Convinced, Challenged and Changed (Acts 2:37-41)

As we have noted in previous studies, Peter is explaining to his hearers the meaning of Pentecost. It is both a fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy (as given by the prophet Joel) and an activity of the exalted Christ from his position of honour in heaven. Jesus has sent the Spirit from heaven to inaugurate on earth the New Testament era, the age of the Spirit, or the Last Days (they were inaugurated in heaven when Jesus ascended to the throne of God). 

This was a very important day in the history of the world. Not only was it the public announcement on earth of the enthronement of Jesus, it was a display of gracious power by the exalted Saviour. The people to whom he first sent his Spirit were the ones who had been involved to some extent in his rejection and death a few weeks earlier. To them Jesus drew near in mercy to give them spiritual blessings. Yet before they could experience these blessings they needed to experience conviction of sin.

Conviction of sin

Conviction of sin is an essential aspect of the process of salvation. Jesus becomes a Saviour for those who know that they are sinners. Since it is a very important feature of true spiritual experience, we surely must desire to understand its nature. So here are some details of this occurrence.

First of all, this passage shows that conviction of sin can be very short. There is no evidence that these individuals, prior to this day, had any concern about their involvement in the death of Jesus. It had not crossed their minds that they had been guilty of this awful sin. Yet the period between their conviction of sin and conversion from sin was not a long time, perhaps even of a few minutes.

One reason for the brevity of their experience can be traced to it being a consequence of the preaching about Christ rather than preaching only about the law. Often it is suggested that the law must break the hard heart of a sinner before he will listen to the invitation of the gospel. No doubt, many a converted person has had such an experience. Yet it is obvious that the divinely-given law by itself does not give any hope to a sinner. If a preacher only mentions the law, he may have to wait a while, wait until he also preaches the gospel, before he has converts because there are no guidelines for finding Christ in the law. 

Second, conviction of sin can be very sore. Peter’s sermon is interrupted by his listeners because they have been deeply affected by what they had heard. The phrase ‘cut to the heart’ is a very graphic word picture of the effects of the gospel by the hand of the Spirit in the hearts of sinners. The gospel is the knife that the Spirit uses to wound the inner life of sinners. What ideas are conveyed by this imagery?

First, there is heartfelt distress. Their response is not merely a recognition that they have done wrong; in addition there is a strong sense of the heinousness of their sins. Peter did not merely address their consciences; he also spoke to their affections. They feel the awfulness of what they have done. They have been guilty of rebellion against God, the one who is the Creator, Provider, and Sovereign, the One who sent his Son to be the Saviour of sinners. They have been guilty of rejecting the Saviour – he came to his own and his own received him not.

Second, there is longing for deliverance. These individuals realise that they are in great danger. It is not conviction when a person can deduce that a certain action is wrong but not be afraid of the judgement of God on such actions. Conviction by the Spirit also writes on the person’s heart the reality of divine judgement. He is afraid, and he will desire deliverance from the wrath of God intensely. 

Third, there is a changed attitude towards the people of God. Previously, the crowd had reacted to the events of Pentecost, of which the disciples were the visible centre, with either curiosity or mockery. Now that they were under conviction of sin, they speak differently – they address the disciples with endearing words, recognising that these followers of Jesus will have some way of helping them.

Counsel for the convicted

Peter quickly tells his hearers what they should do. The way of deliverance involved an inward response and an outward confession. The inward response was repentance and the outward response was baptism.

Conviction of a sin is not the same as repentance for the sin. Sadly, convictions may pass away and not come to penitence. Peter did not take their concern as evidence that they had been converted. There is more to conversion than a dread of divine judgement because of our sins.

Repentance involves sorrow for our sins, but it also includes a determination to forsake them. True repentance is more than remorse or regret; in the Old Testament both Cain and Esau showed remorse and regret because of the consequences of their actions, but they did not express repentance for their sins. A person may be sorry for the effects of a sin without being sorry for the sin itself; if the effects did not occur, he would want to continue practising the sin. A car driver who crashes his car may regret the crash but not the speeding that caused the crash. Remorse or regret will focus on the crashed car; repentance will focus on the speeding and will cause the person to change his behaviour. 

