Every time we have the opportunity to speak to someone about the Bible, we must keep in mind that we are speaking as messengers of God and as if He himself were listening to what we say of his gospel.
Understanding this creates awe and tremendous responsibility when it comes to laying out the gospel and sharing it. Therefore, we will see how Peter and Paul have a common center when they preach, and this will help us to make our message as biblical as theirs.
The preaching of Peter
On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-39), Peter exclaimed: “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified”.
In Solomon’s Portico (Acts 3:12-26): “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus, Whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him”.
When he was before the Council together with John, after having healed another lame man (Acts 4:8-12): “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, Whom God raised from the dead – by Him this man is standing before you well”.
In the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:16-41), he spoke about “good news of peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)”.
We clearly see what the center of Peter’s preaching was: Jesus Christ.
Paul’s preaching
The center of Paul’s sermons is the same as that of Peter’s sermons.
In Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41), he exclaims “Of this man’s [= David’s] offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised”.
In Athens (Acts 17:22-31) “Because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man Whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead”.
In Caesarea (Acts 26:1-29) before Agrippa, Bernice, the chief tribunes, and Festus, he preached “that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles”.
Therefore, it is evident that for Paul also the center of the gospel and his preaching was: Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ: the center of the gospel
Understanding this, we can share the Gospel in a responsible and correct way, because we have found the center of the gospel: the person of Jesus Christ.
Who are we talking about? “We preach Christ crucified […] Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).