WEBVTT 00:00:09.650 --> 00:00:14.550 We will begin reading in Acts chapter 2, and 00:00:15.539 --> 00:00:21.300 we'll read through verses 37 through verse 42, 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:28.030 starting in verse 37 of Acts chapter 2. Now, 00:00:28.030 --> 00:00:31.589 when they heard this, they were pierced to the 00:00:31.589 --> 00:00:35.030 heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:40.759 Brethren, what shall we do? Peter said to them, 00:00:40.979 --> 00:00:45.700 Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name 00:00:45.700 --> 00:00:49.460 of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:52.799 and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:56.579 For the promise is for you and your children 00:00:56.579 --> 00:00:59.799 and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord 00:00:59.799 --> 00:01:05.750 our God will call to himself. And with many other 00:01:05.750 --> 00:01:10.500 words he solemnly testified, and kept on exhorting 00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:17.640 them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. 00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:22.840 So then those who received his word were baptized. 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:28.760 And that day there were added about 3 ,000 souls. 00:01:29.180 --> 00:01:33.659 They were continually devoting themselves to 00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:37.819 the apostles' teaching and to fellowship. and 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:41.920 to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Let's 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:45.780 pray. Father, I come before you. Lord, this morning 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:48.900 I ask for your help, that your Holy Spirit would 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:52.980 strengthen me and undergird me to proclaim this 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:56.780 message from your word and what your word teaches 00:01:56.780 --> 00:02:00.219 us. Father, I ask and I pray that you would make 00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:03.790 the people receptive of your truth, that you'd 00:02:03.790 --> 00:02:07.549 be honored and glorified by our response. And 00:02:07.549 --> 00:02:10.629 by our thoughts and by our considerations, Father, 00:02:10.710 --> 00:02:13.729 use us for your kingdom and for your glory. And 00:02:13.729 --> 00:02:17.370 let your word have its way in our hearts. In 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:22.349 Jesus' name I pray, amen. So have you ever considered 00:02:22.349 --> 00:02:28.210 or asked yourself, what does it truly mean to 00:02:28.210 --> 00:02:33.310 be a Christian? What does it mean, and not just 00:02:33.310 --> 00:02:38.740 in name or title or by label, But what does it 00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:44.360 really, truly, substantially, actually mean to 00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:47.439 be a Christian? Today, we're going to look at 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:49.639 that question and we're going to answer that 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:53.520 question of what does it mean to be a Christian 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:57.919 according to the book of Acts. This is an important 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.259 question, isn't it? This is a vital question 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:05.099 to be able to understand and to grasp. You know, 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:08.599 one thing I've recognized in doing Evangelism 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:13.460 in Albion is this amazing reality that almost 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:17.340 everybody's a Christian. Nearly everybody's a 00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:20.500 Christian. You know, there's a lot of people 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:25.389 who are Christians because they claim the title 00:03:25.389 --> 00:03:29.289 or because they were raised in church. But do 00:03:29.289 --> 00:03:33.789 they actually really understand, grasp, and know 00:03:33.789 --> 00:03:39.860 what does it mean to be? A Christian in reality, 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:44.219 according to what the Word of God teaches us 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:47.740 about what it means to be a Christian. It's a 00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:50.979 very important question to talk about and to 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:54.960 consider and to prayerfully meditate upon in 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:59.900 our own lives. So the context of our message 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:06.669 today follows Peter's great... We remember last 00:04:06.669 --> 00:04:10.289 week he gave this amazing presentation of the 00:04:10.289 --> 00:04:14.889 gospel about the life, the death, the sufferings, 00:04:14.889 --> 00:04:18.550 and the resurrection of Christ Jesus. And he's 00:04:18.550 --> 00:04:22.389 been explaining this truth to these thousands 00:04:22.389 --> 00:04:26.089 of hearers. And they're listening, they're hearing 00:04:26.089 --> 00:04:29.930 what he's saying. And so our message today is 00:04:29.930 --> 00:04:34.829 their response to the gospel. Their response 00:04:34.829 --> 00:04:39.250 to the message and the person of the Lord Jesus 00:04:39.250 --> 00:04:45.560 Christ. So many people, as they look and they 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:49.329 analyze this text, they believe that actually 00:04:49.329 --> 00:04:53.730 the people cut Peter off in the middle of his 00:04:53.730 --> 00:04:57.519 sermon. That they were so struck to their core. 00:04:57.740 --> 00:05:01.680 That they were cut so deep and so sharp in their 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:04.860 hearts. that they cut him off and they said, 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:10.750 what must we do, brethren? What must we do? At 00:05:10.750 --> 00:05:13.790 this time, when the crowds, when the thousands 00:05:13.790 --> 00:05:16.990 of people are hearing the message of the gospel, 00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:20.449 at this time, those crowds are non -Christians. 