Focus:
Telling the story of the Christian faith includes four steps.
Function:
To encourage the people to live and share—in word and deed—the four-fold
movement of the Christian faith.
Text:
Acts 2:22-41
Stories need steps. Stories need a
beginning and an end, and stories need a story line. When our children were
little I would tell them stories about King and Kazan. Kazan is a dog, a loyal
German shepherd, and King is Kazan’s royal owner. They live in a palace, in a
far away place, in a deep, dark, dank forest.
My stories with the kids were all
fiction; I would dream up some scenario and make up things as we went along:
Flying carpets, creatures with strange names, underground crevices and tunnels,
skunks, brooms that fly and a cackling wicked witch—they all would appear in my
stories. When our children would ask me to tell a story about King and Kazan, I
had to make them up on the spot. (That’s one reason I’ve never written them
down for publication).
I learned, however, that stories need a story line.
And the story line consists of steps or movements. These steps give you a
beginning and lead you to the end of the story. Stories and steps—they go
together.
The text for today shows us that the story of the
Christian faith includes at least four movements or steps. I want to highlight
these steps to you, so that you and I learn to live and share the four-fold
message of the Christian faith.
Ask yourself, how will you—the parents of Breanna
and Natalie—and how will you and I who claim to be Christians or who wish to
inquire about the Christian faith—how will we tell the Easter story to our
children, our family, our friends, neighbors and co-workers? Clearly, the
Christian church has a story to tell. But how shall we tell the story?
The passage in Acts 2:22-41 comes to us in the
context of Pentecost; the passage is about the apostle Peter, addressing a
large crowd in Jerusalem. Peter is explaining to the people what had just
happened to the disciples. God had poured out his Holy Spirit on the disciples.
In Acts 2:1-4 we read that the disciples “were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled
the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of
fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them.”
And now, in Acts 2:22-41 the apostle Peter explains to the people the
meaning of the event. What does he do? Peter tells the story of the Christian
faith. And Jesus is at the center of the story. It’s all about Jesus. (I’m indebted to the insights
of pastor-theologian Dr. John Stott, whose commentary on the book of Acts is
very helpful)
For example, in verse 22, Peter
refers to Jesus’ life and ministry. “Men of Israel, listen to
this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders
and signs, which God did among you through him….” Peter connects the
man Jesus--the one from Nazareth--with God and with the people. The story is
about Jesus’ life and ministry on earth.
And we note that the story line about Jesus leads to
his death and resurrection. In verse 23 Peter points to Jesus’
crucifixion death, saying, “This man was handed over to you by God’s set
purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to
death by nailing him to the cross.” And in verses 24 through verse 32
Peter points to Jesus’ resurrection. “But God raised (Jesus) from the
dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death
to keep its hold on him.”
So,
far, then, we see that the story line of Jesus concerns Jesus’ life and
ministry, which leads to death and resurrection. The story of the Christian
faith is all about Jesus.
The story of Jesus, however, does
not stop with Jesus’ resurrection. It unfolds and includes also Jesus’
exaltation or Lordship. In vs. 36 Peter says: “”God has made this
Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now here comes the
surprise: you and I are included in the story of Jesus. Note, for example, that
Peter instructs the crowds to complete the story of Jesus by responding in a
certain way.
The story of Jesus, then, is also about
salvation—about saving humanity and creation itself from eternal destruction.
Therefore, Peter says: “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all
who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Jesus’ story
is about bringing salvation to all who repent and who join the new community of
Jesus, called the church.
Yes, the church community is part of the story of
Jesus. For
example, in telling the story of Jesus’ ministry, death, resurrection and
ascension, and in calling the people to repent and be baptized in response to
Jesus’ work—Peter calls us to join the community “that is being saved”
(vs. 47). Peter calls us to set ourselves
apart—that is, to “save (y)ourselves from this corrupt generation.” Peter
calls us to make a conscious effort to identify ourselves—not with the world,
but with the new community, the church of Jesus. That, too, is part of the
story of Jesus.
The Christian story line, then, is all about Jesus:
his life and ministry; his death, resurrection, and exaltation; and it’s about
Jesus’ salvation offered to the world and his new community the church. That’s
the good news story that must be told by Christians today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We now move from observation to
insight. In telling the story of the Christian faith, we need to be aware of
its four steps or movements:
Step 1: Tell the gospel events: “Christ
has died; Christ is risen!” are gospel events that have changed the world.
We must tell people why and how Jesus died; we must joyfully declare that God
raised Jesus from the dead, and we need to explain why Jesus’ resurrection is
such good news for the world. To be sure, there are other events to be told.
“Christ will come again!” is part of the story that drives us today. But just
as Peter drove home the first step of the story of Jesus: that he died and rose
again, so we must learn to tell these gospel events.
Step 2: Tell the story of Jesus, connecting
the people with the people who have witnessed to the truthfulness of Jesus’
death and resurrection. For example, when you listen carefully to
Peter’s story, you will notice that he connects Jesus’ story with the witness
of the Prophets (as found in the O.T. scriptures); and Peter connects Jesus’
story with the eyewitness accounts of all the apostles.
The testimony of the prophets in the O.T. scriptures
and the testimony or writings of the Apostles in the N.T. letters and N.T. era
all underscore the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In telling the story
of Jesus, then, we connect the people with the testimony found in the
Scriptures. Why? Because these prophetic and apostolic writings and testimonies
underscore the truthfulness of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The testimony of
the prophets and the apostles alike a blanket that wrap up and witness to the
good news of Jesus.
Step 3: When you tell the story of Jesus be
sure to tell the promises of God that come to us with Jesus’ death and resurrection.
(John
Stott says) “The
gospel is good news not only of what Jesus did (he died for our sins and was
raised according to the Scriptures) but also of what he offers as a result.
Jesus promises to those who respond to him both the forgiveness of sins (to
wipe out the past) and the gift of the Holy Spirit (to make us new people).”
The promise of forgiveness and the promise of the
Holy Spirit are at the core of our salvation. And they come to us as visible
signs and seals in the sacrament of baptism. Be sure to tell the gospel
promises when you share the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Step 4: Tell people the conditions that come to us when we hear and respond to the gospel story. The story of Jesus demands from us a U-turn. Repentance—turning away from a life of sin and selfishness to living a life of love, obedience and service---is not an option, but a condition or requirement of the gospel. Our own baptism reminds us every day that “we have died to the old life of sin, and therefore, having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, we now commit ourselves to living a new life.
That new life is lived out in the
world, yes, but our identity is not with the world, but with the new community,
the church. The story of Jesus calls us to be part of the body of Christ.
That’s not an option for Christians. To be living members of Christ’s body, the
church is a requirement or condition, a call that comes to all who hear the
good news.
Telling the gospel story, then,
involves 4 movements or steps: (1) Tell the gospel events (Christ’s death and
resurrection). (2) Point to the accounts of those who witness to Jesus’ death
and resurrection (the witness of the prophets and the apostles). (3) Be sure to
share the promises of God: his forgiveness and his Holy Spirit abiding with us
today. (4) Tell the conditions in response to the gospel: repent and live out
your faith in the world by joining the community of faith.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, what I would say to Breanna and
Natalie (and to all of us today) is this:
Learn the story.
Live the story (by living a life of
repentance, and by producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit given to you)
Identify or connect with the church.
For the church finds its life in the story of Jesus Christ.