Peter the fisherman, trained by Jesus for three years before the crucifixion and for forty days after the resurrection, delivered a powerful message at Pentecost whose bottom line was the salvation of “about three thousand souls” (Acts 2.41). 

He knew his audience – they were Jews – so he brought out the prophet Joel and talked of the fulfillment of the scriptures.  These Jews also knew about current events, so Peter could remind them of Jesus’ miracles and the part they all played in the crucifixion. 

Then he tells the rest of the story – the crucifixion was part of God’s plan!  And God raised Jesus from the dead! And the great king David saw through time to call Jesus his Lord! Best of all, Peter is obedient to the task set forward by Jesus when he says, “we all are witnesses” to the resurrection.

The Holy Spirit’s work of conviction goes beyond the miraculous tongues of flame to also miraculously cause many in the crowd to be “cut to the heart.”  They cry out, “What shall we do?”  And Peter is ready with the brief, powerful, concept laden gospel message: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Some believed immediately.  Others had questions and needed further understanding, so Peter continued to preach: “And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ‘save yourselves from this crooked generation.’”

Traditional hymns are a great way to tell the gospel for several reasons

–          It’s a song, so you can remember the words (at least you can mumble along until a familiar line)

–          Tying the verses back to  scriptural references allows one to go deeper in context and content

–          These are not flash in the pan tunes; they will likely last a while longer

–          There is emotion, feeling, and beauty in the singing

Holy, Holy, Holy (words by Reginald Heber in 1826 and tune by John B Dykes in 1861) is a glorious worship hymn, with voices upraised to echo what the first verse says – “our song shall rise to thee, Lord God Almighty.”    Three times holy, three persons, blessed trinity.  The whole creation exalts the creator; saints, cherubim and seraphim acknowledge His greatness in multiple ways. Only the One True God is holy and perfect, radiating power, love and purity.  The need for a savior is expressly stated as sinful man can’t even look on God’s holiness; the redeeming role of the second person of the Trinity is implied – as saints are able to adore the Lord in heaven.

 

1. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

 

2. Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee, Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

 

3. Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee, Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see; Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

 

4. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea; Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

 

Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 1

 Q1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A.  That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful savior Jesus Christ.  He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.  He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven:  in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.  Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

 Q2. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

A. Three things: 

-First, how great my sin and misery are;

-Second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery;

-Third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.

 This is a brilliant gospel summary to memorize, especially if everyone else in the New Members class is doing it.  The Heidelberg Catechism edition we use in the class has a plethora of scripture passages to support each answer; checking the references allows one to explore the context and content further. 

 Many gospel truths are stated or implied: the depth of sin under the curse, the need for a savior, Christ’s death and resurrection, heaven, and the Christian’s commitment to love and thank Jesus by obeying His commands.  Other truths are included: the existence of and freedom from the devil, God’s promises to be with us and to work things for our good, and the nature of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 The verb in Question Two , “know,” is a preciously subtle way of stating that salvation is by faith alone.  I cannot earn it; I must do what Jesus taught – repent and believe.

 

One of the hardest things in being a witness of the gospel is the opening remark to get a discussion started. Not a problem for Philip in Acts 8; he had an appointment set up by an angel.  He is told to go south to the road, then to jump on the running board of the chariot going by. Maybe to this point Philip was just being obedient, but as soon as he sees the Ethiopian eunuch in the chariot reading verses from Isaiah, the intent is clear. Philip asks the Ethiopian if he understands the passage, and the eunuch admits he needs guidance.  The eunuch asks who Isaiah is talking about.  Philip then has the opportunity to tell the “good news about Jesus.”  The Holy Spirit works in the man’s heart, he commits to Jesus, he sees water and asks to be baptized.

What do we learn about witnessing?  Be obedient. Look for context clues; try to find out what the “witnessee” is thinking about. You might not start with Isaiah but be ready to explain the gospel from many different starting points.  Expect the Holy Spirit to prepare the situation, give you words to say, and work in hearts.   And don’t neglect closing the deal – seek a commitment.

You may think Philip’s event is not possible anymore, but such things happen more than we expect. I recently talked to my friend Justin, back from several months in China.  He showed a picture of the man who ran up to and asked Justin if he could answer some questions about Jesus!

You also probably don’t need to think a lot about how to get OUT of a gospel conversation, but Philip certainly did have a unique exit method – the Spirit carried him away, and he found himself at Azotus, wherever that is. The eunuch did not mind – he went away rejoicing and presumably started churches in Ethiopia.  Philip was none the worse for the experience – he kept preaching the gospel in all the towns he went through.

