The Church of the Christ




PROCLAIMING CHRIST'S REIGN

Intro to Acts 2

Acts 2:14 - 36 (Peter's Sermon - Let's give attention to this first proclamation of the church)

God gives the church its voice and message through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We are heralds of the kingdom rule of God emerging into the world. Peter's sermon can show us the basics of our continuing message and proclamation ...

Borrowing statements from the letters of Paul and Peter, let us consider how we continue to proclaim Christ's kingdom in the same way Peter did on Pentecost ...

  1. We Believe Therefore We Speak
    But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture--"I believed, and so I spoke"--we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. - 2 Corinthians 4:13-14

  2. We declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. - 1 Peter 2:9-10

  3. Speaking the Truth in Love

    But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love. - Ephesians 4:15-16

This calls on us to do more that just speak out against what is not (wrong) it calls on us to proclaim what is true and good. If we cannot do that, then we must remain silent for we will not be proclaiming Christ's Kingdom - no, we will just be griping. Unfortunately, there's been too much griping passed off as "biblical preaching." What's the difference?

When Peter called the crowd to realize that they had crucified God's Messiah it would have been griping if his only goal was to make them feel bad or to prove how terrible they were. (And wouldn't that have been hypocritical on Peter's part - after all where was he when Jesus was on trial?) Griping offers no hope. But to the people who were suddenly feeling hopeless and lost because they had crucified their rescuer and promised King Peter speaks for God when he says - "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." (Acts 2:38)

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 2 May 2004


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