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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, since we're having 
a baptism, I thought it would be good for us to go back in 
the book of Acts and revisit the day of Pentecost when Peter, 
the apostle, preached the gospel and then told sinners to repent 
and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I wanna 
read beginning in Acts chapter 2 at verse 14. But Peter, standing 
up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, Men of 
Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and 
heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you 
suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this 
is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass 
in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on 
all flesh. Your sons and your daughters 
shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions. 
Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my menservants and on 
my maidservants, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, 
and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven 
above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor 
of smoke. The sun shall be turned into 
darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great 
and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that 
whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Men 
of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested 
by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through 
him in your midst, as you yourselves also know. Him, being delivered 
by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have 
taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. Whom 
God raised up, having loose the pains of death, because it was 
not possible that he should be held by it. For David says concerning 
him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at 
my right hand that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart 
rejoiced and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will 
rest in hope, for you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will 
you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known 
to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy 
in your presence. Men and brethren, let me speak 
freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and 
buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being 
a prophet, knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that 
of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise 
up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning 
the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in 
Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has 
raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted 
to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father 
the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you 
now see and hear. For David did not ascend into 
the heavens, but he says himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. 
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that 
God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and 
Christ. Now, when they heard this, they 
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the 
apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said to 
them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name 
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive 
the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and 
to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as 
the Lord our God will call." And with many other words, he 
testified and exhorted them, saying, be saved from this perverse 
generation. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added 
to them. And they continued steadfastly 
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of 
bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul 
and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now 
all who believed were together and had all things in common 
and sold their possessions and goods and divided them all as 
anyone had need. So continuing daily with one 
accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they 
ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising 
God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added 
to the church daily those who were being saved. Amen. Let us 
pray. Father, thank you again for the 
written Word of the living and true God. Thank you that you've 
given us this sure Word, and the entirety of it is truth. 
And we pray today that your Holy Spirit would guide us as we study, 
that you would open our minds and hearts to receive these things, 
that you would encourage the saints, the people of God, and 
that you would save those who are not the people of God. We 
know that you are powerful, and we know, as the Scripture says 
here, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So 
we pray that you would be glorified today, you would demonstrate 
your sovereignty, you would demonstrate your power to make men willing 
in the day of that power, and that you would be glorified through 
the preaching of the Word. We also ask again for the forgiveness 
of sin and anything that would darken our understanding, and 
we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, essentially 
what we have here in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 2, as 
I said, it is the day of Pentecost. It was a feast day so that all 
kinds of people came to Jerusalem on that particular day. And there 
was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that resulted in tongue-speaking 
and prophesying. There was that sort of phenomena 
listed for us in verses 1 to 13. Peter then explains that 
these men aren't drunk, they're not out of their minds, there's 
nothing wrong with them, but what is transpiring is taking 
place according to the prophet Joel. In Joel chapter 2, the 
prophet there, under the Spirit of God, said there would come 
a day when the Spirit would be poured out in a great and glorious 
way. So Peter says that is precisely 
what you are witnessing. And then beginning in verse 22, 
Peter preaches the gospel. He preaches the good news concerning 
Jesus Christ, the Lord. And then he highlights the particular 
sin of the people there in Jerusalem. And then he gives them specific 
instruction on what they need to do with their guilt, what 
they need to do with their sin. This was not unique to this group 
of sinners in the first century, but all of us know this. All 
of us know what it is to be guilty before a holy God. God's told 
us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He's 
told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We don't do either 
one of them. We have failed miserably. We 
are wretched and justly deserving God's wrath and judgment and 
punishment, both in this life and that which is to come. So 
where do we take our guilty hearts? Where do we take our guilty souls? 
Where do we take this conscience that is affected by the reality 
that we have transgressed God? Well, Peter gives that instruction, 
and again, I hope that it's an encouragement for us to see how 
he responds to these Jerusalem sinners. So in the first place, 
let's look at the instruction given by the Apostle Peter in 
verses 22 to 39. This will not be a detailed exposition, 
rather a summary of the section, but we'll focus on verses 37 
to 40. And then secondly, if we have 
time, the response of the hearers to the Apostle Peter, specifically 
in verses 41 and 42. But in the first place, notice 
that Peter preaches the gospel. Again, the gospel is not a feeling 
that we have. The gospel is a message. It is 
an objective, concrete message, and it focuses upon Jesus Christ. The gospel isn't my response 
to it. The gospel isn't your response 
to it. The gospel, again, isn't that 
good feeling that we have as a result of it. But the good 
news of Jesus is simply that. It is the good news of Jesus. 
