Jesus was preached daily in the tabernacle

JESUS WAS PREACHED DAILY IN THE TABERNACLE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Acts 5:42 42Dayafter day, in the temple courts and
from house to house, they never stopped teaching and
proclaimingthe good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
The First Sermon In The Tabernacle
BY SPURGEON
“And daily in the temple and in every house, they ceasednot to teach
and preachJesus Christ.”
Acts 5:42
I DO not know whether there are any persons here present who can contrive
to put themselves into my present position and feelmy present feelings. If they
can effectthat, they will give me credit for meaning what I say when I declare
that I feeltotally unable to preach. And, indeed, I think I shall scarcely
attempt a sermon, but rather give a sort of declarationof the truths from
which future sermons shall be made. I will give you bullion rather than coin.
The brook from the quarry and not the statue from the chisel.
It appears that the one subject upon which men preached in the apostolic age
was Jesus Christ. The tendency of man, if left alone is continually to go
further and further from God and the Church of God itself is no exception to
the generalrule. For the first few years during and after the apostolic era,
Christ Jesus was preachedbut gradually the Church departed from the
central point and beganrather to preachceremonials and church offices
rather than the Personof their Lord. So has it been in these modern times–we
also have fallen into the same error, at leastto a degree–andhave gone from
preaching Christ to preaching doctrines about Christ, inferences which may
be drawn from His life, or definitions which may be gatheredfrom His
discourses.

We are not content to stand like angels in the Sun–our fancies disturb our rest
and must needs fly on the sunbeams–further and further from the glorious
source of light. In the days of Paul it was not difficult at once, in one word, to
give the sum and substance of the current theology. It was Christ Jesus. Had
you askedany one of those disciples what he believed, he would have replied,
“I believe Christ.” If you had requested him to show you his Body of Divinity,
he would have pointed upward reminding you that divinity never had but one
body, the suffering and crucified human frame of Jesus Christ who ascended
up on high.
To them Christ was not a notion refined, but unsubstantial–not an historical
personage who had left only the savor of his characterbehind but whose
person was dead. To them He was not a setof ideas, not a creed, nor an
incarnation of an abstracttheory–but He was a Person. One whom some of
them had seen, whose hands they had handled–no, One of whose fleshthey
had all been made to eatand of whose blood they had spiritually been made to
drink. Christ was Substance to them. I fear He is too often but shadow to us.
He was a reality to their minds. To us–though, perhaps, we would scarcely
allow it in so many words–rathera myth than a man–rather a person who
was, than He who was and is and is to come–the Almighty.
I would propose (and O may the Lord grant us grace to carry out that
proposition from which no Christian can dissent), I would propose that the
subject of the ministry of this house, as long as this platform shall stand and
as long as this house shall be frequented by worshippers, shall be the Person
of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist, although I
claim to be rather a Calvinist according to Calvin, than after the modern
debasedfashion. I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist. You have there
[pointing to the baptistery] substantial evidence that I am not ashamedof that
ordinance of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But if I am askedto saywhat is my creed I think I must reply–“It is Jesus
Christ.” My venerable predecessor, Dr. Gill, has left a body of divinity
admirable and excellent in its way. But the body of divinity to which I would
pin and bind myself forever, God helping me, is not his systemof divinity or
any other human treatise, but Christ Jesus, who is the Sum and Substance of
the Gospel. Who is in Himself all theology–the incarnationof every precious
Truth–the allglorious personalembodiment of the Way, the Truth and the
Life.
This afternoonI will try to describe the subject, Christ Jesus. Secondly, to
speak for a little while upon its comprehensiveness. Thento enlarge upon its
excellencies. And conclude by testing its power.

First, then, the SUBJECT.
They continued both to teachand preach Jesus Christ. To preach Jesus Christ
aright we must preach Him in His infinite and indisputable Godhead. We may
be attackedby philosophers who will either make Him no God at all, or one
constituted temporarily and, I must add, absurdly a God for a season. We
shall have at once upon us those who view Christ as a Prophet, as a great man,
as an admirable exemplar. We shall be assailedon all sides by those who
choose ratherto draw their divinity from their ownaddled brains than from
the simplicity of Holy Writ.
But what matters this? We must reiterate againand againthe absolute and
proper deity of Christ. Without this we are in the position of those described
by the Prophet—-their tacklings are loosed, they could not well strengthen
their mast and soonwill our enemies prevail againstus and the prey of a great
spoil shall be taken. Take awaythe divinity of Christ from the Gospeland you
have nothing whateverleft upon which the anxious soul canrest. Remove the
Word who was in the beginning with God and who was God and the Joachim
and Boazof the temple are overturned.
Without a Divine Savioryour Gospelis a rope of sand, a bubble. A something
less substantial than a dream. If Christ is not God, He is the basestof
impostors. He is either one of two things–very God of very God, or else an
archdeceiverof the souls of men–for He made many of them believe He was
God and brought upon Himself the consequencesofwhat they called
blasphemy. If He is not God, He is the greatestdeceiverthatever lived. But
God He is. And here, in this house, we must and will adore Him. With the
multitude of His redeemed we will sing–
“Jesus is worthy to receive,
Honor and power Divine.
And blessings more than we cangive
He is Lord forevermore.”
To preach Christ, however, we must also preachHis true humanity. We must
never make Him to be less man-like because He was perfectly Divine. I love
that hymn of Hart which begins–
“A Man there was–arealMan,
Who once on Calvary died.”
“Realman!” I think we do not often realize that manhood of Christ. We do
not see that He was bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh–feeling, thinking,
acting, suffering, doing just like ourselves–one ofour fellows and only above
us because He is “exaltedwith the oil of gladness above His fellows.” We must

have a human Christ and we must have one of realflesh and blood, too–notof
shadows orfilmy fancies. We must have one to whom we can talk, one with
whom we can walk, one–
“Who in His measure feels afresh
What every member bears,”
who is so intimately connectedwith us in ties of blood that He is as with us one
the head of the family, first-born among many Brethren.
I am never more glad than when I am preaching a personalChrist. A
doctrinal Christ, a practical Christ or an experimental Christ, as some good
men make Him to be according to the temper of their minds, I do not feel to
be sufficient for the people of God. We want a personalChrist. This has been
a powerto the Romish church–a powerwhich they have used for ill, but
always a power. They have had a personalChrist, but then it has either been a
baby Christ in His mother’s arms, or else a dead Christ upon the Cross.
They never reachedthe force of a real full-grown Christ, one who not only
lived and suffered, but who died and rose againand sits at the right hand of
God, the Head of the Church, the one ruler of men. Oh, we must bring out
more and more clearly eachday the real personality of the Redeemerin His
complex Person. Whateverwe fail to preach, we must preach Him. If we are
wrong in many points, if we are but right here, this will save our ministry
from the flames. But if we are wrong here, howeverorthodox we may pretend
to be, we cannotbe right in the restunless we think rightly of Him.
But, further–to preach Christ Jesus it is absolutelynecessarywe should
preach Him as the only mediator betweenGod and man. Admitting the
efficacyof the intercessionofliving saints for sinners, never for a moment
denying that every man is bound to make supplication for all ranks and
conditions of men–yet must we have it that the only Mediatorin the heavens
and the only direct intercessorwith God is the “man Christ Jesus.”No we
must not be content with making Him the only Mediator–we must setaside all
approachto God in any waywhatever, except by Him.
We must not only have Him for the priest, but we must bare Him for the
altar, the Victim and the Offerer, too. We must learn in full the meaning of
that precious text–“Christis all.” We must not see a part of the types here and
a part there but all gatheredup in Him, the one door of Heaven, the one
crimson way by which our souls approach to God. We must not allow that
approaches canbe made in human strength, by human learning, or by human
effort.

But in Him and through Him and by Him and in dependence upon Him must
all be done betweenGod and man. We have no wings, my Brethren, with
which to fly to Heaven. Our journey there must be on the rounds of Jacob’s
ladder. We cannotapproach God by anything we have, or know, or do. Christ
crucified and He alone must lift us up to God.
And more–we must preach Christ in the solitariness ofHis redemption work.
We must not permit for a moment the fair white linen of His righteousness to
be stained by the patchwork of our filthy rags. We must not submit that the
precious blood of His should be diluted by any offering of ours co-acting for
our salvation. He has, by one Sacrifice, foreverput awaysin. We shall never
preach Christ unless we have a real atonement. There are certain people
nowadays who are making the atonement first a sort of compromise and the
next step is to make the atonement a display of what ought to have been,
instead of the thing which should have been.
Then, next–there are some who make it to be a mere picture, an exhibition, a
shadow–a shadow the substance of which they have not seen. And the day will
come and there are sundry traces of it here and there, in which in some
churches the atonement shall be utterly denied and yet men shall call
themselves Christians, while they have broken themselves againstthe
cornerstone ofthe entire system. I have no kith nor kin nor friendship, nor
Christian amity with any man whatever who claims to be a Christian and yet
denies the atonement. There is a limit to the charity of Christians and there
can be none whateverentertained to the man who is dishonestenough to
occupy a Christian pulpit and to deny Christ.
It is only in the Christian Church that such a thing can be tolerated. I appeal
to you–was there everknown a Buddhist acknowledgedin the temple of
Buddha who denied the basis doctrine of the sect? Was there ever known a
Mohammedan Imam who was sanctionedin the mosque while he cried down
the Prophet? It remains for Christian churches only to have in their midst
men who canbear the name of Christian, who can even venture to be
Christian teachers, while they slander the Deity of Him who is the Christian’s
God and speak lightly of the efficacyof His blood who is the Christian’s
atonement.
May this deadly cancerbe cut out root and branch and whatevertearing of
the flesh there may be, better cut it out with a jaggedknife than suffer to exist,
because no lance is to be found to do it daintily. We must have, then, Christ in
the efficacyof His precious blood as the only Redeemerof the souls of men
and as the only Mediator, who, without assistanceofours, has brought us to
God and made reconciliationthrough His blood.

