A lesson by Pastor John Skaggs

Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

P.O. Box 1447, Claypool, Az. 85532

520-425-8345 or 520-402-9134

Email: pastorjohn@gila.net

Date: 12-12-99

Sermon Number: Acts 004

Text: Acts 2:22-40

Returning to the second chapter of Acts we find that the day of Pentecost has finally arrived. Just as the Savior had promised the Holy Spirit has come. He arrived with the sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire which settled on all who were in the upper room. Men, women, apostles, everyone was baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ and into the family of God. The visible images of fire settling on each person were indicators or signs that the Holy Spirit would, from now on, treat all believers alike. Next the group was filled with the Spirit. The sign that the filling had taken place was the amazing ability to speak in languages not previously known. All those in the upper room were given this sign because all were filled with the Holy Spirit. Later in the book we find that even Gentile believers received the Holy Spirit which was also confirmed by the sign of languages.

The sound of wind and the phenomenon of tongues caused a great crowd to gather. In this crowd are men and women from many nations and they are all hearing the apostles describe the great things of God in their own language. It is a miracle, but some, there are always some, claim that drunkenness is the cause of what they are hearing. Peter simply denies this and goes on to declare that what they are witnessing is the fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the prophet Joel many years earlier. (See Acts 2:17-21) The last line in this prophecy brings Peter to his goal, the preaching of the Gospel. The line reads like this, "And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." The word, "everyone," means just what it says. If a sinner, any sinner, finds himself in a state of conviction, understanding that God’s wrath is his just due, and then calls upon the Lord for forgiveness he will be saved from the wrath to come. Every human will be saved or lost to eternal destruction depending on whether they call on the name of the Lord or not.

Who is this Lord? We understand that it is Christ but most of the crowd to whom Peter spoke would not have done so. They would have heard him say, "Everyone who calls upon God shall be saved." Left at that the crowd might have been pleased, thinking that all was well with them. For no doubt the majority had come to the city to worship God. But that is not what Peter meant, so, he explains himself in the rest of his sermon. Jesus, the despised and crucified Nazarene, is the Lord, the long awaited Messiah. Peter begins . . .

How shocked this crowd must have been to hear Peter speak of "Jesus the Nazarene." Why would this man be addressing a crowd of Jews about a man they despised, rejected, and killed? Surely he is not speaking of that Jesus! But it was that Jesus Peter spoke about. They were not strangers to Jesus. The majority of these people had witnessed His ministry. They saw the miracles that accompanied His teaching. Miracles which were signs from God meant to validate Christ’s words and ministry. In John 10:24-25 we see that Jesus knew just what the function of these miracles was. "The Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, (The Messiah) tell us plainly." {25} Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these bear witness of Me." They asked for plain and they got it, but the truth did not change them. John 15:24–25: "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause." The evidence from Jesus’ life and works proved that He was the Messiah. It was simply undeniable. But because these "men loved darkness rather than light . . ." they committed the greatest sin, they rejected Jesus Christ. (John 3:19)

Now that his audience knows exactly who he is speaking of Peter continues.

{23} this Man, delivered up (handed over to you) by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you (Jews) nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death."

The Romans crucified Christ, there is no doubt about that. Neither is there any doubt that they were godless gentiles. They were without the covenants and promises God made to Israel, they were without hope in this world. They put Christ to death but it was by order of the Jews that it was done. The people of God delivered the Son of God to godless men and said, "Crucify Him!" Therefore, Peter proclaims, "You who stand before me are guilty of killing the Messiah, the Son of God. Yes, God determined before the world began that this should be the case but that does not remove the guilt of those who murdered the Savior.

John MacArthur has some worthwhile comments on this. He writes, "In this verse Peter answers an objection that would arise in the minds of his listeners. If Jesus was the Messiah, why was He a victim? Why did He not use His power to avoid the cross? (You see the Jews expected Jesus to be a conquering king in an earthly sense. They expected Him to overthrow their enemies, to set them free from Roman rule. So, if He was the Messiah why was He a victim?) Peter’s reply to this unspoken objection is that Jesus was no victim, rather, He was delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. . . .(John 10:17-18 NASB) "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. {18} "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." Let’s add to this the testimony of John 19:10-11 NASB. "Pilate therefore said to Him, "You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?" {11} Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, UNLESS IT HAD BEEN GIVEN YOU FROM ABOVE; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin." (Jesus was not a victim, He was a volunteer, He gave Himself to be sacrificed for sinners. In giving Himself as a sacrifice He conquered the great enemies of the people of God, sin, death and the Devil.) That being the case, His death in no way contradicted His Messianic claims.

