37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men, brothers, what should we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly bore witness and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were dividing them up with all, as anyone might have need. 46 And daily devoting themselves with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2: 37-47 LSB
Acts 2: 37-47
…9And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.… 2 Corinthians 7: 9-11
V. 37 Now when they had heard this, they were pierced to the heart - I want you to notice this, and it bothers me, because I heard a lot of "gospel" presentations when I was a child that went more like this:
- Jesus loves you and has a beautiful plan for your life.
- Your so special, Jesus needs you.
- Repeat this prayer after me and you are guaranteed to spend eternity with God in heaven.
I still hear them, and I even hear people get up, claim to be Christian, and then beg other Christians to quit talking about sin. Why? Because, they say, "people are tired of hell, fire and brimstone, and they are having much more success with just saying, you can have your best life now." People promise material gain in the name of Jesus, health, better marriages, better jobs, friendship, a club, fame, and all kinds of things that aren't promised to us in this life by God. They forget that all God owes any man is death, that's the wages of sin, and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Apostle Peter just accused this crowd of murdering their own Messiah, how is that as an intro to the gospel? That is the first part of it. Why? Because Jesus didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. You will notice as we go through Acts that this is the gospel, and sometimes people repented and sometimes they beat or even killed the messenger, but the message didn't change. If you leave out the condition then you preach another gospel, if you think it's up to your cleverness then you are in error of believing that God needs you, that He somehow misspoke and requires your editing skills. Christ builds His church, and if people don't like the true gospel it is because they need to be born again.
In his 1892 work "Soul Winner" Spurgeon accentuated the great need for men to first being convicted of sin before they could even truly see their need for a Savior...
Sometimes we are inclined to think that a very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it has led thousands to a kind of peace before they have known their misery; restoring the prodigal to the Father’s house, and never making him say, ‘Father, I have sinned.’ How can he be healed who is not sick? or he be satisfied with the Bread of Life who is not hungry? The old-fashioned sense of sin is despised and consequently a religion is run up before the foundations are dug out. Everything in this age is shallow. Deep sea fishing is almost an extinct business so far as men’s souls are concerned. The consequence is that men leap into religion and then leap out again (Ed: Like some of the fish I have temporarily had in the boat!). Unhumbled they came to the Church, unhumbled they remain in it, and unhumbled they go from it.” (Woe!) (Bolding added) - Precept Austin
10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.… Zechariah 12: 10-11
V. 37b Men, brothers, what should we do - Pentecost was the birth of the Church, and I think you get a taste here of what will be on a much larger scale towards the end of the Great Tribulation, the prophecy of Zechariah.
…15The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague. 16The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity. 17Every hand will go limp, and every knee will turn to water.… Ezekiel 7: 15-17
…14shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Would You not become so angry with us as to wipe us out, leaving no remnant or survivor? 15O LORD, God of Israel, You are righteous! For we remain this day as a remnant. Here we are before You in our guilt, though because of it no one can stand before You.” Ezra 9: 14-15
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.… Hebrews 4: 12-14
V. 38 Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins - The call is always to repent, that God created the earth, created mankind, and there is no such thing as autonomy. He even saw what He created and said it was good, but then man, being made a moral creature, given the ability to decide, was given a command by God and then presented with an alternative by Satan. "Hath God said, ...you know, if you eat of this fruit you will be like God." We all know what happened, and we, or I at least, have made light of it at some point in my life. It was just an apple, but that is a lie. You can't be like God, you were made in His image. You are a created thing, called into being, but He is the eternal, uncreated Being. You were given life, yet He is. It is still even the stumbling block of the Arminian churches today, putting the creature at level with or his feelings and wants even above God. Every time you sin you show unbelief, not that there's a God, for many, even the demons believe as much, but our actions show that we don't believe what God says. We think there is something better, a better gospel, life, way, than that of the Creator of the Universe. We know more as finite creatures, so we think, than the infinite, invisible designer of all that is. We think we know more than the one Who created the mind we think with. It's treason I tell you.
