The Unconverted "Believer" (23): Coming to Christ 08/08/2021

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Well, I know your bulletin says we're going to read Acts 27, but instead

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Dave Farrar is going to come forward and read for us the passage. It will be addressing here shortly so if you'll turn in your

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Bibles to Acts chapter 2 and He will read for us verses 22 through 47 a familiar passage

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Acts chapter 2 Men of Israel Hear these words

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Jesus of Nazareth a man attested to you by God With mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst as you yourselves know this

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Jesus Delivered up according to the definite plan and for knowledge of God You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men

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God raised him up and Loosed the pangs of death Because it was not possible him to be held by it

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For David says concerning him. I saw the Lord always before me

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For he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced

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My flesh also will dwell in hope You will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your

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Holy One see corruption You have made known to me the paths of life

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You will make me full of gladness with your presence Brothers I may say to you with confidence about the

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Patriarch David That he both died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day

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Being therefore a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him

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That he would set one of his descendants on his throne He foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the

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Christ That he was not abandoned by Hades Nor did his flesh see corruption

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This Jesus God raised up and of that we are all witnesses being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and Having received from the father the promise of the

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Holy Spirit He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing

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For David did not ascend into the heavens But he himself says the

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Lord said to my Lord Sit at my right hand Until I make your enemies your footstool

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But all the house of Israel therefore know for certain That God has made him both

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Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified Now when they heard this

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They were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles brothers, what shall we do and Peter said to them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ For the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the

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Holy Spirit For the promises for you and your children and for all who are far off everyone whom the

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Lord our God calls to himself and with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying

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Save yourselves from this crooked generation So those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about 3 ,000 souls

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And they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and fellowship and to breaking of bread and prayers and came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the

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Apostles and And all who believed were together and had all things in common and they were selling their possessions and belongings and Distributing the proceeds to all as any had need and day by day

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Attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes They received their food with glad and generous hearts

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Praising God and Having favor with all the people and the

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Lord added to their number day by day Let's pray

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Our great Heavenly Father It is such a privilege to gather with your people today

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To hear the old hymns sung To hear the prayers the reading of the word and our

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Lord the teaching and reading of the

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Word of God We're thankful our Heavenly Father for preserving your word down over all these years

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We're thankful With tears on our eyes often Lord as we read your words

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We give thanks You pray father today that you'd watch over Pastor Lars as he preaches the word

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May the Holy Spirit fill him And may the

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Holy Spirit speak to the hearts and minds of each of us here today, too

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We pray in Christ's name Amen Kendra I didn't see you earlier.

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Good to see you. Are you heading down to see Keith this week? Thursday you're going wonderful.

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Good great we did Make Keith's address known.

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He's down there for 60 days in Louisiana Deployed by ice for one of his one of the big regional places down there

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He indicated the first two weeks he was there he put in 152 hours He's working long hard hour

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But I'm sure he'd appreciate your notes your contact right Kendra, yeah

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Feeling lonely. Yeah, so it'd be good if you could contact him Well, it appears at this point that we have today and two more

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Sundays in which We will complete our study of this most important subject which we have called the unconverted

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Believer believer being in quotation marks in other words a professing believer who's not truly converted nominal

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Christianity and so we've addresses address the major issues regarding the problem of many

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Who wrongly believe that they are true Christians the Bible says that there are and will be many like this and We've attempted to analyze and understand how and why nominal

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Christianity is so prevalent in today's churches and in doing so we have set forth what biblical salvation is and What life of true

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Christians looks like those who have been truly converted to Jesus Christ. And so today is what the 23rd

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Lord's Day that we have devoted to this But to conclude this

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Series, it's our desire to display in plain and clear language What people are to do in order to respond to God's call of the gospel and to receive biblical salvation and so we'll do so by addressing today the sinner initially coming to faith in Jesus Christ as its

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Lord and Savior next Lord's Day Lord willing We'll show what the scriptures teach regarding the true

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Christian continuing in faith in Jesus Christ throughout life and Then we'll on the third

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Sunday two weeks from today on That final occasion will address the subject

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Completing this life of faith in Jesus Christ. And so coming to Christ continuing in Christ and finishing completing this life of faith in Christ Now regarding what it is to savingly come to Christ.

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We want to give our attention to this passage of Acts 2 that Dave just read for us

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It's a passage. We've already considered in this series But we want to examine it today with a different emphasis

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We had cited this passage earlier when we addressed

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How the how the gospel of salvation is the gospel of the kingdom?

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we use this passage to show that and Then we also use this passage in speaking of the importance of repentance.

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What true repentance is and coming to salvation Today however, we wish to consider this passage regarding what a sinner is to do in order to become saved

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And I mentioned to a few folks What our intention was? Today in today's message, they already indicated.

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Yeah, I'm gonna get those notes and send to my loved ones my friends and I thought it would be good and important to set down in one set of notes

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What is a sinner to do to? Obtain salvation and I would suggest to you that here in acts 2 right at the outset of this

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Christian era We have it set before us quite clearly we'll not reread the passage

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Dave just read it Here in acts 2 we have related of course the conversion of 3 ,000 souls on the day of Pentecost On this day, they came to Jesus Christ for salvation

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Often the Puritans referred to this initial coming to Christ as closing with Christ and I might just interject this

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I did a little research looking for that phrase closing with Christ which is not frequently used in these days, but it was commonly used by the

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Puritans and I came across a wonderful book that I've had in my library for 20 years and It's a book that's readily available

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Today there is a modern banner of truth edition And It is a book that sets forth the way of salvation and it's a book written by William Guthrie who lived in the 17th century and he wrote the book the

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Christians great interest and I pulled this book off and began reading it and Basically, this book was an effort of Guthrie to set forth the way of salvation in a very clear and white clear way

