it's always nice to have all visitors come and join us here at free grace Baptist Church just one announcement before we begin worship we have some books for the grads area there so if you'd like to take time to write well let's turn in our Bibles then if you'll turn with me as we now begin the worship of our great triune God to psalm 32 psalm 32 so I'm 32 will read the entire song this is the word of the living and true God a psalm of David a contemplation blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit when I kept silent my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long for day and night your hand was heavy upon you my vitality was turned into the drought of summer sale of I acknowledged my sin to you and my iniquity I have not hidden I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin say love for this reason excuse me for this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a time when you may be found surely in a flood of Great Waters they shall not come near him you are my hiding place you shall preserve me from trouble you shall surround me with songs of deliverance say long I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go I will guide you with my I do not be like the horse or like the mule which have no understanding which must be harnessed with bit and bridle else they will not come near you many sorrows shall be to the wicked but he who trusts in the Lord mercy shall surround him be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous and shout for joy all you upright in heart amen let's stand together and sing our first hymn if you turn in here Thin Red Trinity Salters to Psalm 96 we'll sing that song together Psalm 96 [Music] Oh [Music] let's go to our God in prayer let us pray Heavenly Father we come to you now as the Saints in Christ Jesus the Lord this gathered assembly to sing your praises and we would pray at the outset or God Almighty that your name would be hallowed into this place we pray once again as we pray each and every lord's day that throughout the world and your gathered assemblies your gathered churches that your name would be hallowed that you would be honored that you would be praised and we would pray now for that measure of your holy spirit to stir up our souls to high and mighty praise of the thrice holy God of heaven and earth where truly we worship You Lord God the one and only God Father Son and Holy Spirit we do pray that you would be the recipient of all honor and praise this morning we thank you for the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ the Lord we rejoice in that biblical and Shore truth that in the fullness of the times you sent forth you our son born of a woman born under the law that he might redeem those who were under the law that we might receive adoption as sons we rejoice in that precious saving work of Jesus Christ the Lord knowing that we are not saved by deeds of righteousness which we have done but much rather according to your mercy you saved us we thank you that in that in the Lord Jesus Christ we have a full and perfect redemption we thank you for His perfect life of obedience to your law rendered in the stead of all who believe in his name we thank you for that substitutionary sacrificial death upon Calvary's cross wherein we have not a not an atonement of maybe and not an atonement of perhaps but in that death we have Jesus Christ so securing the salvation of a multi which no man can number shedding perfectly his blood for the forgiveness of sins we thank you that he arose in power and in great victory on the third day that he has ascended to your right hand and we rejoice in that truth that he now ever lives to intercede for his people that he rules and he reigns over his enemies and that he does subdue the hearts of his elect we do pray that we would sing the praises of so glorious of Christ that we would sing the praises of so glorious of gospel and that we would once again God rejoice in Father Son and Holy Spirit we do pray that you'd be with those unable to join us whether for travel or sickness we pray that you watch over them that you would strengthen them we do pray for those Lord God to do struggle regularly with disease and illness and sickness and injury God we do pray that right now that you would strengthen them in body that you would heal them that you would return them to strength that you would help them by your grace and for your glory sake to no seasons reprieve from pain and all those discomforts associated with disease and injury and sickness we pray in the midst of suffering that they would rejoice in you true God that you are the Great Physician and knowing Lord God that the judge of all the earth does right his own glory and for the good of his Saints you do pray that all of your saints would find comfort in you in the midst of distress we do pray for those who are with child pray for those who are pregnant you would ask that you strengthen mothers that you would nourish babies in the wounds that he would grow them daily watch over them these would be brought forth in great health and in due time Lord God these would be brought forth at an early age by Amazing Grace to know the glories of Christ did you pray that you would watch over Lord your Saints throughout the world who are persecuted for the cause of God and truth we know that there are many nations under heaven that there's much violence of the governments and tyrannical governments and the opposition of countrymen come upon our brothers and sisters in Christ we pray that he would strengthen them that you would be near to them that God of all comfort we pray Lord that in the midst of opposition in the midst of persecution they would look with eyes of faith upon arisen and by Christ they would find in him their faith and their courage we do just pray that he would deal with those who persecute your saints if he would cause them by your grace for your glory sake to believe the gospel shunned the madness of their idolatry and their false religion and that they they would by amazing grace know our Christ and rejoice in our God we do pray again Lord for those who persecute your people bring tyranny upon than those who will not repent those who will not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ but will remain in rebellion and madness we do pray that you would take them out of the way that they would bring judgment temporally upon them that they may no longer bring violence against the people of Christ we do pray God unto that end for the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world that you would send your missionaries that who would empower those ministers of yours to preach the full and saving gospel to preach our full and saving price to multitudes of sinners and that your victorious grace they would be brought forth from the darkness and the deadness of sin to life and light in our precious Jesus we do pray for the governments of the world that he would cause rulers throughout the world to rule and righteousness and justice and inequity it grieves us to look upon the landscape of politics and see those who are calling virtue vice and vice versa we do pray Lord that you would cast stone past down those who would seek to perpetrate wickedness and the ranks of government that he would cause them Lord to stumble like drunken men that they may no longer a propagate wickedness and propagate insanity throughout the nations and we would ask God that he would print and replace those with rulers who would seek to uphold the proper righteousness we would ask God then that you'd be with us now in worship we long to worship you in spirit and in truth we long for God to worship you as not to be worship we pray that you attend