Acts 2:37- 41

November 4, 2001   

Changed by the Gospel

The old saying goes: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Unfortunately, that is all too often the case.  This is well illustrated by the tale of the railroad track. The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between rails) is four feet, eight-and-one-half inches.

Why such an odd number? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and American railroads were built by British expatriates.

Why did the English adopt that particular gauge? Because the people who built the pre-railroad tramways used that gauge. They in turn were locked into that gauge because the people who built tramways used the same standards and tools they had used for building wagons, which were set on a gauge of four feet, eight-and-one-half inches.

Why were wagons built to that scale? Because with any other size, the wheels did not match the old wheel ruts on the roads.

So who built these old rutted roads?   The first long-distance highways in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been in use ever since. The ruts were first made by Roman war chariots. Four feet, eight-and-one-half inches was the width a chariot needed to be to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses.

As in physics, so also in all aspects of life, Newton’s First Law of Motion applies: “Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.”

Change comes not by chance, nor by inward motivation, but ultimately through external necessity. This is true with changes which must occur in our own lives. We may want to be different, to live lives that honor God, that are not bound to sin, that do not follow the same old ruts we’ve seen in our lives for years, in the lives of our parents. We know we must change, but how? What does that change look like?  Acts 2:37-41 describes change that comes from conviction of sin and the application of the gospel. READ

Peter has just concluded the first sermon after the descent of the Holy Spirit. The work of God the Spirit in the lives of his hearers is immediately obvious. Having explained that the death of Jesus of Nazareth was due to their sin, that they rejected the very one God the Father had appointed, they respond.

As Peter draws his sermon to a close and assures his hearers that God’s grace has been powerfully demonstrated in the life and death, the resurrection and present reign of Christ – so now his hearers, by the power of the Spirit who has been poured out, begin to experience real change. Let’s highlight that change in this passage to see what God does to bring us into conformity with his demands. There is a change of heart and mind, of status and supervision, change empowered by the Gospel.

For there to be change there must be: A Change of Heart

Conviction is necessary for change

That God is at work here drawing people to himself is seen in their response to the sermon. Having just heard the accusation that they are culpable of rejecting God’s chosen One, they do not respond with indignation but with conviction.

Luke says they were “cut to the heart”.  This uncommon word used by Homer to depict horses stamping the ground with their hooves. They were trampled and broken. Peter’s words, instead of causing anger, created sorrow, dismay. They saw their guilt before God, they were complicit in the greatest crime of all humanity. Not simply of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that they rejected the one God approved. Their guilt is the guilt of all humanity.

For there to be change, we must first know we are guilty. Both the Law and Gospel come to play. Change will not come with tugging emotional heart strings or trying to convince people of the benefit of a relationship with Christ. Rather, knowing we stand condemned by God and that God, in Christ, provides the answer to that condemnation – is the only solution.

Conviction produces response

What happens to us when we come to a place where we know we have done something wrong?

Unless our conscious is seared, when conviction comes we feel remorse. This is the response of the crowd - overwhelmed with anguish, despair, remorse and guilt, they asked Peter, what shall we do? Notice Peter does not manipulate the crowd with pleading. Rather he plainly states the truth and the Spirit works that truth into their lives. 

An indictment of sin is important in any presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Without conviction one will never see the need they have for a Savior. The trouble is, we really don’t want to feel that conviction. Having our hearts pierced is not a pleasant experience. But it is vitally necessary for change to occur. The surgeon’s scalpel must first cut in order to heal.

The preparation of the clay is very critical to creating a pot. Ancient Chinese who would plan generations in advance, creating clay pits their children would inherit. Years ago I had an interest in ceramics and not having that much time, I would set aside clay for future use, a year or two down the road. The trouble is, clay, unless attended to, dries out. So periodically, I would moisten and kneed the clay, keeping it malleable. But if the lid would be left off the garbage can in which it was stored, it would be rock hard. Hardened clay can not make itself soft. It takes outside intervention.

The work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God is the means by which hard hearts are made soft. But once made pliable, then it is useful. For that to take place, God’s grace must do the hard, but necessary work of kneeding, of adding what is necessary to make us useful for him. But that work is not always fun or easy. But once softened, then we are useful.

If you have never felt sorrow for your sin, if the realization of your guilty standing before God has not resulted in being cut down before God – real change can not occur. It need not involve tears or wailing, but that overwhelming sense that you have broken God’s Law is absolutely necessary. Feeling the hands of God working on your heart, grabbing, squeezing is never pleasant, but it is beneficial to change.

