Misuse of Scripture
Many of those who keep the Sabbaths and the festivals (Lev. 23 ) are misusing the verse of Acts 5:29 when they quote it to support obedience to the Sabbath and the festivals. That was my argument in my previous article on prooftexting. They misunderstand the immediate context and the larger context of what they are quoting. They should read the chapters surrounding that particular verse.
Gospel of the Kingdom of God
Along these same chapters and context, I would like to point out another shocking truth which stood out as I re-read the early chapters of Acts -- contrary to what I have believed for some 23 years previously! We were taught that the early apostles preached about the soon-coming Kingdom of God. And by "Kingdom of God," it meant a soon-coming world government which will reign for a thousand years (the millennium) and there will be peace, prosperity and happiness. It was called "the world tomorrow." It had all the parts of a kingdom like: ruler, the subjects, the laws (Sabbaths and festivals included) and the territory (the earth). That was the gospel we were taught.
Messenger or Message?
We were also taught that Jesus Christ was the messenger. The message was not about him. The message was about the Kingdom of God -- meaning, the millennium, the "world tomorrow." And that's great! Who wouldn't want to be in such a kind of Utopian society. But...
Shocking Truth of the Gospel
But what is the truth! If we go back to these same early chapters of Acts that we discussed in my previous article on prooftexting, there would be no shadow of a doubt that the early apostles preached Christ and not about the millennium! Read it for yourself! The reason why they were beaten and jailed was because they were preaching Christ! The Jewish religious leaders were also anticipating the setting up of the Kingdom of God in their day --see Acts 1 . They were also waiting for the Messiah -- but missed him. They knew about that prophecy. What they were opposed to was the preaching about Christ!
Peter's First Sermon About Christ
The very "first sermon" by the Apostle Peter when the church was established in Acts 2 during Pentecost was about Christ! Read it for yourself! The messenger (Christ) is also the message! The gospel! The gospel is about Jesus Christ! Of course, it was also called the "gospel of the Kingdom of God" rightly so because Jesus is also the King of that Kingdom!
Gospel According to Paul
In my denomination (before we changed our doctrines), the last half of First Corinthians 15 was always quoted because we do believe in the resurrection. But what was shocking to me to find out after more than two decades was, we never ever quoted the first few verses of First Corinthians 15! Why? Why was I never taught it by my pastors? It's the gospel received by the Apostle Paul from Christ and of which he passed on faithfully to others! What is this gospel?
The True Gospel
Let me end with these verses (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ):
"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures"
That is the real gospel according to Paul and the other apostles, the gospel about Jesus Christ -- the Savior of the whole world! This is of "first importance!"
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