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Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. We finished John's Gospel last Lord's Day. I hope to pick up in the Psalms, do the first 10 Psalms beginning next Sunday. 

But as we saw in the epilogue of John's Gospel, there is an emphasis on the ministry of the church. We see the mission to go out and catch fish. We see the ministry to feed the lambs, and then we see the headship and authority of Jesus Christ. All of that in John's gospel in chapter 21. 

So I thought we'd look this morning at Acts 2, a passage that we have looked at many times in the past, to demonstrate that mission and ministry of the church. The apostles took seriously the Lord's instruction and upon his ascension on high they did exactly what he had instructed. 

So I want to pick up in chapter 2 at verse 22. 

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 loosed 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 and 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 caught to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then 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 promises 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 among 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.

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word of the living and true God. We know it's given by inspiration and we know it's profitability in our own hearts and lives. And we pray that even now your spirit would come and illumine your people, cause us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. cause us to appreciate afresh the mission and ministry of the church and God for any dead in their trespasses and sins. We pray that spirit of truth would bring that conviction that they, like these in the book of Acts, in chapter 2, would say, men and brethren, what must we do? May they call out upon the name of that glorious Lord Jesus, who alone saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh to God through Him. Forgive us now for all of our sin and unrighteousness. Cleanse us in that precious blood, and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, in terms of the headship of our Lord Jesus Christ, you see in the latter part of John 21, if you look back for a moment to Acts 1.1, When Luke writes Acts, he refers to his former book, or his other book, the Gospel according to Luke. So notice in verse 1, I think the implication is that the book of Acts is all that Jesus continues to do and teach. He is the head over the church. In fact, when they pray for a replacement for Judas, they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Here in Acts chapter 2, we see the headship of Christ, in that the Lord adds to the church such as should be saved. So Christ's headship, and of course the revelatory Word of God, is paramount for the church. And when the church takes seriously the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of the Spirit, we see things like we see here in Acts chapter 2.

So I want to look first at the mission of the church in verses 22 to 40. It won't be a detailed exposition, And then secondly, the ministry in the church in verses 41 and 42 specifically. Again, the epilogue in John's gospel. The fishing trip wasn't just a bit of a, gee, the disciples wanted to go fishing again and Jesus made them breakfast. No, they were fishers of men. And that serves as a foil or a backdrop to what their mission in the world is going to be. The restoration of Simon Peter, again. Peter, do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Feed my sheep. Do you love me, Simon Peter? Yes, Lord, I love you. Feed my sheep. Do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He was grieved in that third instance, and Jesus says, feed my sheep. So you see the emphasis there in the epilogue on the mission of the church to go fish and make disciples, and the language of Matthew's Great Commission, and then to feed the sheep of Christ, to teach them, to observe all things that I have commanded, and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age.

So as we look at the mission of the church, we note first the proclamation of the gospel. The proclamation of the gospel, the specifics with reference to the day of Pentecost is very clear. The Spirit comes upon the church with great power in verses 1 to 13 in chapter 2. Peter then explains that this coming of the Spirit is the fulfillment of the prophet Joel in verses 17 to 21. And then Peter preaches the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in verse 21, it shall come to pass, quoting Joel, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then he goes on to define, describe, and delineate who that Lord is that they're to call upon in order that they may be saved. So he proclaims the gospel.

He emphasizes the life of Jesus in verse 22. Christ took on our humanity. In the language of the prologue in John, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. So Jesus takes on our humanity, lives a life of perfect obedience, dies as a sacrifice on the cross, and is raised again so that we might have everlasting life. So for Simon Peter, preaching by the power of the Spirit, he focuses on Jesus, his life and ministry, verse 22, his death in verse 23.

And the death of Christ isn't simply an example of how we ought to be, but rather it was substitutionary in nature. It was penal substitution. Christ bore our sin in his own body on the tree. In the language of John 1, 29, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So then he highlights the resurrection of Christ in verses 24 to 32. And again, he uses the God-breathed word, Psalm 16. He tells them, David is dead and buried, but what David was writing about is David's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has been raised from the dead.

And then he ends his sermon with reference to the gospel with the exaltation of Christ in verses 33 to 36a. So life and ministry, death, resurrection, exaltation. That's the mission of the church. That's what we're supposed to tell sinners. When we go fishing, that's the bait we're supposed to put on the end of the hook. We're not simply to preach moralism. We're not simply to be about preaching moralism or some sort of a do-goodery.