For there to be change there must be: A Change of Mind

Change is more than an emotional experience

Peter is direct and to the point. It is not enough for them to feel badly for what they have done. At first glance it seems as though Peter’s sermon has had the proper effect – everyone feels bad.

You may come from a tradition in which you know you’ve worshipped God, because you leave church feeling more guilty than when you came. But that sense of shame for having broken God’s Law is necessary, it is not enough to be sorrowful. Change is not the same as self examination. Change demands not only a broken heart, but a new direction in thinking.

Change must involve the mind

Peter calls the people to respond with repentance, literally a “changed mind” which points to the necessity of moving in a new direction. More than sorrow for sin, there is knowledge that changes one’s thinking, a paradigm shift, a new way of proceeding in a new direction. The English word here has a similar meaning. Repent comes from the Latin, pensare which means to be thoughtful, such as a pensive person. So to repent is to reconsider, to think anew.

Repentance is a change of mind so that one has new views, values and goals. But this change is not something we can do ourselves, but is a work of God’s saving grace in our lives whereby out of a true sense of our sin and apprehending God’s mercy in Christ, we, with grief and hatred of sin turn from sin to God, desiring to now be obedient to God’s Law.

But when we say repentance is a saving grace, we do so because true repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty; and it hates the sin most of all because it sees God’s love despite our sin.

For there to be change, we must know we are in trouble. But just that knowledge is not enough

I might find myself lost on a country road, but knowing I’m lost is not enough. To repent is to turn around and go to correction direction. Feeling sorrow for sin is not enough.

That change, however, is not something we can do ourselves. We imagine that repentance is something I do, a debt I must pay. It is that hang-dog expression. I was bad and now I will determine to be good. But that is not repentance, that is just a continuation of self reliance which got you in the downward spiral of sin in the first place.

Rather, repentance is, as Luther said, a tear in the eye of faith.

The change of mind which brings about a change of lifestyle is that you stop trying on your own to create a life pleasing to God. It is moving from self reliance to faith in Christ. For this reason we talk about repenting not only of your sins, but also of your own righteousness. The reason you may still be struggling with sin is not that you haven’t tried, but that you are trying. Faith in what Christ has done has no part in your change.

For there to be change there must be: A Change of Status

A change of status comes by God’s grace

At first glance it may seem strange for Peter to give the crowd something to do to change their status with God. Upon hearing that it was their sin that placed Jesus on the cross, they certainly need a change of heart and of mind, but what does getting wet have to do with this.

It may seem as though God is just making us jump through hoops. “If you are serious about this sin thing, then have someone throw some water on you and that’ll make God happy!”

The problem is not with what Peter says, but with what we think he says. Baptism is not about what we do, it is not us making a pledge to change, that we will no longer reject God’s Messiah, that we will live a life pleasing to God. Rather, baptism is about God’s promise to us. What must we do? How will we ever change? Accept God’s grace which will change you!  That is baptism.

Augustine called the sacraments, the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, the visible Word. They point not to what we can do, but to what God has done. In baptism we are reminded that our old self has been crucified with Christ, the Adamic nature is dead. It is not about our making ourselves pleasing to God, but God’s grace declaring us acceptable. Baptism is not about my faith, but God’s grace.

In baptism we declare we need to be cleansed, but that cleaning is not something we can do, but must be done to us. The changes which take place are all internal, but in baptism we have an external sign, a visible reminder of what God does inside of us.

Just as the wedding ring does not create a marriage, but point to it, so baptism is a reminder that one is now a part of the body of Christ. So your baptism is a declaration of what God did for you 2000 years ago on the cross. Baptism is about God changing us.

The change of status frees us from guilt of sin

Peter then makes a connection which some have misunderstood. There is a command with what seems to be a result: baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.

At first glance it appears as though Peter is tying forgiveness of sins to the act of baptism. The word “for” in v38 is eis which may mean purpose so that baptism is the prerequisite for the forgiveness of sins. But eis may also mean “on the ground of, on the basis of, which is quite different - that the forgiveness of sins is the basis, the grounds for being baptized.

The forgiveness of sins does not come through baptism. Rather, the forgiveness of sins comes through faith. What does baptism do, then? Baptism signifies and seals the forgiveness of sins. Baptism serves as proof of God’s grace. The grace of God does not lie in baptism, but in Christ. And we share in Christ only through faith. Baptism is nothing more and nothing less than the proof of God’s grace. In repentance your mind is changed regarding Christ so that God wipes out your the guilt of your sins. Then baptism is the sign that this has been accomplished and that you are a part of the visible Church.