What he did, how he did it, why he did it, and the purpose of 
God in the doing of it. And if we look at verses 22 to 
36, in particular, you'll notice that Peter highlights the life 
and ministry of Jesus in verse 22. It is essential that our 
Redeemer, it is essential that our Savior be one of us. And 
Jesus was, in fact, one of us. The Bible teaches us that the 
second person of the Trinity, the second person of the triune 
God, Jesus himself, came into this world and he took on our 
humanity with everything that makes us human except for sin. And so Peter highlights that 
in verse 22. But he doesn't stop there. he 
indicates the death of Christ in verse 23. And this death of 
Christ wasn't simply to blame for the Jews, or it wasn't simply 
a problem of the Gentiles, but as Peter relates it here in verse 
23, this was the plan and purpose of God. God knows that in order 
to save sinners, there must be the shedding of blood. And the 
only one worthy of shedding is blood to sufficiently pay the 
debt that we owe is his son. That's why he assumes humanity. 
That's why he ultimately dies at the cross. But then Peter 
goes on to indicate the resurrection. Jesus didn't stay in the tomb. 
Jesus bolted forth on that third day. He was raised by the power 
of God Most High, and then Peter ends the sermon by highlighting 
the triumphant exaltation of our Lord. So after he lives a 
life of perfect obedience to the Father, he dies as a sacrifice 
and a substitute at the cross, he's raised from the dead on 
the third day, and then he ascends on high. He goes and sits enthroned 
at the right hand of the Father, and there he is still a gracious 
Savior. There he always lives to make 
intercession for his people, and there he receives sinners 
unto himself to cleanse them from their sin and to give them 
the righteousness that avails with his Father. That's one of 
the reasons why Jesus had to live as a man, because we need 
a righteousness. It's not enough for us just to 
be forgiven of our sins, but we need to be perfect. And we're 
not perfect because we're perfect. All you got to do is look at 
me, for instance. But you need to understand that 
God demands perfection. And that's what Jesus yielded 
in his life of 33 years on the earth. He always obeyed the Father. There was never a time when he 
didn't love the Lord as God with all his heart, soul, mind, and 
strength. There never was a time when he didn't love his neighbor 
as himself. He fulfills that righteousness 
such that when we, by grace, believe on him, we're not only 
forgiven of our sins washed in the precious blood, but we're 
given that righteousness. We're given that wedding garment. 
We're given that entitlement to stand before God, holy and 
righteous. not because of our own, but because 
of the righteousness of Jesus Christ that the Bible says is 
imputed to us and received by faith alone. Do you understand 
why this is gospel? Gospel is not me saying, you've 
got big problems, go and fix them. You've got big problems, 
go and try to be better. Brethren, that's not gospel. 
That is a killing message. The gospel is in fact good news. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. Look at what Peter says, quoting 
the prophet Joel in verse 21. It shall come to pass that whoever 
calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Not might be, 
not could possibly be, not will have the Lord help him save himself, 
but those who by grace call upon the Lord Jesus in faith shall 
be saved. That can happen today by God's 
grace for everyone who believes. It really is good news. So Peter 
highlights the gospel. It focuses on the life and the 
death and the resurrection of Jesus, and that for sinners. 
It answers to everything we need. We need forgiveness. The blood 
of Jesus Christ, His Son, washes us or cleanses us from all sin. 
We need a righteousness. Jesus fulfills that, and we receive 
it by faith. But then Peter goes on to highlight 
the law. In other words, the gospel or 
the good news isn't good news unless there's bad news first, 
right? If you look at the book of Romans, 
Paul doesn't start with the gospel. He starts with the bad news that 
men are guilty before God. We have all gone astray like 
sheep. There is none righteous, no not one. There's no Jew, no 
Gentile, no one that can stand before God and say, well, I'm 
the exception. I'm the good one. I'm the perfect 
one. No, all men everywhere are justly 
liable to God's wrath and fury and condemnation. But in Romans 
3.21, Paul says, but now the righteousness of God is revealed 
from faith to faith. Well, Peter does the same thing, 
only he starts with the good news and then he underscores 
the bad news to show them their need for this Savior Jesus. Look 
at what he says in verse 36. Again, after the details, life, 
death, resurrection, exaltation, he says in verse 36, Before we look at the rest of 
the verse, notice this. Let all the house of Israel know, 
assuredly, there's a lot of skepticism out there concerning the Bible. 
Is it really God's word? And it's not really just out 
there amongst the pagans and the atheists, but it also infiltrates 
the church, such that we are suspicious of texts. We're suspicious 
of conduct. We're suspicious of various things 
in the Bible. And we wonder, could this really 
be true? Look at what Peter says concerning the message of God's 
Word. In other words, you can bank your soul on this. You can 
bank your life on this. The message of the Scripture 
is God's Holy Word. It is given by inspiration. It's 
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and 
for instruction in righteousness. It's not just another idea out 
there. It's not just another competing 
philosophy or religious system. There is a knowledge that is 
assured when it comes to the living and true God, and the 
word that He has given us is in fact sure. So Peter says, 
therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that 
God has made this Jesus, note the next statement, whom you 
crucified, both Lord and Christ. Oh, Peter, why do you have to 
be such a downer and remind them that they were the ones that 
actually murdered Jesus? Because if sinners don't see 
their sin, they will never see their need for the Savior. Jesus 
says, I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to 
repentance. That's why any preacher worth 
his salt is going to preach God's law also. to highlight the reality 
that we're guilty of committing the sin of idolatry, and of blasphemy, 
and of Sabbath-breaking, and we're insubordinate to authority 
over us. We are murderers. We are adulterers. 