Jesus named two sacraments – baptism and communion – defined as signs and seals of God’s grace to us.  Remember the gospel good news of Jesus Christ is that even though we are sinful, unholy, wrong-doing people, the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross washes clean all the guilt of those who repent of their sins and believe Jesus (John 3.16, Romans 5.6-11).

The “sign” of a sacrament is a physical reality that points to a spiritual truth.  The Heidelberg Catechism uses a great phrase – as surely as – to describe the logic involved.  As surely as “this” physical event occurs, so surely does “that” spiritual truth hold.

For baptism in Heidelberg Question and Answer #69:

Q. How does baptism remind you and assure you that Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross is for you personally?

A. In this way:  Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and his Spirit wash away my soul’s impurity, in other words, all my sins.”

Summary: Water washes away dirt.  Just as surely, Christ’s blood washes away sin.

 

For communion, in Heidelberg Question and Answer #75, there are two phrases.

Q. How does the Lord’s Supper remind you and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts?

A.  In this way:

Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup.  With this command he gave this promise:

First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the LORD broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross.

Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the LORD, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.

 

Summary: I see the bread and the cup.  Just as surely, Christ’s body was broken and his blood poured out for me. I receive and taste the bread and cup.  Just as surely, he nourishes and refreshes my soul with his crucified body and poured-out blood.

Surely it is so!

The first thing Adam and Eve did after eating the apple was cover their nakedness – shame was part and parcel with sin.  As Kevin DeYoung pointed out in a 2011 sermon from the book of Mark, God’s redemption plan through Jesus Christ takes away our shame as well as our sin.  When Jesus is hung on the cross in Mark 15, there is no description of the nasty, painful, bloody process; it just says they crucified him.  But the passage is replete with ways that friends, leaders, soldiers, thieves and even those passing by heap shame on the Son of God. 

 It started the night before when one disciple betrayed him, the lead disciple denied him, none of the disciples could stay awake to pray with him, and they all ran away when Jesus was arrested.  At the trial, witnesses lied about him and the high priest called the Son of God a blasphemer. Soldiers dressed him up, sarcastically saluted and bowed to him along with spitting and whipping with a reed used as a fake scepter. Someone else carried his cross because he was too weak to do it himself.  After their gruesome work was done the soldiers turned their back on him to gamble for his clothes.  The derision of the sign, “King of the Jews” was echoed by the priests and scribes who taunted, “come on down, King of Israel, so that we may see and believe.” The two criminals crucified beside him railed at him.

 Why this emphasis on shaming acts? So that we know that along with our sin-filled disobedience and law-breaking before God, Jesus’ redemptive act will remove from our minds and hearts all the times we have been disgraced or shamed, whether we deserved it or not.  Heaven promises no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain – for the former things will have passed away. Bonus.

 

Saul, the first King of Israel, was succeeded by David.  Both were chosen by God and anointed by the prophet Samuel.  Both had notable success and horrible failures as kings; both made God very angry.  Saul was rejected as king, but David was consistently called “a man after God’s own heart.”  What was the difference?

 Part of it was the way they handled reprimands.  In 1 Samuel 15 Saul was told by God, through Samuel, to completely destroy the city of Amalek, and ‘put to the sword’ all men, women, children, oxen, fattened calves, lambs, geckos, unicorns, and anything else that moved.  The Amalekites deserved it for their evil ways, and they had opposed the Israelites when they journeyed out of Egypt.  It was a test of obedience that Saul failed, as he kept the good sheep and cattle alive and spared the king of Amalek.  Samuel confronted Saul; Saul claimed he had done what he was supposed to, prompting Samuel to utter the classic sarcastic line, “then what is this bleating of sheep in my ears? “  Saul blamed it on everybody else and argued they were just keeping the good animals to offer to God.  Bottom line – Saul was disobedient, avoided responsibility, and the kingship was taken away from him.

 After David became King, in 2 Samuel 11 he had sex with beautiful Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.  When she conceived, David schemed, manipulated and finally had the woman’s husband killed.  Nathan the prophet brought a story to David about a rich man who was entertaining friends and grilled a poor man’s only lamb rather than one from his large herd. When David responded that the rich man should be punished severely, Nathan cried out, “You are the man!  You took Bathsheba from Uriah and had him killed.  What were you thinking?”  David immediately confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  Psalm 51 is his classic confession.  David was punished severely but remained as king.  Bottom line – David was disobedient but acknowledged his error, repented, and remained as king.