00:05:21.310 --> 00:05:26.399 They are not in Christ. They are in Adam. They 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:30.790 are condemned under the law. They are not in 00:05:30.790 --> 00:05:34.850 Christ. They are not Christian. born -again, 00:05:34.889 --> 00:05:41.449 genuine believers in Jesus Christ. So they need 00:05:41.449 --> 00:05:46.310 to become Christians. They need to understand 00:05:46.310 --> 00:05:51.569 in their own life, in their own experience, what 00:05:52.180 --> 00:05:58.850 it means to be a Christian. So today as we approach 00:05:58.850 --> 00:06:03.269 this text, the first thing I want to look at 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:10.829 are Jesus' words or Peter's word, repent. And 00:06:10.829 --> 00:06:15.290 this we'll refer to as conversion. So the first 00:06:15.290 --> 00:06:17.769 thing we have to understand and we have to grasp 00:06:17.769 --> 00:06:21.149 in regards to what it means to be a Christian 00:06:21.149 --> 00:06:26.350 is that the manifestation of faith and repentance. 00:06:26.709 --> 00:06:32.129 You must be converted to be a Christian. You 00:06:32.129 --> 00:06:37.370 must manifest faith. and repentance in your life 00:06:37.370 --> 00:06:41.029 if you are to be a Christian. So first, we'll 00:06:41.029 --> 00:06:46.300 start with repentance. Peter says, repent. This 00:06:46.300 --> 00:06:49.800 word repent, it means simply to change one's 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:52.899 mind. That's a simple definition. But it's much 00:06:52.899 --> 00:06:58.300 more than simply changing your mind. One definition 00:06:58.300 --> 00:07:05.170 says it like this. A heart, a heartfelt sorrow, 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:11.930 for sin. A renouncing of sin and a genuine commitment 00:07:11.930 --> 00:07:18.649 to forsake sin and walk in obedience to Christ 00:07:18.649 --> 00:07:23.189 and his commands. We've heard this word repentance 00:07:23.189 --> 00:07:28.180 thrown around in the Christian world. You've 00:07:28.180 --> 00:07:31.360 heard it said by and by preachers. You've heard 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.600 it from the pulpit dozens of times. But what 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:39.180 does it actually mean to repent of sin in your 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:44.980 life? Louis Burkhoff, an amazing theologian, 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:48.019 says that repentance involves three things. And 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:51.079 this helps me in my understanding of what repentance 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:55.139 is. He says that repentance involves these three 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:59.240 things. The intellect, the emotion, and the... 00:07:59.589 --> 00:08:03.970 the volition or our will. So it involves our 00:08:03.970 --> 00:08:06.689 intellect in that we have to understand and we 00:08:06.689 --> 00:08:09.230 have to use our minds and we have to grasp and 00:08:09.230 --> 00:08:13.050 we have to view ourselves and sin and God a certain 00:08:13.050 --> 00:08:17.399 way. There is no genuine and authentic repentance 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:21.540 unless you realize that you are a sinful, corrupt 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:24.980 human being who has sin that they need to repent 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:29.949 of. Repentance requires that we understand who 00:08:29.949 --> 00:08:35.529 and what we are by nature and what sin is. But 00:08:35.529 --> 00:08:40.809 also it involves our emotions in that it's not 00:08:40.809 --> 00:08:44.289 just an intellectual understanding. It's not 00:08:44.289 --> 00:08:48.009 just our mind grasping knowledge and information, 00:08:48.110 --> 00:08:52.149 but it's emotional in that there is mourning 00:08:52.149 --> 00:08:56.950 and there is grief and there is sorrow in our 00:08:56.950 --> 00:09:02.899 hearts because of sin. It's not just that we've 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:07.080 been caught or we're busted or we're sorry that 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:10.299 we're going to be punished for sin, but it's 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:12.820 the reality there is sorrow and grief in the 00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:16.600 depths of our soul because we are sinful people 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:20.539 and we have sinned and transgressed a holy and 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:24.659 a righteous God. It's not the consequence, but 00:09:24.659 --> 00:09:30.460 it's sin itself that grieves us. Sin becomes... 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:38.320 Ugly. It becomes ugly to us. And when I was working 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:40.299 on this, when I was preparing and praying through 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:45.950 this, I think this is very, very applicable to 00:09:45.950 --> 00:09:48.889 the lives of children and to the lives of young 00:09:48.889 --> 00:09:55.460 people. Young people and children. It's not okay 00:09:55.460 --> 00:10:00.720 just to be sorry before God. You have to turn. 00:10:01.629 --> 00:10:06.570 away from sin. And sin has to become ugly in 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:11.529 your sight, in your perspective, in order for 00:10:11.529 --> 00:10:15.899 you to exercise faith. You have to have a change 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:19.700 in your nature. It's not just that you got in 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:22.500 trouble or you got caught or your brother or 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:25.399 your sister told on you, but it's the fact that 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:30.519 there is sin within you and that you are a sinner 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:34.049 before God. It's ugly. There's a change in your 00:10:34.049 --> 00:10:37.070 perspective and there's mourning in your soul 00:10:37.070 --> 00:10:39.789 because you've sinned against God. Not that you 00:10:39.789 --> 00:10:43.129 got busted or you got in trouble, but sin is 00:10:43.129 --> 00:10:48.330 now ugly to you because you have been changed. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:52.460 But it's also volitional and it involves the 00:10:52.460 --> 00:10:56.690 will. Or we could say it involves your intent, 00:10:56.909 --> 00:11:04.740 your determination to change. You are purposeful 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:10.759 and you determine that you will not sin again. 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:16.820 Now, will you sin? Yes. But you take every step 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:22.940 you can. You take every precaution and disciplinary 00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:28.019 effort in your life not to sin against a holy 00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:31.549 and righteous God. You determine, you purpose, 00:11:31.809 --> 00:11:35.110 you will in your mind and your heart that you 00:11:35.110 --> 00:11:39.529 will not sin. So repentance involves the whole 00:11:39.529 --> 00:11:42.690 person. It involves your mind and your thinking. 