Thursday Devo
Scripture:
Acts 2:36-38
36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Commentary:
2:38 repent and be baptized. This does not imply that people can be saved without having faith in Christ as Savior, because the need to believe is implied both in the command to “repent” and also in the command to “be baptized … in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” The willingness to submit to baptism is an outward expression of inward faith in Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 3:21). (On baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ,” see note on Acts 10:48.) The gospel can be summarized in different ways. Sometimes faith alone is named as the one thing necessary for salvation (see John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9; Eph. 2:8–9), other times repentance alone is named (Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; 5:31; 17:30; 2 Cor. 7:10), and sometimes both are named (Acts 20:21). Genuine faith always involves repentance, and vice versa. Repentance includes a change of mind that ends up trusting God (i.e., having faith). On repentance, see notes on Matt. 3:2; 3:5–6. The gift of the Holy Spirit does not mean some specific spiritual “gift” as in 1 Corinthians 12–14 but rather the gift of the Spirit himself, coming to dwell within the believer.
Questions:
- The gospel is PERSUASIVE. Verse 37 says that the people hearing Peter's message were cut to the heart and asking what they should do in response. That is what conviction looks like, and it's a good thing! Everyone must come to the conclusion that they are lost and need Jesus. Every Christian starts here. Do you remember that moment? Do you remember the day that your eyes were opened to your own sin and the holiness of God, when you realized that Jesus died in your place? What was that moment like?
- In verse 40 Peter pleads with the crowd to save themselves from a perverse generation. The same warning goes for us. We should separate ourselves from a generation and culture that has rejected God's Son. In fact, if you find yourself agreeing with and fitting in with our current culture, that's not a good thing! We, as believers, are not the home team here! We are visitors in a foreign land, called to be IN the world but not OF it. Is this warning convicting to you? Where might you find yourself being swayed by the culture around you in ways that run counter to God's best?
Prayer Topics:
- That God would restore to you the joy of your salvation.
- That you would be IN the world but not OF it.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
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