Our ministry will scarcelybe complete unless we preach Christ as the only
Lawgiverand Rabbi of the Church. When you put it down as a canon of your
faith that the Church has right and powerto decree rites and ceremonies, you
have robbed Christ at once of His proper position as the only Teacherofthe
Church. Or when you claim the office of controlling other men’s consciences
by the decree of the Church, or the vote of a synod, apart from the authority
of Christ, you have takenaway from Christ that chair which He occupies in
the Christian Church as the Teacherin the greatChristian school, as the
Rabbi and the only Rabbi of our faith.
God forbid that we should hold a single Truth excepton His authority. Let not
our faith stand in the wisdom of man, but in the powerof God. You refer me
to the writings of Doctorthis and Doctorthe other–whatare these? The words
of Christ–these are Truth–and these are wisdom. You bring the authority
from the practice of a church three or four centuries removed from the
crucifixion as the proof of the existence ofa certain ceremonyand the
righteousness ofcertainecclesiasticaloffices.Whatis your proof worth?
If Christ has not speciallyordained it and if He has not commanded His
people to obey it, of what value is any rite whatever? We acknowledge Christ
is ordaining all things for His Church and presenting that Church with a
finished code of law from which any deviation is a sin and to which any
addition is a high crime. Any Church officerwho is not ordained of Christ
occupies anoffice which he ought to resign. Any person who practices a
ceremonyfor which he has not Scriptural authority should renounce it and
any man who preaches a doctrine for which he has not Christ as his Certifier,
should not demand for it the faith of men.
But I fearthere are times coming when the minister will not be true to his
duty unless he goes further and preaches Christ as the sole King of the
Church. There has been a dispositionon the part of the State, especiallywith
regard to the Free Church of Scotland, to exercise powerand judgment over
Church decrees. No king, no queen that ever lived, or can live, has any
authority whatever over the Church of Christ. The Church has none to
govern and rule over her but her Lord and her King. The Church can suffer,
but she cannot yield. You may break her confessorsalive upon the wheel, but
she, in her uprightness, will neither bend nor bow. From the sentence ofour
Church there is no appealwhateveron earth.
To the court of Heaven a man may appeal if the sentence of the Church is
wrong, but to Caesarnever. Neitherthe best nor the worstof kings or queens
may ever dare to put their finger upon the prerogative of Christ as the head of
the Church. Up, Church of God! If once there are any laws of man passedto

govern you, up–dash them in pieces!Let us eachcatchup the war cry and
uplift the lion standard of the tribe of Judah. Let us challenge the kings of the
earth and say, “Who shall rouse Him up?” The Church is queen above all
queens and Christ her only King. None have jurisdiction or powerin the
Church of Christ save Jesus ChristHimself.
If any of our acts violate the civil laws, we are men and citizens and we
acknowledge the right of a State to governus as individuals. None of us wish
to be less subjects ofthe realm because we are kings and priests unto God. But
as members of Christian churches we maintain that the excommunicationof a
Christian Church can never be reversedby the civil power, or by any State
act, nor are its censures to be examined, much less to be removed, mitigated,
or even judged.
We must have, as Christ’s Church, a full recognitionof His imperial rights
and the day will come when the State will not only tolerate us as a mere
society, but admit that as we profess to be the church of Christ, we have a
right by that very fact to be self-governing and never to be interfered with in
any sense whatever, so far as our ecclesiasticalaffairs are concerned.
Christ must be preachedand exalted in all these respects orelse we have not
preacheda full Christ. But I go one step further. We have not yet mounted to
the full height of our ministry unless we learn to preach Christ as the King of
kings. He has an absolute right to the entire dominion of this world. The
Christian minister, as ordained of God to preach, has a perfect right in God’s
name to preach upon any subject touching the Lord’s kingdom and to rebuke
and exhort even the greatestofmen.
Sometimes I have heard it said, when we have canvassedthe acts of an
emperor or senator, “These are politics.” But Christ is King of politics as well
as theology. “Oh, but”– they say–“whathave you to do with what the State
does?” Why, just this–Christ is the Head of all States and while the State has
no authority over the Church, yet Christ Himself is King of kings and Lord of
lords. Oh, that the Church would put her diadem upon her head and take her
right position! We are not slaves. The Church of God is not a groveling
corporationbound foreverto sit upon a dunghill–never queen was so fair as
she and never robe so rich as the purple which she wears.
Arise, O Church! Arise–the earth is yours, claim it. Send out your missionary,
not as a petitioner to creepat the feetof princes, but as an ambassadorfor
God to make peace betweenGod and man. Send him out to claim the
possessionwhichbelongs to you and which God has given to you to be yours

forever and everby a right which kings may dispute, but which one day
everyone of them shall acknowledge.
The fact is we must bring Christ Himself back into camp once more. It is of
little use having our true Jerusalemswords and the shields and the banners
and the trumpets and the drums–we want the King Himself in the midst of us.
More and more of a personal Christ is the greatlack of the time. I would not
wish for less doctrine, less experience, orless practice–butmore of all this put
into Christ and Christ preachedas the sum and substance of it all.
II. But, secondly, I am now to speak, fora short time, upon the
COMPREHENSIVENESS OF THE SUBJECT whichthe text announces.
It is an old and trite saying that the ministers of the Gospelmay be divided
into three kinds–the doctrinal, the experimental and the practical. The saying
is so often repeatedthat very few would contradictit. But it betrays at once, if
it is true, the absence and lack of a something essentiallyunnecessary for the
church’s success. Where is the preacherof Christ without all of these?
I propound this, that if a man be found a preacherof Christ, he is doctrinal,
experimental and practical. The doctrinal preachergenerally has a limited
range. He is useful, exceedinglyuseful. God constitutes him a barrier against
the innovations of the times–he preaches upon his subjects so frequently that
he is well versed in them and becomes one of the armed men about the bed of
Solomon. But suppose the doctrinal preacher should have it all his own way
and there should be none others at all–whatwould be the effect?
See it in our Baptistchurches about one hundred and fifty years ago. They
were all sound and sound asleep. Those doctrines had preachedthem into a
lethargy and had it not been for some few who startedup and proposed the
missions for the heathen and who found but little sympathy at first, the
Church would have been utterly inactive. Now, I would not be hard with any,
but there are some Brethren still whose preaching might justly be summed up
as being doctrinal, nothing more than doctrinal and what is the effect of their
ministry? Bitterness.
They learn to contendnot only earnestlyfor the faith, but savagelyforit.
Certainly we admire their earnestnessandwe thank God for their soundness.
But we wish there were mingled with their doctrine a somewhatelse which
might tone down their severityand make them seek ratherthe unity and
fellowship of the saints than the division and discord which they labor to
create.
Again–I will refer you to the next class ofpreachers, the experimental. How
delightful it is to sit under an experimental preacher! Perhaps of all ministries

this one is the most useful. He who preaches the doubts, the fears, the joys, the
ecstasiesofthe people of God. How often do the saints see the footsteps ofthe
flock and then they find the shepherd under an experimental minister! But do
you know the effectof an experimental minister, purely so, I mean–whenall
else is put aside to make room for experience?
There is one schoolof divines always preaching the corruption of the human
heart. This is their style–“Exceptyou be flayed alive by the Law; except you
are daily feeling the utter rottenness of your heart. Exceptyou are a stranger
to full assurance anddo always doubt and fear. Exceptyou abide on the
dunghill and do scrape yourself with a potsherd, you are no child of God.”
Who told you that? This has been the preaching of some experimental
preachers and the effecthas been just this–men have come to think the
deformities of God’s people to be their beauty. They are like certain courtiers
of the reign of Richard III, who is said by history to have had a hump upon
his back and his admirers stuffed their backs that they might have a graceful
hump, too. And there are many who, because a minister preaches doubts and
fears, feelthey must doubt and fear, too, and then that which is both
uncomfortable to themselves and dishonoring to God comes to be the very
mark of God’s people.
This is the tendency of experimental preaching, howeverjudiciously managed,
when ministers harp on that string and on that alone. The tendency is either
to preach the people into a soft and savory state, in which there is not a bit of
manliness or might–or else into that dead and rotten state in which corruption
outswells communion and the savoris not the perfume of the king’s
ointments, but the stench of a corrupt and filthy heart.
Take also the practicalpreacher. Who would say a word againstthis good
man? He stirs the people up, excites the children of God to holy duties,
promotes every excellentobjectand is in his way an admirable supplement to
the two other kinds of ministers. But sit under the practicalpreacher–sit
under him all the year round and listen to his people as they come out. There
is one who says, “the same thing over again–Do, do, do, nothing but do.”
There is a poor sinner yonder just gone down the front steps. Follow him.
“Oh,” says he, “I came here to find out what Christ could do for me and I
have only been told what I must do for myself.” Now this is a greatevil and
persons who sit under such a ministry become lean, starving things. I would
that practicalpreachers would listen to our farmers who always sayit is
better to put the whip in the manger than upon the horse’s back. Let them
feed the people with food convenient for them and they will be practical

enough but all practice and no promise, all exhortation and no sound doctrine
will never make the man of God perfect and zealous for goodworks.
But what am I driving at in bringing up these three sorts of ministers? Why,
just this–to show you that there is one minister who can preachall this–
without the dangers of any one of the others but with the excellencies ofthe
whole. And who is he? Why, any man in the world who preaches Christ. If he
preaches Christ’s Personhe must preach doctrine. If I preachChrist I must
preach Him as the Covenant Head of His people and how far am I then from
the doctrine of election?
If I preach Christ I must preach the efficacyof His blood and how far am I
removed then from the greatdoctrine of an effectualatonement? If I preach
Christ I must preachthe love of His heart and how can I deny the final
perseverance ofthe saints? If I preach the Lord Jesus as the great Head and
King, how far am I removed from Divine Sovereignty? Must I not, if I preach
Christ personally, preach His doctrines? I believe they are nothing but the
natural outgrowthof that greatroot thought, or root substance rather, the
Personof the Lord Jesus Christ. He who will preach Christ fully will never be
lax in doctrine.
And what better experience can you preachthan in preaching Christ? Would
you preachthe sufferings of the saints–preachHis agonyand bloody sweat,
His Cross and passion. Forthe true sufferings of the saints are in fellowship
with Him. If you would preach their joys–preachHis resurrection, His
ascensionand His advent. You are never far from the joys of the saints when
you are near to the joys of Christ. For did not He say, “My joy shall be in
them that their joy may be full”?
And what better practice can be preached than preaching Christ? Of every
virtue He is the Pattern. Of the perfection of human character, He is the very
mirror of everything that is holy and of good report. He is the abiding
incarnation. He cannot fail, then, to be a gooddoctrinal, experimental,
practicalpreacherwho preaches Christ. Did you ever know a congregation
grow less spiritual by a minister preaching Christ? Did you ever know them
get full of doubts and fears by preaching Christ? Did you ever hear of their
getting lax in sentiment by his preaching Christ? Did you ever hear a whisper
that men became unholy in their lives because they heard too much about
Christ?
I think that all the excellence ofall ministers may be gatheredup into the
teaching of the man who preaches Christevery day in the week. And there
will not be any of the evil connectedwith the other forms of preaching.