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And it was so clear that it has undergone 80 additions since the 17th century and it's been translated into many languages and Just for a little commendation

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John Owen one day pulled this book of Guthrie's from his pocket and he said that author

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I Take to have been one of the greatest divines that ever wrote One of the greatest preachers pastors and Thomas Chalmers a noted preacher that age

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Described this book as the best book I ever read it's a good book that sets forth in very clear ways the way of salvation and I gave a description of it on at the end of your notes and Included the table of contents and if you happen to receive our sermon notes via email or text through your phone

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I actually attached the entire word file of this book with this morning sermon notes

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And so you have that available to you? And so it's a great book closing with Christ the idea of closing the deal or securing the agreement that God has promised in Christ that all who believe and submit unto him will be saved we read in the last verse of this passage verse 47 that they had received the greatest of gifts that of salvation and So it reads this passage reads it on the day of Pentecost And on other days by the way, the

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Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved So here they came they were not saved when the day began

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And by the end of the day they were saved and so we have clear instruction here and a description of the grace of God in bringing salvation to these people and So when these 3 ,000 people that awakened from sleep that morning they were lost in their sin damned before God But were woefully ignorant of their spiritual condition.

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They thought they were quite fine in good standing with God They were

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Jewish people But before the morning had passed For it was still in the morning hours that the

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Apostle Peter stood before them and proclaimed the gospel to them Before the morning hours, apparently they had come to faith repented their sin believed and they were gloriously saved from their sin

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And not only had they repented of sin and put their faith in Christ But they were baptized to demonstrate that a confession of their faith and they were added to the church all in one day

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Sometimes the Lord Will work with individuals over an extended period of time and bringing them to Christ, but sometimes it happens suddenly

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In a short period of time in the course of one Church service a lost person can come in and walk out a saved person

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Back Jonathan Edwards wrote a wonderful sermon how of course he was writing in the days of the

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Great Awakening That we should expect sudden and remarkable conversions And I think that's a good

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Encouragement a good sermon by the way Well to these people it was a life -changing event that was due to the present and powerful operation of the

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Holy Spirit Obviously, it was the day of Pentecost The Holy Spirit had given them understanding of their lost spiritual condition

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He gave them a concern for the eternal destiny of their souls He had revealed and impressed upon them the glory of Jesus Christ in his death

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Resurrection and enthronement as Lord over the promised kingdom of God the

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Holy Spirit enabled them by grace to turn from their sin repentance is a gift of God and Savingly believe on the

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Lord Jesus Christ and so through the event of this one day they had

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They who had came forth from having been condemned in their sin and were brought into a state of salvation

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And through their response to Peter's preaching they repented of their sins They placed their faith in the

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Lord Jesus Christ. They were gloriously saved Even as they submitted to baptism and were added to the young church.

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It was forming in Jerusalem Again, it's our intention This morning to consider what it was that they had come to hear understand and embrace in faith

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That brought them to salvation in Jesus Christ and so let's first consider

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Peter's message to the people of Jerusalem We will ponder what is before us by first considering what that Peter proclaimed to these

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Jews that they stood condemned before God for their sin and Secondly, we'll focus on the specific instruction that Peter gave to these people whereby they might be saved from their sin

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And then third we'll examine the response of these new converts having become

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Christians and So first Peter proclaimed to these

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Jews that they stood condemned before God for their sin He declared to them men of Israel hear these words

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Jesus of Nazareth a man Attested by God to you by miracles wonders and signs which

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God did through him in your midst as you yourselves Also know him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God You have taken by lawless hands of crucified put to death

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Whom God raised up having loosed the page of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it

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That's the direct approach The particular crime to which Peter accused them was the injustice in their dealings with Jesus of Nazareth They had rejected

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Jesus Whom God had graciously sent to them and through whom

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God had worked miracles among them and they all knew it But rather than acknowledging that God had sent this man to them.

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They had unjustly and cruelly crucified him What they had done was immensely lawless lawless hands

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But at the same time it was in accordance, of course with the divine will

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Jesus had been delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. It was in God's decree

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Even though the people were responsible and guilty for what they had done. It was with lawless hands.

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They crucified Jesus There we have human responsibility at divine sovereignty

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Now there were these three thousand Jewish people standing before Peter hearing his words being charged with this criminal and egregious act of injustice

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Now actually as Peter was speaking to these three thousand plus people on the day of Pentecost There must have been some present

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Who had been physically present before Pontius Pilate and called out to Pontius Pilate to have

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Jesus crucified, but I don't suspect all of them were there Nevertheless notice how

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Peter charges them all with this criminal act He charged all who were standing before him with this crime.

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In other words, there was a collective responsibility and Corporate guilt for what the Jews had done

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They had all crucified Jesus they were all guilty They all deserve just God's just punishment of them for their sin and They all recognize their guilt, even if maybe they weren't directly in front of Pilate Complicit in that directly complicit

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And yet we recognize that not only were the Jewish people guilty for having crucified Jesus But the

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Gentiles were also culpable and complicit in this crime on a later occasion when the gathered church was praying their prayer reflected their

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Understanding of the collective guilt of the Gentiles along with the Jews in the crucifixion of Jesus And so here we have the words of a prayer offered by the church in Acts 4

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When they heard that they raised their voice to God with one accord that this was threats not to preach

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Jesus anymore They raised their voice to God with one accord and said Lord you are God You made heaven and earth and the sea all that is in them.

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You're the creator And by the mouth of your servant David have said why did the nation's rage?

