ACTS 2:14-41

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Predestination

Predestination vs Reprobation

This is where the doctrine of reprobation can be particularly difficult to grasp, isn't it? The idea that God passes over some, leaving them in their sin, can seem harsh and even unjust. But Sproul makes an important clarification here. God doesn't force anyone to sin or implant evil in their hearts. He simply allows them to follow their own natural inclinations, which, apart from His grace, are always bent towards rebellion and unbelief. It's a sobering truth, but it underscores the utter depravity of human nature. We are so corrupted by sin that, left to ourselves, we would never choose God. This doesn't mean God takes pleasure in the condemnation of the reprobate. It's a mystery why He chooses some and not others, but we can be assured that His ways are just and righteous, even when we can't fully comprehend them. Ultimately, this doctrine should drive us to a deeper appreciation of God's grace. It's a grace that's not only undeserved, but also unasked for. It's a grace that rescues us from the pit of our own sinfulness and brings us into fellowship with a holy God.

Opening Questions

What’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for you?

Can you think of a movie or a TV show in which someone made a sacrifice for someone else?

Open in Prayer

Passage

Acts 2:14–41 CSB

Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy. I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. “Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know. Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death. For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me in Hades or allow your holy one to see decay. You have revealed the paths of life to me; you will fill me with gladness in your presence. “Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay. “God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

Lesson

According to Acts 2:14, who speaks up after the reactions of the crowd at Pentecost?

Peter gets up to speak to the crowd.

What does Peter say to the crowd first (vv. 15-16)?

He addresses their objection, saying that the disciples aren’t drunk; it’s only 9 a.m. Rather, they’re seeing a prophecy from Joel 2 fulfilled.

In verse 17, when does Peter (quoting Joel) observe that these things will take place?

These things will take place in “the last days.”

What are some of the things that will happen in the last days (vv. 17-18)?

God’s Spirit will be poured out on all flesh, sons and daughters will prophesy, young men will see visions, old men will dream dreams, etc.

How was Jesus attested to by God to the people of Israel (v. 22)?

With mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in their midst.

How was Jesus killed, according to verses 22-23?

He was given over to be crucified according to “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,” and yet Peter blames the Jews he’s addressing for killing Jesus.

Peter quotes Psalm 16, and then says that David foresaw and spoke about what (v. 31)?

Peter says that this Psalm foresaw Christ and His resurrection.

What has God made Jesus, according to verse 36?

God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ.

The crowd is cut to the heart and asks what they should do. What is Peter’s answer in verse 38?

They should “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 Holy Spirit.”

SO WHAT?

Why do you think Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, quotes the Joel 2 passage?

The quotation from Joel, and even the psalm that follows, show us that God’s plan to send Jesus to live and die for us was not a plan that was merely thrown together when humans proved themselves completely and totally irredeemable. Quotations from the Old Testament show us that Jesus was God’s plan for the redemption of humanity from before creation (as we see in Acts 2: 22-23).

Christians believe, because of the testimony of the Bible, that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. Does Peter calling Jesus “a man attested to you by God” pose a problem for Jesus’ divinity?

Some read this verse (in addition to verse 36) and conclude that Jesus is merely a man. In reality, this verse is not a problem for Jesus’ divinity because what is in view here is His work as man (according to His human nature) on earth. Though Jesus is fully God, He is also fully man, so we should not shy away from passages that speak of His humanity. Even verse 36, where Peter mentions that God made Jesus both Lord and Christ, is not problematic when we consider that Jesus is given the name that is above every name after He completes His work on earth.

What does it mean that Peter’s hearers were “cut to the heart” (v. 37)?

This means that, when confronted with the fact that they indeed killed Jesus the Lord by delivering him up to be crucified, they felt their sinfulness. They came face-to-face with their sin and felt deep remorse about what they had done and the role they played in what happened to Jesus.

Why would the next question of members of the crowd be, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

When confronted with their sin, the crowd’s only option is to ask how they might overcome it or be forgiven. In the same way a person diagnosed with a disease immediately wants to know about a remedy, the crowd desires to be cured of their sin problem.

If even Jesus’ killers were forgiven of their sin, what does that mean for you and your sin?

Answers may vary. At minimum, it means that no matter what you’ve done or how much you’ve sinned, you’re not beyond the reach of Christ’s forgiveness. If Christ came to earth for the express purpose of forgiving sin, why would he forego a chance to forgive you of your sins?

What does this passage tell you about yourself? What does it tell you about God?

Answers may vary. It tells us at least that we are sinful and that we’re in need of rescue. We’re no better than the crowd Peter is addressing. It also tells us that God loves to forgive His people—He’s a merciful God who offers forgiveness to all who will receive it.

What does the fact that Jesus was God’s plan from before the creation of the world tell you about God?

Answers may vary. It should tell us that God is not surprised by our sinfulness, and that He loves us even before we can do anything for Him. Even in our sinfulness, God is still drawn to us in love.

Discussion

Verse 31 mentions that Christ was not abandoned in Hades. We also see in the Apostle’s Creed that “He descended into Hell. How do you understand that?

