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welcome to everyone it's a exciting day in the house of god today we have baptisms four persons are going to enter into the water of baptism to publicly identify with the triune god of holy scripture that is jordana van ort will and tara derover and fran gullicker so we'll witness that this morning and then the lord willing tonight our second service at 5 pm we will observe the lord's supper so both sacraments of the new covenant are going to be enjoyed by the people of god today well for our call to worship you can turn with me in your bibles to psalm 32. psalm 32 a psalm of david to frame our minds and hearts are right concerning god's forgiveness of sin and his mercy and his grace to us in the christian gospel so psalm 32 beginning in verse 1 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 me my vitality was turned into the drought of summer salah i acknowledge 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 salah 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 la i will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go i will guide you with my eye do not be like the horse or like the mule which i 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 well please turn with me in your hymn books to psalm 148 psalm 148 be as in bravo when you find that we'll stand and sing together [Music] grace [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] well let us pray our god most high we gather together on this lord's day to come to the father through the son and the power of the holy spirit we acknowledge that you are great and glorious and that by your wisdom and power and goodness you made this world and all things in it we know that you govern all your creatures and all their actions according to that same wisdom power and goodness and we praise you for redemption through our lord jesus christ and certainly as we gather on the lord's day as we consider the fact that our savior now is enthroned at the right hand of god most high this strengthens and encourages us and causes us to have great joy in our hearts as david said i was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the lord certainly as a redeemed sinner a forgiven sinner david knew what it was like to be accepted in the beloved and god we by grace know that same joy and we would pray today that your holy spirit would guide and direct and enable us to come before you with that reverence that is fitting and according to such a great and glorious god but is well mingled with rejoicing and with thanksgiving for certainly god we were undone we were dead in our trespasses and sins and you made us alive together with jesus christ and in this we rejoice we rejoice as well at your handiwork and the salvation of these four that are entering into the waters of baptism today may this redound to the praise and glory of your great name and may we all sing and may we all confess with the prophet jonah and the redeemed in heaven that salvation belongs to our god and to the lamb who sits upon the throne we know it's not by our works it's not by our wisdom it's not by our perfection or our good deeds because we have none of that but it's solely and alone because of sovereign grace as the apostle celebrates in ephesians 1 you chose us in him before the foundation of the world not because we were holy and without blame but in order that we would become holy and without blame in love you predestinated us unto adoption as sons by our lord jesus christ so certainly from first to last and in the middle we confess that salvation is of the lord we ask that you would bless this congregation now as we gather together we pray that you would cause us to approach you in a way that is fitting and appropriate with reference to holy scripture and god receive our praise and receive our adoration and receive the glory given unto you from this church we ask that you would forgive us for all of our sin and transgression you tell us you call us to live in light of or to let our conduct be worthy of that gospel by which we've been saved and we confess our transgression we confess our lack of conformity under that law and we would pray even now for cleansing and the precious blood of the lord jesus christ may we all rejoice with david in psalm 32 how blessed is the man who's whose sin is covered who's been received or has received the imputed righteousness of jesus christ who has been blessed immeasurably with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in christ so even now wash us and purify us and fit us for service in the hand of a great and glorious god and for those who've come here this morning that are still in their sin those who have yet to confess faith in the lord jesus christ we pray that today would be the day of salvation that they would hear the gospel that the holy spirit would apply it to their own hearts showing them their sin and their rebellion against a holy god and their need for jesus christ our lord for god certainly you made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of god in him so lord bless that word as it goes forth here for the salvation of sinners bless that word as it goes forth and other churches in our community throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth we pray that men women boys and girls from all parts of the world would come to know jesus christ as lord and savior we ask today lord god that you would bless this congregation as well we know there are several unable to be with us because of physical trials and challenges and we just commit each one to you and to the word of your grace we know that you are the god not only of the external but the internal we know that as the outer man does decay day by day you renew the inner man and we pray that would be the case with our brothers and sisters who are not able to be with us this morning we also pray our father for mullah that you would bless her with a safe trip back to fiji we pray that you would watch over her we pray that ultimately she would have learned the glories of christ and know the joy of being found in him we also pray for the entirety of this congregation not just the physical but the spiritual we all come here lord god with many trials and many temptations we come here often with discouragements and we see the world around us and it seems so crazy it seems so chaotic it seems to imitate or mirror the days in which the prophet isaiah lived when he said woe to those who call good evil and evil good we live in a generation where there is such lawlessness and such wretchedness there is an attack upon the unborn there is an attack upon the elderly there is an open promotion of those things that are absolutely contrary to the law of god almighty so lord we confess at times we do get discouraged but encourage our hearts with a fresh view of the glory of jesus christ enthroned at the right hand of god almighty encourage our hearts that as we sing and as we pray and as we turn our attention to the word of god it would serve as that balm of gilead and that it would comfort each and every one in this local body we pray for our children and for our young people that they by grace would remember their creator and their youth that they would know the joy of being found in jesus christ and god bless them richly and watch over them we also pray for those babies in the womb we thank you for these ladies who are pregnant and we just commit them to you and pray these little ones would be born healthy and well and one day born again by the power of the holy spirit and god we pray that you would be merciful to the to the civil magistrate in our own land we pray father that you would turn the hearts of those in high places to serve the true and living god we know that the foundation of your throne is justice and