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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. 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. 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. 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 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 
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 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 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, 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 
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 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. 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. 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 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. 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.