Conversions In The Book of Acts - IIb

The 2000 At Solomon’s Porch (3:1-4:4) - Part Two

In Part 1 of this lesson we looked at the background of this event occurring and at Peter’s sermon and the conversions that followed. In Part 2 of this lesson we will do an analysis of the conversions this event and Peter’s preaching of the gospel message produced. Lets start by looking at an analysis of the conversions.

Note the following observations regarding Peter’s sermon, noting the Christ-centeredness of Peter’s preaching. As in his sermon on Pentecost while he is explaining the miracle, he directs their attention to Jesus, not the sign. Again Peter’s main theme is the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus - Ac 3:13-15 "The God that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and our other ancestors worshiped has brought honor to his Servant Jesus. He is the one you betrayed. You turned against him when he was being tried by Pilate, even though Pilate wanted to set him free. You rejected Jesus, who was holy and good. You asked for a murderer to be set free, and you killed the one who leads people to life. But God raised him from death, and all of us can tell you what he has done."

The One they killed, God raised from the dead. The One they killed, God has glorified. Yet Peter also introduces a new element, the coming of Jesus from heaven! Jesus is coming again! - Ac 3:20-21 "Then that time will come when the Lord will give you fresh strength. He will send you Jesus, his chosen Messiah. But Jesus must stay in heaven until God makes all things new, just as his holy prophets promised long ago."

The sermon’s climax is the call to "repent therefore, and be converted" - Ac 3:19 "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven." From this we learn that repentance and conversion are not same thing, otherwise, Peter was redundant. He would have been saying "repent and repent". Repent (metanoeo) means "a change of mind". True repentance is brought on by "godly sorrow" - 2 Co 7:9 "Now I am happy, but not because I hurt your feelings. It is because God used your hurt feelings to make you turn back to him, and none of you were harmed by us." Such repentance then leads one to "salvation" - 2 Co 7:10 "Now I am happy, but not because I hurt your feelings. It is because God used your hurt feelings to make you turn back to him, and none of you were harmed by us." Thus they were being called to change their minds regarding Jesus and their sinful ways.

What is meant by "be converted"? The NKJV and KJV suggest a passive act, but the Greek is aorist active imperative, implying there is something we must do. The key idea is to "turn" or "return". The NIV has "turn to God" and the NASB has "return". But how does one turn to God? Compare Peter’s word’s Ac 3:19, "Repent" with Ac 2:38, "Repent". "Be baptized" (Ac 2:38) and "Be converted" (Ac 3:19) Could Peter be referring to baptism when he says "be converted"? When one submits to baptism, they so do with an appeal for a clear conscience - 1 Pe 3:21 "Those flood waters were like baptism that now saves you. But baptism is more than just washing your body. It means turning to God with a clear conscience, because Jesus Christ was raised from death." In baptism they are calling upon the name of the Lord - Ac 22:16 "What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord."’ Therefore I believe the call to "turn" likely involved baptism.

The blessings promised are similar to those found in the first sermon. There is the forgiveness of sins described as the "remission of sins" in the first sermon - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit." Described as having one’s sins "blotted out" - Ac 3:19 "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;" (KJV) There is the positive counterpart to the remission of sins described as "the gift of the Holy Spirit" in the first sermon - Ac 2:38-39. In this sermon the counterpart to the remission of sins is described as "the times of refreshing...from the presence of the Lord" - Ac 3:19. I understand Peter to have reference to the same thing, i.e., the Spirit as a gift to the Christian - see Ac 5:32; Ga 4:6; Ep 1:13-14, whom Jesus promised as a refreshing blessing - Jn 7:37-39; see also Jn 4:10-14 (I leave the reader to verify my understanding by opening their Bible and reading these passages).

In this sermon we also find a warning. In the first sermon Peter pleaded with the people to "be saved from this perverse generation" - Ac 2:40. Now we find a reason why, with Moses’ prophecy: "every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people" - Ac 3:23.