Jesus didn't just die on the cross, he went down into the depths of hell itself. Why? Not because he deserved it, but because we did. He took the punishment we were due, so we wouldn't have to.

Think of it like this: hell is a fire, and we were headed straight for it. But Jesus stepped in, took the flames on himself, and left us with a one-way ticket to heaven.

So when you say you believe in Jesus, you're not just saying you believe he existed. You're saying you believe he went through hell for you, so you wouldn't have to. You're saying you believe he earned your salvation, and that one day you'll be with him in heaven, experiencing joy and glory that will never end. That's the power of Christ's descent into hell. It's not just a story, it's your salvation.

An Aid to the Heidelberg Catechism Question 44

Why is there added, “he descended into hell?”

That in my greatest temptations, I may be assured, and wholly comfort myself in this, that my Lord Jesus Christ, by his inexpressible anguish, pains, terrors, and hellish agonies, in which he was plunged during all his sufferings, but especially on the cross, hath delivered me from the anguish and torments of hell.

Why Christ Suffered in His Soul the Torments of Hell

1. The word hell (in Hebrew “Sheol,” in the Greek “Hades,” in the German “Hoelle,” is derived from Hel or Helle, the goddess of the infernal world in German mythology,) has various significations.

Ursinus accepts the three following:

a) The grave. Gen. 42:38, 1 Kings 2:9.

b) The place of the damned. Matt. 11:23, Luke 16:23.

c) The anguish and torments of hell. Ps. 116:3, Ps. 30:3; 86:13, 1 Sam. 2:6.

2. As Christ was not only to redeem us in body, but also in soul from eternal condemnation, so He must not merely die, but also suffer in his soul the torments of hell, the punishment for our sins. This did not occur in the place of the damned, but at His death; “my Lord Jesus Christ, by his inexpressible anguish, pains and terrors, which he suffered in his soul upon the cross, and before, hath delivered me from the anguish and torments of hell.”

a) “Before,” in Gethsemane, when He was “sorrowful and very heavy,” and His soul was “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matt. 26:37, 38), when He was “in an agony,” and “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood.” Luke 22:44.

b) “Upon the cross,” when He cried out: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!” Matt. 27:46; when the father withdrew from him the feeling of His presence and communion, and He suffered the anguish and terror of those who are rejected of God.

3. By Christ’s suffering upon the cross, and before, the torments of hell:

a) Prophecy, Hosea 13:14, was fulfilled.

b) There is secured for me a certain comfort in the midst of my greatest temptations, as in times of doubt of my redemption and salvation through Christ. Ps. 42:7, 8, Isa. 49, 1 Thes. 1:10, 1 Cor. 15:55, 57.

4. The conception, that Christ felt the torments of hell in His soul, not after His death in the abode of the damned, but in His sufferings in Gethsemane and upon the cross, is undoubtedly the correct one; for His redemptive work was completed by His death. John 19:30. But this belongs properly to question 37, which treats of the sufferings of Christ. “Especially at the end of his life, he sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind.” The fact that the expression, “He descended into hell,” follows the articles, “was crucified, dead and buried,” gives us a hint as to where the soul of Christ remained after His death, while His body lay in the grave. Neither is it said anywhere, that Christ arose from death, but “from the dead.”

5. That which in the German translation of the Bible has been rendered “Hoelle”—Sheol, Hades—has in the original in one place the signification grave, in another the place or torment of the damned, then again it signified the realm of the dead, i.e., all who have departed from the earthly life, who are divided into two classes, the saved and the unsaved. Christ remained in death, i.e., in the state of death, as long as body and soul were separated.

6. How we are to conceive of the realm of the dead, appears from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). In connection with which it is to be remembered that not fancies, but veritable relations always lie at the basis of that which is figurative in the parables of the Lord. Those who have departed from this life, are found in two entirely separate places. Verse 26. From the expression “pass from hence,” and from verse 23, where the rich man “lift up his eyes and seeth Abraham afar off,” it follows, that the abode of the saved is on high (in “heaven,” where the holy angels carried Lazarus), and the abode of the damned is in the deep (in “hell,” where also the fallen angels are). Matt. 25:41. The Scriptures speak not only of heaven in general, but also of “heavens.” Paul was “caught up to the third heaven.” 2 Cor. 12:2. Christ says: “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” John 14:2. The abode of the blessed, where the faithful of the Old Covenant enjoy the rest and refreshment of eternal life, is called Abraham’s bosom, because unto him, the father of the faithful, are gathered those of his posterity (he was gathered to his people), who are appointed unto eternal life. Thither also the soul of Christ, as a son of Abraham according to the flesh, went at death, where it was in the hands of His heavenly Father, into which He had commended it (His human “spirit,” Luke 23:46), when He died upon the cross. To this points His answer to the thief upon the cross: “To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. To the highest heaven of glory, upon the throne of majesty, Christ was exalted only by His ascension.

Of a “limbo” or a “purgatory,” as the Romish Church teaches, the Scriptures do not know anything, neither of what is taught by the Lutheran Church that Christ, before His appearance as risen, went immediately with body and soul, to the place of the damned, there to celebrate His triumph over hell and the devil.

Closing