Acts - 5

Acts – 5

Acts 2:14-36

Introduction

Have you ever received some bad news and asked, “What do I do now? I’m not sure what to do with this information.” People felt this way when Covid hit and we started lockdowns. How do I respond to this? What about my job? Should I be afraid? Two years later, it seems we are still asking a lot of those questions. Most of us had had a moment or two like this in life…now what?

- You had a diagnosis from a doctor, and it wasn’t good news

- You had a spouse confess something dark, or tell you they don’t love you anymore

- You were handed a pink slip and shown out of the office

In moments where we receive bad or troubling news, this is the question we ask: what do I do now? We want to respond correctly. We want to respond wisely. That was certainly the case for the crowd in Acts 2. They have all gathered around because of the miracles occurring among Jesus’ disciples. They don’t quite know what to make of it. The Apostle Peter stands up on behalf of the rest of the apostles and preaches an incredible sermon. It is biblically saturated. It is Christ-exalting. He explains what is happening, that God is pouring out His Spirit onto His people.

After making powerful declarations about Jesus…Jesus Saves, Call on Him / Jesus Lives, Hope in Him / Jesus Reigns, Surrender to Him…he delivers the final blow of the sermon. Acts 2:36 - 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Put yourself in their shoes for a minute: you have grown up Jewish in every sense of the word. Your entire life has been spent worshiping God as best you know how. You celebrate all the Jewish feasts each year. You even travel to Jerusalem for some of these feasts, like the Feast of Pentecost. All your life you have heard about the Messiah, the one promised repeatedly in the OT. He will come and rescue God’s covenant people. He will bring God’s own presence to the world. Not only will He rule over His people, but He will also rule over the universe. You long for Him to arrive. Your hope is fully in Him.

For the last few years, you have heard all sort of opinions on this Jesus guy. He had a unique heritage, coming from the lineage of your greatest King…David. Rumor was that His birth had some miraculous things happening around it, like His own mother being a virgin and angels announcing it all. You have heard of how He healed the sick, calmed the storm, even raised people from the dead. But your leaders assured you that this Jesus was a false prophet, an imposter Messiah. He wasn’t who He claimed to be. He’s a blasphemer. He’s a liar. So when the opportunity arises at the Feast of Passover, just 50 days ago, you heartily shouted “Crucify Him!” with the rest of the crowd. And then you went home, feeling righteous about getting rid of this imposter. You rejected this Jesus.

But now…here Peter stands preaching this sermon. He proves from the OT you know so well that Jesus really is who He claimed to be. While you shouted to ensure His death, God raised Him to life. God, the God you worship, the God you claim ultimate allegiance to…God has declared this Jesus to be the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. God has declared this Jesus to be Lord. And He has been exalted above the Heavens, ruling and reigning over all things. And you…well, you rejected Him and killed Him. Uh oh.

TS – now what? How do you respond to such news? What do I do now? Turns out, that is precisely the question they ask Peter. And he gives to them the right response.

Acts 2:37-41 - 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

TS – when you hear the good news of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done…there is a clear, right response. For those who aren’t yet Christians, you need to know what steps to take to follow Jesus. For those who already are Christians, you need to ensure you have met all the criteria God has set. Plus, you always need to know how to guide another person to begin following Jesus. Peter presents 3 clear steps in answer to this question – what do I do now:

1. RECEIVE (V. 37,41)

This is where it all begins. Nothing can happen, no change can occur, until you receive the message. This is what this crowd did. V. 37 - 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” They ask the ‘how to respond’ question because they were ‘cut to the heart.’ It literally reads, ‘stabbed’ in the heart. This is the power of God’s Word. Hebrews 4:12 - 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…

It wasn’t Peter’s preaching skill that did this. It wasn’t his persuasive nature. It wasn’t by heaping loads of guilt on them. It wasn’t pressure. He simply presented God’s Word to them. This is what the Bible says. Look at what God has done. And the knife-like nature of Scripture pierced their hard hearts. To be ‘cut to the heart’ means they were convicted. Meaning this…they believed that what Peter said was true. You aren’t convicted by something you know to be false. But if you believe it’s true, that is exactly what will happen. And when their sin of rejecting Christ was exposed, they knew it was true.