00:11:42.730 --> 00:11:46.029 It involves your heart and your attitude. It 00:11:46.029 --> 00:11:49.669 involves your will and your determination and 00:11:49.669 --> 00:11:53.129 your desires and your longing. Sin becomes ugly. 00:11:53.250 --> 00:11:56.309 You don't want it anymore. And you turn away 00:11:56.309 --> 00:12:00.570 from it. You determine that you will not, sin 00:12:00.570 --> 00:12:05.350 again and this is in regards to your personal 00:12:05.350 --> 00:12:11.289 your own sin in your own life so when peter said 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:15.960 that these crowds need to repent they need to 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:19.419 be converted they need to manifest and express 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:22.440 repentance they need to turn away what did they 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:26.090 need to turn away from the reality that many, 00:12:26.190 --> 00:12:29.309 many, many, many of them wanted the Lord Jesus 00:12:29.309 --> 00:12:35.350 Christ dead. They handed him over to be murdered 00:12:35.350 --> 00:12:39.230 and crucified. So many of those hearing this 00:12:39.230 --> 00:12:42.350 message that Peter is proclaiming, they took 00:12:42.350 --> 00:12:46.470 part in handing over the Lord Jesus Christ to 00:12:46.470 --> 00:12:49.909 be crucified and to be murdered on a cross and 00:12:49.909 --> 00:12:53.480 to be hung as a criminal. They needed to repent 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.820 of their wrongdoing. and their participation 00:12:56.820 --> 00:13:00.659 and their sin and their transgression personally 00:13:00.659 --> 00:13:06.470 against Christ and against God Almighty. So when 00:13:06.470 --> 00:13:08.470 we think of repentance, we don't think of other 00:13:08.470 --> 00:13:11.210 people who need to repent of their sin. We think 00:13:11.210 --> 00:13:14.129 of the sin in our own lives personally and individually 00:13:14.129 --> 00:13:18.539 that we need to repent of, that we need to turn 00:13:18.539 --> 00:13:23.200 away from. Now there's a second half to repentance. 00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:27.279 There's another part to repentance that's always 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:34.230 there, that's always present. And we could say 00:13:34.230 --> 00:13:40.019 that this is the twin sister or the twin brother 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:44.600 of repentance, and that is faith. If there is 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:46.779 repentance, there is faith present. If there 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:49.980 is faith present, there is repentance present. 00:13:51.389 --> 00:13:55.350 They're tied, they're connected. You can't separate 00:13:55.350 --> 00:13:59.899 them out. If someone has faith or they express 00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:03.320 faith in Christ, then they will always repent 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:06.940 of their sin. They will always turn away. You 00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:12.340 cannot turn to Christ without turning from sin. 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:18.039 There's a mutual, there's a dual relationship 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:22.620 between faith and repentance present, which is 00:14:22.620 --> 00:14:26.139 always there. And we'll see a little bit more 00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:30.600 in a minute. But saving faith is very, very important 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:34.620 to understand. Saving faith, the other side of 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:38.419 the coin of repentance, the Bible speaks about 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:43.240 faith. It lifts faith. It's so, so vitally important 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:47.179 that we understand faith. The book of Romans 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:52.059 is a book about faith and being justified by 00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:56.720 faith. The entire New Testament. Faith is the 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.860 sole instrumental cause. This is, I saw a quote 00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:02.820 by R .C. Sproul the other day, the sole instrumental 00:15:02.820 --> 00:15:08.320 cause of our justification. Sola fide, the battle 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:12.720 cry of the Protestant Reformation. By faith alone 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:20.070 are we justified. Singularly, solely by faith. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:23.720 which is the backside of the coin, which has 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:29.279 repentance on this side of it. Very similarly 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:34.799 to repentance, we could say that faith has three 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:39.320 parts as well. There's a knowing, there's a comprehension 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:44.899 of certain information, meaning this. If you 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:48.850 don't know about the gospel, If you don't comprehend 00:15:48.850 --> 00:15:54.590 what the gospel is, then you will not have faith 00:15:54.590 --> 00:15:58.299 in Christ. There has to be certain information 00:15:58.299 --> 00:16:00.919 and you have to use your mind in understanding 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:04.460 and grasping what the gospel. Peter did not want 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:09.509 his hearers to leave their brains at home and 00:16:09.509 --> 00:16:13.750 to take a blind leap of faith into nothingness. 00:16:13.889 --> 00:16:16.809 He wanted them to use their minds in the grasp 00:16:16.809 --> 00:16:20.039 and to understand and to know. what Christ had 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:24.830 accomplished and what Christ had done. Then we 00:16:24.830 --> 00:16:29.169 have to agree with that understanding of what 00:16:29.169 --> 00:16:35.100 we know. We have to agree with God that we need 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:38.259 a Savior. We have to agree with God that Christ 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:41.700 is God and that Christ is man and there was a 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:44.879 purpose and there was a reason for that. We have 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:48.139 to agree with... what the scriptures teach about 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:52.299 who the Lord Jesus is and about what Christ accomplished. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:59.539 Jesus died for sins to remove the punishment 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:03.100 from sinners. We need to understand and grasp 00:17:03.100 --> 00:17:06.740 that and we need to agree with the God that we 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:09.720 are sinners and that we needed our sins atoned 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:13.609 for. We have to agree with God. Now, is that 00:17:13.609 --> 00:17:17.509 enough simply to agree? with what God says on 00:17:17.509 --> 00:17:21.009 who we are, to have certain information? You 00:17:21.009 --> 00:17:22.970 know, there's a lot of people out there who are 00:17:22.970 --> 00:17:26.960 intellectual, and they have a lot of head knowledge, 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:31.640 and they know a whole lot about the Bible. But 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:35.920 has that information moved from their head down 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:40.599 to their heart? For many people, sadly, the answer 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:45.150 is no. It's not enough merely to know information 00:17:45.150 --> 00:17:49.130 or to know facts. It's not enough simply to agree 00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:51.650 with God on certain things. But there has to 00:17:51.650 --> 00:17:56.769 be a trust. We have to cast ourselves and we 00:17:56.769 --> 00:17:59.950 have to actually trust the reality with our hearts 00:17:59.950 --> 00:18:02.630 and with our lives and with our souls that we 00:18:02.630 --> 00:18:07.930 are sinful people and we must have a Savior if 00:18:07.930 --> 00:18:13.069 we are going to have eternal life. We have to 00:18:13.069 --> 00:18:18.369 trust Christ and reality for salvation and what 00:18:18.369 --> 00:18:22.529 he's done. It's not enough just to have a head 00:18:22.529 --> 00:18:24.849 knowledge and an intellectual understanding. 00:18:25.369 --> 00:18:31.430 It has to move you in your heart and affect and 00:18:31.430 --> 00:18:35.710 impact the way you live for it to be genuine 00:18:35.710 --> 00:18:41.609 and authentic faith. So there must be faith and 00:18:42.150 --> 00:18:47.960 repentance. Faith and repentance present. Now, 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:51.599 this will look different, I think, for different 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:55.299 situations and different people. But faith and 00:18:55.299 --> 00:19:00.819 repentance is what we call conversion. It's the 00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:06.140 manifestation of turning away from sin and turning 00:19:06.140 --> 00:19:09.299 to Christ. Which if you think about it, if I'm 00:19:09.299 --> 00:19:11.980 facing this direction and I'm going that way, 00:19:12.589 --> 00:19:16.549 And I turn this way. I'm turning from something 00:19:16.549 --> 00:19:18.789 and I'm turning to something, but it's really 00:19:18.789 --> 00:19:23.380 just one motion. It's one act. It's faith and 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:28.140 repentance working together. And that is what 00:19:28.140 --> 00:19:32.660 we must understand first and foremost to be a 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:36.839 Christian is. It's to trust in Christ Jesus and 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:39.819 what He's done and who He is and to hate sin 00:19:39.819 --> 00:19:43.730 with every fiber of our being. That it's become 00:19:43.730 --> 00:19:48.849 ugly and we despise it now. It's a single turn. 00:19:49.029 --> 00:19:52.410 We must have faith and repentance for conversion. 00:19:53.250 --> 00:19:57.740 To be a Christian is to be a person who repented 00:19:57.740 --> 00:20:04.640 and continues to repent. To be a Christian is 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:08.000 to be a person who had initial saving faith, 00:20:08.259 --> 00:20:12.579 but you continue to exercise that faith throughout 00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:16.700 the entirety of your life. It's not a singular 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:21.450 occurrence or moment in your life, but it's a 00:20:21.450 --> 00:20:24.930 reality which took place and continues throughout 00:20:24.930 --> 00:20:31.779 your life. For years, Eastern Christians They 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:33.619 weren't known as Christians. What do you think 00:20:33.619 --> 00:20:36.859 they were known as? They were known as repenters. 00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:43.500 I wonder, when was the last time you turned away 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:48.430 from sin? Not simply confessed it or said, I'm 00:20:48.430 --> 00:20:51.819 sorry. But when was the last time you turned 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:56.839 away from it and laid hold of Christ? When you 00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:00.500 determined, I will not sin again. I'm tired of 00:21:00.500 --> 00:21:05.710 that. When was the last time? You repented of 00:21:05.710 --> 00:21:09.250 sin in your life. Not simply said, I'm sorry, 00:21:09.349 --> 00:21:14.680 Lord. Please forgive me. Not simply that you 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:17.299 got caught or busted, but you repented. And when 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:20.240 was the last time that you laid hold of Christ 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:26.059 and His work? That you said, Lord, if it weren't 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:30.210 for Christ, I would be in the pits of hell. Thank 00:21:30.210 --> 00:21:32.690 you, Lord Jesus, for the work you accomplished 00:21:32.690 --> 00:21:35.089 and the work you've done. Thank you for being 00:21:35.089 --> 00:21:39.180 my Lord and my Savior. If it weren't for you, 00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:42.940 I would not be saved. I would be under the wrath 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:47.759 of God. You laid hold of Christ in faith. This 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.980 is something we repeat over and over and over 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:54.119 in the Christian life. So to be a Christian, 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:57.319 it's not about a single one -time event that 00:21:57.319 --> 00:21:59.740 we did and we accomplished and we move on from, 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:03.359 but it is a lifelong process of repenting of 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:07.890 sin and laying hold of Christ in faith. It's 00:22:07.890 --> 00:22:12.640 something that should characterize us. Now, conversion, 00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:19.660 it is an internal act which takes place. When 00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:22.660 we are converted, we can be converted, we can 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:25.680 repent of sin and have faith in our initial repentance 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:27.680 and faith. That's what I'm referring to at this 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:31.309 moment. When we do that, that can take place 00:22:31.309 --> 00:22:35.430 in our car. That can take place in our home. 00:22:36.109 --> 00:22:39.509 That can take place in a driveway. That can take 00:22:39.509 --> 00:22:42.490 place on a porch. That can take place at the 00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:45.990 park. That can take place anywhere because it's 00:22:45.990 --> 00:22:49.109 an internal thing. It takes place within your 00:22:49.109 --> 00:22:52.630 heart, within your mind, within your soul. It's 00:22:52.630 --> 00:22:56.809 something you do within your being. That's conversion. 