righteousness and oftentimes we see just the opposite expressed in the civil government and so we pray have mercy we pray that you would deal graciously with the prime minister and with those in high places as the king's heart is in the hand of god we find great encouragement from that statement of solomon and cause us to be prayerful cause us to be mindful and cause us as well to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation and give us that courage and boldness to hold forth your word and father we pray for the persecuted church it grieves our hearts to hear the various nations that are steeped in false religion that are at enmity with you the true and living god and as a result they they target the people of god as one man is well said sinners can't kill you so they'll go after your people in this world and father we pray for the saints of christ throughout this earth that you would embolden them that you would empower them that you would give them the grace necessary to persevere and to be faithful even in the midst to great affliction and great suffering jesus said in this world we will have tribulation he also said to be of good courage because he has overcome the world and may this be the message that the persecuted church hears that they would rejoice in that they would find great comfort in even in the midst of great persecution from the civil government in those lands and from their own neighbors and and family and friends and the various sorts of things that we read of on an ongoing basis so lord we thank you for this gathering together we thank you for the privilege of calling upon a gracious god who hears the prayers of the upright and again we confess no uprightness in and of ourselves but our righteousness is jesus christ the lord prophesied in the old testament come in the new testament and now enthroned and coming again to judge the living and the dead help us all to live in light of that reality and we ask through jesus christ our lord amen well please turn with me again in your hymn books to number 431 431 will stand as we sing together [Music] is for me how can you hear me [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] i [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] well please turn with me in your bibles to acts chapter 2. acts chapter 2 since we're having a baptism i thought it would be good for us to go back in the book of acts and revisit the day of pentecost when peter the apostle preached the gospel and then told sinners to repent and be baptized in the name of the lord jesus christ so i want to read beginning in acts chapter 2 at verse 14. but peter standing up with the eleven raised his voice and said to them men of judea and all who dwell in jerusalem let this be known to you and heed my words for these are not drunk as you suppose since it is only the third hour of the day but this is what was spoken by the prophet joel and it shall come to pass in the last days says god that i will pour out my spirit on all flesh your sons and your daughters shall prophesy your young men shall see visions your old men shall dream dreams and on my men servants and on my maidservants i will pour out my spirit in those days and they shall prophesy i will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath blood and fire and vapor of smoke the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the lord and it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved 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 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 and 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 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 promises to you and to your children and to all who are afar off as many as the lord our god will call and with many other words he testified and exhorted them saying be saved from this perverse generation then those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about 3 000 souls were added to them and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers then fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles now all who believed were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods and divided them all as anyone had need so continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart praising god and having favor with all the people and the lord added to the church daily those who were being saved amen let us pray father thank you again for the written word of the living and true god thank you that you have given us this sure word and the entirety of it is truth and we pray today that your holy spirit would guide us as we study that you would open our minds and hearts to receive these things she would encourage the saints the people of god and that you would save those who are not the people of god we know that you are powerful and we know as the scripture says here whoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved so we pray that you would be glorified today you would demonstrate your sovereignty you would demonstrate your power to make man willing in the day of that power and that you would be glorified through the preaching of the word we also ask again for the forgiveness of sin and anything that would darken our understanding and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen well essentially what we have here in the book of acts in acts chapter 2 as i said it is the day of pentecost it was a feast day so that all kinds of people came to jerusalem on that particular day and there was an outpouring of the holy spirit that resort uh resulted in tongue speaking and prophesying there was that sort of phenomena listed for us in verses 1 to 13. peter then explains that these men aren't drunk they're not out of their minds there's nothing wrong with them but what is transpiring is taking place according to the prophet joel in joel chapter 2 the prophet there unto the spirit of god said there would come a day when the spirit would be poured out in a great and glorious way so peter says that is precisely what you are witnessing and then beginning in verse 22 peter preaches the gospel he preaches the good news concerning jesus christ the lord and then he highlights the particular scent of the people there in jerusalem and then he gives them specific instruction on what they need to do with their guilt what they need to do with their sin this was not unique to this group of sinners in the first century but all of us know this all of us know what it is to be guilty before a holy god god's told us to love him with all our heart soul mind and strength he's told us to love our neighbors as ourselves we don't do either one of that we have failed miserably we are wretched and justly deserving god's wrath and judgment and punishment both in this life and that which is to come so where do we take our guilty hearts where do we take our guilty souls where do we take this conscience that is affected by the reality that we have transgressed god well peter gives that instruction and again i hope that it's an encouragement for us to see how he responds to these jerusalem sinners so in the first place let's look at the instruction given by the apostle peter in verses 22 to 39 this will not be a detailed exposition rather a summary of the section but we'll focus on verses 37 to 40 and then secondly if we have time the response of the hearers to the apostle peter specifically in verses 41 and 42 but in the first place notice that peter preaches the gospel again the gospel is not a feeling that we have the gospel is a message it is an objective concrete message and it focuses upon jesus christ the gospel isn't my response to it the gospel isn't your response to it the gospel again isn't that good feeling that we have as a result of it but the good news of jesus is simply that it is the good news