Sermon – Acts 2:14, 36-41 Repentance and Baptism

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Acts 2:14, 36-41 Repentance and Baptism

New Covenant Church

April 30, 2017

    Last week we went to the Book of Acts to hear Peter’s preach the first Christian sermon.  The occasion was the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit opened their eyes to understand that the prophets in their holy scripture had predicted what they had seen and heard from Jesus.  They realized that King David had said that his descendant would rise from the dead.  Jesus did this proving that he was the Messiah and leading us to eternal life.  And David had said that his descendant would rule from the right hand of God.  Jesus ascended to that position and rules as our Lord.  This understanding of who Jesus is was a gift of the Holy Spirit to those who knew or knew about Jesus and had meditated on God word.  This understanding is also offered to us as we worship, pray, and read scripture.  Jesus becomes our Messiah and Lord.  

When the people heard Peter’s message it was so powerful they knew that they needed to respond.  But in what way?  What is the proper response when we hear this good news?  We will get to this, but first let’s pray.

    “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

    On the Day of Pentecost the disciples of Jesus were in a upper room.  The Holy Spirit came upon them to open their eyes to understand that scripture had foretold the events of Jesus’ life they had witnessed.  This caused them to experience great joy.  Others saw them and asked what had happened.  So Peter began to speak showing them that the Prophet Joel and King David had both prophesied concerning Jesus.  This filled the crowd with joy and the desire to respond in some meaning way.  Here is what Peter told them to do.

Acts 2:14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

    The proper response to a proclamation of the goods news that Jesus is our Lord and Messiah, according to the Apostle Peter is to repent and be baptized.  Let’s look at these.

    Repentance is often confused with another word, obedience.  Obedience means that we learn what Jesus wants us to do through reading scripture and prayer and we do it.  Obedience is important, but before this occurs something else must happen.  And this something else is called repentance.

According to Peter repentance is when we go from crucifying Jesus to worshiping him as our Messiah and Lord.  The people he was speaking to had been part of a nation whose religious leadership had conspired with the Romans to crucify Jesus.  But I don’t think that Peter is talking crucifixion in this literal sense.   Rather he speaking figuratively.  People crucify Jesus by ignoring him and thinking that he really just doesn’t matter.  You hear this all the time from people who don’t go to church.  They see no reason at all to come to church because for them Jesus is irrelevant.  This is the attitude of someone who has crucified Jesus in their own lives.  Repentance would mean that these people change from not thinking about Jesus to embracing him as Messiah and Lord.  When seen this way repentance is a big thing. It is a complete reorientation of your life.  Without repentance your lead your life without Jesus in it.  After repentance you fully embrace Jesus as your Lord and receive the promise of eternal life from your Messiah.

    Repentance is not something we can do by ourselves.  Someone sitting in Starbucks this morning with a cup of coffee and a newspaper is unlikely to suddenly accept Jesus as their Lord and Messiah and have a burning desire to join us in church.  This could happen, but usually it doesn’t happen this way.  What does happen, most of the time, is like this.  A person without Jesus meets someone who has repented and now has Jesus as the most important things in his or her life.  The follower of Jesus tell this person his testimony of what Jesus has done for them.  Then the follower of Jesus invites this unrepentant person to church or a Bible study or a prayer group or something like that.  As the unrepentant person hears the word of God read and proclaimed and studied and prayed over something happens.  The Holy Spirit acts upon this person’s heart and brings him into a relationship with Jesus.  And repentance occurs.  

    So when you meet someone who doesn’t have Jesus in their lives just talk with them.  Be open and truthful about what Jesus has done for you.  And invite this person to worship or a Bible study so that they can encounter Jesus for themselves.  At this church we have worship and Christian education opportunities every Sunday morning.  And this week I will be starting Bible studies every Tuesday morning and Thursday night.   All you have to do is to come yourselves and invite people to come with you who need to encounter Jesus for themselves.   We will let the Holy Spirit take it from there.

We can see all this happening in the earlier reading from Luke.  Two people who had known and followed Jesus had seen Jesus crucified and were now returning home to a life without Jesus.  But they were remembering what Jesus said and did.  And they came to realize that Jesus was right there with them.  When you invite people to worship, or a prayer group or a Bible study the Holy Spirit will lift them up into a encounter with Jesus.  And with that experience repentance begins and a new person begins to follow Jesus as Messiah and Lord.

