What Must We Do To Be Saved?

What Must We Do To Be Saved?
Acts 2:37-47

INTRO: This morning we continue in our walk through the book of Acts. The last time we were together we saw how Peter gave powerful arguments concerning the Christ. He quoted from the prophets of old and showed them that they had been fulfilled in Jesus. In his sermon on that day, Peter convicts them of their role in killing the Messiah. Acts 2:36 – “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” I find it hard to imagine just how stunned some in Peter's audience must have been.

Before we get started—a story. A little girl was holding two apples in her hands. Her mother asked with a smile: “Would you give me one of your apples?” The girl looked up and suddenly took a bite out of one apple and then quickly took a bite out of the other.
Her mother felt the smile on her face freeze and she tried hard not to show her disappointment.
Then the little girl handed one of her bitten apples to her mom, and said; “Here mommy. This is the sweeter one.”

I guess the point of the story is just because you think you have something figured out, you can still be wrong.

The Jewish leaders thought that they had heard the last of this Jesus when He was crucified. They were probably thinking; that’s that with Him, the One who wants us to believe He was the Messiah has been dealt with. God had different plans though; God filled Peter with His Spirit and Peter laid it out for them. Think about it, this man whom the Jews recognized as a Galilean and likely viewed him as an uneducated person, had just presented a compelling argument in which he tells them that they murdered the Son of God.

I. Out of all the crimes one could commit, killing the Messiah had to be the worst. Peter’s presentation was so powerful not because he was an intellect, or because he had a good education, but because of the Holy Spirit.

A. The Holy Spirit used undeniable truths to show that Jesus was the Son of God despite the Jews accusations to the contrary. Jesus described the Spirit's work in John 16:8-11, He said, “"And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. "

1. Here are the two fundamentals of mankind’s spiritual condition and the two options, or alternatives, open to them. The Spirit convicts of sin, revealing a persons fallen estate and bondage to Satan, and showing their total helplessness to achieve through their own efforts any healing. The Spirit also convicts of righteousness by revealing the mystery of how a person may acquire a righteousness not their own, but the righteousness of Christ, available to all who receive and obey the gospel.
2. Sin ... righteousness ... judgment ..." Over against these three words stands three names: Adam, Christ, and Satan. Through Adam came sin; through Christ came righteousness; and upon Satan the penalty of ultimate judgment shall fall.
3. Calvary was intended by Christ's enemies to be their judgment of him; but God made it the judgment of His enemies, particularly of Satan. The cross indeed bruised the heel of the seed of woman, but it bruised the head of Satan.

a. Christ's death, burial, and resurrection condemned the value-judgments of men. Wicked men, living lives of conformity to the will of their prince (Satan) behold in Christ the rejection by Almighty God of their principles of judgment.
b. The way of Christ was declared by His resurrection to be the right way. The Spirit of God would never cease from Pentecost to convict the world of what righteousness really is. The world's traditional values were set aside by God's judgment at the cross; and the prince of this world has been summarily judged and condemned, and all who follow him shall partake of his destiny.

4. The evidence presented by Peter on Pentecost, as delivered to him by the Holy Spirit, truly convicted many in his audience. It was so powerful, Luke says in, Acts 2:37 - “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?''” What shall we do?
5. Do you remember in Matthew 16:19, what Jesus promised to Peter? Jesus told Peter, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven"
6. Remember Jesus’ words on the cross in Luke 23:34. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Both these passages find the beginning of their fulfillment in Acts 2:38.

B. The Holy Spirit, through Peter, had already identified those in the crowd as those who had used lawless hands to crucify God's Son.

1. Talk about a reason to panic! I have no doubt that they were in great fear after they realized what they had done.
2. They may have expected one of God’s angels to come down and slay them.

C. It is then when some of them realized their situation and asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

1. Peter tells them what they must do be saved in Acts 2:38 - "... Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
2. Can we imagine the Jews response to that? Imagine what is going through their minds. They have just killed the Messiah, who was God in the flesh, and Peter is talking about forgiveness! They have just murdered the Creator of the Universe on a cross and He wants to give them a gift!
3. This reminds us of Paul in his letter to the Ephesians chapter 3 which I read in part; Ephesians 3:16-19 - “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

II. Back in Acts, Peter says there are two requirements to receive this forgiveness of sins and the first one is repentance. Repenting involves a change of will, or mind. Jesus says in Matthew 21:28-32 - "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.' "He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. "Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did the will of his father?'' They said to Him, "The first.'' Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”

A. You see, folks, repentance is more than feeling sorry for what you have done. It’s more than feeling sorry for yourself. That’s the way the world repents. They say, ‘oh I’m sorry I won’t do that again’ but then they go out and do it again.

