January. 1935
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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eral teaching o f the New Testament. Now nothing is mo're certain than that the Bible teaches salvation by grace, and not by works. It does not teach any kind o f “baptismal salvatioil.” Therefore, Peter’s words should not be interpreted in this passage to teach that sort of thing. Such a doctrine is sheer paganism against which the whole tenor of the New Testament is set like a rock. Its baneful effects may'be seen clearly in Mormonism and Roman Catholicism. Acts 2:38 may grammatically be trans lated, “Be baptized . . . with reference to the remission o f your sins.” And this ac cords with the doctrinal teaching of the New Testament. It might be paraphrased as follows: "Repent (change your minds with regard to Jesus), and be baptized . . . for (with reference to) the remission o f your sins (which will be yours through re pentance).” Baptism is for the saved, not for the unsaved; and those who are saved have the remission o f their sins. I f it be said that unless we make bap tism essential to salvation, men are apt to neglect it and regard it as o f little import ance, the sufficient answer is that no true Christian can possibly regard as unimport ant anything commanded by his Lord. Golden Text Illustration A gentleman once asked a Sunday- school what was meant by the word “re pentance.” A little boy raised his hand. “Well, what is it, my lad?” “ Being sorry for your sins,” was the answer. A little girl on the back seat raised her hand. “Well, my little girl, what do you think?” asked the gentleman. “ I think,” said the child, “it’s being sorry enough to quit.”^ . That is just where so many people fail. They are sorry enough at the time, but, as one man said, “I kept chopping off one sin at a time for weeks until I made up my mind that if I was ever to be a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I must let Him wash me inside and out. When I made the decision, the Lord made a thorough job o f it, and it has never had to be done over.”—5,000 Best Modern Illustrations, by Hallock. When Peter Preached a Great Sermon A cts 2 Memory Verse: “ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). Approach: Very shortly after Jesus returned to heaven, Peter was allowed to prove whether or not Jesus was right in giving him another chance to work for
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blasted, and they had added to all their former evil the crowning sin o f slaying the only One who could have given them deliverance. III. T he E ffects of P eter ’ s S ermon (37-41): “ They were pricked in their heart.’’ Conviction came upon those who heard Peter preach, and they realized the truth o f his words. But the experience o f con viction of sin does not mean that there is conversion. The Holy Spirit will always bring the claims o f the Word to bear upon all who hear it, and that Word will always awaken conviction o f sin. But we have to distinguish between being convicted of sin, and being converted in life. The result o f the hearers’ conviction, and the proof o f it, was seen in the ques tion, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter told them to “repent, and be baptized,” promising that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In this promise, he referred to Joel’s pro phecy (Joel 2:28-32), which Peter had quoted to explain the speaking with tongues which occurred on the day of Pentecost, reminding his listeners that the promise was for them then and there. “And with many other words did he tes tify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward [R. V., “ crooked” ] generation” (vs. 38-40). As far as Israel as a nation was con cerned, the word fell upon deaf ears and hardened hearts, even as the prophets had said it,would (cf. Isa. 6). But there were certain individuals in the nation who “re ceived his word.” These men and women followed Peter’s instructions, received the Holy Spirit, were saved, and were bap tized. These individuals composed the church, although at that time they did not realize that fact. Points and Problems Does verse 38 o f this lesson teach “ bap- ismal salvation” ? In the Authorized Ver sion it reads: “ Be baptized . . . for the re mission o f sins.” A large part o f the argu ment revolves about the meaning o f the preposition "for." Does it mean “in order to get,” as assumed by those who believe baptism is a saving rite? Any good English dictionary will show that even the preposition in English may mean several things, such as “ by reason of” (its primary sense), “ with reference to," and “in order to effect.” The Greek word is eis, which may mean “unto,” “with reference to,” “towards,” or “into.” Now, whatever meaning we read jnto this preposition, we dare not in Acts 2:38 make it mean "in order to get." When there are several_ possible meanings o f a Biblical word, it is a safe and sound prin ciple o f exegesis to choose that particular meaning which harmonizes with the gen
prophecy. The Jews were altogether cul pable, because they had delivered Jesus into the hands o f those who crucified Him. Moreover, God had shown His approval o f Jesus in that He had raised Him from among the dead (v. 24). It was not pos sible that Christ should be “ holden o f” death. His resurrection, as well as His death, had been foretold In his sermon, Peter quoted Psalm 16, as applying to Jesus of Nazareth. That psalm contains the words o f our Lord Jesus Christ spoken prophetically. His experiences at the cross and in the tomb, and His resur rection and ascension, are all given in the brief compass o f these few verses. Christ had “ set the Lord always before” Him, and was assured that He “should not be •moved.” He went down to the tomb with the full confidence that He would be raised from the dead, for He could say: “ Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” The passage also refers to Christ’s as cension, in the words, “ Thou hast made known to me the ways o f life.” He was the first Man who had ever trod those “ways o f life” from the grave to the glory. He was “ God manifest in the flesh.” It would be no marvel that God ascended into the presence of God. The marvel is that a. Man has ascended into that presence and, as a matter o f eternal justice, has been accepted there. And that Man is the eternal Son o f God, the be liever’s Representative and Forerunner. II. T he A pplication of P eter ’ s S ermon (36). After showing that the events on the day o f Pentecost, as well as the events o f the earthly life o f Jesus of Nazareth, were all in fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, Peter declared that, by these evidences, the people of Israel should know that Jesus o f Nazareth was their Messiah in very truth. Peter pointed out that God had made “that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Here again we should note that the apostle was speaking to Israel as a nation. The Jews had been given every possible proof that Jesus was Messiah— proof in the deeds He wrought while among them, and now proof in His resur rection according to their Scriptures. What a shock it would bring to them if they sensed that these claims were truel Their Messiah, long promised and long desired, had been treated as a common criminal and cast out from among them. All the hopes of the people had been cen tered in His coming to deliver them from their enemies and to restore their nation to its former glory. But now, if what Peter said was true, all their hopes were
Him. And what a different Peter he was this time! He was beginning now to be the strong rock that the Lord Jesus had promised him that he should become. L e s s o n S t o r y : The gift of the Holy Spirit was to be sent from heaven
after Jesus left this earth. The Holy Spirit was to give Jesus’ disciples power to preach the gospel story so that men might hear and believe. Peter was wait ing for this gift. The Holy Spirit came at a feast time in Jerusalem. People from all nations were gathered there.
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