Pentecost: Peter's Sermon (Part 3) Series

Pentecost: Peter’s Sermon – Part 3

Peter’s Call To Repentance & Invitation To Salvation

Acts 2:37-40

(Antioch Baptist Church: Wednesday June 4th, 2025)

We are currently examining the first and perhaps greatest Christian sermon ever preached. On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended and the followers of Christ, they began to “speak in other tongues” praising the Lord for His greatness. Upon hearing the sounds of a “mighty rushing wind” a multitude of Jews came running to see what was happening. They were astonished when they arrived and heard these Galileans speaking in their own native languages. Many of those Jews came to the conclusion that the Believers were drunk. In response, Peter stood up and addressed this multitude and refuted the idea that the followers of Christ had been drinking. He explained to them that what they were experiencing was the pouring out of God’s Spirit that Joel had written about many years earlier.

As we have examined this sermon we have seen Peter’s Reference Concerning Joel’s Prophecy and Peter’s Reference Concerning David’s Psalms. In both of those references Peter declared that Jesus Christ is the Promised Messiah. Furthermore, the Apostle laid the death of Jesus at the feet of the Jews with whom he was speaking. He proclaimed in verse 36, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”.

This declaration coupled with the information provided in Peter’s sermon, and obviously the convicting work of the Holy Spirit prompted the desired result amongst a great many of those in attendance. Some of the people cried out “what shall we do?” In response, Peter called on the people to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. He promised that if they would respond accordingly they would “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.

As we conclude our study of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost I would like to examine: “Peter’s Call To Repentance And Invitation To Salvation”

Often we preachers will spend 30 minutes expounding a passage and then at the very end summarize the entire message in a short simple statement. I am not sure how long Peter’s sermon lasted on the day of Pentecost, but that is essentially what he did. In verse 36 he drives the main point of his sermon home by declaring that David’s prophetic words in Psalm 16 & 110 pointed to the life, death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ. The One they had crucified was “both Lord & Christ”.

It is also important for us to notice that verses 33-35 clearly indicate that there would be a certain span of time between the ascension and glorification of Christ and His Second Coming and the establishment of His Kingdom. King David said, 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of the Father. One day He will return, judge the world, punish His enemies, establish His Kingdom and rule and reign over all the earth. The Jews needed to know this truth and the people in the world today need to hear it as well. Peter’s sermon was certainly a powerful one and it had its desired effect.

Every minister of God has an intense desire to see people respond to the Gospel message. Every time that I enter a pulpit and preach the Word of God it is my desire to see lost people saved, backslidden people restored, and faithful Christians grow stronger in their relationship with the Lord. There have been certain occasions where I have been amazed at the number of people who responded to the message from God’s Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I am sure that Peter was elated by what happened at the conclusion of this sermon. (v37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?")

There were multitudes more than 3,000 people in attendance on the day of Pentecost. As we have seen throughout this study there were some who heard this message and scoffed. Some of those Jews were cynical when they arrived and even more so when they left. Some came running to see what was happening and they assumed the Disciples were drunk, when they departed they still believed this to be the case.

There were other Jews who came there that day who were confused by the sights and the sounds, but after hearing the message from the Apostle Peter and experiencing true Holy Spirit conviction they were convinced that what he was saying was true. They believed the message and accepted the testimony of the Apostles that Jesus was indeed the Messiah; He had risen from the dead and He was responsible for the amazing things that had taken place earlier in the day. In response they humbly asked Peter “what shall we do?” They asked this because “they were cut to the heart”.