How should we proclaim the gospel ‘Jesus Christ as Lord’ to those who are perishing? (Part 1)
Jesus is the glory of the gospel and our hope for salvation. In 2 Cor. 4:5-6, Paul explains the role of the evangelist.
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
In this post and the two following, I aim to show the manner in which we should proclaim the gospel ‘Jesus Christ as Lord’ to those who are perishing. Hopefully, as a result, you will be sharpened and delighted to obey our Lord and tell the gospel to the world for the joy of the nations and the glory and majesty of Christ.
In this post, we will take a closer look at Acts 2:14-41. The following two posts will focus on the practical application of preaching like Peter did at Pentecost in any culture, present and future.
Before you read any further, read Acts 2. The coming of the Holy Spirit in vv. 1-12 is important to the context of Peter’s sermon, especially where God shines light into the hearts of those listening in v. 37 through the Holy Spirit. In vv. 12-13, Luke tells us that “all were amazed and perplexed [at the behavior of those filled with the Holy Spirit, see v. 4], saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others mocking said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’” Upon hearing the mockers, Peter stands before the crowd with the other apostles and addresses them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words” (v. 14). He then politely rebuffs the mockers’ claim and preaches the gospel to the whole assembly, first by quoting and expounding Joel 2:28-32.
Peter begins with Joel 2:28-32 concerning the Spirit that the Lord will pour out on all flesh (v. 17) and continues by explaining the resurrection and lordship of Christ by referring to Ps. 16:8-11 and 110:1. This is the first thing we should notice about Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. It was centered on the Scriptures. In Luke 24:27, Jesus explains to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets,” that the Scriptures tell about him–”he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Peter understood that before he preached at Pentecost, so he proclaimed the gospel of Jesus to the crowd by expounding three Old Testament texts.
Should we preach the Word when we proclaim the gospel also? Yes, when we preach the gospel, our focus should be primarily on what the Bible says about Jesus. Heb. 4:12 teaches, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God uses his Word to shine in our hearts “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Paul, in fact, adds in Rom. 10:17, “. . . faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” In other words, the Holy Spirit will not ‘cut to the heart’ any sinner who does not hear the gospel proclaimed “through the word of Christ” in a way that the glory of Christ is shone.
Peter’s sermon at Pentecost was also Christ-centered in purpose and scope. In a few verses following his exposition of each of the three Old Testament texts, Peter says several things about the nature, ministry, and gospel of Christ. In vv. 22-24, he boldly preaches:
Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know–this is Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Peter describes Jesus’ ministry as “attested by God with mighty works and wonders and signs.” These authenticated the authority of Jesus–that he was truly the Son of God. He continues then by explaining not only did Jesus die on the cross at the hands of lawless men, he was also “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” and was raised on Easter Sunday, “because it was not possible for him to be held by [the pangs of death].” Peter then refers to Psalm 16:8-11. David says of the Lord, concerning the death and resurrection of Christ, “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption” (v. 27, 31).
Later Peter says in vv. 32-33, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” The coming of the Holy Spirit was promised by Christ and is affirmed by his resurrection as true. After all of that, Peter caps the sermon by quoting Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” saying, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made [Jesus] both Lord and Christ,” and the One sitting at the right hand of the Father will either call you his bride or the Father will break the knees of his enemies to make them his footstool.
What happens when the Holy Spirit confirms the Word of the gospel effectually in the hearts of those who hear? Verse 37, “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” What did Peter say?
Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself (vv. 38-39).
They believed. Through the preaching of the gospel, “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ [shone in their] hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” We should all preach the gospel like Peter did in Acts 2:14-41. He boldly proclaimed the truth of the gospel, the basic facts of the news, shortly after Jesus was killed by the lawless sinners he was preaching to. Jesus died for our sins, and Peter was filled by the Holy Spirit and made confident to tell the world.
Following Peter’s sermon, vv. 40-41 says he continued to bear witness of Jesus and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 3,000 believed that day. It did not end there, either. Verses 42-47 say they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship . . . “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Awesome!
To the point and right on!
May we all take heed to this and be reminded again.
Thanks,
Richard
Great post Kevin! I think this exposition of Acts 2 is helpful in further illuminating what I have been writing about Lordship salvation.
I also think it’s interesting what we see happening with Peter upon receiving the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t too long ago that Peter was telling Jesus not to go to the cross, falling asleep in the garden, and that he did not know Jesus and in Acts 2–he preaches the gospel boldly! The power of the HS brings people to repent and empowers those who repent to preach repentance!
Thanks for making that connection, Drew. Peter and Paul are both fascinating examples of zealous, misguided sinners, transformed into bold gospel preachers by the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit affirming the glory and lordship of Jesus in salvation.
In my next post on this, I plan to show what we need to keep in mind when sharing the gospel, namely, telling it for the glory of God.
By the way, I received your paper and have already worked through about half of it. I plan to email it back to you with edits and suggestions before I go to bed tonight around 10:00 pm CST. So, you’ll have it back for a whole day before it is due!
Kevin
Thanks Kevin! You are awesome!
