South Woods Baptist Church

A PATTERN FOR EVANGELIZING

ACTS 5:17-42

AUGUST 11, 1996

I am not given to dreams nor interpretation of dreams. However, after studying this passage in the book of Acts, I found myself dreaming about its contents early Friday morning. In my dream I had entered a Christian Science Church, which is a cult that denies the deity of Christ and denies the need for His atoning work. I knelt down to pick up a book and began to glance at it. While I was kneeling a man asked me, "Do you have a problem that I can help you with?" I quickly arose from my position and told him, "No! I don't have a problem, but you do. It is a problem with your sin. You need a Savior, Jesus Christ!" I then began to preach loudly the gospel of Christ to the dismay of the others mingling in this cultic church. People began to quickly file out and I was soon ushered out, finding myself on the street. When I woke up I thought of what a strong, clear gospel presentation I had made! Ah, but it was only a dream!

Witnessing in our dreams can be graphic, but it is rather painless and it affects no one's eternity. Perhaps some of you only witness in your dreams or in your wildest imaginations. But you find actual witnessing to be a fearful subject. I want us to consider the centrality of evangelism, or witnessing of the gospel of Christ, to all that the church is about. While we have many areas in which we serve and many ways that we can grow as disciples, the work of evangelism still remains our primary work in relation to others in this world. John MacArthur has rightly stated that evangelism "is the only duty of the church that can't be better done in heaven" [MacArthur's NT Commentary, 159].

What is evangelism or witnessing? Some have the mistaken idea that witnessing can be simply one's lifestyle without words. I would agree that our lives need to be a witness. The context of this passage shows us that the purity of the church became an arresting part of the work of evangelism. Because of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira who had deceived the church and lied to the Holy Spirit, there was a sense of fear in the whole community over the Christians and their message. They certainly had a strong testimony of being a people redeemed from the midst of sin and rebellion against God to live in purity and holiness. But mere lifestyle does not constitute the whole of evangelism. Evangelism and witnessing (which is the act of bearing witness to Jesus Christ by life and lips) involves the communication of the gospel to unbelievers. Will Metzger calls it presenting "faithfully the gospel message by our lives and our lips" [Tell the Truth, 25]. So, our task in evangelism is not to cajole someone into 'making a decision', but to present to that unbeliever the whole gospel of Christ and exhort him to repent and believe.

There is a similarity between this narrative and that of Acts 4. But this time, rather than just Peter and John being arrested, the whole group of the apostles were arrested for preaching the gospel. Once again they make it clear that the necessity of their lives is to obey God, not men; therefore they would go on preaching the gospel. They would not be intimidated. They would not bow to threats. They would not cower in fear of what man could do to them. They gave themselves to fearless proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we approach our text, our greatest need is for each one who knows Christ savingly to be consumed with the truth that all of us are responsible for the work of evangelism and to be committed to engage in that work. I believe there is some good help for each one of us as we see the patter for evangelism practiced by our early brethren.

All of us are familiar with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 and its parallel passages in the other gospels. We know that Christ has given His church the task of bearing the good news of the gospel to a lost world. But knowing and doing can be two different things!

We must notice a few details before taking a look at the mandate given to the disciples. These brethren had already gone through the trauma of Peter and John's arrest after the healing of the lame beggar in the temple. Now they face the same threat, this time by a more angered group of religious leaders. They were placed in a "public jail" which was the holding place for thieves and murderers. The high priest 'meant business' this time. He was tired of all the commotion with these gospel preachers! So he has them jailed in order to bring them before the Sanhedrin (Council of 70 elders of Israel) that they might silence them.

Then the angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, takes the prisoners out of the jail, and gives them the command to go preach the gospel: "Go your way, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." Now, don't you think this would be an appropriate time for a barrage of excuses? 'Preach? Why we keep getting thrown in jail for preaching! We can't do that!' 'You want us to do what?' 'We might be imprisoned for a long term and thus curtail any hopes of carrying out a lengthy and useful ministry.' But as you see, we do not find any excuses, only a ready willingness to obey the commands of their Lord!

Brethren, let's face it: Christ has commanded us to spread the good news of the gospel. We really have no excuse but our own disobedience for failing to proclaim the gospel! I think that we can find some help by seeing what the angel commanded the disciples and following their pattern.

They first had to leave the jail and go to the people. That is simple enough, yet it is an important truth for us. They were to go to the unbelieving so that they might testify of the grace of God. I would point out to you that the Lord has conveniently sent most of us to mission points so that we might proclaim the gospel. These mission points are called jobs, school, civic organizations, sports teams, musical groups, etc. The question all of us must face is what kind of job am I doing with the opportunity God has given me?

You cannot stay at the entry to the jail and get a whole lot of evangelizing done. You must go where there are people. The disciples made their way to the temple about daybreak, which was the time of prayer in which hundreds would be making their way to an encounter with the gospel. In that setting they continued their gospel ministry!

