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? Before we continue, recall that Jesus told the apostles, including Peter, to begin preaching Repentance and Remission of Sins in Jesus Name beginning at Jerusalem. He did not mention anything about a subsequent time when the message should no longer be preached. You are about to read the very passage where Peter obeyed this commandment. What Peter preached on that day must continue to be preached so long as the Church is in this world. Every minister of the Gospel, like Peter, must obey Jesus command and likewise preach these following words as the plan of salvation. Peter answered the question, What shall we do, with the message Jesus told Him to preach. Notice that not too many preachers today will answer the question these people asked in the same manner Peter answered it. Ask various preachers how they would answer the question, What shall we do, now that we know Jesus died and was raised from the dead by God? Most will not tell them what Peter told them. Most will disobey Jesus and take some of the following elements out, saying they are not necessary. Acts 2:37-38 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. Now let us ensure we are treating this very serious subject properly. Let us carefully compare this statement of Peters with Jesus command for the apostles to preach a certain message as follows, and see clearly that we, too must preach Peters message since it is commanded of Jesus, Himself!: Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Repentance is mentioned in both cases! And remission of sins is also mentioned in both cases. However, Acts 2:38 says, ...Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins Baptism is included in Peters response regarding remission of sins. Why did not Jesus mention baptism in conjunction with the remission of sins as mentioned in Luke 24? Well, the conversation of the final commission according to Luke did include baptism. And we must blend both pictures together to get the full story. Do not simply go by one account and forget the elements mentioned in the other accounts of the same event! Matthews account shows this! Matt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Obviously the teaching in Matthew 28:19 not only included all power being given to Jesus, but referred to the same preaching Jesus referred to in Luke 24:47: Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Blend all three of these references of the message together and you see that the Apostles would teach or preach repentance and remission of sins in Jesus name. The reference to remission of sins in Jesus name points to BAPTISM IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS, as commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19. It only correlates when you realize THE NAME Jesus referred to was HIS OWN NAME - JESUS! Notice the two alternate ways in which remission of sins is mentioned: (1) (ACTS 2:38) ...be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins... ...EQUALS... (2) (LUKE 24:47) ...remission of sins should be preached in his name Both remission and the Name are mentioned in each account. And they come together in water baptism. Remission of sins is preached in Jesus Name. This is the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ which Peter speaks about, for Peter said baptism in Jesus name was for the remission of sins. Recapitulate. The mention of the Name in Matthew 28:19s reference to Baptism is referring to the same Name mentioned in Luke 24:47 because the two accounts refer to the same conversation. And Luke mentioned the Name of Christ in conjunction with remission of sins. This latter point of remission of sins involves water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Therefore, since Matthew 28:19 links with Luke 24:47 and, in turn, Luke links itself with Acts 2:38, we discover through comparison of these passages that the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost that is used in Baptism is actually Jesus Christ. It must be. Otherwise the passages have no correlation with one another. The only way to see no contradiction between these verse is to understand that the Name spoken about in Matthew 28:19 is Jesus. They do have correlation. All bible students recognize that. They each refer to the great commission and the fulfilling of that great commission. Peter obeyed Jesus great commission when He told the people to be baptized in Jesus name for the remission of their sins. And the context of the great commission as found in Luke 24 clearly shows that the name is Jesus Christ. Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Acts 2:38 fulfills the great commission! THE OFTEN OVERLOOKED AND ALL-IMPORTANT COMMISSION OF JESUS Some say that they would rather obey Jesus than obey Peter when they see the reference to the Name of Jesus in water baptism as found in Acts 2:38, when comparing it to Jesus reference to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost in Matthew 28:19. They mistakenly think that Peter did not actually obey Jesus words and that Peters words are not a direct fulfillment of Matthew 28:19. Such people are ignorantly saying that Peter, in fact, disobeyed Jesus. That is folly. Of course Peter obeyed Jesus, but in order to recognize this you must see that the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy is Jesus. Otherwise there is a contradiction in the great commission. Those who refuse to believe that people must do what Peter said in Acts 2:38 in order to be saved (as Peter responded to the peoples inquiry about what indeed they must do), not only contradict explicit scriptural command to obey Acts 2:38, but also overlook the words of Jesus in Luke 24:47! In effect, they disobey Jesus own words! In Acts 10:48 we find that baptism in Jesus name was not an option. Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. Those who say they would rather obey Jesus than Peter, and refuse to obey Acts 2:38, completely overlook the fact that Jesus said repentance and remisison of sins should be preached in His Name beginning at Jerusalem.. Should they refer to the thief on the cross who was not baptized nor filled with the Spirit, in order to substantiate their salvation without baptism in Jesus name, they blatantly overlook the fact that the message of repentance and remission of sins in Jesus name was not to be preached until after Jesus ascended, which would, at that time, begin to be preached at Jerusalem. However, if you obey Acts 2:38, you are doing what every preacher should be telling people do, and you are also obeying the Message which Jesus commanded the Apostles to preach, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Let us once again quote this often overlooked and all important passage of Scripture: Luke 24:45-47 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that REPENTANCE AND REMISSION OF SINS SHOULD BE PREACHED IN HIS NAME among all nations, BEGINNING AT JERUSALEM. WHY THE NEW MESSAGE? The same day in which the message was first preached, and when the power of the Holy Ghost was given to the believers, was the day in which the Church was born. The thief on the cross died before the Church existed. Matt 16:18-19 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Jesus had not yet built His Church when He spoke these words to Peter. Significantly, the one to whom Jesus gave the keys - Peter - was the one who first preached the message of repentance and remission of sins in Jesus name! Acts 2:38 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. Peter also practiced this same command of Jesus after the day of Pentecost. 1) GOSPEL SPOKEN AT JERUSALEM AND JUDAEA: Acts 2:14 But PETER, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of JUDAEA, and all [ye] that dwell at JERUSALEM, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 2) IN SAMARIA: Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that SAMARIA had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 3) AMONGST GENTILES: Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian [band], Acts 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered PETER, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. JERUSALEM AND JUDAEA SAMARIA ALL WORLD (GENTILES) This is precisely the order of locations Jesus said the message would be preached. Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Cornelius was of the Italian nation, representing a Gentile. All the World. Thank God the message has reached us! Unfortunately, too many ministers are not telling the whole story. Too many refuse to preach repentance and remission of sins in Jesus name, for they say that baptism in Jesus name is unnecessary. And if they indeed do baptize they refuse to invoke Jesus Christs name. May we tell all those who will listen that Acts 2:38 is the message to be preached until Jesus comes again!
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 21:22:43 +0000
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