Introduction
One day Rachel was baking bread as she had done many times. She divided the dough into two pans and, as she had always done, set aside a small piece of dough which she used to make a few buns. As she did so, she wondered why. She had learned this way of baking bread from her mother and determined that the next time she saw her mom, she would ask her. About a week later they were together and she asked her mom why she had taught her to set a small piece of dough aside. Her mother said, that was how she had learned to bake bread from her mother and had always done it that way. She admitted that she had sometimes wondered why and decided that she would ask her mother the next time she saw her. The next day she went to visit her mom and asked her. Her mother told her that she had done it that way because the pans she had at the time were smaller pans and if she used the whole piece of dough it did not make a nice loaf of bread.
Sometimes we have traditions that are carried on from one generation to another without actually understanding why we do it. Perhaps what we are doing today is such a tradition. Do you ever wonder why we baptize and invite people to become members of the church? In order to answer that question, I would like to look at what happened on the very first day of the Christian church.
Jesus came to earth to live as a human being. He died on the cross, rose again from the dead and after 40 days, He ascended into heaven. The disciples waited for 10 days and then the Holy Spirit came on all of them and Peter preached to those present in the temple. When he had finished preaching, we read in Acts 2:37 that the people asked, “What shall we do?” In answer to that question, in Acts 2:38-42, we have a description of what happened at the very beginning of the church. That pattern has been continued to this very day and as we reflect on what happened, we will see why we continue to do these things and why they are so important. Let us read Acts 2:38-42.
Repentance
The first thing Peter did was to call them to repentance.
Need For Repentance
As Peter had preached, he had brought the listeners to realize that they had been responsible for the death of Jesus who was the one sent from God. He said to them, in Acts 2:36, “…God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” As a result, we read in 2:37, “…the people …were cut to the heart.” They were guilty and they felt guilty because they had indeed been involved, if not actively, then in their hearts with the death of Jesus. So they needed to repent of this great wrongdoing.
Of course, we need to realize that we are also guilty for the death of Jesus. Jesus did not die because He had sinned. He died in the place of every sinful person on earth. So if you are human, you are responsible for the death of Jesus because of your sin. Therefore, we need to repent of our sin and rejection of God.
Later in his message, Peter pleaded with the people in 2:40, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Each of them was implicated in the disobedience of their day. They had need to repent.
Of course, we also are fully involved in the corrupt generation which surrounds us. We share in the sins of every man and are in need of repentance. We have made a mess of our life and need to turn around in order to straighten things out. We are on a path that leads to death and therefore need to repent in order to find life.
Call To Repentance
The call to repentance, which Peter issued was a call in tune with the rest of Scripture. As Paul reported of his ministry to the elders in Ephesus it was important for him to say in Acts 20:21, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”
Repentance is an about face and it does not come until we know that we are going the wrong way. Arthur Wallis said, “Brokenness is not revival; it is a vital and indispensable step toward it.” The beginning of our salvation, happens when we repent of our sins. All of you who have asked for baptism have acknowledged your need of God and have indicated that you have repented of sin and want to walk with Jesus.
Promise of forgiveness
What happens when we repent? Peter answers, “so that your sins may be forgiven.”
For the people experiencing the guilt having crucified Jesus, this was good news. This is good news for us. After all, what other option do we have? If we stay in our guilt, we will slowly die, first in our hearts and then eternally. If we demand justice, we are dead for sure because we are guilty of wrongs punishable by death. There is no better offer than to repent and receive the forgiveness which God offers. E. M. Poteat wrote, "…there is forgiveness with God. 'None with nature,' say the scientists; 'None with law,' say the jurists; 'None with society,' say the Pharisees; 'None with anybody,' say the cynics. 'But,' says our Lord, 'God forgives...'"
The first thing that is needed is turning to God and that begins with repentance. We are so thankful that those of you who are being baptized have repented. We invite anyone who has not repented to do so and find God’s forgiveness.
Baptism
Along with repentance, there is a call to baptism.
Background
The background of baptism is found among the Jewish people. Some ceremonies of cleansing were practiced in normal Jewish life. Some of the Jewish sects had practiced baptism as a ritual of cleansing. But the baptism which was to be practiced by the Christians had its roots primarily in the work of John the Baptist. He had called people to a baptism of repentance. We read in Mark 1:4, “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
On this day of Pentecost, however, another change took place. Now the baptism was not simply one of repentance, but also one of accepting Jesus. It was now to be baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ.” From this point on baptism became a part of the practice of the Christian church.
Meaning of Baptism
Because it is a baptism “in the name of Jesus,” it means more than just a recognition of sin and a desire for cleansing. It also acknowledges that that cleansing comes from Jesus and is given by faith in Jesus. It also indicates a new life lived in the power of the resurrection. In other words, the meaning of baptism includes the reception of Jesus into one’s life.
