The Acts of the Apostles serves several purposes. For instance, it provides a link between the ministry of the Lord Jesus as recorded in the four gospels, and the Epistle to the Romans. The Lord was not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, whereas Romans is written to Jew and Gentile alike. How the transition from preaching only to Israelites to preaching also to Gentiles took place is shown in the Acts of the Apostles.

Then again, we see in the Acts the way in which the charge given to the apostles was obeyed, for the word from the Lord Jesus was, “ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”, (Acts 1.8).

Yet again, we see in the Acts the various ways in which the Devil sought to frustrate the spread of the gospel, and also the ways in which the apostles dealt with those threats.
The Acts is also the Preacher’s Handbook, and gives us insight into the way in which apostles, and others, like Stephen and Philip, presented the gospel. The following thoughts are based on the principles they followed, and will hopefully encourage the practice of preaching in a scriptural way.

The preaching was directed to those who had a certain interest in the things of God

In this case of the preaching on the day of Pentecost, it was “Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven” who were listening, Acts 2:5. There were those who mocked the speaking in tongues that happened that morning, but Peter is content to reject their mockery, and, by reference to Joel’s prophecy remind them that God’s judgment against sin is a reality, for the great and notable day of the Lord will certainly come. In other words, he left the word of God to do its convicting work in the hearts and consciences of the mockers. Having done this, he repeats his call to the nation to listen, verse 22. In this way he safeguards himself against the charge of disobeying the word of the Lord Jesus when He said, “give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine”, Matthew 7:6.

The preaching was conducted in circumstances and situations conducive to serious thought

It is reasonable to assume that Peter’s address was given in the temple courts, the place where the Lord Jesus often taught, and where it was expected that the things of God would be set out. (At the end of the chapter the believers were found continuing with one accord in the temple, verse 46). Later on, it was the apostle Paul’s constant practice to seek out the Jewish synagogue in a place, and preach there to people who had an interest in Divine things. If, as sometimes happened, he was ejected from the synagogue, he did not stand in the street to harangue the worshippers as they emerged after their devotions, but went to a house nearby, so that if there were those interested in what he had to say, they could easily access the preaching.
This is not retreating in cowardly fashion to meet in a “holy huddle”, but a realistic and spiritual reaction to the situation, whilst still giving men the opportunity to seek the truth. That this was the mind of the Lord is seen in the fact that the large assembly in Corinth was formed as a result, Acts 18:6-11, and even the chief ruler of the synagogue believed on the Lord. And when the same thing happened at Ephesus, “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks”, Acts 19:8-10. So to teach and preach in a building does not contravene the Lord’s command to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, Mark 16:15. Paul was in the world when he preached in the synagogue, or in Justus’ house, or in Tyrannus’ school.

The preaching began with a quotation from the word of God
The verses from Joel that the apostle quoted made up the third chapter of the prophecy of Joel in the Hebrew Bible, although to us they are the end-verses of chapter 2. So the apostle was not averse to citing a large portion of the scriptures. There were no “wonders in heaven above”, and “signs in the earth beneath” on that day, but Peter wanted to warn the mockers about the day of judgment so as to silence them, and then extract two further thoughts from the prophecy, one at the beginning and one at the end. At the beginning Joel speaks of the pouring out of the Spirit, and at the end he declares that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. Peter did not omit the intervening verses however, so that those he did use were rooted in the context. His listeners were devout Jews, and would have been quick to criticise any apparent misuse of the holy scriptures they loved and revered. We should beware of giving the impression that we think some portions of scripture are redundant and may be missed out.
The public reading of the scriptures should be done reverently, accurately, and intelligently. They are far more important than anything we may say about them, so they should be given their due and prominent place. The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to “give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine”, 1 Timothy 4:13. A blessing is promised to those who publicly read the scriptures in the hearing of the people, Revelation 1:3. Attention should be given to the punctuation, and the correct amount of weight given to each word, or else the sense will be lost. The word of God does not need to be dramatised, but it does need to be read in a way that holds the attention.
It is not the preacher’s task to constantly bombard his hearers with anecdotes, personal experiences, or hymn quotes. These may have a limited use when done sparingly, but they are no substitute for the plain teaching of the truth of the word of God. This is what the Spirit uses. Wrote James, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth”, James 1:18. We should preach to people assuming they are present because they are seeking God, not seeking to be entertained.