We are thieves. We are liars. We are covetous 
people. We need to understand that knowledge or understand 
that reality such that we'll see the need for Jesus, and that's 
why Peter does what he does. Whom you crucify. Thomas Manton said, loose discourses 
about sin in general do not affect the heart so much as the sound 
discovery of sin. And when that one sin is discovered, 
it brings others into the view of conscience. It's a miserable 
condition when people think they're really good. Remember that rich 
young ruler who comes to Jesus and he says, good teacher, what 
must I do to inherit eternal life? What does Jesus say? He 
says, you know the commandments, tell me. And so he rattles off 
the second table of the law and he says, all these I've kept 
from my youth. What one thing do I lack? Jesus 
knew all those things he hadn't kept from his youth. Jesus knew 
that his particular sin was covetousness, and that's why Jesus says, go 
sell all your possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow 
me. Jesus is not teaching work salvation 
then. Jesus is teaching this man that 
he's a sinner and that he needs Jesus and that blood of atonement 
and that righteousness that is given freely by God and received 
by faith. You see, if you don't understand 
your sin, you will never understand the mission of the Savior. Matthew's 
gospel starts off in the naming of Jesus. You shall call his 
name Jesus, for it is he who will save his people from their 
sins. It's amazing how many people mess up on the mission of Jesus. I mean, he was this guru that 
started a new religion. He was a revolutionary. He was 
a quasi-hippie that sort of pranced around the Palestinian mountains. That's not what it's about. The 
reality is that God is in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, 
and Matthew's gospel tells us how it is that he will save his 
people from their sins. So Peter does the exact same 
thing, highlights their sinfulness. Now let's look at their response 
in verses 37 to 40. In the first place, they're convicted. 
This is good. This is one of the aims of preaching. 
I think at times people just come to a sermon and they tune 
out. Okay, we got about an hour. Hopefully it won't even be an 
hour today. But we got an hour. I'm going to think about everything 
under the sun. I'm going to go from Dan to Beersheba 
in my life and thoughts so I don't have to pay attention to what 
is happening around me. It is good to be convicted of 
sin. You don't go to your doctor if you're really sick and want 
him to lie to you. You go to your doctor if you're 
really sick so that he can diagnose the problem and prescribe the 
remedy. And yet when it comes to getting 
right with God, we're so easily offended that anybody would ever 
suggest that we're sinful. Well, I'm sorry if you're going 
to be easily offended this morning, but the Bible declares you're 
sinful. The Bible declares I'm sinful. 
The Bible declares that all men everywhere have transgressed 
God's holy law. So trying to pretend that that 
doesn't apply is not the best course to proceed on. What we 
have here is they are convicted. They feel the pain. They understand. The Spirit has been at work. 
They know now that they stand before a just and holy God, and 
they are not right with Him. So look at what they do in verse 
37. They cry out to Peter and the 
rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Now I would suggest most preachers 
don't have situations like this. Most preachers don't have an 
audience that is collectively convicted and cry out in unison, 
men and brethren, what shall we do? Now Peter has the wherewithal 
to give the biblical response and it is most excellent and 
it is most glorious. First, notice what he doesn't 
say. Don't murder people anymore and everything will be alright. 
That's not what he says. Go clean up your act with reference 
to the rest of the commandments, and then everything will be alright." 
No, Peter understands that. Peter knows that his hearers 
can't fix themselves. God knows that the people that 
He has made, that have gone astray from Him, can't fix themselves. 
That's why God has undertaken to fix the situation in the sending 
of His Son and the sending of the Spirit in order to affect 
those things. So they are convicted and they 
ask the question, what shall we do? Now notice Peter's response. In the first place, he tells 
them to repent. Now, if you've read Scripture, 
you understand the Bible, you'll know that very often in Scripture 
we see repentance and faith or repentance and belief used interchangeably. In fact, the people who are called 
upon to repent here are the ones that are called believers in 
verse 44. The scripture uses those two 
terms, especially in the book of Acts, synonymously. Basically, 
repentance is a change of mind. I think we often define repentance 
as stop doing certain things. But if a crack addict stops smoking 
crack, that's not necessarily repentance. He has modified his 
behavior, he has taken a better course, and that should be commended, 
but it's not repentance. He hasn't had a change of mind 
with reference to who God is. Repentance is first and foremost 
that change of mind, along with faith, laying hold of Jesus, 
and then there are fruits of repentance that issue forth from 
that. such that when we do repent, 
if we've been in the habit of smoking crack, we won't anymore. 