There are several different aspects to the meaning of baptism. One aspect is that found in Romans 6:1-14. In this passage, baptism is described as a death to sin and being raised to a new life in Jesus Christ. Immersion baptism illustrates this beautifully. As the person is put down into the water it symbolizes the death to sin and as they are brought out of the water it symbolizes the resurrection to newness of life.
Another aspect of the meaning of baptism is seen in the passage we are looking at today. Peter indicated that upon repentance and baptism, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This meaning is illustrated beautifully in the baptism by pouring. As the water is poured over the person, it is a picture of how the Holy Spirit has been poured into the life of the person being baptized.
When we understand these meanings, we understand that baptism is not just a ritual which has been handed down from generation to generation without meaning. It is a powerful picture of a significant spiritual reality. Those of you who are being baptized are saying some very important things. You are saying that you identify with Christ. You are saying that you have died to sin and don’t want to live that way any more, but want to live in the power of the resurrection. You are saying that you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit through faith and that it is your desire to live daily in the power and with the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
The Gift Of The Spirit
Furthermore, it is wonderful to notice that these actions come with a promise – the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Conditions For Receiving The Gift
The conditions for the receipt of the Spirit begin with the call of God. We don’t truly understand how that works. It introduces all kinds of things that can be easily misunderstood. How does God call? Does He call everyone? Does he neglect to call some? These are things which have to do with the sovereignty of God, and we leave that up to Him, but we do need to understand that God does call people to himself.
We cannot change the call of God, but we do have a responsibility to respond to the call of God. From the human point of view, the conditions for the receipt of the Holy Spirit are repentance and faith exemplified in baptism.
The promise is that this call extends widely over the earth. Peter indicates that it is for those who are near – the Jewish people; and those who are far off – the gentiles and the people of the ends of the earth. Therefore, it extends to those of you being baptized today. Having repented and expressed faith in Jesus, you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Benefits Of The Gift
What are the benefits, the blessings of this gift from God?
The gift is the Spirit Himself. It is not a gift of what the Spirit can do in and through us. It is not the fruit of the Spirit, although if we are filled with the Spirit, we will bear fruit. It is not the gifts of the Spirit, although when we are filled with the Spirit, we will receive gifts to use to serve God. The gift is the Spirit Himself.
The wonderful thing about that is that the gift of the Spirit is the powerful, divine presence of God with us. As we reflect on what happened on the day of Pentecost, we see that it was a divine event. Peter and the other apostles did not discover “Bic” lighters and hold them over their heads. God put the flames over their heads. James and John did not rent a big fan from a movie company to make the mighty wind appear. God brought the mighty wind. Thomas and Matthew did not have a computer which translated their testimony so everyone could understand it in their own language. God’s Spirit allowed people to hear the message in their own language. Peter hadn’t been practicing his message for the last 50 days. God filled Him with His Spirit and he spoke powerfully.
The coming of the Spirit means that the Christian life will always be a divine event. We repent and we trust, but the life we live as Christians is lived in the power of the Spirit of God. The Spirit empowers us to obey! The Spirit empowers us to serve! What a blessing!
I want to encourage each of you who are being baptized and in deed all of us to recognize the presence of God’s Spirit with us and to live and learn more of what it means to live in the power of the Spirit.
Corrie Ten Boom wrote, “A woodpecker tapped with his beak against the stem of a tree just as lightning struck the tree and destroyed it. He flew away and said, "I didn't know there was so much power in my beak!" When we bring the Gospel there is a danger that we will think or say, "I have done a good job." Don't be a silly woodpecker. Know where your strength comes from. It is only the Holy Spirit who can make a message good and fruitful.”
Covenant Community
The last thing which happened on this day was that “about three thousand were added to their number…” They became members of the church. They entered into a covenant with the community of God’s people.
Making Covenant
The fact that it says that they were “added” indicates a new relationship between those who were disciples. It indicates that they entered into a covenant with one another. The next verse says that they were “devoted,” which also indicates covenant. God is not calling individuals to himself, but is creating a people for himself. The church does not exist apart from God’s people living in a covenant relationship with one another. After you are baptized today, you will become a member of the Rosenort EM Church. This act is in complete agreement with what happened on the first day of the church and continues to be in tune with the will and intention of God. Once again, I would like to encourage those who are believers and have not made a commitment to the body of believers where you fellowship regularly to do so. It is scriptural.
Living In Community
Not only did they make covenant with one another, but they began to live in a covenant relationship with one another. Please look at verse 42 and note that they listened to the teaching of the apostles. They enjoyed fellowship with one another. They remembered the things Christ had done by observing communion together and they prayed together.
As you become members of this church, I would encourage you to engage in these things as well. Continue to seek the teaching which happens here. Enjoy the fellowship. Participate in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, as we will do this evening and engage in the work of prayer together with others of God’s people.
Conclusion
What we are doing here today was what was practiced on the first day of the church and because it is filled with meaning, we continue to do it today. We are indicating change through repentance. We are marking new relationships with Jesus through baptism. We are recognizing the power of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit and we are recognizing the relationship we have with the people of God.
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