“Acts 2:37-47”

Friday, December 18, 2015

“Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized 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 your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.’ And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation!’ So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

---End of Scripture verses---

After the apostles preached that very powerfully convicting, first inspired sermon about Jesus, many of the people wanted to know what they needed to do (verse 37). These folks were obviously inquiring about their salvation because Peter told them what they needed to do to have their sins forgiven (verse 38), and he told them to “be saved” from that wicked generation (verse 40). They had just been told that they were guilty of putting Jesus to death (verse 23), and they were “pierced to the heart” (verse 37) by the pain of conviction, and they knew they were lost. They were God’s chosen people but they killed God’s “Chosen One” and they knew they stood condemned before Him. They wanted to know what they needed to do to be saved.

Please friends don’t miss this most important truth. They asked what they needed to DO, and Peter told them exactly what they need to DO. Most people in the religious world tell us there is nothing we can DO to be saved. They say that Jesus did all the work and that we are merely saved by grace through faith. It is a fact that we are “saved by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). But there are still things we need to DO; there are still conditions that must be met before we can receive that grace through our obedient faith. What did Peter tell these people to do? He told them to “repent” (verse 38). That word implies that they must be sorry for their sinful actions, but that sorrow only leads to repentance, it is not repentance itself (2 Corinthians 7:10). To repent is to change your mind about sin and to purpose in your heart to no longer pursue a course of sinfulness. It is to be sorry about sinning and then to form a determination to do your best to stop sinning.

Then Peter told them “be baptized for the forgiveness of sins” (verse 38). Where there is no forgiveness of sins there can be no salvation (Ephesians 2:1-5; Galatians 1:4). In other words, Peter told them to be baptized in order to be saved. Peter didn’t tell them to believe to be saved. They already believed, but they were still lost. Peter didn’t tell them to say a prayer and accept Jesus into their hearts to be saved. Peter told them to repent of their sins and to be baptized in order to have those sins forgiven (consider Acts 22:16). Friends those commandments have not changed in the slightest bit. People’s views about salvation have changed over the centuries, but the word of God remains the same. What was true for those people in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago is just as true for us today.

When 3000 of those people obeyed the commands of God spoken by apostolic authority, they were saved and added to the church (verse 47). If you want to be a saved and be a part of the church of Jesus Christ and heaven-bound, you must do what these faithful people did. When Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:21 that “baptism now saves you,” he meant exactly what he said. Please don’t reason away the commandment to be baptized to be forgiven and saved. Jesus said this was true (Mark 16:16) and so did the apostles that He commissioned and inspired to preach with His authority.

For tomorrow please read Acts 3:1-11.

Have a great day!

- Louie Taylor

Share