March 12

Read: Acts 2:14-16, 37-39

Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38).

Repentance Precedes Pentecost

Dr. J. B. Chapman used to say that he got saved so that he could get sanctified wholly. His testimony was somewhat as follows. “As a young man I listened to holiness preaching. It sounded so good to me that I wanted to live that kind of life. I understood that I needed to be converted before I could become a candidate for sanctification. I therefore went to the altar to be saved, so that I could become a seeker for holiness.”

Are not this preparation and this sequence the clear teaching of our scripture for today? Peter had just come from the Upper Room, where he with others had been filled with the Holy Spirit. At the close of his first sermon following this experience Peter’s convicted listeners cried, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

Peter knew the answer to that question. He knew that these men needed to find what he had found. He had followed Jesus for three years, but even these years of discipleship had not solved his own spiritual problems. However, he had obeyed Jesus’ command to tarry until the Holy Spirit came. Now things were different!

How could his hearers find this radiant relationship with God? Peter could only point them to the route that he had taken. “You must repent — and, as an expression of it, let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ-that you may have your sins forgiven; and then [italics mine] you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38, Williams).

Promise For Today

Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:38-39).