This is confirmed later in v. 41 that “those who receivedhis word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” They received his word. They believed it was true. This is where the response to Jesus begins, but it is NOT where the response to Jesus ends. Too many people stop at mere belief. We are saved by grace through faith…not belief. They are different things. To have faith means that you believe. To believe does not mean that you have faith. Let me explain.

If you begin and end your response to Jesus with belief that it is true, you are not in good company. James 2:19 - 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Demons believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Satan has good theology in the sense that he believes in God and knows who Jesus is. Belief does not equal salvation. Faith does. Faith includes belief. Faith begins with belief. Faith adds trust. You may believe in electricity, but you don’t have faith in it until you flip the switch and know it will turn on the light. You must believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be and that He really did die on the cross for your sins and rise from the dead. But you must also trust in His work for you, not in your own goodness or morality, but in Jesus’ work for you. That is salvation. Receive His Word.

2. REPENT (V. 38)

When Peter answers their question, “Brothers, what shall we do?” what he does NOT say to them is just as important as what he does say. V. 38 - 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What do we do? How do we respond? Now, they already believed and are convicted. Notice Peter did not say when they asked what they should do…nothing. You already believe, you’re good to go. Nope, he gave them action steps. They had received his word, but they weren’t finished yet.

They needed to repent. The word for repent, metanoia, could literally translate as “change your mind.” Which makes complete sense. They’ve just been given new information. They had held one view of Jesus and now they have been confronted with the falseness of their former beliefs. What do you do with that? You change your mind. You draw different conclusions because of the new information.

Repentance is the continual call on God’s people. It’s called for here in Acts 2:38.

- 3:19 - 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

- 8:22 - 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

- 17:30 - 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

The life of following Jesus is a life of always changing your mind. Every single time we encounter God, every single time we read Scripture, when we are presented with new information or are convicted of something (b/c we receive his word), we change our minds. We agree with Him. We recognize how we were wrong and He is right. That is repentance.

And this change of mind leads directly to a change of life. Proverbs 23:7 in its famous KJV translation – “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If you change how you think, you will change how you live. If you truly change your mind about what is important in your life, your priorities will shift, and your life will change. This is true with your health, your marriage, your career…when you are presented with new information and you now come to new conclusions, your life will shift over to adapt to those new conclusions.

That is what Peter is calling this crowd to do with Jesus. They had rejected Him. They had called Him a liar. They had killed Him. But now…now that they know the truth of Jesus’ identity…change your mind about Him. Don’t think that way anymore. You had false beliefs, now have true beliefs. And when you do that, the only logical next step is to alter your life to fit those new truths. Instead of rejecting Jesus, you will accept Jesus. Instead of labeling Jesus a liar, you will see Him as the fountain of all truth. Instead of mocking Jesus, you will bend the knee in surrender to Him as Lord.

Repentance is not a declaration of perfection. You aren’t saying that you are now going in a new direction, and you’ll never mess up again. You are simply acknowledging to yourself that you used to think that way, but now you think this way. You used to believe that, now you believe this. Your life was headed that direction, now it is headed this direction.

TS – all of this is internal. It’s a change of mind. Yes, it leads to a changed life, but it begins in the mind. But know that the response to Jesus is not just internal. The Gospel demands a radical turn of life…that is evidenced internally by faith and repentance, but it is also represented externally, which is where Peter goes next. Receive, Repent…

3. RESPOND (V. 38)

Again, what Peter does NOT say here is just as important as what he does say. He does not say:

- You already believe, you’re all set

- Repent and sign a card

- Repent and write a check

He says, v. 38 – repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This response is the external response, signaling that radical turn of life. Sadly, baptism has become a divisive issue among Christians…when to do it, how to do it, what it means. My church teaches this, my grandma said that…Let’s do something crazy here for a couple minutes…let’s see what the Bible says about it. It begins right here in Acts 2:38…baptism is for repentant believers. And it results in two things: the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. I didn’t say that, the Bible did.

