On the day of Pentecost, when Peter stood up with the eleven and began to speak, he was very bold (Acts 2:14). Later, he went to the temple, healed a lame man, and took the opportunity afforded by the healing to speak a strong word to many in the temple (3:1-26). He said, “You denied the holy and righteous One...whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses” (vv. 14-15). According to verse 14, Peter used the word denied in referring to the Jews’ rejection of the Lord. Although about fifty-three days earlier Peter had denied the Lord three times, he condemned the Jews for denying and rejecting Jesus. Someone listening could have said, “On the night that the Lord Jesus was taken away, did you not also deny and reject Him three times?” We need to see that on the one hand, Peter had failed because he had denied the Lord. However, on the day of Pentecost Peter became a different person, for he had received the Holy Spirit inwardly and outwardly.
Both the disciples and the Jews had committed the sin of denying and rejecting the Lord. However, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter seemed to say to the Jews, “You denied Jesus; you committed this sin.” Peter had the boldness to say this because he had experienced the forgiveness of his sins. He realized that his sins were forgiven and that his conscience was no longer under condemnation. He knew the meaning of the cross and the effectiveness of the precious blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19). He recognized that he was forgiven before God and reconciled to God. He knew that his denial of the Lord did not cause the Lord to disown him but that, through his repentance and the cleansing of the Lord’s blood, his sins were forgiven by God. Thus, on the day of Pentecost he and the others could receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and he could later speak boldly in the temple, telling the Jews that they had committed the sin of denying the Lord Jesus and that their sin still remained.
Someone among the crowd could have said, “Peter, you also denied the Lord,” but Peter would have been able to reply, “Yes, over fifty days ago I denied Him, but He did not disown me. I have repented, and now my sins are forgiven. I am no longer denying the Lord but preaching Him. In the past I was like you, but now I am different from you. If you want to be like me, you must confess your sins and repent.”
Suppose a person, prior to his salvation, enjoyed gambling, drinking, and smoking, but one day after receiving the Lord he speaks to unbelievers, saying, “You are sinners. You like to gamble, dance, smoke, and drink. You are wallowing in sins.” A friend of his who hears him may sneer at him and ask, “Were you not also like me some time ago?” However, the truth is that the one preaching is not the same person anymore. Prior to his salvation, he was like his friends, wallowing in sins, but after his salvation, he became different from them. Before receiving the Lord, he could join his friends in gambling and drinking. However, after he received the Lord, he could no longer do such things. While his friends are indulging in sin, he remains in Christ. When they gamble, he remains in God’s presence. He is greatly different from what he formerly was. His sins have been forgiven, and he is separated from all the worldly things. Thus, when he speaks concerning the forgiveness of sins, he is not giving a message on the doctrine of the forgiveness of sins. Rather, he, the person speaking, is standing as a living testimony of the forgiveness of sins. This is the gospel.
Such a person will be able to say, “Previously, I loved the world just like you. I did not know Christ’s resurrection and ascension, but now I have been separated from the world. If Christ were not raised from the dead, I would have no power to overcome sin and death. If He did not ascend to heaven, I would have no way to be severed from the entanglements of the world. Without His resurrection and ascension, I would not have the boldness or the utterance to preach the Lord Jesus to you. I can speak to people because my sins have been forgiven, and I have been separated from the world. I am one with God in resurrection and ascension. Thus, I am not afraid, because I have boldness before God, and I am in God when I speak to you. I am standing before you as a testimony of Christ’s resurrection and ascension.” This is the real gospel.
In the past, before any gospel campaign many saints were occupied with making outward preparations, including the preparation of gospel vests, advertisements, tracts, hospitality arrangements, the obtaining and setting up of a meeting place, and many other things. Although we need these outward preparations, even more we need a genuine preparation in spirit before God. We need to deal with the sins that hinder our fellowship with God, with the affairs of this world that entangle us, and with the things that hinder us from living in resurrection and ascension. Not only a few of the leading ones but also all the saints should have dealings concerning these matters in a detailed way.
This does not mean that we do not need the outward preparations. The outward preparations are necessary, but they are secondary. We need to invite people to the gospel meeting, to pray for the ones coming, and to make all the various practical preparations. If we did not invite people, labor in prayer, or prepare practically for the meeting, we would be unbalanced. However, some things are more important than others. Thus, everything should be taken care of in an orderly way and at the proper time. We must see and care for the most important matters by taking care of them in a thorough way. Then, we can care for items of secondary importance in an orderly manner.
Our primary concern before a gospel meeting is that all who are burdened for the gospel and all who have a part in the gospel meeting would come into God’s presence to deal with every aspect of their inward condition. We must deal with our sins, the world, our realization of the Lord’s resurrection, our experience of the ascended Lord, and our practical living before God. If we have thorough dealings concerning these five items, we will immediately see that we are joined to God and mingled with God and have become one with God. After these dealings the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will spontaneously be ours. We will be filled with the Spirit outwardly, and inwardly we will be filled with the Lord Jesus as our burden. Thus, we will be able to declare Him and be a testimony of Him.
When we have thorough dealings before the Lord with matters such as sins, the world, our living in resurrection and ascension, and our living before God and in God, we will be full of Christ and full of the Holy Spirit within. Then our inviting people to the gospel meeting will be living, and our interceding for others, distributing gospel tracts, putting up gospel posters, and singing of hymns also will be living. Whatever we do related to the gospel meeting will be living, including our service during the meeting, our speaking to our gospel friends and leading them to pray at the end of the meeting, and our visiting them after the meeting.
I am afraid that many brothers and sisters are enthusiastic toward the gospel but have not had sufficient dealings before God concerning their sins and concerning the world. They also do not live in resurrection, have not touched the position of ascension, and do not live in God. They have only been stirred up in their feelings and influenced by the excitement in the atmosphere. Thus, when they see others preaching the gospel, inviting people to the gospel meeting, and serving in the meeting, they desire to do the same things. If this situation continues, all our activities will be man-made, and even though we may be able to bring many to the meeting, our efforts will be of little spiritual value.
The fruit of a tree tells what kind of tree it is. The children we bear tell what sort of persons we are. If we are shallow, have little weight and authority, and rely merely on excitement and enthusiasm to preach the gospel, those whom we bring to the Lord will be like us—shallow and without much weight before God.