The Basis for This Command

So why is the tone of our evangelism so different from that of the apostles? Why do we not deliver the gospel with the same authority as they did? Why do we give the impression that faith and repentance are a mere option when they proclaimed them as a universal duty of all mankind?

I’d like to suggest that the differences in the two approaches to evangelism could be the result of a difference in emphasis upon the authority, power and sovereignty of Christ. The apostles seem to have placed a great deal of importance upon the exalted station to which Christ had been raised. I believe that it was this heightened view of the dominion of Christ that led the them to preach with such authority. I believe, in addition, that it is the modern church’s tendency to deemphasize that dominion that leads to the frequent lack of strength in her evangelistic efforts.

Look again at Peter’s first sermon. Upon what did he base his command for the people to repent and be baptized? Jesus had been raised up; he had been exalted by the right hand of God. All the house of Israel was to know assuredly, that God had made him both Lord and Christ. It was because of this exaltation that the people were required to repent.

Consider again the sermon on Mars Hill. Upon what did Paul ground his announcement of God’s command that all men everywhere repent? “…inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he raised him from the dead.” This universal obligation to repent was based upon the authority that Christ had been given to judge the world.

And what had been the basis for Christ commissioning the apostles in the first place? “All authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore…” The apostles were sent out to make all nations into disciples. They were instructed to baptize all nations and to teach all nations to obey the words that Jesus had spoken. The force that moved them, the strength that upheld them was the authority that Christ had been given, an authority that encompassed all of heaven and all of earth.

It seems to me that if we are to recover the fervor, the energy, and the authority of apostles’ evangelism, we must first recover their emphasis upon the sovereignty, power, and authority of Christ. We must continually remind ourselves that this, our Messiah, is more than king and lord of Christians, more than king and lord of the church. He is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. Perhaps if we understand this as we should, we will be more encouraged to preach as the apostles did and to press upon the unbelieving world its absolute obligation to submit to Christ's lordship and rule.

A Gospel Imperative

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been following a number of discussions about evangelism, lordship-salvation and the power of preaching. The following observations arise out of sort of a hodge-podge of related thoughts.

I don’t quite know how else to say it: as modern evangelicals, our gospel preaching just seems weak. I feel this when I hear the gospel presented by other Christians; I feel it especially when I present it myself. It’s been hard to put my finger on the problem. After all, the scriptures assure us that the gospel message itself is powerful. It is the power for salvation for all who believe.

A watered-down gospel will certainly be weaker, and the church has certainly struggled with that problem over the years. But often, even those gospel presentations that include important biblical content still seem to lack something. I been thinking about it; and it seems that there’s an important aspect of apostolic evangelism that is frequently missing in our own. Its absence might explain why our preaching often feels so anemic by comparison.

The apostles’ preaching and that of Christ himself were loaded with imperatives. Matthew and Mark, in fact, sum up Jesus’ preaching in a single command. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17, Mark 1:14). Christ sent out the apostles with the same kind of message, telling them to make disciples of all nations and to teach them to obey all things he had commanded him (Matt 28:19-20). We see that they did so. Peter concluded the first post-resurrection gospel message with this imperative, “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins.” He took a similar tone in his second sermon, “Repent ye, therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).

The apostle Paul used the same kind of language in his evangelism. He commanded the Philippian jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house (Acts 16:31). He spoke even more forcefully to the Athenians, “The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth all men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:30). It was this perspective that lead Paul to describe his ministry as an “apostleship unto obedience of faith among all nations” (Rom. 1:5). To Paul, the gospel was more than a mere message to be believed; it was a command to be obeyed, and that by all men.

Here’s what I’m observing: when the apostles preached the gospel, their message was simple, Christ has died, he has risen, and he has ascended; you must repent. When they proclaimed repentance and faith in Christ, they weren’t suggesting them to non-believers as an available option; they were declaring them as an unavoidable obligation. They weren’t asking, they weren’t pleading, they weren’t inviting. They were indiscriminately declaring, ordering, commanding, "All men everywhere must now all repent."

We simply don’t evangelize like this.

Conclusion: The Throne of David and the Resurrection of Christ

It seemed best to finish this series of posts by presenting, with minimal commentary, a few passages of scripture. I would only ask that you pay special attention to the connections made by the apostles between the promises of the Davidic covenant and the resurrection of Christ. I trust that God will bless the reading of His word as He sees fit.

Psalm 2:1-9

Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their bonds asunder, And let us cast away their cords from us.” He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh: The Lord will have them in derision. Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure, “Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, “Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost part of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Acts 4:25

O Lord, thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is; who by the holy Spirit, by the mouth of our Father David they servant didst say, “Why do the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array, And the rulers were gathered together, Against the Lord, and against his Anointed.” For of a truth in this city against thy holy servant Jesus whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever they hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass. And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness; while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through thy holy Servant Jesus.

