02 | Proclamation in Acts | Acts

Each member of the group should read one (quietly on their own) of the following proclamations of the gospel from among these passages (Acts 2:22ff; Acts 3:12ff; Acts 4:8ff; Acts 5:30ff; Acts 10:39ff; Acts 13:26ff; Acts 17:29ff). Then share with the group one or two things you noticed from your reading. Pay special attention to these three themes: The death and resurrection of Jesus, the witness of the apostles, and the forgiveness of sin.

On Sunday Jeremiah suggested that each of these proclamations are both “God-centered” and “audience-conscious”. In what ways are the passage you read God–centered? What is the difference between being audience-conscious and audience-centered?

The proclamation of the gospel in Acts always elicits a response. Recall a time the gospel has been proclaimed to you and share with the group how you responded at that time and what impact that response has had in your life.

In every case, the gospel is proclaimed with boldness. This boldness serves as the bookends of the ministry of Paul in Acts (see Acts 9:27; 28:30–31). How might you proclaim the gospel with boldness in your present context or in a way that God is calling you to?

INTRODUCTION

Last week we began a short mini-series here at the beginning of summer asking the question: What is preaching?

We considered 2 Timothy 4:2.

2 Timothy 4:2 ESV

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

So, last week we looked at the aim and application of preaching.

This week we will look at the content of the preaching—that which is heralded.

What is the Gospel?

What is the good news that is the content of the herald’s proclamation?

This is always the question.

In fact, there are two questions that guide all of my study of the Bible.

Whether I am reading for personal devotional growth or for preparation to teach … I ask these two questions.

1) Who is God?

2) What is his gospel?

What is God’s character? How does he act? What does he do? What is his nature? How is he like us? How is he different than us?

What is the news that he has for us? What is the hope? What is the message? What is salvation?

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SEVEN PROCLAMATIONS

To answer these questions …

… Who is God and what is his gospel?

… we are going to turn to seven places in the book of Acts where gospel is proclaimed

Give credit to “Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus” by Alan Thompson.

He too studies these seven passages and does a wonderful work of comparing the similarities and patterns …

… from which we can discover the essence of the apostles’ earliest proclamation of the gospel.

He observes four elements shared by each of these proclamations:

God-centered

Audience-conscious

Christ-focused

Response-oriented

With this Bonus: Bold

We will come back to these five observations after we read the proclamations in Acts.

Open your bibles — or find the bible at the end of your row.

As we look at these seven passages, put a cross in the margin, highlight the passage, write the references down in your notes.

Then …

… Watch for these three things

The death and resurrection of Jesus

The witness of the apostles

Salvation, repentance and faith

PRAY

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The Scriptures

We are going to read each of these passages, skipping only a few verses.

I encourage you to enjoy hearing the gospel and remembering its proclamation in Acts.

And pay close attention with pen in hand to make your own observations so you might even continue your study during the week.

Peter in Acts 2 after the Holy Spirit has worked so mightily at Pentecost: v22ff

(As I mentioned, we will skip a few verses now and then for time, but I will try to note this as we read through together)

“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 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. … (v23) This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are 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. … (v36) Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 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?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

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Peter in Acts 3 after healing a man lame from birth: v12ff

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

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Peter in Acts 4 before the Council questioning Peter and John about the healing in chapter 3: v8ff

Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

The quotation about the stone the builders rejected is from Psalm 118.

This is the fuller quotation: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

In the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have the great working of God!

The gospel is the power of his divine activity.

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Peter and the apostles in Acts 5 before the Sanhedrin after the angel freed them from prison: v30ff

The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.

Peter in Acts 10 preaching to the Gentiles of Cornelius’ household: 39ff

And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

Here we have not only the witness of the apostles, but also the witness of the prophets of the Old Testament scriptures.

And to what do they bear witness?

That through the death and resurrection of the Messiah, there is forgiveness of sins.

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Paul in Acts 13 preaching at the synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia: v26ff

Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus … (v38) Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

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Paul in Acts 17 preaching to the Greeks at the Areopagus in Athens: v29ff

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God … (v29) Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

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Again, you can see the pattern.

We have the proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

We have the apostles who are eye-witnesses to these things.

And we have the call to repentance and faith for the forgiveness of sin and life in Jesus.

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FOUR OBSERVATIONS

Again, Alan Thompson makes four similar observations in his commentary, “Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus.”

Again, last week we considered the aim and use of preaching in 2 Timothy 4:2.

2 Timothy 4:2 ESV

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

Today, as we look at these seven proclamations in the book of Acts …

… we consider the gospel, which is the essential content of Christian preaching

… and now the preacher holds out this gospel

… so that the preaching may have the effect of reproof, rebuke and exhortation among those who hear and believe.

GOD-CENTERED

God is the worker.

Peter and Paul repeatedly launch their proclamations with a recounting of the works of God in history.

In Acts 2 - Peter begins with an explanation of the Holy Spirit’s mighty work in the streets of Jerusalem to bring the gospel to the ears of the many nations represented.

