Repent and Be Baptized, Everyone!

Rev. Isaac Schuller, Pastor at First Immanuel Lutheran Church in San Jose, CA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Acts 2:37-47.

The Word of God preached by Peter cuts the hearers to the heart, and they ask the apostle directly: “What then shall we do?” Peter’s answer is all Gospel, that which God does for sinners. Both repentance and baptism are God’s gifts to sinners. Peter’s words clearly reveal that baptism is for all people, even infants. Baptism is the gift of God by which He names us as His own, gives the forgiveness won by Jesus, and delivers to us the Holy Spirit. Through the work of the Holy Spirit that day, about three thousand people were added to the Church. This Church was devoted to the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. As they shared the Word in common, so they shared their possessions to help each other in their need. They were active in the life of worship, and the Lord continued to add more people to His Church.

“To the End of the Earth” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Acts. In his second volume, St. Luke records all the things that Jesus continued to do through the ministry of His Church. By the end of the book, the proclamation of the Lord’s Word that began in Jerusalem grows all the way to Rome. By God’s grace, even now, that same Word is proclaimed to us.