Yet repentance is also more than resolve, the attempt to live better in the future. It also includes sorrow for the wrong actions, and a sense of shame that we sinned against God. Each of us has an incalculable number of sins of which to repent. While we cannot repent individually of each one, when the Spirit points us to particular sins, we should repent of them with a sense of disgrace.

The outward action that Peter mentions is baptism. It is important to realise that he is not suggesting that the ritual of baptism saves a penitent sinner. Instead he is stressing that a public confession of Jesus must accompany true repentance. At that time, there would not exist a believer who refused to confess Christ. By the confession of Christ is meant a personal commitment to Jesus.

This commitment that was publicly displayed in baptism stated that the person depended on Jesus alone for salvation. The individual was stating to all around that he was relying on Jesus Christ for rescue from God’s wrath against sin. In other words, he had put his trust in Jesus. True faith in Jesus includes dependence on Jesus, but it has other features as well. 

In addition to dependence on Jesus, there will be delight in Jesus because he will become very attractive to the sin-burdened soul. The penitent sinner sees great beauty in Jesus and the desire to know him is an important aspect of his faith. Those listening to Peter on the Day of Pentecost had caught a glimpse of the beauty of Jesus and therefore they wanted to know him.

A third feature of true faith in Jesus, in addition to dependence upon him and delight in him, is dedication to him. In his sermon, Peter had stressed the sovereignty of Christ, his position as Lord of all. A penitent sinner is aware of who Jesus is, and comes to him acknowledging his Kingship. Repentance for sin and confession of Christ go together.

Comforts promised the convicted

Peter then gives three promises to his listeners. First, he assures them that of they repent of their sins and confess Jesus by faith, they will receive from God the forgiveness of all their sins. They will receive an immediate free and full pardon. In a moment, they will turn from those under the bondage of condemnation to those enjoying the liberty of the forgiven. What a great blessing pardon from God is! Delivered from condemnation, and delivered from the fear of condemnation.

Second, Peter says that they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised his disciples that when the Spirit came after the Ascension, he would be in them as well as being with them (John ). Of course, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a massive subject, and no-one can fully describe what it involves. In saying that the converts would receive the Spirit, Peter was promising them many blessings: there is the blessing of purity as they are sanctified by the Spirit; there is the blessing of power as they are enabled to serve Jesus by the Spirit; there is the blessing of the fruit of the Spirit as they receive these gifts from Jesus through the channel of the Spirit. To have the Spirit is, as we know, to have the presence of God.

Third, Peter reminded his hearers that they would come into a covenant relationship with God if they believed in Jesus. This is what Peter means when he says that ‘the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’ In the Old Testament period, the children of parents in Israel received privileges from God because he had made commitments to their forebears. This does not mean that the children of converts, whether from Jewish families in Israel or Jewish families in the Dispersion, would automatically become Christians. But it is a reminder that members of Christian families are very near to gospel blessings, which means that Christian parents can plead this relationship when they pray to God. It also means that it is a great sin for such children to despise their birthright.

Challenge to the convicted
In verse 40, Luke informs that Peter continued with many words to exhort his hearers to ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation’. This is obviously a summary of his message and it reminds us of several important features. 

One detail that stands out is Peter’s insistence that each person was responsible for responding to the gospel in faith. Another detail that is clearly implied is that the generation was facing divine judgement, and since the timing of that judgement was unknown, it was a demand for immediate flight from such a fate. 

There is a third detail in this exhortation which should be noticed: Peter recognises the difficulty of going against the crowd. It is not easy to be different, especially to differ from the majority. The pressure of society can make it very hard for a potential disciple to be firm in his response to the gospel. Many a person has been almost persuaded as King Agrippa was, yet did not ultimately become a believer.