Acts 2:36-41

The knowledge of truth is revealed in no greater way than the reality of the sacrificial death, resurrection and lordship of Christ.

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line. 

"Excuse me," Governor Herter said, "do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?"  "Sorry," the woman told him. "I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person."  "But I'm starved," the governor said.  "Sorry," the woman said again. "Only one to a customer."  Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around.  "Do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of this state."  "Do you know who I am?" the woman said. "I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister."

The Truth is Divinely Authoritative

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.”

The first word in the greek sentence is translated as the word “know” in verse 36. It is the word ginosko and highlights a knowledge that is perceptive and brought about by experience. Luke’s point is that the house of Israel has intimate knowledge of God that can be certain or secure. There is no doubt what God has done for these hearers of peter’s sermon… the crucifixion of Christ has happened in history before their eyes. The very purpose for which Jesus was crucified was the perception that He was a blasphemer calling himself God.

Let all Israel know for certain, or assuredly, or beyond doubt not just what they have done but what God was accomplishing. Perceptions are often based on limited evidence. I sense this will be a primary issue as it already is. Artificial intelligence is a medium that has within it the capability to put people in places they have never been and words in their mouths they never spoke. It is altering the landscape of knowledge as to what can be trusted as an objective reliable source. It is possible to perceive something to be tru that is clearly antithetical to truth and rather is manipulative and deceptive. See here in our text a misunderstood perception made clear through the inspired word of God in Peter’s sermon.

God has made Him ( Jesus) both Lord and Christ.

The divine authority of God was manifested in Christ and in Christ obedience our payment for sin was not only commissioned, but His Lordship expressed. The point is clear. If you want to know the truth you must go to the greatest source of authority God Himself. The means of us knowing for certain the truth is to have an encounter with the giver of truth. The divine nature and essence of God in the historical Christ reveals that God wants you to know the truth for in the truth you are set free from the domain of sin and death.

The Truth is Eternally Anointed.

Acts 2:37 “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?””

The truth cuts, it severs, it divides, it penetrates. It causes fallen man to examine himself. It confronts the fallacies and mistakes of our perceptions to establish in our knowledge that we are incapable and in need. It reveals that our fallen nature has given us a perception of ourselves that is flawed and stained. The revelation of truth invades the conscious and that which was concealed is brought to light and therefore the will of man is altered. The divine authoritative will of God which is eternal is also anointed in the declaring of the word in time.

See in our text how the mind of knowing directly correlates to the will of choosing. Brothers, What shall we do? Here the anxiousness in the voice… the trepidation and fear in the tone.. the concern that once was not a matter of concern is now of primary concern. The response is simple and profound. Repent and be baptized.

Repent here is to change ones mind or purpose. Literally to turn from one way of thinking to an altogether new way of thinking. A change of the will.

James 1:21-25 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing

Secondly be baptized Peter says. Baptizo; to dip, to sink, to undergo, to submerge.

Nicandor 200 BC Poet, Physician, and most likely of cook of sorts. Recipe for pickles.

Bapto in boiling water (Dip)

Baptizo in vinegar (immerse)

The Gospel truth is more about what you are baptized into than what you are running from… more to do with what you are receiving than what you’ve rejected.

We know this is God breathed words of life to because of how its authenticated.

“I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and they claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.” — Voddie Baucham

It is one story told by one author (God) over the course of some 1500 plus years utilizing 40 writers in various time periods who didn't know each other and yet what they write is incredibly accurate and with agreement. It is why i disagree with Andy Stanley on unhitching the Gospel from the Old Testament. Peters sources in this very sermon is Acts 2 are Joel and the Psalms. God has no need of us to make Him appear culturally relevant.

It is the whole counsel of God accepted by God’s people as His authoritative, anointed and authenticated word.

The Bible is not artificial intelligence it is historical fact rooted in eternal truth producing the fruit of glorious righteousness that is both received by the implanted word and pursued through obedience to the living word. One way we can be assured that the Bible and Gospel are true is because of how it is authenticated.

The Truth is Supernaturally Authenticated.

Acts 2:38–39 “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.””

We are immersed into the water and arise changed forever. We bury our old selves and walk in the newness of life in Christ. It is baptism in the name of Jesus Christ who is the forgiver of sin because he paid for it himself. Luke is not recording a sequence of events here as much as He is describing by what power we are saved and secured in Christ. The reception or movement of the Holy Spirit brings regeneration, new life, and change. It is the means that this message and change in our lives is supernatural.