00:22:56.910 --> 00:22:59.809 It's internal. It's within you. It's within your 00:22:59.809 --> 00:23:04.559 head, your heart, your mind, your person. It's 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:12.769 inside. Now, does that mean that the reality 00:23:12.769 --> 00:23:16.910 that we have been converted remains internal? 00:23:17.329 --> 00:23:22.250 Does it stay inside of us and never make its 00:23:22.250 --> 00:23:28.349 way out? Does it stay inside of us and never 00:23:28.349 --> 00:23:37.789 get outside of us? That has to take place. We 00:23:37.789 --> 00:23:41.720 have to move from conversion within us which 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:46.839 is outside, an external thing which shows that 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:50.759 we have been converted, which demonstrates the 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:53.859 reality that we have repented of our sin and 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:59.779 we have expressed faith in Christ. Now before 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:02.359 I move on, I want to just touch on this real 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:06.160 briefly. Where does, because this is an important 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:10.900 thing and it helps us in understanding, soteriology 00:24:10.900 --> 00:24:15.220 or the study of salvation. Where does our conversion 00:24:15.220 --> 00:24:19.779 come from? Where does our repentance and where 00:24:19.779 --> 00:24:22.819 does our faith come from? Many people have it 00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:26.950 in their head that it's something that I have 00:24:26.950 --> 00:24:31.140 to just really, really try really hard and generate 00:24:31.140 --> 00:24:38.369 and muster up from within myself. It's something 00:24:38.369 --> 00:24:40.750 I have to look really, really deep down and I 00:24:40.750 --> 00:24:43.190 have to be super genuine and very, very sincere. 00:24:44.230 --> 00:24:47.250 And I have to express real repentance and real 00:24:47.250 --> 00:24:51.559 faith. So where does our conversion come from? 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:55.480 Well, if we look at this text, it tells us and 00:24:55.480 --> 00:25:00.579 it shows us where conversion comes from. First, 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:04.140 what took place? They heard the gospel. They 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:06.539 heard the gospel message. Then what happened? 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:09.480 They were pierced in their hearts. They came 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:15.809 under conviction within their souls. And we see... 00:25:16.970 --> 00:25:23.960 A little bit later, in verse 39 at the end, he 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:29.130 says, For the promise is for you and your children 00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:33.990 and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord 00:25:33.990 --> 00:25:41.009 our God will call to himself. So why do we call 00:25:41.009 --> 00:25:45.309 upon the Lord through repentance and faith? Well, 00:25:45.369 --> 00:25:47.849 first and foremost, because the Lord called us. 00:25:50.250 --> 00:25:53.329 There is something which must precede and take 00:25:53.329 --> 00:25:58.049 place before repentance and faith must be expressed 00:25:58.049 --> 00:26:01.730 and manifest in our life. Because if we are left 00:26:01.730 --> 00:26:04.650 to ourself and the Lord does nothing in our life, 00:26:04.730 --> 00:26:09.190 then we will remain in our stony, hard, unbelieving, 00:26:09.190 --> 00:26:18.740 depraved heart. The Lord must call us effectively. 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:25.000 And He must cause us to be born again, regenerating 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:30.619 our heart. And out of that regenerate heart, 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:34.720 which is a result of the Lord effectively calling 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:41.130 us, we now feel conviction to the Word of God. 00:26:41.829 --> 00:26:45.150 We now feel conviction to the preaching of the 00:26:45.150 --> 00:26:48.849 Gospel message. We now seek out and say, what 00:26:48.849 --> 00:26:53.869 must we do? Now, faith and repentance is really 00:26:53.869 --> 00:26:57.390 ours because God has given us a heart of flesh 00:26:57.390 --> 00:27:01.650 which responds to the gospel message. So our 00:27:01.650 --> 00:27:05.049 conversion, folks, our faith and our repentance, 00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:08.109 we don't muster it up. It comes from the Lord 00:27:08.109 --> 00:27:11.490 calling us and the Lord regenerating our heart. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:15.640 So if you've been converted, praise the Lord. 00:27:16.289 --> 00:27:22.500 If you've been converted, say praise Jesus. Man, 00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:26.430 it's from the Lord. It's of the Lord. It's not 00:27:26.430 --> 00:27:30.789 from us. It's not from you. It's not from me. 00:27:31.009 --> 00:27:37.099 It's a gift of God. It is a gift of God. So to 00:27:37.099 --> 00:27:41.869 be a Christian, it means that there's a supernatural 00:27:41.869 --> 00:27:45.289 act which takes place in your life at the hand 00:27:45.289 --> 00:27:49.150 of a sovereign and a mighty God. That's what 00:27:49.150 --> 00:27:52.150 it means to be a Christian. That the Lord has 00:27:52.150 --> 00:27:55.930 rescued you from the depths of your sin and the 00:27:55.930 --> 00:28:01.009 eventual destruction under His wrath. The Lord 00:28:01.009 --> 00:28:05.960 has been gracious and merciful to you. He's called 00:28:05.960 --> 00:28:08.799 you and He gives you faith and repentance. He 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:14.119 gives you a new heart. Praise God that it's not 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:20.920 me. It's of the Lord. So the second thing, which 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:25.619 we must understand in regards to being a Christian. 