of jesus what he did how he did it why he did it and the purpose of god in the doing of it and if we look at verses 22 to 30 36 in particular you'll notice that peter highlights the life and ministry of jesus in verse 22. it is essential that our redeemer it is essential that our savior be one of us and jesus was in fact one of us the bible teaches us that the second person of the trinity the second person of the triune god jesus himself came into this world and he took on our humanity with everything that makes us human except for sin and so peter highlights that in verse 22 but he doesn't stop there he indicates the death of christ in verse 23 and this death of christ wasn't simply to blame for the jews or it wasn't simply a problem of the gentiles but as peter relates it here in verse 23 this was the plan and purpose of god god knows that in order to save sinners there must be the shedding of blood and the only one worthy of shedding his blood to sufficiently pay the debt that we owe is his son that's why he assumes humanity that's why he ultimately dies at the cross but then peter goes on to indicate the resurrection jesus didn't stay in the tomb jesus bolted forth on that third day he was raised by the power of god most high and then peter ends the sermon by highlighting the triumphant exaltation of our lord so after he lives a life of perfect obedience to the father he dies as a sacrifice and a substitute at the cross he's raised from the dead on the third day and then he ascends on high he goes and sits and thrown at the right hand of the father and there he is still a gracious savior there he always lives to make intercession for his people and there he receives sinners unto himself to cleanse them from their sin and to give them the righteousness that avails with his father that's one of the reasons why jesus had to live as a man because we need a righteousness it's not enough for us just to be forgiven of our sins but we need to be perfect and we're not perfect because we're perfect all you got to do is look at you know me for instance but you need to understand that god demands perfection and that's what jesus yielded in his life of 33 years on the earth he always obeyed the father there was never a time when he didn't love the lord as god with all his heart soul mind and strength there never was a time when he didn't love his neighbor as himself he fulfills that righteousness such that when we by grace believe on him we're not only forgiven of our sins washed in the precious blood but we're given that righteousness we're given that wedding garment we're given that entitlement to stand before god holy and righteous not because of our own but because of the righteousness of jesus christ that the bible says is imputed to us and received by faith alone do you understand why this is gospel gospel is not me saying you've got big problems go and fix them you've got big problems go and try to be better brethren that's not gospel that is a killing message the gospel is in fact good news come to the lord jesus christ and you shall be saved look at what peter says quoting the apostle or the prophet joel in verse 21 it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved not might be not could possibly be not will have the lord help him save himself but those who by grace call upon the lord jesus in faith shall be saved that can happen today by god's grace for everyone who believes it really is good news so peter highlights the gospel it focuses on the life and the death and the resurrection of jesus and that for sinners it answers to everything we need we need forgiveness the blood of jesus christ his son washes us or cleanses us from all sin we need a righteousness jesus fulfills that and we receive it by faith but then peter goes on to highlight the law in other words the gospel or the good news isn't good news unless there's bad news first right if you look at the book of romans peter paul doesn't start with the gospel he starts with the bad news that many men are guilty before god we have all gone astray like sheep there is none righteous no not one there's no jew no gentile no one they can stand before god and say well i'm the exception i'm the good one i'm the perfect one no all men everywhere are justly liable to god's wrath and fury and condemnation but in romans 3 21 paul says but now the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith well peter does the same thing only he starts with the good news and then he underscores the bad news to show them their need for this savior jesus look at what he says in verse 36 again after the details life death resurrection exaltation he says in verse 36 therefore let all the house of israel know assuredly before we look at the rest of the verse notice this let all the house of israel know assuredly there's a lot of skepticism out there concerning the bible is it really god's word and it's not really just out there amongst the pagans and the atheists but it also infiltrates the church such that we are suspicious of texts we are suspicious of conduct we're suspicious of various things in the bible and we wonder could this really be true look at what peter says concerning the message of god's work therefore let all the house of israel know assuredly in other words you can bank your soul on this you can bank your life on this the message of the scripture is god's holy word it is given by inspiration it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction and righteousness it's not just a another idea out there it's not just another competing philosophy or religious system there is a knowledge that is assured when it comes to the living and true god and the word that he has given us is in fact sure so peter says therefore let all the house of israel know assuredly that god has made this jesus note the next statement whom you crucified both lord and christ oh peter why do you have to be such a downer and remind them that they were the ones that actually murdered jesus because if sinners don't see their sin they will never see their need for the savior jesus says i did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance that's why any preacher worth his salt is going to preach god's law also to highlight the reality that we're guilty of committing the sin of idolatry and of blasphemy and of sabbath breaking and we're insubordinate to authority over us we are murderers we are adulterers we are thieves we are liars we are covetous people we need to understand that knowledge or not understand that that reality such that we'll see the need for jesus and that's why peter does what he does whom you crucified 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 brings others into the view of conscience it's a miserable condition when people think they're really good remember that rich young ruler who comes to jesus and he says good teacher what must i do to inherit eternal life what does jesus say he says you know the commandments tell me and so he rattles off the second table of the law and he says all these i've kept from my youth what one thing do i lack jesus knew all those things he hadn't kept from his youth jesus knew that his particular sin was covetousness and that's why jesus says go sell all your possessions give the money to the poor and follow me jesus is not teaching work salvation there jesus is teaching this man that he's a sinner and that he needs jesus and that blood of atonement and that righteousness that is given freely by god and received by faith you see if you don't understand your sin you will never understand the mission of the savior matthew's gospel starts off in the naming of jesus you shall call his name jesus for it is he who will save his people from their sins it's amazing how many people mess up on the mission of jesus i mean he was this guru