Brethren, the reality is that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All we like sheep have gone astray. Every man, woman, boy and girl is dead in trespasses and sins. It's not just a bit of morality that sinners need, but they need blood atonement. They need the reality of Christ and Him crucified and resurrected. The Apostle says in Hebrews 9.22, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. The prophet Zechariah prophesied of a day that there would be a fountain open for sin and uncleanness.

It's not just a bit of betterment for your life. It's not just a few additional morals. It's not just a better ethic and approach to your life, but you need the Lord Jesus Christ, His life of obedience, His death as a sacrifice and a substitute, His resurrection the third day, and His current session at the right hand of God Most High. The Apostle summarizes gospel truth in Romans 4.25. He says that Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses. And he was raised for our justification. And that is precisely what we see in the preaching ministry of the Apostle Peter in this instance.

He preaches Christ. He preaches the person of Christ. He preaches the work of Christ. The mission of the church isn't due good or right. Now, it's not to say that we aren't supposed to do good works, but the mission of the church is to make disciples. How do we make disciples? By the proclamation of the truth of the gospel. The apostle says that the Jews, they seek after signs. The Greeks, they want wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness, but to those of us who are being saved, Christ is both the wisdom and the power of God. So Peter's preaching is to be modeled by the church today in terms of her mission. 

But under this mission, notice, he preaches the gospel, the person and the work of the Lord Jesus, but he also condemns them. Not Peter, but God's law. Notice in 2.36, Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. 

Jesus says very clearly in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 9, I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Heidelberg Catechism asks, how do you know your sin and misery? I know because the law of God tells me so. In other words, what Simon Peter is doing is showing them the necessity for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This isn't just a story about his person and his work, but it is the means by which you may be saved, vile breakers of the sixth commandment. 

In other words, when we preach the gospel in terms of the mission of the church, it's not just some general, generic thing. It's because people are guilty. People have sinned against the majesty of the Most High. People have come up short. People have lacked conformity to that law. People have transgressed that law. And it is imperative that the church today remind people that they've broken that law to show them their need for the remedy that is presented by God. 

In fact, Manton makes this observation. He says, 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. This is what Jesus does when that rich young ruler comes to him. And he says, teacher, good teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life? What does Jesus do? He preaches the law to that young man. And that young man in his arrogance says, all these things I've done from my youth, what one thing do I lack? Well, Jesus doesn't shift to plan B there. He brings the specific law that that young man was guilty of violating. When Jesus says, go sell everything you have and take the proceeds and give it to the poor, what happened to the young man? Sinai and its thunder crushed him. Why? Because he had many possessions. He was a covetous young man. He didn't want to part with those things. Jesus preaches the law to that young man to show him his need for Jesus. And if the church is not preaching, as part of its mission, the killing power of God's law, then it's not doing its job. 

Again, we're not simply recommending moral improvement, a bit of betterment in your life. Benny Hinn and Joel Osteen, they've got that market covered. Evangelical and Reformed people ought to be preaching Sinai as that by which the Spirit convicts sinners such that they look to the Savior and come in faith. So Peter preaches law so that they will see the remedy of the gospel. 

Then under the mission of the church, notice what happens. The conviction of Jerusalem's sinners, verses 37 to 40. Note their conviction of sin in verse 37. Now when they heard this, they were caught to the heart. That's good. That's a good thing. That's what we pray for on a Sunday morning. Holy Spirit, come. And for those dead in their trespasses and sins, we pray that you'd convict them. Cut them in their heart. Show them their transgression before a holy God. Show them their need for the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope everybody in our church is praying to advance the mission in this way. When the law is preached, may the Spirit use it to convict sinners of their sin. And when that gospel is preached, may those convicted sinners look to Him who is altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. May they come to Him and believe on Him that they might have everlasting life.

The mission of the church, in its simplicity, is the means the Spirit of God uses to bring that conviction to show sinners their need for the Lord Jesus. So they're convicted of their sin. Notice verse 37, they were, now when they heard this, they were caught to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? That's good.

In Acts 7, with reference to Stephen, they're cut to the heart, but they don't say, what shall we do? Now they're cut to the heart, and they stop up their ears, and they gnash with their teeth, and they send Stephen out of the city so they may stone him with stones. There is a conviction or there is this knowledge of sin that I think and hope and pray is remedial, and that's wrought by the Spirit. That's what we see here. Men and brethren, what shall we do? You have made the case, Simon Peter. We are guilty of the Sixth Commandment, of breaking the Sixth Commandment. We're guilty of crucifying the only holy, harmless, and undefiled man that ever traversed this earth.