That Jesus Christ was delivered to death by God’s predetermined plan, however, does not absolve those who put Him to death of their guilt. Peter goes on to indict the Jews because they nailed Jesus to a cross … and put Him to death. They were the instigators of Jesus’ execution, which the Romans carried out."

MacArthur continues: "God used evil men to accomplish His purpose, yet never violated their will or removed their responsibility by doing so. Peter thus presents the total sovereignty of God alongside the complete responsibility of man. That apparently paradoxical truth is affirmed throughout Scripture and is illustrated in Luke 22:22. Speaking of His betrayer there, our Lord said, "The Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man through whom He is betrayed!" Men are responsible, not for God’s plans, but for their own sins. The heinous sin of rejecting Jesus Christ was the blackest moment in Israel’s history. Far from casting doubt on His messianic credentials, however, that betrayal was part of God’s eternal plan. And though Peter does not develop the thought here, the Old Testament clearly teaches that Messiah had to die (cf. Ps. 22; Isa. 53). The death of Jesus Christ, no less than His life, confirmed that He was the Messiah." (End Quote, slightly modified. Comments in (...) are mine.)

Peter continues to set forth evidence to support his contention that Jesus was the Messiah. He does so by turning his listeners attention away from Christ’s death to His resurrection and the prophetic word which looked forward to the same.

One man wrote: "It is difficult for twentieth-century readers to appreciate how profoundly disturbing this claim was to the Jews. The Messiah was the central figure in Jewish thought. Of Him God had revealed, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh, (The Christ, the Messiah) comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples" (Gen. 49:10). Of Him the psalmist WARNED, "Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled" (Ps. 2:12). He was the great descendant of David, of whom God said, "I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" (2 Sam. 7:13; Luke 1:31–33). In light of that, for Peter to boldly proclaim Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah had to both shock and outrage his listeners. After all, less than two months earlier they had executed Jesus for claiming to be the Messiah. Now his ragtag followers were making that same claim on His behalf. To the Jewish mind, there could be no greater expression of blasphemy." (End Quote)

However, by the work of the Holy Spirit in their minds and hearts, they not only understand what Peter was claiming, they believed him, and were overcome with the magnitude of their sin. How alarming, powerful, and awful the words of Peter must have been, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified."

Let’s see how they responded.

{37} Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, (The word pierced speaks of being pricked violently, or severely convicted. It tells us that they experienced a great sense guilt, fear, and shame.) and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" {38} And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (The very Nazarene that you put to death.) for (or because of) the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (All believers receive the Holy Spirit.) {39} "For the promise (made in Joel’s prophecy) is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, (the Gentiles) as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself." {40} And with many other words, he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation! {41} So then, those who had received (acknowledged and welcomed) his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

"What must I do to be saved?" That is the question every minster of the Gospel longs to be asked. A wrong answer to this question is the path to eternal tragedy. The legalist, will come up with the wrong answer and be lost forever. For he will argue that salvation comes through personal effort and righteousness. But Paul emphatically rejects any idea of salvation through keeping the law in Romans 3:20, "By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight." One can’t be saved from God’s wrath by keeping the rules.

The moralist is a close cousin to the legalist. He believes that as long as his good deeds outweigh his bad ones he will be all right, God will let him into heaven overlooking any faults he might have had. But this man will fare no better than the legalist. For Ephesians 2:8–9 will always tell the same Gospel story. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast." One is saved by calling on the name of the Lord in faith believing that He is the One, the only One, who can save His people from their sin.

Some of Peter’s Jewish listeners might have argued for a salvation based on racial heritage. To such people, John the Baptist gave the following warning: "Do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; (The Jews held out confidence that this would put them in good standing with God.) for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit (the fruit of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ)is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matt. 3:9–10). And we can’t forget the words of Rom. 9:6. "they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel" Only believing Jews are true Jews. So, the answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved," has nothing to do with nationality.