Following Christ will yield the derived fruit of forsaking worldliness and that which tasted sweet while you were unsaved and unregenerate will become bitter. Likewise the reconciled fellowship with Christ and Active obedience to the word will taste sweeter than honey for by it we find a higher pleasure, greater satisfaction and the highest joy.

The gospel that saves sinners is the same gospel that sanctifies us. We must forever be reminding ourselves of the Gospel truth. It is the supernatural authenticated work of God that brought us to life spiritually and empowers our righteous living.

The Holy Spirits awakens, enables, convicts, convinces, compels, empowers, emboldens, and transforms the whole being. The Holy Spirit of God inspires and delivers the supernatural truth by authenticating the word of God in the soul. He sign, seals, and delivers the historical, reliable, infallible truth and sears it on the conscious so fallen men and women might be raised, weak vessels might become strong, and unskilled ordinary disciples might grow to be extraordinary examples of the power of God.

God wants to change you…. and what is His means… the very word of God…. inspired by the Spirit of God and by the same Spirit gives you a means and the power to cooperate with this transformation. Some will say the truth is restrictive or a list of things not to do.

You ever had a fire get away from you. The sheer panic of that moment will make a man lose it. What prevents that moment of panic is plowing the dirt and creating fire lanes that will restrict the fire from running out of control. We describe this as a control burn. The fire can and will burn red hot and have moments where its larger and broader, and hotter and others times where it is slowly burning, but always within the parameters of the fire lane and therefore a sense of security is given to the one burning. So it is with the Holy Spirit and God’s word. God’s word establishes for us an objective line by which inside its parameters the fire burns within sometimes red hot, expansive, and seemingly spontaneous bursts of energy, other times a slow methodical burn. In both cases the security of the burning in the soul of man is informed and provided by the objective truth of the Bible and therefore it changes the landscape within the God given parameters of truth.

God’s word does not change it changes people. It transforms the mind and will and conforms the whole being into the likeness of Jesus. The power of the Holy Spirit is not whimsical expressions of ecstatic worship or emotionally charged semantics, it is the depth of God’s work of the soul, mind, and will by which those in whom He dwells are supernaturally confident in God’s ability. Supernaturally confident to do what He promised and therefore He provides the security for them to be sacrificially obedient in trusting the God of the promise.

Our authority is the Bible not because the Bible has an answer for every single question, but rather because it answers the questions that are most significant, that have eternal value. . Its authenticated truth not because a preacher has catchy expressions but rather by the Holy Spirits enabling the truth to be caught, captured in the mind whereby the conscious is held captive by the truth and it alters the very being of man.

The Biblical Truth is Divinely Authoritative, Eternally Anointed, Supernaturally Authenticated and…

The Truth is Purposefully Argumentative.

Acts 2:40 “40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

When I say argumentative I don’t intend to communicate quarrelsome, contentious, or drama filled. I intend to mean appealing and exhorting toward faithful believe and practice as if what we have in Christ matters. See it here in verse forty. With many other words he bore witness. We must bear witness of our Lord, imploring men and women to trust Him. We must explain in the greatest ways who Christ is and who we were prior to His call on our lives. We must hold the truth in such high esteem as if to acknowledge that our very identity has been changed by the word of truth.

We bear witness of what we have seen in Christ, what He has shown us in ourselves, and what awaits us when we are in His presence. The truth is the authority for our lives not because it lends to our structure or polity, not because its a tagline for our programs, but rather because we were dead in our sins and the truth that brought us to life now sanctifies our living.

We bear witness and we exhort. To call, to appeal, to encourage, to call from far off.

There are many ways you can call a cow to a trough. Ive seen farmers use sirens, horns, and even bullhorns. We would just call like this… whoop! They would come running from far off because they knew what you were going to provide was much better than what they had been consuming.

We must call our to dying men and women who are far from God to come taste and see of His goodness in the bread of life who is the Christ. We must contend for the truth with our motive, behavior and deeds. We must live in the truth, by truth, and with the truth. We must contend and argue for the souls of men. We must live with the assumption that God intends on saving someone today.

The truth is divinely authoritative, eternally anointed, supernaturally authenticated and purposefully argumentative.

The knowledge of truth is revealed in no greater way than the reality of the sacrificial death, resurrection and lordship of Christ.

George Washington Carver

Well esteemed scientist of a generation.

“ i asked God to explain the universe to me.”

I asked the Lord for something I could handle.

Peanut… 300 uses

Some of us want God to explain the universe to us which serves only as a distraction from the more important truth that God is revealing to us now.