But if we take the tact of those in Acts chapter seven, sometimes people get a bit convicted or they might start to reckon with the fact that they're sinful and they don't want to hear that. They don't want to know that. That's when they think preachers are overstepping their boundaries. That's when they think that this is just not legit. We preach the law and pray the Spirit to come and convict sinners such that they will see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And may I say before we move on, if you are convicted, if you do recognize, if you see that you are a sinner before God, the Bible gives you a remedy. The Bible gives you hope. The Bible affords a safe refuge, and that's in the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Peter is doing here. He's preaching the gospel, not to alienate Jerusalem's sinners, but to call upon Jerusalem's sinners to call upon the name of the Lord. For the prophet Joel, according to 221, says, and it shall come to pass, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Notice that's not qualified. Whoever is not guilty of violating the 6th commandment. Whoever is not guilty of violating the 7th commandment. Whoever is not guilty of violating the 1st commandment. Whoever is not guilty of violating the 10th commandment. No, it's not qualified. It's a whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Remember that scene in Luke 15, we'll see it God willing next week as we continue on in our readings in Luke 15, or in Luke's gospel. What happens in Luke 15, why? Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him to hear him. And what happened with the Pharisees? They saw that and they said, this man receives sinners and eats with them. I can see that. I wish I could make my face more contorted to demonstrate how I really think they looked. They were mean mugging, they were upset, and they wanted to indict and upbraid the Lord of glory. This man receives sinners and eats with them. Again, as I've said on many occasions, if I was a sinner and that proud, I'd want to know his response. I want to know, is it true, Lord, do you receive sinners and eat with them? Is it true, Lord, that you take us, that you cleanse us, that you justify us freely by your grace, that you sanctify us and will glorify us? I want to know. 

So what does Jesus say? Jesus tells a three-pronged parable about a man who loses, or a shepherd who loses a sheep, and he goes and he finds it. And what happens when he finds it? He's rejoicing. He tells a parable where the woman loses one of her 10 coins, and what happens? She looks diligently and earnestly for it, and when she finds it, what happens? There's rejoicing. He tells the parable of the prodigal son. What happens? The son, by God's grace, comes to the father. The father runs to the son and clothes him with a robe of righteousness, gives him fellowship and joy and blessing and feasting. 

That's Jesus' response to this man receives sinners and eats with them. It's as if Jesus says, oh, I absolutely, positively do. I do it like a shepherd who loses a sheep, I do it like a woman who loses a coin, and I do it like a father who lost a son. 

Brethren, it's whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. I don't know what your sin is this morning, I don't know what your transgressions are, I don't know what your lack of conformity unto the law of God is, but I do know this, that everyone who comes to Him will not be cast out. That's Peter's point. This is what Peter is doing, having received from the Master the commission to go make disciples, to fish for the souls of men. He preaches law, he preaches gospel, the Spirit convicts them. 

And then note the response of Peter, exhortation and promise in verses 38 to 40. Then 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 promises to you and to your children and to all who are afar off as many as the Lord our God will call." 

There's a lot going on in these few verses. A ton going on in these few verses. I don't want to bog us down, but a few things we ought to observe. Notice the command to repent. This is how Jesus starts his ministry. This is how John the Baptist starts his ministry. An interesting thing in the book of Acts, and I'd argue in the Gospels as well, is that repent and believe are used synonymously. They're interchangeable. In fact, the root meaning of the word repent isn't the fruits of repentance. Because then we would conclude that somebody who stopped smoking crack for their health was repentant. No. Or somebody who stopped visiting prostitutes because they thought it was a bad way to be seen in public. That's not repentance. Repentance is a change of mind. It is first a change of mind. Then there's fruits of repentance, so God saves you, convicts you of your sin, you call upon the name of the Lord, and then you realize, I need to stop visiting prostitutes. I need to stop using crystal meth. I need to repent or show forth fruits of repentance. 

So when Simon Peter says, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, notice the description in verse 44. Now, all who believed were together. This is why I argue, and I think throughout the book of Acts, and I don't want to get bogged down here. If you want the notes or you want the text, call me, tell me, email me. I will send them to you. 

You see faith and repentance as two sides of the same coin. In fact, as Thompson says in his good book called Acts of the risen Lord Jesus. He says repentance and faith are two sides of one coin. They're not identical, but where one is mentioned by itself, the other may be presupposed. In other words, our belief is a repentant belief. Our repentance is a believing repentance. Two sides of the same coin. So there's not one without the other. 

