God’s Spirit, God’s People on Mission, Pt. 2

Acts 2

St. John’s United Church of Christ
Greeley, Colorado
June 2, 2024
Rev. Juvenal Cervantes

Acts 2 teaches us that the early Christians seized the moment to share the gospel of the Christ as the Holy Spirit came upon them. They also anticipate a response from people. Some were confused, others were curious, some were convicted and others were converted.

We find two other ideas in Acts 2: The early Christians built a bridge to Christ and they encouraged personal faith.

Build a bridge to Christ (vs. 16-36)

In the power of the Spirit, it is your job and mine simple to share what we know of Christ with those we meet and know. Where do we begin? With what they already know. Jesus met the woman at the well, so he asked for water. He found a man born blind, so he healed his eyes. He fed the crowds because they were hungry.

Paul quoted the Greek philosophers when he spoke to Greek philosophers (Acts 17); he quoted the Old Testament when he spoke to Jewish synagogues. Start with common ground. Find a place where you share a belief or experience, and begin there.

In this case, Peter knew that his crowd was composed of observant Jews, passionate enough about their faith to travel great distances to take part in Pentecost. And so he began with the Scriptures they would all know and accept. He got their attention, and rebutted the charge of drunkenness (vs. 14-15). Then he quoted Joel’s great promise that when the Messiah came and the “last days” began, the Spirit would fall on “all people” (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-21).

The Jews divided time into the “former days” before the Messiah’s advent, and the “latter days” after his coming. And so this Pentecost coming of the Spirit was proof that Jesus of Nazareth really was the Messiah of God. Joel’s prediction legitimized the personal ministry of Jesus’ disciples, and made clear its divine origin.

Now Peter turned from the promise to its fulfillment, explaining clearly what Jesus had accomplished with his life, death, and resurrection (vs. 22-23). He staked everything on the resurrection, for it alone proved Jesus’ divinity (v. 24). And he used David’s psalms with their predictions of such a resurrection as proof that Easter fulfilled the word of the Lord (vs. 25-35). With this conclusion: “let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and God” (v. 36).

Peter’s method can be reproduced by any of us who are willing:

Find a spiritual truth you share in common with the person you are seeking to win to Christ. Perhaps it is a mutual appreciation for the beauty of nature and grandeur of the cosmos, or shared frustration with the sinful nature of our culture and society. Perhaps you have felt the same kind of hurt this person is now facing. Find a place where you and this person share similar beliefs or experiences.

Explain how Jesus has touched this need or experience in your life. If you’re speaking with a person in grief, share how Jesus helped you through a time of loss. If you’re hiking in the woods with a friend, show how the order of creation demonstrates an ordered Creator, and share a way Jesus has brought order to your life. People may disagree with your beliefs, but they will be interested in your story.

Present the essential facts of Jesus’ life and work. Most Americans do not understand what he did, or why he did it.

Use the resurrection to demonstrate his uniqueness and divinity. New Testament writers and ancient Roman and Jewish historians are agreed: Jesus of Nazareth was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried in a tomb. On the third day, that tomb was empty; the first Christians believed Jesus to be raised from the dead. We know these facts without opening a New Testament. And there is no explanation for the empty tomb except Easter.

Invite the person to meet this risen Lord personally.

Encourage to personal faith (vs. 37-41)

Some will always respond to God’s word as it is made clear by God’s Spirit at work through us. When they do, we must call them to repentance and faith (v. 38).

Peter’s words have confused many and led some to the conviction that baptism is essential to salvation: “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.” But the phrase “for the forgiveness of your sins” is better translated in this context, “because your sins have been forgiven.” We are not baptized to become Christians, but because we already are.

Nowhere does the Bible teach that baptism (or any other work) is essential to salvation. Rather, our salvation comes only by God’s grace through our faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). A typical American response to the gospel is to trade faith for works. If we are good people and believe in God, such works must be enough. Or, if we have been baptized and attend church, we must be Christians.

My friends, going to church doesn’t make us Christians any more than going to weddings makes us married or going to funerals makes us deceased. A person becomes married by entering into a personal commitment with another person. So it is with our personal faith in the living and true God.

Peter made clear that God’s grace is for us all, unconditionally (v. 39). Some believe we are good enough for God; others of us believe we can never be. We must encourage both types of people to come to the same grace offered by the same Father.

The apostle’s commitment to this ministry was personal and passionate, as he pled with the crowds to come to Christ (v. 40). John Claypool is right: only that which happens to us can happen through us. When others see what Jesus means to us, they will consider our faith as their own. We must share our love for Christ and others with personal commitment and passionate devotion. Such passion connects heart to heart, and moves the soul to faith.

The results of Peter’s ministry and the disciples’ personal evangelism were stunning and historic: some 3,000 came into the faith that day. And the most powerful spiritual movement in human history had begun.

Invite others to join the family (vs. 42-47)

The gospel is not only for the person—it is for all of humanity. Every image of the Christian faith found in Scripture is a collective picture: a body with many members, a vine with many branches. We can no more live the Christian life alone than we can play football by ourselves. The Spirit’s work made lost souls into children of God, then led them to live as family.

Their priorities should be ours: Bible study, fellowship, worship (“the breaking of bread,” an image for the Lord’s Supper and the worship it inspires), and prayer (v. 42). Out of these priorities came a community of faith which would stand every persecution across twenty centuries. Christians then and now experience God’s miraculous power through our prayerful ministries (v. 43); we share life and needs together (vs. 44-45); we worship together with “glad and sincere hearts” (v. 46); and God continues to add to our number those who are being saved (v. 47).

You and I live in a world of increasing fragmentation. “Cocooning” is a word used by sociologists to describe the way we pull into our own isolated lives. The vast majority of Americans cannot name the people who live on either side of their homes or apartments. The advent of cable and satellite television, movie subscription services, and the Internet has made isolation even more common.

But God made our hearts to need each other. We cannot be happy alone. The church provides the one value our Internet culture cannot: a genuine family. Not just words on the screen, but a caring heart and hand. When we invite others to join our family, they will want to know our Father.

Conclusion

Phillips Brooks, the great Episcopal pastor and preacher, was once asked what he would do if he were sent to a declining church. His answer was simple: “I’d gather together as many people as I could, preach the finest sermon on missions I could, then take the largest offering for missions I could. When we have a mission, we have a church.”

God’s mission for his people is clear. He will empower us to the degree that we will fulfill his mission. How fully do you sense the Spirit at work in your life today?