to each and every one of us that we might not be carried away by distracting thoughts and we pray that by your spirit immunity focus now in worship as we sing and as we pray and as we engage in that central act of worship the preaching of your holy word you do pray that we would be focused and that Lord God Saints would be edified sinners would be saved and we would pray for the preacher of the gospel as well this morning we pray for pastor Butler as he comes into this pulpit that you would strengthen him give him what he needs to open his Bible and to 3/12 things of your revelation we do pray that you'd be with him in this pulpit and once again God that you would be honored and you would be glorified the Father Son and spirit with you worship and that our Jesus Christ would be exalted on the praises of this gathered assembly and it's in his name that we now pray let's stand and sing again this time we're gonna sing hymn number 88 you'll stand with me and sing that to a familiar tune that's him 88 in the larger Trinity hymnal let's stand together [Music] you turn in your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter 13 our New Testament scripture reading Luke 13 beginning in verse 10 13 beginning in verse 10 once again just as Psalm 96 this is the word of God now he was teaching in one of the synagogue's on the Sabbath and behold there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity 18 years and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up but when Jesus saw her he called her to him and said to her woman you are loosed from your infirmity and he laid his hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God but the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath and he said to the crowd there are six days on which men ought to work therefore come and be healed on them and not on the Sabbath day the Lord then answered him and said hypocrite does not each one of you on the Sabbath lose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it so ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has bound think of it for eighteen years be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath and when he said these things all his adversaries were put to shame and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by then he said what is the kingdom of God like to what shall I do there it is like the mustard it is like he went through the cities teaching that one said to our University or to stand outside for saying he will answer and say to you Gobert would prompt then we'll begin to say hey to Brandon for presidents he taught in our streets people say where I'm from the verb for me all the workers in Italy there will be media national under her wings burn on see your houses and assuredly I say to you [Music] from your religious these religious leaders a woman on let's savor our hitmaker the answers continues it's not each one of the South Oxford so what about this point needed other paper you see if this.value focus the words of Christ against these words be good wants to drive the nail every democracy home because of the weight of this boat in Burma taking a great two years he loosed from this bond this box here the words of our Savior come to the harbour seventy snake hisses the Lord Christ speaks the hearts of those prices words not only sword to the our adversaries see the result of this price and this is true of the king cobra Virgie subscribers as he went about please pronounce after his death resurrection and ascension the kingdom of Bob what is it like Christ says what shall I compare it is like the mustard seed for years that the risen Christ who prior to his kingdom by his power ignite his spirit [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh well please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts we're in Acts chapter 2 acts 2 I'll begin reading 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 him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God you have taken by lawless hands have crucified and put to death whom God raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it for David says concerning him I foresaw the Lord always before my face for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad moreover my flesh also will rest in hope for you will not leave my soul in Hades nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption you have made known to me the ways of life you will make me full of joy in your presence men and brethren let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body according to the flesh he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne he foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ that his soul was not left in Hades nor did his flesh see corruption this Jesus God has raised up of which we are all witnesses therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit he poured out this which you now see in here for David did not to the heavens but he says himself the Lord said to my lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles men and brethren what shall we do and Peter said to them repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promise as to you and to your children and to all who are afar off as many as the Lord our God will call and with many other words he testified and exhorted them saying be saved from this perverse generation amen will let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word we thank you for this book of Acts and the way that the Lord Jesus Christ is is the the focus of chapter 2 we thank you for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and for the fulfillment of the prophets concerning not only that outpouring but concerning the Lord Jesus Psalm 16 and its application to Christ's resurrection Psalm 110 and its application to the the Ascension and exaltation of Jesus how we thank you that what was promised long ago has been fulfilled in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ help us to understand this call to repentance help us by the Holy Spirit to receive with thankful hearts your written word and do forgive us now for our sins and our transgressions and our or lack of conformity unto your holy law we know that your son the Lord Christ died to save us from our sins and in this we greatly rejoice as the Apostle said he was delivered up because of our offences and was raised for our justification God made these things truly strengthen us and may you give us fresh resolve to bring glory and honor and praise to our great and our glorious triune God Father Son and Holy Spirit bless our time now we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well we have seen that Peters response here is consistent with what was written in the Old Testament Scriptures remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit happens in chapter one I'm sorry chapter two verses 1 to 4 and then the persons of Jerusalem are trying to interpret or understand and in verse 13 some mocked some said that the disciples were filled with new or sweet wine and so Peter stands up on that day of Pentecost and he says no these are not drunk as you suppose it's only the third hour of the day he said this is what was spoken by the Prophet Joel in other words Joel 2 specified and outpoured holy spirit on this particular day and that is precisely what Peter says happened and then Peter in chapter 2 at verses 22 to 36 preaches Jesus Christ he preaches Christ according to his true humanity in verse 22 he preaches Christ according to the predetermined death in verse 23 he preaches Christ according to the resurrection in verses 24 to 32 and then with reference to the Ascension and exaltation of Christ in verses 33 to 36 and now as we come to this