South Woods Baptist Church

LISTEN TO THESE WORDS

ACTS 2:22-40

JUNE 9, 1996

Pentecost marked an auspicious beginning for the infant Church. After near-riot conditions at the crucifixion of Christ, the disciples stood as an overwhelmed minority before the throngs crowding Jerusalem for the spring harvest celebration. To think that the Church would grow by exponential proportions in just one day was inconceivable. Yet, that was the reality the Church was preparing to encounter.

In answer to the promise of Christ, the Holy Spirit came in great power, with visible manifestation, upon the 120 disciples who made up the infant church. The noise of the Spirit's descent from heaven, like that of a violent, rushing wind, had captured the attention of the Jews in Jerusalem. As they rushed to the point of that noise, the disciples were supernaturally given the gift of speaking the mighty deeds of God in the many languages represented by the pilgrims to Jerusalem. Luke goes to great lengths to show that they were astounded and puzzled over what they saw and heard (2:6, 7-8, 12-13). This set the stage for Peter to boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This chapter represents one of the most amazing transformations in all of Scripture! Just two months earlier, Peter had denied that he even knew Christ. He, along with the rest of the disciples, cowered in fear of being discovered along with Christ and consequently put to death. Yet now everything was different. No more timidity! No more man-fearing spirit! No more cowering! Peter, representing the rest of the disciples, stood to give explanation of what the Spirit was doing in their midst. The gathering crowd offered a platform for proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What Peter proclaimed 2000 years ago, I proclaim to you today: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ calls for sinners to repent and be saved! While we have only a portion of what Peter spoke to the multitude on the day of Pentecost, we can clearly observe that he did not offer a few religious tidbits and go home. He gave them solid doctrine that explained the plan of God and the way of redemption through Christ. He left them with the earnest plea to repent and give evidence of their genuineness through baptism.

This is the first sermon of the Christian Church. It is important that we see the pattern of what Peter addressed to the unbelieving Jews so that we might understand how to more effectively proclaim the gospel to our own unbelieving world.

I. The Plan of God

Peter began with the familiar and moved on to that which the Jews did not understand. He spoke courageously in telling them, "Men of Israel, listen to these words." And he gave them words with content! When we ask or even demand an occasion for someone to listen to our gospel presentation, we must be sure that we are saying something worth hearing. Peter was not afraid to demand their hearing for he knew that he was giving them the only hope for their eternity. Are you stirred with that fact when you speak to a lost person? Do you speak in such a way and with such passion in knowing that you are giving an unbeliever 'the words of life'?

All of Jerusalem knew about Jesus Christ. They had heard of his miracles and the many wonders and signs He performed before their own eyes. Perhaps many of these had seen blind men seeing, lame men walking, and dead men made alive by the power of Jesus Christ. Yet, in their way of thinking, He could not have been the Messiah because He did not usher in a new kingdom and reign over Israel.

Peter points out that Jesus was "a man attested to you by God," which is a word meaning "authenticating." It was God the Father who authenticated the reality of Jesus' Messianic claims through His miracles, wonders, and signs.

It is important to see that Peter did not jump to inviting the crowd to believe in Christ. He labors to put before them the plan of God. Until a sinner understands something of God's purposes and plan then the gospel just will not make much sense. We can gloss over this in an effort to get action out of a sinner, but I believe we do injustice to the gospel in the process. A sinner needs to understand the why of the death and resurrection and he cannot unless he grasps a little of the plan of God.

Everything is not just 'cut-and-dry' in the Bible. There are some things that are mysterious and wondrous which defy our total comprehension. This passage is one such mystery. Here you see the mystery of the sovereign work of God and the work of human freedom brought together in one grand statement. We do harm to the Word of God when we try to strip away its mystery and awe. There will always be some things which we do not understand nor comprehend in our finite minds. The fact that we cannot comprehend it does not make it less true or less a reality. It just shows that God's ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our thoughts! (Isaiah 55:8-9).

