Evangelion

Studies show that most “Christian” kids entering college do not actually hold a Christian worldview. Instead, they hold to something called “moralistic therapeutic deism”.

There is a God. He wants you to do “good” things and not “bad” things (moralism). Be “good”, be “nice” to each-other. God maybe helps you to be a “bit better”. The goal of life is to be happy and feel good about yourself and good people go to heaven when they die.

Something is really missing from that picture! That is the deal.

Kids get to college with this aching sense:

There must be something more.

and if our kids can’t articulate the gospel, and “most” Christian kids are getting to and through college missing the gospel… I bet there are at least a few in this room who maybe are missing that piece as well.

Asking that question: Isn’t there something more?

Moralistic Therapeutic Deists in Jerusalem

How many there at Pentecost had that question? How many were moralistic therapeutic deists?

Crowd of possibly 100,000+ in Jerusalem. Maybe 2-300,000? We know these are religious devout. Men and women who traveled from Europe, up from Africa, over from the Middle East Asia. Traveling far in a time when travel wasn’t all that easy - weeks or months of travel because that is what God commanded them to do.

These are believers in God (at least theists or deists).

These have a powerful sense of a moral code. Right and wrong. And they are choosing to do the right things...

But do you think they had this question in the back of their minds?

There must be something more.

Old Testament - There Must be Something More

David knew this. Psalm 16. There must be more life, life beyond this. It’s got to mean more, be more.

Maybe this would be through his children, but ultimately it is a desire for immortality, for resurrection.

Not just the desire for life, but the desire for justice! “Make your enemies my footstool.” Let their be justice at last for the wicked.

We see this theme especially in the prophets. The prophet Joel looking at the empty religiosity around the nation of Judah in his day. Empty motions of religion. Lip service and outward action. But no heart, no Spirit. He longs for and looks forward to a day when that would change at last. When sons and daughters would be filled with the Holy Spirit. The “Day of the Lord”, the last days.

And everyone who calls on Yahweh shall be saved.

Peter - This is That - Jesus

Peter says to all of these “THIS IS THAT DAY!”

Peter preaches expositionally, expository preaching. That is, he dives into the Old Testament and applies what he reads there to what is happening now. “This” is “that”.

This is the Day of the Lord the prophet Joel looked forward to.

This is the life and resurrection David anticipated. This is the descendant of David who would be elevated to the right hand of the Father. This Jesus.

Joel looks forward to this day: Spirit and Judgment both:

Acts 2:14–16 ESV

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

Acts 2:17 ESV

“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

Are these last days? Yup, Peter said so. From that day through this day, these are those “last days”. How many last days are there? We don’t know. But on those last days, this is what it looks like:

Acts 2:18–21 ESV

even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

And what does he say about Jesus?

Acts 2:22 ESV

“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—

He preaches from evidence. Before death and resurrection, the life of Jesus was lived with purpose on purpose. His divinity, his power was revealed and proven before his death. A man “attested to you by God”. Miracles, works, wonders and signs. He provided the sure evidence, in front of hundreds, sometimes thousands of witnesses. This was not a shadowy, secret endeavor but writ large across Judea.

Miracles by nature, wonders by their appearance, signs by their intention - to reveal that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah.

Acts 2:23 ESV

this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

The definite (or predetermined) plan. When did God make this plan? Before hand. Before what? Peter tells us in 1 Peter that it was “before the creation of the world” and that Jesus’ name was written on the foundation of the world.

This heads up a potential criticism. How can Jesus be the Messiah if he got arrested and condemned and executed?

It wasn’t a spur of the moment thing, a response, making the best out of a bad situation. “Delivering up” Jesus was the plan THE WHOLE TIME.

Then Peter turns it home.

Who crucified and killed Jesus? You.

It wasn’t by your hands, it was those of “lawless men”. But who was responsible? It was you. Not “you Jews”, there are men and women from every country there. The vast majority are probably Jewish… but many Gentiles as well as we see in those who respond to the sermon.

So not “you Jews” but “you humans!”

There is guilt there (or better word: conviction). You crucified and killed him, the hands that actually did were just representative of all of humanity.

But...

Acts 2:24 ESV

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Death is pictured both as bondage, a prison,

Labor pains - agony - the throes of child birth.

But it was “not possible” for Jesus to be held by it. He entered death: everything that human death is and was… but because Jesus was also God it was “impossible” for death to hold him.

This is what David prophetically foresaw when he sensed that death was not right. That there must be something more. Indeed, in all human history human’s have had this sense that death was not an end, not the end… but the only reason for any of that is because this was God’s definite and predestined plan.

Acts 2:25–28 ESV

For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

Then Peter turns back again to Jesus.

Acts 2:29 ESV

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

He’s dead so his prophecy wasn’t about him.

Acts 2:30–32 ESV

Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

He is not dead. Jesus is alive!

We all saw it. We twelve disciples, other witnesses among the 120, maybe all of them! I Peter saw him with my own eyeballs. Jesus is alive.

Where is he now? Where is Jesus now?

Acts 2:33 ESV

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.

We see the full Trinity in action here. God the Son seated at the right hand of God the Father pouring out God the indwelling Spirit upon his people.

How are the listeners to know this? They don’t see God the Son, but they hear the evidence, the eyewitness testimony of those who did. And they see the evidence of the Spirit in power right before their own eyeballs. You yourselves are seeing and hearing even now.

David anticipated this:

Acts 2:34–35 ESV

For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’

But better than that: you and I and all who are listening on that day of Pentecost are presented with evidence that you may know “for certain.”

Acts 2:36 ESV

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

For certain! For certain? Yes. With total and absolute confidence.

and, again, who crucified him? You did. You - humanity. You - human person. Y’all did it.

There is guilt and conviction… and that is what they felt.

They were “cut to the heart.” Stabbed! Pierced!

Acts 2:37 ESV

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 isn’t that the greatest question?

Maybe faced with the emptiness of moral therapeutic deism. Maybe asking that question “is there more”?

and then presented with the evidence of Jesus as Lord. Messiah.

and the conviction that they, with their sin and brokenness, that they crucified the Son of God.

What Shall We Do?

Acts 2:38–39 ESV

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. 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.”

This is the gospel.

Repent. Demonstrate that repentance with this powerful symbol of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Dying with him, in him, and being raised up out of the water with him, in him.

For the forgiveness of your sins. Yes

Is there more? Is there more than just being better? Trying to be better? Trying to be good enough, to grow enough, to not do bad things and do good things?

Yes! There is repentance.

Yes! There is new life, resurrection life.

Yes! There is forgiveness for all the things! All the sins.

And yes, there is the gift of the Holy Spirit. God himself dwelling in you, with you, for you, praying when you can’t or don’t have words, and empowering and enabling you.

For the promise is for you. And your children.

Deeper into the Gospel

We don’t move past the gospel, we move into it.

The gospel is so simple a child can understand it and so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.

What is the gospel?

May our hearts be broken for any among us who haven’t heard this. Who amidst all our teaching and preaching have missed this beautiful simple truth.

Evangelion. News that brings joy. Pure gospel.

Jesus lived and showed signs and wonders. But he was crucified, and with all of humanity, I did it. But God raised him from the dead and he is now sitting at the right hand of the Father pouring out the Holy Spirit on his people. And I have repented and been baptized in his name, and so I am one of his forgiven, the children of promise.

I call upon the Lord’s name and I am saved.

He has called my name and I am saved.

We preach the gospel to ourselves.

We preach the gospel to others.

This is the story. This is our story.

Acts 2:38–39 ESV

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