What' the Gospel According to Peter?

November 29 (Acts 2:14-36)
Of course I’m really not going to share with you an outline of the gospel according to Peter in the sense that it is any gospel other than the one God breathed through him at Pentecost. I’m sure word position in a sentence and word structure can be misleading in all languages, but in English it can have so many meanings I imagine it’s a nightmare for foreigners to learn all of its nuances. I have been puzzled for decades about why we here in America present so many different versions of the gospel when there are three magnificent examples of it in the book of Acts. Peter preached it two times and Stephen once. For today’s devotional, I’m just going to outline Peter’s first one. Without examining all three closely, I can still conclude they all have the same basic elements that must be included in all gospel presentations if those who respond to it are to have any chance of becoming full-fledged, properly indoctrinated disciples of Christ.

A young lady once told me she didn’t like the church I attended because the sermon was too full of doctrine. I imagine she was used to having her ears tickled and she didn’t want to hear anything that took an IQ above 9 to understand. No offense intended for slow learners, but doctrine is what preaching and teaching is all about. Doctrine is what grows children in the faith into warriors. Most of the so-called inspirational preachers in mega-churches today make their mega-congregations feel warm and fuzzy all over every time they speak, but most of them loose that warm and fuzzy feeling as soon as they leave the church building. Unprepared to do battle with the enemy, they go through their daily lives making sure they never say anything about their faith that has the slightest chance of upsetting anyone? I humbly suggest that’s another one of the myriad of reasons so many churches in America are so listless and impotent.

In Peter’s sermon, he first took his stand with the eleven (v. 14). The first thing any biblical presentation of the gospel must do is to take a stand. The gospel is a message that confronts and contradicts the wisdom of the world on all truth that is of any eternal significance. By its very nature it will make some angry. When one is convicted of sin, he reacts one of two ways: repentance in humility or complete rejection in arrogance.  The next thing Peter did was to declare to them (v. 14). We need not justify the truth; all we need to do is declare it. Next, Peter began from where the crowd had addressed the disciples and explained that their observations were incorrect (vv. 15-21). He quickly made the transition between what they perceived and what was really happening by quoting OT scriptures. He wanted to make sure they understood the entire basis of the truth he was preaching had as its foundation Old Testament prophecies. Next Peter quickly moved to the whole point of any gospel message, the person of Jesus (representing His humanity) the Christ (representing His divinity vv. 22, 23). He explained how they had failed to recognize the Messiah, continued by pointing out to them that what they had done to Him (nailed Him to the cross), was part of God’s eternal, divinely predetermined plan (v. 23).

Next, Peter made the connection between OT prophecies to Jesus’ resurrection, making sure they understood the resurrection is not a negotiable part of the faith (vv. 23-28). Then, Peter made sure they understood Christ’s resurrection was both unique and final (vv. 29-31). Then Peter assured those listening what he was telling them was attested to by more than two people, an Old Testament requirement for truth to be accepted in a trial about any issue of any significance (v. 32). Then Peter explained the purpose of the Holy Spirit in the divine plan of salvation. He told them He (the Holy Spirit) is the source of the miraculous speaking in tongues they observed. Next, he reiterated the evidence of Jesus divinity by assuring his listeners it was Jesus who ascended into heaven, not David (vv. 34, 35). Finally, Peter does something that would end all suggestions that Jesus was not “the” divine, eternal, second person of the trinity (God the Son). If more people just read God’s word they wouldn’t be so easily duped into believing otherwise. Bad doctrine is easily perpetrated on ignorant people.

