The preaching of the Apostles to
the lost is the highest order of witness to the true salvation message. This must be pointed out, as randomly
choosing scriptures to “prove doctrines” can cause great confusion. We are told to study to show ourselves
approved… rightly dividing the word of truth.
It is imperative to place every word into its proper context in order
guarantee accurate conclusions.
Examples of New Testament
Divisions:
·
As we read the letters (the epistles) to the churches,
we do not read accounts of the lost being brought to the Lord and to not observe
the verbatim gospel message as it is delivered first hand to those who desire
and are seeking salvation. These are
instructional letters written to various churches and individuals… all of who
already have received the salvation message… they do not need the gospel
explained to them again as they already know it.
·
The ministry of Jesus (the four gospels) was
that of choosing His disciples, teaching kingdom concepts by parables, healings
and miracles, and finally His death, burial and resurrection. But the gospel message of salvation could not
go forth until the steps of the gospel were lived out by the Messiah, i.e.
Jesus had to die, be buried, and rise again before the message of the same
could go forth. For example: (“But
this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for
the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”) (John 7:39)
·
The prophetic book of Revelation alludes to
salvation and reveals the results of obeying the gospel and the consequences of
not obeying it, but we do not see the apostles delivering the salvation message
to those seeking salvation.
·
The New Testament was not in force until after
the death (and subsequently the burial and resurrection) of Jesus. Hebrews 9:16 & 17 tell us that “For where a testament is, there must also
of necessity be the death of the testator.
For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while
the testator liveth.”
All of this leaves one book in
which we can find actual examples of people being brought into the New
Testament church by means of the salvation purchased at Calvary. The book is call the book of Acts. It might be well if we used the fuller
version of this book’s name as a reminder of its importance in light of the
things we have learned and studied in this writing. Its full name is The Acts of the Apostles.
Where else would we expect to find the apostles preaching the salvation
message to the lost. This is the history
book of the church. This is what they
did in the beginning… this is the record of the original source!
Let’s consider the first instance
where an account of people receiving salvation instruction from one (or more)
of the apostles is given. Remembering we
are looking for the template pattern of the death, burial, and resurrection, as
well as for people calling on the name of the Lord as they follow the gospel
pattern. It seems like that is asking a
lot… but God wants you to know, by “many infallible proofs” that you have the
“real deal” when it comes to your eternal salvation!
The day of Pentecost… it is
referred to as the “birthday of the church”… and rightly so. It was on the celebration of the feast of
Pentecost, a few days after the ascension of the resurrected Lord Jesus, that
like a mighty rushing wind from heaven, the Spirit of God “filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:2-4) The apostles were gathered in “one accord” in
an upper room where a total of 120 people were waiting for the promise of the
Holy Ghost. The entrance of the Spirit
of God into that room, and more importantly into the hearts of those gathered
there, is what was just described in the book of Acts chapter 2.
The Spirit who resurrected Jesus
from the dead, descended from heaven, into an upper room, and into the hearts
of those who were seeking and waiting for it to come. The spirit of resurrection was now on earth
and available for those who would prepare for its coming.
The infilling of the 120 caused
quite a commotion and it wasn’t long until quite a crowd had gathered to see
what was going on. Peter stood with the
other apostles and began to explain what was happening. He used a prophecy of the prophet Joel
concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit to show what was taking place… the
last quotation from Joel’s prophecy went like this:
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21)
Peter is now using the exact
words of Paul! The words we have already
considered… remember we are looking for the answer of how to call on the name
of the Lord. Interestingly, the very Old
Testament scripture quoted by Peter in explanation of the Spirit’s initial
baptism of the church contains the quote Paul used in Romans 10. Remember it was to this quote Paul posed the
four questions that made the point stating that no one can call upon the name
of the Lord without the preaching of an apostle. Peter is an apostle and he is preaching… and
he just quoted the verse in question!
Things are aligning. Now we will
just read (Acts 2), or in this case, retell the story and find out what he said
to do in reference to calling on the name of the Lord Jesus.
Peter began to expound on the
resurrection and deity of Christ concluding with the statement from the 36th
verse; “Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
The crowd knew they had made a
terrible mistake in crucifying Jesus.
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we
do?” (Acts 2:27)
At this point let us consider the
factors:
·
Peter has quoted the very verse that Paul taught
needed an explanation by an apostle… that of how to call on the name of the
Lord in order to be saved.
·
The very first sinners in the church era are
gathered before the apostles (all 12) and they are asking what to do… for they
have been convicted of their sin by the Holy Ghost through Peter’s preaching.
·
This is the birthday of the church.
·
Peter is poised to give an answer that
(according to our study) must tell them: 1) How to call on the name of the Lord. 2) How
to obey the three elements of the gospel… the death, burial, and resurrection
(also, matching our template).
What does Peter tell them?
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:
38)
There it is! The very first answer of an apostle to a
sinner’s question of what to do. Now we
must see if all of our considerations up till now align with Peter’s response
to their need of salvation.
Was the name of the Lord called
upon?
They were told to be baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Does
this constitute calling on His name?
The account of Paul’s baptism in
Acts 22 affirms that it does:
“And now why tarriest thou?
Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:16)
Secondly, does Peter’s answer
fulfill the gospel and its three elements?
Death
We have already shown that death
comes to self through repentance… that is, in as much as the salvation plan of
sending sins before to judgment is concerned.
Peter commanded the people to repent.
Burial
We are buried with Jesus (and in
his name) in baptism as we have read before.
Peter preached to be baptized in the name of Jesus.
Resurrection
The agent of the resurrection is
the Spirit. Paul declared that it was
the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.
Peter proclaimed that the promise of the Holy Ghost would come on those
who died to themselves by repentance, and were buried with Jesus in baptism. He called it a promise. And in the next verse he proclaimed that this
was for everyone everywhere!
“For the promise is unto you, and to your children and to all that are
afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.” (Acts 2:39)
We now have the initial response
by an apostle to a group of sinners who asked what to do to be saved. This is what Peter would tell you to do if he
were here. But, we will continue to
verify even further.
شركة تسليك مجاري
ReplyDeleteشركة كشف تسربات المياه
شركة جلي بلاط
شركة انشاء مسابح