Daily Word

Pierced to the heart | Acts 2:37-40

37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away[ h ]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”

Acts 2:37-40 (NLT) 中文

Peter’s preaching proceeds

Peter has been preaching positive proof about who Christ is. The OT prophecies from the last two posts combined with personal testimony by the apostles of the resurrection of Jesus are more than sufficient proof. He ends his speech reminding them, “You crucified Him!” Here we see the power of the Spirit causing them to respond. 

Pierced to the heart

What is their response of these, “devout Jews from every nation”? They all are pierced to the heart by the Holy Spirit through Peter’s inspired preaching to cry out for help. They know they are guilty sinners. “What should we do?!”, they cry out in deep conviction. This is not a feeling, though it does surely involve emotions. They are being convicted and drawn by the Holy Spirit of God.

Repent and be baptized

The response of Peter is the Gospel, plain and simple. Repent: change your old way of thinking, to turn from your sinful ways.  Be baptized: accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah and be dunked in water. It’s worth noting that though everyone should be baptized after they profess Christ, it is not required for salvation. And equally it is wrong to assume that anyone who has been baptized is saved. Salvation is a decision, requires action and faith and results in the fruit of good works.

Call to all

The call to be saved is to, “all who have been called by the Lord our God.” It spans generations (you and your children) and future generations (far off). The Greek for far, “has a metaphorical meaning here as elsewhere (e.g., Matt. 17:17; Mark 9:19; 13:30; Luke 9:41; 16:8). It means “a race of men very like each other in endowments, pursuits, character; and especially in a bad sense a perverse race.” (planobiblechapel.org)

Saved from what?

We know from scripture that we are saved from sin and the wrath of God (2 Thess. 1:9, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:9). But here, Peter tells them to save themselves from this cooked generation. All generations are evil due to sin. Peter just shared that the Jews had killed Jesus. Jesus preached judgment on this generation (Matthew 24:2) for rejecting Him. So Peter’s call is that, “they were no longer to participate in the repeated sin of the nation in rejecting Christ.” (planobiblechapel.org)

RЯeflection

  • And this begs the question, “Are you saved”? Have you been convicted by the Holy Spirit of your sin? Do you know you need to be saved from your sin and coming judgment?” If so, click here.
  • As a believer, we can still be “pierced to the heart” for our sin and rebellion. When that happens, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and repent.
Pierced heart. Image from snssalesar.life *

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