Peter said, “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” The false teachers who start entire denominations of heretics bound for hell fail to understand that to the Jew, Peter’s statement left no room for doubting His (Jesus') divine nature. Peter made it clear if one is to be saved and covered by His blood he must know in whom he is placing his faith. “He is both Lord and Christ” (a Grenville Sharp structure in Greek) was a non-negotiable declaration that He (Jesus) was co-equal and co-existent with the first person and third persons of the trinity. Verse 37 tells us how the divinely elect, predetermined, effectually called, and regenerated, respond to the gospel. They were “pierced to the heart, . . .” Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Pentecost is the proof text for the statement in Hebrews 4. The true gospel instantly turned a ravaging crowd, who very likely would have stoned the apostles to death at Pentecost, into a repentant crowd of humble souls ready to be covered and redeemed into the eternal kingdom of God by the blood of Jesus.

I spent a few years in ministry in lock-up facilities (jails) and I can personally testify the gospel does the same thing there. I once had one man about 6’6” weighing in at least at 300 lbs. almost beg me to show him how to be saved. He had been attending our studies for several sessions. One day he told me he wanted to be part of Jesus’ kingdom. He basically said, “What must I do to be saved?” Sound familiar? I spent several minutes trying to convince him he probably wouldn’t really like the persecution, trials, and tribulations Christians always experience. He assured me he was ready to take his stand for the cross of Jesus. That’s what the gospel does to mighty men. It softens their hearts, humbles them, makes them moldable by the King of kings, and grows them into warriors for His Kingdom.

When asked what they had to do, Peter didn’t suggest they pray the sinner’s prayer. He didn’t tell them to go to church. He didn’t ask them to bow their heads and raise their hand in secret if they wanted to be saved. He told them they had to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins so they could receive the promise of gift of the Holy Spirit. But Peter wasn’t through speaking with them yet. We learn from verse 40 “with many other words,” not specified here, he continued exhorting them to be saved from this perverse generation. And finally, we learn “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”

I’ve written a book on those four elements of real church business. It’s an excellent outline for the church to follow to make sure it functions as the church is intended to function. Scripture is replete with instruction we must understand if Jesus’ body is to function as a complete and powerful body of warriors able to go into its members’ world and fight the good fight. If we are to storm the gates of hell, we have to know how to use the weapons of our warfare. I am amazed at the number of people in churches across this land who haven’t a clue how to help someone else become part of God’s flock. I’m dumbfounded at the number of preachers who are feeding this ignorance by suggesting the members of their congregations need to bring their friends to church so they can get saved. Rather than train their sheep and demonstrate for them how to help others move from darkness into the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, these would be evangelists suggest by their actions and words they don’t think the members of their congregations are smart enough to do what God has demanded they do (Matt. 28:18-20).

If you never fully grasp anything else I've written; ifyou seldom or never agree with the content of these daily devotionals, don’t miss this point; I tell you by the word of the Lord, “If you are not bearing fruit, it is because you are not part of His kingdom.”(Matthew and Luke 3). If we are not bearing fruit (leading people into the light), Jesus prunes us back until we do bear fruit. If we still do not bear fruit, He cuts us down and throws us into the fire (Matt. 3:10). And that doesn’t mean you lost your salvation. It means you never had it to begin with. You see, everything else about the gospel can be faked. One can be kind and gentle when it suits his purposes to be kind and gentle. One can be loving when it suits his purposes to be loving. And attending church is a must for anyone who wants to make good business contacts. However, leading others into the into the kingdom of God, snatching others from the jaws of Satan, and storming the gates of hell, all demand massive amounts of time and commitment to learn and then put into practice. One can’t meander through life, listless and impotent if he is determined to be a warrior for Christ. One thing the New Testament church knew above all else was that following Jesus wasn’t a detour from B.C. life; they understood they needed major heart surgery, a completely different outlook on life and a completely new set of priorities.

That is the simple yet undeniable reason the church grew so rapidly and spread like a wild fire throughout the Roman Empire. And today’s churchs' failure to understand those truths is another of the myriad of reasons it is so listless and impotent. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He came to preach the gospel to the poor, downtrodden, blind, lame, orphans, and widows in the streets. And that’s what He expects us to be doing. And that’s God’s word for us today.