1. An interesting Bible study that I recommend is to read the book of Acts and carefully study the different sermons.
2. There are 16 altogether – 7 are by Peter, 7 are by Paul, 1 is by Stephen, and 1 is by James.
3. The first sermon was preached by the apostle Peter and begins at 2:14.
4. Peter gets right to the point and preaches Christ (2:22,23). Today, rather than focus on the sermon itself, I would rather we looked at the results of the sermon.
5. In particular, I want to focus on three aspects of Peter’s Spirit-filled, Christ-exalting preaching:

1. IT BROUGHT CONVICTION OF SIN
2. IT EMPHASIZED REPENTANCE FROM SIN
3. IT RESULTED IN SEPARATION FROM SIN

I. PETER’S MESSAGE BROUGHT CONVICTION OF SIN (2:37).

1. The enormity of their sin and guilt came home to their hearts (2:37). D.L. Moody used to tell the true story of two brothers who went out West to seek their fortune. One had money, and the other did not. When they got to the frontier the one without money murdered the other, took his money and fled to California. Doctors took the head of the murdered man and preserved it in alcohol. No proof of the murder could be found as there were no witnesses. The brother was accused, but declared his innocence. He was brought to trial and again declared his innocence. Then they brought his brother’s head into the courtroom. He looked at it, fell to the floor, and confessed his sin.
2. That’s what happened on the day of Pentecost. Peter said: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).
3. And this brought conviction of sin – "they were pricked in their heart" (vs. 37).
4. Conviction of sin is the Holy Spirit’s first work in a human heart. Our Lord said the Holy Spirit reproves (convicts) of sin, "and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8).
5. In other words, the Holy Spirit deals with the nature of sin, of the need for righteousness, and of the nearness of judgment.
6. The Holy Spirit makes people see their personal accountability before God for what they have done – particularly for their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. John 16:8,9).
7. As a preacher, there are certain things that I am dead-sure about, and one of them is this: there can be no genuine conversion without genuine conviction.
8. Not every one who is under conviction gets converted, but anyone who has ever been converted has first been under conviction.
9. I remember well when I got saved. The Holy Spirit put His finger on my sin and I felt under tremendous conviction. I realized that I was lost and on my way to hell. I repented then and there and got right with God.
10. All Gospel preaching should begin with an appeal to the conscience.
11. Peter’s entire sermon had been directed to this single end: producing conviction of sin. And that has been the goal of every good Bible preacher ever since.
12. But it does not stop there – conviction should lead to repentance.

II. PETER’S MESSAGE EMPHASIZED REPENTANCE FROM SIN.

1. To come under conviction is not enough. Some people are under tremendous conviction but they never get saved. They resist the Holy Spirit and refuse to repent.
2. The Bible says: "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).
3. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent…" (Acts 2:38).
4. Repentance means to turn around, to change your mind, to get right with God (cf. 3:19,26; 8:22; 20:21; 26:18-20).
5. Acts 2:38 has been mangled and abused by those who teach that baptism is essential for salvation. Baptism is not essential for salvation, but salvation is essential for baptism. First – there must be conviction; then there must be repentance. Then when a person turns from his sin and receives Jesus Christ as his Saviour, he is converted and should get baptized and join the church.
6. But many are confused over this and put baptism before conversion. Like the woman who was asked by a preacher: "Are you saved?" and she replied, "Oh, yes. I was baptized over 20 years ago."
7. Much of the confusion comes from the words, "for the remission of sins" (2:38). This does not mean that baptism saves from sin (cf. John 3:16; Acts 16:31; etc.).
8. The preposition translated for is used in different ways. For example, you have heard people say: "He went to prison for drugs." That does not mean he went there to get drugs but rather he went there because he was caught with drugs.
9. Therefore, this preposition could be translated "because" or "unto" or "on account of" (cf. margin).
10. When a person is truly converted he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38b). Some people say you must pray for the Holy Ghost. But why pray for something you already have? (Rom.8:9).
11. Some churches teach that if you are saved, you have "some of the Holy Ghost but not all of the Holy Ghost." But this too goes against the Bible. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and you cannot have part of a person – you either have him or you do not.
12. When I perform a marriage ceremony, and the couple stands before me, I say to the bride, "Do you take this man to be your husband?" I do not ask: "Do you take part of this man to be your husband?" or "You can get part of him now and then pray real hard and maybe you can get the rest later!"
13. If you are saved, you have all the Holy Spirit. He may not have all of you – that could be the problem.

III. PETER’S MESSAGE RESULTED IN SEPARATION FROM SIN.

1. Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost brought conviction of sin; it emphasized repentance from sin; and it resulted in separation from sin.
2. Peter concluded his message with this word of exhortation: "Save yourselves from this untoward (perverse or crooked) generation" (2:40).
3. Genuine salvation brings deliverance and separation from sin. Genuine salvation means changed lives – gladly receiving the Word of God, being baptized, and joining the church (2:41).
4. There is something seriously wrong with a man who goes to church on Sunday and then lives like the devil during the week.
5. If you are truly saved, you will not want to keep running with the worldly crowd. Don’t be like the soldier in the Civil War who wore a blue Yankee jacket and gray Confederate pants. He wound up getting shot at by both sides!
6. I heard an interesting story about a battle that took place between the animals and the birds. Among them was a bat which has the body of an animal, but flies like a bird. When the animals were victorious and rushed upon the birds, the bat would fold its wings and cry out, "I am an animal." But when the birds seemed to be winning and threatened the animals, the bat spread and stretched out his wings and cried: "I am a bird."
7. Maybe there are some folks like that here today. If so, it’s time for a change. Make up your mind you are going to serve God (2:41ff).
8. There are some here today who have never been Scripturally baptized. Jesus said, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).
9. Baptism is a command from God; it is a church ordinance.
10. Baptism is a symbol of repentance. We have left the old life, our old friends, our old religion, (whatever) and we now identify with the Lord Jesus Christ and His church.
11. In baptism we identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (cf. Rom.6:4).
12. A preacher named John Phillips put it this way: "The people standing there in Jerusalem on Pentecost morning stood beneath the shadow of Calvary. They needed above all to repent; that is, they needed personally, as individuals, to repent of the enormous sin their nation had committed. Repentance is a change of mind, a deliberate turning away from a previous course of conduct. Those Hebrews had to thus deliberately repudiate the sin of the Hebrew nation. But their repentance had to be expressed just as publicly as the national sin had been expressed, and the way to make their decision public was by baptism."

CONCLUSION:

1. I would like to wrap this up by drawing your attention to the words "stedfastly" (2:42) and "daily" (2:46,47). Let me ask you: "Are you stedfast?"
2. And what are we to make of the word "daily"? Most Christians just show up on Sunday morning and think they are doing the Lord a favor!
3. But it was much different back then – the church was unified (2:44,46 – note "singleness of heart"), Christ was magnified (2:47), and the membership multiplied (2:47b).
4. Would you like to see God bless our church this way? Pastor Roger Voegtlin said that his church went from 200 to 1,600 in attendance in one year. Pastors from all over were asking him how he did it. His answer – "God did it."