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He's quoting they are quoting Psalm 2 and the people plot vain things

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That is somehow they were going to prevent Jesus God from enthroning his son Jesus the kings of the earth took their stand the rulers were gathered together against the

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Lord and against his Christ for truly Now they're drawing the truth the application for truly against your holy servant

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Jesus whom you anointed Both Herod and Pontius Pilate see Jew and Gentile with the

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Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done and So inciting

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Psalm 2 verses 1 and 2 they were declaring their understanding that the entire fallen world was guilty in having rejected and Put to death

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Jesus of Nazareth God had graciously sent forth

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Jesus on his behalf Through whom he so wonderfully blessed the people by removing the temporal manifestations and consequences of their sin

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But what did they do in response? They Rejected him and crucified him and there is corporate responsibility

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We have as members of the human race for having rejected and crucified Jesus Christ You and I crucified

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Jesus because of our sin Because the fallen world hates

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God and his son whom he sent into the world the world crucified Jesus They were all guilty we are all guilty

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The Lord Jesus came into the world and the world rejected him not just his own Jewish people but the world

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Now again, these people here on the day of Pentecost were all Jewish. They were the professing people of God They'd been raised within Judaism.

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They perceived that they were the blessed people of God members of the covenant community of Israel But had they been truly the people of God that is people of faith

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They would have earlier believed on Jesus of Nazareth as the promised King of Israel the son of David They would have believed like Abraham believed if they were truly the children of Abraham But they had failed even refused to believe who

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Jesus was Rather than acknowledging Jesus as the promised Messiah. That is the promised

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King Submitting to him as their promised King they rejected him having crucified him

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Peter made known very clearly to these people that they were under the wrath of God due to their sin.

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They were hopelessly lost They had no claims upon God. They could make no appeals for favorable treatment by God They were under his wrath and deservedly so Peter charged them with their crime.

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They were without excuse God had attested to the true identity of this man by doing many miracles and wonders and signs by him

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The people should have recognized him and acknowledged him as God's promised Messiah Crowning him and submitting to him as their king, but they were lawless

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With respect to him having crucified Jesus they put him to death Nevertheless God's plan and purpose would not falter

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And so to this gathering crowd Peter declared that Jesus that God had raised that God had raised him up having loosed the pains of death

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Because it was not possible that Jesus could be held in that state of death verse 24

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Peter then declared that King David had prophetically foretold of God resurrecting his son

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And so Peter quoted David's Psalm Psalm 16 verses 8 through 11 and applying

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David's words to Jesus For David says concerning him that is

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Jesus I foresaw the Lord always before my face For he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken.

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This is Jesus prophetically speaking He's not in the state of death. He is right next to God the

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Father Therefore my heart rejoiced my tongue was glad moreover My flesh also will rest in hope for you will not leave my soul in Hades Those are prophetically the words of Jesus God the

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Father would not leave his soul in Hades the abode of the dead Nor will you allow your

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Holy One that's Jesus to see corruption his body did not undergo decay You've made known to me the ways of life.

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You will make me full of joy in your presence and so this Psalm speaks of Jesus as alive and Death could not hold him

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And he was enthroned exalted Peter declared that Jesus was the son of David whom

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God had promised would one day restore the divinite kingdom This Messiah would reign over the world and govern the covenant people of God those who are brought into the promised kingdom of his son

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And so Peter declared to these Jews gathered before him men and brethren Let me speak freely to you of the patriarch

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David that he's both dead and buried. His tomb is with us to this day Therefore being a prophet

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King David was a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body his

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Descendant Jesus the son of David According to the flesh he would raise up the

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Christ the Messiah to sit on his throne the Messiah's throne Which was

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David's throne Now our dispensational friends our pre -millennial friends say no

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David's throne is in a future thousand -year earthly millennium That's not what Peter was declaring here when

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David was ruling in Jerusalem. He was ruling on behalf of God in heaven He was sitting on God's throne in Jerusalem ruling over God's people

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He was a man after God's own heart ruling on behalf of God and upon the resurrection of Jesus The father exalted him sat him down at the right hand of the father and he is there ruling in heaven on the throne

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Of David over the people of God over the promised messianic kingdom. He is

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Lord. He is King As It's declared for seeing this he spoke of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in Hades the abode of the dead

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Nor did his body his flesh see corruption this Jesus God rids raised out for which we're all witnesses

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Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God having received from the father the promise of the

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Holy Spirit He poured out this which you now see and hear David didn't ascend into the heavens, but he says himself the

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Lord said to my Lord This David speaking God the father said to my

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Lord. This is David's son yet David is calling his son is Lord. How could this be because he's the

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Son of God eternally said at my right hand That's the position of authority Rule until I make your enemies foots your footstool

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In other words the father is saying until through you as you're reigning on my behalf Conquer all your enemies and bring them into submission and that's what

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King Jesus is doing and he'll complete it at his second coming He'll reconcile this entire world unto himself

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Cast off all those who refuse to bow their knee and do eternal hell and all those who believe on him as Savior as Lord Will be ushered into the fullness of the kingdom and So Peter declared that the promised messianic kingdom had been established and that God had coronated

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Jesus upon his resurrection from the dead Installing him as the reigning king over the kingdom of God.

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He is Lord and This was the fulfillment of what King David had himself foretold

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Verses 34 and 35 God raised up. His son had exalted him as both

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Lord and Christ and So Peter declared to these people therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this

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Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ he's the king

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Christ means anointed. He's the anointed King. He's the anointed priest. He is the king priest and prophet

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God had anointed him and so Peter announced that God the Father had made Jesus Lord That is the king with dominion over all the world

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He has authority over all flesh Jesus said in John 17 and this was according to his purpose and promise the promise of God from the beginning of That Jesus as the

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Christ the anointed prophet priest and King Would be made sovereign ruler over all his creation and so through the power of the

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Holy Spirit Who gave weight and clarity to Peter's words the people were smitten with the sense and the realization of their great guilt

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They were gripped with holy terror before God for their great crime They were lost and undone

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They came to realize their sinful and foolish rebellion and their criminal injustice that they perpetrated upon the promised

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Messiah They were lost undone without hope condemned before God And so in desperation we read of their reaction to Peter in verse 37

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They were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles men and brethren.

