The Words Of This Life
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 9th March service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Act 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Act 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Act 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
Act 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
Act 5:21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
Act 5:22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,
Act 5:23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.
Act 5:24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
Act 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
The Words Of This Life
From the earliest days of the church’s witness believers were persecuted and punished for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. No sooner had the Lord returned to heaven following His Resurrection than His disciples took up the Lord’s message and began to preach it widely and boldly in Jerusalem. Sometimes thousands were converted in a day and the church grew rapidly. We are told the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
‘Your doctrine’
The Jewish leaders were not happy. Actually, they were envious. They realised the preaching of Peter and the ministry of the Apostles was having a powerful and transforming effect on the people of the city. They accused the Apostles of causing trouble. Their complaint was, ‘ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us’. So concerned were the Sadducees about this new movement they decided to nip it in the bud, they arrested the Apostles and locked them up to prevent them from preaching any more.
Go! Stand! Speak!
The Lord sent an angel to secure the Apostles’ release. He opened the prison doors and brought them out, saying, ‘Go, stand and speak in the temple to all people all the words of this life’. The instruction of the angel of the Lord was not ambiguous. ‘Go, stand and speak’ is the God ordained means of communicating the gospel. It is the church’s duty to carry the God-given gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth as a declared message of truth.
The whole counsel of God
The Apostles were to preach ‘all the words of this life’. What a lovely phrase and description that is of the gospel. All the words of this life are to be preached. A preacher is not doing his job if any of the words of this life, any of the doctrines of this gospel, are passed over or set aside. Some preachers resist telling their congregations they are sinners dead in their sins. Some never preach the doctrine of election, even though it is in the Bible. Some say Christ died for everyone which is not in the Bible.
Jesus Christ crucified
Paul’s ministry is a fine example of positively preaching ‘all the words of this life’. He preached the whole counsel of God. He told Ephesians, in Acts 20:27 ‘For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God’, all the words of this life. He told the Corinthians, ‘For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified’. Gospel truths are the words of life because they explain what true life is and where it can be found; gospel truths point to Christ, lead to Christ and bring men and women to Christ. Our Lord Jesus told His disciples ‘I am the Life’.
What we believe
The Lord added in John 10:10, ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly’. The life the Lord gives is a holy, spiritual and eternal life. Two words, largely summarise this life-giving work; substitution and imputation. Christ has taken our death as our Substitute and freely gives us His holy life in its place. 1Pe 2:24 speaks of Him, ‘Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed’.
Grace and goodness
As my Substitute Christ took my place. When He died on the cross He was bearing my sin. He took my guilt, my bondage, my death. In return He gave me His life and His holiness. He suffered my death and gave me His life. My sin was laid on Him by imputation and His righteousness was imputed to me in its place. The Lord Jesus does not dangle eternal life in front of impotent man. He puts it in our heart and in our hands. It is His gift to His children, His grace to dead sinners, His goodness to the people He loves. He does this by His Substitutionary death in our place.
A declaration, not an offer
People talk about offering Christ to sinners. That is neither scriptural language nor sound doctrine. It is not what the disciples were told to preach. We are not offering Christ to sinners, nor indeed offering them salvation. Jesus never offered salvation to any, nor should we. Christ came to save His people from their sins, to lay down His life for His friends, to ransom the captives, recover the lost and redeem those sold under sin with His own precious blood. That is why He came, it is what He accomplished, it is what we preach.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
All People That On Earth Do Dwell (Willian Kethe)
Hymn 2
Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven (Henry Lyte)
The Apostles were called to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church was provided with the method, the men and the message to be preached. We do well to follow this pattern.