III. I shall now pass on to notice some of the surpassing excellenciesofthe
subject.
First, he will always have a blessedvariety in his preaching. In Australia I
have heard that the only change for the backwoodsmenis to have one day
damper, tea and bread–the next day, bread, damper and tea. And the next
day, tea, bread and damper. The only variety some ministers give, is one
Sunday to have depravity, electionand perseverance andthe next Sunday,
election, perseveranceand depravity. There are many strings to the harp of
the Gospel. There are some Brethren who are so rightly charmed with five of
the strings, which certainly have very rich music in them, that they never
meddle with any of the other strings. Cobwebs hang on the rest, while these
five are pretty well worn out.
It is always pretty much the same thing from the first of January to the last of
December. Theirorgan has very few keys and upon these they may make a
very blessedvariety, but I think not a very extensive one. Any man who
preaches Christ will ensure variety in his preaching. He has all manner of
precious perfume, myrrh and aloes and cassia.He has all sorts of music, he
has everything that is sweetto the ear–he has all manner of fruits.
This Tree of Life bears twelve manner of fruits. He is all manner of raiment.
He is goldenraiment for beauty. He is the warm raiment for comfort. He is
the stout raiment for harness in the day of battle. There are all things in
Christ and he that has Christ will have as greata variety as there is to be
found in the sceneryof the world where are no two brooks alike and no two
rivers wind in preciselythe same manner and no two trees grow in precisely
the same form.
Any other subject you may preach upon till your hearers feelsatisfied–but
with Christ for a subject, you may go on and on and on, till the sermon swells
into the eternal song and you begin to sing, “Unto Him that loved us and
washedus from our sins in His ownblood.”
There is yet another excellence aboutthis subject, namely, that it suits all sorts
of people. Are there rebels present? PreachChrist. It will suit them. Are there
pardoned sinners present? What is better to melt their hearts than the blood
of the Lord Jesus? Are there doubting Christians? What can cheerthem
better than the name of Christ? Are there strong believers? Whatis stronger
meat than Jesus crucified? Are there learned, polite, intellectual hearers? If
they are not satisfiedwith Christ, they ought to be. Are there poor, ignorant,
unlettered men? Jesus Christ is just the thing to preach to them–a naked
Christ to their simple ears.

Jesus Christ is a topic that will keepin all climates. Land in New Zealand in
the midst of uncivilized men. Move off to another post and stand in the midst
of poeticalPersia or fickle France–the Cross is adaptedto all. We need not
inquire into the doctrinal opinion of our hearers. If they are high, I am sure
Christ will suit them. If they are low, if they are true believers, I am sure
Christ Jesus willsuit. No Christians will rejectsuch meat as this. Only
prepare it and with a hot heart and serve it up on the table and they will be
satisfiedand feed to the full so that there is adaptation as wellas variety in
this subject.
IV. But more than this, I must add and this will bring me to my last point, for
my time flies–there is a power about this subject when it is preachedwith the
demonstration of the Spirit, which is not found in any other. My Brethren,
what power there is in this subject to promote the union of the people of God!
There is a man there, he is almosta Puseyite. “I do not like him,” says one.
Stop till I tell you something more about him and you will. There is another
man there, a Presbyterian–true blue. He cannotbear Independence, or
anything but Presbytery–a covenantman. “Well,” says one, “I like him a little
better. But I do not suppose we shall get on very well.”
Stop! I will tell you some more about him. There is another man down there.
He is a very strong Calvinist. “Humph,” says one, “I shall not admire him.”
Stop, stop! Now, here are these three men. Let us hear what they sayof each
other. If they know nothing of eachother except what I have stated, the first
time they meet there will be a magnificent quarrel. There is yonder
clergyman–he will have little fraternity whateverwith the ultra-Evangelical,
while the Presbyterianwill rejectthem both, for he abhors black prelacy. But,
my dear Brethren, all three of you, we of this congregationwill approve of you
all and you will approve of one anotherwhen I have statedyour true
character.
That man yonder, whom I calledalmost a Puseyite, was GeorgeHerbert. How
he loved the doornails of the Church! I think he would scarce have had a
spider killed that had once crept acrossthe church aisles. He was a thorough
churchman, to the very center of the marrow of his bones but what a
Christian! What a lover of his sweetLord Jesus!You know that hymn of his
which I have so often quoted and mean to quote a hundred times more–“How
sweetlydoes my Master’s sound,” and so forth? I hear a knock at the door.
“Who is that?” “Why, it is a very strong churchman.” “Do not show him in. I
am at prayer. I cannot pray with him. "Oh, but it is George Herbert!” “Oh,
let him in, let him in! No man could I pray better with than Mr. Herbert.

Walk in, Mr. Herbert. We are right glad to see you. You are our dear
companion–your hymns have made us glad.”
But who was that secondman, the Presbyterian, who would not have liked
George Herbert at all? Why, that was Samuel Rutherford. What a seraphic
spirit! What splendid metaphors he uses about his sweetLord Jesus!He has
written all Solomon’s Song over without knowing it. He felt and proved it to
be Divine. The Spirit in him re-dictated the song. Well now, I think, we will
introduce Mr. Rutherford and Mr. Herbert togetherand I am persuaded
when they begin to speak abouttheir Masterthey will find eachother next of
kin. And I feel sure that, by this time, Samuel Rutherford and George Herbert
have found eachother out in Heaven and are sitting side by side.
Well, but then we mentioned another. Who was that high Calvinist? He was
the man who was called the Leviathan of Antinomians. That he was a
leviathan I will grant, but that he was an Antinomian is false. It was Dr.
Hawker. Now, I am sure George Herbertwould not have liked Dr. Hawker
and I am certain that Dr. Hawkerwould not have liked George Herbert and I
do not suppose that Samuel Rutherford would have had anything to do with
either of them. “No, no,” he would say, “your black prelacy I hate.” But look
at Hawker, there is a sweetspirit, he cannottake up his pen but he dips it in
Christ and begins to write about his Lord at once. “Precious Immanuel–
precious Jesus.” Thosewords in his morning and evening portions are
repeatedagainand againand again.
I recollecthearing of Mr. Rowland Hill, that he said to a young man who was
at tea with him one night when he was about to go–“Where are you going to?”
“Oh,” said he, “I am going to hear Dr. Hawker, at St. George’s inthe
Borough.” “Oh, go and hear him,” he said, “He is a right goodman, worth
hearing. But there is this difference betweenhim and me–my preaching is
something like a pudding, with here and there a plum. But Dr. Hawker’s is all
plum.” And that was very near the mark, because Dr. Hawkerwas all Christ.
He was constantly preaching of his Master. And even if he gave an invitation
to a sinner, it was generally put in this way–“Whatsayyou? Will you go with
this Man and be married and espousedunto Him? It was the preaching of a
personalChrist that made his ministry so full of marrow and fatness.
My dear Friends, let a man stand up and exalt Christ and we are all agreed. I
see before me this afternoon members of all Christian denominations–but if
Christ Jesus is not the topic that suits you, why then I think we may question
your Christianity. The more Christ is preached, the more will the Church
prove and exhibit and assertand maintain her unity. But the less Christ is

preachedand the more of Paul and Apollos and Cephas, the more of strife
and division and the less of true Christian fellowship.
We will only mention the powerof the preaching of Christ upon the heart of
sinners. There is a person, now a member of my church, whose conversion
was owing to the reading of that hymn–
“Jesus, loverof my soul.”
“Ah,” said he, “does Jesus love my soul? Then how vile I have been to neglect
Him.”
There are scores whoseconversationis distinctly and directly traceable, not to
doctrine–thoughthat is often useful–norexperience, nor practice, though
these are fruitful, but to the preaching of Christ. I think you will find the most
fertile sermons have always been the most Christly sermons. This is a seed
which seldom rots under the clod. One may fall upon the stony ground, but it
more often happens that the seedbreaks the stone when it falls and as Christ
is a root out of a dry ground, so this finds root for itself evenin dry, hard,
stony hearts. We ought to preachthe Law, we ought to thunder out the
threats of God, but they must never be the main topic. Christ, Christ, Christ,
if we would have men converted.
Do you want to convince yonder careless one? Tellhim the story of the Cross.
Under Godit will arrest his attention and awakenhis thoughts. Would you
subdue the carnal affections ofyonder profligate? Preachthe love of Christ
and that new love shall uproot the old. Would you bind up yonder broken
heart? Bring forth Christ, for in Him there is a cordial for every fear. Christ
is preachedand we do rejoice, yes, and will rejoice, “forHe is the power of
God unto salvationunto everyone that believes.”
Judge not, my dear Brethren, any man’s ministry. The world has too often
condemned the man whom God intended to honor. Say not of another, “He
can do no good, for his language is rough and rude.” Say not of another that
his style is too often marred with flippancy. Say not of a third that he is too
erudite or soars too high. Every man in his own order. If that man preaches
Christ, whether he is Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, we wish him God speed. For
God will bless the Christ he preaches and forgive the error which mingled
with his ministry.
I must even frankly admit the Truth of many a criticism that has been uttered
on my ministry. But I know it has been successfuland under God it has been
because I have soughtto preachChrist. I say that without boasting or egotism.
If I had not done so I had no right to be a minister of Christ at all and as I
claim to be God’s minister, I will and must declare it–whateverI have not

preached, I have preachedChrist and into whatever mistakes I have fallen, I
have sought to point to His Cross and say, “Beholdthe way to God.”
And if you see others preaching Christ, be not their foe. Pray for them, bear
them in your arms before God, their errors may yet be outgrown, if they
preach Christ. But if not, I care not what their excellencymay be, the
excellencyshall die and expire like sparks that go out in darkness. Theyhave
not the fuel of the flame, for they have not Christ Jesus as the substance of
their ministry.
May I entreat, in closing, your earnestprayer, eachone of you, that in this
house as wellas in all the places of worship round about, Christ may
evermore be preached. And I may add my own sincere desire that this place
may become a hissing and the abode of dragons and this pulpit be burned
with fire if ever any other Gospelbe preached here than that which we have
receivedof the holy Apostles of God–ofwhich Jesus Christ Himself is the chief
cornerstone. Letme have your incessantprayers. May God speedevery
minister of Christ. But where there is so large a field of labor may I claim
your earnestand constantintercessions, thatwhere Christ is lifted up, men
may be drawn to hear and afterwards drawn to believe, that they may find
Christ the Savior of our soul.
“He that believes and is baptized, shall be saved. He that believes not shall be
damned.” “Repentand be converted, every one of you,” said Peter. Yet again
said Paul to the jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be savedand
your house.” Godgive us grace to believe and unto Him be glory foreverand
ever. Amen.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The True Witnessing Spirit
Acts 5:41, 42
R.A. Redford
And they departed, etc.
I. THE NAME OF CHRIST the source of it. No such spirit in the world.
Heroism may sustain strength, but does not give joy, unless it is like the

apostles'. Had not the Name been Divine, how could it have produced such
fruits in such men?
II. THE TEACHING AND PREACHING, both in the temple and at home,
must be in the martyr spirit. We must expectto suffer some dishonor. But
such a spirit invincible and victorious.
III. THE HONOUR OF THE CHURCH over againstthe honor of the world.
"Counted worthy." God's reckoning. Spiritual worthies. The joy was not only
a secretjoy, it was the foretaste ofheaven. Enforce the example. - R.
Biblical Illustrator
And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceasednotto teachand
preach Jesus Christ.
Acts 5:42
Daily apostolic labours
R. Tuck, B. A.
This is a suggestive picture of the life and work of the early Church. We like
to trace enterprises to their beginnings, rivers to their springs. These were
times of holy zeal and fervour which may be accountedfor by four
considerations.
1. The apostles felt the impulse of a new undertaking.
2. They held fresh in memory their intercourse with their Lord.
3. They had the inward energy of the Holy Spirit.

