He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead– Acts 10:42
Is this the message that your church, your Bible teachers, your ministry is preaching to the people? Are you proclaiming that God has appointed Jesus Christ to be the judge of the world, of the living and of the dead?
“But our generation does not like to hear about judgment or hell or condemnation,” you say. Has there ever been a generation that did? Of course not. Was it a popular message when Jesus preached it to the Jews? No.
Is this the only message with which the apostles were to equip their listeners? No, they also exalted the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as Savior, that “through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (43).
This may seem quite a stern one-two punch for Peter to preach to first-time hearers, and yet God blessed it with great success. His audience received the Word of God, believed on Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit descended on them in power.
All the human machinery, ingenuity, and strategy in the world cannot replace the blessing of the Holy Spirit and his great power. But the Spirit of God will only accompany and empower the message of God. Any other message is just human propaganda and marketing.
Jesus commanded his disciples to preach that he is the God-ordained judge of every person, and that remission of sins is received by whoever believes in him. Are you obedient to Jesus’ command?