If we've been in the habit of fornicating or engaging in what 
other things are condemned in Scripture, we, by God's grace, 
will repent. We'll stop doing that. So Peter 
gives this great admonition to repent, and let every one of 
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 
of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
So when he tells them to be baptized, this isn't unto salvation. This is a sign or a symbol that 
they had, in fact, been saved. There are some people who take 
this passage and say, well, you need to believe and be baptized 
in order to be saved. And they look at Mark 16 where 
Jesus says, go and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever 
believes and is baptized will be saved. But they fail to read 
the rest of what Mark says. He who does not believe will 
not be saved. Baptism accompanies. Baptism 
is the external sign. Baptism is the emblem or the 
symbol. And again, we get to rejoice 
in these four people showing or demonstrating that sign to 
us today, but it's not baptism that saves. We have the obvious 
example of the thief on the cross. That man did not get baptized, 
but he entered into paradise at the end of the day with the 
Lord Jesus Christ. So while baptism is commanded, 
while baptism is incredibly important, while baptism shouldn't be done 
away with, we ought to realize we're saved by grace, through 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that not of ourselves, but 
it rather is a gift of God, lest we boast, lest we parade ourselves, 
or lest we try and congratulate ourselves for having been saved. 
No, that is not what we do at all. We give glory to God. So 
he says, repent, have this change of mind, believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Having believed, having repented, 
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Now again, notice, for 
the remission of sins. Now, the people in our church 
that come every Sunday probably are tired of hearing me say this, 
but there's enough new faces here that I'll go ahead and say 
it anyway. We have a hymn in our book, and one of the stanzas 
says, My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, 
not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear 
it no more! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Now, outside of Scripture, that 
is a glorious and a wonderful statement. My sin, not in part, 
not just a little bit, but the whole, is nailed to the cross 
and I bear it no more. That is a glorious and a wonderful 
thing, owing to the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are baptized as a sign, as 
a symbol, as an external statement as to what God has done inwardly. He has washed our filthy hearts 
with that precious blood of His Son. He has given that righteousness 
which His Son accomplished, which His Son won, which His Son merited. 
He imputes that to us. We receive it by faith alone. 
so that we can stand in the presence of a holy God when we take our 
last breath. We will hear those blessed words 
of the Savior, well done, good and faithful servant. How can 
that be but by owing to our union with that faithful servant, with 
that glorious Lord, that mediator of the new covenant? Brethren, 
the stakes are high with reference to this passage of Scripture, 
with reference to all passages of Scripture. You may have a 
miserable life in this world. You may not have a lot of happiness. 
You may not have a lot of things going your way. But each and 
every day you get some goodness from God on high. You get sunshine, 
at least sometimes. You get rain, if you're so inclined 
to rejoice in that. You get snow. You get wind. You 
get sky. You get food. You get water. 
See, when the judgment comes and we are cast out of the presence 
of God Almighty, there is no more of the goodness of God. 
There is only justice. There is only wrath. There is 
only fury. There is only condemnation. And 
the way of escape, again, is to repent and let every one of 
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 
of sins. And then notice what Peter goes 
on to say in verse 39. I realize that some of you come 
from a background where you practice infant baptism. And I realize 
that verse 39 is a big sort of proof text in that development 
in the history of the church in terms of baptizing infants. 
I'm going to argue this morning, not against infant baptism, but 
I'm going to argue that this text is not teaching infant baptism. The text is underscoring. The text is highlighting. The 
text is calling attention to the grace of God Almighty in 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's Peter's point. In other 
words, if you feel yourself as a murderer of Jesus, to be beyond 
hope, you need to understand that the gospel provides hope. 
If you happen to be the child of one of those who took place 
in the murder of Jesus, and you feel that as a result of your 
attachment to your parents, you're beyond hope, know the gospel 
affords hope. If you happen to be a Gentile 
and not a Jew, and you happen to be in the city of Jerusalem, 
and you somehow conclude that these promises are only for the 
Jews, you need to get that out of your head. Because the gospel 
pertains not simply to lawless Jews, but it pertains to lawless 
Gentiles. Peter's point in verse 39 is 
to show us how great God's grace is. There have been times, probably 
in your experience as a believer, when you've witnessed or you've 
talked to people about the gospel, and you'll hear people say, oh, 
I'm so sinful, God will never have me. The glory of the gospel 
is that we're so sinful, God would never have us if he had 
not sent his son to die for us, to live for us, to rise for us. 