So for Peter to say repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus, he is not saying stop visiting prostitutes. Get your act together and then you can be baptized. Because I think at times repentance is preached in that way. 

Justification, the great doctrine of the Protestant Reformation, is by faith alone. The Protestant reformers didn't make that up. It was back all the way to Genesis 15. Abraham believed God. It was accounted to him for righteousness. The prophet Habakkuk championed that as well. It's not Luther who coined the just shall live by faith. It was the prophet Habakkuk. The great apostle Paul vindicates the glory of God in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. 

We don't preach repentance as a word. Clean up your act. Stop going to these bad places and then you'll be fit to come to Jesus. No, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, a belief that includes a repentance, a change of mind and heart. Change of mind and heart with reference to those particular sins, with reference to the altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. 

Again, I think this is replete through the book of Acts, but these two places show this. The ones who repent, according to verse 38, are the ones who gladly receive the word, verse 41, and the ones who are described as those who believed in verse 44. 

So he goes on from the command to repent to the necessity of baptism. Notice what he says, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Now, with reference to baptism, it's not salvific. In other words, it's not what saves you. But it's certainly commanded by our Lord, 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 then teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you. 

So baptism is an outward sign of the inward change wrought by God. Again, it's not magic when persons go into that water. There's no hocus pocus. There's no sacramental sort of imposition of good things upon that person. It's regular tap water. And if I don't sweep it out well, there's dead bugs in it. There's no magic. And when it's all over and done, we open up the spigot, and now it goes into a pipe that was built for us. But it used to go out in the parking lot. We had a neighbor boy that we brought to church one time. We had a baptism, and he was a Roman Catholic. And he was aghast that we were letting all that holy water out into the parking lot. 

Baptism is an outward sign of the inward change wrought by the power of God Most High. It is an act of obedience on the part of the people of God, such that Peter is able to say, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. 

With reference to the name, we use the formula as Jesus gave us in Matthew 28. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I don't think that Peter is upbraiding that. I think John Gill is right. But now, upon their repentance and faith, they are to be baptized in his name, by his authority, according to his command, professing their faith in him, devoting themselves to him, and calling on his name.

And the provision of forgiveness is not obtained by baptism, but it is symbolized or pictured by baptism. So it's not a text that says, unless you get baptized by immersion, you're gonna end in hell. The thief on the cross shows us that that's not the case. But Jesus does say, whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned. So baptism is not salvific, but it is an act of obedience on the part of the Christian, on the part of the new believer.

We discussed this the other day, we were recording for the podcast, and I honestly said to Wim and Cam that I don't know why people wait. You know, when you look at the book of Acts and the apostolic preaching, law for the conviction of sin, gospel for the remedy provided by God, what generally happens after those who receive the word, those who believe and receive the word? They get baptized. They just get baptized. There's no altar calls. There's no bow your head, raise your hand if you want to decide for Jesus. Now the immediate response is belief on the Lord Jesus Christ and then water baptism.

And I realize this is a community where there's a lot of debate about baptism. Believe you me, I get that. I didn't get it as much as I got it 28 years, I got a lot more now than I got it 28 years ago. But in all of our debating, in all of our disputing, let us not forget it's a command given by the risen Christ for people who profess faith in his name to do. And even though there might be bugs floating in there, I guarantee you it's not an unpleasant thing. You get baptized, you publicly identify with the triune God. I don't know brethren, there's something really means of grace-ish about that. Very encouraging in obeying the Lord of Glory.

So Peter tells them, repent, be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And then note the promise, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that is in view was promised at the end of Luke's gospel in chapter 24. And then notice in Acts chapter 1, specifically, at verse 4. And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, You have heard from Me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

And then you see this reiterated there in Acts 1.8.

"'but you shall receive power "'when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, "'and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, "'and in all Judea and Samaria, "'and to the end of the earth.'"

This is precisely what we saw working our way through the upper room discourse in John's gospel. John 13 to 16, what does Jesus emphasize over and over and over again, specifically in 14, 18? I will not leave you as orphans, but I will come to you. How does Jesus come? By the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father and the Son. It is blessed Trinitarian theology and we see this promise now by Peter to these Jerusalem sinners. They believe, they've repented, they believe the gospel. They've received the promised blessings of God and they'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The chapter begins with tongue speaking. That's not what's in view. It's not the gifts of speaking in tongues or the gifts of prophesying or the gifts of helps or administration. It is rather the gift of the Spirit himself. And brethren, that's the main emphasis in the chapter. 

