Evangelism & the Jerusalem Church
-Introduction
-Matt 16:16-19; Col 1:18, Eph 5:27
-We need to be the church that Jesus built. Our souls depend upon it.
-Therefore, we must abide by the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9-11, Matt 28:20)
and must follow the N.T. pattern.
-Acts 2 - the establishment of the church - From there it spread and grew.
-Today, nearly 2,000 years later, that church still exists.
-It still contains the message of the Gospel and the responsibility of spreading it.
-It still contains the doctrine of Christ and the responsibility of conforming to it,
defending it and enforcing it.
-So, the church of the 21st century can be, and must be, the church of the 1st century in
terms of church authority, organization, worship, overall mission and doctrine.
-The Church at Jerusalem
-Acts 2:41-47
-At this time, the apostles were the teachers. They were the leadership on earth.
-They had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and were being guided by Him.
-Under such guidance and Divinely inspired teaching, we find the church in its purity.
-Man-made doctrines and man-made organizations were not diluting the truth
nor shadowing the identity of Christ’s church - not yet. Unfortunately, that
would not be the case for very long.
-When you consider the overall work of the church - evangelism, benevolence and
edification - we find a wonderful example in the early church at Jerusalem.
-Tonight, let’s focus on evangelism.
-Evangelism - Christ-Centered
-Acts 2 - The church was established in response to evangelism.
-The church continued to grow through evangelism.\
-Acts 5:17-20, 25-28
-This evangelism was Christ-centered.
-Acts 2:22; 3:11-19; 4:1-4,8-12; 5:28-32,40-42
-Are doctrinal issues important? - Yes! Is proper worship important? - Yes! Is
proper church organization important? - Yes! Yet, this is not where the apostles
began. They began with Jesus - the message of the Gospel.
-I’m afraid we sometimes talk to people about what they should do without first talking
to them about why they should do it.
-The message of the Gospel provides the why.
-Evangelism - The Truth Unchanged
-Acts 2 - the message - Jesus - Lord and Christ - died for our sins. We must take that to
heart, repent and obey.
-Acts 2:36-38
-Acts 3:13-19 - (Compare Acts 2:38 and Acts 3:19)
-In the face of persecution: Acts 4:10-12, 23-29
-Remember, these things were taking place in Jerusalem. This was the central
location for the Jewish leadership - those who despised Jesus, rejected Him
and had Him crucified.
-There was going to be some resistance to the Gospel of Christ. There was
going to be persecution brought against those who followed Christ.
-Yet, there was a request for a different message. The request was for boldness.
-Today, there are those who don’t like God’s truth. Instead of following the doctrine
of Christ, they follow the doctrines of men.
-Due to a desire to be more acceptable to more people, some have suggested that
we “filter” our message a little, “water it down” so that it will appeal to more
people.
-We don’t need another message. We don’t need to alter the truth. Perhaps, we
need more boldness.
-Acts 5:27-32, 40-42
-Evangelism - An Individual Responsibility
-Acts 6:7
-The Gospel was spreading. The church was growing.
-The Gospel is a powerful message (Rom 1:16). It can lead to “unexpected” results -
i.e. the priests in Jerusalem.
-Acts 8:1-4
-vs 1 - “...and they were all scattered...except the apostles”
-There were a great number of disciples scattered. What did they do? - vs 4
-They realized their individual responsibility in spreading the Gospel of Christ.
-They didn’t depend on a select few to do it.
-Their courage in the face of difficulties motivated by their love for their Savior, set the
church on a course of rapid and far-reaching growth.
-Summary and Invitation
-We need to evangelize. We need to be Christ-centered in our approach. We need to
stand boldly upon the Gospel of Christ and realize that there is no need to alter it, filter
it or water it down. We need to remember the power of the message and we need to
consider evangelism on an individual, personal basis.
-If we will work at the task at hand, we will see results - some that might even surprise us.
-What about you? Have you responded to the Gospel of Christ?
-If not, Believe (John 8:24), Confess your faith (Matt 10:32), Repent of your sins (Luke
13:3,5) Be Baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38)
-If you’ve previously obeyed the Gospel, have you remained faithful? If not, confess your
faults, repent of them and pray for forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24)