Then there is the man or woman who says there is nothing we must do to be saved because all men will at last be recipients of God’s mercy. I speak of the universalist who rests his false hopes on a misinterpretation of passages such as Romans 5:18, "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men." The universalist says, "In Christ all men are already saved, there is nothing for us to do. This of course is not true. The "all men" who will be justified are all those, and only those, who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The universalist ignores our Lord’s solemn warning to "enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it." (Matt. 7:13).

Then there is the person who trusts in religious ritual. Things such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper. But these things are never said to save, they only illustrate or point to salvation. The heart of saving faith is Jesus Christ, the man from Nazareth, whom Peter has described for us today. Call on His name and you will be saved. What this "calling on Jesus name" entails is explained in Romans 10:8-11 NASB) But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"-- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, {9} that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, (Messiah, God the Son) and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; (There is no ritual here, only information and faith.) {10} for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, (Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us when we believe.) and with the mouth he confesses, (Calls on the Lord declaring his belief that He, Jesus, is the only Savior and that he trusts Him alone for forgiveness and acceptance with God.) resulting in salvation. {11} For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." Peter’s version of this last phrase is, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." The legalist, the moralist, the universalist, the ritualist, will all be subject to an eternal outpouring of divine wrath but the man who simply believes Peter’s message, the good news that Jesus died for sinners and will save all who call upon Him, this man will be saved.

Its worth our while to be clear about who Peter was speaking to. These were the people who murdered Jesus. To these the good news is preached. Murderers are offered mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. Even these can be saved from the wrath of God through faith in Jesus! How much more then might you and your children be saved if you call upon His name. Hear yet another explanation of what this means.

{38} And Peter said to them, "Repent, (True repentance always includes true faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Baptism is to follow salvation, therefore, Peter says . . ) and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for (because of) the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Peter called on these Jews to repent of their sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, the very man they had put to death. With this request we have a good picture of what it means to come to Christ, believe in Christ, or call on the name of Christ. It involves repentance, a change of mind, and behavior. A repentant person is one who was going south but has changed direction and now travels north. At one time he was convinced that his goal and destination lay south of his location. Now, however, based on new evidence and information he is certain he was wrong. But it is not enough to be convinced he is wrong. If he is to reach his new goal he must move in a new direction. He must turn completely around. He must abandon the old paths and begin to walk in new ones. This is repentance. Peter is calling on these men to change their minds about Christ. They must abandon their former hatred and unbelief. They must acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, trust Him to forgive and save them from the wrath of God. They must make a public declaration of that repentance and faith by submitting to Christ’s baptism. Baptism has always been what it is here, a public declaration of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. It is commanded and all believers are to obey. Baptism does not save, rather, it identifies one who has changed his mind about sin and Christ and has turned to trust Him with his never dying soul. The promise of salvation made by Joel and Peter was not limited to any ethnic group.

{39} "For the promise is for you (if you repent and believe) and your children, (if they repent and believe) and for all who are far off, (Gentiles who repent and believe in Jesus) as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself." {40} And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "BE SAVED FROM THIS PERVERSE GENERATION!"

I join with Peter in exhorting you to be saved from this perverse generation. I tell you that ". . . all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, {19} namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (The Gospel is the word of reconciliation.) {20} Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. {21} (You must know that . . .) He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:18-21 NASB) I tell you dear people, if you will but call on the name of the Lord you will be saved. Many thousands in Peter’s day did exactly that.

(Acts 2:41 NASB) "So then, those who had received his word (Believed that what he said about Jesus was true. These repented of their former views, ways, and sins, and then they . . ) were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls."

To be saved you must call on the Lord Jesus Christ. You must believe the truth about Him. You must act upon that truth by repenting, turning from your sins to Jesus for salvation. Then you must bear witness to your faith by giving yourself to baptism. What then? You are to be added to the church. These three thousand, or at least those who were local residents, were counted, they were identified, they were baptized, and became members of the local congregation, the church at Jerusalem. Further they were devoted to that church, the people, and its leaders. (Acts 2:42 NASB) "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

"What must one do to be saved?" "You must repent and trust in Jesus for the salvation of your soul."