00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:29.920 And if you'll remember, I said that conversion 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:34.160 is an internal act within us. It takes place 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:36.440 in our heart and our soul. Faith and repentance 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:40.819 is something we do within us. It's a result of 00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:44.839 a new heart. It flows out of a regenerate heart, 00:28:45.079 --> 00:28:47.559 but it's something that takes place within us. 00:28:49.390 --> 00:28:53.799 To be a Christian means to go public. To be a 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:57.599 Christian means not to be a secret follower. 00:28:58.339 --> 00:29:01.579 To be a Christian means to make a public announcement 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:05.599 that you have repented of your sins and you are 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:10.599 now trusting in the Lord Jesus and His work. 00:29:11.430 --> 00:29:14.690 And so the second thing that Peter commands them 00:29:14.690 --> 00:29:20.589 to do, he says not only... repent, but he says, 00:29:20.670 --> 00:29:25.609 and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus 00:29:25.609 --> 00:29:31.779 Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Repent 00:29:31.779 --> 00:29:39.400 and be baptized, each one of you, for the forgiveness 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:45.950 of your sins. Now this text, it is not telling 00:29:45.950 --> 00:29:48.990 us, and this is very important for us to understand 00:29:48.990 --> 00:29:54.660 and us to grasp. This word for, it's ace in the 00:29:54.660 --> 00:29:59.900 Greek. It is not in order to procure something, 00:30:00.099 --> 00:30:05.380 but it is for, as a result of, or because of. 00:30:07.230 --> 00:30:10.910 So whenever I was working at a place called Victory 00:30:10.910 --> 00:30:14.569 Trade School, and I did the recruitment, and 00:30:14.569 --> 00:30:18.190 I was a dean of students, so I did counseling, 00:30:18.230 --> 00:30:20.579 but I also talked in the community some. I'd 00:30:20.579 --> 00:30:22.980 go to different places and I'd make presentations 00:30:22.980 --> 00:30:26.509 where I'd go to certain events and people would 00:30:26.509 --> 00:30:28.829 say, hey, what are you doing here? Why are you 00:30:28.829 --> 00:30:31.170 here? What are you out and about doing? And I'd 00:30:31.170 --> 00:30:36.039 say, it's for my job. It's for my job. Now, when 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:39.700 I said that, I did not mean I'm there trying 00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:44.049 to get a job. But when I said that, I meant I 00:30:44.049 --> 00:30:48.859 was there as a result of my job fulfilling. the 00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:53.740 duty and the role which my job required of me 00:30:53.740 --> 00:31:00.450 for my job. The same is true of baptism. If we 00:31:00.450 --> 00:31:07.309 truly understand conversion, then we will understand 00:31:07.309 --> 00:31:12.200 that out of obedience in our heart, we will be 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:19.069 baptized. Outwardly, externally, visibly, not 00:31:19.069 --> 00:31:22.950 in order to procure something, but as a result 00:31:22.950 --> 00:31:29.359 with reference to the work which Christ has done. 00:31:29.809 --> 00:31:34.769 Paul said, and Paul said, Christ did not send 00:31:34.769 --> 00:31:39.369 me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. The 00:31:40.940 --> 00:31:47.970 gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Baptism 00:31:47.970 --> 00:31:55.099 is a symbolic act of the washing waters of regeneration. 00:31:57.089 --> 00:32:00.930 Baptism is a symbolic act. It symbolizes the 00:32:00.930 --> 00:32:04.069 work which Christ has accomplished. Now, does 00:32:04.069 --> 00:32:07.009 this mean that baptism is a throwaway ordinance? 00:32:07.170 --> 00:32:11.009 Absolutely not. Does that mean that baptism is 00:32:11.009 --> 00:32:13.190 meaningless and we just get rid of it and it's 00:32:13.190 --> 00:32:18.440 not important? No, it's important. Peter here 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:22.160 commands, Christ commanded to be baptized. So 00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:27.309 out of obedience to Christ, we ought to be baptized 00:32:27.309 --> 00:32:36.690 in an appropriate way. Baptism is. It is a public, 00:32:36.710 --> 00:32:42.849 visible declaration that you have been converted. 00:32:43.210 --> 00:32:48.500 That you have. expressed faith in Christ. You 00:32:48.500 --> 00:32:51.019 have turned from your sins and you are trusting 00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:58.789 in Him. Baptism is public and visible. To be 00:32:58.789 --> 00:33:01.990 a Christian, it means to be a public Christian. 00:33:03.160 --> 00:33:05.779 To be a Christian means to be a Christian in 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:08.579 front of other people. I bet every single one 00:33:08.579 --> 00:33:12.579 of us in here has heard, well, it's my own personal 00:33:12.579 --> 00:33:18.859 private faith. That saying, That saying has no 00:33:18.859 --> 00:33:23.200 place in the New Testament. These Christians 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:27.079 became so public with their faith. These Jews 00:33:27.079 --> 00:33:31.319 gave up so much by dedicating themselves to the 00:33:31.319 --> 00:33:35.319 Lord Jesus that when persecution came, they knew 00:33:35.319 --> 00:33:38.940 where to find Him. They were public and they 00:33:38.940 --> 00:33:42.809 were visible with their faith. To such an extent 00:33:42.809 --> 00:33:47.930 that if the authorities over us decided to persecute 00:33:47.930 --> 00:33:50.670 the church of Jesus Christ, they ought to know 00:33:50.670 --> 00:33:54.240 who is a Christian and who is not. That's the 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:59.119 reality of being a New Testament Christian. I'm 00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:04.839 unashamed of the gospel of Christ. Baptism is 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:08.900 a declaration that you are unashamed of the gospel 00:34:08.900 --> 00:34:13.389 of Christ. And you want the world to know that 00:34:14.190 --> 00:34:18.889 Jesus Christ is your Lord and that He is... Your 00:34:18.889 --> 00:34:23.789 Savior. Conversion is inward and internal. Baptism 00:34:23.789 --> 00:34:28.480 is outward and external. Think about the Jews 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:32.090 and what they had to give up. Think about what 00:34:32.090 --> 00:34:35.650 they were doing by being baptized by the apostles. 