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and Jerusalem responded in various 
ways. In verse 13, some mocked or others 
mocked said, mocking said, they are full of new wine. So Peter 
takes that particular occasion to stand up and say, no, they 
are not filled with new or sweet wine. Rather, this is what the 
prophet Joel had spoken. Joel chapter two, verses 28 to 
32, Peter quotes that and shows that this is indeed the fulfillment 
of that. On the heels of that, or toward 
the end of that, in verse 21 it says, And it shall come to 
pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Again, that's from the prophet 
Joel. Now, Peter goes on to describe who that Lord is. It is Jesus 
Christ. And in verses 22 to 36, he preaches 
a sermon. And then in verses 37 to 40, he calls them to repentance. And then this morning, we'll 
take up their response to Peter's sermon in verses 41 to 47. But I do want to begin reading 
at verse 29, just to set us in the larger context. 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? 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. And 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. Let us 
ask God's blessing as we look to his word. Father, thank you 
for the written word. Thank you for the Lord Jesus 
Christ and his ministry, as it's so clearly outlined in Acts 2. 
And we thank you for the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. 
And we acknowledge our need and our dependence upon him now. 
Our minds are darkened by sin and remaining sin. Our minds, 
our hearts are oftentimes rebellious to you. We pray that you would 
subdue us, that you would forgive us, and that you would grant 
us the grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to illumine minds 
and illumine hearts and encourage us as we consider this wonderful 
response to Peter's sermon. And we ask this in the name and 
for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, in many ways, 
this is a model sermon. Not only a model sermon, but 
in the response to the sermon. This is the kind of stuff that 
preachers pray for. What Peter preaches here, and 
then he exhorts them in terms of that call to repentance, and 
then the response on the part of the hearers. Remember, last 
Sunday night, we read the prophet Jonah. And in Jonah chapter 4, 
Jonah's upset with God because God saved or spared the Ninevites. Jonah was probably the only man 
in history that got upset with God, who displayed His mercy 
and His grace and His kindness. Most preachers want the sorts 
of results that are seen here, but it's not a result that man 
can manufacture. We leave the results, as it were, 
up to God, and we see God's hand all throughout this particular 
passage. Peter preaches concerning the person and the work of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. His true humanity, according 
to verse 22. His predetermined death, according 
to verse 23. His resurrection from the dead, 
verses 24 to 32. His exaltation to the right hand 
of the Father. His current session, in verses 
33 to 36. And on the heels of that, These men cry out, men 
and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter points them to Christ. 
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. And then he highlights the scope, 
the glorious scope of God's grace when he says, 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." It's a beautiful presentation 
of gospel truth, a beautiful presentation of a call to repentance. And now we'll pick up to see 
this beautiful response on the part of the people here. by the 
grace of God. I want to notice two things. 
First, the power of the gospel in verse 41, and then secondly, 
the practice of the church in verses 42 to 47. But note first, 
with reference to the power of the gospel, they gladly received 
the word. Verse 41, it says, then those 
who gladly received his word. How do we know they gladly received 
his word? Because they believe that word, 
according to verse 44. Because they repented, according 
to verse 38. And because they obeyed, according 
to verse 41, which we'll see that in just a moment. Notice 
their obedience here in verse 41. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized. Now, that is a demonstration 
of, or a manifestation of, obedience to Christ. Now, it's not baptism 
in order to be saved. Rather, a glad reception of the 
Word. Those who believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, those who by the grace of God repent from their 
sins, those are the ones who are saved. And one of the first 
acts of having been saved is to obey Jesus and be baptized. In fact, this section follows 
very closely the great commission that we saw in Matthew chapter 
28. Remember Jesus in Matthew 28, 18 to 20, he says, all authority 
in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. He says, 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 teaching 
them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and, lo, 
I am with you always to the end of the age." That's what's happening 
here. They make disciples through the 
preaching of the gospel. These men believe the gospel. 
They repent from their sins. They're disciples. They are then 
baptized by the apostles and added to the church, and then 
they are taught all things that the Lord had commanded. They 
continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. We see closely 
followed in Acts chapter two, what our Lord commanded the apostles 
to do in Matthew chapter 28. This is what the church is supposed 
to be about. And I think that when we come 
to this particular passage, it is prescriptive. Now I'm jumping 
sort of back to the other side. I've said many of the things 
that we see in the book of Acts are a description. In other words, 
when we see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, verses 1 to 
4, and we see these people, these disciples, speaking in other 
languages, that's a description of what took place. It's not 
necessarily a prescription of what believers ought to be seeking 
out now. However, when we come to this, 
this is normative church conduct. So what is described here in 
terms of the church and their life is prescription. In other 
words, it's what we ought to look like in terms of being God's 
people. But notice very specifically 
what happens. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized. The baptism was the external 
sign of the internal reality. In other words, they had been 
forgiven of their sins. They had received the Holy Spirit 
and as a result they are now baptized. Now I just want to 
make a quick statement here about the beauty of what's called expository 
preaching. Expository preaching is when 
a preacher takes a book of the Bible and he goes through that 
book of the Bible. It hopefully protects the people 
of God from his hobby horses, or from his sort of pet peeves, 
or from his sort of things that he's just out to try and, you 
know, change in the world. A man takes a particular book 
of the Bible, he preaches through that book of the Bible, the chips 
sort of fall where they may. I say all that to simply say 
this. I want to highlight why this text does not teach infant 
baptism. If you hold to infant baptism, 
I do not have a personal axe to grind against you. If you 
go into my study, I have a lot of books by men who held to infant 
baptism. I esteem my Paedo-Baptist brethren 
very highly. I love them and I respect them. 