that started a new religion he was a revolutionary he was a quasi-hippie that sort of pranced around the the palestinian mountains that's not what it's about the reality is is that god is in christ reconciling the world to himself and matthew's gospel tells us how it is that he will save his people from their sins so peter does the exact same thing highlights their sinfulness now let's look at their response in verses 37 to 40. in the first place they're convicted this is good this is one of the aims of preaching i think at times people just come to a sermon and they tune out okay we got about an hour hopefully it won't even be an hour today but we got an hour i'm going to think about everything under the sun i'm going to go from dan to beersheba in my life and thoughts so i don't have to pay attention to what is happening around me it is good to be convicted of sin you don't go to your doctor if you're really sick and want him to lie to you you go to your doctor if you're really sick so that he can diagnose the problem and prescribe the remedy and yet when it comes to getting right with god we're so easily offended that anybody would ever suggest that we're sinful well i'm sorry if you're going to be easily offended this morning but the bible declares you're sinful the bible declares i'm sinful the bible declares that all men everywhere have transgressed god's holy law so trying to pretend that that doesn't apply is not the best course to proceed on what we have here is they are convicted they feel the pain they understand the spirit has been at work they know now that they stand before a just and holy god and they are not right with him so look at what they do in verse 37 they cry out to peter and the rest of the apostles men and brethren what shall we do now i would suggest most preachers don't have situations like this most preachers don't have an audience that is collectively convicted and cry out in unison men and brethren what shall we do now peter has the wherewithal to give the biblical response and it is most excellent and it is most glorious first notice what he doesn't say don't murder people anymore and everything will be all right it's not what he says go clean up your act with reference to the rest of the commandments and then everything will be all right no peter understands that peter knows that his hearers can't fix themselves god knows that the people that he has made that have gone astray from him can't fix themselves that's why god has undertaken to fix the situation in the sending of his son and the sending of the spirit in order to affect those things so they are convicted and they ask the question what shall we do now notice peter's response in the first place he tells them to repent now if you've read scripture you understand the bible you'll know that very often in scripture we see repentance and faith or repentance repentance and belief used interchangeably in fact the people who are called upon to repent here are the ones that are called believers in verse 44. the scripture uses those two terms especially in the book of acts synonymously basically repentance is a change of mind i think we often define repentance as stop doing certain things but if a crack addict stops smoking crack that's not necessarily repentance he has modified his behavior he has taken a better course and that should be commended but it's not repentance he hasn't had a change of mind with reference to who god is repentance is first and foremost that change of mind along with faith laying hold of jesus and then there are fruits of repentance that issue forth from that such that when we do repent if we've been in the habit of smoking crack we won't anymore if we've been in the habit of fornicating or engaging in what other things are are condemned in scripture we by god's grace we'll repent we'll stop doing that so peter gives this great admonition to 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 so when he tells them to be baptized this isn't unto salvation this is a sign or a symbol that they had in fact been saved there are some people who take this passage and say well you need to believe and be baptized in order to be saved and they look at mark 16 where jesus says go and preach the gospel to every creature whoever believes and is baptized will be saved but they fail to read the rest of what mark says he who is not be or he who does not believe will not be saved baptism accompanies baptism is the external sign baptism is the emblem or the symbol and again we get to rejoice in these four people showing or demonstrating that sign to us today but it's not baptism that saves we have the obvious example of the thief on the cross that man did not get baptized but he entered into paradise at the end of the day with the lord jesus christ so while baptism is commanded while baptism is incredibly important while baptism shouldn't be done away with we ought to realize we're saved by grace through faith in the lord jesus christ and that not of ourselves but it rather is a gift of god lest we boast lest we parade ourselves or lest we try and congratulate ourselves for having been saved no that is not what we do at all we give glory to god so he says repent have this change of mind believe on the lord jesus christ having believed having repented be baptized in the name of jesus christ now again notice for the remission of sins now the people in our church that come every sunday probably are tired of hearing me say this but there's enough new faces here that i'll go ahead and say it anyway we have a hymn in our book and one of the stanzas says my sin o 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 now outside of scripture that is a glorious and a wonderful statement my sin not in part not just a little bit but the whole is nailed to the cross and i bear it no more that is a glorious and a wonderful thing owing to the redeeming work of our lord jesus christ we are baptized as a sign as a symbol as an external statement as to what god has done inwardly he has washed our filthy hearts with that precious blood of his son he has given that righteousness which his son accomplished which is son one which is son merited he imputes that to us we receive it by faith alone so that we can stand in the presence of a holy god when we take our last breath we will hear those blessed words of the savior well done good and faithful servant how can that be but by owing to our union with that faithful servant with that glorious lord that mediator of the new covenant brethren the stakes are high with reference to this passage of scripture with reference to all passages of scripture you may have a miserable life in this world you may not have a lot of happiness you may not have a lot of things going your way but each and every day you get some goodness from god on high you get sunshine we sometimes you get rain if you're so inclined to rejoice in that you get snow you get wind you get sky you get food you get water see when the judgment comes and we are cast out of the presence of god almighty there is no more of the goodness of god there is only justice there is only wrath there is only fury there is only condemnation and the way of escape again is to repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of jesus christ for the remission of sins and then notice what peter goes on to say in verse 39 i realize that some of you come from a background where you practice infant baptism and i realize that verse 39 is a big sort of proof tax in that development in the history of the church in terms of baptizing infants i'm going to argue this morning not against infant baptism but i'm going to argue that this text is not teaching infant baptism the text is underscoring the text is highlighting the text is calling attention to the grace of god almighty in the