THE KERYGMA OF THE APOSTLES
THE KERYGMA OF THE
APOSTLES
*CONTENT; Apostles preaching was Jesus
Himself. as the saving presence of God.
*Kingdom personified in Jesus Christ.-The
Messenger became the message.
*Jesus the preacher became Jesus preached
-Centered on the Person & Mission of J.Xt.
-The Paschal Mystery.
THE KERYGMA OF THE APOSTLES
• Jesus died and became the Saviour(3acts
3titles)
• Jesus risen and became the Lord
• Jesus glorified and became Christ
THE KERYGMA OF THE APOSTLES
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Peter’s 5 Kerygmatic Discourse.
l.Acts;2/14-39
2.Acts3/12-26
3.Acts4/9-12
4.Acts5/29-32
5.Acts10/34-43 Paul’s 1.Acts 13/16-41
THE MEANS OF THE
KERYGMA OF THE
APOSTLES!
FAITH AND CONVERSION.
When the first evangelizers presented the Good News of salvation, the
people always asked how they might have access to that salvation:
- 'What must I do to be saved?' Acts 16: 31
- 'What must I do?' Acts 2: 38
The replies of Peter and Paul constitute the bridge with two lanes which are
the means of making present and effective the salvation of Jesus: Faith and
Conversion:
- Paul:
'Believe, you and your household and you will be saved.' Acts 16: 31
- Peter:
‘Repent and be baptized’. Acts 2: 38
Faith and conversion are the necessary and irreplaceable means by which
salvation and freedom are achieved in each person and every environment.
So, evangelizers are always on the look out:
- That listeners might believe in Jesus. Acts 13, 39
- That they might be converted to God. Acts 20,21
FAITH
A - FAITH
• Salvation has already been fully achieved through the sacrifice,
once and for all, of Christ on the cross. Jesus has already saved
us, but how enters into communion with him in order for him to
make it the work of our salvation? Primarily through faith,
through which each of us makes it his or her own, that which
belongs to us by the gift from God: the merits of the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. In him we are heirs of all the
heavenly blessings and we have become more than conquerors
in every test and tribulation. Faith, moreover, connects us
directly with the fount of grace and allows us to have access to;
the divine presence, free from every fear of punishment,
because our sins have already been forgiven and we are at
peace with God.
• In addition, faith is the response which man makes to God. It is
not a feeling or an ideology, but a way of relating with God,
living in accordance with the saving plan of God. It is not merely
an intellectual assent, but above all, an unconditional surrender,
in accepting salvation from Jesus. This necessarily implies
renouncing any other means of salvation.
We are not saved through our own ability, but by means of faith. St Paul is
emphatic on this score, by affirming that it is not the fulfillment of the law, nor
good works which save us, but faith.
'For it is by grace that you have been saved through
faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from
God -not by works so that no one can boast.' Eph 2 : 16
. .’Man is not justified by observing the law
but by faith in Jesus Christ.' Gal 2: 16
Any one who attempts to be saved by the fulfilling of the law or by doing good
works, does not need Jesus as Savior, for he already consider himself to be his
own savior. This means that faith is not optional. It is absolutely necessary and
salvation depends on it:
‘Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but
Whoever does not believe will be condemned. ‘ Mk 16: 16
That is why Peter and Paul end with an invitation to believe in order to receive
all the fruits of the .redemption.
“ Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of his sins through
his name.'
Acts 10: 43 'Through him everyone who believes is justified
from everything you
could not be justified from by the law of Moses. ' Acts
13: 39
In reality, faith leads us to believe that we have
already been forgiven and live in such a way,
without condemnation, because our account is
already been settled and we are at peace with
God. Now we are no longer slaves to sin, nor
servants of Satan, but totally free from any
imprisonment or bondage. We experience the
first fruits of the Kingdom in our relationships
with God, with others, with creation and with
ourselves, by establishing the new heaven and
the new earth.
a. To Believe.
To believe is not limited to believing in a God, but also includes believing in
Him as God, which is clearer. To believe in God has no merit, even Satan
believes in him. To believe in him as God, implies a total and unconditional
surrender. It is not a matter in believing in something, but in Someone. It is not
just an intellectual assent, but a way of being related with God. In short, it
means accepting the plan of salvation.
b. To Trust.
We deal here with an unconditional abandonment into the hands of God, the
Father all loving and powerful. It does not depend on our faults or good
deeds, but on the merits of Christ Jesus on the cross. Our security lies in the
fact that God is going to act according to his promises, and so frees us from
all fear because we know that in him we have placed all our trust.
c. To Rely On.
Faith includes the notion of obeying God, otherwise it is not faith. The faith
which saves makes us submissive, not by a legalism, nor for fear or sense of
obligation to God, but as to a Father who loves us and seeks our good.
Finally, faith leads us to live according to what we believe, on pain of our faith
being reduced to an ideology, theory or feeling.
B: CONVERSION
The other lane on the bridge which connects us to
salvation is conversion, which is the necessaryexpression of faith. Faith without conversion would
be like fire which does not burn, or light which
does not illuminate. It would be a dead and
ineffective faith.
conversion is not limited to a moral lifestyle. It should
be much more. It is a way of life; not by our own power
or purposes but by the faith which leads us to
surrender our sinful life to Jesus and to receive his life
as the Son of God. He begins to live, love, serve and
act in us and through us.