…8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.… 1 John 1: 8-10
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’ ”… Matthew 3: 1-3
…8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.… Matthew 3: 8-10
…4But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,… Titus 3: 4-6
…20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water. 21And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also— not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God— through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.… 1 Peter 3: 20-22
V. 39b For all who are far off - This is a reference to gentiles, those formerly outside of the camp, pagans, often referred to as Greeks. Israel was always intended to be a light to the nations, not chosen because of any good inherently in them, but chosen by God's own good pleasure to record His law, His word, and to be the people from whence Messiah would come.
15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. 17For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”… Romans 1: 15-17
V. 39c As many as the Lord our God will call to Himself - It is a powerful call, one that awakens the dead.
…31The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. 32And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD. Joel 2: 31-32
…8So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. 9He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began. 10And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel,… 2 Timothy 1: 8-10
1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.… Ephesians 2: 1-3
V. 41 There were added about three thousand souls - This is the great work of the Holy Spirit, the awesome harvest. People get so caught up in the miraculous gifts that they miss the real gift, the greater miracle, that men were raised from death unto life, from eternal damnation to salvation. They went from 120 strong to 3000 in one day. The birth of the Church was men and women being born again.
…7Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.… John 3: 7-9
V. 43 And fear came upon every soul - Some interpretations say awe instead of fear. For those in the church awe most definitely, but for those outside or especially in opposition to, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, fear would be appropriate. The signs and wonders that the Apostles are doing showed that they were a continuation of the Master's ministry. It was nothing that could come of human origin or will, and the disciples continue to point to Christ as the source, but this is Christ Who the unrepentant and self righteous did not want.
MacArthur adds "The life of this first fellowship was so genuine and spiritually powerful that everyone, whether inside or outside the church, kept feeling a sense of awe. They weren't awed by the church because of its buildings, programs, or anything reflecting human ability, but by the supernatural character of its life. Such an effect should be produced when the spiritual gifts are properly operative (1 Cor. 14:24, 25). (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Acts)
Vs. 44-46 As anyone might have need - The church took care of each other. I have heard some reference to this as grounds for Communism, but this was unforced. There are times when it becomes necessary, even practical to sell all. The church will come under persecution, and you will later see Paul take up a collection for the believers in Jerusalem. In other areas they were not persecuted by the Jews, but by the guilds, or what we would call unions today. The guilds usually had a particular patron god or even emperor that they worshiped, yet Christians denounced all other gods. This made it hard for them to find work in such situations, property could be taken from them and redistributed, and so believers in better situations would give or even sell things in order to give aid. The early Puritans, Pilgrims, tried a general practice of this, but then realized many were no longer pulling their weight. God made us to work and so taking the whole counsel of God they found that they needed to address the laziness. I have known two older people that were in a cult that believed Christians are not supposed to work, but that is not Scriptural.
…9Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” 11Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.… 2 Thessalonians 3: 9-11
…16By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.… 1 John 3: 16-18
Guzik - With the influx of more that 3,000 believers, most of whom stayed in Jerusalem and didn’t have jobs, the family of Christians had to share if they were to survive. We shouldn’t regard this as an early experiment in communism because it was voluntary, temporary, and flawed to the extent that the church in Jerusalem was in continual need of financial support from other churches. Also, we don’t have any evidence this continued very long. (ED: AS NOTED ABOVE THERE IS NO MENTION OF THIS PRACTICE AFTER ACTS 5)....The Jews had a tremendous custom of hospitality during any major feast like Pentecost; all visitors were received into private homes, and no one could charge for giving a bed or a room to a visitor or for supplying their basic needs. The Christians took this tremendous feast-time hospitality and made it an everyday thing. (Acts 2 Commentary)
Boice - The early Christians shared their possessions, not because they were communists or socialists – not because they were forced to share their things – but for a far better reason. They shared their goods because they were generous, and they were generous because they had learned generosity from God. God had been generous with them. So because God had been generous with them, they were determined to be generous with one another. - Precept Austin