1. Determined before Creation vv. 22-23

Peter begins with the sovereign work of God, which is as it ought to be. "This Man" was "delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God." Now he will prove in the next few verses that this Man was more than a mere man, that He is God Himself--the Messiah. But for the moment, Peter pulls back the veil over the events that had recently transpired in Jerusalem and explains what God was doing in their midst. It was a wonderful thing he showed them! He explains that the cross, as horrible as it was and as big an injustice as it was, came right on schedule in the plan of God.

He uses the word "delivered" which appears only here in the New Testament. It refers to one handed over to his enemies. What a picture! God the Father handed His own Son over to His enemies in order to redeem those enemies from the curse of sin!

It is vital for us to understand that everything happened according to divine design. Peter says that it happened by "the predetermined plan...of God." The word he uses means "to mark off by boundaries or to determine beforehand." We get our English word horizon from this Greek verb. This verb is a perfect passive verb which emphasizes its state of completion. God's plan or "counsel" or "will" was set in motion before creation. The fall of man in the Garden did not cause the Godhead to scurry for another plan. The failure of the nation of Israel to obey the Mosaic covenant did not put the eternal Council into panic. God decreed before the worlds were founded to redeem sinners through the atoning sacrifice of the Son.

He adds to this by using the term "foreknowledge of God" determining the death of Christ. We must understand what this word means. Foreknowledge has been wrongly described as God looking ahead into the future, seeing what would take place, then deciding some action on the basis of what He saw. There are several things wrong with this view. One, God has no future. God is! That is how He revealed Himself to Moses as the One Who is eternally present, "I AM THAT I AM." So to think that God has to look ahead as if He is bound by time limits Him and denies His omniscience. A second problem is that if God can act only after determining what others will do in the future implies that He is not sovereign. Sovereignty means that God has all power and He exercises His power to the fullest in every way. His power is not limited by man's actions nor is sovereignty the result of man's cooperation. The exercise of His will and His power cannot be determined by what man does or else God will be held hostage to the power of man. A third problem is that the Greek word which we translate as "foreknowledge" carries with it the idea of action not merely mental comprehension. It is a word of action implying that God's decrees sustain all that transpires in history.

R.L. Dabney expressed it like this, while bringing into his definition the Shorter Catechism's reply to God's providence:

We believe the Scriptures to teach, not only that God originated the whole universe, but that He bears a perpetual, active relation to it; and that these works of providence are "His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures, and all their actions." [Systematic Theology, 276]

Now, stop and gaze upon this for a moment. Consider that God could have done other than what He did. He could have decided against creation. Or He could have created another version of humanity so that we were not moral creatures. Or He could have created man, allowed him to fall, and then justly destroyed mankind along with the universe. But He didn't! He decreed before the foundation of the world to save His people through the redemptive work of His own Son, whom He would deliver over to humanity for the suffering of death. This leaves all of mankind morally and judicially responsible to Almighty God.

2. Carried out through history v. 22-23

Peter then drives the nail of conviction into the calloused hearts of the Jews. "You nailed [Him] to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death." The responsibility for the death of Christ is laid upon the head of sinners! This is where we begin to see this mystery unfold. While God decreed the atoning death of Jesus before the foundation of the world, sinful man, out of his own free will, arrested, scourged, and crucified the Son of God. One writer put it, "Here human freedom and divine necessity join hands" (Haenchen).

The shameless act of crucifying the sinless Son of God makes man culpable for this act. Peter seeks to make the Jewish audience understand that they were responsible for Christ's death even though they did not drive the nails into His hands and feet. By identification as sinners, enemies of God, and haters of God, they were all lumped together as responsible for the greatest crime of the ages. This places the Jews (and all who follow after) under the sentence of the Messiah's wrath. This is what Peter develops in verses 25-36 in which he shows that through the prophetic word of David, Jesus is the Messiah who would suffer death, but not decay, and would be raised from the dead by the power of God and be exalted as Lord. He stresses again in verse 36, "...this Jesus whom you crucified."

