Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 19
November 2, 1967
NUMBER 26, PAGE 8b

Preaching Christ

Pryde Hinton

It certainly is clear to any thinking person that one does not "preach Christ," unless he preaches everything Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit and inspired teachers and writers taught. (I realize that one cannot preach everything in the N. T. in one sermon.)

On the Pentecost of Acts 2, according to Peter's own statement in I Peter 1:12, he preached the gospel with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. I will stand by this statement unto (not merely until) death! If we would know what the gospel is, we would do well to go to Acts 2 and read what Peter said about the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow (I Peter 1:9-12).

Just because somebody insists that we preach that God hath made that same Jesus whom the Jews had crucified both Lord and Christ, does not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that this person doesn't believe Acts 2:37-47, or Colossians 1:18, or Ephesians 1:18-23, etc.

Nearly all of my life I have heard preachers quote I Peter 3:21, down to the parenthesis only (in the A. V.), and omit that which is in the parentheses. Yes, we have not quoted what Peter by the Spirit said in that sentence unless we quote through verse 22. And we certainly are NOT preaching Christ, if we let this first clause ("The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now save us") stand by itself, without the modifying prepositional phrase, "by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Indeed, In Col. 2:12 and Romans 6:3,4, baptism is inseparably connected with Christ's resurrection. In I Corinthians 15 Paul by the "eternal Spirit" affirms that without Christ's resurrection, faith is vain, preaching is vain, and the apostles are false witnesses. I affirm that when people believe with all their heart that Jesus is the Christ, God's Son, they will repent and be baptized, if they are honest, and the Scriptures so teach: Acts 2:38-41; 8:12; 8:26-39; 16:31-34. I do not quarrel with denominationalists because they preach Acts 16:31, but because they WILL NOT preach Acts 2:38-41 and Acts 16:32-34, with Acts 16:31.