particular section in verses 37 to 40 we see the crowds response we see their reaction to Peters sermon and so I want to look first at the conviction of sin in verse 37 and then secondly the call to repentance in verses 38 to 40 many respects this is not only a model sermon but it's also a model response these persons understood what Peter had said and as a result they cry out men and brethren what must we do so let's look first of all at verse 37 concerning the conviction of sin notice it says now when they heard this that refers back of course to verses 22 to 36 they heard this concerning Jesus in his life his death and his resurrection but specifically it probably refer as we see from what happens to verses 23 and 36 Peter doesn't let the people forget that they had crucified Jesus in other words Peters not simply about informing the mind and showing how Psalm 16 and Psalm 110 are fulfilled in the person of our Lord Jesus he wants to do that he wants to specify that he wants to demonstrate that Jesus is who the Prophet said he would be but he also wants to bring that conviction of sin he doesn't deal in vague Ness he doesn't deal in ambiguity he doesn't deal in generalities but rather he says whom you crucified in fact the specific order of the words in the Greek in verse 36 ends on whom you crucified and so when they heard this what happens happens when they heard this they were cut to the heart literally they were pierced through the idea is conviction in other words they had come face to face not only with the reality that Jesus is who Peter said he is but with the reality that they crucified him Lourdes if Christ is the one described in verses 22 to 36 if Christ is the one described in Psalm 16 and Psalm 110 they murdered him there was no reason for it it wasn't judicial Christ was not a criminal Christ was not an insurrectionist Christ was not a terrorist so they've come to that grim reality we have crucified the Lord of glory you could see why they would be pierced to the heart Alexander said Peters argument must have convinced them that the man whom they had crucified was the Messiah and that if so they had been guilty not only of judicial murder but of blasphemy and treason to their rightful sovereign you see why they would be pierced to the heart you see why they would be cut to the heart you see why there would be conviction and this is absolutely crucial remember that Jesus didn't come to call the righteous but to repentance I would suggest if you're ever convicted about sin if you ever get that piercing of the heart if it ever comes up in your own conscience that you have violated a holy God you have transgressed his law you have lacked conformity unto it don't dismiss that don't anesthetize it don't seek to find some sort of alleviation apart from the gospel of our Lord and Savior in other words what happens to these people is good if we want by the grace of God to come to the Savior God has provided this will typically precede it well usually always there will be this conviction of sin now how long is the conviction it doesn't say it was two years it doesn't say it was three years it doesn't say it was twenty months it says they were caught to the heart and they said men and brethren what shall we do and Peter directs them to the cross you see there is no stipulation for how long this conviction must last Bruce said Peters preaching proved effective not only in persuading his hearers minds but convincing their conscience and that ought to be the goal of Christian preaching that ought to be the goal of Christian hearing that ought to be the goal of unbelieving hearing God deal with me I am NOT a perfect man I think we'd all admit that right I don't mean you of me I'm sure you'd admit that but I mean all of us of all of us if there's one thing you say well you know I'm not perfect but when you look at yourself in light of God's law you see how really imperfect you are when you look at yourself in light of God's demands that you shall have no other gods before him and you reflect upon it for just a moment and realize I've been my own God I have rejected Yahweh of Israel I have rejected the Lord of glory I have pursued those things pertaining to me if you think about God's law in terms of blasphemy we're not supposed to take the name of the Lord our God in vain but we're also supposed to not act in lawless and godless ways the Sabbath if you reflect upon that for just a moment you'll see how far short you fall you think about the command to not be insubordinate to parents or governing authorities the fifth word you think about the sixth word you might even say well I've never actually stopped somebody's heart from beating but you probably hated somebody in your heart you've probably said fool or raka you've probably had resentment or bitterness from when stir those flow their violations of the sixth word we violate the seventh word the commandment not to engage in adultery sexual immorality well again we may not have actually engaged in it externally but is our thought life altogether pure were prohibited from stealing we're prohibited from lying we're prohibited from from covetousness brethren embrace that or friend embrace that because if you want to be healed you have to first identify the malady in other words I don't go to the hospital to get my arm fix if I don't know that my arms broken I don't know to go to an oncologist unless the MRI reveals that I've got cancer and see this idea of conviction of sin it is the hope and it is the prayer of persons that that pray with reference to this church that you would feel bad that there would be some upset if all preaching only ever soothes you then I would be curious in terms of that preaching or in terms of how you're hearing it it's not bad to be convicted of sin I would argue it's bad to not be convicted of sin in light of the fact that our God is holy holy holy and we are diametrically opposed to that that we would not be more convicted of sin on a more regular basis is truly perplexing in my mind but these men are convicted these men had come face-to-face with this crucial reality if this Jesus is in fact the Messiah as Peter has described we put him to death our lawless hands were responsible we cried away with him away with him crucify him when Pilate said you want Barabbas or do you want Jesus they said give us Barabbas you can see why they are convicted at this particular level at this particular point Thomas Manton said loose discourses about sin in general do not affect the heart so much as the sound discovery of sin and when that one sin is discovered it bringeth others into the view of conscience in other words we need to expose sin we need our sins exposed we need to understand that we're not only not perfect we are light years away from any degree of perfection whatsoever and I submit to you that if you use the law of God in that regard use it as a child tutor to lead you to the cross that's a blessed use of that law now notice they ask men and brethren what shall we do heal comments that the typical response a man in sin is the Covenant of works what what shall we do good good teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life you know the question as it stands is good what shall we do we crucified Him we murdered the one that was altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand we murdered the one of whom the prophets spoke we murdered one who didn't do anything wrong even Pilate himself said three times I find no guilt in three times Pilate confesses that and pilots no friend a biblical orthodoxy Pilate was no worshipper of the Messiah so you see these men have come to grips with the reality that they've crucified the Lord of glory and