4. They were inspired by the truths they preached. The text is one of the best
exhibitions of this energy, and suggeststo us —
I. OUR WORK. "Teaching and preaching Jesus Christ." That may seemto be
the specific work of apostles andministers, but in truth it is the work of every
Christian. Moses wishedthat "all the Lord's people were prophets";Jesus
said, "Go home to thy friends and tell them how greatthings the Lord hath
done for thee."
1. The subject.(1) Jesus, regardedas the objectof love — in the infinite grace
of His character, and in the persuasions ofHis self-sacrificing love.(2)Christ,
as the objectof faith — in His mission, death, resurrection.(3)Jesus Christ —
sent of God to save from sin.
2. The mode.(1) Preaching, announcing, heralding, witnessing, proclaiming
the Saviourpresent and almighty to save.(2)Teaching — carefuland minute
instruction in Christian facts, truths, duties.
II. OUR SPHERES. "Inthe temple and in every house." Notonly in
appointed sanctuaries, but also in —
1. Society, whichwe are to leavenand purify for Christ with wise teachings
and preachings.
2. Our houses — homes where family bonds and sympathies make for it a
preparatory atmosphere. Our first circle to win for Christ is the home circle.
But these two circles cannotbe properly occupiedin any one way or by any
one agency. We want —
(1)A life voice, the testimony of a daily pure and helpful conduct.
(2)A lip voice, the witness of wise, earnest, andloving words.
(3)A works voice, the hallowing influence of goodand gracious deeds.
III. OUR TIMES. "Daily," i.e., always. Nota day should pass without some
witness for Christ. Christ wants service from us on week-days as wellas
Sundays. We may preach —
1. Christ's spirit, which is charity.
2. Christ's will, which is holiness.
3. Christ's salvation.
(R. Tuck, B. A.)
Ministerial fidelity and devotedness

Henry Abney, B. A.
In this brief but emphatic record of the labours of the first apostles we may
find a pattern after which to model ours, in the prosecutionof that greatwork
to which we have been set apart.
I. Examine THE COMPREHENSIVE CHARACTER OF THE
MINISTERIALOFFICE DELINEATED — marking its adaptationto the
end for which it was originally instituted. The recoveryof the sinner — his
restorationto the Divine image and favour, is the revealedpurpose of God.
We must not shun to declare the whole counselof God. Herein we perceive
what should constitute the staple of our preaching. It is Christ, in the glory of
His person, in the all-sufficiencyof His offices, in the riches of His grace.
1. To preach Jesus is to announce Him as a Peacemaker, who brought in, by
His one oblation of Himself once offered, an atonement. It is to herald Him as
the Saviour, to the exclusionof all other humanly-devised methods, wherein
salvationis sought; a Saviour, suitable and sufficient — suitable as man,
sufficient as God — His deity being the altar upon which His humanity was
immolated; "the altar sanctifying the gift."
2. To preach Jesus is "to declare His righteousness forthe remissionof sins";
a righteousness resulting from His obedience, atonce active and passive,
exactedand rendered as the sinner's substitute, and imparted unto all who
exercise faith in Him.
3. Further, the title of Christ is applied to the Saviour. Christ, the anointed
Prophet, Priest, Advocate, and King.
4. It is further recordedof the apostles that they did not restricttheir labours
to the service of the temple, but that they instructed "from house to house."
"We watchfor souls," and should therefore have our people under constant
inspection, and ever-wakefulsupervision. By such a course we shall bestprove
that we are indeed alive to their highestinterests; by this will the cause of
religion and morality and public tranquillity be best advanced; by this, too,
shall we be best prepared for meeting that solemn inquiry, "Where is the
flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?"
5. Another remark upon this part of our subject is suggestedby the
expression, "they taught Jesus Christ." It is in the power of conduct, as wellas
of words, to conveyinstruction. "Ye," saidour Lord, "are the light of the
world." Like a moral Pharos, enkindled from above, we are placedin a direct
line with the haven of eternity, in order that, by the concentratedbeams of
purity of doctrine and of conduct, we may guide the endangeredsinner across
these perilous waters, whereinmany are engulphed and for ever lost. We are

to be "ensamples unto our flock," giving strength and powerto our public
admonitions by the consistencyofour private deportment. That which we
have "heard and seen," tasted, andare enjoying, we declare unto our
perishing fellow sinners; and this invests our addresseswith a charm and
powerwhich nothing short of it could possibly impart. Ours it is to utter
testimony confirmed by experience;and who can fail to admit its force, in its
peculiar fitness for the end designed?
II. THE CONSTANCYAND FULNESS OF DEDICATION TO THEIR
WORK EXHIBITED BY THE APOSTLES, furnishing for our imitation a
just and impressive pattern. It was a noble declarationof the twelve, "We will
give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." They
appear to have been influenced by an "inconceivable severityof conviction,
that they had one thing to do." Upon this one objectthe whole force of their
mind was expended. For its furtherance they were content to suffer the loss of
all things, deeming reproachan honour, suffering a privilege, a martyr's
death a gain. The necessityfor this self-sacrificing devotednessstill exists, in
order to our reaching the highest style of ministerial excellence.
1. The ministry of the gospel, in its widest acceptation, is emphatically the
work we have to do. Well may we, engagedin such an undertaking, affirm in
the language ofNehemiah, "I am doing a greatwork." The magnitude of that
work will be further seenin the diversity of the employment connectedwith
its due discharge. To the Christian pastorbelongs the study of human
characterin its every different aspect. He will have to adapt his resourcesto
the peculiarities of every rank and age in the Church and in the world.
2. The disproportion betweenour powers and the undertaking upon which
they are to be expended is another considerationcalculatedto prove the
necessityfor the accumulated force of all our powers in its performance.
3. Moreover, we may observe that the amount of our successwill bear some
proportion to our efforts. The seedwill reproduce itself, and the greaterthe
quantity sownin prayer and wateredby that gracious influence which faithful
sustainedsupplication calls down, the more abundant will be the crop. The
manifestation of this success maybe for a while denied; we may be permitted
to toil on, witnessing but little fruit of our labour; nevertheless, the result is
certain.
(Henry Abney, B. A.)
A model Christian ministry

W. Jones.
I. ITS SUBJECT. Notthings about Jesus Christ, but Himself. Creeds may
satisfy the reason, but the heart craves a Person. The heart grows, but creeds
are stationary. Christ and His fulness ever transcend our utmost need. A
ministry of which Christ is not the grand theme is a misnomer — worthless
and injurious:
II. ITS METHOD. "Preaching,"i.e., evangelising;"teaching,"i.e., instructing
those who have receivedthe evangel, Notice —
1. The great importance of these two things.
2. The difficulty of doing both well.
3. The difficulty of obtaining appreciation for both in one congregation. Yet
the Church must have and exercise both.
III. ITS SPHERES.
1. Public.
2. Domestic (Acts 2:46).
IV. ITS FREQUENCY. "Daily."Here is a message forthose who never enter
the sanctuaryexcept on the Lord's day.
(W. Jones.)
Apostolic ministration
J. Sherman.
I. ITS SUBJECT. "Jesus Christ." This was not one subject of many; it was the
only one. Note that this is a subject of —
1. Infinite importance. "Neitheris there salvationin any other." You may be
interestedin many subjects;you may love music, history, etc.;but you may
die to-morrow;and without an interestin Christ you are lost: and therefore to
know how you are to be savedmust be matter of infinite importance.
2. Unequalled suitableness. It is adapted to the moral necessitiesofall
mankind.
3. Endless vapory. The mind of man is so constitutedthat it never canbe
happy without variety; and that variety is furnished us in the heavens and on
the earth. But in Christ all God's various wonders meet; He is the great
Centre of both worlds, in whom the glories of both are concentrated. I can
hardly look at an object in creationwithout being reminded of Him; and the

Bible is intended that whichever way I look it should preach to me about Jesus
Christ.
4. Peculiarsweetness. Whatis so sweetto a starving man as food, to a weary
traveller as rest, to the criminal as pardon?
5. Singular efficacy. It is the power of God and the wisdom of God. And what
subject has the efficacywhich this possesses?Mahometanismhas converted
its millions; but how? By the sword and by the allowanceofsensual
indulgence. Idolatry has its millions; but they curse their senselessandblood-
thirsty deities for the slavery which they impose upon them. But without any
carnalweapons, or human authority, the simple preaching of Christ, which
first conquered the Roman world, brought England into the state into which it
now is, and will, by its blessedconquests, finally convert and subdue the whole
world. If you are alarmed at the vice and misery of London, see the trophies of
the simple preaching of Jesus Christ. Saul, the persecuting bigot; Mary
Magdalene, the habitation of foul demons; the thief on the cross, etc.
6. Eternal duration. Many subjects which are excellentin their nature, and
adapted to the present wants of man, involve only the interests of time. But
this one subject promises present peace and eternal felicity. I would be a
Christian if its influence extended no further than the waters of Jordan. But
although there is greatblessednessnow, it is but a taste of what is to come.
II. ITS METHOD.
1. Public preaching. This was according to the charge of our Saviour, "Go ye
into all the world, and preachthe gospelto every creature," and according to
the plan of Divine wisdom. By the foolishness ofpreaching "it pleasedGod to
save them that believe." And this is a mode adapted to the wants, habits, and
the constitution of the human mind. People are fond of a crowd, and God has
so ordained it, that by the preaching of the gospelmultitudes should be
gatheredto listen to it. They could not spare the time nor the money that
books would require, to derive the same instruction; therefore they are
congregatedto save both. The same attention employed in reading would not
produce the same effects that are produced by preaching; there is a certain
charm, enthusiasm in the human voice, the piercing look, the animated
manner of the speaker, whichno books in the world cansupply. There is also
something in the place; there is something charming to the mind in a place
consecratedto the service of God. If ever the world is converted, preachers
must be multiplied, and multiplied to an extent of which, at present, we have
very little knowledge:we must not wait till new churches are built. We must
convert school-rooms into preaching-places, andbarns into chapels, and every

