The Courage to Witness
(Acts 4:1-22)

The ABC’s of Salvation

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

I. You need to Admit you are a sinner who needs a Savior.

A. The A in ABC’s of witnessing stands for admit. You might think a night in jail would make Peter and John afraid to witness about the power of Jesus. But notice their courage in Acts 4. The leaders ask Peter and John in verse 7: “By what power or by what name did you do this?” In verse 8 we see that Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit. And according to Acts 1:8 the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to witness so Peter says the power of Jesus healed the man.

B. The Gospel has sharp edges to it. The Gospel is like a beautiful rose among thorns. The Gospel forces people to admit that they are sinners who need a Savior. Look at what Peter was trying to get the religious leaders to admit in verse 10: they were the ones who were responsible for crucifying Jesus. And if they wanted their souls to be saved, they would have to admit their sin. That was the point Peter was also making in verse 11: the leaders had rejected Jesus.

II. You need to Believe Jesus is the only Savior available

A. The B in the ABC’s of witnessing stands for believe. You need to believe in Jesus alone to save your soul. See Acts 4:12. Peter is saying here, “It was only Jesus who could heal this lame man. Only Jesus has the power to do that. And it is only Jesus who can also save your soul and raise you from the dead one day. Only Jesus has the power to do that.”

B. Today people are fond of saying there are many different ways to God. The different religions of the world offer many different Saviors. You don’t really need Jesus. But the consistent teaching of the Bible is that only Jesus can save. Listen to Jesus in John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Jesus is unique. Jesus is the one and only. He is the only Savior that God has provided for you and for me and for the entire world.

III. You need to Choose to follow Christ

A. The ABC’s of witnessing end with the C standing for choosing to follow Christ. sometimes when you read the Bible you come across the word repent. Jesus used that word when preaching to people. The word repent means literally to turn. It means to change your mind about how you are going to live the rest of your life. In the case of Israel’s leaders, Peter and John wanted them to change how they related to Jesus. Instead of rejecting Jesus as their leader and Messiah, Peter and John wanted the leaders to worship Jesus. They wanted the leaders to choose to follow Christ instead of rejecting Christ.

Application:

Use the ABC’s of witnessing this week. Choose to follow Christ if you have not already done so.

Sources:

The Book of Acts
Commentary on Acts by F.F. Bruce
Commentary on Acts by I. Howard Marshall