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What shall we do? I'd say they were teachable at that point wouldn't you?

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And we have to the Holy Spirit have to have to bring people to this realization before they experience true conversion

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Well Let's consider next what Peter declared to them that they were to do in order to be saved from their sin

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In response to the people's appeal as to what they should do we read in verses 38 and 39 then

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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

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Holy Spirit For the promises to you and to your children and to all who are far off as many as the

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Lord our God will call Peter was essentially telling these people if they believed and embraced what he had been telling them that they

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Then they should respond by acknowledging their sinfulness and their guilt before God completely turned from their former ways of thinking and living onto themselves and Embrace in faith and submit in humble allegiance and obedience to Jesus Christ the

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Lord if they desire to receive God's forgiveness of their sin and have

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Citizenship in the promised kingdom over which King Jesus was Lord. They must turn from their independent

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Their self -directed lives and submit to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior now

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Again Peter's words are concisely and briefly stated in verses 38 and 39

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That was only a summary really a distilling of the nature and content of what Peter declared to them on this occasion

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For we read in verse 40 and with many other words Peter testified and exhorted them saying be saved from this perverse generation

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It was damned they needed to Make certain that they were not going to be damned with it

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And so Peter commanded that they repent and that they were to submit to being baptized Their faith and repentance was shown forth in their obedience to this command

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Their baptism would demonstrate their willingness and confession that they had made a complete break with their former ways of thinking and living

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They were identifying themselves with the crucified buried and risen Lord Jesus They were confessing that they were now dead to their former life of independent thinking and living

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Jesus was now their Lord and they purpose to order their lives according to what

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God would have him Have them do according to what Jesus their Lord would have them do

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This of course is in accordance with the Great Commission that Jesus gave his disciples a few weeks earlier

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He declared in Matthew's gospel all authority has been given to me in heaven and earth. That's kingly authority

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He's not gonna have any more authority at the second coming than he has presently He has all authority in heaven and earth.

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Jesus is Lord Everything that we see unfolding. Yes, it's by lawless wicked men, but they're fulfilling the purposes of God in Christ unwittingly

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And then he said go therefore make disciples of all nations Baptizing them in the name of the Father the

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Son Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you That's everything in the

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Bible and lo I'm with you always even to the end of the age.

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Amen and Basically these converts on the day of Pentecost were committing themselves to do that Notice what

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Peter did not tell these people as the way to obtain a salvation He did not say what many well -meaning

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Christians tell others today. You must accept or receive Jesus your personal Savior That is a

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Serious fallacy and reduction of what it is to have salvation and You know the old adage is it's not a question of you accepting

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Jesus It's a question of whether or not he'll accept you and he won't unless you turn from your sin and submit to him as Lord He saves those who are in his kingdom

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Peter didn't say you must ask Jesus into your heart and Then somehow promise them they have salvation

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You're to pray and believe in your heart that God has forgiven you because you're trusting in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins

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That says nothing about the kingdom of God and and the belief in submission to Jesus as Lord Salvation is more as we've emphasized so much is is more than the forgiveness of sins as important and foundational as That is no

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Peter declared if these people desire to have God forgive them of their sins they must turn from their former way of thinking and living and Believe and submit to Jesus Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings Only upon entering the kingdom of God and purposing to live as kingdom citizens only then could they be certain that God will forgive them and That's how you deal with nominal

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Christianity folks Only by believing and obeying what

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Peter proclaimed to them could they receive the remission of sins God's remission or forgiveness of their sin was really the first of two promises that Peter Declared to these people that they would enjoy upon their repentance and baptism

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Now, of course we have to acknowledge it though Peter commanded them to be baptized and it is linked to the remission of sins

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We know elsewhere from Holy Scripture that baptism is not the instrumental means by which

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God forgives sinners Forgiveness of sins is through faith not works, of course

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But those who have faith are to submit to baptism as a demonstration and confession of their faith in Jesus Christ You say you believe in Christ.

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Why aren't you willing to show that confess that in baptism? Furthermore because baptism in the early church was so closely associated with conversion

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It often it was often submitted to upon the occasion to which faith in Christ was first exercised

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Baptism was viewed as part of the initial saving event You come under conviction you

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You're you're told about Christ the Savior the Lord Until you repent of sin you believe on him you undergo baptism to demonstrate that faith and you're added to the church

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Those who Denominations that teach a baptism is the means by which God forgives sinners are great in great error

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They teach there's something magical about baptism Many denominations teach that about infant baptism that they're born again

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That's the teaching of Roman Catholicism and the Church of England the Greek Orthodox Church It's even worded in some confessions of some others

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Like the Methodist amazingly, which is so inconsistent. It would seem even the Lutheran's is incredible to me that they had that in their confession when otherwise

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Those those few denominations would emphasize justification by grace through faith alone forgiveness through faith alone

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Nevertheless, they advocate that baptism is a saving instrument Regardless of whether that infant understands anything at all you baptize them and that person comes as salvation

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That's not biblical at all It's through faith alone But the second promise that Peter assured these people upon the repentance and baptism was that they would receive the gift of the

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Holy Spirit Again verse 38 reads and Peter said to them repent 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

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Holy Spirit He then declared in verse 39 for the promise that is the promise of the

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Holy Spirit is to you and to your children and to all who are far off as many as the Lord our

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God will call and So Peter spoke of the gift of the Holy Spirit as a promise

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Several important issues need to be addressed in connection with this promise First this gift of the

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Holy Spirit should not be confused or identified with the grace of regeneration by the Holy Spirit That is being born again