they asked the very appropriate question what shall we do have you been there have you asked this question have you said in light of your own sinfulness and in light of your own depravity your own wayward nasan transgression against God let's show I do well I hope that you have asked that question I hope by the grace of God you have believed the gospel but if you haven't asked the question let me encourage you to ask it and let me encourage you to listen now to what Peter says in terms of an answer note this call to repentance he gives two exhortations and then a promise in the first place he commands them to repent then Peter said to them verse 30 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 now repentance was the message of John the Baptist remember that's how he started his ministry in Matthew 3 to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand this was the message of Jesus Christ our Lord in Matthew 4:17 repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand the fundamental idea with reference to a repentance is to have a change of mind to have a change of mind we look at the fruits of repentance as repentance but somebody who stopped smoking hasn't necessarily evidenced repentance you need to be very careful not everybody out there or in here that stops a bad habit is necessarily repenting the change of mind occurs with reference to God the change of mind occurs with reference to who he is in His Holiness in His Majesty in His righteousness and in His glory instead of using God's name as a blasphemous word we use God's name to praise repentance as well has the idea of to feel remorse to repent and be converted again Alexander says regret or sorrow is only one of its ingredients evangelical repentance in its widest sense is an entire revolution of the principles and practice of the heart and life I like the way F F Bruce describes that he calls it a spiritual about-face a spiritual about-face you're heading one direction now you're moving the opposite direction it's a it's a call by Peter to these people to repent now you say pastor Butler you guys often emphasize justification is by faith alone not by repentance alone it's an intriguing thing and in a study of the book of Acts you'll see that faith and repentance are oftentimes used synonymously there are times when the gospel goes forth in the book of Acts where Peter for instance will say repent and where Peter will say for instance believe and essentially what we see when we look at all of the relevant data and I'll give you just a few samples in a moment that faith and repentance according to the New Testament usage are two sides of the same coin in other words wherever faith is repentance is presupposed wherever repentance is faith is presupposed in other words you don't have one without the other faith is the looking unto Christ and the repentance is a turning away from the things that you once uh-uh-uh-uh-uh held dear and near notice in this very passage in acts 2 verse 38 Peters charge to them is repent notice in verse 41 on the heels of this sermon on the heels of this call to repentance verse 41 it says then those who gladly received his word were baptized now notice in verse 44 now all who believed were together all who believed were together what does that say it says that we're repentance is faith is there where faith is repentance is there such that both terms can be used in combination as sinners are pressed with the demands of God but as well they can just be used a singularly and that's what Peter does here repent now you ask the question why would he do that why wouldn't he say believe on the Lord Jesus because he's following up that conviction for sin they know they've crucified the Lord of glory they've known they know now they've hung Messiah on the cross you need to repent you need to have a change of mind you need to feel the remorse you need to show that regret you need to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ faith and repentance go hand in fanon book of Acts fact turn to Acts chapter 9 Acts chapter 9 there are several texts we could look at I'm just giving you a few samples just to show you how faith and repentance go hand in hand with reference to our coming to the Lord Jesus Christ notice in 935 so all dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord that's the hebrew sense of this word repent means to turn to the lord and then notice specifically in verse 42 verse 42 and it became known throughout all Joppa and many believed on the lord so it was that he stayed in many days and job assignment at and then again notice in 10:43 Peters specific instructions to the man of Cornelius and his household 43 says to him all the prophets witness that through his name whoever believes in Him will receive a remission of sins you see whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins now in the very next section Peter is explaining his experience with reference to the household of Cornelius and notice in 1118 when they heard these things they became silent and they glorified God saying then God also had or has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life the terminology is used synonymously and interchangeably we see it in our very passage you see it through the book of Acts so this idea of repent repent it's a good concept to good thing and notice that Peter here commands it you see but pastor Butler and acts 531 we learned that that God grants repentance he absolutely does we learned the same thing in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 God grants repentance we confess that with the Westminster Shorter in our confession of faith with reference to repentance being a saving grace towards repentance is a gift given to us by God as is faith but that never stops the Apostles from commanding their hearers to believe in repent the Apostles were not hyper Calvinists they understood the absolute sovereignty of God they understood the grace nature the gift character of these particular things faith and repentance but here when he says repent he's not suggesting it he's not encouraging Eddy is commanding them to repent from their sins there's no inconsistency with a belief in the sovereignty of God and commanding sinners to repent and believe none whatsoever the Apostles set forth that particular practice now notice he commands baptism he commands baptism repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins again it's not a suggestion that they'd be baptized it's not a recommendation it's not a well you know if you so feel led and you can join with us today and participate in the waters of baptism no it's a command she say what's the relationship here repent and be baptized is baptism salvific in other words is that part of the plan of acceptance with God we'll have to repent turn from my particular sin of crucifying Messiah and then submit to water baptism and then I'll be saved no that's not the connection at all notice specifically what Peter says repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins I think the connection is thus the external sign of baptism pictures what men have done internally in other words repent repent encompassing faith come to Jesus Christ and then be baptized it's not baptism in order for salvation it's baptism as a demonstration of one's having been saved it's an external picture of what Christ has done internally and so Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost sets forth the person and work of our Lord Jesus and then tells us it is errors to repent and be baptized baptism according to our confession signifies fellowship with Christ in his death his burial resurrection union with Christ remission of sins and a giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life you see it's simply not the case that verse 38 should be wrenched out of its context wrenched out of the Bible and taught that if you're baptized then you're saved no you're saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by God's grace you believe the gospel you repent of your sins and then you get baptized as an external sign of what God has done to you internally notice as well this baptism in the name of Jesus Christ now there's a group called the oneness Pentecostals and they are basically the arch heresy of modalism and essentially what they teaches Jesus name only for baptism now remember they see that God was at one time the Father God then became the son and then God now is the Holy Spirit that's modalism he he comes to us in various modes based on whatever's happening in terms of redemptive history and so this is a great touch for them or so they think in Jesus name baptism must be in Jesus name if it's not in Jesus name this in the name of the Trinity that just shows you're a heretic according to that because they deny that the Trinity they deny the the reality of the the one glorious god substance or essence and the three persons Father Son and spirit they deny that is that what Peter's teaching is he telling us here that oneness Pentecostals are gonna be right see teaching us that modalism is right no we've already seen appeal to the triune God verse 33 the Father stationed the son at his right hand and the son sends the Spirit which you now see and here we have all three persons of the Trinity not only in verse 33 but as we'll move through this passage we see all three persons of the Trinity involved in the saving of wretched sinners this idea of calling honor being baptized in the name of Jesus remember verse 21 go back to chapter 2 verse 21 and it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved well of course it makes sense to then say let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ that one upon whom you called it's not a denial of Trinitarian baptism it is an affirmation that those who by grace have called on the name of Jesus Christ as Peter has described him are to be baptized in his name to own him to confess him to delight in him to rejoice in him to identify with him in those waters of baptism and the notice Peter connects the forgiveness of sins here he says repent let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins again the idea is not we go through the water of baptism and therefore we are forgiven you got to appreciate how that would be a work that would be something we did and then God gave us something in result that's not the way it is the remission of sins is the fruit of or the benefit to those who call on the name of the Lord those who by the grace of God have repented those who by the grace of God are baptized in the name of the one who've they if they call on they have remission they have forgiveness they have that blessed state Bruce again says it would be a mistake to link the words for the forgiveness of sins with the command be baptized to the exclusion of the prior command to repent it is against the whole genius of biblical religion to suppose that the outward write could have any value except insofar as it was accompanied by the work of grace with in other words there have always been those people in the life in the context of the professing people of God that have put too much on baptism they have said that baptism saves they have said that you must be baptized in order to go to heaven that baptism is the means by which we are forgiven of sin and I'm not just talking about Roman Catholicism there's a sacramental approach to the the waters of baptism that are not biblical and we cannot load baptism down in that particular manner but suffice it to say it is important there's always you know we always have to find the balance and things don't we I don't want to sound too new agey but there's got to be balance in life it's got to be balanced in our doctrine always fighting on two fronts I find especially as reformed Christians to ante sacrament Arian we don't see that baptism is the means by which God conveys to us the forgiveness of sins but on the other hand baptism is important if you are a believer in Jesus Christ you should be baptized you should identify with our beloved Lord you should own him and confess him in that ordnance you should sing with conviction all the way my Saviour leads me you should reflect upon Revelation 14 in terms of the the followers of the Lamb they follow him wherever he goes he says to be baptized then be baptized if he says to identify with him publicly in the waters of baptism and be baptized in the name of the triune God then what are you waiting for it's very intriguing in the book of Acts you'll notice the absence of altar calls there's not those sort of you know evangelistic settings where the music is played and the heat might be turned off and there's an anxious bench in the front and sinners are told that they ought to close their eyes and bow their heads and everybody who wants to get right with Jesus shoot your hand up into the air never understood that process I don't get it why do my eyes have to be closed and my head bowed and we have to raise my hand in order to be forgiven of my sin it just seems so illegitimate or you get that whole invitation system where the sinners are told to come up as if somehow the coming up evidence is the truth of God's saving grace in the heart let me just encourage you that right here right now in your seat whether eyes are closed or open whether hand is in the air or not whether head or about is bowed or not you can believe on Jesus you can know the Bliss of the forgiveness of sins you can sing with joy and confidence my sin oh the Bliss of this glorious thought my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the Lord praise the Lord you see what we find in the book of Acts were not altar calls but baptism in other words you don't find six-monthly member classes persons have to read Berkoff before they can be baptized people have to commit the confession of faith to their hearts and minds before they know you get baptized you believe and our baptized so in the one hand we don't want to load too much on baptism in the sense that it must be had in order to be saved but on the other hand we don't want to denigrate it either if our Lord ordained something for his glory and for the good of his people then by all means we should obey Him Peter highlights that Blessed forgiveness of sins notice they were cut to the heart Peter then says repent let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins what was one of their sins they murdered Jesus now it's somewhat commonplace for persons to say well I'm so bad I don't think God could ever forgive me I'm so wicked I mean maybe that's not as commonplace today in the 21st century we're pretty full of ourselves were pretty narcissistic where the selfie generation after all but at least at some point in history some might have thought I'm too wicked to be saved my sin is too great to be forgiven the enormity of my wretchedness is such that the Lord will never ever bring me to salvation these men were responsible for murdering Jesus and Peter says repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ the one you murdered for the remission of sins you want to talk about how gracious God is you want to talk about how merciful God is how good god is how bountiful God's grace is if you are here this morning you are not beyond hope if you are here this morning you are not beyond reach in fact the Apostle Paul in 1st Timothy chapter 1 takes to himself the title of chief sinner now