A Confrontational Gospel

A Confrontational Gospel

Acts 4: 1 – 22.

Introduction

Last October, I stood in this pulpit and introduced you to One Focus.  I preached a series of four sermons on One Focus and invited you to pray about finding One Person in your life who is either not a Christian or not a member of any church in our community.  Then, I asked you to begin praying for that One Person and looking for opportunities to love them, serve them and to invest in them spiritually.  At the end of October, we held a commitment service and invited you to “sign a card” and commit to One Focus.  That Sunday (and the following Sunday), over 220 people committed to One Focus.

Can you imagine what would happen if we had 220 new Christians come into our church this year?  I know that none of you thinks you could reach 220 people by yourself.  But you can reach one person…And, if 219 other people reach one person each, there would be 220 new Christians at First Baptist Church!

How have you been doing in your One Focus commitment?  Are you praying for your One Focus?  Has God caused your paths to cross more often?  Are you investing in them spiritually?  (I wear this blue bracelet to remind me to pray for my One Focus.  We still have bracelets available if you want to pick one up and wear it as a reminder.)

If you are looking for a good opportunity to invite your One Focus to come to church with you, let me offer a suggestion.  I suggest that each of us invite our One Focus to come to church on Easter Sunday morning.  Easter is March 31 this year.  That gives you six weeks to invite your One Focus to church.

In the next six weeks, we are going to help you by equipping you with resources to share your faith and / or invite your One Focus to church.  1) We are asking all of our Sunday School classes to teach lessons on evangelism in the month of March, using Scotty Sanders’ book One Focus Living.  2) At the end of the service today, we will be distributing a CD to everyone in the Sanctuary this morning.  This CD is Lee Strobel’s testimony of how he moved from being an atheist to becoming a Christian by exploring the truth claims of Christianity.  (I want you to listen to this CD and give it away to someone you are praying for.  Once you have listened to it and given it away, come back for more…we have about a thousand copies to give away.)  3) I am going to preach about different ways evangelism is presented in the New Testament—there is more than one way to share your faith with others. 

The New Testament gives us several examples of people just like us who shared the Gospel to their friends and family members.  I think we find numerous examples, because God has created each of us different.  We do not have the same Spiritual Gifts; we do not have the same life experiences; and we do not have the same personalities.

Today, we begin by looking at Confrontational Evangelism.  Some of you might be turned off by a Confrontational approach.  You do not have a Confrontational personality.  You avoid Confrontation at all costs.  You would rather blend in and conform or at least do everything in your power to keep from offending other people.

In some respects, Confrontational Evangelism is something Confrontational people do.  But, in other respects, all evangelism is Confrontational, because the Gospel is Confrontational.  God has not called us to be offensive or to attack other people.  But, whenever we present the Gospel there is an inherent Confrontation—The Gospel confronts the status quo, the Gospel confronts the powers of this world, the Gospel confronts sin, and the Gospel confronts the culture.

Acts 4: 1 – 4…  1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

Today’s story began on the front steps of the Jerusalem Temple and moved to the Jerusalem City Jail and then to the courtroom of the Jewish Sanhedrin.  This story represents the first resistance the disciples faced since the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  It gives us a peek into the future of the Gospel.  Wherever the Gospel is preached, people will be divided.  Some people will hear the Gospel and respond with repentance and faith.  Other people will hear the Gospel and recognize the Gospel as a threat to their way of life and do everything in their power to stop other people from coming to faith.

This story also contains a portion of Peter’s second sermon.  Peter’s first sermon happened on the day of Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit was poured out on the first Christians, and all the people of Jerusalem heard the sound of a roaring wind.  The wind attracted the crowd, and Peter preached the Gospel to the gathered crowd.  Three thousand people were saved when they heard the Gospel in that first sermon. 

Peter’s second sermon happened after a 40 year old crippled man had been healed.  This man had been crippled from birth.  He sat on the front steps of the temple, begging for money from the Jewish people who came to the temple for their daily 3:00 prayer time.  When the man asked Peter and John for money, Peter reached out his hand to the crippled man and said, “Silver and gold have I none.  But what I do have, I give you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!”

When this man was healed, he could not keep it secret.  He stood, he walked, he jumped, he yelled, and he gave glory to God.  Again, this attracted a crowd, and Peter used this as an occasion to confront the Jewish people with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  After Peter’s second sermon, the number of Christians grew from 3,000 to 5,000.

At this point, the Jewish authorities stepped in and interrupted Peter’s preaching.  Verse 2 tells us exactly why they interrupted.  The Jewish leaders were “disturbed because the Apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.”  Notice that it does not say they were preaching about Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead.  They were preaching that the Resurrection of Jesus has changed everything. 

The Gospel Confronts the Status Quo…  The Gospel message is more than simply saying Jesus died on the cross and rose again.  The death and Resurrection of Jesus is historical fact.  The Gospel is how the historical fact of the Resurrection has changed the world.  Jesus has experienced the worst we could ever experience, and Jesus has overcome.  Therefore, those who have faith in Jesus cannot be defeated by death.

