I remember some years back during questioning for jury service that all of the prospective jurors were asked if a child were hit by a car while on a bike would any of the prospective jurors ever believe that it wasn’t the driver’s fault. There were some in the group that were dismissed because they responded that they could never accept that a driver would be innocent in such a situation.
This week Bob brings us to the heart of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost—one to which 3,000 responded and believed. Yet on that day there were others who didn’t and the number of those others we can only guess at but can easily imagine to be far greater than those who did hear. They all had either seen Christ and known the signs, wonders, and miracles he performed to be true or they had personal testimony from others who had. They had all been presented with the word of God which shows these events to be the fully accomplished premeditated work of God as declared for all to see and hear.
The facts of the case were beyond refuting, as stated in Acts 2:36. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Yet still some did not respond.
Later, after Paul had responded to these truths, we find him making this same declaration. 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
The facts stand undisturbed and true today. The difference is that those who were there are no longer here. Yet, we have the centuries of unrefuted testimony standing in Christ’s defense, and many who have gone before us have tried the facts and found them fully substantiated. But still some do not respond.
The Spirit of God opened hearts and minds then, and the same Spirit does so today. It is this same Spirit who made it so that we could grasp, know, and respond to the truths of Christ and His salvation that also guides and directs our growth and our service as followers. Jesus Christ is both—He is both our Savior and our Lord. It is Him who brought salvation to us and it is Him who we are called to daily serve. How are we going to respond?
Joe Burgess
V. ReDi Group question:
1. To what degree to you feel confident that you will spend eternity in heaven with Christ? Upon what assurance?
2. Point to one area either in your life or your spouse’s life where you have witnessed the resurrection power of Christ’s transforming work.
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