Month: February 2022

Acts 11:14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.

Peter recounts what happened when he was called by the Spirit to preach the gospel to the Gentiles at the house of Cornelius in Caesarea. He told how Cornelius had seen an angel, who told him to summon Peter, who will tell you words by which you will be saved.

Although this promise was given to Cornelius and his house, the truth of this promise applies to us and to all people as well: You shall be saved by words. This promise is a bit surprising. We know we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, but we did not expect this promise. But it is true: we are saved by words. ”The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes [Romans 1:16].”

Truly Jesus saves, but we do not know that (and so can’t believe it) until we hear the words of the gospel message. The Spirit uses the Gospel words to call us to faith in Christ, and by these words we will be saved from sin, Satan, death, and hell. We are saved by faith, and “faith comes by hearing the word of Christ.”

Salvation is not a one-time event, but it is a daily, ongoing state in which we live. We are saved every day, and we need to be reminded of that truth and revived in that hope by the hearing, reading, receiving, and believing the words on a regular basis. Ask yourself. Is once a week enough?

Acts 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

While Peter spoke these words to the assembled Gentiles at Cornelius’ house, the Holy Spirit was seen to fall on them. This ”Gentile Pentecost” convinced Peter and his group that Jesus died snd rose to bring forgiveness to all people. And this is God’s promise to us as well: all those who believe in Jesus will receive remission of sins through His name.

The promise of forgiveness is unconditionally granted to all people by grace. But faith in Jesus is the condition that makes it personal and real. And such saving faith is a gift given by the Spirit through the Gospel. When the gospel is preached faith in the name of Jesus is worked in the hearer, and he receives the promised forgiveness of sins.

When sins are truly forgiven and cleaned out of the inner spirit of a man the Holy Spirit moves in to dwell with the eternal life of God. Forgiveness is the negative promise: we are minus sins; the indwelling Spirit is the positive promise: we are plus a holy life. From the inner spirit the Spirit positively affects and influences the thoughts, words, and behavior of the believer. That’s the promise of the remission of sins.

Acts 10:34, 35 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth i perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Peter learned a lesson and then preached it as a promise for all of us. God loves all people and that certainly includes you and me, too. He respects every human ever created equally regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, culture, wealth, class, station, or status in life. No person of any kind is privileged with God’s favor over any other. Jesus died for all.

This promise was not an easy truth for Peter and the early Jewish Christians to believe. It took miraculous workings of the Holy Spirit to convince them that God accepts all kinds of people equally. Any person whose heart has been prepared to believe God is accepted with the Lord.

This means you. There is nothing you could have done that would prevent God from loving and forgiving you. And there is nothing good that you, or anyone else, could have done that would make God love you more. you can’t make God love you more nor less than He already does, which is perfectly, totally, and unconditionally..

And thank God, that is the attitude we have toward people that are different than us.

Acts 5:31 Him God hath exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Peter preaches once again about Jesus, that God raised Him up and exalted Him to the highest place in the universe. From that position as king of kings and king of kingdoms He is able to promise us repentance and forgiveness.

Genuine repentance must be given to us as a gift and a blessing. Repentance is not something we can work up or come up with on our own. Repentance is a promise from God. The Holy Spirit works repentance in us through the hearing of Law and Gospel in the Word. He convicts us of sin and guilt, grants godly sorrow, and stirs up the need and desire for the Gospel. We ask the Lord to give us a repentant heart, for our own ”doing penance” doesn’t make it happen. So He promises to give repentance.

After and along with the gift of repentance He gives the forgiveness of sins. This is the promise: the gift of real and true and everlasting forgiveness. The Spirit through the Word promises both repentance and forgiveness. He creates the need for repentance and forgiveness and then fills that need. He ministers that need and fulfills the promise daily, for the Christian life is one of daily repentance for sin and faith for forgiveness of sin.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The religious leaders of the Jews question Peter and John about the healing of the lame man: ”By what power, or by what name, have you done this?” Peter answers simply, ”By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” He goes on to preach that only by the name of Jesus can we all be saved. We must be saved by His name, and we will be saved by His name.

”Name”signifies the person, and represents the authority, power and personality of that person. Jesus is the only human who is also God, and the only ”god” who became human. He is the Only One who could die for our sins and rise for our life. By means of this name this lame man stands before you whole. and by means of this God-man is there salvation for you. The Name of Jesus saves from death and hell, from sin and evil, and from the power of the devil. And we pray in the Name of Jesus for salvation from our spiritual enemies and salvation for a better life.

Acts 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

Peter preaches that Moses, in Deuteronomy 18, prophesied that the Lord will raise up from Israel a Prophet like Moses. That prophecy has been fulfilled today in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Messiah whom you crucified.

A prophet is a believer who has been anointed by God to speak His words to the people. Jesus has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to do just that. and He did. The words that Jesus spoke are Spirit and they are Truth.

In this prophecy about the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, is embedded a command and a promise: Him shall ye hear. When Jesus was transfigured before the disciples, and they saw what He really looked like, a voice said, ”This is my Son: hear ye him!” It is also a promise for us: You will hear Him in all things. ”Hear” means: listen with faith, receive Him, believe Him, desire to obey, be ready to be changed, and commit to follow Him no matter what. You will hear, you will be changed. That’s a promise. You will become like Mary, who chose the ”one thing needful” for a full life. She sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Jesus. When you listen to this Prophet it will change your life for the better.

Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Peter preaches that the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised up, is now seated at the right hand of God in heaven. He will remain there, ruling the universe, until He comes to earth again visibly to restore all things.

This is our promise: the Lord will restore all things, all Creation, a new heaven and a new earth in which God will place the Edenic Paradise of the New Jerusalem. We can catch a dim glimpse of this new life in a new creation in the first two and the last two chapters of the Bible. In between there is Sin, Death, Evil, and Satan constantly seeking to destroy us.

But life will not always be the way it is now. It is hard for us to imagine what new life, real life, eternal life can really be like. We can only dream of life without pain and trouble, tears and sadness, sickness and death, sin and evil, and no more Satan. But this is the life and the universe we have been promised. It will come when Jesus returns for the times of restitution of all things. Meanwhile, we wait in faith, trusting the promise that all things will be restored to their original design and purpose. We will ”live happily ever after.”

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord,

After Peter and John heal a lame man, Peter has another opportunity to preach the Gospel. He calls for repentance and faith to be turned to God, and to have sins forgiven. Then he gives this promise: “times of refreshing” shall come. This promise is meant both for the community as a whole, the church of the NT age, and for the individual convert.

We are living in the times of refreshing, the NT age of the Messiah, when repentance and faith brings the blotting out of sins. When sins are forgiven the Spirit of God may enter into a clean heart and dwell there. When the Holy Spirit indwells the heart it is a promised ”time of refreshing.” This promise of a time of refreshing can come to us every day. The Christian life is one of daily repentance, renewed forgiveness, reinforced indwelling, and daily refreshment in newness of life. Like the body needs the refreshment of food and drink every day, so also the soul needs the refreshment of spiritual food and drink every day.

Since we are still sinners who sin we need constant forgiveness. Since we die daily we are always in need of new life. Since we get weary and heavy laden we seek rest and refreshment. It comes from ”the presence of the Lord” The times of refreshing come every Sunday and every day.