Acts
2:14-41
Acts
chapter 2 begins with a description of the coming of the Spirit on
the day of Pentecost. The disciples of Jesus were all together in one
place. Several things happened at once. There was the sound of a
mighty rushing wind! There was the appearance of fire settling on
each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
fulfill the commission given them in Acts 1:8. "But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
end of the earth." They began to speak in languages they had
never learned! The witness to Christ was beginning to go out across
the Roman world beginning in Jerusalem. The scene was chaotic and
unique. It called for an explanation.
Remember Peter? He was
the one who denied Jesus 3 times in the front of servants. Now he was
standing in front of a huge crowd of people many of whom were there
when Jesus was condemned. Apparently without fear…
Peter
explained what was happening. Listen
while I read Acts
2:14-21, But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and
addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let
this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these
people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour
of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet
Joel: 17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and
your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and
female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they
shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved.’
The crowd was very
confused by what they were seeing and hearing. They were questioning
one another saying, "What does this mean?" However some of
them were saying that they were drunk and they were making fun of
them. Today, if there is a powerful move of God in an area there
might very well be the same kind of questioning. The devil would like
nothing better than to be able to make fun of Christianity. Well…
They
may have been drunk, but not with wine!
Paul spoke to the issue of wine and drunkenness as well as what
happened on the day of Pentecost. Listen while I read, Ephesians
5:18, And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be
filled with the Spirit,… I
have always wished that Peter had taken a different approach to
denying their drunkenness. I would like for him to have been able to
say, "These people don't drink alcohol." But I'm not sure
they would've understood, or that it would be true. A little while
back I drove out past our church on River Street, stopped, and turned
right onto Lake Street. As I passed the veterans club I saw red and
blue lights in my rearview mirror. So I pulled over to see what the
problem was. The trooper came up and said, "I see your turn
signals work. You didn't use them when you turned off of River
Street." My defense was there was no traffic in either
direction. The whole incident was funny to me so I laughed. The
trooper then asked if I had been drinking. I said to him, "I'm
the pastor of the Baptist Church." For me, that was an adequate
response because I believe no pastor should ever be drunk. And I wish
that could have been Peter's defense. However, Peter found it
necessary to note that it was too early in the day to be drunk. They
would not understand him simply saying, "We are filled with the
Spirit." So Peter told them that…
What
Joel prophesied has come true!
Joel had said that in the last days God would pour out his Spirit.
Paul wrote to Titus about the same subject in, Titus
3:4-7, But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior
appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in
righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured
out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that
being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the
hope of eternal life.
Fulfilling
the promise of Joel, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, sat down at
the right hand of God in heaven and poured his Spirit on his people.
Peter
proclaimed that the Spirit had come, not just for the purpose of
prophecy or experience but in order that we may become heirs
according to the hope of eternal life. With the coming of the Spirit…
Salvation
is now available!
Peter could proclaim, "Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord shall be saved." Again, we turn to Paul for the same truth
that Peter shared. Listen while I read, Romans
10:9-13, …if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and
with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture
says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the
same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on
him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will
be saved.”
The
disciples gathered there that day may have been drunk but not with
wine. They were drunk on the fulfilled promise of Joel the prophet.
Now, without any ritual or animal sacrifice everyone who confesses
with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that
God raised him from the dead will be saved. Everyone who believes in
him will not be ashamed. The door is now open to everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord because…
Its
all about Jesus. Acts 2:22-28, “Men of Israel, hear these words:
Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and
wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you
yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the
definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by
the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the
pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always
before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh
also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to
Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
Peter had seen it all! He
had seen the mighty works of Jesus. He didn't need to explain who
Jesus was.
Jesus
had proved who he was.
One example of this proof is found in John
7:28-31, So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know
me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own
accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I
know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they
were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because
his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in
him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs
than this man has done?”
As Jesus healed the sick,
raise the dead and fed the thousands he showed the signs that he was
the Christ. It must've angered the Pharisees no end that the crowd
would be asking such a question as this. They wanted to arrest him
but because of the crowds they could not. He could not be arrested
until his time came. None of this was according to man's plan but
instead was…
According
to God's plan.
This plan was actually prepared by God before he created the world.
Some 700 years before Christ was born Isaiah talk about it. Listen
while I read, Isaiah
53:4-6, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet
we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But
he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has
laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Peter understood that
Jesus would be delivered up only when God was ready. Only by the
definite plan and foreknowledge of God could Jesus be taken. At least
three times Jesus had told Peter, and the other disciples, that he
would be arrested beaten and crucified. At that time, Peter did not
understand and verbally opposed the whole idea. Jesus had had to say
to him, "Get behind me Satan". Not only was Jesus delivered
up…
Jesus
was raised up.
This would become part of the common message of the disciples. When
they were arrested for preaching about Jesus Peter used this defense.