However, here I think they're wrong. And I think as a Baptist 
church, we need to understand this particular section, because 
verse 39 functions as sort of a slogan text for what's called 
infant or paedo-baptism. Notice in verse 39, 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." Since the children are 
included here in terms of the promise, when we get to verse 
41, the logic goes, then those who gladly received his word 
were baptized along with their children. Now, I reject that 
particular interpretation for various reasons. First, baptism 
in the context is conditioned upon repentance and faith. Baptism 
in this particular context is conditioned upon repentance and 
faith. Notice in verse 38, repent and 
let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins. Repent and then be baptized. As well, throughout the book 
of Acts, baptism is conditioned upon faith. Notice in Acts 8.12. Acts 8.12. We read, but then, or when they 
believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom 
of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were 
baptized. Note the specific order. They 
believed, they were baptized. Even the interesting case, well, 
verse 13, then Simon himself was also believed. And when he 
was baptized, he continued with Philip and was amazed, seeing 
the miracles and signs which were done. And then notice this 
particular account. This is a very intriguing one. 
This Simon, the sorcerer, he ends up saying to Peter, give 
me the gift of the Holy Spirit. I want to dazzle. I want to do 
the razzmatazz. And Peter rebukes him, of course. 
Now, this simply highlights the reality that we baptize based 
on a credible profession of faith. Whatever Simon did, he at least 
evidenced to Peter that he had believed the gospel. So on the 
basis of that, Peter baptizes him. Sometimes Baptists are accused, 
well you couldn't baptize anybody then because you don't know the 
hearts. We don't know the hearts. That's why we speak of a credible 
profession of faith. We can't ever peer in infallibly 
to see who actually is saved and who isn't. But the Bible 
shows us, in this particular case, very seriously and interestingly, 
that men profess and they are baptized. And if they give evidence 
that they are not believers, then church discipline is taken 
or enacted upon them. And then note that famous passage 
with reference to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, 36. And now 
as they went down the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch 
said, See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? 
And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. 
And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son 
of God. So he commanded the chariot to stand still, and both Philip 
and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 
Acts 10, 47. Acts 10, 47, then Peter answered, 
can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized 
who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded 
them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked 
him to stay a few days. I would point out as well that 
these particular narrative portions in the book of Acts also follow 
closely the Great Commission. make disciples, baptize those 
disciples, and then teach those disciples. So, with reference 
to Acts 2.41, baptism is conditioned upon repentance and faith. Now, I'm not suggesting that 
somebody has it in them to repent and believe in and of themselves. 
We know that these were dead sinners. We know that they were 
miserable, like everybody else. And we know that it's God who 
makes alive sinners by His powerful grace. It is God who gives the 
graces, the gifts of faith and repentance. So He gives the very 
gift that we bring to the table, and then He justifies us freely 
by His grace. So I'm not suggesting this is 
a work of man. You repent, you believe, and 
then God will reward you with salvation and baptism. No, it's 
all of God from first to last. But in terms of baptism, it is 
conditioned here based on repentance and faith. Notice as well that 
baptism is an external sign of an internal change. That's the 
emphasis in verse 38, repent and let every one of you be baptized 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. The scripture 
does not teach baptismal regeneration. It's regeneration by the power 
of the Holy Spirit, by the effectuality of God Most High. It is something 
that we see is wrought out by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
The argument is that when God saves a sinner, that sinner now 
obeys God, again, not for his salvation, but because he's been 
saved, he obeys and goes into that water of baptism, which 
is an external sign of the internal change wrought upon him. And 
the same thing is true here. As well, when we come to this 
statement in verse 39, 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, I maintain that the purpose of verse 39 is twofold. One, it's to highlight the scope 
of God's grace. The promise is to you, Jerusalem 
sinners. Crucifiers of the Lord of Glory. You say, well, you can't say 
that, Pastor Butler. Peter does in verses 23 and 36. He doesn't let them weasel out 
of the reality that they had murdered the man that was come 
to save them. So these are Jerusalem sinners, 
a particularly notorious lot, and yet Peter says, the promise 
is for you. He goes on to say, and for your 
children. Again, I think it's clear from 
Matthew 27, 25, when Pilate is trying to shift responsibility 
for the blood of Jesus Christ, these Jerusalem sinners say, 
let his blood be upon us, and our children. It's intriguing 
that to this same audience, about 40 plus days later, Peter says, 
it's not only for you, but it's also for your children, those 
you imprecated in that particular plea before Pilate. And then 
he goes on to say, and as many who are as far off. He's talking about Gentiles. 
But the crucial modifying phrase comes at the end, as many as 
the Lord our God will call. Now, we don't just go and discriminately 
baptize Gentiles, all who are afar off, and neither should 
we just indiscriminately baptize infants. I'm not saying they're 
Gentiles, I'm not putting them down, I'm simply saying this 
modifying phrase is crucial, as many as the Lord our God will 
call. Who are those who God calls? 
They are those who, by the grace of God, believe when they hear 
gospel preaching. They repent when they are told 
to repent by the Apostle Peter. They are those who gladly receive 
the Word, and they are those who are baptized in obedience 
to that Word. As well, I think the practice 
of paedobaptism ultimately rests on this unfortunate assumption 
that we ask Abraham, who is to be baptized, rather than asking 
Jesus. I think that's a faulty approach 
to covenant theology. I'm not suggesting we reject 
Abraham, but I am suggesting that later revelations subsequent 
to Abraham ought to inform our understanding of a new covenant 
ordinance, especially when Jesus is the Lord and mediator of that 
covenant. In other words, we come to Jesus 
and ask Him, who then should be baptized? and we let him answer. That's not a neglect of covenant 
theology. Particular Baptists hold to a 
robust covenant theology, but it's to understand the contours 
of covenant theology in its redemptive historical outflow. And then 
the argument that circumcision and baptism are seals of the 
same covenant. You'll hear that. Baptism has 
replaced circumcision. They both point to the same thing. Well then, why in the world would 
these little ones need to be baptized? If they already had 
the sign of the covenant, if they already had it in their 
circumcised nests, why in the world would they need to be baptized? 