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Regeneration or the new birth is the only way sinners may be saved and therefore regeneration

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Being born again is true of all New Testament and all Old Testament believers Regeneration is a result of the sovereign act of God in which the

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Holy Spirit creates spiritual life in the soul of a sinner Which then inclines the mind and heart to embrace in faith the promises of God unto salvation and life before him all true

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Believers were regenerated by the Holy Spirit Which preceded their saving faith in God's promises the gift of the

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Holy Spirit, however is quite another matter God had promised that when the

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Messiah reigned over the promised kingdom of God He would give his kingdom citizens the gift of the Holy Spirit who would incline them and enable them to do his will

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The gift of the Holy Spirit as mentioned here is a unique promise to those in the kingdom of God over which

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King Jesus reigns The Messiah would give his kingdom citizens the gift of the

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Holy Spirit To enable them to live before him. We read of this promise back in Ezekiel 36

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The Old Testament saints didn't have this promise or they had the promise. They didn't have the reality

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It was to be anticipated when the Messiah came and established his kingdom

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God promised the exiles in Ezekiel 36 Jewish exiles. I'll take you from among the nations

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Now there was a physical return of Jewish exiles but this speaks of a larger spiritual return you and I are taken from the nations and Brought to him gathered out of all countries bring you into your land.

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The land was a type a type of our the kingdom of God the type of salvation that we enjoy

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This is this is how the people would have understood this the place of blessing where God was their

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God They were his people and then I will sprinkle clean water on you And you should be clean talks about changing them cleansing them from their sin

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I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols That's not talking just about forgiveness is talking about he's going to make them different people they're no longer going to be idolaters

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I Will give you a new heart and a new spirit within you I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh give you a heart of flesh and then verse 27

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Speaks about the gift of the Holy Spirit to those in the kingdom of the Messiah I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them

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And then you dwell in the land again the context Prophetic context is within the realm of the kingdom of God.

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I gave your fathers. You should be my people. I will be your God That's covenant language and I'll deliver you from all your uncleannesses.

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I will call for the grain multiply it again This would have been a way to for them to understand the blessing of God was upon them and the curse of God was removed

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Bring no famine upon you. I'll multiply the fruit of your trees you increase your fields so that you never need again bear the reproach of famine among the nations and Then you'll remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good

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You'll loathe yourselves in your own sight your iniquities your abominations not for your sake

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Do I do this as the Lord let it be known to you be ashamed and confounded for your own ways. Oh house of Israel John the

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Baptist Declared that the Messiah for whom he was preparing the way would baptize his people in the

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Holy Spirit I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I is coming whose handle strap.

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I'm not worried you to lose he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire and The Apostle Paul declared that God had promised

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Abraham his descendants According to faith his descendants according to faith that they would receive the promise of the

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Holy Spirit Who would enable his people to live before God Paul wrote? Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us for it's written cursed is

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Everyone who hangs on a tree that's crucified Why here's the purpose clause so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the

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Gentiles in Christ Jesus that we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith

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And in Acts 238 Peter declared to the crowd Repent 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

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Holy Spirit Again, he commanded them to turn from their self -directed

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Self -governing life to submit unto the authority and commands of Jesus Christ the Lord But he was telling them that in addition to having their sins forgiven

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He would give them the gift of the Holy Spirit who would empower them to fulfill the directives of the

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Lord Jesus It's only through the gift of the Holy Spirit That's available to every true Christian that we're able to live holy lives before the

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Lord you and I need the Holy Spirit In our regeneration our new birth.

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He put the desire in you to become holy, but he didn't put the ability in you

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Jesus said without me you can do nothing and even as a Christian though. You want to be holy

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You don't have the power to be holy He has to give you the gift of the Holy Spirit So we were to pray to the

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Lord Give us the Holy Spirit this day to enable us to live before you and do what pleases you

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If you don't I'm a goner. I can't do it unless you empower me to do so Now this sadly has been lost on much of modern evangelicalism

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It's sad and unfortunate that there are two commonplace errors that have robbed many present -day

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Christians from this promise and as a result they are often powerless to Fulfill their desires to live holy lives their desires that the

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Holy Spirit placed in their hearts through the grace of regeneration. I Don't want to regress too much, but I remember as an early young Christian.

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I Had the love of God put my heart. I knew it was of God. He put it there I wanted to live holy a holy life.

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I wrongly thought because I had the desire. I had the ability and It took a handful a year to discover.

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I yeah, I've got the desire, but I don't have the ability Lord unless you take this away.

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I'm a goner and We all have that's what it is to learn to live by faith. We'll address that next week two errors

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Negate this biblical teaching in many evangelicals minds. The first error is that of our

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Pentecostal friends who? Co -opted the biblical teaching of the baptism and filling of the

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Holy Spirit with ecstatic mystical experience and speaking in tongues The second error is that of dispensationalism which wrongly teaches that since every

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Christian has been born again of the Holy Spirit and Therefore every Christian has the Holy Spirit that is wrong to pray that the

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Lord may give you his Holy Spirit It's a really Wrong logic it's illogical their their their reasoning but this is what they argue

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It said Jesus gave these instructions And talking about Luke Luke's gospel particularly

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Gave this these instructions to pray for the Holy Spirit While the Jews were under the law before the giving of the

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Holy Spirit at Pentecost And therefore the words of Jesus to pray for the Holy Spirit do not apply to Christians today

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This is what CI Schofield wrote In his new scope in the Schofield study

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Bible and then the editors of the new Schofield study Bible left these words in He wrote these words

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Applied to Luke 11 9 through 13. I might let's go go up a little bit.