Of course, God would have no truck with us because we would 
be vile in his sight. But the glory of the gospel is 
that Christ cleanses us, Christ clothes us, Christ gives us everything 
we need to stand in the presence of His Father. So let's look 
at verse 39. He says, for the promise. The promise in context, specifically, 
is the giving of the Holy Spirit. If you look at verse 33, and 
having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, 
He, Jesus, poured out this, which you now see in here. And with 
reference to the promise of the Holy Spirit, it's probably not 
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, wherein we can talk in tongues 
or prophesy, but the gift that is the Holy Spirit. the reality 
that as those who believe on Jesus receive the Spirit, He 
is the seal and the guarantee for our final redemption. He 
is the one by which Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. 
The Holy Spirit is the promise, and Peter says that this promise 
is for you. Now remember, Jerusalem sinners. I'm not saying that these are 
the worst and most contemptible people on the face of the earth. 
I would suggest we're all the worst and most contemptible people 
on the face of the earth. But in context, in terms of their 
particular sin, it was the city of Jerusalem, it was the murderous 
Jews that cried out with reference to Jesus, away with him, away 
with him, crucify him. They gave the order. The Gentiles, 
Pilate, simply wanted to appease them. But it was them crying 
out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. So Peter says, 
the promise is to you, Jerusalem sinners. So you can't this morning 
say, well, I'm so bad, Jesus would never have me. Oh, no, 
no, no, no, no, you don't. You cannot run and evade the 
glory of Christ's gospel in that manner. In fact, Paul the Apostle 
in 1 Timothy 1.15 says this is a faithful saying, worthy of 
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners 
to save. And then he says, of whom I am 
chief. So you are not the chief of sinner. If you think or you 
have deluded yourself into thinking that you are somehow beyond the 
scope of God's grace, may I hopefully, helpfully tell you, you're not. 
God is in the business of saving sinners. Just ask any of us. You've had that thought before 
where, you know, when we get to heaven, we're going to see 
people that are going to surprise us. Wow, you're here? I've often 
thought they're going to be surprised when they see some of us. Wow, 
you're here? You made it? Well, the blood 
of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. And this gospel, 
this good news of Jesus and Him crucified goes to you. But then 
notice, and to your children, it's important that we understand 
the context. Turn back to Matthew's gospel 
for just a moment. Matthew chapter 27. Again, the idea here with the 
children isn't paedo-baptism. If you're going to make the case 
for paedo-baptism, do it in a more responsible way, because what 
Peter is doing in verse 39 is underscoring the graciousness 
of our God to receive sinners who come to Him through the Son, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in Matthew 27, we'll pick 
up reading about verse 22. Pilate said to them, what then 
shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? They all said 
to him, let him be crucified. Then the governor said, why? 
What evil has he done? But they cried out all the more, 
saying, let him be crucified. See, it's not new where no answer 
is ever given. It's not new in our political 
climate where people are bound and determined to do whatever 
they're going to do, irrespective of those pesky things called 
facts. If you weren't guilty, we wouldn't have brought him 
to you. They beg the question. They assume they're right. And 
instead of answering Pilate's question, they simply assert 
again with more vehemence, let him be crucified. Notice in verse 
24, when Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather 
that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands 
before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of 
this just person, you see to it. And all the people answered 
and said, look at what they said, his blood be on us and on our 
children. So what's Peter doing in verse 
39? The promise is to you, Jerusalem's 
sinners. The promise even extends to your 
children, who you are all too willing to throw under the bus, 
as it were, before Pontius Pilate. May his blood be on us. and our 
children, and Peter says, no, the gospel avails. The gospel 
is powerful. The gospel is the power of God 
unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and 
also to the Greek. Why? Because in that gospel, 
the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. It's testified 
by the prophets as the just shall live by faith, Habakkuk 2.4. 
So Peter is showing how gracious God is in this appeal to Jerusalem 
sinners. But again, he doesn't stop there. 
The promise is to you and to your children. And then he says, 
and to all who are afar off. Gentiles, non-Jews, the nations 
of the earth, those Gentiles that may have been in Jerusalem, 
those Gentiles that were intrigued with Israel's God, those Gentiles 
who are later called God-fearers, they were interested in Yahweh 
of Israel, But as to this point, they hadn't come to the Savior. 
And so what is Peter saying? You're not second-class citizens. 
You're not on a lower tier. You're not less significant than 
the Jews. Because the promise is to Jerusalem sinners, it's 
to their children who they threw under the bus, and it's to all 
who are far off. In other words, God's grace is 
grace. It's glorious, it's wonderful, 
it is amazing. We're going to sing that when 
we change our clothes in just a few moments. It really is amazing 
grace that comes to sinners, not just like these categories, 
but to an apostle Peter. Does Peter know of whence he 
speaks? Yeah! He denied Jesus to a servant 
girl. Does the apostle Paul know something 
about the grace of God? He took it upon himself to destroy 
the church of God, if he could. Does the grace of God apply to 
what we would deem as really bad people today? It is for really 
bad people. And if you understand one bit 
of the Bible, you won't think of really bad people as them 
out there. You will see them every day when 
you look in the mirror. And you will praise God that 
there is forgiveness with Him that He may in fact be feared. 