As long as we live, we will continue to face the status quo.  Humans will be fearful of things like death and disease.  But, the Resurrection changes that.  Through faith in Jesus, we have the promise of Resurrection and eternal life.  As a result, death and disease can no longer hold us as captives.

Peter demonstrated the power and the promise of the Resurrection by healing the crippled.  Neither death nor disease can threaten those who have faith in Jesus.  Of course, this does not mean Christians will never get sick or experience things like paralysis.  Most of us will not experience this kind of miraculous healing in our earthly life.  We wait for the final Resurrection, when all things will be made new…And we no longer fear death and disease.

Acts 4: 5 – 12…  5 The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem.6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is  “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’  12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

After healing the crippled man and preaching the Gospel to the crowds, Peter and John were arrested.  They spent the night in jail.  The next morning, they stood trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin—the highest Jewish court of the land.

The Gospel Confronts the Powers of this World…  Verse 5 does not actually use the word “Sanhedrin,” but it describes the members of the Sanhedrin—rulers, elders and teachers of the Law.  They represented the political and religious leaders of the Jews.  All of the Jewish secular and religious authority was concentrated in this group.

Perhaps the Sanhedrin thought Peter would be intimidated by their power and authority.  But, Peter was not intimidated.  Notice how Peter addresses them in verse 10, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom YOU crucified…”

Peter was addressing the Jewish leaders, but we need to be very careful not to read this as an anti-Semitic statement.  Peter is not blaming the Jews for Jesus’ death.  Peter is blaming THESE Jews.  Peter stood before the Jewish Sanhedrin less than two months after the crucifixion of Jesus.  Therefore, these were the same men who had tried Jesus and sent him to the Romans to be crucified.

In one sense, Peter is making a personal accusation against these men for rejecting Jesus as the Promised Messiah.  In another sense, Peter is making a general accusation against all forms of human power.

Human power structures are allowed by God and are given a limited and temporary authority.  Human power serves a purpose to protect human life, to provide justice and to meet temporal needs.  But, ultimate power and authority belongs to God alone.  God created and sustains all of creation.  Only God has a legitimate claim to ultimate authority.

The Gospel Confronts Sin…  Peter ends his address to the Jewish authorities with a subtle shift from statements about a physical “healing” to statements about theological “salvation.”  The shift is based on a Greek word, which can be translated either “heal” or “save.”  According to Peter, both “healing” and “salvation” are accomplished through the Resurrection of Jesus.

Since Peter is speaking to Jews, he proves his point by quoting from the Jewish Scriptures—Psalm 118.  Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders which ended up being the most important stone in the entire building—the chief cornerstone.  Because Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus is the only name (power / authority) which can overcome death and disease.  Because Jesus gave his life as a voluntary sacrifice for sin, Jesus is the only name (power / authority) which can offer forgiveness of sins and a restored relationship with God.

Acts 4: 13 – 22…  13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

The Gospel Confronts Culture…  The First Century culture placed a high value on education and social standing.  Perhaps the Sanhedrin would have been more willing to listen to Peter and John if they had the proper credentials. Perhaps, if they had been trained at the Hebrew Seminary of Jerusalem or had been born into well respected families…

I really like what verse 13 says.  Peter and John went against everything the Sanhedrin expected.  They did not back down, and they were not shy about sharing their faith.  They even interpreted the Jewish Scriptures in the presence of the most learned biblical scholars of their day!  All this from men who were “unschooled” and “ordinary.”  (Actually, the Greek words here could also be translated “illiterate idiots.”)

Peter and John might have been “illiterate idiots,” but there was no denying that they had been with Jesus.  They were eyewitnesses to the Resurrection.  They had experienced firsthand the power of the Holy Spirit!  They didn’t have theological training, but they had an experience with Jesus that no one could deny.  They confronted their culture with the one thing no one could deny…Jesus had changed their lives…And they knew Jesus continues to change lives.

Conclusion

Two miracles took place in this story. 

The first miracle was a healing miracle.  In the name (power / authority) of Jesus, a crippled man walked for the first time in his 40 year life. 

The second miracle was a preaching miracle.  The crowds gathered around, and Peter preached the Gospel—the Resurrection of Jesus has changed everything. 

That may not sound like a miracle to you…especially if you believe there is power in the Gospel.  When the Gospel is preached, lives can be changed.  But, have you ever stopped to consider who was preaching this powerful Gospel.  It was Peter.

This is the same Peter, who denied that he was one of Jesus’ disciples less than two months ago.

When Jesus was arrested, Peter stood around a fire to warm himself.  A young slave girl approached and asked if Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples.  Peter was so ashamed of his relationship with Jesus that he denied knowing Jesus three times. 

Peter could not bring himself to witness to a slave girl with no power or authority.  But, that was Peter before the Resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now, Peter is not ashamed of the Gospel.  He has experienced the Resurrection.  He has received the Holy Spirit.  And, through the power of the Spirit, Peter preached a Confrontational Gospel…