Belief in Jesus as Lord
Part 1 - The Gospel in Acts
Part 2 - The Gospel in Romans
The Gospel in Acts - Acts 16:30-31
Does the Gospel in Acts Include Belief in Jesus as Lord?
What is the gospel? Is it necessary for potential converts to be told that Jesus is Lord? Is it necessary to believe this truth in order to be saved? Does the gospel of Jesus Christ include belief that Jesus is Lord? By examining the gospel of the apostles as recorded in the Book of Acts, the following question can be answered: "Does the faith through which a person is saved include the truth that Jesus is Lord?"
The Book of Acts describes the early years of the church after the ascension of Jesus Christ. By including transcripts of some messages given by the apostles, it provides a clear record of the gospel preached by them. As the following text shows, according to Acts one essential and necessary part of the apostolic gospel is the truth that Jesus is Lord. The apostles told people they must believe this truth.
In the first sermon after Jesus' ascension, Peter declared that Jesus is Lord ("Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:36). This was an evangelistic sermon - a sermon to unbelievers. Since Peter's message included proclamation that Jesus is Lord, each and every person who received the message of Peter as true, believed that Jesus is Lord. As recorded in Acts 2:37-41, upon believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, the believers who were saved sought to obey their new Lord ("And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Acts 2:42).
Peter's proclamation at Pentecost that Jesus is Lord was not an isolated occurrence. Rather, this truth was a basic aspect of the message preached by the apostles; the apostle's presentation of Jesus included his identity as Lord. This is evident in Acts 4:33: "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all" and in Acts 15:11, which says salvation is through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter testified in Jerusalem that he and others had "believed on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 11:17). Indeed, Barnabas, Paul, and others are described as being men who "hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:26). In harmony with belief in Jesus as Lord being an essential part the gospel, the gospel is called "the word of the Lord" (Acts 15:35-36; 16:32) and "the word of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:10).
In another instance, Ananias identified the person who had appeared to Saul as being Jesus, the Lord (Atos 9:17). He told Saul to "... arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). (Compare with Acts 22:8-10.) Thus, when Saul was saved, he believed that Jesus is Lord. Saul's subsequent preaching is summarized in Acts 9:27-28 as speaking "boldly in the name of the Lord." Paul's ministry in Ephesus resulted in "the name of the Lord Jesus" being magnified and people believing in Him (Acts 19:17-18). Because they believed in Him who was magnified, it necessarily follows that they believed in the Lord Jesus. Later, Paul summarizes the gospel that he had preached during his missions as being "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). This concurs with his ministry while in prison in Rome, which is described as "preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ ..." (Acts 28:31).
Those who believed and were converted as a result of Peter's ministry in Lydda and Saron, along with converts in Antioch, are described as having "turned to the Lord" (Acts 9:35; 11:21). When speaking to Cornelius and his group, Peter summarized the gospel as being peace through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all (Acts 10:36). Those who believed were "baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:48). (See Acts 19:5 where believers were also "baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.").
This fact that converts believed in Jesus as Lord is again confirmed in Acts 14:23, which states that those who became disciples through the preaching of Paul and Barnabas in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch had believed on the Lord. This kind of faith - faith in Jesus as Lord - is the same that Crispus and believers in Corinthians are said to have: "And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized." (Acts 18:8).
Did the gospel proclaimed by the apostles include belief in Jesus as Lord? This is answered directly in Acts 16:30-31: "... Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." It can be deduced from this passage that salvation is through faith, and this faith must include belief in Jesus as Lord.
Summary
As shown in this article, the apostolic gospel as presented in the book of Acts, was based on Jesus being Lord. The apostles preached in the name of the Lord and told people to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Converts believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and were baptized in the name of the Lord. Therefore, the apostolic gospel as presented in the Book of Acts includes Jesus as Lord.
In contrast, a gospel without Jesus as Lord is not the same gospel that was proclaimed by the apostles. Thus, it is an incorrect and incomplete gospel, i.e., it is a false gospel.
Conclusion
We need to make sure the gospel we are presenting is the true gospel, the same as that proclaimed by the apostles. Let us pray we correctly present the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and urge others to believe in Him.
Scripture quotations taken from the KJV.
L.D. Hammons © 2004 This article may be freely copied and distributed without charge if it is copied in its entirety (without editing) along with this notice - including the author's name and copyright notice.
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