April 8, 2022

Acts 2: 38 (NIV)

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The kind of commitment expected from a disciple is expressed in the command to baptize. A person is totally immersed in water, and total commitment is the goal for a disciple.*

Peter has just preached a gospel sermon and his audience understands that now a response is required of them. “Brothers, what shall we do?” they want to know. Peter doesn’t need to tell them to believe because they already do. But believing is not enough. He moves on to the next steps: repentance and baptism. To repent, one must turn around and go the other way. It is more than being sorry for your sins. And you can’t repent (and don’t need to!) if you’ve never sinned. To be baptized, one must be immersed. The Greek word that Peter used here has never been interchangeable with dip, pour, or sprinkle. Your baptism must be in the name of Jesus Christ or else you will just come up wet. The Holy Spirit is the gift you receive along with forgiveness – not  payment for a job well-done.

A parable:  You live in Central Florida and your family receives a letter from Walt Disney World saying the cost of tickets has gone up to $400 per person.  When out-of-town relatives come to visit, of course they want to go to Disney World.  You show them the letter saying how much the tickets cost and they say, “Oh, surely not! The Disney people are too nice to charge that much. That’s just the ‘suggested’ price of a ticket.” So off they go to Disney World with only enough money for what they believe is the cost of tickets. When they arrive at the gates to the Magic Kingdom, the cast members are all very nice and perky but they won’t let the family go into the park.

Here's the thing:

• showing up at the gates of WDW with a ticket from Universal Studios will not gain you access to the Happiest Place on Earth;
• if you don't bring enough money, the nice people at WDW will not let you in the park;
• a free pass as the guest of a Disney cast member requires some action on your part - you have to meet the employee at the gate. Just because you had to do something doesn't mean it's not free!

If you don’t want to be stuck outside the gates of heaven, you need to familiarize yourself with the entrance requirements and come prepared. It turns out that you can’t buy your own ticket. Jesus has already paid for it with his blood. To receive your free ticket to heaven, you have to do what 3,000 people did on the day of Pentecost: repent and be baptized (Acts 2: 41).

Salvation does not course through human bloodlines . . . but is granted by God through the blood of Jesus.*