Acts: We Honour God by What We Preach by S.L. BA(HONS)
We honour God by what we preach. Let me clarify, we honour God by what we preach according to the Word of God. The question is...what is it that we should preach? If we preach the wrong thing we not only dishonor God but shame his name, and malign his character. There are numerous religions or religious groups that preach different versions of the 'good news or gospel.' In some circles preaching the good news is salvation by works, or that salvation is found in only a particular church or group, some preach a coming utopia, a kingdom, or a 'type' of Jesus. Many of these groups vigorously preach these things door to door, on street corners, in halls, churches, pulpits or to friends. The only way to find out what the Bible instructs us to preach is to turn to the scriptures and carefully examine them. The Book of Acts is the first book of the early Christian faith, an historical record, teaching theology, the framework for apologetics and message we are instructed to proclaim. What is the message? It is called the 'Good News or Gospel,' the resurrection story.
Paul reminds his listeners in Corinth, " NOW I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 1 Cor 15:1-8"Also according to 1 Pt 3:4 " Our hope is through Christ's resurrection." As we will see in Acts the gospel(resurrection) is equated with key words such as 'salvation' 'burial' and being 'risen' on the third day.
The message of the resurrection is known as
the gospel or good news. The Gospel is about repentance and forgiveness
of sins. It is Good News because Jesus Christ broke the 'sin barrier.' He
took sin upon himself and hung upon a tree shedding his blood for
the sins of the whole world and rising bodily from the grave. The Good News
is always framed upon the very person of Jesus Christ because he could forgive
our sins (Acts 8:35). The Good News / Gospel instructs you in the
way of salvation! We learn that salvation is found in no one else besides
Jesus Christ (Acts 4:10-12). The bad news is that we stand condemned because
we personally offended Jehovah by committing sin. Jesus had to die on the
tree because of us. The really good news is that salvation is personal.
Jesus not only died for Adamic sin but for you and I too! It
is vitally important to note that Jesus bore OUR sins on the tree. "and
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to
sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed 1 Pet 2:24."
What did Jesus bore on his own body? Bore means to "carry." What
sins? OUR sins...our personal sins. Every time we have offended God,
perhaps not being honest with Him or our friends or family, our lusts, our
coveting....Jesus paid the price for us! This is significant, because it
means that we are the reason Christ had to shed his blood. According to
this passage where did Jesus in fact carry our sins? This
means that God actually transferred the sins of you and I into the body
of Jesus Christ! Jesus himself payed our penalty for our sins. Now this
is most certainly Good News!!!
How are we saved? By grace through faith according
to Acts 15:11. The Book of Acts states that by calling on the name of the
Lord we will be saved (Acts 2:21). The Gospel is simply this: believe in
Christ and his resurrection to be made acceptable by God. According
to Paul this simple message of "we preach Christ crucified (1 Cor
1:23)" to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness...!
For example the soldier who guarded Paul asks " ... Sirs,
what must I do to be saved?(Acts 16:30)" They replied "
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.
Acts 16:31 " After Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch about the Good
News he believed and was baptized (Acts 8:36-38). There were no lengthy
classes before he could make a 'decision' he simply heard the message and
believed! A thorough understanding of the scriptures comes after 'the
new man' not before. Moreover, in Acts chapter two we find that over 3,000
were added to that number believing the proclamation of the gospel.
It is important to note that according to Acts
13:47 salvation is to be preached to the gentiles. In other words we are
to spread the Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who
bore our sins on a tree for the forgiveness of sins. Any other gospel of
'good news' is truly no good news at all!
What is a Kingdom? " It refers to the people and area over which a king rules or reigns. So the Kingdom of God would exist anywhere God is ruling and reigning. " Where is the Kingdom? "Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, "Look, here it is!' or, "There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. Luke 17:20- 21" Some have the concept that the Kingdom of God is a physical location where God will rule through his son. But according to Luke 17:20-21 how can a Kingdom be inside someone? "So if the kingdom of God is where God rules and reigns, then to say the kingdom is "within" someone means it refers to God ruling in that person life. If the translation should be "among you" then Jesus is referring to Himself as being the One who rules and reigns ( Gary Zeolla, Darkness to Light). The Gospel is and always has been about the forgiveness of sins. Prior to Christ' death, forgiveness was found through repentance and faith in the coming Redeemer, which, of course was Christ. So the Gospel of the kingdom would be a referring to someone repenting of theirs sins, and finding forgiveness through faith in Christ's coming sacrifice. As a result, the person would enter the kingdom by now having his heart submitted to God's rule. ( Gary Zeolla, Darkness to Light)." So the question remains, is the Kingdom of God inside of you...does God have rule in your life? How does this occur?
