Did the apostle Peter preach the gospel of salvation? Did he preach the prosperity gospel, the gospel of grace or the gospel of healing? In Acts 2 you can see a clear summary of his preaching, which matches what the apostle Paul, for instance, preaches.
Peter preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom: Jesus lived and performed many signs and wonders (v.22), died on the cross (v.23), he rose from the dead (v.24,32), was exalted to the right hand of God as King (v.33), he poured out his Spirit so we can have the Spirit of the Kingdom in us (v.33), and he will return on that great Day of the Lord (v.20). He concludes in verse 36 (ESV):
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ [christos = anointed, this means he is King], this Jesus whom you crucified.”
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ [christos = anointed, this means he is King], this Jesus whom you crucified” (v.36 ESV).
We often get the gospel message wrong and make it all about us, our healing, our salvation, our prosperity. But the true Gospel is about the King and his Kingdom. And yes, there are great benefits for us when we surrender to his reign, first and foremost our eternal salvation. But we have to respond in loyalty to the King! That’s why Peter answered the question from his hearers, “what shall we do?”, in this way (v.38 ESV):
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
“Repent” means that we turn from our old life to live a life in full allegiance who paid the price for us! This allegiance to King Jesus means we also have to “save ourselves” from the crooked generation we live in (v.40). We live in the world, but we’re not of the world. We don’t let the world’s ways determine our beliefs and actions.
Crown Jesus as the the true King of your life!
Shalom!
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