The first gospel sermon — all about EVIDENCE.

The fundamental requirement of the gospel is faith. One cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). The first sermon preached that included the offer of complete forgiveness of sins is recorded in Acts 2:14-39. It concludes by giving answer to their question: “What shall we do?” (v.37) That question is the result of their conviction. They believed! The sermon was designed to produce that faith by supplying strong evidence – reasons to believe. What evidence did Peter supply?

• prophecy about the events that were occurring on that day (v.17-21).
• miracles, signs and wonders openly done by Jesus (v. 22).
• the public life of Jesus known to multitudes of people (v. 22).
• the unique and unprecedented death of Jesus, an innocent man (v. 23).
• The Resurrection — the ultimate proof … for which there must be further proof (v.24).
• David’s prophecy about the resurrection (v. 25-27, 30-31).
• David’s body still in the tomb vs. the empty tomb of Jesus (v. 29).
• testimony of many eye witnesses who saw Jesus alive after the crucifixion (v. 32).
• the outpouring of miracles (v.1-12) on this Pentecost in Jerusalem (33).