Why did Peter go to the trouble of showing these two truths which seem to cancel out one another? On one hand, he wanted them to see the infinite mercy and grace of God in the atoning death of Christ. But on the other hand, he wanted them to see their own personal guilt before a just God for the death of His Son. My brethren, these things are not contradictory; they stand together as part of the eternal mystery of the gospel. When I look at the death of Christ from the perspective of an unbeliever, I should writhe in agony that I, through my sin and hatred of God, participated in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ! Yet when I look at the death of Christ from the perspective of a believer, I should rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory that God determined my salvation before the world was created through the provision of His Son.

But our text goes on and shows that there was not merely some plans laid out, but there was action by the Redeemer.

II. The Path of the Redeemer

The path of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, leads us from His perfect obedience to the divine law, to the cross, to the resurrection, and finally, to His exaltation.

1. A bloody death v. 23

The Jews knew the passage that stated, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." Paul took up this same thought in Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'." They had difficulty understanding how Jesus could be the Messiah yet be one who was cursed by dying on a cross. They were still frozen with the idea that somehow they could redeem themselves through adherence to the law. But anything less than a perfect adherence to the law was unacceptable. To keep the whole law yet offend it in just one point made one guilty of breaking the whole law (James 2:10).

This is why it is so important to see that the death of Christ is no accident. Christ became a curse for us, that is, He endured the judgment which we deserve due to our sin. He took our offense and bore it before the wrath of His Father. He took upon Him the weight of our guilt and satisfied all of the justice of God. His bloody death atoned for our sins. While the Jewish religious leaders thought they were getting rid of a pesky messianic charlatan, God was satisfying His justice through Christ so that He might give life to His enemies. "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him" (Isa. 53:6).

2. A conquering resurrection v. 24

While His death atoned for our sin and put away the enmity between us and God, His resurrection put an end to the agony of death. Death has long kept sinful man enslaved. That is why John Newton wrote,

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, [grace awakened him to the consequence of sin]

And grace my fears relieved;

 How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed.

John MacArthur wrote, "The resurrection is the crowning proof that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ" [MacArthur's NT Commentary, 64]. From this point you will notice in reading through the book of Acts that the resurrection becomes the theme of the apostolic preaching. The preaching of the resurrection actually presupposes His death. He could not have been raised from the dead if He had not died. And as the Son of God He could not have died apart from the divine purpose. It is faith in this resurrected Christ that brings life and forgiveness to the enemies of God.

It was this preaching of the resurrection that caused men either to stumble and scoff or to bring them to repentance and faith. You see, if the resurrection is true, and we believe it is, then the one mandate I have is to bend my knee before Christ in repentance and faith, surrendering wholly unto Him. The resurrection of Christ demands a response from each of us! Will it be the response of repentance and faith; or will it be the response of unbelief and denial?

3. An exalted Lord vv. 31-36

The Jews had an elevated view of David, so Peter utilizes a Messianic psalm to drive home the point that Jesus Christ is Lord. He describes the death and burial of Christ, then the promise of the resurrection as pointed out in Psalm 110. Then Peter points to the exaltation of Christ that He is Lord.

The Jews knew what he was saying. He was not simply calling Jesus something akin to a mighty religious figure or a great military leader. He used the unmistakable term, "Lord," to identify Jesus Christ as the Messiah who is God Himself. To make a claim like that would be heretical and ludicrous if it was not true. And it was the truth of this statement that brought conviction to the hearts of this Jewish audience.

We must see that we are not dealing with a vague message at this point. The Gospel of Jesus Christ calls for nothing short of our absolute surrender to Him as Lord!

III. The Plea for sinners

After hearing this message of the plan of God and the path of the Redeemer, the crowd began to respond. It seems that there was a wave that swept through them, creating a deep conviction and hunger in their hearts. They sensed their own responsibility for the death of the Messiah. They perhaps thought of the Messianic psalm that warned, "Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled" (Psa. 2:12).

