The Restoration of New Testament Order

Acts 4 (2) By Ron Thomas     The message preached was Jesus and His resurrection. The world in which the first-century saints lived was just as vile, just as wicked as our own (Romans 1 giving evidence of this). What did the preachers of the first century preach? Jesus and Him crucified. They preached the remission of sins if one obeyed from the heart the teaching of God that redeems. As you go through Acts, take notice of what is preached and what is not.     There are a few points to emphasize in this article. First, Peter laid at the feet of those who killed the Lord Jesus was the Jews. Rome played a role in this also, but it was the Jewish community who turned Jesus over to them. It is frequently said that we (humanity) killed Jesus. What Peter taught, however, was not quite the same. He stated it plainly, “...whom you crucified....” The “whom” are those of the Jewish community. This gets to the point that the message needs to be taught, not sugar-coated. Did we not all kill the Lord? Be careful about what you say. Our sins took Jesus to the cross (that is for sure) but not even one of us had a direct hand in killing Him. “Are you not splitting hairs?” I am not. If one kills, he takes. Jesus gave.     Second, there is no other name under heaven whereby man can be saved. Salvation is found/located only in one name (4:20; cf. John 14:6). The gravity of this cannot be over-emphasized. This means there is salvation to be found/located in nothing else that Jesus and Him crucified. Thus, there is no man-made religious institution that has been created that will benefit one in a spiritual way before the Lord.     Let me add a non-related note to this: Have you ever heard it said by some in a congregation “We need a preacher?” and by that they mean one who is professionally trained or is otherwise considered and recognized to be one. Peter and the apostles were not professionally trained by the accepted means in Jesus’s day, but those who walked with Jesus, others could tell. Preachers (formally trained or not) need to “walks with Jesus,” for without that how can Jesus and Him crucified be taught accurately to others?     Third, one can only say what they know. “I don’t know enough to teach others!” many have said. Do you know what you did to become a Christian? Do you know why you did this? Does it have any meaning/significance to you? If you answered “yes” to any of this, you know enough to tell others about Jesus.

- Ron Thomas preaches for the Church of Christ at Rio Grande in Bidwell, OH. He may be contacted at etsop95@gmail.com. Visit the congregation’s website at: https://www.churchofchristatriogrande.com