Acts 2:38-41,47
And Peter said
to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins; and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your
children and to all that are far
off, every one whom the Lord
our God calls to him." And he testified with many other words and exhorted
them, saying, "Save yourselves from this
crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there
were added to their number that day
about three thousand souls… …praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And
the Lord added to
their number
daily those who were being saved.
The
crowd is confronted with the fact that the very Messiah that they have long awaited
has been rejected and murdered some 50 days beforehand. Perhaps there were some
in this crowd that were even present during the day Christ was crucified. They
were cut to the heart and in turmoil. They realized the terrible mistake they
had made and were fearful of the precarious position in which they were now
in. In verse 37, they asked, “What shall
we do?” They had just heard Peter, in the language of Joel, speak of a possible
salvation; and the question, “What shall we do?” indisputably means, What
shall we do to be saved?
Peter
tells them to repent, each and every one of them. He tells
them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. Some translations actually render this --so that
your sins will be forgiven. He tells them this is for every one of
them. He tells them that if they do this they will receive the Holy
Spirit. He tells them this is a promise of God. He tells them this
promise of God is for them. He tells them this promise of God is
for their children as well (meaning it is for all generations). Peter
tells them very clearly and carefully this promise is not just for
them, but for all that are far off—this is God’s
plan of salvation for everyone for all generations everywhere, for all
time. (This applies to us today. God’s salvation plan is still the
same for us today as it was when Peter spoke these words to this crowd. It has
not changed.) For further emphasis he tells them this promise of God is for everyone
whom the Lord our God calls to Him. Peter continues with many other words and
urges them to heed his words and to save themselves from this
evil generation (This statement of Peter confirms undeniably that he was
speaking to people who were NOT saved). And those that accepted
his words were baptized and about 3,000 souls
were saved that day. This is God’s salvation plan in a nutshell.
This is the new birth Jesus spoke of in John 3:5
Jesus
answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter the
…and those are the Words of Jesus Christ, the One we all must
answer to
With
repentance and faith
(belief) in Jesus the Son of God who died for our sins and
was raised from the dead, God promises to forgive our sins
(each and every one of them, past, present, and future) and give us the gift
of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we are baptized into
His Son, Jesus Christ.
Notice
verse 42 says the believers continued steadfastly in the Apostle’s
doctrine. What is the Apostle’s doctrine? Peter just told us in the previous
verses (v.38-39). Notice also the phrase, “added to their number” --
how it is associated with the word “baptized” in verse 41 and
then in verse 47 it is associated with the words “being saved.”
For Further Study:
“What about the Greek word
“eis” in verse 38?”
Baptism For The Remission Of Sins
Question:
James 1:22 says,
“Do not merely listen to the word, and
so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
How
would you “do what is says” in regards to Acts 2:38?
Matthew
3:13-16 | Ephesians 4:4-5 | Romans 6:3-6 | I
Peter 3:21 | Colossians 2:12 | John 3:1-5 | Acts
8:26-40 | Galatians 3:26-27
Mark 16:16 | Titus
3:5 | Matthew 28:19-20 | Acts 2:38-41 | Acts 22:16
CONVERSION STORIES IN THE BOOK
OF ACTS | BAPTISM IS… | ANSWERS TO SOME COMMON ARGUMENTS AGAINST BAPTISM
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This page updated: January 18, 2022