The preaching was Christ-centred

The preaching was not sinner-centred. In the opening of his classic treatise on the gospel, the apostle Paul wrote, “the gospel of God … concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord”, Romans 1:1, 3. When Philip went down to Samaria he “preached Christ unto them”, Acts 8:5. When he met the eunuch in the desert he “preached unto him Jesus”, verse 35. When Paul was converted “he preached Christ in the synagogue, that he is the Son of God”, Acts 9:20. When some believers from Cyprus and Cyrene came to Antioch, they “spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus”, Acts 11:20. In the synagogue in Thessalonica it was Jesus that Paul preached unto them, that He is Christ, Acts 17:3. In Athens, Paul preached Jesus, and the resurrection, Acts 17:18. In Corinth Paul testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ, Acts 18:5.
We have been given the inspired account of what the apostles actually said when they preached. This, of course, is a great help to preachers. We shall look in vain, however, for any help as to how to appeal effectively to people to get saved. No advice on what emotional levers to pull; or how to coax them “over the line”. The reason why this advice is lacking is simple: there is no need for it.
So the gospel is not a constant appeal to the hearers to believe and get saved, but a setting forth of the truth regarding the person of Christ. In fact the preachers in the book of the Acts never made an appeal; they simply presented facts. The gospel is preached “with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven”, 1 Peter 1:12, so the preacher has the assurance that the Holy Spirit will do His sovereign work of convicting and convincing men. It is not left to human ingenuity or contrivance to try to produce results, for “the wind bloweth where it listeth”, John 3:8.
The apostle Peter had the happy experience of finding that every person in his audience was converted before he had finished his message, Acts 10:44-48. The Holy Spirit had done His work, and Peter did not need to coax his hearers to believe.
Of course the apostle Paul wrote, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”, 2 Corinthians 5:11, but how did he do it? The word for persuade means “to convince by argument”, so as he expounded the scriptures, the apostle presented valid reasons why people should believe; but it was not his task to coerce them. It is the Spirit’s work to “compel them to come in”, Lk 14:23.

The preaching was instructive

We ought to either learn or re-learn something about the Lord Jesus every time we hear the gospel. It is said of the apostles that “they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ”, Acts 5:42. So they taught Him before they preached Him. It is not that they preached to sinners and taught the converts. The teaching was part of the presentation of the gospel. After all, this was what the Lord had commanded when He said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations”, Mattew 28:19. Sinners need to know on whom they are believing for salvation.
We learn how the apostle Paul went about this by the account of his preaching in Thessalonica. For three sabbath days he “reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ”, Acts 17:2, 3. So he first of all opened up thoroughly the meaning of the scriptures that spoke of Christ, and then showed that Jesus of Nazareth fulfils those scriptures. As a result of this “some of them believed”. The comparative fewness of Jews who believed does not reflect on the standard of the preaching, or the method used, but simply on the hardness of the hearts of men, over which the preacher has no control.
The gospel hall should be a seat of learning for believer and unbeliever alike. It should be known in the locality as the place where the truth of God is taught.

The preaching was comprehensive

We see this when we notice the range of the apostle Peter’s address at Pentecost. He began by pointing out that the miracle-ministry of Christ was the sign that God approved of Him as a man, Acts 2:22. Then he pointed out that Jesus of Nazareth was the subject of God’s eternal counsel, verse 23. He charged the nation with their sin in handing Christ over to the Gentiles to crucify until He was dead, verse 23. He then announced that God has raised Him from the dead. The implication of these things would not be lost on the intelligence of his hearers. But more than this, God has exalted Him to His very throne, where He waits until His foes will be subdued under Him when He reigns on earth as the son of David.
Having presented the people with these facts, the apostle’s task is over for the moment. He has made known the truth that the Spirit uses, and the result was that they were pricked in their heart as the Spirit convicted them. It is only when they have reached this point, and they ask what they should do, that the apostle makes his appeal to them, not to believe, but to repent. Faith is the expression of a repentant heart, and is valueless if there is no prior repentance.

