[This is Part 4 of a 6-part study to promote a biblical understanding of church planting.]
There are numerous methods promoted by various ministries for sharing the gospel. Some methods are better than others, but most will typically take a few verses from Romans, maybe one or two from Ephesians, maybe a couple from the Gospel of John and devise a method. Does that strike you as strange? Would anyone in the first century Church have actually shared the gospel that way?
Even a quick reading of the Book of Acts reveals something very exciting for anyone who seeks to share the gospel faithfully: Peter and Paul both shared the gospel in the Book of Acts. And Luke, the writer of Acts, documented some of these proclamations in significant detail. So, why don’t modern evangelism methods start there—taking a close look at how the Apostles presented the gospel?
The gospel according to Paul
Acts 13:13-43 contains the first documented presentation of the gospel by the first intentional missionary of the Church, the Apostle Paul. This proclamation helps answer a critical question for evangelism, discipleship and church planting: What exactly is our message—what is the gospel proclaimed by the Apostles?
But first, remember the flow of Acts: In chapters 1-12, Peter clarified the message of the Church. Then, in the second half of Acts, chapters 13-28, Paul clarified the mission of the Church. Since our focus here is on the first missionary journey, let’s take a close look at how Paul proclaimed the gospel on that journey. It is found in Acts 13:13-43.
“Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, ‘Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.’” (Acts 13:13–15, NASB95)
Paul didn’t take long to take up the synagogue officials on their offer, but before looking at what Paul actually said, notice the audience here. When the missionaries arrived in Pisidian Antioch (not the same Antioch they started from), their first stop was the synagogue—the gathering of Jews. This is strategy; a good strategy—going first to those who were culturally near. There were two things Paul and Barnabas knew about the Jews in a synagogue: 1) they knew the Old Testament, and 2) they were waiting for the Messiah. Knowing the Old Testament gave them a solid biblical foundation upon which to build faith in Jesus—they were way ahead of most Gentiles because they already believed in the God of Abraham and David and Messiah. The fact that they were waiting for the coming of the Messiah meant that they were all ears! If they believed, they could very quickly become coworkers in the progress of the gospel.
“Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: “The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. “For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. “When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. “After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. “Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. “After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’” (Acts 13:16–22, NASB95)
Here it is—the first part of Paul’s gospel presentation. Notice that it begins with an Old Testament history lesson. Notice also that this history lesson leads up to the importance of David. It was through the family of David that God had promised to bring the Messiah. It is striking that Paul sets the good news of Jesus in the context of the unfolding plan of God—the metanarrative or big story of God’s activity throughout human history. What he said next was the big reveal.
“From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,” (Acts 13:23, NASB95)
Can you hear the gasps? This was the news this synagogue of Jews was waiting to hear: Messiah—a son of David—has come! God fulfilled His promises to us! Our Savior came and His name was Jesus.
“After John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. “And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’” (Acts 13:24–25, NASB95)
He was speaking of “John” the Baptist, of course. Paul brought up John the Baptist for at least a couple reasons. First, because many knew about John and it was important to clarify the point of his ministry—he was not the Messiah, but he pointed to Him. Second, Jews would understand the significance of the forerunner predicted by Malachi and Isaiah.
“Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.” (Acts 13:26, NASB95)
This is big! The One whose sandals John was not worthy to untie has come, and the message of salvation through the Jews (“sons of Abraham”) has now made its way to them—the Jews living in Pisidian Antioch. As the entire synagogue was on the edge of its seats, Paul gave them the specifics about Jesus.
“For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.” (Acts 13:27–29, NASB95)
Now remember, these Jews in Pisidian Antioch had probably not heard this news yet. So, on the heels of hearing the wonderful news that the Messiah has come, Paul then told them the horrific news that their fellow Jews in Jerusalem executed their own Messiah. But fortunately, that’s not the end of the story.
“But God raised Him from the dead…” (Acts 13:30, NASB95)
The horrific news that the Messiah was dead and in a tomb, suddenly becomes miraculous news: “But God raised Him from the dead!” No other “messiah” could make such a claim. No other religion was verified in the way Christianity was verified—its Founder was executed then rose from the dead. Yes, this was an astonishing claim. But Paul did not end there. He provided two lines of evidence.
“And for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today i have begotten You.’ “As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ “Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’ “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.” (Acts 13:31–37, NASB95)
First, there is eyewitness testimony. “For many days He appeared…” to witnesses. Paul would later elaborate on these appearances and state that there were more than 500 eyewitnesses—most of whom were still alive and testifying throughout the world (1 Corinthians 15:1-11). Five hundred people do not all have the same delusion. This is powerful evidence. Second, the Old Testament predicted that the Messiah would rise from the dead. Both Peter and Paul referred to Psalm 16:10 (cf., Acts 2:27) as proof that God would not allow the Messiah to “undergo decay.” He raised Him from the dead “according to the Scriptures”!
“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38–39, NASB95)
This is the response Paul was asking for—faith. “Everyone who believes,” according to Paul, will receive the two greatest blessings imaginable—eternal blessings: First, “forgiveness of sins.” Earlier, Paul had called Jesus “Savior.” Here is the battle this Warrior had won—the battle over sin. This was Jesus’ stated purpose during His teaching ministry (see Luke 2:11, 21; 19:10; John 1:29; cf., Acts 4:12; 5:31; 13:23, 38, 39; Col 1:20-23). And now, through faith, forgiveness of sins can be a reality. Second, they were free of the Law! Christ—who fulfilled the Law—places “everyone who believes” under grace instead of the Law. The Law is the covenant God made with Moses. But grace and truth were realized through Jesus (John 1:17), who ushered in the New Covenant.
