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Acts Study #15: Acts 2:38 is not for today! (Acts 2:14 - 40)
Hechos Estudio #15: ¡Hechos 2:38 no es para hoy! (Hechos 2:14 - 40)
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“This is the work of Jehovah! It is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23
Acts, Chapter 1.1: Many Jews of the Diaspora believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1 - 2:47)
§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave his Great Commission and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot (1:1 - 26)
¶Opposite The Lord gave his Great Commission to his first church (and all future churches) to take the Gospel to the entire Earth (1:1 - 8)
¶Opposite The apostles cast lots to choose an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot (1:9 - 26)
§Complement Body: Peter preached the Gospel to foreign-born Jews and about 5,000 confessed Jesus as their Messiah (2:1 - 40)
¶Unique God poured out his Holy Spirit upon the apostles; and this miracle brought many foreign-born Jews around them (2:1 - 13)
¶Complement Peter preached that the miracle of speaking in foreign languages came from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:14 - 21)
¶Complement Peter preached that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was also from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:22 - 28)
¶Opposite Peter pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Jehovah as proof of the resurrection of Jesus (2:29 - 36)
¶Opposite Peter called the Jews to repent and turn to their Messiah; and be baptized as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins (2:37 - 40)
§Unique Conclusion: The Assembly in Jerusalem began to expand rapidly with many new believers (2:41 - 47)
¶Complement After baptism, the new converts continued in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles (2:41 - 43)
¶Complement The spiritual growth of the new converts resulted in more souls being saved, which were added to the Assembly (2:44 - 47)
In this study, I want to take a fast survey of the last four paragraphs of the Body Section, and then we will focus on Acts 2:38, which is a very difficult and controversial Bible text.
Recall that the Golden Ratio design is one Unique, two Complements (like two sides of the same coin), and two Opposites. We already covered the first paragraph in the previous study.
The first two Complements paragraphs have the same internal Golden Ratio design in the subparagraphs: “UCC-OO”; while the last two “OO” paragraphs have opposing Golden Ratio designs: “UCC-OO | OO-CCU”. So the subparagraph designs agree with the nature of the parent paragraph designs.
Try not to get bogged down in the text; try to survey or scan it to understand the concepts that I am trying to explain. I will make applications after the text.
Remember the first paragraph that we studied last week, which was the miracle of speaking in foreign languages without training (or tongues) by the church; a large crowd of many thousands of foreign-born Jews in Jerusalem heard the loud sounds coming from the assembled disciples, and came over to understand better what was going on. We continue from there:
¶Complement Peter preached that the miracle of speaking in foreign languages came from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:14 - 21)
Unique But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said to them, “You men of Judea, and all you that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known to you, and listen to my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Complement But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the Last Days,’ says God, ‘I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.
Complement And upon my menservants and upon my maidservants will I pour out in those days of my Spirit’; and they shall prophesy.
Opposite And I will show wonders in Heaven above; and signs in the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable Day of [Jehovah] comes.
Opposite And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the Name of [Jehovah] shall be saved.’
Comments: Peter began his sermon with an explanation from Scripture (the Prophet Joel) of the miracle of speaking in foreign languages without training that they had witnessed.
¶Complement Peter preached that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was also from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:22 - 28)
Unique You men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God among you with miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know;
Complement him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken; and with wicked hands, you have crucified and slain!
Complement Whom God has raised up, having released him from the pains of death, because it was not possible that he could be held by it.
Opposite For David speaks concerning him, saying, ‘I foresaw [Jehovah] always before my face: for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice; and my tongue was glad.
Opposite Moreover, my flesh shall also rest in hope, because you will not leave my soul in Hell; neither will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of Life; you shall make me full of joy with your countenance.’
Comments: In this paragraph, Peter shifted from the miracle to the horrifying sins of the Jews that they had committed in crucifying Jesus of Nazareth. Peter did not directly call Jesus the Christ yet, but he quoted from Psalm 16, which clearly implied that He was the Christ. So far, this sermon was still laying the groundwork for the main points that Peter wanted to make:
1) That Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah
2) That the Jews are guilty of murdering their own Messiah
3) That God will forgive them, if they acknowledge their guilt and make Jesus Christ their Messiah
4) Be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins and obedience to Him
¶Opposite Peter pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Jehovah as proof of the resurrection of Jesus (2:29 - 36)
Unique Men, brethren: let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us until this day.
