the whole gospel Engage Acts 2:37-40

Transcription

1 Engage the whole gospel Acts 2:37-40 Memory Verse Repent, Peter said to them, and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 1

2 Session 3 Engage: The Whole Gospel THEOLOGICAL THEME: We rob the gospel of its power when we fail to preach the message of conviction and repentance of sin. This fall, CBS introduced a new sitcom called By the Book. Based on the best-selling book The Year of Living Biblically, the show focuses on a man who faces multiple life-defining moments, like discovering that he will be a father and dealing with the loss of a close friend. Awash in the current of life s rapidly changing seasons and desperate for an anchor, he decides to live as biblically as he can. His desire is not simply to do the commonly accepted acts (giving to the poor, speaking truth, etc.), but also the more obscure guidelines he discovers (eating locusts, playing a harp, and so on). Predictably, the comedy of the show stems off of the dissonance between modern culture and what the Bible points to as biblical behavior with a special emphasis on the more obscure, bizarre examples. While the show certainly has met mixed reviews from believers, it does shine a light on an important truth: having a firm grasp on how to understand and communicate the whole gospel is critical to living missionally in today s world. There are customs that seem odd, passages we rarely study in favor of favorite texts, and apologetic issues that will increasingly be used as fodder for arguments against Christianity. The truth is that a wealth of transformative power is wielded when we preach and teach the whole gospel. 2 Date of My Bible Study:

3 What passages or parts of the Bible are you the most drawn to? Why are you drawn to those particular passages? What parts of the Bible are you less familiar with, or read less frequently? Why is that the case? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your comfort level in talking about the Bible s contents with others, with 10 being extremely comfortable? How would you like for that to change or grow? How do you practically sharpen your skills in discussing the Bible with others? This week s session will examine how Peter utilized the totality of Scripture to explain that Jesus is the Messiah. After his wonderful, Spirit-inspired explanation, Peter had the opportunity to engage his hearers with actionable next steps toward accepting the forgiveness of Christ. It is important to notice that the entire interchange, though, was predicated on Peter s presenting the whole gospel as a testimony and validation of Jesus as the Messiah. 1. The Whole Gospel Brings Conviction (Acts 2:37) Prior to the passage for this week, Peter masterfully wove together a host of Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah into a concise proof that Jesus of Nazareth was precisely the One to whom those prophecies pointed. This was the very first time such a defense was offered after the Session 3 3

4 giving of the Holy Spirit. Peter s defense took place at Pentecost, in the midst of thousands of Jews who had traveled from around the region to celebrate the sacred festival. Peter s defense initially began as an answer to the mocking accusation that those who spoke in various languages under the guidance of the Holy Spirit were drunk. As he dispelled the notion that the believers were drunk, Peter launched into his testimony of Jesus as Messiah, using a passage from Joel and multiple passages from Psalms. The corroborating evidence from the breadth of Scripture moved even the mocking crowd to a place of contrition. Describe a time when you were unexpectedly pulled into a conversation about your faith with someone with different beliefs. How did you respond? What do you wish you had been able to articulate more clearly? What passages can you remember having a deep, convicting impact on you? Describe what you remember about that experience. Peter s ability to weave in various passages in order to provide a robust defense of Jesus as Messiah resulted in what Luke described as deep conviction among the people. Bear in mind, in his defense, Peter was confrontational enough to close his address with, God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah! Even in light of such a strong rebuke and confrontation, pointing out the grievousness of their sin, the people responded with repentance and acknowledged their desperation. With anguish of heart over their sin, the people cried out to the only One who could point them to the way of salvation. 4 Personal Study Guide

5 2. The Whole Gospel Points to Repentance (Acts 2:38-39) The preceding sermon by Peter did not contain a call to repentance initially. It claimed Jesus as Messiah and pointed out that the Jews blindly executed Him. The resulting cry of desperation, Brothers, what must we do? had no guarantee of a favorable answer. Amazingly and miraculously, Peter s answer was not one of justified judgment, but of hope! The call to repentance had in mind nothing less than a complete and absolute change of heart, recognizing their sin and turning from it. In this passage, baptism was linked with the gift of the Holy Spirit as well as the authority of Christ over the one being baptized. The order of Peter s wording is important. Repentance must precede baptism in order for baptism not to be merely an empty ritual. Likewise, the forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit are also preceded by repentance. How would you explain what repentance means to someone? What are the absolutely key ingredients in a biblical definition of repentance? If the whole gospel points to repentance (and it does), what are some passages in the Old Testament that you are aware of in which repentance is highlighted? How does the way repentance is depicted in those passages align with your own definition from the previous question? Once again referencing the Old Testament prophets as a way of demonstrating Jesus as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, Peter announced that the promise for salvation extended beyond just his immediate audience. Referencing Isaiah 57:19 and Joel 2:32, Peter Session 3 5

