Peter was a Lutheran

Ok, so maybe Peter wasn't quite a Lutheran, especially since Martin Luther didn't exist until 1500 years later. But after the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Peter gives a sermon (v. 14-42); it is filled to the brim with law and gospel.

Beginning in v. 22, Peter states, "this Man (Jesus), delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death." Look at those condemning words: "you nailed." Youch! Though the hearers of this sermon did not physically nail Him to the cross, they did with how they lived, what they said, what they didn't say. Still today, we nail Jesus to the cross, on a daily basis. Sadly, many of don't realize we're doing it.

v. 24 "But God..." No matter how powerful or influential we think we become, we will never be able to undermine God's predetermined plan. We often try to play god in our own controlling, prideful way, and end up nailing Christ to the cross, "But God...raised Him up again."

Jumping ahead a little to v. 36, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ - this Jesus whom you crucified." God made Jesus both ruler (Lord) and savior (Christ) so that every knee will bow to Him. And in case we missed the point the first time, Peter reminds us that "you crucified" Him. This is a question you need to ask yourself, "How have I crucified Jesus?" Each of our stories will be different but with the same result.

Those that heard these words felt conviction. v. 37 "they were pierced to the heart" feeling shame and guilt. So convicted were they, that they needed to ask, "what shall we do?" They wanted to strip themselves of this shame and somehow bury it where it would never be found again.

v. 38 "Peter said to them, '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.'" Peter replies that we are to repent and be baptized. We hate to admit when we're wrong, pride ruling out over doing what is right. We hate to admit when we've done wrong, knowing that we hurt another. Yet we can still go to Christ, our Lord, and tell Him all of our burden, bare our soul to Him. Don't worry about offending Him; He's a big boy and can take it. How have you crucified Jesus?Repent. Be baptized. Baptized means to wash, apply water with the intent to make clean. We have a very spiritual conotation with it, as well we should, but there is a place in the Bible (my apologies as I cannot find it at this point...but will later) where a man baptizes a table. He wasn't removing sins from a table, but he was washing it clean. In Jesus' name, we can be washed, baptized, and made clean, as white as snow. For God overcame the world through Christ's death on the cross, to the resurrection and new life found in Him. Praise God for His gracious deeds!

Posted by DShaw