The norm for disciples of Jesus
Alternate Title: The gospel speaking hammer**
Here is the specific thing that stood out to me in a recent read-through of Acts: It was the norm of disciples of Jesus to speak the Gospel. I think it stands out to me because there are many Christians who make zero effort to speak the Gospel or even abdicate their responsibility to do so. (And I can call them out because I use to be one. See below).
Here is a list of passages in Acts that point to the fact that it is normal for disciples of Jesus to speak the Gospel.
Acts 4:31* - After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Acts 5:42 - And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”
Acts 6:7* - So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts 8:4* - Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Acts 8:31 - Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea
Acts 11:19-20* - Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
Acts 19:9-10* - But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
It doesn’t stop in the book of Acts. The writers of the epistles also expected Gospel speaking as the norm for disciples of Jesus:
1 Thessalonians 1:8* - And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it,
Philippians 1:14* - And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.
Colossians 1:7 - You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf.
2 Timothy 4:5 - But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
Philemon 1:6* - and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ."
1 Peter 1:12 - They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
Note: I was looking for explicit statements of speaking. There are verses where we can infer the Gospel being spoken, but I chose not to include those. (For example, in Acts 2:47 God added to the church. I believe this is through the Gospel being spoken, but I left it out of this list because it doesn’t state that explicitly).
*These are instances when this Gospel speaking was ascribed to the everyday believers, and not solely the New Testament leaders.
**Gospel Speaking Hammer: If you want to use these Scriptures as a short study, have people look up the verses for themselves and then ask these Scriptures:
Who was the speaker?
Who was the receiver?
What was being spoken or shared?
What else stands out to you?
Here is a one page PDF to print as a study guide. Thanks Aaron!
Finally, a confession point: (Thankfully this was a long time ago, but I’m still ashamed to admit it.) I remember sharing with a disciple of mine that the church in Acts grew solely because they functioned as a healthy fellowship. I literally made the claim:” I don’t really see evangelism emphasized at all in Acts.” I want to own and repent of that false statement. Disciples of Jesus DID speak the Gospel regularly, it was the norm.
**I’d welcome additions to add to this document, whether better questions to ask and/or additional Scriptures.