How does one enter the Kingdom? The Kingdom
cannot be obtained by aligning oneself with any religious organization,
institution or group. Entrance to the Kingdom comes through Christ alone
(Jn 14: 6, Mat 19:28). The clearest statement of all is in John 3:3
"Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless
one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. " If you are
not born again, there is no entrance into the Kingdom. Remember it is Jesus
who says " unless one is born again he CANNOT see the kingdom...(emphasis
mine.)" Why must we be "born again?" What does it mean?
Spiritual Death: According to Rom3:23 "all have sinned,"
we have therefore offended the living and Almighty God. Romans 6:23
states that the penalty for sin is death. Think about... God states in no
uncertain terms that we deserve death! What then can we do? In Jn 3:6
" That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit." In other words we are helpless. The flesh
produces only more things of the 'flesh,'it cannot produce anything spiritual.
We are spiritually dead and worse the flesh is condemned by the law.
Moreover, the spiritually dead cannot accept spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14.)
We can't even please God (Rom 8:8). Mankind is spiritually dead, separated
from God and cannot "see" the Kingdom. What we need is someone
or somebody to do something that we CAN'T do! We must be made
spiritually alive.
Spiritual Life: The only way to enter into the Kingdom of God is
to be adopted. What does God require of us? "" Then
they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?
Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in
him whom he has sent." John 6:28-29" " In agreement with
Jn 6:28-29 we find that " Every one who believes that Jesus
is the Christ is a child of God, and every one who loves the parent loves
the child. 1 Jn 5:1 " Galatians 4:5-6 speaks of the
children of God as being adopted "...to redeem those who were
under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And
because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!" Moreover, "For all who
are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God Rom 8:14." In
order to be "born again" one must have God's Spirit within
us, that is "born of the spirit Jn 3:5." The Holy Spirit
dwells in all believers (Jn 14:17, Rom 8:11, 1 Cor 3:16, 1 Cor 6:19)
making us spiritually alive. If there is no 'spiritual birth' then one
CANNOT see the Kingdom of God. Being 'born again' is God's grace
working through us by cleansing us from all unrighteousness (sin)( (1 Jn
1:7), declaring us righteous before God through Christ's shed blood (Isa
61:10, Rom 3:23-26, Rom 4:6). We have become new creations in Christ (2
Cor 5:17), escaped the judgement of God (Rom 8:1) and have restored fellowship
with him (1 Thes 5:9-10.)
At least three times there are instances where
we read reference to the Kingdom of God in Acts. The first instance
Jesus Christ had been giving instructions to the Apostles for 40 days about
the Kingdom of God. What are they? There are a few things he brings to the
Apostles attention including the fact that the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated
but not fully realized until he comes again (Acts 1:3). 1
God's Kingdom would reign in the hearts of believers through the Holy Spirit.
He also warned the Apostles that it was not up to them to know the times
and dates of the Father had set in his own authority (Acts 1:7).
Christ told the Apostles not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for God's gift
which would be the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is an important key
to the instructions of the Kingdom. Without the Holy Spirit we could not
belong to Christ, nor could we be united with him, nor would we be his children,
or part of the body of Christ. Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that
is the Holy Spirit taking up residence in our hearts we cannot preach the
gospel. This leads us into the next few points on the Kingdom of God.
In the next instance of the preaching of the Good
news of the Kingdom, Philip did not preach the 'kingdom' but instead preached
the Good News of it (Acts 8:12). Jesus as noted gives us entrance
because of repentance and forgiveness of sins. Without Jesus there is no
Good News, no entrance into this the Kingdom of God. In Acts 14:22
we see that upon entering the Kingdom of God there are many tribulations
as Paul, Derbe and Barnabas can attest to that! Paul continued to preach
about the Kingdom of God in the synagogues. Again what exactly was he preaching?
