Acts 2:36-41 - For You & Your Children
- Chad Werkhoven
- Apr 15
- 5 min read
You (and your children) are saved the same way God's people always have been.
Acts 2:36-41 (NIV)
CONTEXT: Peter, freshly anointed by the Holy Spirit, has been preaching to the crowd on Pentecost morning. These verses contain his conclusion and the crowd's response:
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Canons of Dordt
Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election
Articles 1-14
Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People
Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship
Deuteronomy 28:15-20 - Not A Tame Lion
Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation
Psalm 143 - Aggressive Prayer Pattern
Article 2: The Manifestation of God’s Love
Zephaniah 3:14-17 - The Mighty Warrior Who Saves
Lamentations 3:19-23 - Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Article 3: The Preaching of the Gospel
1 Timothy 2:1-7 - God Our Savior
Rom 10:14-17 - The Power of Preaching
1 Cor 1.23-24 - God's Foolishness
Psalm 93 - Mightier Than Chaos
Article 4: A Twofold Response to the Gospel
John 6:37-40 - Tensegral Theology
John 12:42-50 - Buffet Theology
Article 5: The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith
James 1:13-18 - The Devil (didn't) Make You Do It
Ecclesiastes 7:25-29 - Many Schemes
Ephesians 2:8 - The Gift of God
Psalm 95 - The LORD is OUR God
Article 6: God’s Eternal Decree
Ezekiel 36:24-27 - A Whole New Reality
Romans 9:15-21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth
Article 7: Election
Ephesians 1:3-6 - Before the Foundation
Deuteronomy 7:1-10 - Set Apart
John 17:1-5 - Sovereign Submission
Psalm 115 - God Does What He Pleases
Article 8: A Single Decree of Election
Romans 4:1-8 - One and the Same
Romans 4:9-17 - Chicken or Egg?
Romans 4:18-25 - Faithfully Face the Facts
Hebrews 11:39-40 - Promises Kept
Psalm 33 - God's Control, Authority & Presence
Article 9: Election Not Based on Foreseen Faith
2 Timothy 1:7-10 - Passive & Powered
Deuteronomy 9:4-6 - You're Not That Awesome
Psalm 91 - The Shelter of the Most High
Article 10: Election Based on God’s Good Pleasure
Luke 2:13-14 - Christmas in March
Galatians 4:1-7 - From Slave to Son
1 Peter 2:9-10 - You're The Best Thing God Has!
Article 11: God’s election is unalterable.
Malachi 3:6-7 - Keep It Simple
Hebrews 6:13-20 - Unchanging Anchor
Hebrews 13:1-8 - Keep On Loving
Hebrews 6:13-20 - Unchangeable Blessing
Article 12: The Assurance of election
Hebrews 11:1-6 - Confident Assurance
Malachi 3:14-18 - Childlike Fear
2 Corinthians 7:8-11 - Godly Sorrow
Psalm 65 - The Hearer of Prayers
Article 13/14: The Fruit of our assurance
Isaiah 57:14-21 - God's Second Residence
2 Peter 1:3-10 - Make Every Effort
Isaiah 42:1-9 - The Sovereign & His Servant
Article 17: The Salvation of the Infants of Believers
Since we must make judgments about God’s will from his Word, which testifies that the children of believers are holy,
not by nature
but by virtue of the gracious covenant in which they together with their parents are included,
Godly parents
ought not to doubt the election and salvation of their children
whom God calls out of this life in infancy.
Summary
A good sermon conclusion summarizes the main message and implores the listener to take action to change their life. Peter's conclusion to his famous Pentecost sermon is a perfect example:
Main points:
God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ;
You crucified Him.
Calls to action:
Let all Israel be assured of this!
Repent and be baptized in the name of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
Peter's first point hit that crowd like a ton of bricks. God had made that itinerant rabbi - the one rumored to have performed all sorts of miracles - the very Messiah that the prophets had been predicting for thousands of years who would come to save Israel. God had fulfilled these promises in Jesus!
But Jesus had been dead for nearly two months at this point (pentecost is 50 days after the Passover, when Jesus had been killed). And worse yet, Peter just pointed his finger directly at them, accusing them of crucifying Him! But how could this be, they must have wondered, since most of this crowd were out of towners who had gathered for the Pentecost festival, and weren't anywhere near Jerusalem on the fateful day Jesus died.
Peter demonstrates the power of Biblical preaching. It boldly proclaims what God has done and it convicts those listening of their sin. Those who heard Peter speak that morning were not any more guilt of physically hanging Jesus on the cross than we are; Peter's point is that all of humanity shares that guilt. Then the Holy Spirit takes those convicting words and uses them to cut to the heart - the first step in regeneration. All that's left for the preacher to do is to call the congregation to repentance and baptism in the name of Christ.
Dig Deeper
Peter's most radical claim almost doesn't even get noticed at first. Peter wasn't the first to claim that God had made so and so the messiah; lots of men had been making that claim for centuries, including some right before and even during the life of Jesus. Such a claim on its own would hardly even attract attention.
But Peter, guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit, takes the claim a step further. He appropriates the covenant promises God had made to Abraham (which we read about yesterday), proclaiming that forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit is for you and your children and for all who are far off!
Peter's massive announcement hitches together all of God's Old Testament provisions and promises made to His covenant people with the victory that Jesus (the) Christ achieved. It means that those of us who now know the gospel message are saved in the exact same way the Israelites of old were: by inclusion into this ongoing covenant relationship with God.
This also means that our children who are born into this covenant in our day and age have the same assurance of salvation that children born into godly families have always had. This is the exact promise that God made to Abraham thousands of years ago, that Peter applied to this first batch of converts on Pentecost, which we continue to celebrate each time we get the privilege of welcoming a new covenant child into the Church.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has made Jesus both Lord and Christ;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for the assurance His covenant promises give to you and your children;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Matthew 7
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