If we could ever get in mind that the circles in which we find ourselves encountering people are not by chance, but by divine design, it would change our whole attitude about life. Some of you think that your job is horrible because you have all sorts of wicked people around you. My friend, God has placed you on a mission field--start evangelizing! You young people can go to school and talk about all the freaks, geeks, weirdoes, and party-goers. God has placed you on a mission field--start evangelizing!

Go! we are told. Remember that when we go we carry something with us: the life-changing message of the gospel of Christ. Let us go with the message of the gospel on our lips, the word of God in our minds and hearts, a gospel tract in our hands, and a radiance of hope in our countenance! We must go for God has told us to go with the gospel! We must go for the world desperately needs what only we have. We must go for multitudes are dying without Christ.

I think it is interesting that the angel not only told the disciples to "go" but also to "stand." The word conveys the idea of someone who is 'taking a stand' at a particular spot and fulfilling his purpose. It might be a commando unit that takes a hill and then digs in so that they will not be moved by the enemy. It is the idea that you are staking off your territory and you will not back down because of anyone.

In that classic passage of Ephesians 6 addressing the spiritual conflict we face, we are exhorted three times to "stand firm." I Corinthians 16:13 tells us to "stand firm in the faith." Philippians 4:1 exhorts us to "stand firm in the Lord." I Peter 5:12 tells us to "stand firm" in the true grace of God. Real Christianity holds its ground against the world, the flesh, and the devil. If we are to get anywhere in the work of witnessing, we must stand firm in our faith and not cave in to fears and intimidation.

This is a wonderful exhortation for all of us. So often we give up on witnessing because we are afraid. Fear would be the opposite of standing. To stand is to take courage, to be bold, to keep pressing on for Christ in the face of every intimidation and fear. We must determine in our hearts that by the strength which the Lord supplies, we will stand firm in the Lord to proclaim the gospel of Christ.

Brethren, we are not to just 'go and stand'! We are to go, stand, and speak the whole message of the Life! We have not finished the job of evangelism until we have spoken the gospel of Christ. Remember, evangelism is the faithful use of life and lips to communicate the gospel of Christ.

It is very important to see what the angel told the disciples to speak. "Speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." I would grant to you that there is a lot of so-called evangelism and proclamation going on in our nation. But I would also point out that much of this evangelism fails to proclaim 'the whole message of this Life'. What did the angel mean?

First, he is obviously speaking about the gospel when he mentions the message of this Life. When Jesus asked the disciples whether they were going to withdraw and quit following Him as the multitudes had done, Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life" (John 6:68). I am reminded of what John wrote in simplicity in his first epistle, "He that has the Son has the Life, but he that does not have the Son of God does not have the Life" (I John 5:12). The gospel of Jesus Christ tells us about "the Life" which only comes from God. It is only "the Life" that can take us through this life and carry us on into eternity with God forever. It is only "the Life" that can create in us lives of holiness, righteousness, purity, and a pursuit of God as our chief delight.

When you teach the "whole message" of the gospel, you are not offering people a partial gospel or a truncated gospel. You are addressing the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, the judgment due to sinful man, the atoning and redemptive work of Christ, and the necessity of repentance and faith to receive "the Life." Jonathan Edwards, in a 1733 sermon, defined what he considered the content of the saving message of God. He said that it should have three components: first, "That we should see our misery, and be sensible of our need of mercy"; second, "they must be sensible that they are not worthy that God should have mercy on them"; and third, "they come to God for mercy in and through Jesus Christ alone" [The Coming Evangelical Crisis, John Armstrong, editor, 170, fn. 24].

We see our misery and our need of mercy only when we are confronted with the holiness and righteousness of the eternal God and His law. Our proclaiming the whole gospel involves explaining to an unbeliever "who God is" and "what God demands" of us who are His creation. When we declare God's righteousness that is unbending and His law that demands our perfect compliance, we are causing a sinner to see that he can never match up to such a lofty, divine expectation. Until he catches some glimpse of his own misery before God he will not see the need for the cross of Christ.

The unbeliever must come to see that he is depraved in mind, thought, attitude, and action. His sin demands divine justice. He has no merit in himself by which he can commend himself to God. He has no righteousness in him. He deserves the eternal judgment of a thrice holy God.

Finally, that sinner must see his desperate need for the Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. He needs to have explained to him "who Christ is" and "what Christ has done" on behalf of sinners. He must see the rationale for the cross and resurrection so that he might cast himself upon the mercy of God through faith in Christ alone.

Brethren, the responsibility of declaring "the whole message of this Life" demands that we give ourselves to learning the in's and out's of the gospel. We need to be constant students of the gospel of Christ. Let's never be negligent in digging deeply into the wealth of God's Word concerning the good news of Jesus Christ and His saving work.

