped out and refreshment from heaven shall come and revive your soul. Even you shall leap for joy.” God offers all of us the possibility of a new beginning. He comes to bless.

Will You Receive the Blessing?

This blessing, however, will never come unless we embrace Jesus Christ. Why? He is the blessing. He is the life. He is the hope. God has sent Jesus to bless you. My question is, will you receive this blessing? Let me assure you, if you are chosen from the foundation of the world by the Father, even now there is a hunger and thirst in your soul and a desire to trust in Jesus Christ. It is not self-generated, but Holy Spirit-generated. You will be saved and join with blind Bartimaeus with his restored sight, with this nameless cripple who was brought to perfect healing, and with millions of others whom Jesus has blessed.

Like many others, I am a living example of God’s blessing and goodness to me all these years. I was young and now I am old, but I am blessed by this Christ. The crippled man was blessed. Saul of Tarsus was blessed. Saul was a blasphemer, a violent man, and yet God blessed him. He poured out on him an abundance of grace along with faith and love.

Let us praise and thank God for sending his Son to bless us. He granted us the gift of repentance just as he granted it to Cornelius and his household. He enabled us to turn to him in repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He wiped away all of our sins and refreshed our souls and now, like deer, we can leap for joy, and praise and bless our God. Amen.