Let us now turn to looking at some observations regarding the response the crowd had to the sermon. As mentioned in the introduction, little is said, other than many "believed" - Ac 4:4 "Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." Are we to conclude from this that was all they did? Did they not also "repent"?
Did they not also "turn to God"? I think it fair to conclude that the term "believed" encompassed more than simply an acceptance of the facts that had been proclaimed. I also think it fair to conclude that it involved a complete reception of the message preached and to included an obedience to whatever conditions had been proclaimed by the apostles (such as repentance, turning, baptism). That just as faith was not explicitly mentioned in the first sermon, but is fairly inferred, so also with baptism here. Why? Because as we read through the book of Acts the writer Luke used a communication style know as "synecdoche", where a part includes the whole. This style of communication is used even by us today as a short cut. In other words, instead of repeating the responsive actions individually over and over, such as they heard the message, they believed the message, they repented by turning to God, they confessed to believing in Jesus as the Son of God, they were baptized and they received the Holy Spirit of promise. In simple synecdoche style it is much easier just to say many "believed" which would include by inference the whole. The American Heritage Dictionary:
A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword).
From Britannica: figure of speech in which a part represents the whole, as in the expression "hired hands" for workmen or, less commonly, the whole represents a part, as in the use of the word "society" to mean high society. Closely related to metonymy—the replacement of a word by one closely related to the original—synecdoche is an important poetic device for creating vivid imagery.

When preaching, teaching or studying the gospel we must not lose the Christ-centeredness of our focus. This includes his death, resurrection and glorification. That Jesus provides more than just the forgiveness of sin; but as the Prince of Life, He is the source of every spiritual blessing from above - Ep 1:3 "Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings that Christ has brought us from heaven!" That preaching, teaching or studying the gospel of Christ include His return from heaven, for He is second coming!

The clarion call of the gospel is one of repentance! Faith and baptism are certainly important, yea, essential yet repentance was the theme of preaching by John the Baptist - Mt 3:1-2 "Years later, John the Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judea. He said, "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here."’ The teachings of Jesus also have this clarion call - Mt 4:17 "Then Jesus started preaching, "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here."’; Lk 13:3 "Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, every one of you will also be killed.", 5 "Not at all! But you can be sure that if you don't turn back to God, every one of you will also die." And by the apostles - Ac 2:38 "Peter said, "Turn back to God! Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will be given the Holy Spirit."; 3:19 "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven."; Ac 20:21 "I told Jews and Gentiles to turn to God and have faith in our Lord Jesus."; see also Lk 24:47

When people respond to the gospel, we should expect to see a change of mind (repentance), brought about by "godly sorrow" - 2 Co 7:9-10 "Now I am happy, but not because I hurt your feelings. It is because God used your hurt feelings to make you turn back to him, and none of you were harmed by us. When God makes you feel sorry enough to turn to him and be saved, you don't have anything to feel bad about. But when this world makes you feel sorry, it can cause your death." We should expect to see a change of life, as they "turn" from their sins and "turn" to God - cf. 2 Co 7:11 "Just look what God has done by making you feel sorry! You sincerely want to prove that you are innocent. You are angry. You are shocked. You are eager to see that justice is done. You have proved that you were completely right in this matter." This change is implied by the word "converted" (turn). A process that involves their baptism into Christ, in which they die to sin and rise to walk in newness of life - cf. Ro 6:3-7. All of which can be summarized as having "believed"!

With this example of conversion, Peter continues to fulfill the commission of his Lord to preach the gospel - Mk 16:15-16. To preach repentance and remission of sins in His name - Lk 24:47. We saw that not all responded in the same way. Yes, 2000 heard the word and believed. But some religious people with their preconceived ideas were resistant to the gospel. Sadly, many people today reject the apostolic preaching of the gospel for similar reasons. I pray that such is not the case with you; that as we study the preaching of the apostles and the responses to it, your heart will be open to the Word of God. Especially to this key verse in our study:
"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord," (Ac 3:19)

If you have not responded to the gospel message as those 2000 souls after Peter‘s sermon and call to repentance on Soloman’s Porch as we have just examined, by all means please contact me directly at jnlnewsted@nts-online.net

This study is from The Executable Outlines Series, a collection of sermon outlines and Bible study lessons by Mark A. Copeland . These outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God be the glory!

The Executable Outlines Series, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2001

God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year

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