Peter has made the call. Peter’s sermon was simple. It declared the truth of God, clearly exposing the sin of those hearing and explaining the meaning of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. However, since Peter words were influenced by the Holy Spirit there was over some 3,000 people saved and added to the Church. Nothing has changed today in regard to who does the adding to God’s Church.

1 – Salvation is God’s work (vs. 37-40)

• The cry of the sinner – “What shall we do?” It is the cry of all who are awakened to a sense of their sin and of God’s wrath against them. The answer is they can do nothing to save themselves. It is DONE rather than DO. They can only repent, believe, baptise and follow. Jesus has paid the price already.
• God finds us rather than us finding him – God finds a way of getting His gospel message to those who really want to hear it. Philip was sent to the Ethiopian Eunuch. Peter was sent to Cornelius. Paul was sent to Lydia, the Philippian jailer and others. Onesimus was sent to Paul. God uses us as His messengers. How can they hear unless someone tells them? See Romans 10:14.
• Conviction of sin and repentance is necessary for a real conversion. The people were “cut to the heart”. This can’t be accomplished with a superficial wound. God needs to cut you deep. It is not enough to be sorry. We were all destined for the judgment of God. Jesus has taken the punishment for our sins. He suffered and dies for us. Repentance is a change of mind, motives, masters and life. It is not temporary. It is continual.
• The early believers were baptised after they accepted Jesus for salvation. It had no bearing on the remission of sins. It is a symbol of faith in Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. It is an outward demonstration to others of an inward change.

2 – Church growth is God’s work (vs. 41-47)

• It is not built by human effort – The Lord added daily to the Church those who should be saved. It is built through the power of God alone through the preaching of His Gospel. God will never honour man’s efforts if man attempts to take any credit. The Church is not about building monstrous or beautiful buildings for God’s people. It is people that make up the Church. It is people that God takes to Heaven – not buildings. Human effort alone is not going to add to the numbers. The Church is to preach the Gospel and God the Holy Spirit works on the inside to convict and convert.
• The Church is a fellowship created and maintained by the Holy Spirit. They follow the doctrines of Christ, have all things in common and meet together in obedience in one accord to worship God. This doctrinal, fraternal and spiritual fellowship is the evidence of the true unity of the Church. It is evidence to unbelievers as well. The danger is when all three are not together then it can be a false unity. The Church was God’s idea and He adds those to His “Universal” church. It is possible to belong to a local Church and not be a Christian. If you are in the “Universal” Church then you should be in a local Church. If you are a believer and not attending a local Church then you have developed a “bad” habit! See Hebrews 10:25. Be encouraged to attend and encourage others.

Categories: Acts