Acts: We are the Church, WK 6
Acts 2.21-41 (NIV)
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ c
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, d put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
25 David said about him:
“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.” ’ f
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Elements of repentance
Conviction. You must know what is right before you can know what is wrong. If you get on the wrong road, you will never know it until you have some knowledge of the right road. You stray off the highway, and first you miss the familiar markings, the customary scenery, and then suddenly the conviction strikes you that you have lost your way. There can be no turning back unless first there is a conviction that you are going the wrong way.
Spiritual conviction is like that. It is a signpost planted in the heart saying, “Stop. Look. Listen! Danger ahead!” The Spirit of God, your conscience and your better judgment all join to warn, “Detour! Change! You’re on the wrong road!” If you have this conviction, be thankful. God is waving the red flag, directing you to a proper path. Before men and women can come to the cross of Christ and have their sins forgiven, they must be convicted of their sins, and that convicting work is done by the Holy Spirit upon the soul.
There is a crushed Spirit (recognition of how sin affects you.)
Psalms 34.18
18The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Peter, that rugged man who meant so well and erred so often, when he denied his Lord “went out and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:75).
He was never more lovable nor more admirable than when he stood there alone, apart from the crowd, with his body trembling as the tears of the reality of his sin ran down his cheeks. —Pastor Todd about Peter
The final step is a change!
2 Cor 7.10
10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
If we are truly repentant, our will is brought into action and we will make a reversal of direction. And God, seeing that we are in earnest, gives us the gift of eternal life.
If we are truly repentant, our will is brought into action and we will make a reversal of direction. And God, seeing that we are sincere, gives us the gift of eternal life.
In Luke’s history of the church, there is always a close connection between the activity of God’s Spirit and the proclamation of the gospel. Time and again those who experience the baptism or filling of the Spirit begin immediately speaking with others concerning the truth about God and his Son, Jesus Christ
Peter stood up in an atmosphere of confusion and boldly pointed everyone to Jesus!
Quoting the prophet Joel, Peter announced that “anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” According to this verse (quoted also in Romans 10:13), the issue in salvation isn’t who a person is or what he or she has done, the issue is simple trust and humility. Anyone who looks to the Lord for forgiveness will find it. That person will be saved. What a fantastic promise! Who in your life needs the saving touch of God? Ask the Father to work in their lives, to draw them to the Son (John 6:44), and to bring them to salvation.
John 6.44
44“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
Pentecost was designed to be a clear indication to Jew and Gentile alike that the messianic age had arrived. The Messiah had come!
Any person who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. God’s special relationship with Israel will continue, but it has been broadened to include everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
Many of Peter’s listeners had a deep emotional reaction. The responsive Jewish listeners were “cut to the heart” (2:37). The enormity of what had happened crashed into their consciousness. The man they had spit on and crucified was their Messiah, and he was now sitting in power at God’s right hand. Moved by the Holy Spirit and their own participation in the persecution and death of Jesus, they were humbled and teachable. It was natural for them to ask, in wonderment and fear “What shall we do?” (2:37).
The call to repent (2:37-38)
Peter’s message ends with the wonderful promise that his listeners would receive God’s Spirit and become part of the people of God. Luke summarizes Peter’s plea with a sentence, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation”
The thought of verse 40 (“be saved”) picks up the sense of Joel’s prophecy mentioned in verse 21, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Peter is not telling his listeners to “do” something, except to respond to what God has already done. He is telling them to take advantage of the promise offered to them by accepting Jesus as the promised Messiah. They were to “be saved” from a corrupt generation in Jerusalem and Judea by becoming part of a remnant people accepted by God.
The Holy Spirit is always wants to reveal more of the nature of God!
The repentant heart is the one that God can use. Peter repented, and he became a mighty rock in the beginning of the Church. David repented, and his joy broke forth in the music of the Psalms. Jonah repented, and a great city heard the Gospel and turned to God. Jacob repented, and God made him an ancestor of the Messiah, the Savior. Paul repented, and God used him to take the light of the Gospel to a pagan world.