Complement Therefore being a Prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne: he foreseeing this spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hell; neither did his flesh see corruption.
Complement This Jesus has God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses; therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this, which you now see and hear.
Opposite For David has not ascended into the heavens; but he himself says, ‘[Jehovah] said to my Lord, ‘Sit on my right hand, until I make your foes your footstool.’’
Opposite Therefore let all the house of Israel know certainly, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Comments: Now Peter made a major shift in his message to get to the main point: The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the assembled disciples was evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus; and the fact that that Jesus was raised from the dead was proof that He was indeed their Messiah or Christ.
¶Opposite Peter invited the Jews to repent and turn to Jesus the Christ; and be baptized as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins (2:37 - 40)
Opposite Now when they heard this, they were convicted in their heart;
Opposite and they said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, “Men, brethren: what shall we do?”
Complement Then Peter said to them, “Repent; and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ as a sign of the forgiveness of sins.
Complement And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit: for the promise is unto you and your children, and to all that are far away, even ‘as many as [Jehovah] our God shall call.’”
Unique And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, “Save yourselves from this rebellious generation!”
Comments: Finally, Peter made application of the fact of the resurrection to the many thousands of foreign-born Jews, and urged them to repent of their sins, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins.
Recall from previous studies that these foreign-born Jews were ALREADY SAVED, because they had been saved under the Old Covenant; this is why Peter called them "brethren" or "brothers". THEY WERE ALREADY BELIEVERS in Jehovah God through faith in Him through the offerings in the Temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem (which is the reason that they were in Jerusalem at that time). And while Peter was preaching the Gospel of the Resurrected Christ, he did not make the same application that we would do today to sinners who need to be saved: e.g. you are lost and going to Hell, so you must repent of your sins and turn to Christ in faith: receive Him as your Savior, believing that He died for you. No, these men needed only to transfer their faith from the offerings of animal sacrifices in the Temple through the Law of Moses to the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, their Messiah, who had already offered the Final Sacrifice for all sins, for all time. This was also the message of the Letter to the Hebrews!
This was the Gospel that Paul preached in Romans 10:8-13, which applies to both Jews and Gentiles who were not saved under the Old Covenant:
“But what does it say? “The Word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart”; that is to say, the Word of faith (which we preach), that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes into righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made into salvation: for the Scripture says, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for it is written, “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Instead of urging them to repent and be saved, Peter urged these Old Covenant Jews to repent and be baptized in water as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins, so that they could RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT. This was something brand new for these Jews! They never received the Holy Spirit under the Law of Moses.
“Then Peter said to them, “Repent; and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ as a sign of the forgiveness of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit: for the promise is unto you and your children, and to all that are far away, even ‘as many as [Jehovah] our God shall call.’”
Peter did not need to speak of these Jews as needing forgiveness so that they could be saved; no, these Old Covenant Jews only needed to move from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, so that they could receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, just like the apostles had experienced just weeks before this:
“And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit right now.” (John 20:22)
So you should be able to see clearly, that the message of Acts 2:38: “Repent; and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ as a sign of the forgiveness of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” was aimed at only one group of people: Old Covenant Jews who were saved under the Old Covenant, but needed to move to the New Covenant.
This message does not work for us today, or even anyone from about the Second Century until today, because none of us have ever had any experience with the Old Covenant, even the Jews of today!
So the next time some earnest, but misguided Christian asks you, “Have you obeyed Acts 2:38?” You know what the answer is: “NO, and I cannot obey it, because that message belonged to Old Covenant Jews, and I have no experience with the Old Covenant, and neither have you, so you cannot obey it either.”
There are many, many false messages in our world today; and one of the many false messages is the confusion of the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements. They have believed a false message about speaking in “tongues”, which is not Biblical tongues at all.
And along with this false message about “tongues”, many other false teachings about the Book of Acts and I Corinthians have come with it, such as the one we have been discussing about Acts 2:38. In a desperate attempt to justify their zeal for speaking in “tongues”, they twist the Bible to make it say what they want it to say, without regard for the context of Acts 2:38.
It is an abuse of the Scriptures to ignore the context of Acts 2:38 that Peter was preaching to Old Covenant Jews who were already saved. He was not preaching to unbelieving Gentiles who would need to hear the Gospel appeal of Romans 10:9-13.