Isaiah 55:3-5

I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not; and a nation that knew thee not shall run unto thee, because of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Acts 13:32-34

And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers, that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the Second Psalm, "Thou art my Son, this day I have begotten thee." And as concerning that he raised him from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he hath spoken on this wise, "I will give thee the holy and sure blessings of David."

Psalm 132:10-11

For thy servant David’s sake Turn not away the face of thine anointed. Jehovah hath sworn unto David in truth; he will not turn from it, "Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne."

Psalm 110:1-2

Jehovah said unto my Lord, "Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies they footstool." Jehovah will send forth the rod of his strength out of Zion: "Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies."

Acts 2:29-36

Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we are all witnesses. Being therefore highly exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this which ye see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.” Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.

The Son of David in the Book of Revelation

Christ’s Davidic position is emphasized several times in the book of Revelation. At the end of this vision, he says of himself, I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star (22:16). Earlier in the book, he is identified to John as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, who had overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof (5:5). These are titles quite applicable to one who had inherited the throne of David; they would seem somewhat unfitting for one who had not.

It appears, furthermore, that Christ held this Davidic position in more than name alone. The letter to the church of Philadelphia opens with these words: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth (Rev. 3:7). Keys in scripture are symbols of authority. Just as Jesus had given Peter the keys of the kingdom, the authority to bind and loose, so he had himself received a certain authority to open and shut. (Matt. 16:19).

What is significant, of course, is that this authority is clearly identified as the key of David. Whatever power was signified by this key, whatever authority it indicated, it was in some sense the same authority that had been possessed and exercised by David himself. Therefore, we see that even as John was recording the words of this prophecy, Christ had already received and was already exercising authority, not only from his Father God, but also from his father David. It is difficult to see how scripture could attribute such power to Christ yet still teach that he was not yet ruling on David's throne.

Errata

My mistake. The proclamation which I attributed to Simeon in the previous post was actually uttered by Zacharias (Luke 1:69). It would not, then, be accurate to apply it, as I did, to the birth of Christ--He had not yet been born. It would apply rather to his conception.

A Savior from David's House

There are a number of conditions of the promised Davidic kingdom that began to be fulfilled even as Christ was born. First, it is evident that in the birth of Christ, Israel’s Davidic Savior had arrived. When Simeon saw the Christ child in the temple he said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people, And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (Luke 1:69). Simeon realized that he could finally die in peace, for he had seen the day long promised.

Furthermore, after the ascension of Christ, Paul recounted in the synagogue in Antioch how God had raised up David to be Israel’s king; to whom he also bare witness and said, I have found David the son of Jesse a man after my own heart, who shall do all my will. Paul then added: of this man’s seed hath God according to promise brought unto Israel a savior, Jesus (Acts 13:22-23). God’s promise to Israel had been fulfilled. The long awaited Davidic Savior had arrived.

Not only had Israel’s Savior arisen out of the house of David, but in that Savior that house was also itself being rebuilt. At the Jerusalem Council, James explained in this way God’s obvious decision to begin calling Gentiles into the faith: After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up: That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called (Acts 15:16-17). The fact that the Gentiles were putting their trust in Christ was proof, to James at least, that David’s house was being restored.

So it appears that, as the New Testament was still being written, the promises of a Davidic Savior and the restoration of the David's house were already being fulfilled. Do these passages prove beyond doubt that Christ is now reigning on the throne of David? Not by themselves, no. They are, however, important introductory indications that whatever God had promised concerning David and the kingdom of his Descendant, that program had clearly begun to unfold.

The Reign of Christ and the Throne of David

The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:33).

This is the promise the angel Gabriel gave to Mary when he announced that she would give birth to the long awaited Messiah. The fulfillment of this promise has been the subject of much controversy. Has God yet given Jesus the throne of his father David? Or is Christ still waiting to receive it in the future? What does it even mean that Christ was to sit upon the throne of David? It is to these questions I would now like to turn.

The identification of Christ as the son of David is very clear in scripture; the multitude of references to this effect makes it a fact beyond denial. I recognize, however, that this alone is not sufficient proof that he is presently sitting on the throne of David. I feel, in fact, that of all the points I’ve been making in this series, it is this last one in which I find myself relying most upon inference and less upon the straightforward declarations of scripture.

However, I must say that I find the scriptural indications of this prophecy's fulfillment to be very strong, perhaps even good and necessary. Over all, as I look at the scope of scriptures that address the issue, I find it them very supportive of the notion that when Christ ascended into heaven and sat down on his Father’s throne, he was at the same time, taking his place upon the throne of his Father David.