00:34:36.780 --> 00:34:39.320 Think about what they committed themselves and 00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:42.679 what they dedicated themselves to. Think about 00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:47.639 the law. Think about how zealous Paul was against 00:34:47.639 --> 00:34:53.059 the Christians. Think about what they had to 00:34:53.059 --> 00:34:57.530 give up. These 3 ,000, they were giving up their 00:34:57.530 --> 00:35:01.010 priority and their dedication and their commitment 00:35:01.010 --> 00:35:05.900 to Mosaic law. Does that mean we do away with 00:35:05.900 --> 00:35:10.860 it? Absolutely not. But that was not what ruled 00:35:10.860 --> 00:35:15.079 their life. Now it was Christ who had fulfilled 00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:23.619 the law which ruled their life. Their life now 00:35:23.619 --> 00:35:29.219 was... Christ Jesus. Think about your own heart, 00:35:29.380 --> 00:35:32.199 your own life, and what it means to be a Christian 00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:36.570 for you. Are you a Christian in church on Sunday 00:35:36.570 --> 00:35:42.099 and in public Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:47.880 Friday, and Saturday for all to see? Are you 00:35:47.880 --> 00:35:50.440 unashamed of the gospel of Christ and you have 00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:55.179 proclaimed His death and His burial and His resurrection? 00:35:55.900 --> 00:35:59.230 through baptism and your allegiance and your 00:35:59.230 --> 00:36:01.989 commitment and your dedication to the Lord Jesus 00:36:01.989 --> 00:36:06.480 who gave everything for you. There are no secret 00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:10.420 disciples in the church of Jesus Christ. There 00:36:10.420 --> 00:36:16.480 are no secret converts in the church of Jesus 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:21.130 Christ. There are public, unashamed disciples 00:36:21.130 --> 00:36:24.940 of the Lord Jesus Christ. They make themselves 00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:31.019 known baptism. They express their allegiance 00:36:31.019 --> 00:36:36.480 through baptism. The third thing we must understand, 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:40.139 and I'm not going to touch on this point very 00:36:40.139 --> 00:36:43.019 much because we'll talk about it throughout the 00:36:43.019 --> 00:36:45.179 book of Acts a lot, and that is the reception 00:36:45.179 --> 00:36:48.800 of the Holy Spirit. But I will briefly say that 00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:55.260 only true converts True Christians who have been 00:36:55.260 --> 00:36:57.900 born again have the Spirit of God in this world. 00:36:58.869 --> 00:37:02.829 Only the church of Jesus Christ have the Spirit 00:37:02.829 --> 00:37:06.070 of God in this world. And what do we see throughout 00:37:06.070 --> 00:37:09.050 the book of Acts so far leading up just in two 00:37:09.050 --> 00:37:12.250 chapters? What is the Spirit to the New Testament 00:37:12.250 --> 00:37:17.730 church? He is power. He is strength for the Christian 00:37:17.730 --> 00:37:22.739 life. But also he is power for the proclamation, 00:37:23.659 --> 00:37:29.000 of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. So the Spirit 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:35.190 of God indwells those who are converted, those 00:37:35.190 --> 00:37:40.369 who repent and believe. The Spirit of God indwells 00:37:40.369 --> 00:37:45.099 them permanently, powerfully, transforming them, 00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:49.019 sanctifying them, sealing them, acting as a down 00:37:49.019 --> 00:37:52.199 payment of the presence of God in their life. 00:37:53.519 --> 00:37:56.579 Growing them, strengthening them, convicting 00:37:56.579 --> 00:38:01.760 them, cutting them, causing them to repent, causing 00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:05.059 them to express faith throughout the rest of 00:38:05.059 --> 00:38:08.679 their Christian life. The Spirit of God is the 00:38:08.679 --> 00:38:14.739 gift of God to the believer in this life. And 00:38:14.739 --> 00:38:17.420 who gave it and what is it a direct result of? 00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:22.559 The redemptive work of the Lord Jesus. What did 00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:25.679 we see two weeks ago when we talked about Peter's 00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:28.960 sermon in the first half? How we are now in the 00:38:28.960 --> 00:38:34.179 gospel age. The Lord Jesus pours out His Spirit 00:38:34.179 --> 00:38:38.800 into the hearts and the lives of His converted, 00:38:39.019 --> 00:38:43.820 born -again people so that they can live out 00:38:43.820 --> 00:38:47.719 the gospel and proclaim the gospel in this gospel 00:38:47.719 --> 00:38:53.980 age, in this world. And so Peter says it's a 00:38:53.980 --> 00:38:58.260 promise that you will receive the Spirit of God. 00:38:58.360 --> 00:39:00.760 So what does it mean to be a Christian? It means 00:39:00.760 --> 00:39:07.119 that God is with you. It means that God is strengthening 00:39:07.119 --> 00:39:11.460 you. It means that God is changing you through 00:39:11.460 --> 00:39:15.099 His Spirit. That He is guiding you. That He is 00:39:15.099 --> 00:39:18.780 conforming you. to the image and likeness of 00:39:18.780 --> 00:39:21.659 Christ. It means that He has sealed you and He 00:39:21.659 --> 00:39:26.210 will keep you throughout this life. It means 00:39:26.210 --> 00:39:29.969 that He has not forsaken you. That He has poured 00:39:29.969 --> 00:39:34.030 out His Spirit into your soul. That's what it 00:39:34.030 --> 00:39:38.380 means to be a Christian. To have the Spirit of 00:39:38.380 --> 00:39:43.579 God and have Him poured out into your heart and 00:39:43.969 --> 00:39:49.760 to strengthen you for the Christian. Now up to 00:39:49.760 --> 00:39:54.889 this point, we've seen conversion, we've seen 00:39:54.889 --> 00:39:58.070 baptism, and we've seen the reception of the 00:39:58.070 --> 00:40:00.730 Spirit of God. So if we think about it, many 00:40:00.730 --> 00:40:03.929 of us were like, yes, we have to express repentance 00:40:03.929 --> 00:40:08.010 and faith. Amen. We have to be baptized. Amen. 00:40:08.170 --> 00:40:10.590 We have to have the Spirit of God to be a Christian. 00:40:10.650 --> 00:40:14.389 Amen. I mean, we're all like, yes, yes. Now, 00:40:14.389 --> 00:40:17.610 if we are so emphatic on those three points, 00:40:17.829 --> 00:40:22.650 if we consider those three points to be so important 00:40:22.650 --> 00:40:29.429 and so heavy, what comes next? Addition. What 00:40:29.909 --> 00:40:36.809 does he say in verse 41? So then those who had 00:40:36.809 --> 00:40:41.849 received his word were baptized. And that day 00:40:41.849 --> 00:40:49.760 there were added. About 3 ,000 souls. What does 00:40:49.760 --> 00:40:55.940 it mean to be a Christian? It means to add yourself, 00:40:56.199 --> 00:41:01.579 to join yourself, to come into union with a church. 