Our particular Baptist forefather, Nehemiah Cox, made this observation. If circumcision and baptism have 
the same use and are seals of the same covenant, I can hardly 
imagine how the application of both to the same subjects should 
at any time be proper. Yet we find those that were circumcised 
in their infancy were also baptized on the profession of faith and 
repentance even before circumcision was abrogated. In other words, 
why? Why baptize them if they bear 
in their body already the sign of the covenant of grace? What's 
going on in the Abrahamic covenant is not strictly covenant of grace. 
You had to be circumcised in order to stay in the land. You 
had to fulfill external conditions in order to reap the benefits. 
That's not the covenant of grace. What's the covenant of grace? 
God accepts us. God brings us in. God forgives. God bestows on us a righteousness 
that avails with Him only for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 
In other words, a covenant of grace is not conditional for 
us in the sense that do this and you will live. Rather, it's 
conditional on the part of Christ. The covenant of grace, brethren, 
good news, is a covenant of works kept for us by Jesus. We are accepted in the Beloved. 
We are freely given these benefits in the Beloved. You cannot say 
that strictly about the Abrahamic Covenant. Membership in the Commonwealth 
of Israel was defined, by and large, by your external attachment 
vis-à-vis circumcision. So it's not a strict covenant 
of grace, and I don't think it ought to be treated that way. 
And if you want to go out and blog about me now, you go right 
ahead. That guy's way off, I know, this is an old discussion, but 
I do think as Baptists, Reformed Baptists, particular Baptists, 
we ought to be aware of what's happening in this particular 
passage. I think it's always good to ask the question too, 
especially in a text like 1 Corinthians 7.14. Is baptism even in the 
purview of the Apostle in 1 Corinthians 7.14? I would argue no. It is 
here, so it's important for us to understand why. And it's important 
for us to understand what's happening. They are those who gladly receive 
his word and they're baptized. I don't know what better indicates 
or illustrates new covenant membership or the specific definition of 
new covenant membership than a passage like this. And again, 
with the backdrop of Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31 is an old covenant 
prophet prophesying about new covenant inclusion. And he says, 
I will make a covenant with them, not like the one I made before, 
which they broke. The one that I make with the 
house of Judah and the house of Israel. They can't break it. 
And I'll write my law on their hearts. I'll give them the forgiveness 
of sins. They shall all know the Lord. 
And lo and behold, we get to the book of Acts. We ask the 
question, is New Covenant membership legitimate or consistent, rather, 
with what we find in Jeremiah 31? And it is. Beautiful thing. 
It's a wonderful thing. Again, I love you if you're a 
paedo-baptist, but I think that in this particular instance, 
maybe this isn't the best proof text. Notice as well the growth 
of the church in 41b. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added 
to them. Again, isn't that just an amazing 
thing? Any of you ever read Whitefield, or you read about the revivals 
in the 1800s? It's men that went and preached. Whitefield would go, and he preached 
to the coal miners. And it says that they would come 
out of the coal mines, and they would have these white streaks 
down their blackened faces because they were weeping as Whitefield 
was preaching to them concerning sin, and righteousness, and Jesus, 
and the salvation that God gives. I mean, you read those accounts, 
and they're just amazing. Or Edwards. You know, people 
basically flipping out and falling around because he's preaching 
sinners in the hands of an angry God, and him exhorting people 
not to do that sort of thing. No excess, no charismatic excess, 
no fanaticism. But you read these accounts of 
men that God have used in the past, and it's glorious. Look 
what happens on the day of Pentecost. Look what happens with Jerusalem's 
sinners, the very murderers of Jesus Christ. And that verb is 
passive. They were added. They didn't 
add themselves. They didn't put themselves in 
the sphere of God's redemption. They weren't the ones that took 
the initiative and said, hey, Peter, we want to join the church. 
They were added. It points to the sovereignty 
of God's grace, as does verse 39, as many as the Lord our God 
will call. Verse 47, and the Lord added 
to them daily. add to them daily those who are 
being saved. What's the underlying emphasis 
in all of this? It's not a revivalism. It's not 
an attempt to manipulate men. It's not an attempt to create 
an environment where the sinner feels sort of converged upon 
that he gives his heart to Jesus. No, we preach the truth and we 
trust that God will bless. That's it. I have a point of 
application. I'll go ahead and give it to 
you now. The key to church growth. You don't hear it as much anymore, 
but at least in, you know, I don't know, a decade ago, I'm sure 
it's just so part of the warp and the woof of the church today. 
We don't hear about it because it's in there. The church growth 
movement. How do we make our churches bigger? 
How do we get more people? How do we fill the pews? How 
do we, how do we, how do we? I got a zany response. Let's follow Peter's lead. Preach 
Christ and him crucified and trust God to put people in the 
seats. See, that doesn't sell books. 
Acts 2, I mean, it's so Acts 2. It's just so old. I mean, come on, Peter, this 
is a social media age. We have Twitter, we have Instagram, 
we have Facebook. Certainly, you can't think that 
a man can stand before other men and preach the gospel and 
the church will actually move forward. Yeah, I can believe 
that. Who would have thought in this 
particular instance whom you crucified? Verses 23 and 36. Jerusalem sinners that 50 days 
prior said, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Brethren, 
this would be the last place you would ever go to start your 
church growth program. Wouldn't it? The very city that 
murdered Jesus Christ? I mean, isn't this intriguing? 
