Watch as Ray David opens Acts 2:1-41.
The Scripture
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 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 will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:36-41
The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached
Acts 2 contains what may be the greatest sermon ever preached. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes upon Peter in power, He proclaims the Gospel and 3000 souls repent and are baptized.
God In Us
In Acts 2, we see that Jesus doesn’t leave his followers as orphans – He sends His Holy Spirit upon them. And in many ways this is even better. When Jesus was on the Earth, it was God-with-us. But when he sent His Holy Spirit to His followers, it is God-in-us. This ups the ante for the Christian life. It is no longer just living a life trying to follow Jesus example – it is the Holy Spirit at work in believers doing what we could never do – love the law of God, and be conformed into the image of Christ.
The Reversal of Babel
The moment where God pours out his Spirit at Pentecost and as His followers begin speaking in diverse tongues, is actually a moment that looks all the way back to Genesis 11 – the Tower of Babel. Because of man’s desire to be like God, God spread mankind throughout the earth and He used language to separate them from one another. But here on Pentecost we see God is doing something new. In the same way that He used language to separate mankind, He is now using language to bring them together. This is the beginning of the reversal of the fallout of the fall. It is a moment where God is using language to restore relationships among his people. All that was lost at babel is being brought back together on Pentecost, because of Jesus.
This moment is also one that looks forward. In Revelation 5 we see a picture of every single creature on the planet gathered around the throne of Jesus declaring with one voice and tongue, ‘worthy is the lamb that slain’. Pentecost takes that moment at in genesis 11 and restores it to what it will be in Revelation 5, in the new heaven and the new earth.
The Gospel Transcends Culture
On Pentecost, we see that the Gospel transcends culture and brings people together that are as varied and different as every people group and ethnicity on the planet. They all, in their own tongues, heard and declared the glory of God. Christians believe that evangelism is important, because every single people-group are like facets of a diamond that display the glory of God is a unique way. The Gospel is not culturally bound – it transcends culture and brings us all back together.
The church we see in Acts in not extraordinary, it can and should be normal in the Christian experience. When the Holy Sport is poured out and the word of God is preached, people repent, are baptized, and believe.
Both Lord and Christ
What makes a person a Christian? Martyn Lloyd Jones says that Christianity is not something you take up – it is something that takes you up. It lays hold of your heart in a way that transforms everything about your life. To be a Christian person means to know at least 2 things – Jesus is both Lord and Christ. When Christianity takes hold of us we receive that word. We see that Jesus is Lord and Master over everything – both cosmically and personally. Jesus is Lord and Master – He has the right to tell you what to do.
He is also the Christ, the Messiah – God’s anointed Saviour. He is not just a good, moral example to follow – He atoned for our sins and has purchased our salvation.
If you read the Gospels closely, you will see that it was actually the ‘sinners’ who were more aware of their need for a Saviour. They were more ready to receive the forgiveness found in Jesus than the religious elite. To believe in Christianity is to believe in the fact that you need a Saviour, desperately.
Pierced to the Heart
Too often in evangelism, we try to persuade people with brilliant arguments, but conversion is not chiefly a matter of the head – it is a matter of the heart. To be converted to Christ means that you have been cut or pierced to the heart. When you hear the Gospel preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, it pierces you to the heart. It lays hold of you.
The Gospel is not just interesting information to tuck away in the filing cabinet of your life, it is something that requires a response. In Acts 2 the crowds response was “what shall we do?” Peter’s answer was “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Repentance
The words of Peter are equally true for us today. Our first response is repentance. If you have been living as though there is no Lord and Christ than repent – course-correct. In greek, repentance means – ‘to change your mind’.
Baptism
Baptism is the starter’s pistol in the Christian life. If you wait until you have it all put together you’ll never be baptized. If you’ve never been baptized, seek baptism. Baptism is an outward picture of a deep reality, where we are buried with Christ and raised to new life, in him.
The Gift
When you repent and are baptized you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Your Christian life will go from something that is hard work to something that you love, and He will begin to change your life from the inside out. What used to feel like drudgery will now feel like joy. God is no longer just with you in Jesus, He is in you in the person of the Holy Spirit.
If you are reading this and you know for certain that Jesus is both Lord and Christ, it is because the Holy Spirit has led you to all truth. He has pierced your heart and shown you Jesus.
