Acts 2:38
Acts 2:38
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Why did Peter add the condition of baptism, presumably water baptism, for the forgiveness of sin, when he elsewhere stated: “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19) Peter is identifying a specific problem that the Jews had.
Question: Why did Peter add the condition of baptism for the remission of sins?
Answer: Because that’s precisely what they did not want to do, for fear of being ex-communicated, which did have significant repercussions.
John 7:13: “Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.”
John 9:22: “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.”
John 12:42: “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue.”
These many were in the secret service, that is, secretly believing in Jesus.
Question: If for fear, a person is unwilling to profess Christ before men, can it rightly be said that he genuinely believes in Christ?
Answer: If Jesus was seeking secret-service followers, then why did He say the following: “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven”? (Matthew 10:33) Jesus also stated: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38) “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26)
In terms of ex-communication, why do people remain in churches that they ought not belong to? Perhaps it is due to the confidence in and the approval of man. Yet, Jesus stated: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39)
Perhaps this situation in Israel is why Jesus stated: “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16) So there really was a fear-problem in Israel, of many secretly claiming to believe in Jesus, though publicly denying Him for fear of ex-communication. They refused to publicly confess Christ before men because they feared men more than they feared God. They trusted more in their right-standing with the local synagogue, than in their right-standing with the miracle-working Messiah. They didn’t truly believe in Him. However, those who were publicly baptized, also ended up publicly professing Christ, and much more. Acts 2:41-47 records: “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Those of Acts 2:37 needed to become publicly baptized, and shake loose their confidence in the synagogue, and trust solely in Jesus for salvation. Previously, they didn’t trust in Christ alone, but now after taking the plunge in believer’s baptism, they submitted themselves into the care of the Lord.
Consider an analogy. A Pastor tells of an account in
which a woman had attended a revival Camp Meeting,
and at the conclusion, was ready to submit her life to
the Lord, but she was afraid to come forward and give
a public profession. So she asked a Deacon if she
could be saved from the back. The Deacon answered,
“No.” (Already the analogy seems off, as that statement
would make for errant theology, but wait, there’s more.)
The next day of the Camp Meeting, the woman again
falls under conviction and is ready to submit her life to
the Lord, when she asks the Deacon, “Can’t I be saved
back here!” “No,” the Deacon again replies. So in the
final night of the Camp Meeting, the woman, completely
exasperated, gives in a says, “Ok, I will do anything to
get over this feeling of conviction and self-condemnation.
I will go forward if I must.” That’s when the Deacon
replied, “Ok, now you can be saved from back here.”
In this instance, the Deacon was not making a broad
sweeping theological statement, but simply addressing a
specific problem area that was hindering her from truly
experiencing the Kingdom of God. Similarly, in the
apostle Peter’s reply, he was highlighting a specific
problem area that was hindering the Jews from truly
experiencing the Kingdom of God.
Jesus, if you recall, similarly challenged the Rich Young Ruler, to follow through on his pretense of faith. Jesus was not teaching that one had to be penniless in order to be saved, but instead, highlighting a specific hinderance, that was keeping the man from experiencing the Kingdom of God.
The same thing happened to Abraham. Abraham had convinced himself that God would raise his son, Isaac, back from the dead, in order to keep His promise concerning Isaac, and when Abraham motioned toward completing the sacrifice, God stopped him, and pointed him to the ram. Abraham needed to go through this. This was not a vain exercise. Abraham had to overcome a specific hinderance in his walk, by putting God first in his life.
In the case of Acts 2:38, the Jews needed to do more than just make a profession. They needed to experience the Kingdom of God by stepping out and following through. It’s not that Baptism is a saving act which confers forgiveness, no more than giving up all of one’s possessions confers eternal life, or sacrificing one’s eldest male son confers eternal life. In all of these examples, specific hindrances are being addressed.
In the case of the Jews, they had been unwilling to openly profess Christ, by being publicly baptized, since they didn’t truly believe in Him, and therefore, their sins remained according to the Lord’s warning at Matthew 10:33. In witnessing to someone, and quoting John 3:16, has anyone ever put you off by saying, “Okay, so I believe,” and yet by their actions, they clearly indicate that they do not believe, and are by no means sincere in submitting their life to the Lord? The reason is that there’s a difference between believing in your head and believing in your heart. Just because a person tells you that they believe, does not necessarily mean that they truly believe in their heart. So if anyone puts you off, in a similar manner, tell them, “Okay, then since you believe, are you ready to be baptized?” The apostle Peter had essentially challenged the Jews to follow through.
John Calvin: “Because we receive Christ’s gifts by faith, and baptism confirms and increases our faith, forgiveness of sins, which is the result of faith, is linked to it, as a superior to an inferior. In addition to this we must not derive our doctrine of baptism from here, as Peter is just touching on it at this point. Our old nature is crucified, as Paul teaches, so that we may live a new life (Romans 6:4, 6). Scripture teaches everywhere that baptism is a sign and token of repentance. In this passage in Acts Peter is not teaching about baptism but the forgiveness of sins. He says incidentally that baptism is the confirmation of the forgiveness of sins.” (Acts: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.45, emphasis mine)
Baptism may confirm it, but it does not confer it, so yes, “baptism confirms and increases our faith.” Faith and repentance are matters of the heart, whereas baptism is an outward expression of an inward change. God looks at the heart, and that’s why Paul stated: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord (outward profession), and believe in your heart (inward confession) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10) Jesus stated: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24) Jesus first mentioned “hears My word” because faith comes from hearing the word of Christ, just as Paul indicated at Romans 10:17. Jesus stated: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” (John 6:47)
