a closer look☝. -rory moore
"Then Peter said to them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit".
In our old denomination where I was ordained, Acts 2:38 was our Flagship Verse.
"OBEY ACTS 2:38!" we ordered.
Tracts were passed out, there is countless re-quoting of it from countless pulpits, and even our children were constant re-affirming of what Peter told the crowd of Jewish people in Jerusalem that day, the Day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter two. "then Peter said...."
The point we always made using verse 38 was the need to repent, be baptized in Jesus' name, and receive Holy Spirit baptism.
Now there is no disputing what Peter said that day as he himself had been Spirit baptized just minutes before speaking to the gathered crowd.
What we "apostolics" completely overlooked.
As we quoted the verse and Peter saying "REPENT.. ", we did so without CONTEXT nor did we bother to ask what exactly the Jews in that passage were to "repent" of!
Our goal was simply get them into the water of baptism and Spirit baptized-speaking in tongues.
Once that was accomplished, we did our best to conform them to our Pentecostal doctrines, tithing, and clothing styles. ALL of that done "in Jesus' name".
Ouch.
I did my part for 10 years. But years later, the Lord began nudging me to examine and question our "truth".
First it was our stance that it was sin for a woman to cut her hair. Oh wow did that one fall hard.
Then tithing. Oops, we were 100% wrong on that. And later we realized how utterly corrupt and deceiving it is.
We realized we did not know our Truth was not so true after all, but it did make us into good Pharisee rule keepers.
Back to Acts 2:38.
Just what were the Jews to repent of?
The scripture called them "DEVOUT MEN" who were there. They were keeping the law of Moses, the feasts, the sabbath, circumcision, the commandments. They were devout worshippers of God that were keeping the lawful requirement for all males to keep the Feast of Succoth in Jerusalem.
That was who Peter began preaching to in Acts 2.
But the crux of his message came in Acts 2:22-36, immediately before he spoke the words in vs. 38.
What was his message?
According to our "apostolic" faith, it was all about "Jesus is God", our #1 doctrine.
But Peter never said that. Ever.
The truth is he told them Jesus of Nazareth was a man approved of God, that God did signs and wonders through him, that they had participated in his death by crucifixion, and that GOD raised him from the dead.
Peter went on to say God had raised and exalted him making Jesus "both lord and Christ".
Nothing about being made deity or being God.
By then the Holy Spirit was convicting the guilty hearts of 3,000 men and THEN those "devout men" cried out in horror realizing they were guilty of the blood of Christ, and said "MEN AND BRETHREN, WHAT SHALL WE DO!!??"
Can you now see the context?
Peter told them the truth who Jesus Christ really is, and he did not use the common perversions used in countless pulpits today.
"God incarnate" "fully God fully man" "deity of Christ", "God robed in flesh" "Jesus is God".
If we believe what Peter DID preach repeatedly, and NOT what people say about Jesus Christ, we might be devoutly repenting also.
I did.
We Pentecostals would do well to review what Peter received as the "keys to the kingdom" back in Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
:17 And Jesus answered and said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but My Father who is in Heaven.
And Peter preached repeatedly that same revelation but NOT the revelation "Jesus is God".
And those are the facts, in the Book of Acts.