The scriptures tell us 'the Way (Acts 19:9, 16:17).' Paul was delivering
instructions on the way to salvation through Jesus Christ. Paul clearly
outlines his ministry that he received from the Lord Jesus 'to testify solemnly
of the gospel of the grace of God Acts 20:24.) Following this verse he states
" I went about preaching the kingdom.....(Acts 20:25)."
The preceding verses make it clear that his preaching message was not a
place but the gospel of grace (crucifixion / resurrection) through Jesus
Christ. Our clear instructions for delivering the gospel is the person of
Jesus Christ.
The Good News is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
According to the Dictionary of The Bible the resurrection is a restoration
of life.2 The Webster's New World Thesaurus denotes
the resurrection as a 'rebirth' or a 'return' to life. Jesus was raised
in the same human body he died in! In fact Jesus demonstrates this very
point in Jn 2:18-21 "The Jews then said to him, "What sign
have you to show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this
temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he spoke
of the temple of his body. " Was Jesus talking about rebuilding
the actual temple? What was Jesus trying to say? What temple was Jesus really
talking about? According to Jn 2:21 he was speaking of the temple of
his body! It wasn't Jesus' spirit that died but his body. Where
was his spirit? "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Peter I 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1 Peter 3:18 KJV" At the time of his resurrection his spirit
and body re-united. Note that in Mat 28:6 the angel states "He is
not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay."
Jesus left the tomb in the same body he had before! 1 Cor 15:44 speaks of
the spiritual body , not as an immaterial body but a supernatural one (spirit
dominated body.)3 The Greek word body (soma)
when used of a person, always refers to physical body in the New Testament
.4 The spiritual body is supernatural because "
it is not ruled by the flesh that perishes but by the spirit that endures
(1 Cor 15:50-58.)5 Paul is simply contrasting the earthly
(perishable body) to the supernatural (imperishable) body. What is
so special about the resurrection? "The resurrection is the climactic
achievement in the saving deeds of God. To recognize the event as a fact
is nothing; to accept it as a saving deed is to believe in it and to receive
the salvation which is achieved by it."6 One of
the first things Christ does upon his resurrection in Acts was to prove
convincingly to the disciples that he is in fact alive (Acts 1:3). This
is so important that a qualification for being an Apostle was being an eye
witness to this glorious event (Acts 1:22). The resurrection is securely
tied to salvation, without Christ rising from the grave there is no saving
act. It is also the main theme woven throughout the Book of
Acts. If he did not rise from the dead then as Paul explains our faith is
in vain. Distrusting in the bodily resurrection also means that we assert
that Jesus himself is a liar and the scriptures are untrustworthy!!! If
there was no resurrection we have no hope ourselves of being resurrected.
The Resurrection is the CENTRAL event and is essential to the Christian
faith. Everything rests or fails on this issue. The Apostles preached and
taught about the Good News of the resurrection of Christ while many of the
religious zealots opposed them. In fact in Peter's first great speech he
states "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony
of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
Acts 2:24 " Death has been conquered! Moreover, Peter states
that ".. and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the
dead. To this we are witnesses. Acts 3:15 " Ceaselessly and
unwaveringly the Apostles taught the resurrection message and witnessed
to Jesus Christ! Why? Christ paid for our sins, he became our substitution
for a punishment that we all deserved. This encompasses the Gospel / Good
news message! If we don't preach this as the central message of our faith
and preach something else, we are under God's curse! (see references to
the resurrection Acts 2:24, 2:31-32, 3:15, 4:2, 4:10, 5:30, 5:32, 10:31,
10:39, 13:28-30, 13:32, 13:37, 17:3, 17:18, 24:21, 25:19, 26:8, 26:23 CARM)
As the new followers persisted in proclaiming Christ crucified and resurrection, there were also enemies trying to suppress and oppose the Good News. In Acts 4:17 we see that in front of the scribes and the elders the followers of Jesus are giving a stern warning not to preach in the 'name' "But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name." Whose name are they warned not to preach in? We are told in the next verse: " And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:18) In the temple courts Peter and the other apostles were warned not to preach the name of Jesus Christ. While Paul was reasoning in the synogues teaching about the resurrection some of the listeners sneered (Acts 17:32). Some became hardened and disobedient speaking evil of the Way Acts 19:9. Even Paul admits that he was once hostile to the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 26:9!) It is first evidenced here in Acts that unbelievers find the name of Jesus offensive and dangerous!