This great work of God is in fulfillment of the prophet Joel.

Acts 3 - Peter explains the work of God to heal, but even more so to glorify Jesus whom the leaders had rejected

All this in fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses.

Acts 10 - Peter explains the work of God, who shows no partiality, to save even the Gentiles.

And this in fulfillment of the prophets who said that “all who believe in him receive forgiveness of sin through his name.”

You see this pattern:

a) the powerful works of God

b) about which the prophets spoke and the apostles bear witness.

So, we have the powerful works of God themselves.

The scriptures as the first and primary witness.

The testimony of the apostles as the second witness.

And, of course, today, that apostolic testimony is the written Word of God that we have before us today.

So, today we have the reality of the person and work of Jesus Christ

The prophetic witness of those who came before Christ.

The eye-witness of the apostles to the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

And, the personal witness of the preacher in the midst of the congregation to the power and goodness of Christ today.

The proclamation of the gospel of God is God-centered …

… because it is the proclamation of the great works of our God.

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Father, Son and Holy Spirit are always active.

There is a great synergy, back and forth, between the will of the Father and the faithfulness of the Son.

For example: the Father and the Spirit are active in the resurrection of the Son from the dead.

The Spirit is bearing witness, the Spirit is awakening faith, the Spirit is sending the Apostles and giving them clarity in their witness.

Luke 12:11–12 Jesus says … And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

When we hear the gospel in Acts, we are not hearing the creative speech-giving of a rhetorical group of men inventing a new religion.

We are hearing the testimony of the Holy Spirit about the great work of the Father and of the Son.

APPLY

The proclamation of the gospel is God-centered.

When you listen to the preaching of the Word, what are you listening for?

I hope you are listening for the proclamation of the powerful works of God.

We can become distracted by listening for pragmatic application points …

… and miss the power of God itself being proclaimed in the midst of the congregation.

Romans 1:16 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes

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AUDIENCE-CONSCIOUS

Yes, the proclamation always begins with God, and centers of the proclamation of his work in the gospel.

God sets the agenda by the working of his mighty arm in salvation history.

The proclamation is not audience-centered!

We will see in our last observation how this approach can go so wrong.

But, while the preacher is God-centered, he is aware of the person or people to whom he declares this good news.

He isn’t just reading a generic script.

It isn’t a memorized speech.

The proclamation is a gospel response to a specific occasion.

ILL: I don’t know if you’ve ever done this, but growing up I was trained in how to share the gospel.

We studied the essential content of gospel proclamation, much as we are now …

… and then we would practice sharing the gospel to one another.

But this always felt so odd, so put on, though it was a very good and helpful experience

The reason why it is so odd, is that, by design, gospel proclamation isn’t generic.

It is proclamation in response to a specific occasion.

It is a proclamation that looks a person in the eye, right where he or she stands.

I love this about the gospel.

The gospel is proclamation right in the midst of reality.

In the midst of sin, in the midst of rebellion …

… in the midst of rejection and pain and brokenness

… and crippled and outcast men and women.

It speaks a singular word as if we were true for me, right here, right now in my own sin and rebellion, sorrow and lostness.

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Consider these proclamations from Acts.

To the leaders in Jerusalem …

… the gospel is not afraid to accuse of murder.

Even as total forgiveness is proclaimed to all who would repent and believe.

To the household of Cornelius …

… the gospel calls out to those who are far off to bring them near.

To the intellectual elite in Athens …

… the gospel humbles all of mankind before their Maker who both died and rose to bring salvation for all who believe.

You can see why it is gloriously appropriate to say that the Word increased and multiplied.

It is the singular Word of the gospel …

… that grows and multiplies and retells itself over and over on new occasions …

… in new languages, among new peoples, in homes and synagogues and places where the elite of the city gather.

And in every place, in ever ear, this one gospel encounters countless human hearts.

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Apply

At CrossPointe Coast we use what we call the Gospel-rhythms to help us remained centered on this reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The first two of the four gospel rhythms are Celebration and Connection:

We celebrate the story of God …

… that connects to our lives.

Celebration: because the center of gospel proclamation is the great works of our God.

Connection: because the powerful works of our God are applied to our lives …

… the moment in which we live

… and the sin and lostness of our circumstance.

Gospel proclamation is God-centered and audience-conscious.

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CHRIST-FOCUSED

The goal of all gospel proclamation is to present Christ for belief.

It is where all the words of preaching are pointed.

Gospel proclamation has a singular aim and thrust.

And that is to share the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Is there a greater reproof, rebuke and exhortation that the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Two Observations About a Christ-Focused Proclamation

The proclamation is historically grounded with an emphasis upon apostolic witness.

Against many of the Greeks, the gospel is not a mere philosophy, a simple set of teachings by which to understand the universe and live your life.

Against many of the Jews, the gospel is not a mere religious practice or a cultural heritage by which the community will thrive.