But this change of status, which comes as we see that we have offended God and that he has sent his Son to take our place so that our sins are forgiven – when we recognize that – then we can know that we are forgiven. We have a new status. The problem often is, we do not live in light of that. There is no change because we really don’t believe we have been changed. We keep trying to change ourselves rather than relying on God’s grace that we are declared new. We keep trying to root out the sin on our own, making ourselves better, but in the end, we make ourselves worse. 

In l880 James Garfield was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn’t find it, so he tried a probe, but still couldn’t locate the bullet. They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak. Teams of doctors searched for the slug, probing the wound over and over. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died-not from the wound, but from infection. The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually, killed him. So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to trust that God will remove it in his time.

The problem is that you and I love to poke and prod, trying to extricate our own sin. We imagine that intense navel gazing is the same as repentance. Forgetting that our sins are forgiven. They are taken care of, in the past. While we certainly continue to wrestle with sin in our life, we must never lose sight of the fact that their penalty has been paid for.

For there to be change there must be: A Change of Supervision

Change comes as God indwells

Peter mentions the gift of the Holy Spirit connected to repentance and baptism, which is nothing less than the gift of the person of the Holy Spirit himself. The Spirit of God applies the benefits of Christ’s life and death to the person who has united themselves to Christ through faith. The picture of this union, of these benefits is baptism, the visible sign and seal.

That there is real change comes not because of what we do, but what God does. We can change the externals, but only God will change our hearts as he indwells us. We may call ourselves Christians, but just using the name does not equate with reality.

What's in a name? Hopefully a sweet new image for the dowdy prune after a $10 million makeover into a ``dried plum.'' After some 10 years of falling sales, the dark wrinkly processed fruit best known for its laxative properties is being re-marketed as a vitamin-rich snack for busy people on the go, so say the California Prune Board. ``People have told us that dried plums evoke a more positive 'fresh fruit goodness' image. California's prune growers -- the world's largest producers of the fruit -- hope the name change will do what the renaming of the fruit now known as the kiwifruit did for the obscure Chinese gooseberry. It was a makeover that worked wonders.

For us just using the name “Christian” is not enough. Just as a prune is a prune is a prune, so a sinner is still a sinner, until God declares that sinner righteous in his sight because of the work of Christ. At that point, there is conviction of sin, repentance and the application of forgiveness. The change comes with the indwelling Spirit.

Change comes not just to us, but to all God’s covenant people

This change is available to all who call on the Lord, all whom the Lord calls. Change comes not by the worthiness of the recipient, but because of God’s mercy. Earlier we read from Titus 3 where the idea is much the same.

God’s grace has nothing to do with the good we do. A changed life does not come about by means of our effort. Rather, it is through “the washing of rebirth (baptismal language) and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us...” The Spirit who indwells changes those that are his. God is the initiator here and does this of his own free grace in his own time.

Peter uses covenantal language here. You and your children.

To those pious Jews gathered there that day the words would be familiar. In Genesis 17:7 where God establishes his covenant with Abraham and with it the sign of circumcision, the promise is for him and for his children. God’s grace to change now after Christ’s ascension is no less gracious. Rather it extends not just to children, but those both near and far.

Just as change does not come easily or quickly for us, yet we must remember that it is by the work of Christ, by our looking in faith to Christ to change us, so also for our children, too. How often do we as parents expect grace to operate differently in our kids’ hearts than it does in our own. It just may be that we are so much more attuned at seeing our kids’ sins than our own. Nevertheless, we need to hold on to this promise not just for those areas which need changing in us, but in our kids, too. Remind them of their baptism, not that in the act they were made perfect, but in that visible sign they have the promise of God’s grace, that they, too must repent and in Christ they have the hope of change.

It has been said that Howard Hughes used to watch an old movie called Ice Station Zebra. It starred Ernest Borgnine and was a story about an outpost at the North Pole. It was rumored that Hughes watched the movie hundreds, possibly thousands, of times. It’s not the fact that Mr. Hughes supposedly watched films almost every night. Millions of people do that. It’s the fact that he watched the same film night after night. Now that’s unusual. Watching Ice Station Zebra a thousand times seems crazy since the movie never changes. You may be as big an Ernest Borgnine fan as the next guy, but nobody’s good enough to watch every night. After all, reruns never change. But for many of us we live in the fantasy world that we can live our lives as reruns, playing the same sins over and over again, that change need not come.

We rerun our sins not just because we love sin, but often because we have given up trying to change. We can’t change. But the good news of the gospel is that in Christ we need not try to improve, but rather in faith look to Christ who has made us a new creation and will renew our minds so that our lives honor Him.