remember Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so he was right he was right you're not the chief sinner but the chief sinner was saved you're not a Jerusalem sinner but Jerusalem sinners were saved you are filthy you are vile you are wicked and conviction of sin ought to be a daily Curren but there is remission there is forgiveness there is mercy to be had that blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin to love the Prophet Zechariah in that day there will be a fountain open for sin and uncleanness isn't that specifically what we need isn't that precisely what we have desire for we need that fountain don't wait and we never need to stray from that fountain we need to be plunged beneath that flood each and every day there is hope and forgiveness and mercy and grace in the Lord Jesus if you are convicted of sin even if it hasn't been a two-year sort of process this morning you've come here and you've thought about violating the Ten Commandments will repent be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins now I know that you've all heard me say this one of the things I fear as I'm getting older I'm getting more repetitive and I think it's just that your brain doesn't have the capacity well that you think it once had you're just becoming keenly aware that it really probably never had it but I'm very repetitious and you know I think about that I don't want to affect or offend the people of God you know I can imagine your lunch in your burrito today saying boy we've heard that for like you know the 18th time this year and it's only June but but let me just say it again what's one of the chief boons of our salvation it's forgiveness isn't it that's a doctrine I hope none of us ever get weary of it's a truth I hope we never get tired of and it's a truth I hope that we will always go back back and back to the throne of grace to fetch if we confess our sins first John 1:9 he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness I think all Christians ought to have several texts of Scripture committed to their minds and hearts I think first John 1:9 is one of them I think Psalm 25 11 is one of them I think Psalm 133 and 4 is one of them I think the prophetic words of Isaiah when he speaks concerning Yahweh as the one who blots out transgression or Micah the prophet when he reflects upon his own name which means who is a God like you when he asks that question in Micah chapter 7 one of the things that blows his mind if I can just resore to read between the lines why is he asking who is a god like you hardening our iniquities Micah says you take our sins and you cast that into the depths of the sea brethren never tire of the forgiveness of sins and if you're not a brother you're a friend to me this morning you're a sinner the way of salvation is by faith and repentance in our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed provision of God is forgiveness not for some sins not for most sins but for all sins if thou o lord should smark iniquities O Lord who could stand but there is forgiveness with thee that thou may'st be feared that's what the psalmist hung his hat on psalm 32 the pastor cam right at the outset of worship what's David doing he's not celebrating his goodness he's not celebrating his perfection he is celebrating how blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity that's the blessed man see we got it all wrong today the blessed man is the accomplished man the blessed man is the successful man according to David the blessed man is the forgiving man that's what we have brethren that's what's ours and then notice he goes on it's not only forgiveness that you get but you get the Holy Spirit you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and probably here it's not the gifts of the Holy Spirit you'll get to speak in tongues but it's the gift it's him it's not the tongues that are conspicuous at this point it's Jesus that's conspicuous at this point and those who come by grace to Jesus believing calling upon his name which means faith Banton's they are forgiven of their sins and they receive the Holy Spirit through a Galatians chapter 3 verse 14 highlights this is what Ephesians 1:13 and 14 highlights after having believed the truth of the gospel what are we received we received the Holy Spirit who is the seal and the guarantee of our final our final inheritance you see believers have not only the forgiveness of sins but believers have the Holy Spirit indwells us he is with us he sanctifies he preserves he blesses he strengthens he encourages he guides us he leads us I don't want to sound too trite or too you know silly but it's sort of like your GPS I'm not saying the Holy Spirit is your GPS I could hear one of these weird preachers on Twitter doing that you know there is that sense where he is with us he guides us he directs us greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world we need the spirit and God provides to us the spirit and he keeps us he preserves us and again see the Trinitarian salvation God effectually calls Jesus is the name upon whom we believe and it's the spirit who is given to us brethren we receive this gift now notice those are the exhortations command to repent command to be baptized now note the promise in verse 39 for the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off as many as the Lord our God will call now I would suggest the promise here of verse 39 is the promised Holy Spirit makes the most sense in the context because in acts 1 Jesus said wait in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high he was speaking of the Spirit acts 233 he poured out this which you now see in here having received the promise from the father the Lord Jesus pours out this spirit the idea in verse 39 the promise specifically is the promise of the Spirit and all that that entails if you've received the spirit it's because you've been forgiven of your sins conditioned upon the fact that you have repented you have come to Jesus you have been baptized you've been identified with them in other words this promise is for sinners this promise of the Spirit this promise of salvation this promise of grace is made in a very comprehensive way and that's what Peter does indicate now in verse 39 he says for the promise is to you again let me just remind you it's Jerusalem sinners Jerusalem sinners crucified the Lord of glory I'm not being anti-semitic don't report me to the ADL and say Butler's got an axe to grind against the Jews know the New Testament tells us who sent Jesus to his death Peter has no compunction I think that's correct no resistance no hesitation with reminding them that you crucified the Lord of glory these are notorious sinners they set away with him away with him crucify him they said give us Barabbas they rejected him during his earthly ministry they rejected him to the point of death in terms of his own crucifixion and Peter says the promise is to you he goes on to show again verse 39 ought not to be interpreted as automatic inclusion in the covenant of grace for any of the three parties stipulated he is showing the comprehensive glorious scope of God's grace in other words the author of God's mercy the promise of salvation the the blessings of the forgiveness of sins and the provision of the holy spirit it's for Jerusalem sinners and it's for your children as well I realized that some of our brethren take this text and they go you know hog-wild and they say well this does mean automatic inclusion or it does mean right to baptism no he's pointing out the scope of God's grace there's an intriguing portion in Matthew 27 where Pilate shows that he is not responsible for Jesus death I mean he washes his hands and he says as much his blood is not