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Let's read the words of Jesus in Luke 11 9 through 13 Jesus said so I say to you ask it will be given to you seek you will find knock

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It will be open to you for everyone who asks receives he who seeks finds To him who knocks will be open if a son asked for bread from any father among you

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Will he give him a stone or if he asked for a fish? Will he give him a serpent instead of a fish or if he asked for an egg?

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Will they offer him a scorpion if you then being evil? Jesus is talking to his disciples know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly

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Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him and Yet the dispensation was a no.

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No. No, you're not supposed to ask him for the Holy Spirit Because you already have the Holy Spirit That's what

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Schofield wrote in the block quote It's evident that none of these disciples With the possible exception of Mary Bethany asked for the

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Spirit in the faith of this promise It was a new and staggering thing To a Jew that in advance to the fulfillment of Joel to all might receive the

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Spirit Mary alone of the disciples understood Christ repeated declaration Concerning his own death and resurrection save Mary except for Mary not one of the disciples

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But Peter and he only in the Great Confession Manifested a spark of spiritual intelligence till after the resurrection of Christ in the impartation of the

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Spirit and here it is Schofield's interpretation of Jesus's words when he said that the

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Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who asked to go back to the promise of Luke 11 13 is to forget

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Pentecost and to ignore the truth that now every believer has the indwelling spirit and That's why

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In many evangelical churches over the last hundred years Christians haven't been praying to the

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Father to give them the Holy Spirit in increased measure We've impoverished ourselves

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They say in other words these words of Jesus don't apply to the Christian that was before the cross. Here's another quote

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I find quite amazing. What does it mean to be spirit -filled? Let me give you a short theology lesson

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We'll call it theology of the spirit -filled life when you were saved the moment you received Jesus Christ The Holy Spirit came to live within you.

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Amen There is no Christian who does not possess the Holy Spirit. Amen If any man have not the

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Spirit of Christ, he's not of his yet It is amazing how many Christians think they do not have the

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Holy Spirit I've sat in church and heard sincere people pray. Oh God said your spirit have thought to myself.

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No, he is here I Heard people pray God give me more of your spirit as if he as if he came in doses

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The Holy Spirit is a person he lives within you Know you not that your body is the temple of the

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Holy Ghost So many times we ask for what we already have we pray for the Holy Spirit needs already here

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Have you ever analyzed your prayers you pray God? Give me more love for so -and -so the

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Bible says the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts You say God I need more grace. God says that the grace he's already given you is sufficient you cry.

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Oh Lord I need more strength. The Bible says you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you Oh God guide me you say and he's thinking

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I'm trying why don't you follow God? I need more power you cry In fact, you have had power since the

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Holy Spirit came upon you Now basically that's a denial of Christians Needing and praying for the father to give them the

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Holy Spirit to enable them at times of crisis and difficulty and challenge

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To come to them and so the conclusion one must draw from these comments is the Christian should disregard the teaching of the

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Lord in Luke 11 13 You should not ask the father to give you the Holy Spirit Through to whom comes these good things

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And again, I have serious problems with this Teaching first it dismisses a portion of Scripture is not applying to you

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It's before the cross but all Scripture Old Testament and New Testament is Christian Scripture and is applicable for instruction in the way we should live

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But the gospel of Luke itself was written by a Christian Luke and Were circulated among Christians and surely the contents were regarded by these

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Christians as having binding authority upon them But secondly, it presumes that you're not in need of present recurring

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Manifestation of the Spirit's presence and power to your life After all you've already been given the

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Spirit is what they argue and This is this is wrong thinking

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I Gave a quote of Matthew Henry who dismissed this idea this false teaching

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And he writes on Luke 11 13. The encouragement Jesus gives is to hope that we shall speed in this prayer

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Your Heavenly Father will give It's in his power to give the Spirit.

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He is all good things to bestow wrapped up in that one But that is not all for it is in his promise.

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The gift of the Holy Ghost is in the Covenant acts 2 33 and 38 and quoting our passage

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Peter said you repent, you know, you'd be baptized You'll receive their forgiveness the remission of sins and the gift of the

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Holy Spirit It's here inferred from parents readiness to supply their children's needs and gratify their desires when they are natural and proper if the child

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Asked for a serpent or a scorpion the father in kindness will deny him but not if he asked what is needful and will be nourishing When God's children ask for the

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Spirit they do in effect ask for bread for the Spirit is a staff of life Nay, he's the author the soul's life if our earthly parents though evil yet be so kind if they the weak be yet So knowing that they not only give but give the discretion

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Give what is best is the best manner of time much more Will our Heavenly Father who infinitely excels the fathers of our flesh both in wisdom and goodness

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Give us his Holy Spirit If earthly parents be willing to lay out for the education their children to whom they designed to leave their estates

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Much more will our Heavenly Father give the spirit of sons to all those whom he has predestinated to the inheritance of sons

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And so Matthew Henry was talking about it's a present promise. You need to pray and It is yours promise to you that the father will give you the

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Holy Spirit When a new king was inaugurated in enthroned in ancient

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Israel, he would give gifts to the people oftentimes and more particularly to those young men who grew up with him within the

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Jerusalem who were his friends and What Peter is arguing on the day of Pentecost Jesus Christ is enthroned in heaven

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And we know that's true because he being enthroned has given the gift of the Holy Spirit to his people

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It's available to you. And if you repent Enter the kingdom through faith that promise is to you

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Hear the world words of Charles Spurgeon. Apparently this was before the days of dispensationalism

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But this wrong teaching existed back then and he deals with it rightly It appears plainly enough in the text that this

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Holy Spirit is to be given an answer to prayer Did not we hear some time ago from certain wise brethren that were never to pray for the

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Spirit I Think I heard it said often we have the Holy Spirit and therefore we are not to pray for it

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He uses the neuter pronoun it because in Greek spirit is neuter.