They'd go to Jerusalem. Why? Because they were commanded 
to. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, 
Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. I got to tell you, 
if I was one of the early apostles, and I hadn't had that command 
from the Lord Jesus, I doubt I'd pick Jerusalem. I mean, they 
just crucified the very Lord that I'm going to preach. Why 
in the world would I think they're going to do anything better to 
me when I preach that selfsame Lord? But Jesus commanded, go 
to Jerusalem, and they did. And Peter preaches, notice there's 
no altar call, there's no every head bowed, every eye closed, 
every hand raised. There's no signing a card, there's 
no coming forward, there's none of that. There is that dastardly 
word that we don't like anymore, repent. Oh, if you tell a man 
to repent, he's going to be offended, because it almost sounds like 
he's done something wrong. Oh, he's absolutely done everything 
wrong, and that's why, by the grace of God, he needs to repent. 
He needs to believe the gospel. He needs to look and live. He 
needs to come to Jesus. If you're thinking here for a 
moment that that word repent is somehow offensive, and it 
means that Pastor Butler thinks you're a sinner, rest assured, 
Pastor Butler does think you're a sinner. and he knows that you 
need to repent, and that he knows that you need to come to Jesus. 
You need to stop looking at your works. You need to quit looking 
at your moral accomplishments. You need to quit trying to reform 
yourself. Well, I'll just stop looking 
at porn for a week, or I'll just stop doing this for a week, or 
I'll just try to fix up my act for a week, and then everything 
will be fine. No, you need a radical revolution, 
and that comes by the power of the Holy Spirit. You need the 
grace of God to look and live at the Lord Jesus Christ. That's 
what you need. And that's what Peter emphasizes. 
He doesn't play games. He doesn't engage in any self-help. 
There's no therapeutic, moralistic deism taught by Peter the Apostle. Here's who Christ is, and here's 
your response. And what happens? 3,000 souls, 
3,000 persons, 3,000 human beings are saved in one sermon. Now, souls there means the whole 
body. Like we say today, there were 260 souls on that plane. That means humans. And that's 
how Peter's using it in this particular instance. They weren't 
disembodied. They weren't just sort of fluttering 
about. They were human beings that were hell bound. And on 
this day, God saved them. They were human beings that had 
crucified the Lord of glory. They were human beings that had 
said, away with him, away with him, crucify him. If you think 
for a moment here this morning that I'm too sinful to be saved, 
study Jerusalem sinners. Look at what happens to those 
who actually, away with him, away with him, concerning the 
Lord Jesus Christ. He saves them. It's a thing we 
have to understand about our God. And this is something we 
need to reorient our minds with. God is gracious. He abounds in 
it. You know, I still meet with that 
approach to say, for instance, the Old Testament. Oh, you know, 
it's just so bad. I think I've told you before 
when I go to the old folks' home and I mention, OK, we're going to 
look at Judges. There was this old lady, one 
of the older ladies, this old lady. That sounds pretty unkind. 
She's a dear old doll. But when I mention Judges, for 
instance, she kind of rolled her eyes. Like, oh, come on. 
There's nothing in Judges that would interest an older lady 
like me. We're in the New Covenant. This 
is about Jesus. You know what Judges is about? Jesus. Jesus saving. That's what Judges 
is all about. You know what the prophet Micah 
is about? It's about God's forgiveness. You know what the prophets as 
a whole are about? You're wretched, God's holy, 
but there's grace and mercy to be had. I think that's a great 
summary statement concerning all of the prophets, because 
they all follow that trajectory. Prophet comes in the name of 
God, serves as a prosecuting attorney, and tells the people 
their problems. I mean, you read the first sections 
of most of the prophets, you go, man, these guys are messed 
up. But what typically happens toward the end of the particular 
prophecy, nevertheless, God will receive you. God will be merciful. 
God will heal you. God will plant you in the land. 
In fact, in Jeremiah 32, that's a particular prophecy written 
when the people of Israel, the Judahites, are in captivity. 
And what's God tell them? I will rejoice over you to do 
you good. I will plant you in the land 
with all my soul. That prophetic word given in 
Isaiah the prophet 9, 6, and 7, we typically only think about 
that text in December, especially around 25. It's that text concerning 
the king and his kingdom. What's the end of verse seven 
say? For the zeal of Yahweh of hosts 
shall perform this. You see, our God doesn't just 
miserly, or in a miserly way, and begrudgingly, just apportion 
out a little bit of grace here and there. Now he says to the 
prophet Isaiah, ho, ho, everyone who thirsts, come. You don't 
have money? Come, buy and eat. You don't 
have anything to bring, then come, because God will give you 
what you need. This is why the prophet Isaiah says, and it goes 
along with that whole issue of discipleship in Luke 14, why 
do you spend your money on that which does not satisfy? Why is 
it that you're wasting your money, your resources, your energy, 
your time, your talents, whatever it is, on something that does 
not satisfy? He says, come to me and let your 
soul find abundance. It's consistent with what Jesus 
said, I came, that they might have life, and they might have 
it abundantly. You see, if you have this conception 
of God, that he's an Ebenezer Scrooge, and he only apportions 
out just a little bit of grace to a certain few, you've got 
a wrong view of God. God is the father in the story 
of the prodigal son. Imagine if you and I lived next 
door to that father. Just imagine it. You happen to 
hear the argument. You happen to hear the son say, 
father, give me my share of the loot. I want to go out, and I 
want to live. You're one of those nosy neighbors. Or maybe the 
houses were so small, and you just happen to hear. And you 
see this son treat his father in that manner. What's our first 
order of business? Well, he's a terrible father. 
Well, you can't do that in this parable, because the father's 
God. You know, be wary, brethren, of blaming brethren who have 
erring, wandering children. Oh, well, you know, if they would 
have done this, or if they had a... It's easy to Monday morning quarterback. 