 A big part of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ is acting just like David did – admitting and turning away from one’s misdeeds and asking for forgiveness.  David, an ancestor of Jesus, believed God’s promise that his descendents would sit on the throne, but he did not know that Jesus’ death on the cross makes forgiveness possible for us.

In Psalm 8, the phrase “O LORD, our LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” is a magnificent begin and end to a praise song with the gospel snugly hidden inside.  Jesus quotes verse 2, “Out of the mouths of babies and infants…” to clearly identify himself with the LORD being praised in the psalm.  There is an echo of the Creation in Genesis 1-2. The creator is praised for his handiwork: the heavens; the seas; birds and sea creatures; beasts of the field; and man is given dominion over every living thing that moves in all the earth. The curse of Genesis 3 is also present with the foes, enemy, and avenger of verse 2.  It is clear that God is mighty and man is small – “what is man that you are mindful of him?”- and the coming Messiah is hinted at, using Jesus’ phrase for himself  – “son of man”. 

 The writer of Hebrews uses this psalm as additional description of the fullness of the gospel message.  Readers are warned In Hebrews 2.3-4, not to “neglect such a great salvation, which was ” announced by Jesus himself, confirmed by eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ, affirmed by God’s miracles, and surrounded by distributed gifts of the Holy Spirit. That is quite a positive testimony. 

 Beyond all that evidence, Hebrews 9 ties to Psalm 8.5 to emphasize two things – the mighty sacrifices made by Jesus and the appropriateness that He would be “crowned with honor and glory.”  Not only did Jesus taste death for everyone (by the grace of God), but to do so, He needed to be “Made lower than the angels for a little while.”  Jesus becoming fully man was a definite demotion, even if temporary. The appropriate response from those of us for whom the sacrifice was made is Thanksgiving, along with praise and honor, to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Hebrews is right to emphasize that we ignore this awesome assistance at our own peril.

 

I used these verses in a brief message at my mom’s funeral in 2001.

 John 3.16 is probably the most famous gospel Bible verse ever.  One Halloween when the kids were young, my costume was a rainbow wig and a white sign with black letters: John 3.16.  Everyone recognized the zealot who managed to get his message broadcast at every big sporting event.  You don’t see that guy so much anymore. I don’t know if he quit or was refused admittance or the TV people stopped showing him like they stopped showing streakers, but he was famous for a time.  The verse is still famous – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 It turns out that John 3.14-15 gives a vibrant answer to the question of whether you believe or not.  “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”  The context is the episode in Numbers 21.4-9, where God punished the whining and complaining Israelites with “fiery” poisonous snakes. After the people repented, God told Moses the remedy – Moses would attach a bronze serpent to a pole and whoever looked at it would live. For the bitten Israelites, they had to believe enough – in what Moses told them that God had told him – to look at the snake on the pole.  Some looked and lived; some didn’t and died.

 Your “Do I believe?” test is not as simple as gazing at a specific relic, but it is clear there will be some action involved;  you need to be doing something.   A good start is making use of the “means of grace”:

–        Read the Bible regularly

–        Pray

–        Worship with other believers

–        Take Communion

–        Confess sins

 If these are unclear, identify a Christian and talk to him/her about who Jesus is and what all these actions are about.

 

Two sides of David show up in the first three chapters of 1 Kings. First, we are reminded of his failings.  Bathsheba the mother of Solomon is part of the story, jogging our memory of David’s transgressions in 2 Samuel 11.  A more current critique is in verse 1.6 where David’s lack of discipline for his children was one reason why his son Adonijah set himself up as king.

But then in Chapter three, verse 8, Solomon’s prayer for wisdom includes the description of David that “he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart.”  Indeed David’s psalms have a mixture of both sides: a sinner who walks uprightly with the LORD.

How do these two sides fit together?  David is like Abraham, whose faith was counted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15.6).   We know that Abraham was a deceiver who had his own family issues (Genesis 12, 20).  We know that David, like Abraham believed in the One True God and was a man after His own heart.

It is an encouragement that Old Testament deceivers can be counted as righteous and upright.  How much more solid it is that our faith in Jesus is buttressed by his historical substitutionary death on the cross.  We do and will continue to sin.  But we are and will be counted as righteous as we acknowledge our need for a savior, repent of our sinfulness, and “believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4.24-25).