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He's not denying the personality of the Holy Spirit Like that other Declaration of certain of the same brotherhood that we have pardon of sin and are not to pray for Just as if we were never to pray for what we have

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If we have life we were to pray that we were to have it more abundantly If we have pardon in one respect, we are asked for a fuller sense of it

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And if we have the Holy Spirit so that we are quickened made alive and saved we do not ask for him in that capacity

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We don't ask him to make us alive But we ask for his power in other directions and for his grace in other forms

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I do not go before God now and say Lord I'm a dead sinner quickened me by thy spirit for I trust

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I am quickened by his spirit But being quickened I now cry Lord let not the life that was given me ebb down till it becomes very feeble

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But give me of thy spirit that the life within me may become strong and mighty and may subdue all the power of death within My members that I may put forth the vigor and energy which come from myself through the spirit.

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Oh You that have the spirit you are the very men to pray that you may experience more of his matchless operations and gracious influences and all the benign or good sanctity of his

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Indwelling me seek that yet more and more you may know him You have this as your encouragement that God will give the

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Holy Spirit to them that ask him Ever since certain brethren gave up asking for the

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Holy Spirit They have not had him and they have gone aside into many inventions If they will not ask they shall not have

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But be it yours in mind to wait humbly and patiently upon the Lord that he may daily give us of his spirit

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No miracles do we seek but all the spiritual uplifting which the Holy Spirit gave to men of old we need and he can give

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It to us still though. He will not reveal new truths We do not want that he should for we have already the complete gospel revealed

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He will bring home the old truths to our souls and make them potent upon our consciences and upon our lives

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This is what we want We should all pray throughout the day and onward that God will give to his churches more and more of his

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Holy Spirit. I Can't press upon us the importance and relevance of that teaching

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Peter promised these people that if they repented turned from their sin embraced Jesus Christ and Lord Submitted to baptism that they would then receive the gift of the

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Holy Spirit The Lord Jesus who would govern and command them would also enable them and empower them to live according to his will

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This is the promise of God for the citizens of the Messianic Kingdom the kingdom over which

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Jesus Christ reigns as Lord as King Before we close

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We need to say a word about a clause in verse 39 that you and I might easily pass over But it's one that's given a whole lot of attention to wrongly in my opinion by some of our friends

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It's at the beginning of verse 39 Peter declared repent Let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for their mission of sins and you should receive the gift of the

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Holy Spirit and here it is for the promise is to you and to your children and to all who are far off as Many as the

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Lord our God will call now our reformed Pato Baptist friends those who practice

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Like our Presbyterian friends reformed congregational friends who practice infant baptism They they say that we're to baptize the children of believing parents

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Even as infants before they place their own faith in Jesus Christ Infants who have not yet repented of sin and they argue that this verse supports their doctrine and practice of infant baptism the promise of the

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Holy Spirit is on to you and to your children and Therefore the children should be given the sign of the

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Covenant baptism Just as Abraham's sons were circumcised so children of believing parents should be baptized that's the argument

01:00:13

Reformed Baptist say this is error. It's not taught in the Word of God And so I might just cite two quick rejoiners to this

01:00:20

Teaching first our Pato Baptist friends stopped reading at the comma in Acts 2 39 if they read further

01:00:29

It clarifies it It narrows the scope and qualifies who the children are that are to or are promised again

01:00:40

Peter declared Repent every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins

01:00:45

You should receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises to you and your children There's no period there.

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They're further qualified and to all who are far off that includes

01:00:58

Gentiles as Many as the Lord our God shall call it's not every child of believing parent

01:01:04

But only the child that's called of God called to salvation There's no warrant here to baptize

01:01:12

Infants of believing parents were only to baptize those who repent of sin and believe on Christ Only those children whom

01:01:19

God affectionately calls unto salvation had to be baptized. And so this verse Supports credo baptism.

01:01:27

In other words baptism based on a confession of faith Not Pato baptism.

01:01:33

In other words infant baptism And the second argument we give is this although many of our reformed

01:01:40

Pato Baptist friends Do not regard reformed Baptist really is reformed because we don't accept infant baptism

01:01:46

We would argue that our position as reformed Baptist is more consistent with biblical covenant

01:01:52

Theology than is the position of our Pato Baptist friends and my closest friends in the ministry are

01:01:58

Pato Baptist they're they're brothers and I'm and I'm taught by them and I appreciate them, but they're wrong on this

01:02:08

Basic to covenant theology is this truth every person born in this world is under one of two covenants

01:02:17

Every human being relates with God either according to the covenant of works as He relates with God or according to the covenant of grace either or Every person is either in Adam or in Christ You cannot be in both covenants at the same time

01:02:36

We therefore ask our Pato Baptist brethren You say that the child of at least one believing parent is a child of the covenant of grace

01:02:43

Yet you acknowledge that not all children of believing parents become Christians Therefore if the child of a believing parent is not yet a believer

01:02:51

How can you say that he's both under the covenant of works and at the same time in the covenant of grace?

01:02:58

That's unbiblical How Can you confer the sign of the covenant of grace baptism when you do not know that he is in the covenant of grace?

01:03:08

He must either be in either in one or the other and you cannot know until he gives evidence of his own

01:03:14

Regeneration shown forth in his own repentance and faith in Christ only then do you have biblical warrant to baptize him and Formally include him into church fellowship

01:03:24

Well, we have to wrap things up here but first or let's consider the people's response to Peter's proclamation

01:03:35

They who gladly received his word were baptized and that day they were about three thousand souls added to them and then they continued steadfastly in the

01:03:45

Apostles doctrine and fellowship in breaking of bread in prayers and fear

01:03:51

Came upon every soul many wonders and signs were done through the Apostles and all who believe were together and had all things in common

01:04:00

They had love for one another sold their possessions goods divided them among all as anyone had need and so continually daily with one

01:04:09

Accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness simplicity of heart

01:04:15

Praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily those who are being saved

01:04:24

Clear that the grace of God Was working powerfully on this occasion the Holy Spirit convinced these people of their sin

01:04:31

They're a great crime of crucifying the Christ But he also had brought them to repent of their sin and to have faith in Jesus Christ Resulting in them being converted.