They asked an important question, "Brethren, what shall we do?" This is similar to the question of the Philippian jail, "What must I do to be saved?" And like the question of the rich young ruler, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" The answer to this question cannot be minimized. How did Peter respond? There are four imperatives in verses 36-40 which we need to consider.

1. Know the Redeemer v. 36

After the argument of his sermon, Peter speaks with authority, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus [emphatic in the Greek] whom you crucified." The word "know" is in the imperative mood. He adds to this the phrase, "for certain," which means 'assuredly' and was used to draw his argument to a conclusion.

"Know Who this Jesus is," Peter was saying. He is not a religious charlatan. He is no fake. He is Lord and Messiah. He is the One promised by all the prophets. He is the great hope and expectancy of Israel. He is the only Savior of sinners. Because of Who He is you cannot be neutral in your response to Him.

When we call upon sinners to believe in Christ, we need to make sure that they understand Who He is! Too often people have the idea that Jesus is just another religious figure, though a good one. He is maybe a few steps above Buddha and Krishna. He is nicer than Allah. So, these people may have the idea that it would be a good thing to acknowledge Him. But, my friend, a sinner needs to see that Jesus is like no other god! He is Lord--that means that He alone is sovereign, ruler, and king. He along is Messiah--that means the 'Promised One' or 'Anointed One' who comes to save. And as Lord and Christ, we must believe what He has said.

The essence of what Peter demanded in this verse was that the audience believe that Jesus is the only Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet, He has spoken the truth to us concerning how to know God and how to have life. As Priest, He has mediated the way to God for us through His own atoning death. As King, He rules as Lord of all and demands our absolute submission.

Do you know Christ as your Prophet, Priest, and King?

2. Repent v. 38

The chief response that Peter calls for is evidenced by the imperative of verse 38: Repent! The word describes a settled condition of heart and life in which the sinner turns from his sin and turns to God through Christ. Louis Berkhof mentions three elements in true repentance that I think can help us understand it better.

First, there is the intellectual element. This implies that when a person repents he has "a change of view, a recognition of sin as involving personal guilt, defilement, and helplessness." In other words, he comes to the knowledge of his own sin and finds it repulsive and damning. He feels his own helplessness to save himself. He recognizes that he must have mercy and grace or else he will be cast into the fires of hell if left to himself.

Second, there is the emotional element. This implies "a change of feeling, manifesting itself in sorrow for sin committed against a holy and just God." Paul calls this "godly sorrow" as opposed to "sorrow of the world." Worldly sorrow results when a person has done something wrong and he regrets the trouble it has given him. He may have remorse and despair over what he has done, but that is all. Godly sorrow causes that person to recognize that his sin is against God. He finds himself at pain over breaching the holy commands of God. He regrets offending God and is ready to do whatever he can to stop such offense.

Third, there is the volitional element. This goes further so that there is an actual "change of purpose, an inward turning away from sin, and a disposition to seek pardon and cleansing." The word Peter uses implies this turning away from sin and with heart and life, turning to God. [Systematic Theology, 486]

This is where we recognize that faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin. They are both "evangelical graces," that is, gifts of God that have been endowed by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Both are the souls response to the effectual working of God's Spirit in the heart. You cannot separate one from the other. In repentance we turn away from our sin, humbling ourselves with godly sorrow, detesting our sin, and purposing to walk in a way that is pleasing to God in all things. In faith we receive and rest upon Christ and what He has done through His death and resurrection in justifying us as sinners.

My friend, as you have been hearing the gospel of Christ today, I would urge you to repent of your sins, to turn from your own way of rebellion against God, to humble yourself before God, to seek to walk in obedience to Him as your Lord. And I would urge you to turn to Christ, resting upon Him alone as your Savior, trusting in His atoning sacrifice as sufficient for your eternal salvation. If your 'heart of hearts' is crying out with the question, "Brethren, what shall we do?" then my answer is the same as that of Peter, "Repent!"

