Acts 10:38-43: The Gospel, Defined

"So Peter opened his mouth and said: 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.'" Acts 10:34-35

Tim Keller has famously said that the Gospel is not just the "ABC's" of the Christian life, but the "A to Z" of the Christian life. Oftentimes, we think that the Gospel is just the "shallow end" of the pool and that to mature as a Christian is to "grow up" out of the Gospel to "bigger and better" things. However, let me encourage you, dear friend, that you will never outgrow the Gospel. Though the Gospel's truths are simple enough for a child to understand, they are infinite enough for the wisest scholar to marvel about.

Thus, my aim for today's devotional is two-fold. Firstly, I would like to give you, dear reader, a way in which you can easily present the Gospel to your friends and family based on how Peter did it in Acts 10:38-43. Honestly, I don't think there's one "golden" way to present the Gospel, as long as you touch on all of the necessary points. Nevertheless, if we are going to preach the Gospel, why not do it in a way that the Bible prescribes? Secondly, I want to encourage you all this morning with the Gospel. As I alluded to above, the Gospel is in fact the doorway to salvation, but it's also the hallway we walk through as we grow in salvation. Even in heaven, we will never be able to "get over" the Gospel, and thus I'd love for its truth to wash afresh on you this morning, that you might be encouraged.

In Acts 10, we see the first formal Gospel presentation to the Gentiles in the New Testament. This marks a change in salvific history. Whereas God's chosen people under the Old Covenant were primarily Jews (though we do see some Gentiles being saved in the Old Testament), we find in Acts 10 that under the New Covenant, God saves all men without distinction (Acts 10:34-35, quoted above), This is certainly a great hope to us, as Gentiles.

But how does Peter, our main character for the day, present the Gospel to the Gentiles? Well, it's rather straightforward, to be honest, and you can go and read it for yourself in Acts 10:38-43. But in summary, we can say this:

In the past, Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died an atoning death, and rose again. In the future, Jesus will judge the living and the dead. And in the present, Jesus saves those who call upon his name.

Now, if you copy that on your iPhone clipboard, send it to your friends and family, and think you've done your "Christian duty" for the day, you're wrong. The statement above is, in fact, the Gospel, but it needs to be unpacked. See it as a summary statement or outline.

So let's unpack this. First, we find from the statement that the Gospel is all about Jesus, who is the exact imprint of God the Father's nature (Heb. 1:3). Note that the Gospel is not about what we did to save ourselves, but what God does to save us.

Second, we find from this statement that we can break the Gospel up into three, easy-to-follow statements, all following what Jesus has done in the past, the present, and the future. Firstly, we look at what Jesus did in the past. Jesus came to earth, taking on human flesh, otherwise known as the incarnation. He lived a sinless life, obeying every command, though tempted by every temptation (Heb. 4:15). Whereas we failed in every area (human depravity), Jesus succeeded in every area. Yet though he was sinless, he was crucified, and in so doing atoned for the sins of his children, dying once for all (Heb. 7:27, 9:12, 9:26, 10:10). Yet, Christ was raised from the dead by God the Father, proving that he has triumphed over both sin and death, and thus validating our faith (1 Cor. 15:17).

Second, we find what Jesus will do in the future. Peter literally says that Christ will "judge the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42). His point is that Christ will judge all men for their deeds. For men who have done good, they will inherit eternal life. Yet those who have done bad, God will throw into the literal, eternal hell (Rev. 12:13-15). Yet, the problem is this: all of us have done bad (Rom. 3:10-18, 23). Thus we all deserve the judgment of God, the wrath of God in hell forever. Yet through Christ, there is another way.

Third, we find perhaps the most glorious truth of all: what God does in the present. Answer: he saves. All who believe in Christ will receive forgiveness (that is, the pardoning or wiping away) from their sins, and Christ's righteousness will be counted to their account (imputation). Whereas the sinless Christ died on the cross for the sake of men, sinful men will inherit eternal life because of the cross of Christ. All who call upon the name of the Lord, repenting of their sin (Mark 1:15), will be saved. There is no distinction: God will save all who call upon him in faith (Acts 10:34-35).

This, my friends, is the Gospel. And though I have summarized it in a simple statement above, let me summarize it even further, in four words: Jesus in my place.* The Gospel is one of substitution. Jesus, who got an A on the test, took my 0%, and I got his A. Do I deserve it? Absolutely not--that's why it's called grace. Let this wash afresh over you this morning, and be motivated to share it with others. Amen!

*Credit where credit is due, I originally heard this Gospel summary from JD Greear.