That if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive 
us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. King David was 
another man. We read Psalm 32 at the beginning. 
That wasn't accidental. David understood forgiveness. 
What was David forgiven of? Well, he committed adultery and 
then murder in order to cover up that adultery. That is the 
kind of sinner that Christ's blood atones for. And in that, 
people are very thankful and very happy and very encouraged. In fact, the Lord God Most High 
has shown us with all the kinds of people that we think are beyond 
the pale of redemption. David is one of them. Again, 
Peter denying the Lord. David says in Psalm 130, he says, 
if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" Right? 
Think about that statement. If you, Lord, a righteous, holy, 
pure God, whose eye is too pure to look approvingly upon any 
evil, David says, if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, if you 
should keep them written down in a book, not that God doesn't 
know everything, not that God doesn't, you know, forgets things, 
or God keeps lists, or He has His smartphone to keep, you know, 
my sins under under jammer." That's not what he's saying. 
He's saying, if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who 
could stand? Why does he say, who could stand? 
Because we're all filled with iniquities. We've all transgressed 
the law. We've all violated his holy word. 
And then he goes on to say, but, it's one of those glorious things 
in scripture, but he says, there is forgiveness with you that 
you may be feared. In other words, God, you wash 
your people in precious blood. In other words, God, you give 
them that righteousness that avails with you, so that they 
will now, instead of disregarding you, they will now, instead of 
turning their back on you, they will now, instead of using your 
name as a curse word, Now they will fear you. They will rightly 
relate to you. And fear in that sense isn't 
running and hiding underneath the piano. Fear in that sense 
is understanding who God is. It is understanding that He is 
holy, holy, holy. It is understanding that He is 
perfect. It is understanding that He is 
love. It is understanding that He is 
glorious and seeing ourselves rightly before Him. That ought 
to promote reverence. That ought to promote awe. That 
ought to promote the fear of God before his eyes. And that's 
what forgiveness does. We're not forgiven because we 
fear. We're not forgiven because we act. We're not forgiven because 
we do. We're those forgiven, washed 
in precious blood, so that now we will fear Him aright, so that 
now we will serve Him aright, and that we will now glorify 
Him. But there is a crucial modifier 
in this verse that we cannot pass over. Notice what he says 
in terms of God's scope or the scope of God's grace. For the 
promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar 
off. Now notice, as many as the Lord 
our God will call. Peter preached a sovereign God. 
Peter understood that sinners cannot make themselves alive. 
Sinners cannot make themselves believers. They must be God's 
people or God's elect. God must do that work, giving 
them the graces of faith and repentance. But knowing that 
does not strip from him the ability to tell them, repent and let 
every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins. But this is the crucial modifier. 
It's not the case that Jerusalem sinners and their kids will be 
saved simply because their kids are the Jerusalem sinners' parents. 
No, it's not by race. It's not by family. It's not 
by ethnicity. It's by God's grace. It's not 
saying that every Gentile out there is going to be saved. It's 
as many as the Lord our God will call. So what's the emphasis 
in the text? When somebody manifests or demonstrates 
through faith and repentance that they're one whom the Lord 
our God has called, They're the ones that should be baptized. 
They're the ones that should publicly identify in the waters 
of baptism with the triune God who saved them. Again, I don't 
want to get all polemic against paedo-baptism, but this passage 
doesn't teach it. If there is other passages, we 
can deal with those at another time, but this passage is simply 
telling them, and it's telling us. God's grace is real. God's grace is great. God's grace 
is amazing. God's grace abounds even to Jerusalem 
sinners, even to their children whom they threw under the bus, 
and to the Gentiles, as many as the Lord our God shall call. That's why we preach, that's 
why we pray, that's why we tell sinners, believe the gospel, 
repent from your sin, because we know and are convinced that 
God in his purpose has purpose to save a great multitude that 
no man shall number from every tribe and tongue and people and 
nation. This is what we find in the book 
of Revelation, a great multitude that no man can number. Have 
you ever heard that idea that there's going to be like this 
handful of people in heaven? That's contrary to scripture. 
That is contrary to the eternal state. That is contrary to the 
book of Revelation that no man can number. Remember the promise 
given to Abraham? Abraham, look up at the stars. 
Now, he didn't have city lights that would make it difficult 
to see the stars. He saw the stars in their blazing 
glory. And God says, your descendants 
are going to outnumber the stars. And Abraham, if you didn't learn 
that lesson, I want you to look at the sand at the seashore, 
because your descendants are going to outnumber the sand that's 
at the seashore. Why is that? Because the promise 
was about Christ. The promise was about Jesus. 