3. Be baptized v. 38

It is interesting that he goes from the second person plural imperative of 'Repent,' to the third person singular imperative, 'let each of you be baptized.' I believe the NASB brings that verb out well, for it carries the same idea and force as a participial phrase. The command is to 'repent'; the response or evidence of this repentance is 'let each of you be baptized.'

Some who believe in baptismal regeneration have taken this verse as their banner to prove that you must be baptized to be saved. We must consider that issue and address it clearly. First, the language of the text is very clear that the call to repent is the chief command, while baptism is secondary. If it was the necessary element for one's salvation it would surely have the same force in the Greek language as that of 'repent'.

Second, one of the basic rules of interpretation is that Scripture interprets Scripture. When you take the scores and scores of references that explain what it means to be saved, you do not find baptism as part of them (see for example, John 1:12; 3:16; Acts 16:31; Rom. 3:21-30 which is one of the most thorough statements in Scripture on salvation; 4:5; 10:9-10; Gal. 2:16; Phil 3:9).

Third, no disciple of Jesus Christ had a greater ministry of leading the lost to Christ than that of the Apostle Paul. When he clarified the essence of what he taught concerning the gospel while in Ephesus, he stated, "...how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:20-21). He further added in I Corinthians 1:14-17, "I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void." I dare say, Paul would not have shrunk back from baptizing if that was an essential element to a person's salvation.

Fourth, when you read through Acts, you will notice some who were saved and baptized with the Holy Spirit before they received water baptism (Acts 10:44-48). The consistent message throughout Acts was repentance, not baptism.

Fifth, the preposition "for" in the phrase, "for the forgiveness of your sins," is the Greek word eis that has over 80 pages defining it in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. It is best translated in this context as "because of" or "on the occasion of" according to A.T. Robertson, Southern Baptist's greatest Greek scholar. If baptism is necessary for forgiveness, then what Jesus said at the cross, "It is finished!" is not true and the sufficiency of the death of Christ is a fallacy.

Finally, when Paul outlined the contents of the gospel in I Corinthians 15:1-4 that were necessary for a sinner to be saved, you can find no mention of baptism. [MacArthur NT Commentary, 73-75]

Now, after all of this you may say, 'Well, there's no need in being baptized!' But there is! Baptism indicates that a person has truly repented. This was especially so in the 1st century when to be baptized was to cut off all ties with family and friends, to face persecution, and possibly lose everything in life. When Peter called on those Jews to repent and then to be baptized, he was calling for real conversion! He was not calling for 'closet Christians' but for those who would openly, boldly follow Jesus Christ whatever the cost.

And I would add, if you call yourself a Christian but are not willing to follow Christ in baptism as a public declaration of your faith, then the reality of your faith is called into question by our text! I believe in baptism! I do not believe it saves you or has anything to do with saving you. But I do recognize that if you are saved you ought to want to be baptized to identify with Christ's death and resurrection, to identify with the Body of Christ--the church, and to openly confess to the world that you are a new creature in Christ.

4. Be saved v. 40

One final imperative is found in our text, "Be saved from this perverse [crooked, skolia] generation!" I think it is a fit ending to this message to offer these same words to all who listen to this message today. "Be saved from this perverse generation!" This is not something that you can do yourself. He does not say, "Save yourself from this perverse generation." The Greek passive voice makes this very clear that the saving must come from outside of you.

My friend, if you do not know Christ in His saving power, then be saved, I implore you, be saved through the grace and work of Christ. Repent of your sins, trust in Christ alone to save you, and follow Him as your only Savior and Lord!

CONCLUSION

As believers, let's use every opportunity for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And let's do it right, by giving the whole gospel, then depending on the Holy Spirit to bring that unbelieving friend to Christ.

If you are not a believer, then consider that your sinfulness leaves you at enmity with God. But this merciful God has sent His Son to become a Man and remove the enmity and bear the wrath which you deserve. Your sin put Christ on the cross. Yet, it was at that cross that Jesus bore your sin and now offers you eternal life if you will repent of your sins and trust Him as your Savior and Lord.