Not only were the Apostles and early Christians instructed to speak of the resurrection but they were to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. As early as Acts 1:8 Christ states to the Apostles that they are His witnesses. Further on we read that the Apostles are witnesses to the crucifixion and resurrection (Acts 1:22, 2:32, 3:15, 4:20, 5:32, 10:39.) Christ is the CENTRAL figure of the resurrection. Before the council, Peter and John proclaimed "we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:20." In Acts Chapter 5 they boldly claim that they must obey God rather than men and persist in this teaching (see Acts 5:28-32, 14:7). The Apostles endured in proclaiming Christ as we see with Philip. "Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. Acts 8:5" The proclamation of Christ is so important that time and time again in over 20 passages refer to him being the central message. (Also see 9:15, 9:16, 9:20, 9:22, 9:28, 10:36, 13:32, 14:7, 17:3, 17:18, 18:5, 18:25, 19:28, 20:21, 20:24, 22:15, 22:16, 24:24, 25:19, 26:16 CARM)
The early Christians new that there was great
power in Christ's name! In fact his name is held in high honour (Acts 19:17)
and has a name above every other name (Phil 2:9), it is also glorified
(2 Thes 1:12). Salvation was tied to Jesus Christ. Anyone calling
on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21)! Through Jesus name all
who believe in Him receive the forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43, Mat 9:2).
It was faith in Christ's name that gave power and healing (Acts 3:15,16).
New converts were baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 10:48, 19:5, 22:16).
They were also to repent in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38). Paul commanded
spirits in the name of Jesus (Acts 16:18). Men risked their lives
for the name if Jesus Christ (Acts 15:26). Also, we see that Barnabas spoke
boldly in the name of Jesus (Acts 9:27-28.) As well Philip preached
the good news about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ! (Acts
8:12, 8:35). The Apostles persisted in preaching Jesus Christ boldly!
The Apostles refused to bow to the wishes of the
elders and scribes to hush up the name of Jesus ( Acts 4:2, 4:17-18, 5:28,
5:40). Saul of Tarsus persecuted those preaching the name of Jesus Christ
(Acts 26:9-11) and he had the authority to bind(capture) anyone preaching
Christ's name (Acts 9:10). People even questioned whether Paul was an authentic
convert while preaching in Christ's name (" Is this not he who in
Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here
for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests Acts 9:21?").
Suffering and persecution can come through preaching Christ's name ( Acts
9:10, 9:16, see Ch 15, Acts 21:13). In addition, according
to Acts 9:15 Paul would suffer for Christ's name sake. and even die for
the name of Jesus (Acts 21:13) Jesus name is so important that in
Acts 9:14 " ...Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument
of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
" Whose name was he to proclaim? Paul was specifically instructed
to bear the name of Jesus! We too share this privilege.
Time and time again the resurrection of Christ was emphasized by the Apostles and the followers of Jesus. This event was the first thing Peter preached on and it had the power to transform lives. Without this message we are lost. Paul was so adamant about clearly teaching the Gospel that he reprimanded the Galatians by saying " I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! Gal1:6-9." For emphasis Paul states twice that anyone bringing forth another 'gospel' message is eternally condemned! Paul continues , " For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:11-12" He declares that it was God's purpose for him to proclaim his Son among the Gentiles (Gal 1:16). We cannot honour God if we proclaim a message other than this.
It is clear that the main emphasis of the Book of Acts is based on the event of the resurrection and the person of Jesus Christ. It is a message of hope in a world of hopelessness. The Apostles were eye witnesses to this amazing grace and proclaimed it boldly to everyone. We need not make the message of the Word of God complicated. Like the Ethiopian Eunuch we need only to hear the gospel and respond. Simply calling on the name of Jesus Christ (trusting in his shed blood) is the only way to enter the Kingdom of God here and now. The resurrection of Christ conquered sin and death. We are to preach this event and witness to the person of Christ. This is what a follower's vocation is. The question is how will you honour God? Will you believe it? Will you preach it?
1 Life Application Bible, New International Version 1991
p 1942
2 Dictionary of The Bible. John L. McKenzie, S.J. New York,
NY, Colloer Books MacMillan Publishing Company, 1965. p 732
3 Ron Rhodes p190
4 ibid., p190
5 ibid., p190
6 Dictionary of The Bible. John L. McKenzie, S.J. New York,
NY, Colloer Books MacMillan Publishing Company, 1965. p 733