00:41:03.139 --> 00:41:07.440 What were they added to? Were they added into 00:41:07.440 --> 00:41:11.559 nothing? They were added to the local church. 00:41:11.920 --> 00:41:14.280 Now, many people will say on this text, well, 00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:16.480 that's talking about the universal invisible 00:41:16.480 --> 00:41:21.289 body. That's what it's referencing there. Well, 00:41:21.389 --> 00:41:26.690 verse 42 contradicts that. Verse 42 says they 00:41:26.690 --> 00:41:29.650 were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' 00:41:29.809 --> 00:41:32.210 teaching and fellowship and to the breaking of 00:41:32.210 --> 00:41:35.110 bread and to prayer. Those are the activities 00:41:35.110 --> 00:41:40.559 of a local church body. So what does it mean 00:41:40.559 --> 00:41:45.380 to be a Christian? It means to be a church member. 00:41:46.940 --> 00:41:50.119 That's what it means to be a Christian. It means 00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:55.940 to be in a covenant, committed, dedicated relationship 00:41:56.739 --> 00:42:05.119 with a local church. Now, I don't know why, but 00:42:05.309 --> 00:42:08.429 there's so many people in this world. So many 00:42:08.429 --> 00:42:12.739 people in this world. They carry an anti -church 00:42:12.739 --> 00:42:18.059 attitude. Folks, you know how ridiculous it would 00:42:18.059 --> 00:42:22.130 be to say you can be a Christian without conversion? 00:42:24.079 --> 00:42:26.360 You know how ridiculous it would be to say you 00:42:26.360 --> 00:42:29.179 can be a Christian without following the Lord 00:42:29.179 --> 00:42:31.019 and obedience? I just won't do that. I'm not 00:42:31.019 --> 00:42:32.480 going to obey God. I'm not going to be baptized. 00:42:33.909 --> 00:42:36.389 You know how ridiculous it would be to say, well, 00:42:36.530 --> 00:42:39.550 I'm not going to be, I don't want the Holy Spirit, 00:42:39.650 --> 00:42:44.349 but I want to be a Christian. It's just as ridiculous 00:42:44.349 --> 00:42:49.289 to say. I will not join myself to a local body 00:42:49.289 --> 00:42:52.969 which Jesus Christ died for and gave himself 00:42:52.969 --> 00:42:59.960 up for, as it is to say those other things. Christ 00:42:59.960 --> 00:43:04.500 gave himself up, not for the world in general, 00:43:04.599 --> 00:43:11.599 but Jesus Christ died particularly for his bride. 00:43:12.409 --> 00:43:16.510 To save her, to groom her, to sanctify her, to 00:43:16.510 --> 00:43:20.210 make her gorgeous, to present her to his father. 00:43:20.949 --> 00:43:24.960 For the church. You know how much Jesus values 00:43:24.960 --> 00:43:29.510 the church? You know how much Jesus loves his 00:43:29.510 --> 00:43:33.989 bride? Enough to give up his life and suffer 00:43:33.989 --> 00:43:38.409 a terrible death on the cross. Yet we can say, 00:43:38.550 --> 00:43:45.559 I don't need the church. We must love what Christ 00:43:45.559 --> 00:43:48.900 loves. We must be committed to what Christ is 00:43:48.900 --> 00:43:54.070 committed to. So they were added. 3 ,000 people 00:43:54.070 --> 00:44:01.000 were added to the church that day. 3 ,000 people 00:44:01.000 --> 00:44:05.489 means to be brought into union, an unbreakable 00:44:05.489 --> 00:44:11.889 union. So not only do you become in the world 00:44:11.889 --> 00:44:17.760 but not of the world, but... You come in to a 00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:23.000 community of like -minded believers and Christians. 00:44:24.170 --> 00:44:29.090 We learn from this text in Acts 2 .42 regarding 00:44:29.090 --> 00:44:33.869 the church. One, the first very obvious thing, 00:44:34.010 --> 00:44:39.030 that the Word of God gives us a record of those, 00:44:39.130 --> 00:44:43.320 the amount of people who were baptized. It shows 00:44:43.320 --> 00:44:46.050 us... How many people were added? How many people 00:44:46.050 --> 00:44:48.190 were baptized? How many people were converted? 00:44:49.380 --> 00:44:52.320 It shows us that there was a formal addition 00:44:52.320 --> 00:44:56.019 to the body of Christ. And we see this repeatedly 00:44:56.019 --> 00:45:00.550 throughout the book of Acts. We see this continually 00:45:00.550 --> 00:45:07.409 throughout the book of Acts. We must love the 00:45:07.409 --> 00:45:09.550 church because Christ loved the church and gave 00:45:09.550 --> 00:45:15.710 himself up for her. It is antithetical. To say 00:45:15.710 --> 00:45:21.250 I am a Jesus loving church hater. I am a Jesus 00:45:21.250 --> 00:45:27.380 loving church rejecter. I am a Jesus loving church 00:45:27.380 --> 00:45:31.579 denier. It doesn't work. What is Jesus's body? 00:45:32.719 --> 00:45:38.639 What is he the head of? The church. If you hate 00:45:38.639 --> 00:45:44.289 the church. You hate the head. You hate the savior 00:45:44.289 --> 00:45:49.750 of. Let us be oh so cautious of our words to 00:45:49.750 --> 00:45:53.769 the bride of Christ, our attitude towards the 00:45:54.760 --> 00:45:57.300 precious church of God, which Christ gave himself 00:45:57.300 --> 00:46:01.599 for. Now, why do I bring that up? Not because 00:46:01.599 --> 00:46:05.460 of anybody in this room, but because I've done 00:46:05.460 --> 00:46:08.539 ministry in rural America for several years. 00:46:09.960 --> 00:46:14.840 And there is an overarching theme in rural America, 00:46:14.980 --> 00:46:17.400 especially where there's not a lot of healthy 00:46:17.400 --> 00:46:25.239 churches. The church is optional. We can't have 00:46:25.239 --> 00:46:29.239 that attitude. New Testament Christianity did 00:46:29.239 --> 00:46:31.619 not have that attitude. So what does it mean 00:46:31.619 --> 00:46:34.539 to be a Christian? It means that we join ourselves 00:46:34.539 --> 00:46:37.900 to a local body. We're devoted to it. We're committed 00:46:37.900 --> 00:46:42.610 to it. And we love it and we serve it. It ought 00:46:42.610 --> 00:46:47.449 to be unnatural. And it is unnatural whether 00:46:47.449 --> 00:46:51.050 we want to admit it or not. For a born again, 00:46:51.110 --> 00:46:55.219 converted, baptized, Spirit -filled believer 00:46:55.219 --> 00:47:01.190 to be out of union with a church. It's unnatural. 00:47:02.659 --> 00:47:07.349 That is not how God designed it to be. So what 00:47:07.349 --> 00:47:10.380 does it mean to be a Christian? It means to express 00:47:10.380 --> 00:47:14.139 repentance and faith. It means to be baptized 00:47:14.139 --> 00:47:17.599 and make publicly known your repentance and faith. 00:47:18.059 --> 00:47:20.989 It means to have the Spirit of God. which seals 00:47:20.989 --> 00:47:24.869 you and conforms you and sanctifies you. It means 00:47:24.869 --> 00:47:28.570 to be in union with a local body.