Sermon by Desmond 30 September 18

The Right Response (Acts 2:37-47)

Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost covered 3 essential points.

- First, that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost was prophesized in the OT.

- Next, OT prophecies pointed to the resurrection and a sign that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus was crucified, died and did indeed resurrect.

- Lastly, this resurrected Messiah is the one who sent the Spirit because He received it from Father, and this was because He is sitting at God the Father’s right hand, which was prophesized in Scripture to show that Jesus is Lord.

What then is our response now that we know Jesus is both Christ and Lord? The answer to that has eternal consequences for us and we will look at the responses of the crowd (v37-41) and the believers (v42-47).

The Response of the Crowd

The crowd were pricked in their heart and the reason they felt this guilt is because they realized they have killed their Messiah. They have waited centuries for Him to come, but they did not recognize Him as Messiah when He came. Likewise, we are guilty too because of the sins against God in our lives and will face judgment at the Day of the Lord. What then shall we do?

Repent

Peter calls the crowd to repentance in v38. Repentance indicates a turning of direction, a complete change from North to South. It is a conscious decision to turn away from living for myself to living for God. True repentance does not only hate the consequences of sin. True repentance hates sin itself because it sees sin as something God hates and therefore, I too must hate sin.

Faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin and have to be taken together. Focus only on faith and one can just trust in Jesus but continue living his past life. Jesus in fact says in Matthew 16:24 “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”. To take up his cross, is to mean to die to self and your life belongs to and for God. Focus only on repentance and one may end up changing only his behaviour and lifestyle, without Jesus Christ in the picture at all.

Be baptized

V38 goes on to read “and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”. This means to be baptized because you have received forgiveness. The ordinance of baptism deals with identification. When one chooses to be baptized he or she is essentially saying I am willing to publicly identify with Jesus.

Peter tells the crowd that as proof of the repentance of their sins, they need to publicly identify themselves with Jesus who they crucified. To identify not with the crowd that is guilty of killing Jesus but to identify with Jesus Christ.

Receive the Holy Spirit

Repenting and identifying with Jesus will enable one to receive the Holy Spirit. And this promise mentioned in v39 will be given not only to Israel but all those afar off, Gentile nations, us. So we need to repent to receive the promise and our ability to call upon the name of the Lord is because God has first called us (v39).

The Response of the Believers

The steadfastness of the church

Captured in v42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers”, is a picture of the life of the first church. They “continued steadfastly” in 4 key areas:

1. Apostolic teaching

Instruction is an important part of a new community. It is how we learn what is entailed in this new life that we have and who exactly this God that saved us is. These teachings are found in the Bible and therefore it is crucial that the church is under the instruction of the bible. Along with this, us as Christians ought to learn the teachings of the bible.

2. Fellowship

The believers were devoted to fellowship. As a church, it is not solely about the bible, fellowship is not optional. Heb 10:24-25, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” We are not meant to be living in isolation. Rather, we ought to be involved in the lives of fellow Christians to guide and exhort one another.

3. Breaking of bread

This likely refers to having the Lord’s Supper or communion. A regular observance was a regular reminder of what Jesus has done for them on the cross. Even if it referred to having meals together, it showed a close and intimate interaction among the believers.

4. Prayer

The church regularly prayed together and Luke’s usage of “prayer” was apparent in the NT, in Acts specifically. Prayer is something that Luke emphasizes as part of being in the Christian/church community as it reflects our constant dependence on our Lord to lead, direct and grow his church.

Each of the above elements makes up a wholesome picture of a chuch.

- Apostolic teaching grounds the church in firm biblical doctrines.

- Fellowship makes up the warmth of the church.

- The Lord’s Supper serves to remind us of why the church exists in the first place and that is God.

- Prayer turns us to depend solely on God as we do his work.

Spirit of the church

The spirit of the church here refers to the identity or qualities of the church as a whole. There was a sense of fear and awe among the people, inside and out of the church because of the miracles that the apostles were doing (v43) and because of the church’s steadfastness in v42.

Aside from this, we see the loving and sacrificial spirit of the church in v44-45 where the people had things in common and sold their possessions to provide for their fellow brethren in need. This is the spirit of the new family that we have entered into.

The spirit of the church was also one of joy and thanksgiving. Though they may have parted with their wealth, their hearts were full with joy because of what the Lord has done for them. This translated to praises to God in v47, which is a spirit of worship that they possess.

Conclusion

One other response that we want to look is the response of our Lord throughout. When Jesus ascended, He sent the Spirit and was very much active in His church. He called people to salvation (v39). He added souls to be saved (v41), He adds to the church daily souls to be saved (v47). We do not possess the power to convert souls, it is all the work and power of God, and we are but His mouthpieces. Take heart, because we have been given the Spirit to carry out the task we have been given; to be witnesses of Christ and bring the gospel to the people (Acts 1:8). Our Jesus who is both Lord and Christ is the one who will do the winning of souls.