Charismatics are wrong. It's all about the charismatic gifts operative by the Spirit of God. No, it's all about 233 and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. 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. The spotlight in Acts 2 is on the glory of Jesus Christ, the one who lived for us, the one who died for us, the one who was raised for us, the one who is exalted or ascended into heaven and is exalted at the right hand of the Father. He has sent the Spirit in fulfillment of Joel, in fulfillment of the prophet Ezekiel, in fulfillment of the many manifest testimonies of the giving of the Spirit in the messianic age. So Peter promises them that. 

And then note the scope of God's grace. This is another place that I think is encouraging. I mean, the whole thing's encouraging. That was a weird way to say it. But again in verse 21, and it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord. I think that highlights the scope of God's grace. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord, without the qualifications, as long as you haven't done this, as long as you haven't done this, as long, that wouldn't be a gospel, would it? if by definition it excluded bad people? Isn't it the glory of the gospel is that it includes bad people? It's salvific for sinners? This is a trustworthy, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief, 1 Timothy 1.15. 

So like the scope in verse 21, notice the scope in verse 39. I have many reasons why I don't think that this text supports the practice of paedo-baptism, but again, I don't wanna get bogged down in that. I think it mentions or rather indicates the scope of God's grace. And before we read it, the very fact that Peter's preaching where Peter's preaching underscores the scope of God's grace. These are Jerusalem sinners. Now you say that, you say, Pastor Butler, you sound like you've got contempt in your mouth. Well, if you've read the gospel narratives, you'll realize it was the Jerusalem sinners that cried, away with him, away with him, crucify him. It was the leaders in the city of Jerusalem that applied that pressure to Pontius Pilate. If you don't do with him what we want you to do, you're no friend of Caesar. Political blackmail. As Paul will say in Corinthians, they crucified the Lord of glory. So the point here is the scope of God's grace, not a proof text for paedo-baptism. 

wonderful testimony to the graciousness of God, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, even if they're a Jerusalem sinner, even if they participated in the crucifixion of the Lord of glory. Is there grace for such? Is there forgiveness for such? Is there a righteousness imputed to such? Well, yeah, it's in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So notice in verse 39, for the promise is to you, Jerusalem sinner, Remember, Peter just said, in verse 36, that you crucified Jesus. But the promise of the Holy Spirit to those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to you. And when he says, and to your children, this is, I think, where people get the concept of paedo-baptism. I rather liken it to the multitudes before Pontius Pilate in Matthew's Gospel. Remember what they say to Pilate? Let His blood, Jesus, be upon us and our children. They pronounce a maledictory oath upon themselves and upon their children. So what's Peter saying? The promise is for you. It's for your children. For all those who are far off, as Cam pointed out in Luke's gospel there in chapter 14, to Gentiles, to the filthy dogs amongst the Gentiles, this isn't a paedo-baptist text, this is a glorious gospel salvation text.

The promise is to you, your children, and to all who are far off, but notice the modifier, as many as the Lord our God shall call. according to His sovereignty, according to His power, according to electing grace, according to predestination. But Peter is able to say, this promise is to you, it's to your children, it's to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. This is in the prophet Joel as well.

And then finally, notice the exhortation concerning salvation. Be saved from this perverse generation. That's intriguing. Don't tarry. Don't wait. Don't go home and think about it. Well, you know, Peter, you've landed a few good punches. I'm gonna take this home, sit over my coffee, and contemplate it further. There is that in our day, isn't there? You witness to somebody, you testify, you're doing the mission of the church, you go fishing, and you tell them the gospel, you know, you make many good points, some things are out to think about. What does Peter say? Be saved. Don't think about it, not that you empty your mind, this is an Eastern mysticism. Be saved from this perverse generation. In other words, there's a call by Peter to them to believe on Jesus. And as you read through the book of Acts, that's what you'll see. The apostolic preaching isn't God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. The apostolic preaching is Christ in him crucified, believe and be saved. That's the apostolic preaching. Now, that's the mission of the church.