Conversion is a way of life: we live our life with the life
of Jesus:
It is to turn your back on sin, in order above
all to turn your face towards God; or to express it
better, to surrender your heart to him.
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. The temperature is raised
very high and the heat is incandescent. However this happens
only on the part of the planet which has its face to the sun,
because what is on the other side, is terribly cold and frozen, with
a temperature approaching absolute zero. Only when the planet
rotates, and turns towards the sun, the light will shine on the
previously dark side which becomes hot.
In the same way, there are Christians who are turned towards
God, at times very close, like the thief on the left side of the cross,
but have not turned their hidden part to him, where there is some
darkness of sin or some anti-gospel attitude. A moral lifestyle is
not a condition for salvation, but the consequence of having
turned towards God.
Another aspect of conversion is the following: to live
as son and daughter.
Saul of Tarsus was converted from being just to being
a son. Because of his personal encounter with Jesus
on the road to Damascus, he began to live not merely
as a just man, but also as a son of God.
All of us need conversion. Another conversion.
Acts 2:27-38; 3:19; 4:4; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38-39; Cf Lk
24:46-48.
'Be baptized, everyone of you. ' Acts 2:38
There is a personal aspect, not
individualistic, which is irreplaceable. As each
person repents from his or 'her sins, he or
she decides to accept Jesus as the only
Saviour, being incorporated and grafted in
him No one can proclaim Jesus as Lord of
the life of another person. It is a decision no
one else can make for another.
C. EXTERNAL MANIFESTATION OF FAITH AND CONVERSION
Faith involves the whole person, and not only a part of his
personality. So, there must be an outward showing, when there is
a profound change on the inside. If conversion is not expressed
in some way, you would have to doubt if it were real. For this St
Paul declares that in order to obtain salvation it is necessary not
only to believe with the heart, but also to declare with the mouth.
'If you confess with your mouth: 'Jesus is Lord', and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. For it is with the heart that you
believe and are
justified, and it with your mouth that you confess and are saved. '
Rom 10: 9-10.
b. Communitarian:
‘They devoted themselves . . . to the fellowship. '
Acts 2:42
Those that are baptized become part of a
community, gathered together around the table of
the Lord, and the teaching of the Apostles.
If for some reason it does not climax in the
integration into the communities where the life of
love and forgiveness is effectively experienced,
and each one can render service to the others,
then the evangelizing process has been shortchanged.
c. Social Aspect.
'All the believers were together and had
everything in common. ' Acts 2:44
The person who has been evangelized, since the
community is not closed, will be able to render service
to the world. His conversion is spread so that the
civilization of love can be established. The Gospel
transforms the " structures which are submitted to the
power of sin: injustice, wars, repressive systems
which do not set value on the person, or abuse men
and women. The gospel (influences the political,
economic, cultural and ecological dimensions of
society.
When St Paul refers to the heart and the mouth, these are so
much more intimate than the more external parts of a person.
That's to say, faith must be expressed so much
more deeply. That is why what is expressed with acts and words
is what we believe and hope for.
So then in the process of kerygmatic evangelization it is
absolutely necessary for a special moment when the evangelized
person takes the opportunity to express his faith and conversion,
confessing Jesus as only Saviour, and the Lord of his entire life.
There are some, who taking this text in a fundamentalist sense,
think that it is something automatic: who one day believe and one
time confess that Jesus is risen and is Lord, are already assured
an eternal place in paradise. On the other hand, there are those
who precisely by a reaction to the previous exaggeration do not
give any importance at all to the public profession of their faith.
We believe that the right way lies in entering the mind of St Paul: that
what is believed in the heart must find public expression so that the
witnesses of this profession may also remain committed.
It is certainly not a matter of an isolated act, which automatically
achieves salvation, without an attitude of faith, for 'those who persevere
to the end will be saved.' Mt 10:22.
So it cannot be an occasional act of faith, without living the faith. For 'the
Just man lives by faith'. Rom 1:17. The justified-saved person is the one
who lives the faith in every circumstance of his life.
During the ministry of Jesus we find types of manifestations of faith:
- The woman with the issue of blood, who touches the hem of his
garment and is healed: Mk 5:25-34.
- Zaccheus, who places himself at his feet and expresses his conversion:
Lk 19:8.
Mt 16:16., 20:28., Mt 20:31 ., 7:37-38.
D. PUBLIC EXPRESSION OF FAITH AND CONVERSION
Confess Jesus as the only Savior, renouncing any other means of
salvation, happiness, fulfillment or satisfaction which is not him.
(situation of sin - be it personal or social).
Fundamental biblical text:
'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given to men by which we must be saved.' Acts 4:12.
- With respect to conversion: Jesus is my Lord.
Jesus is Lord when he effectively governs and directs that person, who
decides to live according to the principles of the gospel and standards of
the Kingdom.
Fundamental biblical text:
‘If you confess with your mouth: "Jesus is Lord" and
Believe in your heart that God raised him from the
Dead, you will be saved.' Rom 10:9.
THE MODE OF THE KERYGMA
OF THE APOSTLES
i. In community sent by Jesus
ii. With the power of the Holy Spirit…cures &
miracles
iii. With boldness Acts 4:29
iv. With love for the evangelized
v. In unity
Our response and role today- 2 Peter
3:11-12
• EXPERIENCE- Live as community be holy WAIT
• The New Commandment John 13: 34-35
• SHARE proclaim the Good News – HASTEN
• The great Commission Mark 16:15