What Shall We Do? Series

We just read a sermon by the Apostle Peter - a sermon he preached on the day of Pentecost - and it was so powerful that about 3000 people responded by asking: WHAT SHALL WE DO? And then they repented of their sin and were baptized into Christ. Their future was changed because of what Peter said.

What was it about Peter’s sermon that caused them to interrupt him? What prompted them to ask him what they could do? I mean - wouldn’t it be cool if you talked to someone about Jesus and they’d interrupt you and ask that question: WHAT MUST I DO? I’m here to tell you that you can interrupt my sermon anytime to ask to be baptized.

But now, what did Peter say that made them ask that question?

Well let’s start by examining the background of this story. Fifty days earlier Jesus had been crucified, buried and all the people in Jerusalem knew that. For 3 years before His crucifixion, Jesus had been teaching, preaching and healing and casting out demons. He was phenomena! Wherever He went, people flocked to see Him.

But then, He was arrested by the Sanhedrin who had hated Him; Mocked and tortured by the Roman soldiers who had despised Him; And condemned by the crowds that had ONCE praised Him. And then, He was crucified! That was just 50 days earlier - and now, many in the crowd that Peter’s talking to had been there when Jesus was condemned. Many of them had called for His death. And Peter reminds them of that: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know — this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified (you crucified your Messiah) and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Acts 2:22-23

You did THAT! You crucified Him! You made it so lawless men could execute your Messiah! It’s YOUR FAULT! But then Peter tells them that Jesus didn’t stay dead… he rose from the grave; and now (Peter tells them) you’ve got to figure out what to do with this Jesus that you crucified.

You know, this is a common theme in Peter’s preaching… it’s your fault! In Acts 3:13-14 Peter tells another crowd the same thing: “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.”

You delivered Jesus over to be crucified; You denied Him in the presence of Pilate; And you asked for a murderer (Barabbas) to be freed instead of your Messiah. You demanded that Jesus be crucified; you put him on the cross - it’s your fault!

And after that sermon we’re told that, “many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” Acts 4:4

This was so much a part of Peter’s preaching that – when he and John were brought before the Sanhedrin - the Sanhedrin complained “you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” (Acts 5:28) Peter basically tells this powerful body of men - IT’S YOUR FAULT!

Peter was kind of an in-your-face kind of guy, and what Peter did (when he preached) was he shook people up. And what shook them up was that he UNCOVERED their sin. You see, lots of people tend to cover up their sin.

If you were to ask them if they were going to heaven they’d often say “I hope so.” What they’re saying (when they say, “I hope so”) is this: “I hope that I’ve done enough good to outweigh the bad I’ve done” They hide their sin behind that the belief that - on the whole… they’re not bad people.

But until they realize that that’s NOT GONNA WORK with God - they’ll never really want to repent, and they’ll never want to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. I mean, why bother? There’s no need! "God will accept me just as I am, because I’m a nice person." That’s what they’re thinking, and so, Peter UNcovered their sin. He helped them realize their sin.

So, the question is - how do we do that? How can we help people realize their sin? Well, one way is to get in people's faces and tell them they're sinners and they're going to hell. That's kind of what Peter did. But, while I may not be able to do what Peter did at Pentecost, there is a time and place for that type of thing.