Here are excerpts from an article I recently read on a church’s web site. A long time ago I realized that the apostles emphasized the resurrection more than we do today, but I was still moved by this article to begin going through Acts again and see how the Apostles preached and compare it to our preaching today. But first, the article . . .
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The Gospel & Grace
Have you ever wondered why the Gospels are called the Gospels? Why do we refer to the "Gospels" of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and not, say, the "biographies of Christ" or something similar? I'd like to suggest that the early church named them "Gospels," because that is exactly what they were to the early church.
I have taken three evangelism courses in my time as a Christian. All of them followed the same basic outline: heaven is a free gift; man is a sinner and cannot save himself; Jesus died for man's sin; and, we can receive the free gift of salvation by faith. I once purchased 23 Gospel tracts from a bookstore in order to outline the Gospel proclaimed in them . . . heaven is a free gift, man is a sinner and cannot save himself, Jesus died for our sins, and we receive salvation by faith were included in almost every one of them.
I purchased those 23 Gospel tracts in order to compare them to the sermons that the apostles preached to the lost in the book of Acts. I did not compare those tracts to the letters of the apostles, because all the letters are written to Christians. However, in Acts I was able to find twelve different places, of varying lengths, where an apostle preached to the lost. I wanted to know if they followed the same outline we did. I was genuinely surprised by the results. In fact, that little study shook me for years.
Let's start with Acts chapter 2, which is, of course, the first such proclamation.
“Men of Israel, listen to these words: This Jesus the Nazarene was a man pointed out to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through Him, just as you yourselves know” (v. 22).
This is one thing that, though rarely found in tracts and not at all in the evangelism courses I went through, is always found in apostolic sermons. They always tell them about the ministry of Christ in some way, shape, or form.
“Though he was delivered up according to God's determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail Him to a cross and kill Him” (v. 23).
Now if this was a modern evangelist, the next words would be obvious. This is the perfect place to explain that Christ was nailed to the cross and died for the sins of man. It is carefully not left out of our Gospel tracts, and it is the center of our evangelism classes, so surely it is something the apostle would make sure to include in his sermon. But shockingly, it is absent. He goes right on to the resurrection:
“God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it, for David says of Him: ...Moreover my flesh will rest in hope, because You will not leave my soul in Hades, or allow your Holy One to see decay” (vv. 24, 25a, 26b-27).
The resurrection is something else the apostles never forgot to mention. Of course, the resurrection is almost always included in today's Gospel, too, but it is much more of a sidelight than it was with the apostles. With the apostles, it was almost the central theme, because it proved Christ's authority. Here's how Peter went on to put it:
“God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear....Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” (vv. 32-33, 36).
Peter has now concluded his sermon. He has forgotten everything that is important to the modern Gospel. He has not mentioned that heaven in a free gift. In fact, he has not mentioned heaven at all. He forgot to tell them that man is a sinner and cannot save himself. He even forgot the most important thing of all, that Jesus died on the cross for their sins! How can he hope for anything good to come of his sermon when he's left out absolutely everything that is crucial to the modern Gospel?
What results did Peter get? Let's look:
“When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: "Brothers, what must we do?" "Repent," Peter said to them, "and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit..." And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, "Be saved from this corrupt generation!" So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. And the devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers” (vv.37-38, 40-42).
Pretty impressive results for someone who forgot all the major points of our Gospel, isn't it? He did at least include faith in Christ, which was as central to the apostles' message as it is to ours.
Here, however, on the issue of faith in Christ, lies the crucial difference between the apostles' Gospel and our modern day gospel. Today, our version of faith in Christ, as found in our tracts and evangelism programs, is not really faith in Christ, but faith in some facts about Christ. Jesus died for our sins. This is a fact. It is true, and it is Scriptural. Faith is what will get a person to heaven. This is true. But these are just facts about Christ. Anyone can believe these things intellectually without it changing their life at all. Salvation in the modern world is as easy as passing an elementary school course. Learn a few facts, check them off as true, and you are in. In real life, it doesn't work like that. God, it turns out, is not impressed. The devil himself believes those facts, and it has not done him any good at all.
The apostles taught faith in Christ, not in facts about Christ. Therefore, they left a lot of facts out, to be explained later—even the fact that Jesus died for our sins. This is because it is not faith in Jesus' death that saves us, but faith in Jesus. Because of this, the apostles were always careful to tell the lost about Christ himself. He was from Israel, a prophet who went about doing good and delivering all who were oppressed of the devil. He was put to death. Never mind that it was for your sins, you can learn that later; they never mention to the lost that his death was for their sins. For the apostles, mentioning that Jesus died was simply a way to tell the lost that God raised Jesus from the dead, thus proving that he was the Son of God with power, the one who would judge the living and the dead. Hearing these things provoked the lost to believe in this incredibly powerful and loving person, the Son of God, who had power over death and authority with God and who could deliver them from their sins and raise them up on the last day.
But don't take my word for it. Let's go on in Acts. Let's go to chapter three . . .
“And now brothers, I know that you did it in ignorance, just as your leaders also did. But what God predicted through the mouth of all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer—He has fulfilled in this way. Therefore repent and turn back that your sins may be wiped out so that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and He may send Jesus, who has been appointed Messiah for you” (3:17-20).
Again, Peter has neglected to speak of the free gift of heaven, the sinfulness of man, and Jesus' death for sin. Instead, he has told them that Jesus is the Messiah, and if they want the benefits of this, they should repent and turn back. It is this that will wipe their sins out. This is because it is not belief in the cross or what was done on it that forgives sin; it is Christ who forgives sin, and he wants you to repent and turn to him.
But Peter's not done yet:
“Moses said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything that He will say to you. And it will be that everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people."...God raised up his Servant and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways” (3:22-23,26).
Look at what Peter is telling the people. "Everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people." "God sent Him to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways." This is not faith in his death. This is coming to Christ as to one who has been raised up from God as Lord, Messiah, and Judge of all. And that is exactly what the apostles not only preached, but it is what they were specifically commanded to preach by God.
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The article continues, but this is enough to cause us to think. I recently saw a church sign that said something like, Free Ticket To Heaven, Come Inside For Details. I wondered then, Did the apostles preach this way? After reading this article, I wonder even more. As I mentioned earlier, I am going through the Book of Acts to see just what the apostles preached. It is very exciting so far. And convicting. And I am not far off from writing about it!
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