You Are Witnesses of These Things

Introduction

Years ago a biblical scholar suggested that many members of the modern Western Christian church are less biblical Christians and could better be defined as Moralistic Therapeutic Deists, at least in practice. What is that? He went on to explain they believe:

A God exists and watches over human life on earth.

God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other.

The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life, except when he is needed to resolve a problem.

Good people go to heaven when they die.

Theologically, many Christians would reject this idea, but practically a great many church members live as Moralistic Therapeutic Deists.

Not only is this philosophy unbiblical but it’s self-centered (not God-centered) and it’s not truly going to have long-term positive impact in anyone’s life because it’s based on a person feeling good about himself, not on living in right relationship to the Holy God and being a committed follower of Christ Jesus.

And yet, too many church members today would probably qualify as Moralistic Therapeutic Deists by the way they live their faith, not as biblical, evangelical Christians.

With that in mind, and because we want to be a church who rejects all false teaching for the truth of Jesus Gospel, we begin a series that will take us through the book of Acts.

So, why are we starting in Luke?

For starters, Luke wrote the book of Acts, so it’s important to go back to how he ended volume one of his duology.

Additionally, some of the final instructions Jesus gives to believers in found in Luke 24, including Luke’s version of the Great Commission.

Finally, I’ve titled this series “You Are Witnesses of These Things” from Luke 24:48 because we will see throughout the book of Acts that the church is at it’s healthiest and strongest is when it is fulfilling the calling of being witnesses of what Jesus has done.

Body: Luke 24:44-49

Review of verses 36-43...

Jesus has risen from the dead and just appeared the disciples...

The disciples are flabbergasted, not really able to explain what they are seeing, so Jesus welcomes them to examine his hands and feet...

As a further proof of the bodily resurrection, Jesus eats a piece of fish with the disciples...

Then He commissions them for their mission:

Verse 44-48

The Gospel is the only message and mission of the church.

Our Message: The Gospel

The Gospel: Repentance and forgiveness of sins is available to people because Jesus suffered, died and rose again (see v. 46)

The Gospel begins with the universal problem of all human beings: sin.

Scripture is very clear about sin:

Genesis 6:5 ESV

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

James 2:10 ESV

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

1 John 1:10 ESV

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Ephesians 2:1 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

To deny that mankind is sinful is to reject the clear teaching of the Scripture. It’s also a willful ignorance of the world around us and our own nature.

It is undeniable that humans are sinners who desperately need the Savior.

So what do humans need? Repentance and forgiveness.

Repentance is a complete change of mind about your sin and your position before God.

You turn away from the world’s rejection of Christ Jesus and turn to Him, trusting Him to forgive your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

Forgiveness means that Jesus embraces you in love, having cleansed you of your guilt before Him.

Why is this so important?

Jesus perfectly fulfilled the OT…(v. 44)

The term “fulfilled” means “to be satisfied.”

The idea is being completely fulfilled.

Jesus speaks here of the entire Hebrew Bible (our OT) pointing to Him.

The Hebrew Bible was broken into three parts, the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. Each is represented in Jesus statement.

This is a way of saying the totality of the OT speaks of Jesus.

We are truly wise when we read the Bible with a Gospel lens.

However, this doesn’t mean ascribing artificial connections to Jesus from every passage. Our job is see the specific ways that the passage points to Christ.

The Gospel is the perfect fulfillment of the OT…(everything points to God saving people and making a way that we can come into right relationship to Him).

The Exodus...

Jericho & Rahab...

Solomon Builds the Temple...

But the Gospel isn’t simply about how we are saved. The Gospel truly should impact every area of the believer’s life.

Our joy is found in the Gospel and what it has done for us.

Our purpose is found in the Gospel and what God is creating in us.

The Gospel is were we turn to when the devil wants to convince us that we are unforgivable or worthless.

As Martin Luther said, “When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares that we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus: "I admit that I deserve death and hell. What of it? Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? By no means. For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction in my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Where he is, there I shall be also."

The Gospel should be on our mind daily, reminding us that we have been saved by grace alone through faith alone by Christ Jesus alone and because of that, we have value.

When tempted, it’s the Gospel that reminds us that we’ve been bought with a price, so we ought to glorify God with our bodies.

In every area of the believer’s life, the Gospel must be, not only cherished, but it must have significant impact.

Far too many professed Christians today spend little to no time each day considering the implications of the Gospel in every thing we do. (This is what leads to unbiblical beliefs like Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.)

But yet, we are called to be a Gospel people.

Our Mission: Proclaiming the Gospel

Telling everyone we can that salvation is available through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Everything the church does should support the work of the Gospel.

Ministries within the church are wonderful. Ministries that meet the needs of the members of the church have always been and will always be a vital part of the church. But, when the Gospel is not present in these ministries, or when the Gospel isn’t proclaimed (to both the lost and the believers), then the church is at risk of becoming a country club without the golf course; catering to the felt needs and wants of people who increasingly develop an attitude of entitlement.

Ray Ortlund put it well in his book, The Gospel: “Your church is called to be a pillar lifting high the truth of the gospel. The one truth that will outlast the universe, the one truth that can help sinners and sufferers right now, deserves to be put on clear display. We must not allow anything in our churches to compete with the high visibility of the gospel. A church has no right to act like a community bulletin board down at the local grocery store, covered over with business cards, ads for apartments for rent, notices about lost pets, and other agendas that compete for people's attention. A church exists to be a pillar that holds up the truth of Jesus so obviously that everyone can see it.”

And this isn’t just the pastor. Yes, the pastor ought to be the lead Gospel proclaimer, but a church that will make a significant impact will be full of people who take Gospel proclamation seriously and want others to know the Good News, and are willing to do what it will take.

The example of my FCA girls basketball team...

Verse 49

The church is empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill our mission.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t give the disciples a message and a mission, then say, “Good luck to you! Have fun storming the castle!”

Nope. Because they are not up for the task. By their own power, they could do nothing.

That doesn’t mean they had nothing to bring to the table. God uses people’s gifts, skills and passions to minister in unique ways to unique people groups. But, that’s not where the power comes from.

No! They needed to be clothed with power from on high. And, the same is true of the church today.

The church can only truly proclaim our message and fulfill our mission when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Why?

Only a Spirit-filled person can fulfill the mission God has given him or her.

Likewise, a Spirit-filled person will fulfill the mission that God has given him or her.

But, it’s possible to quench the Holy Spirit. To drowned out that still, small voice. To ignore His leading. To choose sin over following.

If that is where you are at, you’ll never have true Gospel impact and your church will never experience any of the blessings we find in the book of Acts.

But, it’s not too late to repent. It’s not too late to open the door to a renewed relationship to Christ and His Holy Spirit.

Revelation 3:20 is often used during invitations:

Revelation 3:20 ESV

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

In fact, this is a tragic verse because Jesus is talking to a church (the church of Laodicea) that is lukewarm in it’s faith (not too hot not too cold). And, the One who should be the center of the church, Christ Jesus, is outside the church, knocking on the door!

But the hope is that He hasn’t abandoned His church or His people. And if we want to make an impact for Christ this year in our community and abroad, then we must be led by the Holy Spirit so we can proclaim the message and fulfill the mission of the Gospel. But, it often starts with God’s people turning back to the pathway He has for us and recommitting ourselves (or committing ourselves for the first time) to Gospel-centered living.