6 proclaimed the spread of Christ s forgiveness through the generations and throughout the lands. 3. The Whole Gospel Illumines the Hope of Salvation (Acts 2:40) What Luke recorded in Acts 2 was but the beginning of Peter s gospel engagement. Luke described the subsequent encounter with many other words. Peter s appeal, using the whole of Scripture (what modern readers refer to as the Old Testament), continued to urge those who heard to turn from this corrupt generation to the forgiveness and redemption that had been promised for centuries, and was now available. One of the critical components of Peter s appeal, though, was his testimony. Peter was not making a factual, well-reasoned argument for the sake of persuading those who listened. Such a sterile idea of Peter s address impoverishes what it means to preach the whole gospel. Rather, Peter was passionately presenting Christ, with whom he had an extremely personal, transformative experience. Peter knew how it felt to be forgiven by Christ, though Christ knew Peter s every failure. Peter lived both parts of his life before Christ and after knowing Christ and his pleas for repentance were informed by that. Even more, Peter knew firsthand that, if the people would only repent of their sin with a contrite heart, Christ was faithful to forgive. Peter was marked forever by the grace he experienced in the presence of Jesus this was his testimony and the fuel for his preaching the whole gospel. Peter s plea to be saved from this corrupt generation made it clear to his hearers that there was an alternative option a better option than what had characterized their lives up until that point. How does this plea still shape our lives as believers today? 6 Personal Study Guide

7 Why is a knowledge of the gospel s content important for missionally engaging our culture? How do you see that on display in Peter s address in Acts 2? There is an indispensable role for preaching and teaching in sharing the gospel with others. St. Francis of Assisi is often mistakenly quoted as saying some variation of, Preach the gospel. When necessary, use words. This phrase is erroneously batted around from time to time to create an unbiblical dichotomy between speaking the gospel and living the gospel. No such separation exists in the New Testament especially for Peter in Acts 2. The truth is that when the whole gospel is shared, the Holy Spirit empowers the word He also inspired. However, there is a caveat to be noted. In John 14:26, speaking of how the Holy Spirit will work in His followers, Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit will, in part, remind you of everything I have told you. In other words, the Holy Spirit calls to memory the treasures of the gospel that believers have stored in their hearts and minds. Conclusion Just as Peter did not shy away from confronting the sin of the Jews in crucifying the Messiah (in spite of the clear fulfillment of biblical prophecy demonstrated in Jesus life and ministry), neither are modernday believers to shy away from the Bible s hard truths. A knowledge of the whole gospel, accompanied with a Spirit-driven presentation of its truths, can lead to powerful moments of repentance and restoration. Simply plucking a verse or two out of context does not have this same power. Furthermore, preaching, teaching, speaking, and living the whole gospel allows the believer to have conversations that reflect the character of Jesus. Notice that Peter demonstrated both forthright confrontation of sin with deep compassion and concern for those far from God. Such a delicate balance reflects the character of Jesus. Session 3 7

8 When you speak with people about your faith, how do you balance truth and confrontation of sin with a compassion for the lost? Which side of that balance do you naturally gravitate toward? What practices or spiritual disciplines do you regularly engage in to fill your heart and mind with the whole gospel? When was the last time you experienced the Holy Spirit calling to mind something you had meditated on in your time with God? What was noteworthy about that experience? Peter could not have had a more culturally confrontational message than telling the assembled Jews at Pentecost that the Messiah they were waiting on was Jesus, whom they recently crucified. What particular aspects of your faith do you find to be volatile topics today? How do you speak truthfully about them in light of the gospel? Why is this important? 8 Personal Study Guide

9 CHRIST CONNECTION: Since the entire Bible points to Christ, communicating the whole gospel gives a fuller understanding of what Christ did, is doing, and will do for us. MISSIONAL APPLICATION: Preaching the whole gospel confronts the false claims of the world with the hope and salvation found only in Christ. Session 3 9

10 FOR NEXT WEEK Engage: Anywhere, Anytime Main Passages --Acts 8:26-36 Session Outline 1. Divine Interruptions (Acts 8:26-28) 2. Divine Situation (Acts 8:29-33) 3. Divine Appointment (Acts 8:34-36) Memorize Repent, Peter said to them, and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 10 Personal Study Guide