Notice that after the disciples are arrested once again for preaching the gospel, this time without fanfare, they use their opportunity to proclaim the gospel to the Jewish Council or Sanhedrin. These were the leading religious and political people of the entire nation. They were the 'movers and shakers' in Israel. But the disciples did not cower to their threats, but boldly proclaimed the whole gospel to them.

Let's notice the thumbnail picture of what they proclaimed to the Sanhedrin:

As Peter and John had done before (4:10), the whole group of disciples pointed to the religious leaders' guilt in crucifying Jesus Christ. Notice that in verse 28 they complain, you "intend to bring this man's blood upon us." Yet, that is precisely what they gladly accepted before Pilate. Matthew 27:24-25 records, "And when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood: see to that yourselves." And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children!"" Now the disciples are bringing that reality before them so that they might see their own misery and guilt before God for their rebellion against Him.

They then point to the death of Christ, using rather graphic language: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross." The way it is stated refers back to the teaching of the law, "...for he who is hanged is accursed of God" (Deut. 21:23). They wanted the religious leaders to see that Jesus Christ became cursed on our behalf, that He bore the severity of divine judgment because of our sin. As Paul expressed it in Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us...." All the misery which the law inflicts upon us for our failure to obey its every detail, Christ has taken away through His death on the cross. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Rom. 10:4).

The resurrection shows that the death of Christ accomplished precisely what our Lord promised. Death, our great enemy, could not hold our Redeemer. He burst forth by the mighty power of the Father! He conquered sin and death, the resurrection declares!

Because of His finished work and resurrection, "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior." The disciples stated the exaltation of Christ as Prince or Leader/Author/Originator, as this title describes. This term focuses on Jesus' Lordship over our lives. He rules and reigns over us as undisputed Lord! Unless a person bends the heart to Christ's Lordship over his life, he does not understand the gospel! Ernie Reisinger has written,

How in God's name did we come to huckstering off Jesus as some kind of hell-insurance policy, when the Bible announced Him as Lord and exalted Him to a throne? The New Testament preachers preached His lordship, and sinners received him as Lord. There is not one New Testament example of Christ being offered in any other way. This is a vital point, and not just some "preacher's hobby." Oh! the lordship of Christ is the lost doctrine of the Bible in evangelism. [Today's Evangelism: Its Message and Methods, 25]

But He is also "a Savior" which points to His redemptive and atoning work on our behalf. As sinners we need forgiveness and an "alien righteousness" by which we can be commended to God and find His mercy. Our Savior has atoned for our sins, justified us before God, and declared us righteous with His own righteousness.

Because of who Christ is and what He has done in the cross, resurrection, and exaltation, God mercifully "grants" repentance and forgiveness of sins to undeserving sinners. The word "grant" in verse 31 shows that repentance, that turning from our sin and sinful ways to turn to God in faith, is a gift from God, just as forgiveness of our sins is a gift from God.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession offers a clear explanation of repentance which the gospel calls for:

The repentance that leads on to salvation is a gospel grace by means of which a person who is caused by the Holy Spirit to feel the manifold evils of sin is also caused by faith in Christ to humble himself on account of sin. This humiliation is characterized by godly sorrow, a detestation of the sin, and self-loathing. It is accompanied by prayer for pardon and strength of grace, and also by a purpose and endeavor, in the power supplied by the Spirit, to conduct himself in the sight of God with consistency of life that pleases Him. [chapter 15, paragraph 3]

The first message of Jesus recorded in Mark's Gospel is one of repentance. "Repent and believe the gospel, for the kingdom of God is at hand" (1:15). The summation of the duty which Paul pressed upon the people of Ephesus in his gospel preaching was "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). The disciples did not hesitate to call for repentance and the need for forgiveness of sins before this illustrious group of religious leaders. The gospel of Christ pulls no punches. All are guilty before God. All must repent. All must receive forgiveness of sins by the gracious gift of God. Apart from this a person has no eternal hope.

Those who obey the gospel of Christ, which calls for our repentance and faith in Christ, will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This blessed third Person of the Trinity comes as the divine paraclete to dwell within us, to comfort us, to empower us, to strengthen us, to fill us for service and usefulness to God. He does not dwell in everyone, but only those who are truly born again.

I would remind you that one of the primary ways that a person can know that he or she is truly saved is by the witness of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:16-17; I John 3:24). There is a make-believe version of Christianity that is popular in our day. It is one in which a person makes a profession, goes through the waters of baptism, takes up the popular language of modern Christianity, involves himself in a multiple array of Christian-oriented activities, attends church, socializes with the right kind of folks...BUT he is devoid of the Spirit because the Spirit has not come to him in saving power. He has no true change in desires, no real difference in character, no love of holiness, no desire for godliness. He has not repented of his sins. He has not embraced Christ alone as his only Savior and Lord. He has no desire for the glory of God. He simply makes a profession of faith because he thinks it will help him have a better life. That is far from the biblical idea of coming to Christ.