1. That’s why our prisons are overflowing with prisoners who recommitted their crimes. As an aside, the statistics are that 56% of released prisoners are arrested again by the end of the first year, 67% in three years, and 76% in five years.
2. Repentance involves a deep sorrow for our actions. It involves deep sorrow when we realize that we have hurt God with our actions. 2 Corinthians 7:10 - “For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
3. When we genuinely repent of sin we don’t want to go out and commit that sin again because we know that God doesn’t like it and we don’t want to disappoint God. That does not mean we won’t sin again but we truly don’t want to.

B. Then Peter tells them the second requirement to receive forgiveness of sins. He commands them to be baptized. Unlike the baptism of the Holy Spirit which the apostles’ and Cornelius’ household received, they were to be baptized in water. This isn’t what some would call a christening. Baptism is a plunging, immersing, or overwhelming. The Jews had no problems in understanding what baptism was.

1. This is like a funeral service for our sinful being, baptism is a burial. Colossians 2:12 - “Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
2. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3, that baptism is the means of a person calling on God to cleanse them based upon the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. 1 Peter 3:21 – and I paraphrase - “This water symbolizes baptism that now saves you -not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”[para]

C. Notice also that repentance and baptism were to be done in the Name of Jesus. In other words, they were to be baptized resting on His name, submitting to His authority, depending on Him as Lord and Savior. Hell is not afraid of my name, hell is not afraid of your name, but all of Hell is afraid of the Name of Jesus.

1. Peter was going to remind even more listeners of that a little later in Acts 4. He says in Acts 4:12 - “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
2. The point being, repentance and baptism under the authority of Jesus is how we receive the forgiveness of sins.

III. Peter then follows on and says in Acts 2:38 - " Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

A. Adam and Eve were truly blessed to have God walking with them in the Garden of Eden. The Israelites were truly blessed to have God dwell in the tabernacle. They were truly blessed when He dwelt in Solomon’s temple. Folks, these early Christians were going to be blessed even more.
B. Peter says when a person repents and is then baptized for the forgiveness of their sins; they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In other words, God was not going to dwell in a tent or a temple anymore; He was going to dwell within the hearts of His people. Acts 2:39 - “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. "
C. Folks, that promise is not just for the Jews and their children, it is for us and our children too. That was a lesson that Peter had yet to learn. Look in Acts 10 after the events that took place with Cornelius and his household.

1. Peter says in; Acts 10:34 - “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
2. The Spirit is ready to give life to anyone who will submit to God. Because when a person submits to the will of God through repentance and baptism, God comes to live in them in the form of the Spirit.

IV. It is then and only then that an individual's body is God’s temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” No repentance, no gift of the Holy Spirit. No baptism for the forgiveness of sins, no Holy Spirit.

A. Luke tells us in Acts 2:40-41 - “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

1. That warning and that plea stands just as strong today as when it was first heard from the lips of Peter around 2000 years ago. People need to save themselves from this wicked generation in which we live. We need to remember that when we preach and teach from the word of God we are preaching and teaching the very words of Christ.
2. On that day when Peter preached the very first gospel sermon, he was preaching the words given him by Jesus Himself. You see when 3000 souls accepted Peter’s words and were baptized; they were actually accepting Christ and His words.

B. Remember what Jesus says in; John 13:20 - “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

V. Because they received the Lord's words, they were added to the kingdom. Let me just make a quick point about the kingdom or church. If I wanted to learn karate, I would get a membership and join a karate studio. If I wanted to play baseball, I would join a baseball team.

A. That’s not how it works with the Lord’s church. It does not work like that at all. The Bible says that you don’t join His church, the Bible says that the ‘Lord adds you to His church.’ Acts 2:41 - “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” A few verses down Luke tells us in Acts 2:47 - “... the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved”.

1. You don’t join the Lord’s church, like it’s some sort of association or club. The Lord adds you to His church. You don’t buy a pew. It is so important to realize that the Lord is the one who is responsible for adding people to the church.
2. I’ve heard of many preachers and teachers, taking credit for growth in the church, but blaming others when there is no growth. Even the elders, the shepherds can make that mistake and blame the preacher when there is no growth.
3. I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 - “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.”.

VI. Folks, what Luke records next, is important for us to understand and take note of. These baby Christians, just a few hours old, began to do something which would influence the rest of their Christian lives.

A. Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20 - "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ( the baptizing has been completed, then He says) "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.''