So they went fishing, Now they bring them into the church. What do they do with the lambs? Well, we see God's blessing in the ministry of the church, the salvation of sinners in verse 41. Then those who gladly received His word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. It was added by, not Peter, but added by God. And they gladly received the word because God opened their hearts, as we'll later learn in the book of Acts in chapter 16, when the apostles go to the riverside in Philippi and they speak the truth to Lydia, and it says the Lord opened her heart to receive the things spoken by the apostle Paul. So that they gladly receive the Word is true. When we step back for a moment, we ask the question, how do dead sinners gladly receive the Word? Well, God is at work. God in His sovereignty. God opens hearts. God gave them the graces of faith and repentance to close with our Lord Jesus Christ. So it's God's addition, it's God's blessing, it's God's salvation of these 3,000 on the day of Pentecost.

But then notice in verse 41, then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. So the receivers of the word by faith, they obey the command of Christ, they're baptized, and then they enter into church life. They enter into church life.

Now, there's some debate or some question concerning what we call descriptive passages in the Book of Acts and prescriptive. Descriptive simply describes what was. When David commits adultery and conspiracy to murder to cover it up, that describes the practice of David. It doesn't prescribe the conduct of all people subsequent to David.

So when we look at the book of Acts, there are things that are descriptive. It describes the outpouring of the Spirit in a powerful way on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two, in fulfillment of the prophet Joel, attended by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, specifically tongue speaking. That's description.

How do we know the difference between description and prescription? Well, the later New Testament epistles. What comes up, say, for instance, in the books of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus? It's not speak in tongues, Timothy. It's not prophesy, Timothy, unless we take the broadest meaning, which simply is to preach. It's not to heal, Timothy. It's rather to teach. He emphasizes sound doctrine.

I'd argue that the descriptive passage in Acts 2 is 1 to 13. Again, Pentecost is unique in redemptive history. We're not having Pentecosts every Sunday. We're not having these sort of gatherings together where the Spirit comes and the test of the Holy Spirit is that we speak in tongues. That's just weird theology imposed on Acts 2.

But what is prescriptive, what the church should do, I think is very clear in this latter section, specifically in verses 42 and following. But because there's so much going on in verse 42, and I don't wanna keep you past your lunch, we'll just look at verse 42.

Notice the practice of the church. So at the backdrop of the epilogue and the fishing trip and the mission of the church to go out and make disciples. Backdrop of the epilogue and the restoration of Simon Peter in terms of the ministry of the church to feed the sheep. We see the first in Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost. Now we see this feeding of the sheep motif specifically in verse 42.

First, note their steadfastness, verse 42. And they continued steadfastly, not lazily, not haphazardly, not intermittently, and not whenever they felt like it. The particular word used governs the following four statements, and it means to persist in something, to hold fast to, to continue in, to persevere in something.

So, in other words, these blood-bought children of God who have received the Holy Spirit, entered the waters of baptism, and now are members in the church, How are they demonstrating their membership? Again, not intermittently, not haphazardly, not, yeah, it's kinda rainy out, I'm not sure I wanna brave the elements in my heated car to go all the way to church.

We can learn a lot from the descriptive patterns as well in the Book of Acts. They continued steadfastly, brethren, That's a trait that unfortunately lacks in much of evangelical and Reformed churches today. This mindset that whatever my God ordains or commands is right. If God commands baptism, I'll get baptized. If God commands me attend the means, then I'll attend the means.

I've said it often, I bless God that Dr. Barcelos was my mentor. I got saved out of a weird background and God saved me and I had Pastor Barcelos. What do I do now? He says, read your Bible, pray and never miss church. Okay. I didn't realize how revolutionary that was. Read, pray and never miss church. Those are words to live by, brethren, and I think, at least by way of implication, you get it from the text, they continued steadfastly. We're sometimes fair weather fans, aren't we? We're sometimes, you know, set off by, you know, the basic ebb and flow of life. Didn't have a great week, so I'm gonna use this day for me. That's not your day. It's the Lord's day. And we oftentimes advertise churches in what the worshiper gets out of it.

Now, believe me when I say this. I want you to get something out of church. I genuinely do. I'm a very compassionate fellow. But whether you and I get something out of church does not mitigate the command by God to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some. In other words, we are here first and foremost for God. Advertising church first and foremost for what we benefit from is the wrong order and the wrong priority. It's about God on God's day.

So notice the four things that they continued steadfastly in. First, the apostles' doctrine. Verse 42, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. Now consider the significance of this based on the description that you have in Acts 2, 1 to 13. They continued steadfastly in their search for the gift of the spirit so they could speak in tongues. They continued steadfastly in their search for the gift of healing so they could go to the local hospital. No, they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. They wanted to be taught the word of God. See that motif from the restoration of Simon Peter, do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Feed my sheep. Why? Because my sheep need to eat. The blood bots, the spirit-filled, want scripture. They want truth. They value it, they prize it, and they continue steadfastly in it according to Acts 2 in verse 42. This is the primary function of the church.

