Last sermon in the series: Do you know Jesus? The rubber meets the road. The answer is not hard, in fact is obvious. What does your life look like?
The book of Acts predicts the spread of the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Through a series of summary statements which provide progress markers and anticipate what is coming, the book is organized to trace that sequence. From Jerusalem (summary statement in 6:7), to Judea, Galilee and Samaria (summary in 9:31), to Antioch and beyond (summary in 12:24), through Asia Minor (summary in 16:5), through Macedonia and Achaia (summary in 19:20), and all the way to Rome (28:31), the gospel is set up to spread without hindrance to the “uttermost parts of the earth”.
The summary statements are both endings and beginnings. The last verse of the book is both summary and anticipation. Now the gospel can really go forth into all the world. The trappings of Judaism have been discarded so the gospel can go to the Gentiles. The salvation to which the law pointed is clearly possible without the law. The faith that first took root in Judaism is God’s power for the salvation of all. Those whom God calls will continue the process.
We are writing Acts 29. Are we continuing the process? Is the gospel spreading without hindrance? Are we ever the hindrance? The very Jews who first heard were the first-century obstacle to be overcome (Galatians). Is it ever the case that the modern church that should be carrying the gospel into all the world is the hindrance rather than the help?
The solution is in “getting Jesus right”. Our view of Jesus influences and limits our ability to be church. What we think about Jesus determines how we missionally carry the gospel into the world. Our understanding of Jesus determines how and to whom we minister. The question is not only for those outside of Jesus. The question is for those who have begun the Christian journey. “Do you know Jesus?” Really?