How about we pray for them, and we pity them, and we encourage 
them, and we love them. We bring them a casserole. We 
say, hopefully, God Almighty will bring your son back. But 
this son takes his father's loot. If you think about the prodigal, 
or you think about the story, what's he saying to the father? 
You're better to be dead than you are alive. Because typically, 
we receive our inheritance after the father dies, don't we? So 
the boy goes out, and he does what boys do. And he's not eight. 
He's not 10. He's not a boy like that. The young man goes out, 
and he wastes the money. What are we doing now? Oh, I 
can't believe it. He's such an idiot with his dough. He should have 
invested. He should have worked hard. The 
point of the story is he went out, and he took everything his 
father had given him, and he wasted it to the point where 
he's slopping the hogs, and he says, man, that looks good what 
they're eating. Now, my dear wife slopped hogs 
one time, and I think she would tell you what they ate didn't 
look like it was good to eat. And then he says, I know. I'll 
go back, and I'll cast myself upon the mercy of my father. 
He's not converted here. If you think that he came to 
himself in that hog pen, and that's when he was converted, 
and he saw gospel light, no. He's thinking like a mercenary. 
I'll cast myself upon my father, and maybe he'll treat me like 
one of the hired men. Maybe instead of wishing for hog food, I'll 
at least get the satisfaction of a hard day's work and some 
food at the end of the day. That's in his head. That's what 
he's thinking. That's what he's operating by. 
So what happens when he's a long way off? The father runs to him. 
Again, if that were you and I, we might run to him ready to, 
you know, send him on his way. How dare you come back here? 
You wasted my loot. You good for nothing. Get out 
of here. Go back to the pig. Go back to the pigs. That's not 
what the father does. You know the story. The point 
I'm trying to illustrate is that this God who says, repent and 
let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins, this God who says, in verse 41, they gladly 
received the word and they were baptized, this God who so simply 
adds 3,000 souls to them under one sermon preached, this is 
the father of the prodigal. He runs to the boy when he's 
a long way off. He falls on the boy when he's 
a long way off. He kisses the boy. He puts a 
ring on the boy's finger. He says, put a robe on his back. And this boy stunk. This boy 
was wretched. This boy was smelly. I don't 
think being that, you know, in close proximity to pigs is a 
good smell for most people. He comes reeking of pig and the 
father falls on him and kisses him. So if you're a sinner here 
this morning, I don't want to hear, well, he won't take me 
because I'm so sinful. That's precisely who he takes. That's the good news. See, gospel 
means good news because it's good news. If it was do your 
best, try a little bit harder, that's terrible news, isn't it? 
Because you know what it's like to do your best and try a little 
harder. You typically fail, you know, 20 seconds in. If you make 
it 20, two is probably more accurate than the ballpark. The gospel 
says Jesus did these things. Jesus lived. Jesus died. Jesus 
was raised. Jesus was lifted up the way that 
that serpent was lifted up in the wilderness. And everyone 
who looked to that serpent in the wilderness was healed of 
their malady. What's Christ's point in John 
3? Look in faith at me and you'll be healed from your malady. What's 
the malady? It's sin, it's rebellion, it's 
transgression, it's a lack of conformity unto God's holy law. But if we look by the grace of 
God to our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, what is immediately ours? 
Justification. Justification is an act of God's 
free grace wherein he pardons all our sins and accepts us as 
righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed 
to us and received by faith alone. In other words, when you look 
at that Christ, when you look at that one, that's your lot. You're forgiven of your sins 
and you receive a righteousness that avails with God. Why will 
ye die, God said to the people of Israel through the prophet 
Ezekiel? Turn, look, repent, believe. I just can't imagine 
anything more blessed, more beautiful, more glorious. What's Paul tell 
us in Romans chapter 10? Whoever believes on him will 
not be disappointed. You'll never come to Jesus and 
say, man, I really miss my old life. I mean, you've got remaining 
sin, and you're messed up still, and you've got issues, and there's 
struggles. I grant that. Galatians 5, 17 is a reality. Romans 7 is the truth. But when 
you're thinking and you're pondering it, you're saying, man, I love 
Jesus. I want Jesus. I want more Jesus. And you start to say, well, you 
know, even if I do die, that means more Jesus. You ever see 
Paul and his response in Philippians chapter one? He says, for to 
me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now, as Paul says that, 
he's in a prison cell. Imagine you're a guard and Paul's 
writing and he happens to be speaking. So you know what he's 
saying. You report back to the chief guard and say, I don't 
know what we're going to do with him. I mean, he lives, he has 
Christ. We feed him to the lions, he 
gets more Christ. I just don't know how we can 
punish this man. Paul is unpunishable, because 
whether he lives or he dies, his life is about Christ. See, Christ isn't a little bit 
of an add-on to our lives. Christ isn't just a Sunday morning 
sort of accoutrement for our lives. Christ is all. Christ 
is most high. Christ is blessed. Christ is 
the one who is worthy of our allegiance. We take up our cross 
daily and we follow him, not grudgingly. Most of the people 
of God, not most, all, will say, yeah, I want to take up my cross. 
Of course I want to follow Jesus. I want to go wherever he bids 
me to go. And if there is any sort of duplicity in their hearts, 
they confess it, they forsake it, and by the grace of God, 
they march forward. Lord, forgive me. If there was any resistance, 
I want to follow you. Don't continue to reject Christ. Peter preaching on the day of 
Pentecost is met with 3,000 conversions. Now, notice the practice of the 
church. We're not gonna get through all 
of this. If you're starting to worry about the time, we are 
not gonna get through 42 to 47, but I certainly wanna get through 
42. Notice, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' 
doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers. 
