PREACHING JESUS CHRIST
And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. (Acts 5:42 )
That which separates the truth from a mere religion is that the truth concerns a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. This may seem a trite and worn out phrase, but it is true that salvation is a Person. The doctrine, of Jesus Christ, is the teaching of the things of God that enable us to better understand the essence of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Every biblical doctrine enforces the power of this relationship, just as Acts 2:38 offers a beginning of this glorious relationship.
Truth is, in some ways like a jigsaw puzzle. A jigsaw puzzle is made of many parts, each one important. The puzzle could not be complete if any individual part were missing. Yet, we all realize that the value of such a puzzle does not lie in the individual pieces, but in the image that is created when all these pieces are joined together in their proper relationship. Even though an unassembled jigsaw puzzle contains the very same materials and pieces as an assembled one, we recognize that there is a great difference between the two: the assembled puzzle gives us an image, a picture to enjoy and understand. An unassembled puzzle is just a box of unconnected cardboard pieces.
The truth of God is similar: It is made of many parts, each one important. Yet the value of these parts lies not in themselves, but in the image they create when "assembled" through preaching. All the doctrines of the Scriptures are pieces of a Divine "puzzle" which, when assembled, provide us with an image of the Lord Jesus Christ. One may emphasize the various individual "pieces" of this puzzle, and become quite expert in them, and never see the image which they were designed to create. As the Lord said to the Pharisees: "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." (John 5:39)
The Pharisees were expert in the "pieces" but utterly ignorant of the image they made. When the Scriptures speak of "preaching Jesus Christ," they mean:
That all preaching is to be done with the purpose of revealing Christ in order that men may see Him, believe on Him, obey Him, and worship Him. The goal of all the apostles and their successors has been to make Jesus Christ known in truth. The correct preaching of Acts 2:38 reveals the person, work and desire of Jesus Christ as well as outlining the plan of salvation.
Preaching Jesus Christ means to view all Scripture as a revelation of Him and interpreting it according to that rule, not being satisfied with the mere "pieces" of truth, but determined to learn and declare how each piece fits into the "puzzle."
Preaching Jesus Christ will deliver us from becoming a mere religious movement. Someone once said that all organizations go through three stages: "the Man (who founded it), the Movement (an organization that carries on under the momentum the man generated), and the Monument (a dead organization which may bear the name of the founder but has little or no connection to him or his vision.)" The only thing that preserves the church from such a fate is that "the Man," (in this case, the Man, Christ Jesus) is continually revealing Himself from generation to generation. This revelation being accomplished through the preaching of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus Christ is preached, the Spirit of God brings revelation. Preaching Jesus Christ will deliver us and our hearers from dry and lifeless sermons. Preaching Jesus Christ protects the preacher from pride and the hearers from idolatry. Those who hear the preaching of Jesus Christ will love and respect the man that preached to them; but they will worship Jesus Christ! Those who preach Jesus Christ will rejoice in the results that are obtained by it, but will glorify Jesus Christ for those results. The glory of Acts 2:38 is in its effectual working to SAVE the lost! Therefore, we glory in the cross of Jesus Christ!
Preaching Jesus Christ glorifies Jesus Christ. Dare a preacher aim for less?
By Pastor James Groce