gospel of jesus christ that's peter's point in other words if you feel yourself as a murderer of jesus to be beyond hope you need to understand that the gospel provides hope if you happen to be the child of one of those who took place in the murder of jesus and you feel that as a result of your attachment to your parents you're beyond hope no the gospel affords hope if you happen to be a gentile and not a jew and you happen to be in the city of jerusalem and you somehow conclude that these promises are only for the jews you need to get that out of your head because the gospel pertains not simply to lawless jews but it pertains to lawless gentiles peter's point in verse 39 is to show us how great god's grace is there have been times probably in your experience as a believer when you've witnessed or you've talked to people about the gospel and you'll hear people say oh i'm so sinful god will never have me the glory of the gospel is that we're so sinful god would never have us if he had not sent his son to die for us to live for us to rise for us of course god would have no truck with us because we would be vile in his sight but the glory of the gospel is that christ cleanses us christ clothes us christ gives us everything we need to stand in the presence of his father so let's look at verse 39 he says for the promise the promise in context specifically is the giving of the holy spirit if you look at verse 33 and having received from the father the promise of the holy spirit he jesus poured out this which you now see and hear and with reference to the promise of the holy spirit it's probably not the gifts of the holy spirit wherein we can talk in tongues or prophesy but the gift that is the holy spirit the reality that as those who believe on jesus receive the spirit he is the seal and the guarantee for our final redemption he is the one by which christ dwells in our hearts through faith the holy spirit is the promise and peter says that this promise is for you now remember jerusalem sinners i'm not saying that these are the the worst and most contemptible people on the face of the earth i would suggest we're all the worst and most contemptible people on the face of the earth but in context in terms of their particular sin it was the city of jerusalem it was the murderous jews that cried out with reference to jesus away with him away with him crucify him they gave the the order the the gentiles pilate simply wanted to appease them but it was them crying out away with him away with him crucify him so peter says the promise is to you jerusalem sinners so you can't this morning say well i'm so bad jesus would never have me oh no no no no no you don't you cannot run and evade the glory of christ's gospel in that manner in fact paul the apostle in first timothy 1 15 says this is a faithful saying worthy of all exception that christ jesus came into this world sinners to save and then he says of whom i am chief so you are not the chief of sinner if you think or you have deluded yourself into thinking that you are somehow beyond the scope of god's grace may i hopefully helpfully tell you you're not god is in the business of saving sinners just ask any of us uh you've had that thought before where you know when we get to heaven we're going to see people that are going to surprise us wow you're here i've often thought they're going to be surprised when they see some of us wow you're you're here you made it well the blood of jesus christ his son cleanses us from all sin and this gospel this good news of jesus and him crucified goes to you but then notice and to your children it's important that we understand the context turn back to matthew's gospel for just a moment matthew chapter 27. again the idea here with the children isn't paedo baptism if you're going to make the case for beto baptism do it in a more responsible way because what peter is doing in verse 39 is underscoring the graciousness of our god to receive sinners who come to him through the son the lord jesus christ notice in matthew 27 we'll pick up reading about verse 22 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 but they cried all out all the more saying let him be crucified see it's not new where no answer is ever given it's not new in our political climate where people are bound and determined to do whatever they're going to do irrespective of those pesky things called facts if he weren't guilty we wouldn't have brought him to you they begged the question they assume they're right and instead of answering pilate's question they simply assert again with more vehement let him be crucified notice in verse 24 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 of the blood of this just person you see to it and all the people answered and said look at what they said his blood be on us and on our children so what's peter doing in verse 39 the promise is to you jerusalem sinners the promise even extends to your children who you are all too willing to throw under the bus as it were before pontius pilate may his blood be on us and our children and peter says no the gospel avails the gospel is powerful the gospel is the power of god unto salvation for everyone who believes to the jew first and also to the greek why because in that gospel the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith it's testified by the prophets as the just shall live by faith habakkuk 2 4. so peter is showing how gracious god is in this appeal to jerusalem sinners but again he doesn't stop there the promise is to you and to your children and then he says and to all who are afar off gentiles non-jews the nations of the earth those gentiles that may have been in jerusalem those gentiles that were intrigued with israel's god those gentiles were later called god fearers they were interested in yahweh of israel but as to this point they hadn't come to the savior and so what is peter saying you're not second-class citizens you're not on a lower tier you're not less significant than the jews because the promise is to jerusalem sinners it's to their children who they threw under the bus and it's to all who are far off in other words god's grace is grace it's glorious it's wonderful it is amazing we're going to sing that when we cl change our clothes in just a few moments it really is amazing grace that comes to sinners not just like these categories but to an apostle peter does peter know of whence he speaks yeah he denied jesus to a servant girl does the apostle paul know something about the grace of god he took it upon himself to destroy the church of god if he could does the grace of god apply to what we would deem as really bad people today it is for really bad people and if you understand one bit of the bible you won't think of really bad people as them out there you will see them every day when you look in the mirror and you will praise god that there is forgiveness with him that he may in fact be feared that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness king david was another man we read psalm 32 at the beginning that wasn't accidental david understood forgiveness what was david for giving up well he committed adultery and then murder in order to cover up that adultery that is the kind of sinner that christ's blood atones for and in that people are very thankful and very happy and very encouraged in fact the lord god most high has shown us with all the kinds of people that we think are beyond the pale of redemption david is one of them again peter denying the lord david says in psalm 130 he says if you lord should mark iniquities oh lord who can stand right think about that statement if you lord a righteous holy pure god whose eye is too pure to look approvingly upon any evil david says if you lord should mark iniquities if you should keep them written down in a book not that god