The promise was about the one who said, all authority has been 
given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make 
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. and teach 
them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, 
I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Our blessed 
Christ gave the church her marching orders, and it was to go, not 
to tell just a handful of people that if they look to Jesus they'll 
be safe, but to go and publish this to the nations, to tell 
everybody far and wide, again in the language of Mark 16, go 
preach the gospel, to every creature, not just some, not just a few, 
not just the three that you think might be prepared. No, you preach 
this gospel indiscriminately to all men everywhere, telling 
them, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Such was Peter's emphasis on 
that day of Pentecost, and that needs to be the church's emphasis 
today. The gospel because of the broken law and the remedy 
in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on Him and you 
will be saved. And as we move through the passage, 
we'll do this very quickly. Notice what happens in terms 
of the response of the hearers to the Apostle Peter. Notice 
salvation. Verse 40, Peter says, or with 
many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, be 
safe from this perverse generation. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added 
to them. You see, they didn't conclude, 
well, we killed Jesus. He already reminded us that we're 
the murderers of Christ. His blood is on our hands. No, 
they heard the gospel of God's free grace. They heard the benevolence 
of God. They heard the graciousness and 
the kindness of God. So what do they do? They gladly receive 
the word. See, brethren, that can't be 
a bad thing. It can never be a bad thing to gladly receive 
God's word. It's always a good thing. In 
other words, if you hear the gospel, You hear the truth of 
the facts about Jesus. And some preacher tells you, 
or an evangelist tells you, believe on Him, repent from your sin. 
It's never condemned by God if you believe and repent. That 
is good, to gladly receive the Word. And now notice what happens 
in verse 42, the practice of the church. In other words, what 
do they do now that they're saved? Verse 42, and they continued 
steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. The particular word 
that is utilized here means to persist in something, to hold 
fast to, to continue in, to persevere in something. So they gladly, 
or rather, they continued steadfastly in four things. The first thing 
is apostles' doctrine. Think about that for a moment. 
They had seen verses 1 to 13. They had seen the outpouring 
of the Holy Spirit, and they had seen people speak in tongues, 
and they had heard people prophesy. But what do they continue steadfastly 
in? The search for those gifts? Not 
at all. They continue steadfastly in 
the doctrine. They want the word of God. They're 
not concerned about experience. They're not concerned about ecstasy. 
They're not concerned about entertainment. They want the truth of God's 
holy word. That is the reflex of those who 
are saved by grace. We now want that truth. which 
we previously despise. They continued steadfastly in 
fellowship. That doesn't just mean they had 
coffee and talked about the Canuts. It means that they encouraged 
one another. They exhorted one another daily 
while it is called today. They were speaking of Jesus. 
They were speaking truth. They were helping one another 
financially. As well, they continued steadfastly 
in the breaking of bread. I don't think that Peter or Luke 
would have had to acknowledge this if it simply meant eating. 
We always have to continue steadfastly in food, don't we? You might 
make it for 40 days. From what I gather, you can live 
quite a while without food, not so long without water. So if 
you're going to get lost somewhere in the woods, make sure you have 
water at least. But brethren, they continued 
in the breaking of bread, the ordinances that Christ gave to 
the church, the Lord's Supper. They've already seen baptism. 
They will engage in the Lord's Supper as well. And then they 
continue steadfastly in prayer. Again, it's a very simple view 
of what the church was like in this first phase or in this early 
stage of Christian development. It was a simple group of people 
doing simple things, not focusing upon the extraordinary, but engaged 
in the use of the ordinary means that God had given to the church. 
Well, I just have a couple of thoughts and then we'll close. 
First, those who are being baptized. What a blessed day. I'm trying 
to find everybody here. Where's, okay, got it. I see 
all four of them there. The blessing of salvation by 
grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. I have met with 
these brothers and sisters. They have given a testimony concerning 
their conversion. It's legit, and we can praise 
God for that. They're not going into this water 
in order to be saved. They're going into that water 
because they've been saved by God's grace through the precious 
blood of the Lamb. And again, this is an outward 
signification of what God has done by His sovereign grace in 
the inward man. With reference to the response 
of those saved by grace, Our confession, which I'll read in 
just a few moments, says this concerning baptism. It's a sign. It signifies several things. 
And then it says, and of his giving up unto God through Jesus 
Christ to live and walk in newness of life. His giving up unto God 
through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life. 
In other words, you're supposed to be faithful. You're supposed 
to live in light of that gospel. Your conduct, as for all of us, 
must be worthy of that gospel. We're not saved because of that 
conduct, but rather we engage in that conduct because by God's 
grace we have been saved. I always like to read this quote 
from C. H. Spurgeon. It's the day he was baptized. 