Hey Kevin,
Yes, I caught a little bit of your article on Peter and Acts as an initial rough and raw first reading, so to speak (glimpsed through it on a spare moment of free time – hope to read through it and take it in more deeply). I liked one emphasis on Peter’s word to the unbelievers in Acts – and how fitting that I should like the emphasis, since it comes from infallible and inspired Scripture. Peter emphasized that it was not him that the crowd should look to, in Peter’s pointing toward Jesus as He was properly testified by God for the crowd.
That is something I find a challenge; do my own words about Jesus make an effective witness, even if molded in the best way from the testimony of Scripture? Or does Scripture itself say it best about Jesus? You and I pursue the latter, of course. Yet how true it is that we have to test ourselves every day on that distinction! But praise be to the Holy Spirit that He helps us in our weakness, and builds the church through us despite our shortcomings. Thanks for the feedback! Look forward to further reading and digesting of your article tomorrow.
Thanks for mentioning that, Rick. I think any Christian should be careful not to let the lusts of the flesh overtake even our best intentions. I read Drew’s exegesis paper on Phil. 3:1-11 today and it struck me how necessary it is to always count all things loss for the all-satisfying joy of knowing Jesus Christ.
Christians should also listen to Peter’s sermon, not just in order to learn from a model proclamation of the gospel. We need to also hear the gospel preached to our own hearts, daily, so we never drift away from all that we are saved from and saved for. That is why I have especially been sharpened by reading Peter’s exposition of Ps. 110:1, that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. Think about it: when is it good news that Jesus is Lord of me? It is good news when the Holy Spirit cuts me to the heart about the gospel, to love the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, knowing that Jesus has died on the cross in my place and offers grace to wayward hearts, ultimately for their joy in Christ that will turn to and glorify God.
I love the gospel. I have struggled at times whether I can say that without saying it lightly, but tonight, my heart is exploding with joy in Christ as I re-read Acts 2 in preparation of posting the second part of this series tomorrow.
Kevin
[...] written two posts considering the manner in which we should preach the gospel. The first post is an exposition of Acts 2:14-41, and the second is a plea that we proclaim the gospel with the glory of God in [...]
Finally! I come to reading your article and commenting on it. And they say the Vatican is slow in making groundless decisions. :)
First of all: very good article. My mind and heart are edified. And my foremost compliment to your work – as actually a follow-up compliment to my passing compliment of a little while back – is that it is good to read about the Word of God as the foremost focus of presenting the Gospel. When Peter preaches the Good News, he looks to no other source than what is exposited in the prophetic books of Scripture. And this is important for our approach to evangelism (and come to think of it, our approach to worship as well). God knows His own Son perfectly and speaks His Son perfectly in the inscribed Word, a powerful grace that we cannot match. When we rely on our own powers of persuasion about the Gospel, we stumble disastrously. But God’s Word holds us up as faltering vessels set apart for preaching the Good News. We speak the voice of God proclaiming the Gospel when we use the Word of God in evangelism (and in the life of worship in the visible church).
And I find your citation of Romans also very helpful for assurance of faith with the Lord, and for talking about the true points of evangelism. Faith cannot come without hearing the Word of Christ. Indeed, drawing from Piper’s excellent sermon series on the new birth in Christ, we can confidently say that no man is born again to a living faith without the Word of God. And this truth is important to apply onto how we model evangelism to others. Is it our glory that we preach, or is it Christ’s glory? I’m sure every evangelist would want to say, “Oh, of course, it’s Christ’s glory!” But not every evangelist proves this. For, as you say (and I agree with you 100 percent), the only way that the glory of Christ shines forth is through the Word of Christ. Evangelists who use their own wagging tongues to draw sinners may draw wolves in sheep’s clothing, but they will not draw the true sheep of Christ into His fold. Only those who look to the Word of Christ as the means for showing the glory of Christ will see the sheep pen of Christ increased with true conversions and true fruits of the Spirit.
Rick, thanks for the affirmation. You comment adds some good commentary to this post! I am about to go to a concert (probably something Italian) for the evening and have dinner with my future mother-in-law, so I will have to get back for further discussion later.
Kevin
Dusting off one of your friendly enemies Tetzel over cannoli? I understand. Strictly business; nothing personal.
Sure, listening to Mozart . . . :)
I’ve had this window open for days and finally got a chance to read it! Good stuff.
Another verse that talks about the efficacy of Scripture in bringing people to salvation is what Paul told Timothy (2 Timothy 3:15) “And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus.”
I like how the people were cut to the heart so that Peter only offered a call in response to their question, ” what shall we do?” There was no conversion-driven numbers crunch, high-pressure altar-call. God did the convicting.
Also the point about Lordship salvation. Peter didn’t invite his audience to make Jesus Lord of their lives. He informed them that God had already made Jesus, whom they crucified, Lord. Grace, grace, grace!
To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn
Also forgot to add this word for you (my apologies): A very hearty congratuations for you and your fiancee! I am praying for you two, that your small union would be a great picture of the much bigger union between Christ and the church, and that your marriage would be a great witness of the Gospel to each other and to unbelieving peers. -Grace and peace, Rick
That should be “congratulations,” by the way; not so much an issue if you can read gibberish. :)