Christianity Considered 5

Experiencing the Gospel

So far in this series we have considered the facts of the gospel. That there was an individual named Jesus of Nazareth, that He was God walking this earth in human form—That He died on a cross at the hands of the Jews and the Romans—that He rose from the dead and returned to heaven in bodily form. Now we need to consider the experience of the gospel. We must look at those examples presented to us, of people whose lives were radically changed, when they placed their trust in what Jesus did when He lived, died and rose again.

It is Luke who provides us the most information in this respect, in the fifth book of the New Testament called, ‘The Acts of the Apostles’. The first seven chapters deal with events in Jerusalem after the ascension of Jesus. It details the birth of the Christian Church, with thousands converted and Peter at the heart of it all. It is right that the great sweeping movement of the Spirit of God should be recorded and we should be aware of the way the Church was born. But for our purpose we are more interested in how the gospel influenced individuals rather than large groups, and Luke, the consummate historian, includes in his record how the gospel changed the lives of individual men and women. For example, in chapters 8, 9 and 10 we have evidence of the effect of the gospel of Christ upon three men, an African statesman, a Jewish Rabbi and a Roman centurion.

The African Statesman.

Here is a man, evidently a person who had embraced the religion of the Jews, returning to Ethiopia where he held high office in government. He was in his chariot reading a scroll of Isaiah the prophet—that is, a portion of the sacred writings of the Jews. He had been up to Jerusalem to attend a festival, and bought the scroll while he was there. Philip, himself a new Christian, met with him and asked if he understood what he was reading. He was reading that part of the Isaiah prophecy that said, "In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can speak of His descendants? For His life was taken from the earth.” (Acts 8:33,34) The Ethiopian asked Philip, "who is the writer referring to?" Philip explained, Isaiah was speaking of the Messiah who was to come and die for the sins of the Jews and the sins of the Gentiles, for “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; … And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all”. (Isaiah 53:5,6)

The Ethiopian, already educated regarding the Jewish Messiah—it had been the main subject of conversation and speculation while he had been in Jerusalem — was able to understand the principle of the substitutionary nature of the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God and Redeemer of Israel. He asked if he could become a Christian, and be baptized. Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” (Acts 8.37) The African responded in the affirmative, and was baptised there and then.

Emphasised in this conversion are certain important ingredients.

1. At the heart of the encounter is the Scriptures—he was reading his Bible.

2. The message he heard from Philip was regarding the substitutionary death of the Messiah upon the cross.

He demonstrated he had grasped what was involved and embraced it by asking for baptism (a rite that demonstrates a new start).

The Jewish Rabbi.

Saul of Tarsus, Rabbi and special envoy of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, was given letters of authority to extradite and imprison any followers of Jesus who had fled to Damascus. He himself was to execute the extradition warrant. He was on this mission, and had almost reached Damascus when he had a traumatic experience. He was blinded by the glory of God, and heard a voice speaking to him out of heaven. It was Jesus Himself, asking “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He fell to the ground and acknowledged that Jesus was alive and the true Messiah of Israel. He became a follower of Christ from that day on.

Emphasised in Saul’s conversion are the following.

1. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself, robed in the glory of God.

2. That He was alive and the resurrection really did take place.

3. Saul also demonstrated his commitment by being baptised.

The Roman Centurion.

The third conversion is that of Cornelius, a soldier in the employ of Rome, who was a ‘God-fearer’. He already had some knowledge of the Jewish religion, and demonstrated his generous disposition by acts of kindness and gifts of money to the local synagogue. Peter was instructed to visit him and preach the gospel. Peter, initially reluctant to visit a non-Jew, finally acceded and began to explain to Cornelius and his household something of the person and work of Jesus, the Messiah. But before Peter could come to the end of his sermon the Spirit of God had fallen on the assembled company, a clear witness that they had been accepted for salvation. This Gentile household was the first among the non-Jewish population to embrace Christianity.

The main points to identify here are as follows:

1. The Spirit of God (everyone in the household was affected by His presence.

2. The ascension of Christ because the Spirit of God was only available as Cornelius and his household experienced it, after the return of Jesus to heaven.

And again, the decision of the household members was seen in the rite of baptism. (Acts 10.47)

In summarising these three important personal conversions, there are some things to remark on.

The Bible makes them representative. The group is made up of a Jewish proselyte, a Jew and a Gentile. They also represent the three main population streams that rose from the sons of Noah, i.e. Ham, Shem and Japheth. If they are representative, I would suggest that the main ingredients needed to bring a soul from darkness to light, from death to life must be included here. So let’s pull the central features of the three experiences together.

The main features of the three experiences

(1) The Scriptures (the Bible, the Word of God), which was the both the start and the heart of the conversion of the African statesman.

(2) The Person and Work of Christ.

(i) In the first narrative, Philip preached to the Ethiopian the truths concerning ‘Jesus’, especially explaining the crucifixion since he was reading from Isaiah 53, the prophecy of the suffering servant of Jehovah.

(ii) In the second, Saul asked, ‘who are you, Lord?’ and was told, ‘I am Jesus’. This put the resurrection of Christ at the heart of the conversion. He had encountered the risen Christ, even though previously he had been convinced that stories of the resurrection were a fabrication of the imagination of the disciples.

(iii) In the third, Peter speaks of the death and resurrection of Jesus to the household of Cornelius, but it is His ascension that is the background to the gift of the Holy Spirit which was enjoyed by the Roman centurion and his family in the third of the three examples. (See Acts 2.33)

(3) The Spirit of God is active in all conversions, and is especially highlighted in the third of the above examples.

It could be that these are the essential elements in any true conversion.

In respect of the Word of God, Paul wrote, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”. (Rom.10.17). It is the Bible that provides the information that enables an intelligent response to the gospel.

In respect of the person and work of the Lord. Jesus, Son of God, died, was buried, rose again and returned to heaven so that those who personally accept His substitutionary death might also have eternal life and join Him in heaven.

In respect of the work of the Spirit of God. Jesus said, “Except a man be born of … the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”. (John 3.5) It is the Spirit of God that enables a spiritual response to the appeal of the gospel.

In the next blog we will look at one or two more examples of people that embraced the gospel and had their lives changed for the better.