Acts 5:42. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
What made the ordinary people of the Early Church extraordinary? What gave them boldness and courage in the face of brutal persecution? What enabled them to rejoice even when they were struck down, scattered, and hard-pressed on every side?
It was the gospel—the one and only gospel—that Jesus is the Christ.
This was the message Jesus Himself gave: “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'” (Matthew 16:16). It was the Word they deeply realized, fully believed, and personally confirmed in their lives: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
This was the one way of salvation they held onto in every situation: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well” (1 John 5:1). And this was the only message they preached, taught, and proclaimed to the ends of the earth: “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 5:42).
Whether they stood in the temple courts or sat in the homes of new believers, the message remained unchanged. Inside the church, the apostles taught the gospel that Jesus is the Christ to strengthen the saints. Outside the church, believers proclaimed the same gospel to rescue the lost. They never stopped—because they knew it was the only message that brings life.
Why only one message? Because they were absolutely convinced that no religion, philosophy, morality, or legal effort could give life to those who were spiritually dead and bound by the power of the devil. They had seen that no amount of Jewish ritual (Matthew 12:43–45), worldly philosophy (Colossians 2:8), moral living (Isaiah 64:6), or legal obedience (Romans 3:20) could break the curse of sin or release anyone from the grip of death. They believed with certainty that the power to overcome the world is found only in believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (1 John 5:5).
And this gospel—the one the Early Church lived and died for two thousand years ago—has not changed. It must not change. Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). This is the only gospel that can save the world now, just as it did then.
This is why Jesus came: as the Christ, the True King who destroyed the works of the devil, the True Priest who completely removed the curse of sin and death, and the True Prophet who opened the way from hell to heaven.
Even so, in our time, many have distorted, diluted, or replaced this gospel with a “different gospel”—one that is really no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6–9). The enemy continues to twist God’s Word, just as he did in the garden of Eden, leading countless souls astray (Genesis 3:1–7). This is why the Church today must rise.
To this end, God is calling His people once again to restore, protect, and proclaim the true gospel—that Jesus is the Christ—in this generation and for the next. He has entrusted us with one message: the message of the cross (Romans 5:8), and one mission: the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19).
So take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), and stand your ground. Like Paul, may you resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).
This gospel movement will not stop and must not stop—until Jesus returns (Matthew 24:14). So wherever you are, day after day, never stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
Prayer. Father, awaken Your Church with the one true gospel. Let us never stop teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. May this message fill our mouths and shape our lives until the day Your Son returns. In Jesus’ name, Amen.