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 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,
1. not by nature
2. but by virtue of the gracious covenant in which they together with their parents are included,
Godly parents
1. ought not to doubt the election and salvation of their children
2. 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.

AAA Prayer (About)

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: