Or you can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2. Familiar passage of scripture when we come to baptismal services. Acts chapter 2 is Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. So I wanna read from verses 22 to 40.

We'll read to the end of the chapter and then we'll focus on the actual sermon of Peter and then the response to that sermon. So beginning in Acts chapter two 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. 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 cut 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 promise is to you and to your children and to all who are far 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.

Opening Prayer

Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for this privilege to gather in the house of God on the day of God for the worship of our triune God, even Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We pray that you would be glorified. We pray that you would be enthroned upon the praises of your people here. We pray that you would be pleased to bless the word as it goes forth here throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

May it run swiftly and be glorified. May you be pleased to call out of darkness into marvelous light men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. As well, God, we pray that you would encourage your people, that you would sanctify us by your truth. We confess that your word is truth.

As well, we pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to lead us and to guide us into truth and cause it to find its mark in our hearts and may you promote in us conformity unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Do forgive us now for all sin, all transgression. We know that you call us to live in a manner that is consistent with our calling in the gospel. And yet we confess with the hymn writer, we are prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love.

So wash us and cleanse us and help us now to receive all that you have for us for your glory and honor. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Introduction

Well, as we have seen over the last few weeks in our studies in John's gospel, Jesus promises the sending of the Spirit. Not that the Spirit is absent from the Old Testament. He is certainly there at the creation. He is there speaking through the prophets.

He is there being grieved by Israel. He is there to be sure. But there is a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised by those prophets. Specifically, I'm thinking of Joel chapter two.

And so what we have in the book of Acts on this day of Pentecost is the fulfillment or the fruition or the realization of Christ's promise there in the upper room to send the Spirit with power. And essentially, that's what we find. Remember in John 20, Jesus breathed on the disciples, not that the Spirit is a substance or a gas or a vapor, but it was a signifying event, a signifying or foreshadowing sign that the Spirit would come with great power. And when we see that breath of Jesus in John 20, we turn to Acts chapter 2, and you notice specifically in verse 1, it says, When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Now the phenomena that attended that was tongue speaking and prophesying, and certainly that caused a lot of interest amongst the people that were hearing this, so much so that they began to criticize the apostles and criticize the hearers by saying, these men are drunk. So Peter gets up and he says, these men are not drunk as you suppose, it's only the third hour of the day. And then he says that this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.

In other words, the messianic kingdom has come. Christ is enthroned at the right hand of the father. All that the prophets testified concerning the outpoured spirit is upon us now. And so Peter cites the prophet Joel, and then Peter preaches the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So that's what I wanna look at. The proclamation of the truth of the gospel, verses 22 to 40. won't be detailed, it won't be every jot and tittle, but just an overview. And then secondly, the response to the truth of the gospel in verses 41 and 42. So when our sister today goes into the waters of baptism, it's not the case that she ought to be congratulated or applauded for what she has done.

It's not an exhibition of her own wisdom. It is not the exercise of her own free will. It is rather a testimony to the power of God in the saving of sinners. It is a demonstration of what we find throughout Scripture concerning the glory of Jesus Christ in the salvation of sinners.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So hopefully all of us that are believers will be encouraged and strengthened as we rehearse again the gospel of our salvation. But if you're not a believer in Jesus Christ, I would really encourage you to pay attention to what Simon Peter has to say as the Spirit moves him to preach on the day of Pentecost.

Proclamation of the Gospel

So let's look first at the proclamation of the gospel. And this encompasses verses 22 to 36. Again, we won't go into every detail, but

The Life and Ministry of Christ

notice first, the gospel is a message about the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in 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. And I think that this goes along with the citation of the prophet Joel there preceding this. Notice after Peter cites Joel, it ends in verse 21.

It shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. I think a good question there is, well, who is this Lord upon whom I should call in order that I might be saved? And so Peter takes that charge in hand and he preaches Jesus Christ, who is the Lord, that must be called upon in order that men be saved. So Jesus is the center point of the gospel.

The gospel isn't a religious feeling. It's certainly not a religious experience. The gospel isn't my warm, fuzzy feelings that I get when I show up at church once in a while. The gospel is the message of Jesus Christ.

It's about his life. It's about his ministry. As we move through this narrative, it's about his death. It's about his resurrection and his exaltation.

It's not personal accomplishment that we are parading today. It is not personal achievement. It is not religiosity. It is rather a celebration of the glory of God's grace revealed freely in and through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

J. Gressom Machen made this observation concerning the gospel. He says, we can preach the gospel they tell us by our lives. You may have heard that direct before.

Preach the gospel and when necessary use words. That is unbiblical to the core. Machen is right. We can preach the gospel, they tell us, by our lives and do not need to preach it by our words.

But they are wrong. He says, men are not saved by the exhibition of our glorious Christian virtues. They are not saved by the contagion of our experiences. We cannot be the instrument of God in saving them if we preach to them thus only ourselves.

Nay, we must preach to them the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is only through the gospel which sets him forth that they can be saved. Machen didn't make that up. Machen is reflecting, perhaps, on passages like Acts 2. What is this phenomena that we are witnessing?

What is this thing that we are seeing in terms of tongue speaking and prophesying? Peter, filled with the Spirit, stands and preaches the gospel. Not about experience, not about feeling, not about our own virtue, but it's about Jesus. His life, His ministry, and then

The Death of Christ

notice His death according to verse 23. Him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. So the gospel is about the life of Jesus. And when we speak of the life of Jesus, we're not speaking simply as an example.

We're not speaking simply as a pattern. Oh, look at Jesus and go thou and do likewise. Look at Jesus and be like him. Now, I'm not suggesting we ought not to be like him, but that's not the gospel.

In fact, that's more law. Be like Him, and if you're not, you'll be cut off. If you're not, you'll be condemned. If you're not, you'll be thrown into the lake of fire.

No, the blessedness of Jesus' life is 33 years of perfect obedience to the law. We need Jesus' life. We need His righteousness, such that when by God's grace we believe on Him, we're not only washed in His precious blood, but we are clothed in His righteousness. We need the entirety of Jesus' life and death.

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is that great high priest that has made intercession and has provided a sacrifice. He is that Aaron in the wilderness taking that firepan full of hot coals and holding it up before Yahweh as it stays the vengeance of God upon the sinning Israelites. Our Jesus is that Great High Priest, but He's not only the Great High Priest, He is the perfect offering or victim that is given in atoning work for God Most High.

So it's about His life and His death, but then notice His resurrection in verses 24 to 32. After speaking of the crucifixion, verse 24, whom God raised up. Peter makes this contrast, as do the other apostles, with reference to Christ. You killed him, but God raised him up.

You killed him, but God raised him up. Now, for the audience here, the God that raised him up is the God that they subscribe allegiance to. It's the God of Old Covenant Israel. It is Yahweh.

And so He condemns them for having crucified the one that Yahweh sent in accordance with His written promises to save His people from their sins. That contrast comes to a pinnacle at the end of his sermon. In other words, what Peter wants to do is to show them their sinfulness so that they will see their need to call upon the name of the Lord that they may be saved. It is a most blessed way that he proceeds.

So

The Resurrection of Christ

he speaks concerning the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again, we need the entirety of Christ. He was delivered up because of our offenses, Romans 4.25, and he was raised for our justification. So

The Exaltation of Christ

then he speaks concerning the exaltation of Christ in verses 33 to 36. So he spoke of his death, his resurrection, and then in verse 33, 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. In accordance with His promise to His disciples in the Upper Room, I will send another Helper. I will send the Spirit of Truth.

In accordance with the Prophet Joel, as well the Prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah, who spoke of the Messianic Age as being a time of the great power of the Holy Spirit, So Peter brings this sermon to that beautiful sort of conclusion to highlight the exaltation of Jesus at the right hand of the Father. And then notice what he does in verse 36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly. I've always loved that word assuredly in this context.

For Simon Peter, this isn't a debatable topic. For Simon Peter, this isn't up for grabs. For Simon Peter, he never thought for a moment that, you know, maybe Jesus doesn't check every box on the Messianic survey. Maybe there is one that potentially may come and fulfill all those prophets in a way that Jesus doesn't.

No, therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly without question, with absolute conviction, with certainty. Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." So twice in his sermon, he points out their particular sin. I think that Manton is right when Manton 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 bringeth others into the view of conscience.

So Peter not only preaches the glorious power of the gospel in terms of the redemption of sinners, but he preaches the horrifying condemnation of the law. In other words, if you do not believe, if you do not, in the language of Acts 2.21, citing Joel 2, call upon the name of the Lord, you will be cut off by that Lord. You will be rejected on that day of judgment. You will end up in hell for having sinned against the very majesty of God Most High, for being a lawbreaker, for breathing His air, for drinking His water, for eating His food, for living in His world, for enjoying a day like today, and nevertheless resisting, rejecting, and despising Him for your pet's sin.

So Peter goes to the heart here. Peter does what a preacher ought to do, not speaking in vagueness and in ambiguity, and perhaps possibly one of you here may have sinned before. No, that's not what he does. And notice the guts and the courage with reference to this preacher of the gospel.

He goes into enemy territory. Remember what happened not long before this in Jerusalem? It was that mob that cried, away with him, away with him, crucify him. It was that mob who had appealed through their leadership to Pontius Pilate to get Pontius Pilate to sign off on the death penalty because the Jews didn't have that authority as a subject to the Roman emperor.

And so within the space of several days, couple weeks, few weeks, we've got Peter now addressing these Jerusalem sinners with an offer of mercy, an offer of grace from the one that they themselves had crucified. Know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now notice,

Conviction of the Jerusalem Sinners

before we move on to the actual response, look at the conviction of these Jerusalem sinners in verses 37 to 40. Verses 37 to 40. We see their conviction in verse 37. Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart.

It's the language of conviction. You see it used elsewhere in the book of Acts, specifically with Stephen, rather, testifying before the Sanhedrin. They were cut to the heart also. So the fact that it stipulates that they were cut to the heart, it's neither a positive nor a negative statement, you know, on its own.

People get cut to the heart through gospel preaching because they're outraged. People get cut to the heart by gospel preaching because it's an offense. People get cut to the heart by gospel preaching because are you suggesting that I'm a sinner who stands justly under God's wrath and curse? People do get cut to the heart.

They feel uncomfortable. They feel disturbed. And that's what it is in the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter seven. But that's not what it is here.

This is the kind of conviction that we pray for on a Sunday morning and a Sunday afternoon before the gospel is preached, such that sinners will be convicted, that they'll understand, you know what? I shouldn't have said, away with him, away with him, crucify him. I shouldn't have stood there, you know, roaring with glee and joy when they crucified the Lord of glory. I shouldn't have done those particular things in violation of and transgression toward the law of God.

And so Peter preaches to them, the Spirit comes to bless them, or bless it, and they are cut to the heart. We know this is a positive cutting to the heartness because of what they then say. They said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? What shall we do?

Now not commenting too much on the what shall we do, other than to say, that's usually man's response, isn't it? I'm found out. I'm messed up. I'm not sure that I can stand before God on that day of judgment.

What do I do? How do I fix it? How do I get better? How do I reform?

How do I prepare? You're still thinking in the unbelieving Jew mind of, I've got to do Torah in order to commend myself to God. What must I do? It's like that prodigal.

Remember the prodigal? I'll just come back and throw myself on the mercy of the Father. Not for free grace and blood atonement, but I will ask Him if I can be a hired servant. I will ask Him if I can share the servant's quarters.

I will ask Him if I can participate that way, because that's the means by which I'll get three hots and a cot. There's always a doing element on the part of the sinner. If you're not a believer here this morning, notice that I just said you're not a believer. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

What does that mean? It means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It means to look from you and your doing, to look from you and your trying, to look from you and your religiosity, to look from you and your reform, to the one who lived, the one who died, the one who was raised again, and the one who is now enthroned at the right hand of the Father, where he says, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. We come in faith.

The hymn writer put it well. Nothing in my hand I bring. There's no doing that I can do in order to commend myself to God. Nothing in my hand I bring.

Simply to thy cross I cling. And we cling because of God's grace. He says in that same hymn, fowl I to the fountain fly, wash me Savior or I die. See, these men are convicted.

These men ask, what shall we do? Thankfully, Peter wasn't a neonomian. Thankfully, Peter wasn't a papist. Thankfully, Peter wasn't some other form of heretic when it comes to justification by faith alone.

But he preaches the response

Response to the Gospel

That brings us then to verse 38. Notice, 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. So

The Command to Repent

note first that command to repent. Peter sounds like a couple of men that preceded him, namely John the Baptist, repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Lord Jesus Christ, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What does this mean, repent? I thought justification was by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Well, as you move through the book of Acts, you'll see that belief and repentance are oftentimes used interchangeably. In fact, as one current commentator mentions, 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. And I think it's helpful to sort of ask the question, what does repentance mean?

Usually people associate repentance with the fruits of repentance. He stopped smoking crack. He stopped visiting prostitutes. He's repented.

Those are as bad examples as you can get. Stopped cheating on his taxes. Stopped looking at porn. Stopped doing these things.

He's repented. Well, there's pagans out there that realize, you know, a life of crack and prostitutes isn't all it's cracked up to be. So perhaps I should stop. That's not repentance.

Repentance fundamentally, the very basic essence of the language, is a change of mind. It is a change of mind. That's why it's the opposite side of the same coin. You can't have faith without repentance, and you can't have repentance without faith.

We associate the fruits of repentance as the essence of repentance. And I'm not suggesting that true repentance doesn't issue forth in fruits. It certainly does. But when Peter says, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, he's not teaching a doctrine of justification by forsaking your sin and then coming. or getting your act together and then coming.

I think sinners look at the gospel that way. I've got to fix myself before I go to Jesus. I've got to deal with this glaring issue in my life before I go to Jesus. May I just say, this is what Jesus is for?

He deals with the glaring issues. He deals with the wretched sin. In Jeremiah the prophet, chapters 2 and 3, we see in chapter 2 the build up to chapter 3. Chapter 2 shows the sinfulness of old covenant Israel.

Such that God himself says, has a nation changed its gods and yet you, You have exchanged me. You have turned me over for all these gods that the nations around you have. I mean, it is hard-hitting. Jeremiah 2 is one of those passages that is law-heavy and very condemnatory, and it sets the stage for Jeremiah 3.

Five times, God through the prophet says, yet return to me, says the Lord. That's what Peter's saying. You crucified the Lord of glory. Repent from that and be baptized in his blessed name for the remission of sins.

One of those instances in that prophet Jeremiah in chapter 3, return ye backsliding children and I will heal your backslidings. I mentioned the prodigal earlier. He thought he could do. He thought he could fix.

He thought he could just get alongside the servants, do the work of a daily laborer, receive his three hots and a cot. He didn't understand the Father's grace, didn't understand the Father's nature, didn't understand that the Father, while He was a long way off, was going to actually run to Him and fall on Him, not to buffet Him or to resist Him or to reject Him or to send Him on His way, but to kiss Him. to order the placing of a ring on his finger, to order the placing of a robe on his back, and then to rejoice. This son of mine that was dead is now alive. This son that was lost is now found.

Jesus is in the business of receiving to him guilty, vile, helpless sinners. See, that's why it's gospel. It's good news. It's not bad news.

It's not simply good advice, fix your life, and everything will be great. It's the good news concerning life, death, and resurrection. Call upon Him in faith, and you will have everlasting life. As I said, there are multiple instances where you see in the book of Acts, sinners are told either to repent or to believe.

We see the interchangeability. Even in this passage, notice in verse 38, repent and let every one of you be baptized. Notice in verse 44, now all who believe, excuse me, believed were in common, were together. You mean those who repented can be known as believers?

Yes, and those who believe can be known as repenters, because they're two sides of the same coin. In fact, turn over to the book of Acts, chapter 10. Chapter 10, the household of Cornelius. Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God to the old covenant nation of Israel.

Notice in Acts chapter 10, specifically at verse 43, to him, Jesus. Peter's got a common way of preaching the gospel. It's all about Jesus. It's not about Peter.

You know, brothers, I was a fisherman. I was just minding my own nets. I was just doing my own thing. And I met this Jesus, but it's all about me, me, me, me, me.

It's all about Jesus. Life, death, resurrection. Life, death, resurrection. Believe on Him, call upon Him, and you shall be saved.

So notice, to Him, all the prophets witnessed. Not some of them, not a handful, even Obadiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk. To Him, all the prophets. What does that tell us?

Tells us the scope of scripture is Jesus Christ, the glory of God, and the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ. Christ is all throughout the Old Testament. Do not neglect the Old Testament. Oh, I just want to read about Jesus.

Then read from Genesis to Malachi, because you get a lot about Jesus. Anyways, to him all the prophets witnessed that through his name, whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. We know how it goes. The Holy Spirit falls upon them, they speak in tongues, they've received the gift of the Holy Spirit, they're blessed.

Now, Peter gets called to the mat to have to describe or explain this. Why? These are Gentiles. Why would you go to these goy?

Why would you go to the hoi polloi? Why would you go to these derelicts, these animals, these dirtbags, these dogs? Why would you go to them? So guess where Peter then goes?

He gets called to the mat in Jerusalem. He has to tell what's happened. Well, what happened? What happened, Peter?

Well, look at how Peter describes what happened. Just picking up toward the end there, verse 16, then I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. If therefore God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? Of course, I baptized them.

Of course, I welcomed them into the household of faith. Of course, I accepted them because God saved them. And Peter would know with that interpretative key, which is Jesus, to the Old Testament, that Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises God began in the oracle of Noah, when Shem, or rather Japheth, Gentile, comes and finds safe harbor in the tents of Shem. But then note how they interpret this.

Verse 18, when they heard these things, they became silent. They glorified God saying, then God also has granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. Whoever believes. He has granted them repentance to life.

Now, examples of this could be multiplied, but going back to Acts chapter two, when Peter says repent, he doesn't in the first place mean get your act together, fix yourself, take a vacation and work on you. A bit of self-reflection, a little bit of introspection, a little bit of change, a little bit of schedule manipulation, and then come to Christ. No, repent. and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.

Baptism as Sign, Not Instrument

And what is baptism? Baptism is a sign for the party baptized of his union with Christ, of his having been forgiven of his sins. of his having been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. It is that initiatory right that the Lord Jesus commanded that be done. Matthew 28, 18 to 20, go therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptize those disciples that you've made from all the nations, that's the gloss, 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've commanded you, and lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age.

Now when he says, repent, let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, there are Trinity-denying heretics that seize upon this language and insist on Jesus' name only baptism. They're heretics that have an axe to grind against the doctrine of the Trinity. I think that Gil is on the better path, why Jesus alone is mentioned here. 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.

So note again the text, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. It's not the baptism that brings the forgiveness. It's not a work wherein we've repented and therefore God owes us forgiveness. We are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

That is signified, it is displayed, it is demonstrated, illustrated, emblemized, however you want to say it, by that tank. The tank doesn't save Shannon this morning. The tank rather tells us what God has done. It is all about the grace and the glory and the mercy and the kindness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The provision of forgiveness is not obtained by baptism, but signified by baptism. And then moving on in the passage, notice in verse 38, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the promise that's in view. If you look back to verse 33.

I think this becomes important as the Paedo-Baptist tries to pivot and include his infants in verse 39. We first must ask the question, what's the promise that Peter is referring to in verse 38? You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Notice in verse 33, 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 promise in view is the promise of the Spirit. And I don't think it's the gifts of the Spirit where we speak in tongues or prophesy or do those sorts of things, but it's the gift of the Spirit. It is the helper sent by Jesus to indwell the blood-bought children of God, to be their seal, to be their guarantee, the way Paul describes in Ephesians 1, 13 and 14. The promise of Acts 2.38 is the fulfillment of what God said in Joel 2.

Christ at the right hand of the Father, sending the Spirit as He promised in the upper room. to empower and enable the church for the mission to go first to Jerusalem and then Judea Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the earth to testify everywhere of the life, the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We saw it last week in John's gospel in John 16. What's one of the purposes of the Spirit in his ministry? He will glorify me, is what Jesus says.

Guess what's happening here? The Spirit is glorifying Jesus. The Spirit is shining the light upon Jesus. The sinner is told, repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins.

It is then and thus that the Spirit is given to you in great power for all that you stand in need of as Christ's people, such that he never leaves you as an orphan. And then I think, and this is gonna differentiate me from our brethren in town that disagree, but that's okay. We are Baptists. I typically try not to pick on competing sort of interpretations when we have a baptismal service, but sometimes, yeah, I got problems.

Acts 2:39 and Infant Baptism

Notice in verse 39, for the promise, again, the reception of the Spirit upon faith in Jesus. 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. Let's just look at each little section of that verse. For the promise is to you.

We could stop right there and fall on our faces and worship. Brethren, if this city of Jerusalem, treated your son the way they treated his son? Would you be keen on sending preachers to them and calling them to your son? I wouldn't.

You rejected my son? You resisted my word? You missed what the prophet Joel was writing? You missed Isaiah?

You missed Ezekiel? You, teachers of Israel, you missed all that? I'd be like, you're done. Peter is standing in Jerusalem, telling Jerusalem sinners that this promise is for you.

You mean the one we just crucified? The one we cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him? That one is actually calling upon us to call upon his name? Yeah, that one.

And the to your children. Brethren, this text does not legitimize infant inclusion in the covenant of grace. This text shows us the scope and the universality of gospel preaching. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And I think it has a particular application to something that we find in Matthew's gospel. You can turn back there to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27. You'll remember the scene.

It's the away with him, away with him, crucify him scene. And Pontius Pilate is presiding on all of it. Notice in verse 22 of Matthew 27, Pilate said to them, what then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? They all said to him, let him be crucified.

Then the governor said, why? What evil has he done? Now, Pilate was a gutless man, a horribly gutless man. I mean, celebratorily a gutless man.

And I don't want to say but, because it almost sounds like I'm relieving that, but he kind of knew that this was a great big sham. He knew. They were only after Jesus because of their own envy. Pilate himself confesses three times, I find no guilt in this man.

I find no guilt in this man. I find no guilt in this man. Say what you will about the Pilates in the Roman Empire, but they did kind of prize themselves, or pride themselves rather, the view of the law. Jurisprudence actually mattered.

Days in court, cross-examination, witness testimony, laws of evidence, that stuff actually mattered. Pilate was smart enough to know this was a sham. So gutless wonder, but some turmoil. I mean, his wife has a dream and says, have nothing to do with him.

It's not going to go well. You mix yourself up with this righteous man. It's not going to go well for you. So back to the text.

Why, what evil has he done? But they cried out all the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent in the blood of this just person. You see to it.

Now note this curious phrase in verse 25. And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us and on our children. Now we've heard the word benediction. Benediction literally means a good word.

There's a benediction oftentimes at the end of a church worship service. It's a pronouncement of a good word. This is called a malediction. This is a bad word.

Basically what it is, is that they are invoking God's wrath and curse upon them and their children. Curious that when Simon Peter gets up to proclaim the boundlessness and the mercifulness of God and his grace, says the promises for you and to you, your children, you Jerusalem sinners, you call that self-maledictory oath upon you and your children. Great parents, by the way. But when Peter says that, it's not to legitimize infant baptism.

It's to capitalize the graciousness of God. It's to magnify. It's to you. It's to your children.

But then notice, and to all who are afar off, the Goi, the Hoi Poloi, the Every Tribe Tongue People Nation, the Gentiles. Not only did Noah speak about this, not only did the prophets speak about this, not only did the Psalter celebrate this, but our Lord testified, go and make disciples of what? Of all the nations. So Peter says, gospel mercy is there for you sinning Jerusalem sinners, for the children you called God's wrath down upon, and for all those who are far off.

But then notice that clause that we somehow always miss, as many as the Lord our God will call. See, we don't just fly to a country that has never heard the gospel, line them up and start sprinkling baptismal water on them and including them in the covenant of grace. That would be absurd. That would be ludicrous.

We'd say, no, they don't know anything. They haven't believed. They haven't repented. They don't know that remission of sin.

Well, isn't that what we're doing when we willy-nilly include infants? Now, brethren, the argument isn't God can't save infants. God most certainly can save infants. The argument is, who should be baptized?

And when we ask the Bible, the answer is very clear. Those who believe. Those who repent. Those who have been saved.

It's not a converting ordinance. It doesn't make one a believer, but rather it is a signifying ordinance of what God has done internally in the heart of that particular sinner. So what Peter is doing here is he's not giving this pronouncement on the legitimacy of infant baptism, but rather he is highlighting the gloriousness and the magnanimousness of God's grace. This gospel message, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, if they happen to be Jerusalem sinners, if they happen to be the children of Jerusalem sinners, if they happen to be in nations afar off, always modified by as many as the Lord our God shall call, those whom the Lord effectually calls, those whom He regenerates, those whom He gives the graces of faith and repentance.

They are the ones that are to follow the Lord in that command to be baptized. And then

The Salvation of Sinners and Church Practice

notice, lastly and quickly and finally, the response to the truth of the gospel. Well, verse 40 tells us, As we've seen in John's gospel, it was a perverse generation. He crucified the Lord of glory. He came to his own, his own received him not.

So Peter continues to exhort in this direction. He continues to testify in this direction. He continues to lay upon them that emphasis of the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ and the bad news of their foul sin before a holy God. And so then note the salvation of sinners in verse 41.

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. Note that order. They were glad receivers of the Word, and then they got baptized. That's a pattern in Acts.

That's a pattern according to the Great Commission. Go therefore, make disciples, baptize those disciples, teach those disciples. In a paedo-baptist scheme, it's first, baptize those disciples, then hopefully they'll be made disciples, and then you can go ahead and teach those disciples. But that undoes everything that we see in our Lord's command in the commission, which reflects the larger scene in terms of covenant.

The promise in Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34, who's going to be in the new covenant? It's not everybody by their ethnicity. It's not everybody by their physical descendants from Abraham. It is those who know the Lord.

It is those who have been forgiven of their sins. It is those who have received the law of God internalized upon them. So the prophet Jeremiah announces a new covenant, not like that one I made with them before, which they broke, but in this one, all those participants in that new covenant will know the Lord. All those participants in the new covenant will have been forgiven of their sins.

All those participants in the new covenant will have received the internalization of God's law upon their heart by His Spirit. So, lo and behold, that's exactly how Jesus frames the Great Commission. Go, make disciples, baptize disciples, and then teach those disciples. That's what's happening right before your eyes.

That's what happens in the book of Acts, forthwith. Every instance. Every single time. Well, that's an argument that's a Baptist...

Okay, argue from the New Covenant, from Jeremiah's prophecy, how this isn't a proper interpretation or understanding of the practice of baptism. It's just sensical. And I realize that I'm open to the charge of saying that's nonsensical on the part of others. I love them.

I want the best for them. I read their books. I love their books. But man, on this, I think we just disagree.

And I think that the weight of the argument goes to the Baptists. Go, make, baptize, teach. Go, make, baptize, teach. What happens on the day of Pentecost?

He's gone, he's making, he's baptizing, he's teaching. That's the pattern, again, reflected in Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34. That's what we do. That's how we function.

That's how we move. So notice, again, verse 41, and those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. Don't miss the sovereignty of God there. Peter didn't add these 3,000 souls.

It wasn't Peter's persuasive powers and his preaching. It wasn't the apostles on the sideline looking at people and glaring at them, you better side with us or we're gonna throw you out. No, 3,000 were added by the power and the sovereignty and the glory of God. In other words, Peter did what Peter was supposed to do.

The spirit comes and does what he was promised to do and the end result, people get saved. Maybe there's a lesson there for us. Preachers do what preachers are supposed to do, trusting that the Spirit will come and does what He has promised to do, and we'll see people get saved. Imagine.

Imagine the simplicity. Imagine the ease with which we ought to proceed. Not ease without any oppression or persecution or hardship or suffering. But in terms of strategy and tactics, let's keep it simple.

Preach the gospel. Call upon sinners to call upon the name of the Lord. Believe on Jesus and you shall be saved. Pray that the Spirit comes in power and blesses the Word. effectually calls sinners unto the Son of His love.

It's a wonderful process or pattern that we see worked out. And then the text ends with the practice of the church. So we not only see the salvation of the sinners, but then we see the practice of the church. Remember that Great Commission?

It's got two legs. Go make disciples. Okay, now what? Baptize those disciples and then teach those disciples.

Well, where are we going to do that, Lord? You're going to do it in churches. Imagine that. Churches aren't going to be places simply to have religious experience and emotionalism.

They're certainly not going to be places with entertainment. They're not going to be with the guru that stands up there and tells you how to get your life right and do everything properly so you can make a million bucks. No, they're going to be places where people are They hear the gospel and are justified freely by God's grace. They're baptized, identifying with the triune God in the waters of baptism, and then they're taught.

You mean that's it? That's all? There's not more to it? You think I'm being facetious here, but I've had calls, not so much now, but in the past.

You know, what does your church offer? Well, we meet on Sunday for worship and we have a Wednesday night Bible study. That's it? That's all.

You don't have a Thursday morning knitting time, Tuesday afternoon coffee time. No, I'm not against knitting time. If that's your boat, float it. Coffee's great.

Text me, show up with a coffee, I'll drink it with you. But there's a that's-it-ness on the part of a consumer. But on the part of a disciple, he's happy to do what they did right here in the book of Acts. They continued steadfastly.

Not haphazardly, not once in a while, not when they got the feeling that they should probably do something. They continued steadfastly. In what? The apostles' doctrine.

They understood all too well what Jesus prayed in the high priestly prayer. Sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth. Apart from the word of God, we're in bad shape. But notice they continued steadfastly as well in fellowship.

That doesn't simply mean they went to Canucks games together. I think Calvin's got it. Mutual society and fellowship unto alms and unto other duties of brotherly fellowship. They continued steadfastly in this, but as well in the breaking of bread.

Not just having a steak at Mr. Mike's together, but the breaking of bread is the supper. It's the Lord's table. It's the sacrament ordained by our Lord Jesus Christ.

The baptism is the initiatory rite. The supper is that ongoing rite where the householder serves his weary pilgrims the bread and the wine that they need to sustain them. And then they continued steadfastly in prayers. Brethren, that's conversion.

That's what happens when you get saved. You want to do what Jesus says. Jesus says get baptized. Jesus says join churches.

Jesus says grow. OK. That's what I want to do. That's what I want to do.

Well, in conclusion, I want to encourage Shannon. She probably thinks, oh, my. One, the blessing of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Remember that?

I believe that you do. We had a good meeting together. It was great. Again, one of the parts of the job or the vocation, if you were here on Wednesday night, you'll get the background to that, of being a pastor.

One of the privileges or benefits is being able to talk to new converts about their conversion and to hear of God's grace in their lives. It's a real encouragement. And brethren, I just want to say one other thing here. This is, in fact, the response of those saved by grace.

This isn't a performance. In fact, I'm going to just be open and candid here, and you're probably going to go, wow, that was a parachuted end point. But it wasn't. It isn't.

There's just something that needs to be said. Let's not clap after the baptism. I don't think any of us mean to applaud the person being baptized. I don't think any of us mean to applaud the person for what they've done.

I do believe in my heart of hearts it goes to God. But I'm gonna suggest that we do that through the singing of the doxology in praise to God. Lest anyone ever think that the reason that person is in that water is owing to some small degree on their part. It could be misinterpreted.

Just say refrain. You can hug that person, embrace that person, certainly pray for that person, encourage that person. I don't mean to be the guy that rains on the parade, but I just think if it's given a misunderstanding, we don't want anybody to ever walk out of here thinking, man, that's Shannon. She's a great girl.

She is a great girl. That's not my point. She's a fantastic girl. But she ain't going in that water because she's a fantastic girl.

She's going in that water because Christ is a fantastic Savior. Let us not obscure that. Let us sing praise to God. God receives the praises of His people.

I want to read to Shannon and all of us something that I've read in the past on baptismal services from C.H. Spurgeon. He rehearses his own baptism. May 3rd.

In the afternoon, if you don't know who C.H. Spurgeon, he's kind of the patron saint for us Reformed Baptists. He didn't wear the big hat and have the big scepter. Actually, he did wear a big hat.

He wore a top hat, but not the big red one that the Bapists wear. He's just kind of a hero to us, not in the sense that Jesus is, just so you know. If you ever go into my office, that bobble head on my desk, that's not a baseball player. They're usually not that overweight, unless you were Babe Ruth, but it's Spurgeon.

So listen to how he describes his baptism. Tie me unto Thee. In Thy strength I now devote myself to Thy service forever. Never may I shrink from owning Thy name.

Witness, ye men and angels, now if I forsake the Lord. I vow to glory alone in Jesus and His cross, and to spend my life in the extension of His cause in whatsoever way He pleases. I desire to be sincere in this solemn profession, having but one object in view, and that to glorify God. Blessing upon thy name that thou hast supported me through the day.

It is thy strength alone that could do this. Thou hast, thou wilt. Thou hast enabled me to profess thee. Help me now to honor thee and carry out my profession and live the life of Christ on earth.

Amen. Hopefully this rejuvenates or rekindles that in our hearts as those who have been baptized and identified publicly in the waters of baptism. Curious thing about Spurgeon. His parents were Presbyterian, Pato Baptist.

They were quite happy to hear that he got converted, but showed a bit of chiding on him getting baptized. He said, well, mom, dad, God is able to do above and exceedingly abundantly more than all we can ask or think. Not only did he save me, he made me a Baptist. That's a joke for me, but that's essentially what he was saying.

Again, I love Pato Baptists. I love the theology that these brothers have brought to the church, but I think their interpretation of Acts 2.38, 2.39 is just incorrect. It's become a means, a foil to bring this doctrine. When you look at the text in its context, it's very clear what Peter is saying and what Peter isn't saying.

So again, don't want to lambast, but just want to make that observation. And then I want to end with the whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's a glorious promise. That is a glorious encouragement.

If you are a sinner here this morning that has not believed the gospel, you've not repented, you've not been baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, Guess what the encouragement to you is? To repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. In other words, call on his name in faith. Look to him and you will be saved.

Closing Prayer

Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for your goodness and your kindness to us. Thank you that we get to take part in this and witness the baptism of another believer.

Thank you for adding to our church. We see your sovereignty here in Acts chapter 2. We see your sovereignty here in Chilliwack. in December 2024. And all praise, all honor, all glory is to you, our great God, even Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture References

• Jeremiah 2; 3; 31:31-34
• Joel 2
• Matthew 27:22; 27:25; 28:18-20
• John 16; 20
• Acts 2:1; 2:21-24; 2:33-44; 7; 10:43; 11:16; 11:18
• Romans 4:25
• Ephesians 1:13-14; 3:20