The gospel is the very work of God in history to raise the crucified Christ to life and so bring forgiveness of sin and eternal life in his name.

The gospel is historically grounded, so the apostles could declare themselves to be eye witnesses to these things.

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The proclamation is theologically oriented.

The gospel answers a spiritual question that arises from historical reality.

Our sin is not a theoretical or philosophical problem.

Our sin goes right to the essence of who we are and how we are, right here and now.

Our very real brokenness and lostness is remedied by the very real sacrificial brokenness of God the Son on the cross.

Our reconciliation to our God and Maker is the glorious hope accomplished by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

In other words, the problem of our lives is a theological issue addressed by a historical reality.

That is, the powerful works of God for the salvation of all who believe.

When we speak of the death of Jesus, we aren’t just speaking about the fact that a human body died.

We are speaking about sin-atoning sacrifice.

And when we speak about the resurrection of Jesus, we aren’t just speaking about a human resuscitation.

We are speaking about spiritual victory!

This is what I mean:

We must preach both …

Historical Reality: Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.

Theological Reality: The forgiveness of sin and restoration of all things

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RESPONSE-EXPECTANT

Consider our passages this moring

Warnings and promises: They are both there, eliciting a response.

The proclamation is made with the expectation that the reality proclaimed would elicit response.

The response, on the other hand, was not pre-determined.

That is to say, the essence (the historical and theological content) of the proclamation is singularly fixed but will produce a variety of responses.

It is not that a singular response is fixed and the proclamation is altered to, in some way, ensure that response.

The aim of the preacher in preaching is reproof, rebuke and exhortation.

But this is not always the effect of the Word of God.

The effect may be suppression of the truth, rebellion agains the way of God and hardness of heart.

Alan J. Thompson It should be noted in this regard that although the preaching was response-oriented, the messages were not response-driven. That is, the messages were not compromised just to get a favourable response or just to make people happy.

This is, inevitably, what goes wrong when the proclamation becomes audience-centered rather than God-centered.

The audience never sets the agenda, the content, the essence of the gospel-proclamation or it is not gospel proclamation.

God sets the agenda by the working of his mighty arm in salvation history.

The proclamation is not audience-centered!

It is this gospel proclamation that causes some to mock and some to believe.

The gospel proclaimer must expect a response, but he or she cannot control the response.

Acts 17:32–34 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Gospel proclamation is God-centered, Audience-conscience, Christ-focused and Response-expectant.

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BOLD

Commentator Roger Wagner observed that Paul’s preaching is framed by two verses:

Acts 9:27 at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus

Acts 28:30–31 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

This fifth (bonus) observation isn’t about the content of the preaching.

But, hear me on this, if our preaching is not bold in the midst of the world into which we have been sent, we can be assured that our preaching may not be faithful to the reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ after all.

Boldness is in reference not only to preaching in the face of persecution.

It is in reference to confidence against all falsehood and contradiction.

Is Jesus alive? Yes!

Then preaching with boldness makes sense.

And preaching any other way does more to convince that Jesus isn’t alive than to convince that he is.

For the proclamation of the gospel is the proclamation of God’s Word and God’s work.

The gospel does not belong to the preacher by invention, but by discovery!

It is not his creation. It is his salvation!

And so, he is bold to proclaim.

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GOSPEL CLARITY

What do you expect from preaching—from gospel proclamation?

2 Timothy 4:3 ESV

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

Your ears ought to itch. You ought to expect and long for something in preaching.

God-centered — Expect for the mighty works of God to be held up before the congregation.

Audience-conscience — Expect the preacher to speak to your hearts and minds.

Christ-focused — Expect the gospel of Jesus Christ to be heralded.

Response-expectant — That you would be called to repent and believe.

Bold — Much like “exultation” from last week’s definition of preaching …

… the preacher ought to sound like one who has seen God in his Word.

In the face of opposition and unbelief.

In the face of the improbability—no, impossibility—that any would actually respond apart from the work of God’s own Spirit to convict and grant the gift of faith.

And so, he preaches boldly, in season and out of season … with complete patience and teaching.

You, who believe, also, have been sent as an ambassador of this good news.

You may not be an elder, and so responsible for the whole of this local flock.

But if you have received this good news, you have also been sent with this gospel to proclaim in your household and neighborhood, in your school and workplace.

With boldness, bear witness to the might works of God in Christ.

And do not fail to call those to whom the Lord has sent you to believe.

Is Jesus alive?

The proclamation of the gospel in Acts gives us the apostolic witness to the resurrection of the crucified Messiah.

We are told that because of this death and resurrection, sinners like you and I …

… we who were made by God, but have rejected his rightful rule over us by our sin and idolatry …

… because of the death and resurrection of Jesus we may be forgiven of our sin and granted new life in him and hope of eternal reconciliation with our God.

It is from this gospel alone that we have life.

And so I hold out to you two questions:

1. Do you believe this gospel?

2. Will you proclaim this with boldness?

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