house we canenter for a spot in which multitudes can be assembledto
hearkento the words of life. This was the apostolicalplan. John Mark's was
the house where the people met togetherto pray for Peter's deliverance. The
Church assembledin the house of Aquila and Priscilla. The Church
assembledin the house of Onesiphorus. And if these cannot be obtained, then
we must have open-air preaching, with the sky for a sounding-board and the
multitudes around for a congregation. Every spotis consecrated. Ifyou go on
board a ship, Christ was there before, and preached there. If you go to the
hills, the apostles preachedthere before you. If you go to the prisons, the
apostles preachedthere before you.
2. Private teaching. They were net satisfiedwith public preaching, .but they
went to every house. This is the communication of the truth to individuals, as
the other was the communication of the truth to multitudes. David had often
heard Nathan speak in public; but he heard him in private to purpose when
he came and related his parable, and then said, "Thou art the man." I doubt
not that a part of this private tuition consistedin the application of the
consolationofthe gospelto individuals who have been pricked in their hearts,
and their minds somewhatilluminated by the truth: they had to strengthen
them that were weak, and to bring back those who had fallen away. But the
chief end of this private tuition was, to seek outthat which was lost. Now
ministers are not only to teachand preachto them who will come, but they
are to go to those who will not come. They are not only to invite people to
come to the temple, but they are to go to their houses.
III. ITS CONSTANCY. "Daily...they ceasednot." The influence of the Spirit
of God produced three blessedstates ofmind.
1. Burning zeal for their Master's glory. They went into "every house";not
only those into which they were invited; of the rich as well as of the poor; of
the learnedas wellas the illiterate. And what though it was said, "You have
no business here; keepyour religion to yourself!" Their Master's honour was
what they attempted to sustain: and if men dishonoured them they bound the
scornto their brow, and gloried in their shame.
2. Ardent love for the souls of men.
3. Indefatigable perseverance in their work.
(J. Sherman.)
Teaching and preaching
W. L. Alexander, D. D.

As preachers, the apostles proclaimedthe gospelto men; and as teachers they
expounded its doctrines and enforcedits duties. In this they obeyed the
command of their Lord, "Go ye into all the world and preachthe gospelto
every creature. Go and disciple all nations,... teaching them." During His own
personalministry He exemplified what He thus enjoined. "He went about all
Galilee, teaching in their synagoguesandpreaching the gospelofthe
kingdom."
I. THIS COMMAND WAS LAID NOT UPON THE APOSTLES ALONE,
BUT UPON THE MINISTRYWHICH THEY HAD SO VIGOROUSLY
INAUGURATED.
1. In the age which succeededthat of the apostles preaching and teaching were
sedulously maintained by the Christians. From every congregationmen seem
to have gone forth as evangelists to make known the messageofsalvation; and
in the assemblies ofthe believers, besides the reading of the Scriptures, a
discourse delivered in the audience of the people formed a regular part of the
service. , in the former half of the secondcentury, gives an accountof how
service was conductedin the assemblyof the Christians on the Lord's day;
and he says that after the reading of the Scriptures the president delivered a
discourse of a hortatory characterin which he admonished his hearers to
reduce to practice what they had heard read. These discourseswere homely,
unartificial addresses,partaking rather of the nature of conversational
utterances than regularly constructedorations or discourses. In the Eastern
churches, where they chiefly were in use in the earliestage, the name homily
was given to them, a word which signifies intercourse, converse,and
secondarily, instruction. For a long time these homilies continued to be mere
expositions of Scripture with practical applications and exhortations, often of
the simplest character, but sometimes containing the results of careful
investigationand profound thought, as in the case of, whose homilies are still
valued by scholars for their suggestiveness andthe light they sometimes throw
on the meaning of Scripture.
2. As Christianity advanced, and the Christian assemblies became more
numerous and cultured, the addressesofthe pastors came to be of a more
ambitious, character, and to be formed more on the model of the oratory of
the senate orthe forum. The slightly elevatedplatform which at first was
common.to the readerand to the preacher, was by the latter exchangedfor,
first, a loftier pulpit, and afterwards for a throne, from which the bishop
delivered his oration. Gradually the ancient wholesome usage ofexpounding
the prophetic and evangelic writings was relinquished, and discourses in
praise of martyrs, or funeral orations, highly ornate harangues, and pieces of

artificial rhetoric were in their stead offeredto the people, who, captivatedby
the gaudy show, followedthe usage ofthe theatre, and at the close ofeach
eloquent burst, expressedtheir approbation by acclamationand clapping of
hands.
3. During the Middle Ages, and on to the time of the Reformation,)reaching
and teaching had well-nigh ceased. It is true, sermons continued to be written,
and were probably delivered, but as they were in a tongue which only the
learned understood, they were confined in their use to the clergy; and it is true
also that enlightened rulers like and saw the importance of the people being
instructed in religion, and took measures to enforce on the clergy the duty of
preaching to the people in the vulgar tongue; but how little prepared were the
clergymay be gatheredfrom the fact that the Emperor found it necessaryto
enjoin that "bishops and presbyters are themselves to understand the Lord's
Prayer, and preach it to all that eachmay know what he asks ofGod." Now
and then a man fired by holy zeal — a Tauler, a Wicliffe, a Huss, a Gerson, a
Savonarola — preached the gospelto the people and taught them the truths
and duties of Christianity, and doubtless there were faithful but unknown
men labouring in retired districts. But for the most part, all through these
dreary centuries, the pulpit was virtually a nonentity in Christendom, and the
people perished for lack of knowledge. Things were at the worst when the
dawn of a better day arrived, and, as Milton expresses it, "then was the
SacredBible soughtout of the dusty corners where profane falsehoodand
neglecthad thrown it, the schools opened, Divine and human learning raked
out of the embers of forgotten tongues, the princes and cities trooping apace to
the new-erectedbannerof salvation."
4. All the leading reformers were assiduous and eminent preachers, and by
this more than any other means they made good their position and effecteda
real and lasting revival of religious life among the nations. Since then, in all
the ProtestantChurches, preaching and teaching have been recognisedas a
chief duty of the Christian pastor; and even in the Romishand Greek
churches the value of these is to a greateror less extent practically
acknowledged.
II. A TENDENCYHAS SHOWN ITSELF OF LATE TO DEPRECIATE
PREACHING AS COMPARED WITH THE DEVOTIONALPARTS OF
OUR PUBLIC SERVICES. A cry has been heard for less preaching and more
of prayer and praise. But after much considerationand observationI am
brought to the conclusion, that not for instruction alone, but for devotion and
spiritual quickening as well, it is needful that the preaching of God's Word
should keepthat place in the service of the sanctuarywhich the wisdom and

the piety of our ancestorsledthem to assignto it. Consider wellthe following
things.
1. The testimony of experience is strongly in favour of the value of preaching
as a means of sustaining spiritual life in the Church. Turn over the volumes of
Church history and it will be found that the free add earnestpreaching of
God's Word has ever gone hand in hand with a lively state of religious feeling
and an earnestand elevateddevotion among the people; whilst, on the other
hand, when the Church has relied principally on prayer and praise for the
sustenance ofher spiritual vigour, coldness, indifference, and formality have
become characteristic ofher members, and the pure fire of devotion on her
altar has given place to a lurid and unwholesome flame.
2. Devotionbeing the utterance of feeling has no self-sustaining power. No
emotion, high or low, holy or common, sustains itself; unless it be fed from
without it becomes feeble and dies. But how is devotional emotion to be fed
exceptby the Word of God? But it is by preaching and teaching in the
sanctuary that the Word of Godis chiefly and most effectually to be
ministered to the people.
3. Whateverhelp devotional exercisesmay lend to She sanctificationofthe
soul, they can never minister so directly to this as does the preaching of God's
Word. If devotion fans the flame, it is preaching that must supply the fuel, and
it is by it that the fire is to be kindled. Pure affections spring from holy
thoughts, and holy thoughts are the offspring of Divine knowledge.
4. The proper hearing of God's Word is in itself an actof worship and
devotion. If indeed it is merely to be pleasedby an interesting preacher that
people come to church; or if they come merely to sit in judgment on him or to
enjoy an intellectualpastime or a sensationaldisplay — then truly they are as
far from worship as if they were engagedin any secularpursuit or worldly
amusement. But if they come to hear God's Word, bowing their minds and
hearts to the utterance of the Divine mind and seeking the blessing which lies
in the receptionof the truth, then do they in that very act rise to a true
devotion, and offer a worship which is acceptable to God.
(W. L. Alexander, D. D.)
Preaching Christ
C. H. Spurgeon.
I. The SUBJECT. To preachJesus Christ aright we must preachHim in —

1. His infinite and indisputable Godhead. Take awaythe Divinity of Christ
from the gospel, and you have nothing whatever left upon which the anxious
soul can rest. If Christ were not God He was the basestof impostors.
2. His true humanity. We must never make Him to be less manlike because He
was perfectly Divine. We must have a human Christ, not of shadows or
fancies, one to whom we can talk, with whom we can walk, "who in His
measure feels afreshwhat every member bears."
3. His personality. A doctrinal Christ, a practicalChrist, or an experimental
Christ. I do not feel to be sufficient for the people of God. We want a personal
Christ. This has been a powerto the Romish Church — a power which they
have used for ill, but always a power. Whateverwe fail to preachwe must
preach Him. If we are wrong in many points, if we be but right here, this will
save our ministry from the flames; but if we be wrong here, howeverorthodox
we may pretend to be, we cannot be right in the rest.
4. His solitary mediatorship. Admitting the efficacyof the intercessionof
living saints for sinners, yet must we have it that the only Mediatorin the
heavens, and the only direct Intercessorwith God, is the Man Christ Jesus.
Nay, we must not be content with making Him the only Mediator; we must set
aside all approachto God in any way whatever, exceptby Him. We must not
only have Him for the Priest, but we must have Him for the Altar, the Victim,
and the Offerer too. We must not permit for a moment the fair white linen of
His righteousness to be stained by the patch-work of our filthy rags.
5. His authority as the only Lawgiver and Rabbi of the Church. When you put
it down as a canonof your faith that the Church has right and power to
decree rites and ceremonies, youhave robbed Christ of His proper position.
Or when you claim the office of controlling other men's consciencesby the
decree of the Church, or the vote of a synod apart from the authority of
Christ, you have takenawayfrom Christ that chair which He occupies in the
Christian Church.
6. His dignity as the sole King of the Church. The Church is queen above all
queens, and Christ her only King. If any of our acts violate the civil laws we
are citizens, and we acknowledgethe right of a state to governus as
individuals. But we maintain that the excommunication of a Christian Church
can never be reversedby the civil power, nor are its censures to be examined,
much less to be removed, mitigated, or even judged.
7. His supremacy as the King of kings. He has an absolute right to the entire
dominion of this world.
II. THE SURPASSING EXCELLENCIESOF THE SUBJECT.