And this is just a great sort of an underscoring of that reality 
in terms of living. Giving up unto God through Jesus 
Christ to live and walk in newness of life. He says May 3rd in the 
afternoon I was privileged to follow my Lord and to be buried 
with him in baptism blessed pool Sweet emblem of my death to all 
the world may I henceforward live alone for Jesus? Accept 
my body and soul as a poor sacrifice tis me unto thee in thy strength 
I now devote myself to thy service forever never may I shrink from 
owning thy name Witness he men and angels now if I forsake the 
Lord I vow to glory alone in Jesus and His cross and to spend 
my life in the extension of His cause in whatsoever way He pleases. I desire to be sincere in this 
solemn profession, having but one object in view, and that 
to glorify God. Blessing upon Thy name that Thou 
hast supported me through the day. It is Thy strength alone 
that could do this. Thou hast, Thou wilt, Thou hast 
enabled me to profess Thee. Help me now to honor Thee. and 
carry out my profession and live the life of Christ on earth. 
Not just these four, but all of us need this reminder, don't 
we? Whenever we witness this blessed doctrine or ordinance 
or sacrament of baptism, hopefully it rekindles in us afresh the 
reality that God has saved us by His grace, and He has called 
us to walk in newness of life. It's a great reminder for the 
people of God as we witness the baptism. Notice as well, with 
reference to the passage, I've mentioned this a couple of times, 
and I think you'll understand why now. Jerusalem sinners are 
in view here. In Luke 24, 47, Jesus commissions 
the church. He says, and that repentance 
and remission of sin should be preached in his name to all nations, 
beginning at Jerusalem. John Bunyan had a sermon entitled, 
The Jerusalem Sinner Saved, Good News for the Vilest of Men or 
a Help for Despairing Souls. In other words, he took as his 
text that reality that the gospel comes first to the worst men 
on the face of the earth at that time. The very worst. See, it 
wasn't like, okay, just let's get the gospel out there to the 
really upright and the polished. I think we have that mindset. 
You hear it from the opponents of Christianity at times. Oh, 
Christianity is for white people. No, it's for sinful people. It's not confined to an ethnicity. It's not confined to a people 
group. If you've got sin, you need the 
Savior. That's the bottom line with reference 
to Christianity. But with reference to his particular 
sermon, the doctrine of his sermon was that Jesus Christ would have 
mercy offered to the biggest sinners. The biggest sinners. Let's say you were, you know, 
really strong and you had the ability to bench press and you 
wanted to show off to somebody. You wouldn't put 135 on that 
bar and do reps. You'd put whatever your max is 
to demonstrate your power, to demonstrate just how great you 
are. Well, God sends the Son of His love, and according to 
the prophet Isaiah, it's not just for the lost tribes of Jacob, 
but He'll give you as a light unto the Gentiles. In other words, 
we're going to demonstrate your power, your efficacy, and your 
glory to every sinner in this world. Not saying that every 
sinner will be saved, but every sinner should see the glory of 
God in the salvation of sinners. So Bunyan gives eight points 
in that sermon. Thankfully, I'm not going to 
recite those. I'll just give you three. First, he says, the 
biggest sinners have most need. That makes sense, right? If you're the hungriest one in 
this room, then that sandwich should be yours first. The biggest 
sinners have greatest need. Another reason that he says is 
when they receive it, sinners receiving the grace of God, it 
redounds most to the fame of his name. In other words, when 
Paul is conquered on the road to Damascus, initially the church 
in Jerusalem is afraid of him. They don't want him in their 
midst. It took Barnabas to say, oh no, he's been saved, he's 
one of us now. So it redounds to the praise 
and the glory of God's great name. And then one other reason 
that Bunyan gives, others hearing of it will be encouraged the 
more to come to him for life. Others hearing of it will be 
encouraged the more to come to Him for life." Now, you don't 
have direct access to Jerusalem sinners, but you got a lot of 
access to some Chilliwack and Abbotsfordian sinners, so go 
ahead and ask some of us, what were you like before you were 
saved? And you will see that God's grace is amazing. You will see that the blood of 
Jesus Christ, His Son, does cleanse us from all sin. That whosoever 
shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for the clarity 
of Peter's presentation in Acts 2. And God, we thank you for 
the response evidenced by these people. Certainly they had tasted 
the grace of God. They knew the that the joy of 
the Lord, they knew what it was to be forgiven, to receive that 
righteousness, and to be able to enter into heaven on the day 
of their death. God, we have that certainty as 
well, and we love you, and we praise you, and we thank you 
for it, and we desire and we long to see many, many more people 
know it and understand it for themselves. Send forth this glorious 
gospel, send it throughout this world, conquering end to conquer, 
running swiftly and being glorified, so that you may receive all honor 
and praise and glory from those saved by your grace. And we ask 
this through Jesus Christ our Lord.