Wednesday Acts 2:37-40

The crowd responds to Peter.

Click here for an online Bible. Acts 2:37-40

The crowd had just experienced a miracle. Peter explained it in light of who Jesus was. The miracle that they had just witnessed along with the miracle of the resurrection that they had heard about a few weeks earlier along with the miracles that Jesus had performed all point to the identity of Jesus. He is the Savior – the Messiah – the Christ – the Son of God.

Luke tells us that they were “pierced to their hearts.” This passage began with the people asking in Acts 2:12, “What does this mean?” It ends with their asking, “What should we do?”

Peter answers their question. They must repent and be baptized. What does it mean to repent? It means to make a complete turnaround. In this sense, it means to turn from sin and turn toward God. Repentance from sin was not a new idea. That was the message of John the Baptist. He told people to repent and be baptized.

Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Is baptism necessary for forgiveness? The construction of this sentence is a little clunky. It is clear from all of the New Testament that salvation is by grace through faith. There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. Salvation does not come from baptism.

You must repent of your sins for forgiveness. Then you must be baptized as a sign showing that you have repented. If you repent, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism is not required for salvation, but is required as an act of obedience. It is a sign showing that you are a follower of Christ. Baptism is done after coming to faith. I often get questions about baptism.

What if I was baptized as a baby? That was not done after coming to faith. You should be baptized as a believer.

What if I was baptized by sprinkling? The word “baptize” means to immerse or dunk. Every example of baptism in the New Testament is by immersion. Sprinkling for baptism was adopted when they started baptizing babies a few hundred years after Christ. So, even if you were sprinkled as a believer, you still were not really baptized.

If I get baptized now, won’t people be critical of me? No way! When people say they want to be scripturally baptized, the people of the church are excited. It shows that somebody is getting serious about following Christ.

Do I get the gift of the Holy Spirit at salvation, baptism, or at a later time. When you come to faith in Christ and repent of your sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit is given. The 3000 who responded to Peter on the day of Pentecost all received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Yet there were no more strange languages spoken.