Many books have been written to explain the depth and length and height and depth of these blessings, but here, Paul stated it clearly and simply. Then, in vs. 40-41, he warned his listeners against unbelief and he was done with his gospel presentation. In vs. 42-43, the crowd was initially favorable, but later jealousy led to unbelief on the part of some.
What about repentance?
Paul’s next presentation of the gospel on this first missionary journey—found in Acts 14:8-20—adds a couple more important elements. It starts with a miracle.
“At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, ‘Stand upright on your feet.’ And he leaped up and began to walk.” (Acts 14:8–10, NASB95)
Those who read the Bible often may have lost some of the amazement this miracle is supposed to create. Don’t let that happen. Here is a man “who had never walked.” This kind of thing doesn’t happen every day! But it happened that day for a reason. Why? It “confirmed” the message of Paul (see Hebrews 2:1-4). It’s one thing for someone to claim that the Messiah has come, He died and rose again! It’s a whole other story when the guy who makes this claim heals a man “who had never walked.” Someone who could do such a miraculous thing is someone we should listen to. This miracle confirmed that Paul was an Apostle, a man gifted by the Holy Spirit with miraculous gifting, and his message was true. Did the miracle work? Did it bring about the desired response of faith?
“When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have become like men and have come down to us.’ And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.” (Acts 14:11-13, NASB95)
That would be a solid no. Instead of believing in the Risen One, this crowd gave all the credit to Zeus and Hermes. They had trouble seeing outside their present worldview. And this is one of the key differences between Paul’s audience in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (13:13-43) versus his audience here in Lystra—now he was speaking to Gentiles with a pagan belief system. So, their pagan reaction led to an attempt to help these Gentiles understand reality.
“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.’ Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them. But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.” (Acts 14:14–20, NASB95)
Notice the response Barnabas and Paul were asking for: “turn.” As they “preached the gospel” to this crowd of Gentiles, the desired response was that they “turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” This is a good picture of—and synonym for—repentance. The word repentance is not used in this context, but the word “turn” is the same idea. The gospel is an invitation to “turn from” whatever else a person “believes” and instead turn to God. This is a change of mind, which is what repentance literally means. It is a synonym for faith. In order for someone to put their faith in Christ, they must first turn away from false beliefs and turn to Christ—believing in Him instead.
Notice also that Barnabas and Paul took this Gentile crowd back to Genesis—to the reality of biblical creation—in helping them understand the gospel. Unlike the Jews in Pisidian Antioch, these Gentiles in Lystra obviously did not have a biblical worldview. They needed to understand that there is one Creator and it was this Creator who came in the form of a servant named Jesus.
Summarizing the gospel
So where does this leave us? What should we learn from the way the gospel was presented on the first intentional missionary journey? To ask the question begs the answer. This presentation of the gospel is the gospel that was affirmed by the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, it is the gospel Paul continued to proclaim in future missionary journeys into the Gentile world, and it is the gospel documented in his letters, especially in his early letters. On what basis can we justify proclaiming a different gospel message?
Not only do we need to understand this “proclamation,” but we also need to compare it to Peter’s messages, especially the one in Acts 10. Paul’s message in Acts 17 is extremely helpful as well. For now, let’s summarize the presentations here in the first missionary journey:
- Jesus fulfilled God’s Old Testament promises. The gospel fulfills the Old Testament promises of God, especially the covenant God made with David. With many, we will need to go back to the very beginning and help them understand creation.
- Jesus was affirmed by John the Baptist. The prophets Isaiah and Malachi predicted a forerunner to Messiah. John the Baptist’s ministry fulfilled these prophecies and pointed to Jesus as the Messiah.
- Jesus died according to the Scriptures and was buried to prove that He really died.
- Jesus rose from the dead according to the Scriptures and appeared to eyewitnesses to prove He really did rise from the dead.
- Jesus will provide forgiveness of sins and freedom from the Law to all who believe in Him—who turn from whatever else they believe and turn to the living God, Jesus Christ.
Notice also that the other gospel presentations in Acts do not use the exact same words, but they all follow this same basic framework with the cross at the center: Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead—believe!
Clarity in Evangelism and Discipleship
Like our eyesight, truth tends to blur over time. Through cultural and historical influences, truth tends to get fuzzier, not clearer. We must work at it. Fortunately, God gave us His truth in black and white. It is critical that we as individual Christians and churches wrestle with the documentation of the gospel provided through the ministry of the Apostles—the first post-cross proclaimers. We must ask hard questions about how their gospel compares with the “gospels” of our own time—the prosperity gospel, the moralism gospel, the therapeutic gospel, etc. How tragic would it be to find out that the “gospel” we proclaimed was not the good news Christ intended for us to proclaim. We must be clear on what it is and clear in our proclamation of it.
But there is another take-away from this passage. Remember that the culture of the Church of Antioch before the Holy Spirit sent out these first missionaries was evangelistic. It was not a weak church that the Holy Spirit used to send out the first missionaries. It was a church whose culture dripped with evangelism and discipleship. Revisit Acts 11:20-27 as well as 13:1-3 to be reminded of the kind of church the Holy Spirit chose. There is a sequence here—a process that we ignore at our peril. The Antioch Church first developed a culture of evangelism and discipleship that led to disciple-making that led to leadership development that led to the first missionary journey (i.e., church planting). As we will see in the final verses of Acts 14, a church planting movement is “the work to which [the Holy Spirit] called” Paul and Barnabas, but that ministry was birthed from a local church that was first strong in evangelism and discipleship.
Is this not an important principle or pattern for all churches in this Church Age? Would it not be wise for 21st century churches to aspire to become like the first century Antioch Church? To focus all of our efforts on building a culture of evangelism and discipleship that leads to leadership development that leads to church planting? To fast and pray and minister to the Lord in humility and dependence, begging the Holy Spirit to use us in His eternal work?