upon my hands you know what these Jerusalem sinners say in Matthew 27 25 they say his blood speaking about Messiah be on us and our children so let's Peter saying on the day of Pentecost he is saying that this imprecation that you Jerusalem sinners offered to God not only for yourselves but for your children they're still salvation available they're still grace and mercy you haven't committed the unpardonable sin the promise is to you to your children and then to all who are afar off it's a glorious statement isn't it now some say well Peter couldn't have meant Gentiles because he wasn't too savvy with Gentile inclusion until Acts chapter 10 Peter was savvy with Gentile inclusion Peter knew the promise made to Abraham that in Christ all the nations of the earth would be blessed Peter was savvy with the Psalter all the nations shall be blessed Peter was savvy with the theology though here specifically he indicates and to all who are afar off in other words the gospel the scope the arena of God's gracious provision is for Jerusalem sinners to their children and to all who are afar off and again the emphasis is not on automatic inclusion in the covenant of grace and we see that by that crucial modifier in verse 39 he says as many as the Lord our God shall call see we never forget that the scope of God's grace is such that it goes to Jerusalem centers it goes to the children of Jerusalem centers but it also goes to the Gentiles but the Crocs the foundation the bottom line is as many as the Lord our God shall call and here I believe the Peter goes back to the Prophet Joel in verses 17 to 21 Peter quotes Joel 2:28 to 32a Joel to 32b says for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance as the Lord has said among the remnant whom the Lord calls in other words we command to repent and be baptized other situations in fact in verse 40 Peters gonna command that they be saved commands that they be saved from this perverse generation so we command that I'll command you right now if you have not believed the gospel and have not repented I command you in the name of God to believe the gospel and repent but I don't think there's power efficacy in my giving the command I certainly know there's not power efficacy and your receiving or hearing the command the power and efficacy is in the God who calls you see that's how it works together as many as the Lord our God shall call that is a crucial modifier to verse 39 we don't indiscriminately baptize Gentiles but rather we baptize Gentiles who have been called and give evidence of that by having repented and believed and been baptized same with children why would we indiscriminately baptize every infant born of believing parents it's as many as the Lord our God shall call I don't want to be nasty and I don't want to get polemic but this is unfortunately something we have to deal with in this passage because it's bandied about as the proof tax for peyto baptism and while I love paedo Baptists I think that's a misuse of Acts 239 now let's find a finish on verse 40 says with many other he testified and exhorted them saying now if you understand what Luke is doing here he's giving summaries this isn't the entirety of Peters sermon verses 22 to 36 I mean it takes what a minute two minutes to read it took us several weeks to go through it because we looked at you know the the jots and tittles we looked at the major heads we looked at the true humanity the death the resurrection the exaltation so we kind of slowed down but but just to read that sermon in this particular contact or to say these things in this particular context wouldn't have taken very long it wouldn't take in two years for necessary conviction to set in but it certainly wouldn't have taken very long and so what Luke is saying is he's summarizing he's giving the gist he's giving the heads he's giving the the outline he's giving the main points he is telling us with many other words he testified and exhorted that and that describes Peters manner doesn't it he testified and exhorted that that's precisely what we see in verses 22 to 36 he testifies concerning who Jesus is he confirms the biblical witness concerning who Jesus is and then he exhorts them to repent and and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ you see that was apostolic preaching it wasn't just testifying just informing the minds but there's this exhortation there's this call to repent there's this call to believe the Apostles weren't only interested in setting forth the truth of Jesus Christ they were interested in you believing that truth see what move them was the reality that God's a holy God and men are sinful wretched vile deserving of wrath and curves both in this life and that which is to come Paul indicates in second Corinthians knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men they not only testified concerning who Jesus was in terms of his identity but they exhorted the hearers to believe that message to repent from that sin to flee to the Savior to come to the one in whom there is refuge and the one in whom there is forgiveness and then notice specifically what Peter says be say from this perverse generation be saved from this perverse generation I think this underscores when he's already spoken of in terms of citing Joel's prophecy in verses 19 and 20 and there I applied that specifically to the event of 80 70 Peter sees that on the horizon Peter says be safe from this crooked and perverse generation generation there doesn't mean every Jew generation there doesn't mean the race of Jews generation means the contemporaries that crucified the Lord of glory the ones who under God brought down there brought down his wrath upon them in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 but he said be safe from this perverse generation don't go on idly by don't live your life as if you didn't just hear what you heard don't just go home and celebrate Father's Day without regard to the Heavenly Father don't eat your turkey or your chicken or whatever it is you plan on eating today without having dealings with God you see with many other words he testified and he exhorted them saying be saved from this perverse generation in other words act upon what you have heard I sound like an Arminian now pastor Butler no no Armenian if Peter can command to repent and be baptized then certainly it's the the duty of Ministers today to command the same things knowing of course as many as the Lord our God shall call knowing certainly it's under the sovereignty and the power of God Almighty the effectual call comes from him not from preachers but will present the material and call you to think through it so they think verse 40 employee it implies their it's not okay to be unchanged it's not okay to hear the sermon or hear gospel preached you can say yeah it's not for me doesn't want to think about it I'm just gonna go do whatever it is I want to do today I'm not gonna give it any thought whatsoever don't do you know be aware of that often said as well repetition number 18 you know that after a sermon it shouldn't be chaos I mean it's good to see brethren it's good to talk with one another it's good time to reflect it's a good time to think through the implications of the tax that was preached it's a good time to think where am I at before a holy God if there is that conviction of sin I'm not going to tell you you got to come forward I'm not going to tell you to bow your head and raise your hand but I'm going to tell you if that conviction of sin calms do what Peter says believe the gospel repent of your sin call me and make an appointment to be baptized that's what Peter's concerned about yes we testify yes we try and demonstrate yes we try to show and