The preaching consisted of the setting forth of the truth of the word of God

Peter based what he had to say on various passages from the Old Testament, namely Joel 2, Ps 16, and Ps 110. He showed how these scriptures were fulfilled in Christ. We in our day have the added resource of the New Testament, and passages relevant to the gospel abound.
In his first epistle the apostle Peter wrote about being born again, “not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever”. Then in support of this he quoted from Isaiah 40 the words, “For all flesh is as grass; and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever”. Then he added, “And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you”, 1 Peter 1:23-25. So the answer for men who are but flesh, and are as frail as grass and its insignificant flower, is the word of God. Men are frail and passing, but the word of God is strong and eternal. If men are to gain life from God they must do so by the agency of His living word. As James wrote, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures”, James 1:18. It is the preacher’s solemn responsibility, then, to faithfully present the truth of that word. He does not need to be a high-pressure salesman, for it is the Spirit of God who convinces men. Nor does he need to tell emotional stories to try to sway men’s feelings. His duty is to present the unaltered word of God to men.
Notice the order of words in the quote from 1 Peter chapter 1. It is not “and this is the gospel by which the word is preached unto you”, but rather, “this is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you”. This is an important difference. So what is preached is the word, (meaning the scriptures connected with the subject in hand), and the gospel is the expression of the truth of that word in a format which is relevant to sinners. The scriptures are not merely a tool to better present the gospel, perhaps to provide an illustration.
We have an example of this with Philip, who began at the scripture the eunuch was reading, and preached Jesus from it, Acts 8:35. And when Paul went to Corinth he preached that Christ had died, that He was buried, that He was raised, and that He was seen afterwards, but he preached this message as being “according to the scriptures”, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

The preaching was done by Spirit-filled men

The promise of the Lord Jesus to His own was, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me”, Acts 1:8. The preachers were not full of themselves, but of the Spirit. He it was who enabled and encouraged them in their task. Since it is one of the Spirit’s functions to glorify Christ, John 16:14, then all trace of self-advertisement was absent from apostolic preachers, so that as they preached their hearers “saw no man save Jesus only”, Mattew 17:8. All those things that draw attention to the preacher, and draw attention away from Christ, would have been absent. Theirs was a priestly ministry, (such is the force of the word “serve” in Romans 1:9, and they conducted themselves with dignity and gravity. There was no ostentation, whether it be in dress or mannerisms. These were men who were on heaven’s business, and they let nothing of man intrude in their preaching.
Perhaps we under-estimate the impact that the preacher has on his audience. All the time he is before his hearers, they are tending to judge his message by looking at him. If he lacks credibility in some way, then in the eyes of the natural man the gospel loses credibility in like measure. Of course it is the Spirit who works and convicts, but the preacher should do his utmost not to get in the way of that work. He must be on top of his subject without appearing to be a know-all. He must look neat and tidy without being outlandish or ostentatious. He must be confident and bold without being brash. Treat his audience with respect without being patronising. Be polite without compromising. Be faithful yet remembering to be gracious. Be serious without being boring. Earnest without being eccentric. Winsome without being sentimental. Joyful without being jolly. Any display of self will detract from the Man of the message. To quote the apostle’s words, “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord”, 2 Corinthians 4:5.

The preaching was done by those well-versed in the scriptures

Of course even newly-saved believers may testify in a private capacity, but when it comes to public preaching, a thorough working knowledge of the scriptures is essential. This requires study, and the preacher should expect to study for three hours for every fifteen minutes of message. Those who preach should be prepared for this, and let less important things go.
May we heed the solemn exhortation of Paul to Timothy in the light of the coming of Christ to judge the living and the dead, “preach the word”, 2 Timothy 4:2. And may the word of God “mightily prevail” in our day, Acts 19:20.