1. The Gospel is the proclamation of the fact that Jesus is Lord

If we enlarge the core of the Gospel to three words it would be – Jesus is Lord. Acts 3:20,21-26; 5:30-32; 8:37; 9:20-22; 10:36-38; 17:5-9; 18:5. The word Lord in the Greek (Acts was written in the Greek language) is “Kurios” which is translated “master, one with authority”. When applied to Jesus, this term is lifted above this sense to mean “Master of masters, one with maximum authority”. (Revelation 1:5;17,18; 19:16.)

Peter stated – “The word (the Gospel) which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ – He is Lord of all …” – Acts 10:36.The apostle Paul stated regarding Jesus in Philippians 2:9-11 – “Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Paul is saying that we can confess Him as Lord now or later, but eventually we will all bow and confess Jesus Christ as Lord.In all of human history, Jesus is the only Person Who claimed to have the – authority over death (John 11: 25, 26); authority to forgive sin (Mark 2:8-11); authority to bring us into a right relationship with God (John 14:8) and authority over all other spiritual entities. (Matthew 28: 18-20)The early apostolic message was that Jesus is Lord and Savior and they proclaimed this message with boldness. Over (9) times in the book of Acts the apostle’s preaching was described as being proclaimed with “boldness”. “Therefore, they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, Who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands” – Acts 14:3.

They preached Jesus Christ as Lord. Why did the early church suffer such great persecution from the Roman authorities? The primary reason was that they rejected all of the Roman pagan philosophies and the thousands of Roman gods and proclaimed that there was only one God and only one way to God. They didn’t try to accommodate Jesus and the Roman pantheon of Gods. Just try Jesus or “add Him to your bag of religious possibilities”. This was not their message. This presentation of the Gospel got them into a great deal of trouble. They cut through the very fabric and foundation of the Roman culture and civilization; they went against the trend and religious current of their day. It took a certain, definite degree of boldness to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord.

In Roman culture, idolatry and deity worship was a vital part of the civic and social structures. When the people of a city or province desired to promote trade or immigration, they would build temples to the deities worshiped in other lands in order that their citizens could have a place of worship. An example of this would be the Roman city of Pompeii, where a temple to the goddess Isis was built and one of the reasons for its erection was to encourage trade between Egypt and Pompeii.

In Roman culture and society, shrines to gods would promote adoration and worship. At festivals, libations and sacrifices were poured out to the gods. At civic and provincial ceremonies, the images were worshiped. One of the great tests of loyalty for a Roman citizen was the worship of the Roman emperors.It was into this culture that the Gospel was preached throughout all of the provinces of the Roman Empire. The Gospel message was not that Jesus is a lord or a god, but that He is the only Lord, the only ultimate Master.

This became the basis of numerous persecutions against Christians.Acts 2:22 is a record of the 1st word, by the 1st preacher in the 1st sermon on the 1st day in the life of the 1st church and what was that word? – “Jesus, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, signs and wonders which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know…”

They preached this message of Jesus as Lord with boldness, conviction, persuasiveness and compassion. In the book of Acts, there are over (17) recorded narratives of apostolic preaching; Peter, Stephen, Paul, Silas, Phillip, Apollos… and in these messages, the words that are used are “demonstrating, persuading, reasoning, proving, showing”… that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.

Five Essentials of the Early Church’s Proclamation

The five essentials of the early Church proclamation of the Gospel recorded in the book of Acts are: – (See note #1 on the preaching of the apostles and early Gospel preachers in the book of Acts.)

1. Jesus is Lord – there is none like Him.

2. We are His eyewitnesses.

3. Jesus fulfills the Hebrew Scriptures predictions of the Messiah.

4. Jesus rose from the dead- the risen Redeemer.

5. The Holy Spirit confirms this.

This is what the early preachers of the Gospel did and they did this with boldness, passion, conviction and compassion with the power of the Holy Spirit. You cannot read the book of Acts and not see this. The apostolic preaching centered in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the apostles’ appeal was that Jesus is unique and unparalleled , the only One who can save – Acts 4:12. Their message was that Jesus is Lord – There is no one like Him. He is totally unique, special, has no equal, the most remarkable, incomparable, the most authoritative, the greatest in all respects. – Acts 3:1-10; Acts 4:1-13.