prove that Jesus Christ is who the Bible says he is but it's with the view to the glory of God in the salvation of your soul and body if you were here the last hour you would have gotten the significance of that but that is the endgame that's not just to show that Christianity is right among the world religions it is not just to show that Christianity is right among the world philosophies it is not not only the aim to show that that that the Bible is consistent and the testimony is true with which it is but it's so that you may flee the coming of God's wrath you see the stakes are very high when it comes to your place before a holy God you're either in Christ or you're not and the way to be in Christ if I can use that sort of a construction is to believe on Him to look unto him again faith includes or faith assumes the place of repentance repent from your wickedness believe on the Savior and you will receive not only the forgiveness of sins but the Holy Spirit as well and and it's almost like Peters Peters verse 39 it's not to justify automatic inclusion in the covenant of grace I think verse 39 is Peter saying I'm going to tell you something here that distill just amazes me the promise is to you to your children and to all who are afar off you know we can't you know divorce ourselves from the human element involved in preaching Peter was a sinner saved by grace Peter had lately denied Lord remember we're not talking about 40 years after the fact it's been about 40-plus days after the fact and it was in that last few days where it Peter denied his master I would suggest that when Peter rehearsed the forgiveness of sins there was a special warmth in his heart as he rehearsed it I would suggest that as he spoke concerning the Holy Spirit there was a special an encouragement to this man who tried as he might to deny Jesus Jesus wouldn't leave him Jesus wouldn't let him go Jesus kept him by that power well brethren I suggest that this text is most excellent in terms of what should happen after persons hear the gospel concerning Jesus in his life as death and his resurrection it should include as well that provision or rather that statement by the preacher it's not a part of the gospel but it shows the necessity of the gospel this emphasis on two occasions whom you crucified because sinners if they don't know what their malady is will never seek the remedy and if you are convicted of your sins this morning I would say praise God Almighty do not run from it do not hide from it do not try to chase it away but come to Jesus it's not where we take our burden you know guilty Souls it's to Jesus remember that bit in the Prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter three five times God says yet return to me says Yahweh now if we had the time we develop why that's so powerful and significant well I'll just tell you it's chapter two chapter two of the Prophet Jeremiah God upbraids the people for their sin he says such things like has a nation changed its gods and yet people exchange me for others Lords the Hittites the Hittites the amorite the ammonites they were consistent in their idolatry not the Israelites and their their worship not the Israelites they changed Yahweh for another God other gods so in Jeremiah 3 when he says yet return to me says the Lord that's an amazing reality there's one instance of that yet return to me says the Lord sort of anthem or refrain that really I think bears are our consideration he says return to me ye backsliding sinners and I will heal your backsliding think about that for a moment that is so contrary to the nature a natural man and even the gospel conquered man we got to fix these stuff before we go back we got to get things in order before we go back we got to prepare before we go back God says come back I'll fix the mess isn't that the sum and substance of the Christian gospel isn't that what we're told you've messed up your life such then my son came to live to die and to be raised the third day so that all who come to him will have everlasting life not all those who fix up their lives and then go back to Jesus this isn't a date you know I'm gonna you know fix my hair and put on my whatever outfit I'm gonna go meet with you it's not that it's not a bartering system it's not a transaction we don't bring to the table and sit with Jesus and write little notes and pass them across it's either he saves us or there's no salvation there's no cleansing first there's no preparation first there's no fixing first there's no combing the spiritual hair first bring your wretched self to Jesus by God's grace and guess what he'll do he'll receive you he'll forgive you and he'll give you the Holy Spirit that's what Peter says in this wonderful passage of Scripture john bunyan has a sermon on Luke 24:47 and that text says and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem he's got a sermon entitled The Jerusalem sinner saved good news for the vilest of men or as always a semicolon or in a Puritan sermon or help for despairing souls the doctrine of that sermon is that Jesus Christ would have mercy offered to I love this the biggest sinners I don't think he meant the big boys I think he meant the biggest sinners and he has several reasons for this as you might imagine a Puritan sermon would but I'll just give you three of them he says first the biggest sinners have most need make sense right that's profound no it's obvious the Jerusalem Saviour or the sinner saved the argument is that Jesus Christ would have mercy offered to the biggest centers why because the biggest sinners have the mostly these Jerusalem sinners had done the unspeakable they had crucified the Lord of glory they had big need he says secondly when they receive it that mercy or grace of God it redound most of the fame of his name in other words when God conquers these big sinners who gets the glory it ain't the big sinner it's not the preacher - the big sinner it's God who gets the glory for conquering big sinners and then as well others hearing of it will be encouraged the more to come to him for life that there were 3000 baptized on that day indicates the scope of God's grace the promise is to you Jerusalem sinners to your children and to all who are afar off as many as the Lord our God shall call if Jerusalem sinners found forgiveness in and through the person they crucified there is forgiveness to be had for you today if by His grace you look and you live well let us pray our Father we thank you for your word we thank you so very much that this gospel has come to us not in word only but in power by the Holy Spirit and how we thank you for that and how we pray that would go forth even now she would be pleased to bring conviction for sin and set forth that remedy which is Jesus Christ the Lord may you work in hearts and minds today here and other churches in Chilliwack and throughout the earth Lord God we pray that your gospel would run swiftly and be glorified and we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well why don't we stand and sing the doxology and praise to our triune God who demonstrates his glory and saving in the very passage that we have considered we'll stand and sing the doxology it's on page Roman numeral 16 and your Trinity hip not familiar [Music] [Applause] [Music] the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen father go with us now help us to glorify you today grant us strength and grace to praise and worship Heelys grace as well to just continually rest in our Savior may these sabbath days always call us to rest and reflection upon the one who gave his life on our behalf go with us now we pray in his most blessed name amen will close please be seated for a brief time of meditation [Music]
