Reference Text:
Now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we
do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto
you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he
testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then
they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were
added unto them about three thousand souls.
Sermon Text:
Beloved of the Lord……The one and only Almighty God in heaven, the Triune and blessed God declares in Isaiah 5:20, "Woe
unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for
light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for
bitter!" This week in the news,
Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, announced a ban on sugary
soda, so that anything larger than sixteen ounces could not be served in
most restaurants, theaters, delis, and even vending carts. The justification for this proposed ban is the problem of obesity. It
is rather astounding that a mayor who holds such an important office is
willing to call sugary sodas a danger to society, but has he proposed a
ban on pornography, abortion, or same-sex marriage? Indeed they make legal what should only be illegal. We
might wonder how can men be so foolish as to invent little petty laws
about little petty things, and ignore far more weighty matters. But the
answer, this is man's way of worshiping his own invented god. Ignoring
God's Ten Commandments men make God into their own perverse image, and
they literally try to save themselves by keeping their own invented
Commandments. How true the words of Peter in our lesson, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation!"
Thanks be to God, He has turned us away from our own darkness, so we see the grace, mercy, and peace of Jesus, who said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." We know and believe the one and only true God, because God Himself has revealed Himself to us, in the face of Jesus Christ. Moreover, He bought and brought us into His Kingdom of Grace, so we were baptized in His holy name, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. By
way of Christ and His cross, there is free and full REMISSION OF SINS,
and where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life everlasting for
all who believe God's promise. "Baptism works
forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives
eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of
God declare".
I. The conviction of the law. We
have in today's lesson a curious expression or phrase, namely after
hearing Peter's sermon, the people "were pricked in their heart, and
said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" This means their heart was pierced through. They had inwardly the deep conviction and sense of guilt in God's sight. They had crucifying Christ, the Lord of Glory, David's Son and David's Lord. Keep in mind this was THE DAY of Pentecost. They
had just witnessed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the twelve
disciples, seeing the tongues of fire upon the heads of the twelve
disciples. They had just heard them speak their own languages "the wonderful works of God". Peter's sermon thereafter contained both law and Gospel, but primarily it was law. He
concluded by saying, "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and
Christ." Like a thunderbolt these words cut the people to the quick! Not only were they guilty of murder, they had murdered the Christ, who had now risen from the dead and ascended into heaven. What would God do to them for murdering Jesus? His blood was on their hands. "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
Two primary points must here be made: the law of God is a mirror, and the Curse of the Law. The
combination of these two teachings breaks the hardened ground of man's
heart, so the broken sinner can desire God's grace, God's mercy, Jesus
Christ the Lord! That is why God says in Jeremiah 23 "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" Hardened sinners do not desire God's mercy, but broken sinners do. To put it another way: we must die in the knowledge of our sin before we can live in the light of God's grace. God therefore in His mercy, puts the MIRROR of His Ten Commandments in front of our face. We see ourselves through His eyes. Thou shalt not lie, reveals we are liars. Thou shalt not steal reveals we are thieves. Thou shalt not commit adultery reveals our adultery. Thou shalt not covet reveals our greed. With every commandment, one by one God peals away our many layers of pride and self-righteousness. We see we are very selfish and evil, proud and haughty. Even our imagination loves to think evil. We are ugly, dirty, filthy, even rotten to the core, and this includes pastors, popes, presidents, and children. The Bible says, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
To illustrate the evil in us God sees every day, imagine if every evil deed you committed in life was put on youtube. What if the whole world saw and could access your sinful life with a click of the button? But God knows far more than that. Proverbs 94 says, "He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, shall He not see?" God knows everything about us, every evil thought of our heart, every dirty deed committed by our hand. He knows it all, and God's law makes it bare. Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." Nothing is hidden from His holy face and God must punish all sin simply because He is God and there is no other. The god who does not punish sin is the devil, and the devil is the god of this world.
That brings us to the Curse of the Law. Galatians 3:10 says, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." This means if we transgress or break even one commandment, we are cursed by God and must be punished. For
example, the law of God states, "Thou shalt not take the name of the
LORD thy God in vain" and God then adds the curse, "for the LORD will
not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Similarly God's
curse upon liars in pronounced in Revelation 21. "All liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" And "he that speaketh lies shall not escape." Thus it should be more than evident no man can escape this curse by doing good. Good works never erase our evil works in God's sight because works done in fear are not good. We are like a child in a bathtub of filthy water, and no matter how much soap we use, we cannot make ourselves clean. Jeremiah 2:22 "Though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD."
II. Remission of sins "in the name of Jesus Christ." In
a word, only the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has power to wash us clean
of all sin, yet such could only be done at the price of His blood. Hence when the people were pricked in their heart, Peter directed them to Jesus, and the cleansing waters of baptism. "Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." This is a certain promise from God which cannot fail. To repent is to turn to Christ for the remission of sin. The Greek word behind remission means freedom or pardon. That is why Jesus said, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." When God thus remits or forgives our sins through Jesus, we are set free from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Though
we were all born in sin, born 100% evil, rotten and corrupt, Jesus (the
very Son of God) was born for our sake innocent, without any sin at
all, 100% holy. Yet He was born only to suffer and die on the cross, as a ransom or payment for our sins. Romans 5:8 says, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Truly, Jesus is your Substitute dear sinner, and His holy birth becomes your own through Baptism. All that Jesus earned for you on the cross, ALL His holy life, ALL His holy works, ALL THIS He gives you freely in Baptism. Though bankrupt in sin, when baptized God removes our debt and fills our account with grace. Faith
alone in Jesus then is necessary for salvation, and that is why Peter
said, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost." In our baptism, our ONE LORD puts His Triune name upon us, the blessed name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. As
He sent us His Son, so He sends us His Spirit in baptism, bringing
remission of sins, pardon and peace, even life everlasting. Being redeemed by His blood, there is no hell after death but only heaven. Forgiven sinners are pardoned criminals set free, by the blood of Christ. When the Holy Spirit preaches unto us Christ, Jesus comes to our prison of sin saying, "I am your Savior by way of the cross. Your sins are now my own, and the curse which was upon you, I now place upon myself. I was cursed, I suffered and died, but seen now I live and so shall you by faith in Me! By the blood of My everlasting covenant of My blood, I remit all your sins!" Truly this is what God accomplishes and gives in baptism! His Spirit takes our sins far away from us, as far as the east from the west. We are given a holy birth, a new birth. We are born from above as children of God. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Just
as we depart in peace after communion, so we can depart this world in
peace, knowing God baptized us, and washed us clean through Christ.
This "promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." What Christ did for you, Christ did for the whole world, for ALL that are afar off. It is written, Jesus "is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." Today then let us hear with our ears, and believe with our hearts, the call of the Gospel. In
the Gospel God brings and delivers to us the forgiveness of sins, and
thus He sincerely urges us to place our faith in His promises of grace
which cannot be broken. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, the same shall be saved." This name which saves you and me is Jesus Christ the Lord. That
day, "they that gladly received His Word were baptized: and the same
day there were added unto them about three thousands souls" and that
certainly includes children, "for the promise is unto you and your
children". Let us therefore rejoice today dear
baptized children of God, through Christ there is indeed pardon and
peace, REMISSION of all sins. Therefore let us continue to fight and resist sin, renouncing the devil and this untoward generation. And
now may "the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his
will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through
Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever!" Amen!
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