Acts 22:16 - 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

Romans 6:3-4 - 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Galatians 3:26-27 - 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Colossians 2:12 - 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

1 Peter 3:21 - 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Here are some conclusions to draw:

- Baptism is an expression of faith in the resurrected Christ

- Baptism is linked to salvation and the forgiveness of sins every time it is mentioned

Now, let’s talk about some errors people make regarding baptism: first, they under-emphasize it. They’ll claim that the way to respond to Jesus is to believe, to repent, and then…whatever. It’s as if Acts 2:38, and all of these other verses, just aren’t in the Bible. You cannot ignore clear teaching in the Bible just because you don’t like it. God has set this to be the external response to the Gospel, we don’t get to change that.

The second error is the opposite: they over-emphasize it. Those who over-emphasize baptism make it the end all of response to Jesus. What do you do with the Good News of Jesus? Just get dunked and you’re done. They turn baptism into some magical formula that makes people Christians. That just isn’t the case. While baptism is linked to salvation and forgiveness in the Bible, it is also linked to faith. Baptism is an expression of faith. Baptism is only meaningful and effective when it is done by someone who already believes in Jesus and has repented of their sin. Otherwise, you’ve just taken a bath in front of some church people. That is what 1 Peter 3:21 was all about. Baptism isn’t about a physical washing of your body, but an appeal of a good conscience towards God. This is why we cannot say that just because someone was baptized means they are automatically a Christian. Maybe they did it for the wrong reasons. Maybe they didn’t really believe. Maybe that had not repented.

But at the same time, baptism is always linked to salvation and forgiveness…we cannot ignore that. Baptism is to be done by a repentant believer, by immersion…the Greek word baptizo means to dip, dunk, plunge. It was used to refer to the sinking of a ship or to kill someone by drowning them. Sprinkling and pouring are not biblical forms of baptism.

So here is what I tell people who are repentant believers…get in the water.

- If you were sprinkled as a baby…get in the water.

- If you were poured on and confirmed as a kid…get in the water.

- If you were immersed as a kid but are unsure you understood what you were doing…get in the water.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. For those who have participated in other forms of baptism, but not immersion, or to those who were not taught biblical baptism in whatever church you grew up in…if you are a repentant believer, we don’t question your salvation. Now it becomes an issue of obedience. Are you going to do what God has clearly taught, or are you going to defy it for whatever reasons you can come up with?

ILL – a few years ago I met with a couple who had begun attending here. They came from multiple church backgrounds, none of which taught biblical baptism. We talked through all the NT teaches, and went through the whole schpeal like I just did…not questioning salvation, just want lives to line up with Scripture as much as possible. She was ready and would have jumped in the water immediately. His response…it’ll be a cold day in Hell before I get in that water. He had been sprinkled on a child and refused to follow clear biblical teaching. I said, “I wasn’t questioning your salvation earlier, but I absolutely am now.” Christians want to follow Jesus. Christians want to obey God’s commands. Christians want to align their lives with the truth of Scripture as closely as possible. Get in the water. BAPTISM BOOK

Two results are guaranteed to those who receive, repent, and respond to the Gospel…forgiveness and the granting of the Holy Spirit. The word for forgiveness is a banking term, used to refer to the elimination of debt. God will wipe away the debt your sin owes to Him. And He will come to live with you. That is what had started this whole event anyway. The Holy Spirit had come to the followers of Jesus. That wasn’t just for the 12 apostles. That wasn’t just for the 120 gathered in that upper room. The Holy Spirit is for all who will receive, repent, and respond to Jesus.

Peter keeps preaching. All we have recorded in Acts 2 is just a snapshot of all he said that day. He continued to bear witness to Christ. He continued to exhort them. “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”The word for crooked is scolios. Someone who has scoliosishas a curvature to their spine, a crookedness about it. That is the description of society that rejects Christ. It is crooked. It is morally and ethically off. There is only one way to be saved out of that reality. There is only one way to be saved at all…receive, repent, respond.