doesn't know everything not that god doesn't you know forgets things or god keeps lists or he has his smartphone and keep you know my sins under under gym or what that's not what he's saying so if you lord should mark iniquities oh lord who could stand why does he say who could stand because we're all filled with iniquities we've all transgressed the law we've all violated his holy word and then he goes on to say but it's one of those glorious things in scripture but he says there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared in other words god you wash your people in precious blood in other words god you give them that righteousness that avails with you so that they will now instead of disregarding you they will now instead of turning their back on you they will now instead of using your name as a curse word now they will fear you they will rightly relate to you and fear in that sense isn't running and hiding underneath the piano fear in that sense is understanding who god is it is understanding that he is holy holy holy it is understanding that he is perfect it is understanding that he is love it is understanding that he is glorious and seeing ourselves rightly before him that ought to promote reverence that ought to promote awe that ought to promote the fear of god before his eyes and that's what forgiveness does we're not forgiven because we fear we're not forgiven because we act we're not forgiven because we do were those forgiven washed in precious blood so that now we will fear him a right so that now we will serve him right and that we will now glorify him but there is a crucial modifier in this verse that we cannot pass over notice what he says in terms of god's scope or the scope of god's grace for the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off now notice as many as the lord our god will call peter preached a sovereign god peter understood that sinners cannot make themselves alive sinners cannot make themselves believers they must be god's people or god's elect god must do that work giving them the graces of faith and repentance but knowing that does not strip from him the ability to tell them repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of jesus christ for the remission of sins but this is the crucial modifier it's not the case that jerusalem sinners and their kids will be saved simply because their kids are the jerusalem sinners parents no it's not by race it's not by family it's not by ethnicity it's by god's grace it's not saying that every gentile out there is going to be saved it's as many as the lord our god will call so what's the emphasis in the tax when somebody manifests or demonstrates through faith and repentance that they're one whom the lord our god has called they're the ones that should be baptized they're the ones that should publicly identify in the waters of baptism with the triune god who saved them again i don't want to get all polemic against pato baptism but this passage doesn't teach it if there is other passages we can deal with those at another time but this passage is simply telling them and it's telling us that god's grace is real god's grace is great god's grace is amazing god's grace abounds even to jerusalem sinners even to their children whom they threw under the bus and to the gentiles as many as the lord our god shall call that's why we preach that's why we pray that's why we tell sinners believe the gospel repent from your sin because we we know and are convinced that god in his purpose has purpose to save a great multitude that no man shall number from every tribe and tongue and people and nation this is what we find in the book of revelation a great multitude that no man can number have you ever heard that idea that there's going to be like this handful of people in heaven that's contrary to scripture that is contrary to the eternal state that is contrary to the book of revelation that no man can number remember the promise given to abraham abraham look up at the stars now he didn't have city lights that would make it difficult to see the stars he saw the stars in their blazing glory and god says your descendants are going to outnumber the stars and abraham if you didn't learn that lesson i want you to look at the sand at the seashore because your descendants are going to outnumber the sand that's at the seashore why is that because the promise was about christ the promise was about jesus the promise was about the one who said all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit and teach them to observe all things that i have commanded you and lo i am with you always even to the end of the age our blessed christ gave the church her marching orders and it was to go not to tell just a handful of people that if they look to jesus they'll be safe but to go and publish this to the nations to tell everybody far and wide again in the language of mark 16 go preach the gospel to every creature not just some not just a few not just the three that you think might be prepared no you preach this gospel indiscriminately to all men everywhere telling them believe on the lord jesus christ and you shall be saved such was peter's emphasis on that day of pentecost and that needs to be the church's emphasis today the gospel because of the broken law and the remedy in and through our lord jesus christ believe on him and you will be saved and as we move through the passage we'll do this very quickly notice what happens in terms of the response of the hearers to the apostle peter notice salvation verse 40 peter says or with many other words he testified and exhorted them saying be safe from this perverse generation then those who gladly received his word were baptized and that day about three thousand souls were added to them you see they didn't conclude well we killed jesus he already reminded us that we're the murderers of christ his blood is on our hands no they heard the gospel of god's free grace they heard the benevolence of god they heard the graciousness and the kindness of god so what do they do they they gladly receive the word see brethren that can't be a bad thing it can never be a bad thing to gladly receive god's word it's always a good thing in other words if you hear the gospel you hear the truth or the facts about jesus and some preacher tells you an evangelist tells you believe on him repent from your sin it's never condemned by god if you believe and repent that is good to gladly receive the word and now notice what happens in verse 42 the practice of the church in other words what do they do now that they're saved verse 42 and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine the particular word that is utilized here means to persist in something to hold fast to to continue in to persevere in something so they gladly or rather they continued steadfastly in four things the first thing is apostles doctrine think about that for a moment they had seen verses 1 to 13. they had seen the outpouring of the holy spirit and they had seen people speak in tongues and they had heard people prophesy but what do they continue steadfastly in the search for those gifts not at all they continue steadfastly in the doctrine they want the word of god they're not concerned about experience they're not concerned about ecstasy they're not concerned about entertainment they want the truth of god's holy word that is the reflex of those who are saved by grace we now want that which we previously despise they continued steadfastly in fellowship that doesn't just mean they had coffee and talked about the canucks it means that they encouraged one another they exhorted one another daily while it is called today they were speaking of jesus they were speaking truth they were helping one another financially as well they continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread i don't think that peter or luke would have had to acknowledge this if it simply meant eating we always have to continue steadfastly and food don't we you might make it for 40 days from what i gather you can live quite a while without food not so long without water so if you're going to get lost somewhere in the woods make sure you have water at least but brethren they continued in the breaking of bread the ordinances that christ gave to the church the lord's supper they've already seen baptism they will engage in the lord's supper as well and then they they continue steadfastly in prayer and it's a very simple view of what the church was like in this first phase or in this early stage of christian development it was a simple group of people doing simple things not focusing upon the extraordinary but engaged in the use of the ordinary means that god had given to the church well i just have a couple of thoughts and then we'll close first those who are being baptized what a blessed day i'm trying to find everybody here uh where's okay god i see all four of them there the blessing of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in christ alone i have met with these these brothers and sisters they have given a testimony concerning their conversion it's legit and we can praise god for that they're not going into this water in order to be saved they're going into that water because they've been saved by god's grace through the precious blood of the lamb and again this is an outward signification of what god has done by his sovereign grace in the inward man with reference to the response of those saved by grace our confession which i'll read in just a few moments says this concerning baptism it's a sign it signifies several things and then it says and of his giving up unto god through jesus christ to live and walk in newness of life is giving up unto god through jesus christ to live and walk in newness of life in other words you're supposed to be faithful you're supposed to live in light of that gospel your conduct as for all of us must be worthy of that that gospel we're not saved because of that conduct but rather we engage in that conduct because by god's grace we have been saved i always like to read this quote from c.h spurgeon it's the day he was baptized and this is just a great sort of a an underscoring of that reality in terms of living giving up unto god through jesus christ to live and walk in newness of life he says may 3rd in the afternoon i was privileged to follow my lord and to be buried with him in baptism blessed pool sweet emblem of my death to all the world may i henceforward live alone for jesus accept my body and soul as a poor sacrifice tis me unto thee in thy strength i now devote myself to thy service forever never may i shrink from owning thy name witness amen 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 not just these four but all of us need this reminder don't we whenever we witness this blessed doctrine or ordinance or sacrament of baptism hopefully it rekindles in us afresh the reality that god has saved us by his grace and he has called us to walk in newness of life it's a great reminder for the people of god as we witness the baptism notice as well with reference to the passage i mentioned this a couple of times and i think you'll understand why now jerusalem sinners are in view here in luke 24 47 jesus commissions the church he says and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at jerusalem john bunyan had a sermon entitled the jerusalem sinner saved good news for the vilest of men or a help for despairing souls in other words he took as his text that reality that the gospel comes first to the worst men on the face of the earth at that time the very worst see it wasn't like okay just let's get the gospel out there to the really upright and the polished i think we have that mindset you hear it from the opponents of christianity at times oh christianity is for for white people no it's for for for sinful people it's not confined to an ethnicity it's not confined to a people group if you've got sin you need the savior that that's the bottom line with reference to christianity but with reference to his particular his particular sermon the doctrine of his sermon was that jesus christ would have mercy offered to the biggest sinners the biggest sinners let's say you were you know really strong and you had the ability to bench press and you wanted to show off to somebody you wouldn't put 135 on that bar and do rats you put whatever your max is to demonstrate your power to demonstrate just how great you are well god sends the son of his love and according to the prophet isaiah it's not just for the lost tribes of jacob but i'll give you as a light unto the gentiles in other words we're going to demonstrate your power your efficacy and your glory to every sinner in this world not saying that every sinner will be saved but every sinner should see the glory of god in the salvation of sinners so bunyan gives eight points in that sermon thankfully i'm not going to recite those i'll just give you three first he says the biggest sinners have most need that makes sense right if you're the hungriest one in this room then that sandwich should be yours first the biggest sinners have greatest need another reason that he says is when they receive it sinners receiving the grace of god it redounds most to the fame of his name in other words when paul is conquered on the road to damascus initially the church in jerusalem is afraid of him they don't want him in their midst it took barnabas to say oh no he's been saved he's one of us now so it redounds to the praise and the glory of god's great name and then one other reason that bunyan gives others others hearing of it will be encouraged the more to come to him for life others hearing of it will be encouraged the more to come to him for life now you don't have direct access to jerusalem sinners but you got a lot of access to some chilliwack and abbotsfordian sinners so go ahead and ask some of us what were you like before you were saved and you will see that god's grace is amazing you will see that the blood of jesus christ his son does cleanse us from all sin that whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved let us pray our father we thank you for your word we thank you for the clarity of peter's presentation in acts 2 and god we thank you for the response evidenced by these people certainly they had tasted the grace of god they knew the the joy of the lord they knew what it was to be forgiven to receive that righteousness and to be able to enter in to heaven on the day of their death god we have that certainty as well and we love you and we praise you and we thank you for it and we desire and we long to see many many more people know it and understand it for themselves send forth this glorious gospel send it throughout this world conquering and to conquer running swiftly and being glorified so that you may receive all honor and praise and glory from those saved by your grace and we ask this through jesus christ our lord amen well you can turn in your hymn books to number 433 i'll ask the people that are being baptized to change their clothes i will go change my clothes and our brother steve will lead you in that hymn amazing grace so [Music] [Music] uh [Music] oh [Music] is to fear [Music] me [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is me [Music] us [Music] is [Music] if the children want to come forward they can get closer so they can see and witness this since it is an external sign or a symbol or a token we like for people to see it kind of like a picture book you don't have to know much about british columbia if you see a book that's called beautiful british columbia and it's filled with pictures you understand how