Acts 2:37-47
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For 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.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
The tentative report came in the mail. “Rule out cancer.” It shook our world. We went on vacation shortly thereafter with that hanging over our heads. Were we ever glad when we learned there was no cancer. But in that moment those words shook our world.
Maybe you’ve had such a moment. A medical test report. A cryptic memo from your boss. A phone call in the middle of the night. A sermon. A Bible verse brings you up short. You know you must do something. This is nothing to be ignored.
When Peter spoke on that first Pentecost, his message was direct and powerful. Truth reached deeply into the hearts of the people there. Grace invited them to repent and believe. The Holy Spirit brought grace and truth together to create repentance and faith.
It sounded like, “Brothers, what shall we do?” It looked like people who didn’t dismiss Peter’s sermon as just so much hot air. It was a moment that would shape their lives and eternity. Here was an echo of Jesus’ first sermon, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). God had broken in now through the preaching of Peter.
We too easily dismiss even the true messages from God’s word. We’ve learned that we don’t need to take every word to heart. We can still get by. I fear we cheapen grace. Or we are too shrewd and dismiss God’s word as quaintly out of touch with modern life.
Thank God for the example of these earliest Christians. They thought God’s word neither quaint or forgettable. They were convinced that they needed to do something in response to this new awareness of their need. Thankfully God provides a way to deal with such moments when we become aware of our sin. Repent and believe. That’s a call for us daily, and the way of life for all believers. Will we dismiss this as quaintly irrelevant, nothing we really need to deal with, or something that will change our life now and forever?
David Bahn - Reflections 
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