B. What we see happening next in Acts 2 is that very thing, the apostles began to teach Jesus’ disciples. Acts 2:42 - “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.” [ASV]

C. Luke tells us in his letter 5 things dominate the life of Christian.

1. We need to sit at the feet of the church’s teachers and learn.
2. We need to be around other Christians as much as we can, not just on Sundays.
3. We need to come together with other saints to partake of the Lord’s Supper every week.
4. We need to be praying.
5. We need to learn to give, and I’m not just talking of money here I’m talking of ourselves, our offering to God of the fruit of our lips, and our service to Him.

D. What was the first fundamental truth they taught them? The apostles taught them the importance of meeting together to learn from God’s word. You start as you mean to go on.

1. I heard of a 17-year-old student at one of the best public schools in the nation saying he knows it's wrong to cheat, but he does it anyway. So do most of his classmates. He explained that he will go to any length to gain an edge, even using an advanced programmable calculator as a cheat sheet. His goal is to get accepted into an Ivy League school. He said, "Grades are so important. I don't want to mess up and be in a hole."
2. Folks, his goal is laudable, but his method is not. We as Christians should have a goal too, not to cheat but to make Christ’s teaching our priority. We can’t just baptize someone and then leave them on their own, we need to teach them. Baptize them and then continue teaching them. Teach them the importance of obeying God’s word.

E. We need to share with them that they can’t be a strong Christian on their own. They need to be around other Christians to give encouragement and to receive encouragement. We also need to let them know that our memories may be pretty poor, but we must never forget what Christ has done for us, by partaking of the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week. We need to demonstrate how important communication with the Father is.

VII. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - says, “pray without ceasing.” That attitude should be the pattern for the rest of our Christian lives. Because when that is our pattern, we are going to love and enjoy being around those people who share in that same pattern.

A. To you and me these things which are happening here may not be a big deal, but put yourself in the place of these Jews. They had the custom of giving a blessing, breaking bread and drinking wine with the Sabbath meal, but had never been involved in the breaking of the bread before in relation to the Lord's Supper.
B. Think about their past prayer life. In Judaism, and indeed in some other religious practices, prayers were offered at stated times of the day. These first Christians offered prayers at any and all times, and in any and all places. Because of this holy example of living,... together with the miracles worked by the apostles, this caused the surrounding community to be in awe.
C. Acts 2:43-45 - “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need.” [ASV]
D. Notice another important lesson the apostle’s taught them. They enjoyed each other's company and gladly shared their material possessions with anyone who had need. The apostles showed them the importance of giving. Jesus says in Acts 20:35 - “... It is more blessed to give than to receive."
E. I know these days we can not be physically together but thank the Lord, we can be together due to technology, worship together, see our wonderful brothers and sisters and share in praising God.

VIII. Folks, we should be a giving people, I know we are, not just of our lives to God, but also of our riches. It’s not so much the amount we give, but the attitude within our hearts when we do give. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:2 - “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”

A. Paul says I want you to set aside a sum of money within your income. A little later in 2 Corinthians 9:7 - he says, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” We mention those words sometimes when we are taking up the collection. We may depend on the assembly to distribute alms to the saints and while a good thing, is not the only way we can give. We are personally called to care about those around us.

1. We know God doesn’t want us giving so much that we can’t pay our bills and we end up starving ourselves, but at the same time, if He has blessed us with an income, He does expect us to give to His work.
2. As you go through life you are going to be presented with many opportunities to help others through gifts of money,... or time... or resources. Yes, we are to be a good steward with the blessings that God has given us, and taking that lesson, we need to realize that sharing our blessings is how those blessings grow.

B. Unlike the world today where we all live miles away from each other and we have such busy schedules, these first converts were in the temple daily. They also spent time together on a daily basis, as "breaking bread from house to house" would seem to indicate. Their daily getting together and sharing of food was done out of hearts filled with "extreme joy."

CONCLUSION:
We don’t get together daily like these people did, and in these times we can not, but folks, that’s what should happen when we meet together, physically or virtually, for worship and study. When we get together the result should be the same as those early Christians, extreme joy.

Acts 2:46-47 - “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people...”

When those early Christians praised God for the forgiveness of sins and the community of believers of which He had made them apart, what happened to those who weren’t yet a part of the church? The other folks who lived in Jerusalem found them to be an acceptable group and so Luke goes on to say, in Acts 2:47 - that, “the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

When we get together for whatever the occasion, people see us enjoying each other’s company and they can see salvation in our lives, people are going to be attracted to the light. Because today as followers of Jesus Christ, if we give ourselves over to daily study, to sharing, to meeting together and if our hearts are filled with extreme joy and simplicity and if God wills, the results might well be the same, daily conversions as people come to us and ask, ‘What must we do to be saved?”
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Reference Sermon: Mike Glover