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THE KING’S BUSINESS
sin o f rejecting Jesus Christ ask the same question. Peter’s answer was very plain and there is perhaps no statement in the Bible that makes the way o f salvation and blessing more plain. (1) They were first o f all to “repent,” i.e., change their mind about Jesus: change from the attitude o f mind that had led them to crucify Jesus to the attitude o f mind that would accept Him as that which God had ex<ed Him to be, both Lord and Christ. This change o f mind about Christ o f course involved a change o f mind about sin, a change o f mind from that attitude o f mind that loves sin and that attitude o f mind which indulges sin to that attitude o f mind that hates sin and renounces sin. The acceptance o f Jesus as Lord and Christ involves the absolute surrender o f our will to Jesus as our Lord. (2) They were in the second plade to “be baptized.” There was to be an -open con fession o f their renunciation o f sin and of their acceptance o f Jesus as Lord and Christ and the mode o f this confession was to be baptism. But whilethefe was to be outward water baptism there was to be more than the mere outward symbol. There must be the great inward fact for which the outward symbol stood, the renunciation o f sin, faith in Christ, the putting on of Jesus Christ (Gal. 3 :26, 27), our identifica tion with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Rom. 6:3, 4): Being “ bap tized in the name o f Jesus Christ” means more than merely having water sprinkled upon us or being immersed in some water, while a certain baptism formula is repeated, it means confession and our renunciation o f sin, faith in Christ’s death and resur rection in our behalf, identification with Christ in His death and His resurrection, and. appropriation to ourselves o f what He accomplished by His death and resurrec tion. When there is real repentance and real baptism, there will be /remission o f sins” and the reception o f “the gift o f the Holy Spirit.” “The gift o f the Holy Spirit” is the blood bought right o f every believer in Jesus Christ, but not every believer has claimed his birthright. The word trans-
Jesus gives to us the Holy Spirit in clear, definite, joyous: experience. Thursday , October 5 . Acts 2 : 34 - 37 . . Step by step Peter led his hearers surely along the great truth that Jesus had been exalted by God to be “both Lord and Christ.” Then in the light o f that great truth he points' out the enormity o f their sins in rejecting and crucifying Him. There they stood face to face with the appaling fact-that they had been crucifiers o f Him whom God had so approved and afterward exalted to be “ Lord and Christ.” This fact carried home by.the Holy Spirit produced the deepest and sharpest conviction o f sin, “they were pricked in their hearts.” No other truth is calculated to produce such profound conviction o f sin as the truth con cerning the glory o f Jesus and our conse quent enormous guilt in the crucifixion or rejection o f such an one. ■Jesus promised to the Apostles that when the Holy Spirit was come He would convict the world of siri (John 16:8) was fulfilled. The Spirit had come to them and through them had convinced the world. Just so when the Spirit comes to us He convicts the world through. Us. But we’ on our part should (lo just what Peter did—present the truth to the world that the Spirit uses in convic tion, the, truth o f Jesus’ glory ahd man’s wicked treatment o f this glorious One. The change which the Revised Version makes in verse 34 is to be carefully noted. Peter did not say “David is not ascended into the heavens” but “David ascended not into the heavens,” that is to say he did not ascend at the time o f his death. He makes no assertions as to whether or not David had ascended at the time o f his speaking. Friday, October 6 . Acts 2 : 38 , 39 . The Jews listening to Peter and brought under conviction, o f sin by the Holy Spirit had asked, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Well might th'éy ask that question and well might every one who today is guilty o f the
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