Those Jews were in a state of unbelief about Jesus Christ as their Messiah, but they had already been saved under the Old Covenant system of animal sacrifices. They were children of God under the Old Covenant, but not yet believers in Jesus Christ their Messiah. This message is not for us!
Today, when a sinner repents and receives Jesus Christ as their Savior, IMMEDIATELY they receive the Holy Spirit of God to indwell them forever!
“that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also after you believed in Christ, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the down-payment of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:12-14
Do you see what Paul wrote? “After you believed in Christ, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise”!
There is no Scriptural requirement to be baptized in order to receive the Holy Spirit. Anyone who would teach you that is a FALSE PROPHET, or badly misinformed, at least.
Baptism in deep water is important for a new Believer in Jesus FOR OBEDIENCE AND POWER, but not for salvation or to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit! Baptism in deep water is important so that the new Believer will be ANOINTED with the POWER of the Holy Spirit, so that the new Believer will have the power to obey Jesus Christ and live according to his Word daily. We cannot obey Christ without the power of the Holy Spirit!
The final point that I want to make is that these foreign-born Jews did not speak in tongues themselves! From Acts 2:41-47 (the Conclusion Section), there is no mention of speaking in tongues at all, only that about 3,000 souls were baptized and added to the Assembly or the church in Jerusalem. But these “Acts 2:38 evangelists” never seem to mention that, do they? No, instead they try to convince you that you have not experienced the “Full Gospel”; and because you haven’t spoken in “tongues” yet, that you must “obey Acts 2:38” so that you can experience the “Full Gospel”.
No, my friend! If you have repented of your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, YOU HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED THE FULL GOSPEL! You have been Born Again into the Kingdom of God, you have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and you are a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords. You only need to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit of God, so that you may have the POWER to obey Jesus each and every day. As you pray daily and ask for the filling of the Holy Spirit, and study the Bible daily so that you may better know the will of God, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the more you pray for the power of God on your life, and study the Word of God, the more you will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit! But there is no spiritual gift of “speaking in tongues” today. We do not need it, because we already have the complete Word of God, and we do not need “prophets” to tell us the will of God: we can read it for ourselves in the Holy Bible.
If you have been listening to pastors or others who preach that “tongues” are for today, and you must speak in “tongues” to be saved or be filled with the Spirit, you need to find a Bible-believing, Fundamental Baptist church that preaches that the Bible is the Final Authority for all matters of faith and practice! Stop listening to these peddlers of false teaching, and start attending a church where the Bible is studied as our Final Authority.
If you need help finding a church like that in your area, please message me on Facebook and I will search for one for you. Amen.
Are you saved? Has anyone ever taken a Bible and shown you how to be saved? If not, you need Jesus Christ as your Savior, right now, because you are a sinner, and Jesus Christ came to the Earth over 2,000 years ago to be born of a virgin, live a perfect sinless life, and die on the cross for your sins; and then, He arose from the dead on the third day to demonstrate that He was God, and that He has the power to save you, if you repent of your sins, and call upon Him to save you.
There is NO OTHER NAME under Heaven that can save you and forgive you of your sins: Peter said,
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other Name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me: for I am meek and lowly in heart. And you shall find rest to your souls: for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for [it is written], “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:12-13
Here is a prayer that you can use to repent and trust in Christ right now. May the Holy Spirit of God help you to do it right now:
“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”
If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.
Hechos Estudio #15: ¡Hechos 2:38 no es para hoy! (Hechos 2:14 - 40
¡Si está utilizando un teléfono inteligente, por favor, gírelo al modo horizontal! ¡Gracias!
Todas las citas bíblicas y el arreglo se encuentran exclusivamente en el Reino Estudio Biblia (REB) en español, publicada por los ministerios editoriales Jehová ha hablado.