1. Blessedvariety. There are many strings to the harp of the gospel. There are
some brethren who are so charmed with five of the strings, which certainly
have very rich music in them, that they never meddle with any of the others;
the cobwebs hang on the restwhile these five are pretty wellworn out. Any
man who preaches Christ will ensure variety in his preaching. He is all
manner of precious perfume, myrrh, and aloes, and cassia. He is all sorts of
music, He is everything that is sweetto the ear; He is all manner of fruits;
there is not one dainty in Him, but many. He is all manner of raiment; He is
golden raiment for beauty, He is the warm raiment for comfort, He is the
stout raiment for harness in the day of battle. There are all things in Christ,
and he that hath Christ will have as great a variety as there is to be found in
the sceneryof the world where are no two rocks alike, andno two rivers wind
in preciselythe same manner, and no two trees grow in preciselythe same
form.
2. It suits all sorts of people. Are there rebels? PreachChrist; it will suit them.
Are there pardoned sinners? What is better to melt their hearts than the
blood of the Lord Jesus? Are there doubting Christians? What can cheer
them better than the name of Christ? Are there strong believers? What is
strongermeat than Jesus crucified? Are there learned, polite, intellectual
hearers? If they are not satisfiedwith Christ they ought to be. Are there poor,
ignorant, unlettered men? Jesus Christis just the thing to preach to them — a
nakedChrist to their simple ears. Jesus Christis a topic that will keepin all
climates. Stand in New Zealand in the midst of uncivilised men, stand in the
midst of poeticalPersia orfickle France, the Cross is adapted to all.
III. THE POWER OF THIS SUBJECT.
1. To promote the union of the people of God. There is a man there, he is
almost a Puseyite. "I do not like him," says one. There is another man, a
Presbyterian; he cannot bear Independency. "Well, I like him a little better;
but I do not suppose we shall get on very well." There is another man, a very
strong Calvinist. "I shall not admire him." Stop, stop! That man yonder,
whom I called almosta Puseyite, was George Herbert; but what a Christian!
What a lover of Jesus!You know that hymn of his, "How sweetlydoth my
Master's sound!" That secondman, the Presbyterian, who would not have
liked George Herbert, was Samuel Rutherford. What a seraphic spirit! Well,
now, I think, we will introduce Mr. Rutherford and Mr. Herbert together, and
I am persuadedwhen they begin to speak abouttheir Masterthey will find
eachother next of kin; and I feel sure that, by this time, SamuelRutherford
and George Herberthave found eachother out in heaven, and are sitting side
by side. That high Calvinist was Dr. Hawker. Now, I am sure, George Herbert

would not have liked Dr. Hawker, and I am certain that Dr. Hawkerwould
not have liked George Herbert, and I do not suppose that SamuelRutherford
would have had anything to do with either of them. But what a sweetspirit!
He cannot take up his pen, but dips it in Christ and begins to write about his
Lord at once. "Precious Immanuel — precious Jesus."Those words in his
morning and evening portions are repeated againand again. Let a man stand
up and exalt Christ, and we are all agreed.
2. Upon the heart of sinners. There is a person, now a member of my church,
whose conversionwas owing to the reading of that hymn — "Jesus,loverof
my soul." "Ah," says he, "does Jesus love my soul? Then how vile I have been
to neglectHim!" There are scores whose conversionis distinct and directly
traceable, not to doctrine — though that is often useful — nor experience, nor
practice, though these are fruitful, but to the preaching of Christ. This is a
seedwhich seldom rots under the clod. One may fall upon the stony ground,
but it oftenerhappens that the seedbreaks the stone when it falls. We ought to
thunder out the threatenings of God, but they must never be the main topic.
Judge not any man's ministry. The world has too often condemned the man
whom God intended to honour. Say not of such an one "He cando no good,
for his language is rough and rude." Saynot of another that his style is too
often marred with flippancy. Say not of a third that he is too erudite or soars
too high. Every man in his own order. If that man preach Christ, whether he
be Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, God will bless the Christ he preaches, and
forgive the error which mingled with his ministry.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Preaching Christ
T. J. Judkin.
Little beginnings have large endings. A man drops a small seedupon the
earth, and it starts up and expands into a tree of a thousand arms. The slender
rill that leaps from a rock presently increasesto a stream, and the stream
swells into a river, and the river, gathering as it rolls, becomes the arm of the
sea;and then there is a mingling, a sweeping, anda spreading of the waters
through the circuit of the broad ocean. And so of the rise and progress ofthe
religion of Jesus. At first there was the utterance of a single voice in the
solitudes of the wilderness, and next was the testimony of the Sonof God to
Himself in the village and in the city; forthwith was the gathering of the
twelve, and a declarationfrom these of the gospelto the surrounding nations.
Then arose from the apostles the greatcompany of preachers multiplying and

widening their circles of influence abroad the earth unto this present, and
looking forward we anticipate the time when the whole world, now lying in
darkness, shallbe filled with the knowledge ofthe Lord as the waters cover
the channels of the sea. Yes, whateveris or shall be, the aspectofthe globe in
the light and beauty of holiness cometh under God of preaching. This is the
greatlever, which by little and little is lifting the wide universe out of the
bondage of ignorance and superstition. It was this which overturned the
Mosaicaleconomy, which struck to their centre and shivered the idols of the
heathen, which enkindled a light, that the powerof the most numerous and
mighty of adversaries couldnot put out, which snatchedfrom the graspof
Satan, which drew as brands from the burning, thousands of souls now
ministering before the throne of the Lamb.
I. OUR OBLIGATIONS TO PREACHJESUS CHRIST. It is the solemn
objectof our ordination, and we should be recreants from our vows, apostate
from the articles of our faith, and traitors to the cause we professedlyespouse,
were we to gainsaythe appeal that presses.To teachand preach Jesus is the
greatbusiness of our days; whatever be the varieties of our talents, if the lines
converge not to this centre our talents are abused; whateverbe the plenitude
of our strength, if it be not consecratedto this, our strength is worse than
unprofitable. Our lamp must burn at the altar, our sinews must bear the
cross. Our obligations to preachJesus Christ rest upon the conviction —
1. That sinners have need of Him. In their natural estate they area(1)Blind.(a)
In their ignorance of the true Godand Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent.(b)
To the interests of their souls, preferring the evil and rejecting the good, and
turning their back to the only light which shines from to lead their steps to
heaven.(2)Poor.(a)As despoiledof the privileges and honours of a happier
estate.(b)As defrauded by an enemy of the birthright of the sons of God.(c) As
castfrom the affluence of the garden into the necessitiesofthe wilderness.(d)
As the heirs of bodily sorrows, andas the victims of an inwardly consuming
anguish because ofguilt and the judgment.(e) As the slaves of sin and the
subjects.to death, temporally and eternally.(3)Naked.
(a)As possessing no garment in their own righteousness, norin that of others,
wherewith they might stand clothed in the sight of God.
(b)As wanting that white raiment which alone Christ can put on.
2. That in all the multifarious wants of man, Christ is the One, the near, the
all-sufficient, the ever-living, the inexhaustible supply. The poor wandering
and fainting flock lacks a shepherd to guide and cherish — Christ is the true
Shepherd. The plague-strickenlack the hand of the physician to bind up and

heal — Christ is the wise Physician, The deceived, the forsaken, andthe
abandoned lack the faithful adviser, the able defender, the counsellorfor good
— Christ is the unchangeable Friend, and the mighty Advocate, and the
Prince of Peace.
3. That without Him everything is nothing, whilst with Him and in Him there
is abundantly more than we caneither ask or think to satisfy and enrich here,
and to bless everlastingly.
II. WHAT IT IS TO PREACH JESUS CHRIST.
1. In substance. Let us analyse the title —(1) Jesus — a name synonymous
with Joshua, and meaning a deliverer — a deliverer from the bondage of sin;
from the tyranny of Satan;from sin as a ruling principle and as a destroying
violence;from the fears of the valley of the shadow of death and from the
terrors of the deeper darkness beyond I A deliverer from these evils, and by
what means? At what cost? By the offering up of Himself, the just for the
unjust, by the shedding of His blood as the Lamb of atonement for the sins of
the world.(2)Christ, i.e., the anointed. The anointed, the consecrated, through
the Spirit. Do you acknowledge Christin the separate glories ofHis offices aa
having in eachthe sealand testimony of the Spirit?
2. The manner should be characterisedwith a spirit of simplicity, decision,
faithfulness, affection, and the devotion of a holy zeal. The man should be
forgottenin his message, the wise, after the rudiments of this world, should be
hidden to himself and others in the office of the minister of Christ.
III. THE POSTURE IN WHICH YOU SHOULD HEAR CHRIST
PREACHED.
1. As fully sensible of the value of the privilege of hearing. What gem had not
David plucked from his royal crown for one of the opportunities with which
you are blessed? How lavish had priests been of their distinctions and
prophets of their gifts in exchange forone hour of your sabbaths. And oh, the
treasures expended and the blood shed for your present liberty.
2. As men personally concernedand addressedin every appeal and invitation
and reproof, in every promise and curse. You should bring the application
home, not fancying how wellthe preacher's word affixes to some one else.
3. With humility, keeping selfin subjection, schooling downyour natural
arrogancyinto the dependence and simple credence of the little child.
4. With watchfulness againstthe sins and temptations that are most
prevailing; and with prayer to the Holy Spirit of Godthat He may impress,
and sanctify, and guide you into all truth.