Luke records it in Acts
5:29-32, …Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God
rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom
you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his
right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and
forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things,
and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Peter
was telling the story exactly the way he saw it. On the day of
Pentecost he proclaimed that Jesus was raised from the dead in spite
of everything the religious leaders could do to prevent it. Later, he
and the other disciples, would use the same message again and again.
Jesus was crucified for our sins and raised from the dead for our
justification.
Everything
the people had seen on that day, the witness of hearing the gospel in
their own language and the words of Peter called for a response and…
The
people responded to the message. By
this time in the sermon Peter was pretty relaxed. Listen while I read
Acts2:29-41,
“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch
David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to
this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had
sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on
his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of
the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see
corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are
witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God,
and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,
he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself
says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, 35 until
I make your enemies your footstool.’ 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.” 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?” 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.” 40 And with many other
words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save
yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who
received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about
three thousand souls.
Peter's
message came to an end when the people began to cry out, "Brothers,
what shall we do?" They had seen the prophecy of Jesus found in
John 7 being fulfilled.
Having
witnessed
the outpouring of the Spirit.
Perhaps some in the crowd had heard the words of Jesus himself
recorded in John
7:37-39, On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up
and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of
his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he
said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to
receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was
not yet glorified.
They
were seeing the results of the spirit being poured out and…
The
people were convicted.
Jesus had told Peter and the other disciples about the work of the
Holy Spirit in dealing with the hearts of sinful man. Now Peter and
the others were seeing the results of what Jesus said in John
16:7-11, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage
that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to
you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes,
he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and
judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you
will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler
of this world is judged.
The
Holy Spirit works in the hearts of mankind to convict, or cut to the
heart, concerning sin. The thousands who stood before Peter as he
spoke were confused no longer. And out of that group of thousands
many of them listened as…
Peter
delivered the invitation.
Peter brought same message that John the Baptist and Jesus himself
had brought. Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repentance
is not just being sorry for sin. Repentance involves much more than
that! Paul rejoiced over the Corinthians, "not because you were
grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting… For godly
grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no
regret, but worldly grief produces death". (2 Corinthians
7:9-10) A
worldly grief may involve great sorrow for one’s actions and
probably also fear of punishment but no genuine renouncing of sin or
commitment to forsake it in one’s life. The Bible tells us that
Esau wept over the consequences of his actions but he did not truly
repent. Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic
Theology tells
us. Repentance
is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere
commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.
So when the people asked, "what shall we do?" Peter could
respond to them that they should repent! The next words he used have
been the source of controversy throughout Christian history. They
are, "and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit."
And out of those words grow a concept called "baptismal
regeneration". A casual reading of the passage would support
that idea. But I'm here to tell you that baptism does not save a
person. The word "for", as used in this sentence, can have
2 meanings. Let me use another example. If you saw a poster saying,
"Osama bin Laden Wanted for Murder", it could mean that
Osama bin Laden is wanted to commit a murder. Or, obviously, Osama
bin Laden is wanted because of murder that he committed. "For
the forgiveness of your sins" could mean, "in order for
your sins be forgiven" or, "because of the forgiveness of
your sins". The first meaning would contradict everything else
the Bible teaches about salvation by grace through faith. Repentance
is not a "work" it is a heartfelt sorrow for sin committed.
I am not a linguist, and certainly not a Greek scholar, so I don't
know why the translators did not translate this passage, "be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ because of the
forgiveness of your sins". I do believe that's what the passage
means.
The
next part of the passage, "and you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit." Also leads to confusion in the minds of many
people. What the passage says is clearly, "Repent every one of
you and be baptized because of the forgiveness of your sins and you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." The Bible does not
teach that the gift of the Holy Spirit is a second work of grace. In
fact 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us that we are baptized into one body
in one Spirit. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring a sinner to
salvation. Remember the words of Jesus when he said that the work of
the spirit is "to convict the world of sin, righteousness and
judgment to come". Baptism in the Holy Spirit is salvation. The
fruit of the spirit is available in the life of every believer and
the gifts of the spirit are available to all believers as well.
Be
careful that you don't fall into the trap of worshiping the gifts
further than the giver of the gifts. Salvation is by grace through
faith, not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.
God's
Spirit works in the life of every believer from before their
salvation into eternity. Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost,
filled with the Holy Spirit, not to renounce the crowd that had
refused Jesus but instead to call them to repentance. First, he
showed them what they were witnessing was prophesied by Joel hundreds
years before. Then he told them that Jesus, whom they had rejected,
had been raised from the dead and proved to be both Lord and Christ.
This Jesus had poured out the Holy Spirit causing the cowards, that
had ran away at the crucifixion, to boldly stand in front of the
crowd and call them to repentance. We have no greater message today
than that was offered by Peter on the day of Pentecost. "Repent,
and be baptized every one of you because of the forgiveness of your
sins." You will only do this because the Holy Spirit has worked
in your life to call you to turn from your sin and come to the living
God. This same Holy Spirit will work in you to enable you to live the
Christian life. Today is the day of salvation.
All
scripture quotes are from:The
Holy Bible : English standard version.
2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
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