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“¡Esta es la obra de Jehová! Es maravilloso a nuestros ojos”. Salmo 118:23
Hechos, Capítulo 1.1: Muchos judíos de la Diáspora creído al evangelio de Jesús Cristo (1:1 - 2:47)
§El complemento Introducción: Jesús dio su Gran Comisión y los apóstoles eligieron un reemplazo para Judas Iscariote (1:1 - 26)
¶Lo opuesto El Señor dio su Gran Comisión a su primera iglesia (y todas las iglesias futuras) para llevar el evangelio a toda la tierra (1:1 - 8))
¶Lo opuesto Los apóstoles echan suertes para elegir un apóstol para reemplazar a Judas Iscariote (1:9 - 26)
§El complemento Cuerpo: Pedro predicó el evangelio a judíos nacidos en el extranjero y unos 5,000 confesaron a Jesús como su Mesías (2:1 - 40)
¶Único Dios derramó su Espíritu Santo sobre los apóstoles; y este milagro atrajo a muchos judíos nacidos en el extranjero (2:1 - 13)
¶El complemento Pedro predicó que el milagro de hablar en idiomas extranjeros provenía de Jehová, el Dios de Israel (2:14 - 21)
¶El complemento Pedro predicó que la crucifixión y resurrección de Jesús también provenían de Jehová, el Dios de Israel (2:22 - 28)
¶Lo opuesto Pedro señaló el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo desde Jehová como prueba de la resurrección de Jesús (2:29 - 36)
¶Lo opuesto Pedro llamó a los judíos a arrepentirse y volverse al cristo, y ser bautizados como señal del perdón de sus pecados (2:37 - 40)
§Único Conclusión: La asamblea en Jerusalén comenzó a expandirse rápidamente con muchos creyentes nuevos (2:41 - 47)
¶El complemento Después del bautismo, los nuevos conversos continuaron en la enseñanza y la comunión de los apóstoles (2:41 - 43)
¶El complemento El crecimiento espiritual de los nuevos conversos resultó en la salvación de más almas (2:44 - 47)
Introducción
La traducción al español de este estudio está pendiente.
¿Exactamente cómo y cuándo naciste de nuevo?
He aprendido por experiencia que aquellos que se niegan a responder lo hacen porque nunca han nacido de nuevo; no tienen idea de lo que significa, y por eso no pueden responder.
Si ese es tu caso, entonces tu destino eterno en este momento es el Infierno; y más tarde, el Lago de Fuego.
Afortunadamente, podemos cambiar nuestro destino eterno del Infierno al Cielo, si nos arrepentimos de nuestros pecados y recibimos a Jesucristo como nuestro Salvador personal.
Primero, debemos creer que Jesús es el Hijo de Dios; que fue crucificado por nuestros pecados, que fue sepultado y que resucitó de entre los muertos al tercer día.
Romanos 10:8-11: “Pero ¿qué dice? “La Palabra está cerca de ti, incluso en tu boca y en tu corazón”, es decir, la Palabra de fe (que predicamos), que si confesarás con tu boca al Señor Jesús, y creerás en tu corazón que Dios le levantó de los muertos, tú serás salvado: porque con el corazón, el hombre cree para justicia, y con la boca, la confesión se hace para la salvación: porque la Escritura dice, “cualquiera que en él creyere, no será avergonzado”.
Entonces, debemos arrepentirnos de nuestros pecados e invocar el Nombre del Señor Jesús para salvarnos.
Romanos 10:12-13: “Porque no hay diferencia entre el judio y el gentil: porque el mismo Señor sobre todo es rico a todos los que le invocan: porque está escrito, “Cualquiera que llamará sobre el Nombre del Señor será salvado”.
Juan 1:12: “Pero cuantos le recibieron, él les dio autoridad para convertirse los niños de Dios: incluso a aquellos quien creen sobre su Nombre”.
Cuando hacemos eso, entonces nacemos de nuevo instantáneamente en el Reino de Dios.
Estas listo para hacer eso? Si es así, entonces busca un lugar para orar en privado y haz esta oración con todo tu corazón al Señor Jesucristo:
“Señor Jesús, sé que he pecado contra TI. ¡No soy bueno y usted eres justo! Creo que moriste en la cruz por mis pecados, fuiste enterrado y resucitaste de entre los muertos al tercer día. Quiero que vengas a mi vida y seas mi Señor y Salvador. Por favor entra en mi corazón ahora mismo. Perdóname por todos mis pecados y salva mi alma. En el poderoso Nombre de Jesús, oro, ¡Amén!”
Si se apartó de sus pecados y aceptó a Jesucristo como su Señor y único Salvador desde el pecado, por favor envíeme un mensaje a través de Facebook y hágame saber que lo ha hecho, para que pueda orar por usted y alegrarme con usted en lo que Dios tiene hecho en tu vida. Amén.