Now, this particular word, Continued steadfastly means, get this, 
it means to continue steadfastly. That's what they did. They weren't 
inconsistent. They weren't fickle. They weren't 
flighty. They weren't here for a time 
and gone for a time. They persisted. They held fast 
to. They continued in. They persevered. See, Christianity, coming to 
Jesus, is what Jesus describes in Luke 14. It's not simply walking 
up an aisle. It's not simply signing a card. 
It's not simply shooting up your hand. And it's not simply identifying 
publicly in the waters of baptism. It is discipleship. It is following 
the Son of God. It is doing what our Lord commands. As I said last time, baptism, 
we can overdo it on the one hand and put too much into it, be 
what's called a sacramentalist. But on the other hand, we can 
think that it's not a command, it's a suggestion, and I just 
don't feel like complying. If you're a believer in Jesus 
Christ and you have not been baptized, you are disobeying 
Jesus Christ. Embrace that. Confess it, forsake 
it, find mercy, and find water, because we'll be happy to baptize 
you. You see, Christianity is commitment to Jesus. And I love 
that choice. The Lord continued steadfastly. 
So many times, people make a show for, you know, well, you know, 
I've gone to prayer meeting once. I remember when my kids were 
in Christian school, praying at the flagpole was a big deal. 
Praying at the flagpole. Why don't you just pray in your 
closet every morning for the rest of your lives? Rather than 
pray at the flagpole, fine, good, yeah, pray at the flagpole. Better 
to pray in your closet for the rest of your life. Men, you can 
pray with your friends or you can pray with your brothers. 
Do you pray with your families? Is there a family altar at home? 
You see, it's not just a flash in the pan. It's not just a one 
time. They continued steadfastly in 
four particulars that define for us the practice of the church. 
And this is why I suggest this is a description that is prescriptive. You and I are not supposed to 
go out and look for the gift of tongues, but you and I are 
supposed to continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. And 
notice in this context, what did they see? What had they witnessed? They saw the fiery cloven tongues. 
They heard the sound of the mighty rushing wind. They saw disciples 
speaking in other languages, communicating to those various 
nations represented in Jerusalem. They saw all that, and guess 
what it is that they continue steadfastly in? Teaching, doctrine. Doctrine's offensive today. The 
doctrine divides. Funny, because Paul defining 
love in 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that a very characteristic 
of love is that it rejoices in truth. I submit that if you don't 
like doctrine, which simply means teaching, you've got problems 
with God. Because Jesus says, this is eternal 
life, that they may, get this word, know thee, the only true 
God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Guess how you come 
to acquire this knowledge of God? It's not mowing your lawn. Unless you're meditating on scripture, 
that's a good idea. It's contact with apostolic doctrine. It's taking in the Bible. It's 
reading on your own. It's reading with your family. 
It's coming to church. It's not missing church. It's 
a continuing steadfast in the apostles' doctrine. They weren't 
seeking experience, ecstasy, or entertainment, but they wanted 
the truth of God's holy word. John Calvin said, neither doth 
he name all manner of doctrine, but the doctrine of the apostles, 
that is, that which the Son of God had delivered by their hands. 
Therefore, wheresoever the pure voice of the gospel doth sound, 
where men continue in the profession thereof, where they exercise 
themselves in hearing the same ordinarily that they may profit, 
without all doubt, there is the church. I love that. How do we 
find the church? It's a bunch of people that love 
God's word. Well, no, a church has beautiful nursery care. A 
church has vibrant music. A church has a vibrant youth 
ministry. A church may have all those things, 
but you know what is centrality, with reference to church, is 
the apostolic doctrine. You don't have that, you don't 
have a church. I think this is a great description that ought 
to be prescriptive. I'd love to take our Charismatic 
and Pentecostal brethren and say, look, I want you to come 
to Acts 2, because I want you to see how you're supposed to 
function as an individual believer and as churches. Acts 2, 1 to 
4, uh-uh. Acts 2, 42, you're facing the scriptures. Listen to faithful preaching. 
Continue steadfastly in that doctrine. But it doesn't stop 
there. They continue steadfastly in fellowship as well. Now for 
us, fellowship means Tim Hortons and a coffee and talking about 
the Canucks. That's not what's in view in this particular passage. 
Most likely, the fellowship in view of verse 42 is that which 
we see expressed in verse 45. In other words, charity. almsgiving. generosity and benevolence 
toward one another. Certainly we can hang out and 
certainly we ought to talk about Jesus and certainly go to Tim 
Hortons and talk about the Canucks. You don't have to call that fellowship. 
Fellowship was when the people of God joined together as the 
people of God and their topics of discussion typically are the 
God that they worship and the God that they serve and the God 
that they praise. But in this context fellowship or that that 
word that you've heard before koinonia is probably charity. almsgiving, they coughed up to 
one another. They dug deep and helped brethren 
in need. In fact, Calvin gives this definition 
or this explanation. Mutual society and fellowship 
unto alms and unto other duties of brotherly fellowship. So it 
doesn't exclude the others, but the specifics here are unto alms. That's what's going on in terms 
of their fellowship with one another. Now, and the third thing, 
they continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread. I think 
there's a distinction made in our passage between what's called 
the Lord's Supper and, you know, dinner. Notice in verse 42, they 
continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship 
in the breaking of bread and in prayers. Now it's close association 
there with preaching or apostolic doctrine, with prayers, the people 
of God praying to God, and with this fellowship would indicate 
that it's not just a common, ordinary meal. But when we drop 
down to verse 46, notice, 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. That second 
clause sort of identifies for us that it's not the special 
meal. They're doing this from house to house. They eat together 
and they're happy. They're glad and they have a 
simplicity of heart. So probably the verse 46 is you 
having burritos at your brother's house and talking about Jesus 
and how wonderful he is. But in verse 42, they continued 
steadfastly in the breaking of bread. Bread, this is the supper. 