1 Timothy 3.15. How does Paul describe the church? The pillar and ground of the experience. The pillar and ground of the contact session. The pillar and ground of therapy. The pillar and ground of feeling. The pillar and ground of the truth.

Jesus prays in the high priestly prayer, sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth.

There is the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy chapter three. As I mentioned at that podcast recording the other day, every virtue that's described there in 1 Timothy three, one to seven, should be every man. You know, is it okay for a non-elder to be the husband of a multitude of wives? For the man who is not an elder to be a lover of money? A man who is not an elder to be, you know, given to wine? No, of course not. Paul is saying there needs to be demonstrated faithfulness in these virtues relative to who serves as elders.

There is one thing that distinguishes the elder in 1st Timothy 3 too. What is that? He must be apt to teach. Why? Because that's the nature of the ministry. Remember, feed my lambs, feed my lambs, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and lo, I'm with you always even to the end of the age.

So it shouldn't surprise us that the brethren here continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. That's the purpose for the apostles to preach the doctrine and the people received it. The emphasis, as I mentioned already, on sound doctrine in the pastoral epistles, all throughout the New Testament to be sure, But in 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus, again, it's not experience and feeling and emotion.

And Timothy, be the guy that goes and has coffee with everybody. You know, work on your golf game, because you have a nice job where you have to do very little work. Now, the emphasis is on sound doctrine. Study to show yourself faithful. The workmen who need not be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth. 2nd Timothy chapter two.

The exhortation to give double honor to hardworking elders. 1 Timothy 5.17, let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor. In that context, payment. I always have to qualify this. I'm not looking for a raise. Especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

And I would suggest as well, based on this and based on our situation and based on the larger context we find ourselves in this 21st century age, we need to take seriously our Lord's instruction in Matthew chapter 9 when he talks about the harvest being plentiful. And the laborers being few. In a context where he looked upon the multitudes and had compassion for them because they were weary, they were beaten down, they were sheep having no shepherd. So what does he tell the disciples? Pray the Lord to raise up laborers. That needs to be part of our prayer life.

Listen to Spurgeon. to us. They are the gifts of Jesus Christ to the church and will come again in due time. He has power to give us back a golden age of preachers, a time as fertile of great divines and mighty ministers as was the Puritan age. And when the good old truth is once more preached by men whose lips are touched as with a live coal from off the altar, this shall be the instrument in the hand of the Spirit for bringing about a great and thorough revival of religion in the land." He says, I do not look for any other means of converting men beyond the simple preaching of the gospel and the opening of men's ears to hear it. The moment the church shall despise the pulpit, God will despise her. It has been through the ministry that the Lord has always been pleased to revive and bless His churches.

Any debate? Look at Acts 13. I pointed this out the other, I think it was last Sunday night. Acts 13, verse 42. So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, this is in Pisidian Antioch, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. You want to talk about awakening? You want to talk about revival? You want to know how we know that the Spirit has come? Because Gentiles will beg to hear the scripture. And then verse 44, on the next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. Why did almost the whole city come together? Because the people that were present under the preaching of the apostle Paul went to their friends and neighbors and said, you've got to hear this. You've got to hear this. He's preaching forgiveness of sin. He's preaching a righteousness imputed and received by faith alone. He's preaching the glorious truth of Christ and Him crucified and resurrected. So what happens? Almost the whole city comes to hear that preaching.

They continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine. Notice as well, they continued steadfastly in fellowship. Calvin describes it this way, mutual society and fellowship unto alms and unto other duties of brotherly fellowship. A lot of the interpreters say the emphasis in the fellowship here is on generosity amongst the brothers one to another. And you see that in verses 44 and 45. Now all who believed were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need.

This isn't communism. This isn't state-enforced or coerced sharing of goods. It is the large-hearted, redeemed people of God that wanted to help one another. That's likely what fellowship is. Going to a hockey game together? Go! It's fun! Great! But I don't know how to put that in the category of fellowship. Fellowship is a churchly thing with reference to the people of God showing that kind of love and affection to one another.

They continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread. I'd argue this is the Lord's Supper. They'd already been baptized according to verse 41, and now they participate in the sacrament of the supper. 1 Corinthians 10, 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Notice again, they continued steadfastly in it. They didn't miss it every month. They didn't remove themselves from the presence of it.