When a person is truly born of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit makes an indelible mark upon that life as one who is a new creature in Christ. It is a supernatural work of God upon the life of a dead sinner. It is a divine awakening of resurrection-proportions. The Spirit regenerates and gives life to the helpless sinner. I think the words of Jonathan Edwards express it well:

When a person is converted, he has the image of God stamped on him....They have their eyes opened, and are led into such a sight of God and acquaintance with him, as changes the soul into the image of God's glory....For though the image of God in Christians in this world is very imperfect, yet it is real. The real image of God is most excellent, though it be most imperfect....The image of God is a greater beauty in [the angels'] eyes than the brightness and glory of the sun in the firmament....This holy spark is put into the soul in conversion, and God maintains it there. [The Coming Evangelical Crisis, 162]

The content of the message proclaimed points the sinner clearly to Christ alone as his only hope from his miserable plight as a sinner. This is whole gospel evangelism which proclaims Christ clearly, offers Him freely, and depends solely upon the Holy Spirit to do the saving work.

The disciples received a deliverance from jail through the wise words of the renowned rabbi and Pharisee, Gamaliel. But before they were released, they were all flogged with a whip. The punishment used a short whip made of calf-skin in which the victim received 39 lashes. One-third of the lashes were applied to the breast. Two-thirds were then delivered upon the back that was bent to receive them. It left marks upon the victim. It was a sign of a criminal to have such marks upon one's chest and back. The disciples gladly wore these marks as badges of suffering for the sake of Christ their Lord! They rejoiced that they were even considered worthy to suffer such pain and indignity for their Lord.

Did they quit evangelizing? Absolutely, positively not! They jumped right back where they had left off! We see that their manner of witnessing had three components.

The two phrases of verse 42, "every day" and "they kept right on," emphasize to us that the proclamation of the gospel did not skip a beat in spite of their arrest and flogging. Even though the religious and political authorities did not want them witnessing and even though they were told to stop, they chose to obey God rather than men. Evangelism was a daily affair for them.

I believe that is a direction that all of us need to find ourselves moving! We must begin to view all of life differently, to envision that every situation in which we find ourselves may very well be a wonderful opportunity of speaking the words of life to some poor lost soul. R.F. Gates message at the recent Founders Conference contained a stirring challenge to "Think Evangelism." In answer the question, "Where am I to evangelize?" R.F. stated, "It is the place where His providence places you." Brethren, wherever we are, whatever situation we are in, God may want to use us as His instrument of proclaiming good news to lost men! THINK EVANGELISM! Let's get that work on our minds and hearts. Keep a tract around or a gospel booklet to pass out. Look for an open door to speak a word concerning Christ. Let's pray that this will become our 'daily and unceasing' practice.

The disciples found themselves proclaiming the gospel in both religious settings of the temple and in house to house situations. I think the point to see is that the settings of where we are to witness "is the place where His providence places you." It can vary with the demands upon your life. A job transfer or change should be viewed as a move to a new mission field. Attending a new school should be seen as new opportunities of presenting Christ to your classmates. I want to challenge you to think of where you will be this week as possible witnessing opportunities. Purpose in your heart to take advantage of chances to share the gospel. Some of your gospel discussions may be brief, lasting only a couple of minutes. Others may develop into lengthier discussions on the gospel. Use whatever the Holy Spirit places before you.

I think it is significant that two words are used for this work of evangelizing. Teaching would direct us to giving thorough explanations concerning the gospel. Though all of us are not teachers, all of us who will give ourselves to studying the Word of God can, in one-on-one situations, explain the gospel to someone else. Teaching lays the groundwork. It helps to give the knowledge and understanding that a person needs to think through on the gospel and its demands. The gospel must first penetrate a person's mind before he can properly respond with his will. Teaching does this work of laying truth to the mind, while the Holy Spirit brings the mind to life.

The next word is translated as "preaching." But it is better translated, "evangelizing" or "announcing the good news." This is the work of not only explaining the gospel but calling for sinners to repent and believe the gospel. It is our offering the free pardon wrought through the death of Christ to sinners.

So, all of us are to be engaged as teachers of the gospel who explain what the gospel is; and evangelizers of the gospel who announce the good news and call for sinners to repent and believe.

Brethren, the work is great and the fields are white unto harvest. Let's give ourselves to going, standing, and speaking the whole gospel of Christ to our lost world. See the place where providence has placed you as a mission field that needs evangelizing. Study the gospel. Think on the gospel. Read about the gospel. Discuss the gospel. Then proclaim it boldly and offer it freely to sinners in need.