What must we do to be saved?
Acts 2:38

Intro:
A woman was waiting in the check-out line at a shopping center. Her arms were laden with a mop and a broom and other cleaning supplies. By her actions and deep sighs, it was obvious she was in a hurry and not happy about the slowness of the line. When the cashier called for a price check on a box of soap, the woman remarked indignantly, "Well, I'll be lucky to get out of here and home before Christmas!" "Don't worry, ma’am," replied the clerk. "With that wind kicking up out there and that brand new broom you have there, you'll be home in no time."

In Acts 2 Peter gave a powerful argument concerning Christ. He quoted from the prophets of old and showed his listeners that these prophecies had been fulfilled in Jesus. To sum up his sermon on that day, he convicts them of their role in killing the Messiah.
Peter says in; Acts 2:36 - “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." It’s hard to imagine just how stunned Peter's audience must have been.
The Jews thought that they had heard the last of this Jesus, when they crucified Him, but God had different plans. God had filled Peter with His Spirit. 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 is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."
b. The evidence presented by Peter on Pentecost, as delivered to him by the Comforter, truly convicted many in his audience. In fact it was so powerful, Luke says in, Acts 2:37 - “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" What shall we do?
c. Do you remember in Matthew 16:19, what Jesus promised to Peter? Jesus promised Peter, “And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
d. And do you remember Jesus’ words on the cross in Luke 23:34? Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Well, both these passages find the beginning of their fulfillment in Acts 2:38.
e. The Holy Spirit, through Peter, had already identified those in the crowd as those who had used lawless hands to crucify God's Son. Talk about a reason to panic, they were probably waiting for the earth to open up and swallow them whole because of what they had done.
f. They were probably waiting for one of God’s angels to come down and slay them all because of what they had done. It is then when some of them realized their situation and asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter tells them what they must do be saved in Acts 2:38 - "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Can we imagine the Jews response to that?
g. Can we imagine what is going on in 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! This reminds us of Paul in his letter to the Ephesians chapter 3 which I read in part; Ephesians 3:16-19 - “16. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness 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 think ye? A certain 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 repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might 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 wont do that again’ but then they go out and do it again. 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.
b. 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 worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” 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 disapoint God. That does not mean we won’t sin again but we truly don’t want to.
c. 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 a call a sprinkling. Baptism is a plunging, immersing or overwhelming. The Jews had no problems in understanding what baptism was. This is like a funeral service for our sinful being, baptism is a burial. Colossians 2:12 - “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
d. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3, that baptism is the means of one's calling on God to cleanse him 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.”
e. 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 Savior and Lord. Hell is not afraid of my name, hell is not afraid of your name, but all of Hell is terribly afraid of the Name of Jesus.
f. In fact, Peter was going to remind even more listeners of that a little later in Acts 4. He says in Acts 4:12 - “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. " The point being, repentance and baptism under the authority of Jesus is how to receive the promised result of the forgiveness of sins.
III. Peter follows on and says in Acts 2:38 - " Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
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. But 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 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 unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall 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 to learn, in Acts 10 after the events that took place with Cornelius and his household. Peter says in; Acts 10:34 - “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” 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 His temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - “know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with 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.” That warning and that plea stands just as strong today as when it was first heard from the lips of Peter just over 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 really preaching and teaching the very words of Christ Himself.
b. 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.
c. Remember what Jesus says in; John 13:20 - “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receives whomsoever I send receives me; and he that receives me receives him that 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 club. If wanted to play bingo, I would buy a membership and join a bingo club.
a. That’s not how it works with the Lord’s church. It does not work like that. The Bible says that you don’t join anything, 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”.
b. 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 bringing forth fruit. I’ve heard of many preachers and teachers, taking credit for growth in the church, but blaming others when there is no growth. 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.”.
c. 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. 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.''
VI. 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 stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.” [ASV]
a. Luke tells us that that there are 5 things which dominate the life of Christian.
i. We need to sit at the feet of the church’s teachers and learn.
ii. We need to be around other Christians as much as we can, not just on Sundays.
iii. We need to come together with other saints to partake of the Lord’s Supper every week.
iv. We need to be praying.
v. We need 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.
b. 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.
i. 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 schoolmates. 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 in an Ivy League school. He said, "Grades are that important. I don't want to mess up and be in a hole."
ii. 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 to it, we need to teach them. Baptize them and then continue to teach them. Teach them the importance of obeying God’s word.
c. 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 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 shoes 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. They taught them the importance of giving. Jesus says in Acts 20:35 - “… It is more blessed to give than to receive."
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 - “Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.”
a. Paul says I want you to set a side a sum of money within your income. A little later in 2 Corinthians 9:7 - he says, “Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” We mention those words sometimes when we are taking up the collection. We may depend on the assembly to distribute alms while a good thing, is not the only way we can give.
b. 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.
c. As you go through life you are going to be presented with many opportunities to help others through gifts of your money,… or time… or resources. Yes, we are to be a good steward with the blessings that God has given us, but taking that lesson, we need to realize that sharing our blessings is how those blessings grow.
d. 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, but folks, that’s what should happen when we meet together for worship and study. That’s what should happen when get together to visit each other and share in fellowship meals. When we get together the end result should be the same as those early Christians.

Acts 2:46-47 - “And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness 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 a part, 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 them day by day those that were 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
August 18, 2015