Why Should We Die?

Acts 2:37-41

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. NKJV

Now when they heard this, . . .

What was it they now heard? These are the same people who over the course of the 3 ½ years of Jesus’ earthly ministry who heard and judged Jesus to be a blasphemer. Was Peter giving them something different than what Jesus declared to them already? What was it they now heard? They heard a voice that they desperately needed to hear. They heard the voice of the Holy Spirit and this was no whisper!

Deut 5:22-25 "These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 "So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 And you said: 'Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. 25 Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die NKJV

. . . they were cut to the heart, . . .

Peter charged them with the murder of the Lord of glory (1Cor. 2:8). The Holy Spirit awakened something in them that they were not able to hear before. And indeed it was the knowledge of their own sinful heart. Sin has now been made alive to their conscience (Rom.7:8,9). The Holy Spirit has given them ears to hear. ("Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house. Ezek 12:2 NKJV) This is nothing new that Jesus wasn’t saying before. (“He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Matt 11:15 NKJV) It also wasn’t something new that their law wasn’t already saying. (Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. Deut 29:4-5 NKJV) They thought they were justified by keeping the law, yet without the Spirit never able to understand the laws condemnation in their conscience. In other words, the law never showed them that they were unable to comply with it. But when Peter confronts them with the murder of Jesus whom their law prophesied would come to save them from their sins they “were cut to the heart”.

. . . and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

This conviction led them to a desire and a need for hope, because all the law could do was take away any hope they had. For they had their hope in their own righteousness and their own goodness to bring favor upon them from God. But when Peter expounded Jesus Christ from the law and prophets, whose righteousness exceeded the law, it shattered any hope of them having a righteousness of their own. (For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:20 NKJV) Jesus was referring to His own righteousness, in a sarcastic manner, before the openly unrighteous who were only able to see the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and not their own.

Now, having ears to hear the devout Jews cry out, “What shall we do?” That statement declares that the Holy Spirit has led them to ask the proper question. How then can we be saved? Also, the Holy Spirit brought them low enough to be taught by uneducated fisherman, like Peter, whom they were mocking just before Peter's speech. These “devout Jews” address Peter and the other apostles as, “Men and brethren”. This is a statement of respect and honor. This shows that their heart is ready to be taught. In some ways this shows that their heart is already repentant, but just needed to understand what that means. Peter later goes into greater detail about salvation (v.40).

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; . . .

Peter commands them to repent in response to their question, “What shall we do?” Peter doesn’t have to explain who Jesus is to them again for this understanding is what “cut to their heart”. They also would have understood, now, that they were going in the wrong direction in justifying themselves with works they have done and needed to turn to Christ whose works have the power to justify them. In other words, Peter tells them to stop doing works to justify themselves and do the one work necessary to be saved, which is, turn around and submit to Jesus Christ the appointed King. Peter also commands them to be baptized, which symbolizes the forgiveness of sins. Peter is not telling them that baptism forgives sins, but that it symbolizes their repentance and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, because they understand the forgiveness of sins comes through Christ alone, baptism represents the removal of a filthy conscience; and that it publically illustrates the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the person of Jesus Christ.

. . . and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s start with what Peter is not saying. He is not saying that obedience to baptism is a means to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. But He is saying that obedience to baptism increases assurance of salvation and gives their testimony more power. These devout Jews just witnessed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon “these Galileans”, and now have been “cut to the heart” through Peter's message. Obedience to this command will grant them the power to be Christ’s witnesses. This is the purpose of salvation that those whom God redeems testify of His Name.

The elect church is saved that she may save, cleansed that she may cleanse, blessed that she may bless. All the world is the field, and all the members of the church should work therein for the great Husbandman. Waste lands are to be reclaimed, and forests broken up by the plough, till the solitary place begins to blossom as the rose. We must not be content with holding our own: we must invade the territories of the prince of darkness. ~ C.H. Spurgeon - The Greatest Fight in the World

When these men were given “ears to hear” they were already given the Holy Spirit (Jn.15:3), in a mysterious sense they were already converted, but now needed to learn what that meant. In understanding baptism correctly they will then be empowered to be Christ’s witnesses.

For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

Peter defines the purpose of the Holy Spirit – evangelism. Evangelism begins with the fathers in the home. Peters says the promise of the Holy Spirit starts with these men, “devout Jews”, and then to their children. Peter expects these men to take what they have learned and disciple their wives and children. If fathers would be obedient to this command evangelism would be unnecessary anywhere else. But it will always be necessary because this promise is only to those whom “the Lord our God will call", not everyone we call.

. . . as many as the Lord our God will call."

There are two calls: The outward call of repentance, (Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31 NKJV) . . . and the inward call of regeneration (Jude 1:1; Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Rom 8:30 NKJV) Peter is not saying that God has only called families, as we have seen, the command is for all men everywhere to repent. Also that this promise is not a formula that saves a whole family, but that it is a promise to those who the Lord calls inwardly by being given a new nature to agree with the heart of God.

Ezek 36:24-28 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. NKJV

God says He will do all these things. This is not something we can do for ourselves, but what God will do for us as individuals. But an even greater and more accurate application is that God will do this for that generation of Israel of His choosing. Practically for the church this applies to us on a one to one basis between the Holy Spirit; but when this prophesy is fulfilled, it will be applied on a one to nation basis between Jesus Christ and Israel.

Does your life testify and show evidence of this inward call? In other words, have you repented? (Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb 11:1) Have you made your calling and election sure? (For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 1:26-27 2 Peter 1:10-11) Have you examined yourself to see if you are in the faith? (Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 2 Cor 13:5-6 1 Cor 11:27-29) Does the Holy Spirit bear witness with you that you are a child of God? (For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out,"Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Rom 8:15-17) Have you really taken the time to test the genuineness of your faith? Have you asked the Lord to test you in this way?

And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."

Peter goes on to testify to them about their sin; for he says, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Peter is claiming they are living in a perverse generation. Let’s not forget who he was preaching to. Peter was preaching to religious Jews who loved righteousness, but it was a righteousness of their own form and was not the righteousness of God. Peter goes on and on pleading for them to be saved knowing the terror of the Lord. (Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. 2 Cor 5:11)

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

What a testimony of the Spirit’s power! 3000 souls added to the 120 whom the Holy Spirit was poured out upon that day! Do you gladly receive God’s Word? Until the Holy Spirit cuts your ideas of salvation to shreds and brings you low enough to hear His Word, you will never gladly hear it. When the Holy Spirit and the law has done their work and puts you on your face, before the righteousness and crucified face of Jesus Christ, then you will have the desire to hear the news necessary for life. Those who have been crucified with Him will be honored with Him.

Gal 2:20-21 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." NKJV