ACTS: Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

Acts 2:37 This message spoke clearly to the crowd and their hearts were convicted. They asked Peter and the other disciples, "What do we do now?" 38 Peter spoke up, "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah, your sins will be forgiven, and you will be filled with the gift of God's Holy Spirit. 39 “This promise is not just for you but your children and any others in the future whom the LORD our God shall call to follow.” 40 He continued to testify and encourage the people, saying, "Turn away from this crooked generation!" 41 Many that day, about three thousand people, accepted what Peter had to say and chose to be baptized. 42 The disciples, including the newly gathered believers devoted themselves to what the apostles had to say, to being together with these likeminded people, eating together, and praying together. 

 

Repent, the inward confession that changes our outward life.

 

After the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples waiting in Jerusalem, a large crowd of people of many different nationalities gathered to observe what was going on. Peter stood up and shared with them about the mighty acts of God through Jesus, the Messiah. The people were deeply touched in their hearts and wanted to know what they could do about their feelings of guilt and shame. Peter said, “Repent and be baptized.”

 

Repent would be a word the people understood. Turn around, think differently after today, live your life in ways that follow a new leader. This message echoed the prophets of the history of Israel which they heard about in the Scriptures readings each week in the synagogues. Isaiah said, “When the redeemer comes to Zion those who repent will be forgiven.” (Isa. 59:20) Jeremiah told the people in God’s name, “I can restore you to serve me, if you repent;” (Jeremiah 15:19) Ezekiel, on numerous occasions exhorted the people to repent, turn away from idols and other detestable things so they could live. (Ezekiel 14:6; 18:30,32) 

 

John the Baptist called the people to the wilderness so they could repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 3:2) He went on to specifically encourage people to make sure their outward actions demonstrated their inward repentance. He suggested that people share with others who have less, not collect more than is required, not take from others by force, not accuse others falsely, and be content with what one has. I would some up John’s teaching by saying seek to be generous, fair, gentle, truthful, and content. (Luke 3:10-14) It is a turning from a more selfish life to one that considers other people more important than ourselves.

 

The Apostle Paul suggested something similar when he wrote his letter to the Galatians about the fruit that will grow in a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are qualities we all need to see emerging in our lives as evidence of His presence. And remember the presence and working of the Holy Spirit is God’s way of showing us that our faith in Jesus has not been misplaced. It is God’s seal of our inheritance. 

 

Peter, later in his life, wrote a letter encouraging the followers of Jesus to make sure their faith was demonstrated in outward behavior by saying, “5 So, I want us all to become diligent about adding to our inward faith an outward quality, 6 and a growing hunger to know Jesus more completely, and a certain discipline of regular devotion, and a desire to not give up, and a sense of holiness and reverence, 7 and an increasing kind-heartedness, and actions that demonstrate our genuine concern for others. 8 When these qualities abound in us, then we will bear much fruit for our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. (I Peter 1:5-8 EBV)

 

While repentance is the beginning of our walk of faith with Jesus, for one cannot turn toward Jesus without turning away from their sin and selfish pride, repentance is also the ongoing work of a follower of Jesus. Every time we realize we have made a choice outside of God’s best for our lives, we need to repent of our choice and turn again to Jesus for our forgiveness and turn towards the choice of God’s best for us. In this way we continue to improve our lives, demonstrating more and more each day, the outward life that will attract others to want to follow our Lord.

 

And Be Baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah, the outward demonstration

 

Peter added that the people needed to be baptized. The idea of baptism, or cleansing, has been a part of many religious traditions, some even go back long before the time of John the Baptist and Jesus. In the rites of Israel there was a form of cleansing required when a non-Jew converted to Judaism. A ritual of cleansing outwardly signified a change in direction of a person’s life. 

 

The practice of taking people to the river for the baptism was not part of the historical ritual, it just happened to be where John had the water he needed and where he was comfortable preaching at the time. He apparently lived a very modest life, wearing sackcloth clothing and eating locust’s and honey. Many people believe he might have spent some time with the community of Qumran, the aesthetic community where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. 

 

John’s perceived situation has an impact on the practices of Baptism in our present-day churches. Some churches require a person to be immersed completely, which is the practice of putting the whole body under the water and then bringing the person back up. This baptism by immersion becomes a great symbol of the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians, “We have been buried with Jesus symbolically when we are baptized and then we are raised up with Him when we believe what God has done in Him. We were dead in our sin and Jesus brought us to life by forgiving all of our sins.” (Colossians 2:12,13 EBV) To be symbolically buried with Christ in His death and then raised again to new life as we begin our life as a Christian can provide the new believer with a very practical symbol of what is happening in his or her life. 

 

However, John the Baptist might not have fully immersed the body of those being baptized in the Jordan river. As some pictures portray him pouring water over the head of the person who is partially submerged, this may be a more accurate portrayal. Many churches today use the method of pouring water over the head of the person being baptized and feel quite comfortable with the person being fully baptized and forgiven. Other churches use far less water including some churches that just put a few drops of water on their fingers of the person doing the baptism and wipe the water on the forehead of the person being baptized. 

 

The method of the baptism is important to some traditions and not so important to others. The symbol of what happens during baptism or the truth of what really happens may well be a matter of deeper consequence. Baptism ranges in significance from just being an outward sign or demonstration of an inward event all the way to being the outward event that triggers an inward transformation. In the first scenario, conversion takes place when the individual makes a personal commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Then they demonstrate that commitment by standing before the church confessing their faith and receiving the sacrament of baptism. In the second scenario, the individual comes to the church and receives the sacrament of baptism and at the moment of receiving the sacrament their life is transformed, as Paul says, “He found us lost in darkness and delivered us into the kingdom of the Son,” (Colossians 1:13 EBV) The question of whether the transformation comes before the baptism or the baptism triggers the transformation has filled many theology books and probably will continue to be discussed off into the future. Either way, the ritual of baptism becomes a significant event in the life of the individual Christian and has a meaningful place in the worship life of the Church. 

 

During His last conversation with the disciples before He ascended into heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples to “go out into all the nations of the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19 EBV) This wording is often called the Trinitarian Formula because it reflects our belief in a triune God. The actual wording again creates a bit of theological discussion as some will believe that the baptism is not valid if the “Formula” is not spoken directly. Others believe the Formula helps us proclaim to the world our belief in God as Father, Son, and Spirit, distinguishing us from others who might baptize but not in the name of the triune God. Using this Formula means that we believe God sent Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, and we are submitting to His teaching so we can be freed from our sin by our faith in Him.

Remember, we are free to come to Jesus and confess our sins at any time. If you have been baptized, then remember you have been washed clean from your sin. If you have not yet been baptized, then find a way to do that step of proclaiming in your actions your personal faith in Jesus Christ, the One who has saved you and all the world. 

I bless you in the name of Jesus with the knowledge of your forgiveness and cleansing. Be confident in His love for you. 

Pastor Edd