This coming Sunday, the Church will commemorate what happened shortly after Jesus' ascension on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Peter is preaching away about what is going on that day as being signs that Jesus was the promise Messiah. In the middle of his sermon he quotes Joel 2; the last verse of the quote is:
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Peter then goes on to put the pieces together, saying that Jesus did all these miracles, then they crucified Him. Now, their response:
37 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.
37 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.
The cry of their heart was: "What shall we do to be saved?" Peter had already given a brief summary in verse 21:everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Peter is saying: "Call out to God. Even though you have gone astray, God has made away; repent, trust in Jesus Christ, God's Messiah, and you will be saved." Whenever God speaks, whether it is in a noisy crowd or a still small voice, there is a call going out that He forgives and receives those who call out to Him in repentance for forgiveness with a heart open to change. It's a call He accepts no matter how far off you are away from Him. Call out today.
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