May I just encourage anybody who ever thinks that, oh, they're having the Lord's Supper tonight, I'm not worthy. Of course you're not worthy. None of us are worthy. Do you think this is a reward for good behavior? Do you think this is the merit badge because we tied our knots properly? This is the householder God serving us the supper as weary pilgrims on the road. Come to the supper. Take the bread. Drink the cup. Do this in remembrance of Jesus Christ. To absent yourself from a means of grace that God has calculated to promote good in your soul seems like the devil's logic and not Bible logic.

And they continued steadfastly in prayer. That's another sign that we'll know that revival or awakening has taken off, because the church of Christ will be given to prayer. Paul's exhortation to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2, verse 1. I exhort first of all, what? Up your golf game. Have coffee with all the saints. Be the gregarious guy that goes all over. No, no. I urge first of all that prayer, supplications, intercessions, and givings of thanks be made for all men. Church needs to be a praying body.

2.8, I want the men in every place lifting up holy hands, calling upon the name of God. So brethren, these are the elements, or what later in theology we'll describe as the elements of worship, the things that are commanded by God that we're supposed to do. And it's not peculiar, odd, or weird, that when these blood-bought children who had received the Holy Spirit, they're brought into the life of the church, they exhibit a continuing steadfastly in doctrine, fellowship, sacrament, and prayer.

The simplicity of God's means, I think, ought to be admired. Ought to be admired. Do you mean, God, that if we just apply ourselves to these sorts of things, that's the way we get fed? Yeah. Yeah. You mean I don't have to go to Bible school? I mean, you can. But a church functioning as the pillar and the ground of the truth with qualified men that are gifted and able to preach the Word? They ought to be able to equip you such that you should at least be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.

The simplicity of God's means. I think underscores one, that we should glorify God because he gave simple means to simple people. But two, I think it maximizes the offense of not applying ourselves to them. I get it if we're not growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because God as a means of grace asks us to cut ourselves on a regular basis and bleed into a cup and drink it. I get why we're not sort of prone to go grow. These are simple means. They're not hard. Show up. That assumes you're breathing. It assumes that you're paying attention. 

Listen to this. I want to close in a minute. I don't want to keep going on my rant here. But if they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, it argues that the Apostles were giving doctrine, right? The Apostles were preaching. There is a responsibility on the hearers as well. The early church continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine. That means they attended to it, they listened to it, and they received it. 

J.C. Ryle says, preaching is an ordinance of which the value can never be overrated in the church of Christ. But it should never be forgotten that there must not only be good preaching, but good hearing. Right? If, you know, I dropped dead this morning and Spurgeon fell out of heaven and he took this pulpit and he preached one of his Spurgeonic sermons, what good would it be if you didn't listen? Right? That's not rocket science. That's just obvious. 

Speaking of Spurgeon, here's his comments on Mark 424. Here, it is your wisdom to know what God says. Here, well, God's teaching deserves the deepest attention. It will repay the best consideration. Here, often. Waste no Sabbath, nor any one of its services. Use weekday lectures and prayer meetings. For here, better. You will grow the holier thereby. You will find heavenly joy by hearing with faith. 

Did the disciples take seriously the lessons that they learned in John 21 with reference to fishing? Yes. Peter stands up on the day of Pentecost before Jerusalem's sinners and presents to them the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the bait used for the mission. Did they listen when Jesus charged Simon Peter in his restoration, feed my sheep? Yes, they did. They continued steadfastly in these things. 

The church from her very beginning, now I'd argue it goes back to Abel, but for our purposes here, from her very beginning in the book of Acts does what Christ commanded. May God bless us with a perseverance and a zeal to do what God commands us. And may God raise up men to preach, to proclaim that gospel, to call sinners to faith and repentance, to then instruct them to observe all things that the Lord has commanded, understanding Jesus' presence with his church as head, as authority, as master and Lord. 

And may God most high bless us, not just in our church, but outside of our church in this nation of Canada with more biblical churches. And if you're not a believer, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 

Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you that the apostles of our Lord took these things seriously. We see it fleshed out in the day of Pentecost. And God, we praise you that it's been fleshed out in the history of the church. And we pray that you would raise up more laborers, We pray for more faithful churches. We pray for those that are faithful and we bless you for them. We bless you for those in our community. We bless you for those in our association and throughout this country and to the uttermost parts of the earth. May you bless the word as it goes forth today. May it run swiftly and be glorified. And may you go with us and help us to honor and praise and glorify your great name. And we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.