5. With faith receiving the mysteries of Christ as mysteries — as those deeper
things of God, whose receptionis for an exercise offaith here, and whose
solution and discoveryshall be amongstthe felicities of eternity.
(T. J. Judkin.)
The right kind of preaching
A sermon devoted to metaphysics is a stack of dry corn-stalks,afterthe corn
has been ripped out with the husking-peg, a sermon given up to sentimental
and flowery speechis as a nosegayflung to a drowning sailor. A sermon
devoted to moral essayis a basketof chips to help on the greatburning. What
the world wants now is to be told in the most flat-footedway of Jesus Christ
who comes to save men from eternal damnation.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(42) And daily in the temple.—Probably, as before, in the Portico of Solomon;
the captainof the Temple now acting on the resolution just taken, and letting
the movement take its course without interruption.
And in every house.—Better, as in Acts 2:46, at home: in their place, or, it
may be, places, ofmeeting.
To teach and preach Jesus Christ.—Better, to teachand to declare the good
tidings of Jesus Christ. The word for “preach” is literally to “evangelise,” as
in Acts 8:4; Acts 8:12; Acts 8:25; Romans 10:15, and elsewhere.
As the chief members of the Sanhedrin disappearfrom the scene atthis stage,
it may be well to note the later fortunes of those who have been prominent up
to this point in the history. (1) Annas lived to see five of his sons fill the office
of high priest (Jos. Ant. xx. 9, § 1); but his old age was overcloudedby the
tumults raisedby the Zealots under John of Gischala, in the reign of
Vespasian, and before he died the sanctuary was occupiedby them, and
became in very deed a “den of robbers” (Jos. Wars, iv. 3, § 7). (2) Joseph,
surnamed Caiaphas, his son-in-law, who owed his appointment to Gratus (Jos.
Ant. xviii. 2, § 2), was deposedby the ProconsulVitellius, A.D. 36 (Jos. Ant.
xviii. 4, § 3), and disappears from history. (3) On John and Alexander, see
Notes on Acts 4:6. (4) Gamaliel, who is not mentioned by Josephus, continued

to preside over the Sanhedrin under Caligula and Claudius, and is said to
have died eighteenyears before the destruction of Jerusalem, and to have
sanctionedthe Anathema, or “Prayeragainstheretics,” drawnup by Samuel
the Little (Lightfoot, Cent. Chorograph, c. 15). Christian traditions, however,
representhim as having been secretlya disciple of Christ (Pseudo-Clement,
Recogn. i. 65), and to have been baptised by Peterand Paul, with Nicodemus,
who is representedas his nephew, and his sonAbibas (Photius Cod. 171, p.
199). In a legendarystory, purporting to come from a priest of Syria, named
Lucian, acceptedby Augustine, he appears as having buried Stephen and
other Christians, and to have been buried himself in the same sepulchre with
the Protomartyr and Nicodemus at Caphar-algama (August. de Civ. Dei xvii.
8, Serm. 318). LaterRabbis lookedon him as the lastof the greatTeachers or
Rabbans, and noted that till his time men had taught the Law standing, while
afterwards they sat. The glory of the Law, they said, had departed with
Gamaliel.
BensonCommentary
Acts 5:42. And daily in the temple, &c. — The apostles were punished for
preaching, and commanded strictly not to preach: yet they went on with their
work with unabated zeal, and indefatigable diligence, omitting no opportunity
of doing it. Observe, 1st, They preached daily, not only on sabbath days, or on
Lord’s days, but every day, as duly as the day came; not fearing lest they
should either injure their health, or cloy their hearers. 2d, They preached
both publicly in the temple, and privately in every house:in promiscuous
assemblies, to which all resorted: and in the selectassembliesofChristians,
appointed for specialordinances. Theydid not think that either of these would
excuse them from the other, knowing they were to preach the word in season
and out of season. Thoughin the temple they were more exposed, and were
under the eye of their enemies, yet they did not confine themselves to their
little oratories in their own houses, but ventured into the post of danger: and
though they had the liberty of the temple, a consecratedplace, yetthey made
no difficulty of preaching in houses:in every house — Even the poorest. 3d,
We are also told what was the subject of their preaching; they preachedJesus
Christ; they not only preachedconcerning him, but they preached him,
exhibiting him to those that heard them, as their Prophet, Priest, and King;
their Teacher, Mediator, Governor, and Judge;their Wisdom, Righteousness,
Sanctification, and Redemption: they preached, not themselves, but Christ
Jesus the Lord, as the one Saviour of lost sinners, making it their chief
business to advance his honour and interest, and not their own. This was the

preaching that gave most offence to the priests and rulers: they were willing
they should preachany thing but Christ; but the apostles wouldnot alter their
subject to please them. Observe, reader, it ought to be the constantbusiness of
gospelministers to preach Christ; Christ, and him crucified; Christ, and him
glorified; Christ dying for us; Christ living in us; nothing besides this, or what
is reducible to it.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:34-42 The Lord still has all hearts in his hands, and sometimes directs the
prudence of the worldly wise, so as to restrain the persecutors. Commonsense
tells us to be cautious, while experience and observationshow that the success
of frauds in matters of religion has been very short. Reproachfor Christ is
true preferment, as it makes us conformable to his pattern, and serviceable to
his interest. They rejoicedin it. If we suffer ill for doing well, provided we
suffer it well, and as we should, we ought to rejoice in that grace which
enabled us so to do. The apostles did not preachthemselves, but Christ. This
was the preaching that most offended the priests. But it ought to be the
constantbusiness of gospelministers to preach Christ: Christ, and him
crucified; Christ, and him glorified; nothing beside this, but what has
reference to it. And whatever is our station or rank in life, we should seek to
make Him known, and to glorify his name.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And daily ... - Compare 2 Timothy 4:2. See also notes on Acts 2:46.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
42. in every house—in private. (See on [1957]Ac 2:46).
ceasednot to preach Jesus Christ—that is, Jesus (to be the) Christ.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
This is the same with what we read Acts 20:20, publicly, and from house to
house; that is, in the temple, and public places, they preachedunto the Jews;
and in more private places, (orhouses), where they saw it needful; unto such
they conversedwith. They visited their flock, and instructed, exhorted,
comforted them as their condition required. See the power of the grace of
God; these were the men who forsook Christwhen the soldiers came to
apprehend him, they durst not be seenin his company; yet now they profess
his name, and abide by their profession, though they are derided and beaten
for it.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And daily in the temple, and in every house,.... Everyday, with great
constancyand assiduity, both publicly and privately; in the temple, the place
of public worship, where the Jews resortedon that account;and in eachof
their private houses, as oftenas they had opportunity:
they ceasednot to teachand preach Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God,
truly and properly God, the only Saviour of sinners: they preachedup the
dignity of his person, the grace of his incarnation, the obedience ofhis life, the
benefits of his sufferings and death; they preached his resurrectionfrom the
dead, and the resurrectionof the dead through him; they declaredhis
ascensionto heaven, his sessionatthe right hand of God, and intercessionfor
his people;they preached peace and pardon by his blood, atonement of sin by
his sacrifice, justificationby his righteousness, andcomplete redemption and
salvationby him. And this they did without ceasing, notregarding the orders
and threats of the sanhedrim; they waxed bolder and bolder in the ministry of
the word, and were more constantand assiduous in it; their reproaches and
persecutions increasedtheir zealfor Christ, and his cause.
Geneva Study Bible
And daily in the {p} temple, and in every house, they ceasednotto teach and
preach Jesus Christ.
(p) Both publicly and privately.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
42. And daily in the temple, and in every house] Read, as in Acts 2:46, in the
temple and at home. These are their two fields of labour, in the Temple, while
they may be there, and then in their own houses;and it may be that some
would not be able to go to the Temple, yet these at home were teachers still.
Jesus Christ] Better, Jesus the Christ, i.e. the anointed, the Messiah. This is
the Name of Acts 5:41.
Bengel's Gnomen
Acts 5:42. Οὐκ ἐπαύοντο)they did not cease)whateverprohibition the world
might issue.—τὸν)Theyannounced that Jesus is the Christ.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 42. - Every day for daily, A.V.; at home for in every hour, A.V. (see Acts
2:46 note); to preach Jesus as the Christ for preach Jesus Christ, A.V. and
T.R. The meaning is that they daily preachedJesus Christ both in the temple

and in the house or houses where the disciples were wont to meet (see Acts
2:46, note). The spirit and conduct of the apostles here recordedis a precious
example to their successors. To gloryin the cross, to count shame endured for
Christ's sake the highest honor, and to be unweariedand undaunted in
teaching and preaching Jesus Christ through goodreport and through evil
report, is the true characterand work of every bishop of souls.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept
right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
KJV Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceasednotto
teachand preach Jesus Christ.
And every day Acts 5:20,21;2:46; 3:1,2-10;Luke 21:37; 22:53;2 Timothy 4:2
in the temple and from house to house Acts 20:20
they kept right on Acts 4:20,29;2 Samuel 6:22; Ro 1:15,16;Gal6:14
teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ Acts 8:5,35;9:20; 17:3; 1 Cor 2:2;
Eph 4:20,21
Acts 5 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
TESTIFYING EVERYDAY IN EVERY PLACE
JESUS IS THE MESSIAH
This is an interesting description because it is the very same activity that the
Sanhedrin had ordered them to ceaseand it the same activity for which the
Sanhedrin had them arrested. But here the Sanhedrin do not have them
arrested!Why not? I am not sure, but ultimately I believe God's sovereign
plan was to grow His Church through the apostles teaching and preaching
and it follows that they would have experiencedHis hand of blessing and
protection. Indeed, we see the fruit of their labors in Acts 6:7+ because "the
number of the disciples (BELIEVERS)continued to increase greatlyin
Jerusalem, and a greatmany of the priests were becoming obedient to the

faith." The heat had been turned up againstthe apostles witnessing forJesus,
but the result was that it was only "spreading the fire!"
And every day - "Dayafter day" (NIV). NAB paraphrases it "allday long."
This speaks ofzeal and perseverance. The apostles redeemedthe time! When
time on earth is finite and eternity is forever, saints createdfor eternity must
redeem their short time on earth! Are you living eachday for Jesus, living it
with the solemnity that it could be your last. JonathanEdwards America's
greatesttheologianunderstoodthe brevity of time in view of eternity and even
as a young man wrote "Resolved:Neverto lose one moment of time, but to
improve it in the most profitable wayI possibly can. Resolved:to live with all
my might while I do live."
Beloved, time that is pastyou can never recall,
Of time to come, you are not sure at all;
Only the presentis now in your power,
Therefore, redeemand improve every hour.
David Guzik - This challenges eachof us as followers of Jesus. Theycontinued
where we may have stopped. We often find the threat of socialrejection
enough to make us keepquiet about who Jesus is and what He did for us. We
need to have the apostles’courageand determination to stand firm for Jesus
Christ.. Spurgeonspoke of this kind of bold heart: “Now, I charge every
Christian here to be speaking boldly in Christ’s name, according as he has
opportunity, and especiallyto take care of this tendency of our flesh to be
afraid; which leads practically to endeavours to get off easily and to save
ourselves from trouble. Fearnot; be brave for Christ. Live bravely for him
who died lovingly for you.” Spurgeonalso challengedthe cowardlyheart:
“Yet you are a coward. Yes, put it down in English: you are a coward. If
anybody called you so you would turn red in the face;and perhaps you are
not a cowardin reference to any other subject. What a shameful thing it is
that while you are bold about everything else you are cowardly about Jesus
Christ. Brave for the world and cowardlytowards Christ!”
Warren Wiersbe - D.L. Moody was fearlessin his witness for Christ and
sought to speak about spiritual matters to at leastone souleachday. "How
does your soul prosper today?" he would ask;or, "Do you love the Lord? Do
you belong to Christ?" Some were offended by his blunt manner, but not a
few were led to Christ then and there. "The more we use the means and
opportunities we have," he said, "the more will our ability and our
opportunities be increased." He also said, "I live for souls and for eternity; I
want to win some soul to Christ." He was not satisfiedonly to address great

