Responding to the Message

When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
–Acts 2:37

When I finished delivering my first sermon to a group of children, I didn’t get much response. We were all just relieved that it was finally over!

How did the apostle Peter’s audience respond to his first sermon? Acts 2:37 says, “When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart.” That’s what the Word of God does. Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.” God’s Word is like a surgeon’s scalpel: It cuts us in order to heal us. But for God’s Word to work in our lives, we have to receive it and act on it. Notice that Peter’s audience did not just say, “Wow, what an inspiring message,” and then go back to whatever they were doing before. No, they were pierced by the truth, and they knew they needed to make a change in their lives. So they asked Peter and the other apostles what to do. Peter said, “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” (v. 38).

What does it mean to repent? The Greek word, metanoia, refers to a change of mind that leads to a change of direction. The Jews listening to Peter needed to change their minds about who Jesus was. He wasn’t just a rabbi; He was the Messiah. The Jews could no longer ignore Him. They needed to accept Him as their Messiah and trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sins. Peter said that when they repented and believed, they would receive the Holy Spirit.

He also commanded them to be baptized. Don’t underestimate the importance of baptism. From this point on in the New Testament, there’s not one example of somebody who believed and was not baptized. Baptism is a picture of the change that happens when we repent and believe: We die to our old sinful way of life and are raised to a new way of living.

Verse 41 says, “Those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.” That morning, the church had 120 members; now there were more than 3,000 because people received God’s truth and made a change in their lives.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.