As you can see repentance is very different from obedience, but they are related.  With repentance someone who does not have Jesus in her life changes into someone who follows Jesus.  And when someone begins following Jesus they experience a strong desire to obey him.  So evangelism is never about telling people that they must obey Jesus.  If you tell people that they will ignore you and never find Jesus.  But if you invite people to know more about Jesus, then the Holy Spirit will lead them through repentance into obedience.  Repentance, accepting Jesus into your lives, always precedes obedience of Jesus’ commands.  Obedience is always a response to the blessings we receive from a relationship with Jesus.

When a person hears the word of God in worship, prayer and Bible study they receive that gift of repentance from the Holy Spirit and are blessed with a relationship with Jesus.  What then would be an appropriate response to all of this?  How should we respond when the Holy Spirit brings us to Jesus?  Well, the appropriate response is Baptism.  In Baptism, according to Peter, we receive forgiveness of sin and the Holy Spirit.  These are wonderful gifts. Let’s look at each of these.

Some people who are developing a new relationship with Jesus may be concerned about what they did or did not do before Jesus came into their lives.  The good news is that there is nothing to worry about.  When you repent and accept Jesus into your lives Jesus will forgive all that you did.  You relationship with Jesus always begins with a fresh start.  This is symbolically represented in Baptism by passing under the water.  This passage means, figuratively, that you have drowned to sin and emerged from the waters to new life.  This forgiveness and new life is so beneficial to us that we respond in gratitude with obedience.  It also means that no one has to clean up their lives before coming to Jesus.  Jesus will forgive what you have done and in your new life you will have ample opportunities for obedience.  So there is nothing to worry about.  Just repent, accept Jesus into your life and everything else will be taken care of.

Baptism is also a sign of our reception of the Holy Spirit.  If we have repented and accept Jesus in our lives then we know that the Holy Spirit with us.  Repentance would not be possible without the Holy Spirit.  So as you develop a relationship with Jesus the Holy Spirit is there is nurture and guide you.  You will experience the Holy Spirit as scripture is read and proclaimed and studied and prayed upon.  The Holy Spirit will help you to understand what scripture is saying and how to apply it to your lives.  So don’t ever let someone tell you that you don’t have the Holy Spirit because you sing hymns, or because you don’t speak in tongues.  You do have the Holy Spirit if you have the gift of faith and have repented accepting Jesus into your lives.  When we are baptized we are reminded of Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit coming upon him as dove from heaven.  Likewise in Baptism we too receive the Holy Spirit and all the gifts the Holy Spirit brings.

Peter wants us to know that children should also be baptized.  The reason for this is simple.  If God places a child in a family with repentant parents then we can be assured that God will also give repentance to that child.  And so we baptize infants into a church and a family that promises to nurture them in the faith.  And we ask those children when they grow up to confirm their baptisms with a public profession of their faith.

Baptism is only the beginning of new life in Jesus Christ.  With Jesus in your life as Messiah and Lord, with all your sins forgiven, and with the Holy Spirit empowering you there is no limit what you can do to advance the kingdom of God.  And remember that you are baptized into a church, a community of the faithful.  This allows you to be nurtured in the word of God, and serve God’s kingdom with others.  This is the best way to do it.

I was baptized as an infant.  Both of my parents were repentant believers with relationship with Jesus.  They brought me for baptism in the church they attended and then saw to it that I attended church and Sunday school every week until I turned 18.  Like many people I was rebellious and turned away from Jesus and the church.  But Jesus still loved me.  The Holy Spirit still nurtured me. And when my mother died and I need more comfort and strength I went back to church.  There as I was nurtured in the word of God I became closer and closer to Jesus.  And eventually Jesus revealed his true calling on my life to be a pastor.   As a pastor I love nurturing you in the word of God through the liturgy and sermon I prepare each week and through the Bible studies I lead.  I enjoy watching you as Jesus grabs hold of you and reveals the ministry he is calling each you to do.  So let me help you discern where Jesus leading you.

So, if you do not currently have a relationship with Jesus I urge you to come to church and learn as much about the Bible and Jesus as you can.  Through this you will be given the gift of repentance and you will begin to experience the fruits of a relationship with Jesus.  As you grow in this relationship you will desire to be obedient to Jesus, study his word, pray and worship.  All of this is available right here at New Covenant Church.  Let’s pray.

Father in Heaven we ask this day for the gift of repentance for all who have excluded Jesus from their lives.  Help us to be part of your work through our worship, Bible studies, and everything we do as church.  Help us to grow in faith as your Spirit nurtures us in your word.  All this we pray in the name of your son, our Messiah and Lord, Jesus. Amen.