crowds;he also felt constrainedto speak to people personally and urge them
to trust Jesus Christ. (Ibid)
In the temple (hieros) - Don't miss the fact that they are boldly witnessing
about Jesus in the very center of Jewishreligion! The Temple complex,
probably Solomon's portico (picture of Portico)and the surrounding grounds
as this area allowedfor large crowds. (See this diagram of the Temple
grounds - note the right side of the picture faces Eastand that is the location
of Solomon's Portico on the diagram.)
As an aside, this is the last time Luke mentions ministry in the Temple. Their
horizons would soonexpand in Acts 8:1+ in accordwith Jesus'charge to be
His witnesses"in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the
earth.” (Acts 1:8+).
In Solomon's portico - The Portico of Solomon consistedofa set of
magnificent pillars supporting a roof and open on the inner side facing the
centerof the temple complex. (picture of Portico) The Temple grounds
adjacentto the Portico of Solomonwould have been approximately 4 football
fields in size which could have easilyprovided room for severalthousand
people.
And from house to house (cf Acts 2:46) - "So once againSatan outwitted
himself." (MacDonald)Perhaps this is going from one house church to
another, but it does not exclude that they were going from one Jewishhouse to
another! The apostles were blanketing the city. This reminds me of "cold
turkey" evangelism. Have you ever gone door to door in a neighborhoodto
share the Gospel? The Mormons do it for a lie (for up to 2 years), and most
Christians never do it for the truth! But not these apostles. Theywere men on
mission!
Some commentators feel the phrase house to house describes "house
churches" scatteredthroughout the city and that is certainly a possibility.
While they could meet in the Temple, it would be more practicalto follow up
the Temple meetings and "do life" with the brethren in smaller, more
intimate settings.
AN ANCIENT STRATEGY- The apostles taughtfrom house to house. Home
Bible studies are not new. As the believers neededto grow in their new faith,
home Bible studies met their needs while introducing new people to the
Christian faith. During later times of persecution, meeting in homes became
the primary method of passing on Bible knowledge. Christians throughout the
world still use this approach when under persecution. Meetregularly in a
small group with other believers. (Life Application Bible Commentary – Acts)

They kept right on teaching and preaching (evangelizing about) Jesus as the
Christ - They are teaching and preaching a Person, Jesusthe Christ (cf Acts
8:35, Acts 11:20, Acts 17:18, 1 Cor 2:2, 2 Cor 4:5). Both these verbs (teaching
and preaching) are in the present tense picturing these activities as their
habitual practice, their lifestyle, if you will. How were they able to do this?
The short answeris THEY weren't able! It was not them but it was the One in
them, the Spirit Who was continually giving them the desire and the power to
teachand preach the GoodNews that Jesus was the Messiah(cfJn 16:14)! So
when you begin going from house to house, do not attempt this as some
legalistic endeavorbut first pray and yield to the Holy Spirit Who will
empoweryou for the task, even going before you to prepare hearts and then
taking the GospelWords you speak to convicthearts, regenerating those who
receive the Gospelof their salvation.
Wiersbe on teaching and preaching - Proclamation(Ed: evangelizing) must be
balancedwith instruction (see Acts 2:42) so that the sinners know what to
believe and the new converts understand why they believed. The message
cannot produce fruit unless the personunderstands it and can make an
intelligent decision(Matt. 13:18-23). Believerscannotgrow unless they are
taught the Word of God (1 Peter2:1-3). (Bible Exposition Commentary).
It is worth noting that the very lastverse in the book of Acts echoes the truth
in Acts 5:42
And he (PAUL) stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was
welcoming all who came to him, 31 preaching (kerusso - present tense)the
kingdom of God (THE GOSPEL)and teaching (present tense) concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ with all openness (parrhesia = BOLDNESS), unhindered.
(Acts 28:30, 31)
Comment - Clearly Paul was a Spirit filled man to the very end of his race!He
was filled with the Spirit and thus filled with boldness to continually proclaim
the Gospel. A goodpattern for all of us saints nearing the end of our race.
What do we have to lose? Maybe a little "face" with those who hate Jesus, but
what difference should that make given that we shall soonbe standing forever
in His glorious presence!!!
Teaching (1321)(didasko)in the present tense means the apostles were
continually teaching in such a way that the will of the hearers might become
conformed to the Gospelthey taught. They were doing exactlywhat the
Sanhedrin had ordered them not to do! In Acts 5:28 the Sanhedrin reminded
the apostles "We gave youstrict orders not to continue teaching in this
Name."

Preaching (the Gospel, goodnews)(2097)(euaggelizo/euangelizo fromeu =
good, well + aggéllo = proclaim, tell; English= evangelize)means to announce
goodnews concerning something. Euaggelizo in its original sense couldbe
used to refer to a declarationof any kind of goodnews, but in the NT it refers
especiallyto the glad tidings of the coming kingdom of God and of salvation
obtained through Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Mostof NT
uses of euaggelizo are translated"preach" or "preachthe gospel," whichever
fits more smoothly into the context. It is surprising that this is Luke's first use
of this greatverb in the book of Acts.
Here are all of Luke's uses of euaggelizo -
Matt. 11:5; Lk. 1:19; Lk. 2:10; Lk. 3:18; Lk. 4:18; Lk. 4:43; Lk. 7:22; Lk. 8:1;
Lk. 9:6; Lk. 16:16; Lk. 20:1; Acts 5:42; Acts 8:4; Acts 8:12; Acts 8:25; Acts
8:35; Acts 8:40; Acts 10:36; Acts 11:20; Acts 13:32;Acts 14:7; Acts 14:15;
Acts 14:21;Acts 15:35; Acts 16:10;Acts 17:18;
Jesus (Iesous)as the Christ - Or "as the Messiah."The word Christos is
translated Christ (both mean the "Anointed One"), but was obviously a
synonym for Messiah. And especiallyin a Jewishcontext(the early church
composedof Jews and in a Jewishcity) would signify that they were teaching
and preaching that Jesus was the Messiahthat the Jews had been taught
about and for Whom they had been waiting. He had arrived and which most
of the nation missed Him when He was presenton earth, now in the early days
of the church thousands of Jews had come to a knowledge thatJesus was the
Messiahand that He had come to save them from their sins, not from the
Romans. In light of this truth, it is not surprising that some versions like the
NLT and the HCSB render this verse as "Jesus is the Messiah."
Robertsonadds this note on Jesus as the Christ - "Jesus is the direct object of
the participles didaskontes (teaching)and euaggelizomenoi(preaching or
evangelizing)while "the Christ" (ton Christon) is the predicate accusative.
These words give the substance of the early apostolic preaching as these
opening chapters of Acts show, that Jesus ofNazareth is the Messiahof
promise. Gamalielhad openedthe prison doors for them and they took full
advantage of the opportunity that now was theirs." (Word Pictures in the New
Testament
John Phillips - The Sanhedrin had now lost two rounds in its fight againstthe
church.
Warren Wiersbe closes outthis chapter with a pithy question - In his clever
and convicting book The GospelBlimp, the late Joe Bayly wrote: "Jesus
Christ didn't commit the Gospelto an advertising agency;He commissioned

disciples." Thatcommissionstill stands. In your life, is it commission—or
omission? (Bible Exposition Commentary).
BARCLAY
On their secondappearance before the Sanhedrin the apostles found an
unexpected helper. Gamalielwas a Pharisee. The Sadducees were the wealthy
collaborationists,who were ever seeking to preserve their own prestige;but
the Phariseeshad no political ambitions. Their name literally means "The
SeparatedOnes," and they had separatedthemselves from ordinary life in
order to devote themselves to the keeping of the law in its every small detail.
There were never more than about six thousand of them all told, and the
austerity of their lives made them highly respected.
Gamalielwas more than respected;he was loved. He was a kindly man with a
far wider tolerance than his fellows. He was, for instance, one of the very few
Pharisees who did not regardGreek culture as sinful. He was one of the very
few to whom the title "Rabban" had been given. Men calledhim "The Beauty
of the Law." When he died it was said, "Since RabbanGamaliel died there
has been no more reverence for the Law; and purity and abstinence died out
at the same time."
When the Sanhedrin seemedlikely to resortto violent measures againstthe
apostles Gamalielintervened. The Pharisees had a belief which combined fate
and free-will. They believed that all things were in the hand of Godand yet
that man was responsible for his actions. "Everything is foreseen," theysaid,
"yet freedom of choice is given." So Gamaliel's point was that they must have
a care in case they were exercising their free-will to go againstGod. He
pleaded that if this matter was not of God, it would come to nothing anyway.
He quoted two examples.
First he cited Theudas. In those days Palestine had a quick successionoffire-
brand leaders who setthemselves up as the deliverers of their country and
sometimes even as the Messiah. Who this Theudas was we do not know. There
was a Theudas some years later who led a band of people out to the Jordan
with the promise that he could divide the waters and that they would walk
over dryshod, and whose rising was swiftly dealt with. Theudas was a
common name and no doubt this was just such another fire-brand.

His secondexample was Judas. He had rebelled at the time of the census,
takenby the governor Quirinius in A.D. 6 in order to arrange taxation. Judas
took up the position that God was the King of Israel; to him alone tribute was
due, all other taxation was impious and to pay it was a blasphemy. He
attempted to raise a revolution but failed. The Sanhedrin listenedto Gamaliel
and once again, after threatening the apostles, they let them go.
They went rejoicing in their tribulations. They rejoicedin persecutionfor two
reasons. (i) It was an opportunity to demonstrate their loyalty to Christ. In
Russia in the early days of communism the man who could show the marks of
the fetters on his hands and the mark of the lash on his back was held in
honour because he had suffered for the cause. It was Mr. Valiant-for-Truth's
proud boast, "My marks and scars I carry with me." (ii) It was a real
opportunity to share in the experience of Christ. Those who sharedin the
cross-bearing wouldshare in the crown-wearing.
-Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)
CALVIN
Verse 42
42.Theyceasednot. Constancydid also accompanytheir Joy. Forhow is it
that we are discouragedwith persecution, save only because none lifteth up
himself unto Christ, that he may in mind lay hold upon the fruit of victory,
and so be pricked forward unto patience? But that man which thinketh with
himself that he is happy when he suffereth for Christ’s sake, shallnever faint,
though he must suffer hard conflicts. Therefore the apostles are, after a sort,
armed with stripes, so that they valiantly make haste unto death. Therefore,
woe be to our daintiness, who, having suffered a little persecution, do by and
by resign up the light (305)to another, as if we were now old worn soldiers.
STEVEN COLE
Obeying God No MatterWhat (Acts 5:12-42)

RelatedMedia
00:00
00:00
One of my earliestmemories comes from when I was about two or three years
old. We lived in an apartment in Los Angeles. My parents had instilled in me

Jesus was preached daily in the tabernacle

Jesus was preached daily in the tabernacle

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Jesus was preached daily in the tabernacle

Similar to Jesus was preached daily in the tabernacle (20)

More from GLENN PEASE

More from GLENN PEASE (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Jesus was preached daily in the tabernacle