The Revealer of Hearts

Nearly all of us will pass through life unheralded. Our sojourn, while important to those with whom we have shared life, will likely not make it into the pages of history books. But there are those few who come into the world who go on to play a kind of super-human role in the destiny of their fellow human beings. And among such people there are those whose influence is so significant that they define categories by which we judge not only them but those who agree or disagree with them.  For instance, if Martin Luther King, Jr., is mentioned in a discussion one would likely discover what people think about him and, in turn, a lot about those involved in the discussion. The same could be said about Marx, Hitler, or Mandela. Such people become a benchmark, for good or evil, and their existence demands an opinion. As such, these oversized people have the power to reveal hearts.

To whatever extent this might be said of any particular person, it takes on eternal significance when it comes to Jesus. Simeon prophesied (Luke 2:25) that Jesus “was appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed” so that “thoughts from many hearts maybe revealed”. This is clearly demonstrated in an encounter at the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50). Jesus had been invited to dine and from the moment he arrived and took his place at the table a woman, described as “a sinner” (a prostitute?), wiped, kissed, and anointed his feet. This extraordinary display of love and gratitude for Jesus laid bare, as Simeon had prophesied, the hard heart of Simon: “[W]hen the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.’”

Jesus is on a mission to save people. For those who receive him he gives “the right to become children of God” (John 1:12), for those who reject him he becomes “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2:8). The sinful woman was grateful, the Pharisee, scornful. As a result they were an eternity apart in their understanding of what his presence meant. That staggering consequence is still in play when Jesus is made known to people today.

Pentecostal Preaching, Part 2

Peter stepped into the God-given moment. Through faith in Christ, he and John had healed a lame man who came daily to the temple to beg for alms. The incident caused a great stir and Peter preached to the gathered crowd. While the circumstance of the sermon was different than the first he had preached, the content reflected the same commitments: it was biblically driven, had Christ as its subject, was courageous in its pronouncements, and called for the people listening to be intellectually honest (see previous post). It was solid pentecostal preaching. There is an additional component to pentecostal preaching, however, that shows up in these seminal sermons: the call for repentance.

What is repentance? In the words of one commentator, it’s a “spiritual about face.” This definition is helpful. Peter is bold to point out to his listeners that they had conspired and “denied the Holy and Righteous One . . . and killed the Author of life.” The first thing, therefore, that the crowd needed to repent of was their antipathy toward Jesus. No longer could they regard him as they had. The categories they had placed Jesus in that allowed them to dismiss him as a charlatan had to be renounced. His divine messiahship had been vindicated in the phenomena that were taking place and a “spiritual about face” was called for.

So, added to the characteristics of what constitutes pentecostal preaching is the call for repentance. But it’s important to note the order of repentance that Peter summons. The first thing that anyone needs to do is abandon their condemning conceptions of Christ. This is primary, for it’s only when a person in is union with the “Author of life” that calls for moral reformation make any sense. To repent of moral failures but not be brought into fellowship with Christ accomplishes no eternal good. A cleaned up pagan is in no better position before God than a thoroughly debauched one. What unbelievers need to do is “repent and be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of [their] sins.” 

Though it might seem self-evident, Christ needs to be kept front and center as we bear witness to him. It’s Jesus that people need to know. Once that is settled, calls to live in a manner that is pleasing to God can follow.

Pentecostal Preaching

Alas, no Triple Crown winner again this year. California Chrome wasn’t up to the Belmont’s mile and a half, coming in fourth. I haven’t seen the footage but I can imagine what it was like: the horses brought into their positions, a tense pause as they wait for the bell, it rings as the gates fly open, and off they go.

Pentecost is a little like that! All that was necessary for the salvation for sinners had been accomplished; Jesus’ disciples watched him ascend; they waited as he had instructed; and like the bell that rings at the Belmont, the Holy Sprit comes down upon the church and they are off and running with the gospel. Luke captures the moment as he recounts the first and, thus, paradigmatic sermon of the church age. It’s succinct and convicting, and offers, as James Boice suggests, “the principles that . . . must govern the informal witness of the people of God in other circumstances.”

When we take the time to study Peter’s sermon, Boice proposes that we will find it biblically coherent, centered on Christ, courageous, and “eminently reasonable.” It’s that last point that’s perhaps the most misunderstood. The apostle doesn't appeal to emotions. He doesn't rely on colored lights, persuasive music and smoke machines to bring people to conviction. To the contrary, he calls them to face the facts: consider that Jesus was attested to by God through his “works, wonders, and signs . . . as you yourselves know”; his resurrection is a reality to which “we are all witnesses”; and the phenomenon of the Holy Spirit, “that you yourselves are seeing and hearing,” is obviously the result of his having been “exalted at the right hand of God.” Peter concludes, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know [not feel] for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Ironically, Peter’s appeal to reason produced a strong emotional response, “. . . when they heard this they were cut to the heart.”

Endued with the Spirit’s power the church should pursue it’s own Belmont: true pentecostal preaching.  Who knows, by the grace of God, we might even be asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” We can then answer as did Peter, “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.”