beautiful it is and with baptism what we have is a symbol of a person dying being buried and being raised again from the dead in fact i will read our confessional document concerning that it says baptism is an ordinance of the new testament ordained by jesus christ to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection of his being engrafted into him of remission of sins and of his giving up unto god through jesus christ to live and walk in newness of life it goes on to say those who do actually profess repentance toward god faith in and obedience to our lord jesus are the only proper subjects of this ordinance the outward element to be used in this ordinance is water wherein the party is to be baptized in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit immersion or dipping of the person in water is necessary to the due administration of this ordinance now each of the persons have asked that i ask them questions i have a series of questions uh designed to elicit a confession of faith but before i actually start i want to say how much of a privilege and a blessing it is for me to see people born and grow up and get converted and join be baptized and join the church it is a real encouragement to see young jordana here the same grace of god that was operative in the life of the apostle paul who said he was the chief of sinners is the same grace of god operative in the lives of young people and we ought to praise god for that and rejoice in his goodness to us in adding to our church not just old people but young people as well and i think that it's commonly thought that we believe or we teach at adult baptism we teach believers baptism those who give a credible profession of faith in jesus and repentance to god are those that we baptize the the the salvation of god isn't just for adults the salvation of god thankfully includes young people as well so do you believe there is one true and living god who exists eternally as father son and holy spirit yes do you believe that you have sinned against god and justly deserve his punishment for your sins yes do you believe that jesus christ the son of god lived in obedience to god's law died as a sacrifice and substitute for sinners and rose on the third day yes do you believe in jesus christ alone to save you from your sins yes and do you commit to walk in obedience to god through faith in jesus christ yes all right turn this way and hold your nose i baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit in the next instance it's nice to have a married couple as well that that saved i kind of feel like we're covering the bases today from dan to beersheba it's been a joy to get to know will and tara and to meet with them and hear their conversion to christ i'll ask the same questions do you believe there is one true and living god who exists eternally as father son and holy spirit yes do you believe that you have sinned against god and justly deserves his punishment for your sins yes do you believe that jesus christ the son of god lived in obedience to god's law died as a sacrifice and substitute for sinners and rose on the third day yes do you believe in jesus christ alone to save you from your sins yes and do you commit to walk in obedience to god through faith in jesus christ yes amen all right same thing i baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit [Applause] um do you believe there is one true and living god who exists eternally as father son and holy spirit yes do you believe that you're that you have sinned against god and justly deserve his punishment for your sins yes do you believe that jesus christ the son of god lived in obedience to god's law died as a sacrifice and substitute for sinners and rose on the third day yes and do you believe in jesus christ alone to save you from your sins and do you commit to walk in obedience to god through faith in jesus christ yes amen i baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit do you believe there is one true and living god who exists eternally as father son and holy spirit yes and do you believe that you have sinned against god and justly deserve his punishment for your sins and do you believe that jesus christ the son of god lived in obedience to god's law died as a sacrifice and substitute for sinners and rose on the third day and do you believe in jesus christ alone to save you from your sins yes and do you commit to walk in obedience to god through faith in jesus christ amen all right i baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit well brethren in the church as you know when people or persons are baptized they also enter into the membership of the church and as i read earlier with reference to baptism as a sign and of his giving up unto god through jesus christ to live and walk in newness of life that's our our blessed privilege with one another is to encourage that sort of thing uh to love each other to pray for each other to seek by god's grace to be faithful brothers and sisters not only us to them but them to us as well and we together as the church of christ we were never meant to do this on our own we were never meant to go it alone we were never meant to be mavericks christ gave us the church for benefit and for blessing and to make sure that in that context we mature we grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord jesus so we rejoice in god not only it is addition in terms of save save centers to the membership of the church but we rejoice in god for the means of blessing that the church is for his people i think the church gets a lot of bad press and the church historically has gotten a lot of bad press but our focus is to be on the word of god the administration of the of the sacraments and then discipline those are what we are to be about and we praise god for the privilege that he has given us to do that with one another so please embrace these brethren welcome them in obviously pray for them pray for one another and seek by god's grace as a church to be faithful in churchmanship because that is most crucial in the maturation and in the life and growth of god's people so i'll just pray we'll rejoice in the lord for his goodness and then we'll close by singing the doxology our father in heaven we rejoice in your goodness we rejoice in your power to save sinners we thank you for jordana we thank you for will and for tara we thank you as well for fran and for for that goodness that you have displayed we know that each of them have acknowledged being sinful before a holy god each of them standing liably just to your reliable to your just punishment and yet father you and your grace have reached down given them new hearts and given them faith to believe on jesus and to know the joy of being found in him our hearts desire and earnest pleas that more and more people would come out of darkness into marvelous light confessing faith in jesus and being baptized and added to churches and that churches today would be strong and be places where people mature and grow in their understanding of who christ is bless this local body we pray and thank you for these gracious additions that you have provided and we pray in jesus name amen well you can stand and we'll sing 568 which is the doxology in praise to our god [Music] [Music] is praise him [Music] father i pray that you would go with each of us now that you would cause your face to shine upon us that we would know the nearness of god as our good and that you would keep us and promote peace in our hearts we bless you and we thank you for this day we ask that you would be glorified throughout it that you would bring us together tonight where we can engage in that other sacrament of the church of the lord jesus christ even the supper and we ask this through christ our lord amen please be seated for a brief time of meditation you