This is the Lord's table. This is that time when the people 
of God, vis-a-vis 1 Corinthians 11, 23 to 26, remember in a special 
way our Lord's death. We take this bread, we drink 
this cup, and we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 
It's a way for us as creatures, tangibly, to remember our blessed 
Redeemer in his life, and specifically his death and his resurrection 
for us. Now notice, brethren, they continued 
steadfastly in it. You know, again, I'll just give 
you sort of a thing to think about later. We're not going 
to get to it, but verse 46, so continuing daily with one accord 
in the temple. You know, sometimes people have said to me, you know, 
they had daily worship. The early believers did it every 
single day. And I have thought to say, I 
don't think I've ever said it. Maybe I will now, because I'm 
over 50 and I'm more crotchety. And I guess old guys just get 
away with a little bit more. But I've always wanted to say, 
when everybody in our church attends every meeting that the 
church has for a month, we'll talk about adding. We'll talk 
about throwing in another meeting. But you see, people don't typically 
even avail themselves of what is there. So if you want everyday 
meetings, praise God, that's good, I'm happy for you. Be it 
every time the doors open here. We have a prayer meeting from 
9.30 to 10.30. And you know, interestingly enough, 
these saints continue to steadfastly in prayers. You see, I'm not 
trying to bind anyone's conscience and I'm not trying to hurt anybody. 
I'm not trying to make you feel bad or, you know, violate your 
conscience or whatever. But these early saints did what 
they did because they love Christ. They had the Spirit and they 
showed it in this way specifically. What's a good way? Now, I don't 
think it demands. I don't think that part is prescriptive. 
You have to meet every single day. Brethren, Lord's Day adherence 
would be a breath of fresh air on our day. Just the one day 
that God's commanded us to meet. Without this sort of, I just 
can't come back to the evening service. Why? Why? I mean, there's providential 
hindrance, I get it. There's issues, there's difficulties, 
there's medical, there's all that. I legitimately accept that. I understand that because Jesus 
says that. Medical, mercy, necessity, all 
that. Perfectly good reasons to not 
be in church. But if you can be, why not? So, you know, the kinds of people 
who say, oh, we just need to get back to the early church. 
I don't know that we do, or I don't know that we want to, really. 
And then you might even say, what early church? Do you want 
to go back to the early church at Corinth? I mean, just because 
the church was early in Corinth doesn't mean it was in sort of 
idealized form. Corinth had issues. You know 
the sooner we can go back or the farther we can get or the 
closer that we can get to Jesus and the Apostles the better off 
we'll be. Not the Corinthians. In fact, they were messed up 
in a whole host of ways. God in his mercy, kindness, grace 
had Paul write to them and sort things out. See brethren, we 
ought to attend to the means of grace. That's the point. They 
continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine, fellowship, 
the breaking of bread, and they continued steadfastly in prayers. I think C.H. Spurgeon was once 
asked, what is the secret of your success? I doubt it was 
put in that kind of language. That would be a 21st century 
way to say it. How come your preaching is successful? How 
come good things happen? He says, because my brethren 
pray. My brethren pray. It's not magic. You know, he 
doesn't wear his lucky t-shirt under his outer garment. You 
know, he doesn't shave for, you know, two days and then he comes 
and he just engages in the magic and God, no, there's people praying. What's the secret of your people 
praying? Do you pray? You pray for services 
like these? Do you pray that God will open 
the hearts of sinners? You have an I got mine mentality? 
I've shared that before. Again, here's repetition number 
18. I keep saying 18. That's a good sign. I'm connecting 
with that number still. But in my house, we'd all get 
our food. And mom would still be trying 
to get her food. And we're raring to go and dive 
in. Come on, let's pray. Let's pray. 
And she'd say, it's an IGM. I got mine. As long as I got 
mine, I want to go ahead and eat. Wait for your wife. Let 
her put her meal together. And when she's collected and 
ready, then pray. Don't force her hand and rush 
her and say, well, I got mine. Let's go ahead. It's kind of 
how the Christian church can be. I'm not saying you guys, 
but sometimes. I got mine. I'm saved. Why would I need to 
come to prayer meeting? Why would I need to offer up 
supplications, prayers, intercessions, giving of thanks for all men? 
I'm saved! Because there's other poor people 
that aren't, and you should come and pray for them. If you can't 
make the 9.30 hour to pray for them, pray in your homes, pray 
in your closets. Pray before you come to the service 
that we'll have the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit, 
because that's who we need. That is precisely who we need. That's what's happening in this 
passage. Well, I think that's a good place 
to end. And then, God willing, in two weeks' time, we'll take 
up the rest of that passage. Pastor Porter will be preaching 
next Sunday. Pray that God will bless his 
ministry of the Word. But I do want to end with just 
a couple of thoughts. First, I think what we see in 
this description of their practice in verse 42 does serve as a great 
prescription as how churches ought to function. And I think 
it jives with what the later church has called the marks of 
the church. I think one of the best statements, 
all sort of Reformed confessions deal with the marks of the church. 