01:04:41

They gladly received his word Gladly submitted to baptism. They were added to the church

01:04:47

They continued in the life of the church in which they continued to learn more fully the Apostles doctrine even while they participated in and enjoyed the fellowship of their

01:04:58

Christian brothers and sisters now Let's wrap it up and apply it to today

01:05:05

What are we to proclaim to people in order to be saved from their sin? We are to proclaim to the people in the world about us

01:05:16

So that they might come to salvation we first declare to them their sin before a God and that they're presently condemned under his judgment

01:05:26

I would venture to say to begin Offering people the gospel with God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life is not the way to go

01:05:36

Peter didn't declare them that they were under the wrath of God Everyone outside of Jesus Christ is damned

01:05:42

He who has a son that has life who does not have the son has not life, but the wrath of God abides on him

01:05:50

This is God's world He's the Creator and he would have his creatures order their lives in his world according to his will

01:05:58

According to his righteous laws that he established for all peoples everywhere in his world

01:06:04

But because of man's fall into sin all mankind has since lived in independent defiance of God's rule over their lives

01:06:11

I'm the Lord of my own life That's what Satan offered Adam and Eve. You will be

01:06:17

God you eat of this You'll be able to determine for yourself What's right and true good and false and ever since Adam and Eve we have wanted to be our own

01:06:27

Lords We were talking yesterday in the men's group.

01:06:33

I think we need to analyze ourselves We see our liberties eroding and we're protesting as we our government to become a oppressive and and more restrictive and whatnot but what is our resistance so simply because we want to insist on being free and Liberated to live as we choose to do our own will

01:06:54

That's not what motivated the first colonists here in Massachusetts They wanted to come here so they could live before God according to their own conscience as to what the scriptures taught

01:07:05

And just insisting that we can have liberty and freedom so that we can live any old way we please is not

01:07:12

Christian people fit human beings react and rebel against any force or anyone they would attempt to dictate to them what to think how to Feel or what to do?

01:07:27

That's how children act and react toward their parents. It's sin a Fallen man a sinful man is a law unto himself and he has no ability to amend himself

01:07:39

He lies under the wrath of God and will it will never escape due to his own efforts But further

01:07:46

God is appointed today when he'll judge the world in righteousness and he demonstrated the reality and Certainty of this and that he raised his son from the dead coordinate

01:07:55

Paul Nevertheless thankfully there is hope for the sinner God will forgive people of their sin and promise them eternal life if they turn from there from their sin their self -ordered self -governed existence

01:08:11

That's what repentance is I'm no longer gonna order my life according to my will or at least

01:08:18

I don't want to I Purpose and Lord you better enable me. Give me your Holy Spirit to order my life according to your will.

01:08:25

That's my heart That's my desire. He put that desire within you if you're Christian And we're to believe and submit unto

01:08:33

Jesus Christ the Lord And God the Father has made king of kings and Lord of lords

01:08:39

And so we set before them the promises of the Word of God if you confess with your mouth The Lord Jesus and believe in your heart

01:08:47

God raised him from the dead. You'll be saved Why Because God has promised whoever calls on the name of the

01:08:56

Lord not just on Jesus as your Savior personal Savior But the one who calls upon the name of the

01:09:03

Lord and that's not a one -time Decision or prayer, but the Christian calls upon the

01:09:08

Lord. That's what that's the nature of his life. That's what he does We call upon the Lord Because we believe on him we were attempting to live for him and so those who believe on him to enter the kingdom of God and are loyal submissive to the king and They know they'll stand

01:09:25

Exonerated on the day of judgment because their sins have been atoned for by the death of Christ and they possess the righteousness of Christ Granted to them as a gift of grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone

01:09:38

But we may assure sinners that if they repent of their sin Believing on Christ as their Lord and Savior they may be saved

01:09:45

They will be saved and so we command them to be baptized to confess openly their repentance and faith to show forth their resolve to live before him among his people and We embrace them as our brothers and sisters in Christ as they join with us in our church as we seek to live and serve

01:10:03

Our Lord and one another within this kingdom of which the Lord has made us citizens But Even as we proclaim to them this good news

01:10:12

We pray to our Lord the Holy Spirit would bring instruction And conviction of the truth of these matters to the souls of those who hear us

01:10:20

We need the same power of the Holy Spirit that was manifest on the day of Pentecost to give weight understanding and and importance of the truth we proclaim to the minds and hearts of sinners and that God will give them the grace of Repentance may the

01:10:41

Lord help us and be true and faithful in the in these days All these old guys, you know

01:10:48

Thomas Chalmers. He's gone John Owen. He's gone William Guthrie he's got we're here and The Lord has called us to be true and faithful to his gospel his word in this generation

01:11:00

May the Lord help us do so. Amen Thank you father for your word we pray that you would help us our

01:11:07

God to be clear about these matters and help us to be truthful and be able to declare your word and The truth of your kingdom and the

01:11:17

Lordship of Jesus Christ to the world in which we live We thank you our God that everything that is occurring in history is in accordance with your will that King Jesus is executing

01:11:27

And we thank you our God that you have purpose to save us through Jesus And that is we're experiencing that even now in this life

01:11:36

And we anticipate and look forward to the day when you will send him once again to this world to bring an end of history and To bring us our

01:11:44

God into the fullness of the promised kingdom that we will see realized one day For we do pray these things our father in Jesus name