Acts 2:37-41 (NIV)
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Peter’s Spirit-empowered message (of which we only have the highlights recorded here – verse 40) struck the hearts of the Jewish people gathered to hear him. Many had seen or heard of Jesus. Many had seen or heard of His arrest and crucifixion. And many of them thought at the time that it was an unfortunate end for someone so obviously gifted.
But now, with their eyes opened by Peter’s words and by the Holy Spirit’s drawing, they were genuinely alarmed. Jesus’ crucifixion wasn’t “unfortunate;” it was a tragedy of the highest degree and opened the whole Jewish nation to God’s judgment (Matthew 23:35, Luke 19:43-44)! They had crucified their own Messiah! Their request, “Brothers, what shall we do?” was not a casual question. It was the anguished cry of convicted hearts that had fully realized the depth of their sin.
Peter’s answer, still the keys to the gospel, are three simple steps:
- Repent – as John the Baptist pointed out, repentance is more than remorse. It is a U-turn in one’s life, a change of mind and heart resulting in a concrete turning away from sin and a steadfast determination to live for God from that moment forward.
- Be baptized – baptism was already known by the people, because it was required for those who wanted to convert to Judaism. This new baptism that was required of those who turned to Jesus symbolized in one action the washing away of sins and a participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus, allowing them to enter into a whole new life.
- Receive the Holy Spirit – this was the result of the previous two actions. The Holy Spirit would come and take up residence in the lives of those who submitted to God’s plan of salvation through faith. The indwelling Spirit would purify the hearts of these converts (Acts 15:8-9), would make them spiritually alive, born again of the Spirit (John 3:3-8) and able to understand the teachings of Jesus (John 16:13-14), and empower them to immediately begin to bear witness to what Jesus had done for them (Acts 1:8). This filling with the Holy Spirit was not for a few select people but was promised to all who believed in Jesus (verse 39).
A huge number of people, convicted by Peter’s message, surrendered to God and put their faith in Jesus to save them “from this corrupt generation.” About three thousand were baptized before sunset and became part of that first faith community.
Father, a few things really stand out to me in this:
- Peter’s message wasn’t a compilation of theology, and it wasn’t “sold” based on Jesus’ ability to help people to have a more pleasant or more successful life. It was simply the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the fact that his listeners were doomed by their own sin, and a very clear explanation of the steps to avoid being doomed forever.
- This was no cold, canned “gospel presentation.” Peter cared about the eternal destiny of these people and warned and pleaded with them, some of them for a long time.
- There was no delay. As soon as someone accepted Jesus, they were baptized on the spot and brought into the community.
We do things so differently today. So often we memorize methods and presentations. We avoid pressuring someone or “guilting” them into receiving Jesus. And we hesitate to point out to people that they are doomed, focusing instead of ways that Jesus can fix or improve their here-and-now lives. And we rely on our own ability instead of being filled, empowered, and moved by the Holy Spirit before we even start. Help us, Lord, to do things in this area, not in Peter’s way, but in Your way, so that we can bring loads of people into Your kingdom. Amen.
If you are enjoying my blog, I invite you to check out my book, When We Listen, A Devotional Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Just follow this url: http://eagerpress.webstarts.com/ Thanks, and God bless you all!