I think Belgic Confession number 29 highlights very, very well 
the three marks of the church. The church engages in the pure 
preaching of the gospel. It makes use of the pure administration 
of the sacraments as Christ instituted them. It practices church discipline 
for correcting faults. The three marks of the church 
that is highlighted here in the Belgic would be preaching of 
the word, sacraments, and discipline. You say, well, there's no discipline 
here. They were submitting to the word of God. I tried to show 
you before. Discipline doesn't mean excommunication 
in every instance. We hear church discipline and 
we get this idea of robed ecclesiastical men throwing people out of the 
church. Discipline is being under God's 
Word. That's discipline. We're being 
discipled. We're being disciplined. We're 
being corrected. We're being reproved. We're being kept in 
line by the Word of God. You see, those marks are present 
in this particular passage, and it became determinative of what 
the church throughout the ages would indeed engage in. The confession 
goes on to say, in short, it governs itself according to the 
pure word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it, and holding 
Jesus Christ as the only head. By these marks, one can be assured 
of recognizing the true church. And I think that's an intriguing 
definition, not only because on the one hand, it tells us 
what the church should look like, it tells us that a lot of things 
that churches try to do aren't marks of the church. Now, let 
me just try to speak very candidly and clearly here. Some pastors 
are getting raked over coals this past week because they don't 
preach on immigration. You know what I think? You've 
heard about immigration for six days of the week. When you come 
into this place, you should hear of Jesus Christ. Now, I'm not 
suggesting the Bible doesn't speak to immigration and it doesn't 
have guidelines and principles that we ought to glean. I'm not 
suggesting that there are no borders in Old Covenant Israel, 
no fences, no wall. I'm not suggesting that. And 
I actually have some pretty robust ideas that way. But brethren, 
and again, to not make application to a particular subject, we're 
in the book of Deuteronomy, we're in Exodus, certainly we speak 
to those particular things. When you come into the church 
of Christ, isn't it a good thing to hear of Christ? If you want 
my views on immigration, come see me, we can talk. Bounce the 
immigration in Acts 2.41, 2.42. I guess in some, you know, sort 
of exegetical gymnastics, we could see race relations here, 
you know, the Gentile inclusion among the Jews. That's not here 
yet. You see, the important thing 
is, is that we identify the marks of the church and we let those 
dictate whether it's a church or not. Not well-meaning, I'm 
not suggesting these guys aren't well-meaning, but not well-meaning 
people that want to hold in bondage preachers to preach on the topics 
of the day. That's just not godly. It's not 
good. It's not cool. I thought of having 
a blog that says, things I learned on Twitter this week. I shouldn't 
be in a pulpit. I've heard that a couple of times 
this week because of not addressing current issues. I think you all 
know me. I do try to typically address 
current issues. I try to speak to that stuff. But it ought to be in the text 
before we try to extrapolate it out of it. The marks of the 
church, brethren, are determinative with reference to how the church 
functions. And we see it, this fourfold 
grid. They continue steadfastly in 
doctrine, fellowship, Lord's Supper, prayers. As well, we 
see that emphasis on the sacraments in two ways in this passage. They gladly received the word 
and they were baptized. And they continued steadfastly 
in the breaking of bread. Sacraments are not unimportant. The ordinances of the gospel 
aren't optional. These are things that churches 
must do. These are things that Christians 
must obey. These are things calculated by 
our God to promote growth in His people. Both baptism and 
supper are means of grace. Why in the world would we want 
to cut ourselves off of something that God gives us for our means 
of grace, for our benefit, for our health, and for our increased 
faith. And then finally, I mentioned 
this earlier, I just want to visit this thought, and this 
is the note upon which we'll end. The key to the growth of 
the church is found in the sovereignty of God. Verse 39, to all who 
are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. Verse 41, 
and that day about 3,000 souls were added. And then in verse 
47, the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. 
Now I want you to see something that we covered previously. Go 
back for just a moment to Acts chapter 2 at verse 30. Acts chapter 
2, verse 30. Remember, this is the section 
where Peter is highlighting that Jesus was raised from the dead. 
He shows that Psalm 16 wasn't about David. It was about David's 
greater son. It was about the Lord Jesus Christ. 
And now Peter comes to interpret. And in verse 30, he says, Therefore, 
being a prophet, that's David, 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. So you see, Peter here is invoking 
what was called, or what is called, the Davidic covenant. Behind 
Peter's words here are primarily Psalm 132, as well as Psalm 89. But what drives Psalm 89 and 
Psalm 132 is 2 Samuel 7, where that's God's promise to David 
that of David's seed, from his line, God would raise up one 
that would be a son to God, and he would sit upon the throne, 
and his kingdom would have no end. Now, keeping that in mind, 
a son of God that would build a house for God. I've always 
found it very intriguing that in Matthew chapter 16, when Jesus 
says, who do men say that I, the son of man, am? They answer 
what everybody out there says. And then Peter says, who do you 
say that I am? And Peter says, you are the Christ, 
the son of the living God. Remember, God said, according 
to the Davidic covenant, that a son would come, and that son 
would do what? He'd build a house for God, 2 
Samuel 7. So in Matthew 16, on the heels 
of Peter's confession concerning Jesus as being the son of the 
living God, what does Jesus declare? I will build my church. You have a Davidic son, a son 
of God, building a house for God. He does it on the day of 
Pentecost with these 3,000 souls added to them. This is Christ, 
the master builder, taking hammer, taking nail, and putting that 
structure together. This is the power of the Lord 
Jesus Christ doing what was prophesied in 2 Samuel 7 and is realized 
by His life, His death, and His resurrection. He is a Davidic 
son, the Son of God, who builds a house for God. And the way 
He does so is by sending His Spirit, attending to the preaching 
of the Word, and saving sinners by His glorious grace. It is 
a beautiful, wonderful thing to see the Bible set that forth. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word and we thank 
You for this day. We thank You for Your demonstration 
of power and grace on the day of Pentecost. We don't limit 
You, Father. We pray that You would display 
this power throughout the world today through the preaching of 
the Gospel. If it was no difficulty for you to add 3,000 souls on 
that day, we know it's no difficulty for you to do it on this day. 
We pray wherever this gospel is preached, your word would 
triumph. Sinners would gladly receive that word, and they would 
be baptized, identifying publicly with our great and our glorious 
triune God. We thank you for your grace shown 
to us in the salvation of our souls, and we give you praise 
and glory and adoration. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Well, please take your Trinity 
hymnal. We're going to close by singing the doxology.