Sermon A: 3 S Easter: Acts 2:38

For the third Sunday of Easter on 4/6/08, the three assigned readings are Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 1:17-25 and Luke 24:13-35. Chosen to preach on is Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

At first reading, the command to repent appears to contradict many other passages in the Bible that reveals we are saved not by anything we do but only by the grace of God that provides salvation as a free gift. How do we resolve this apparent contradiction? The answer to resolve most apparent theological contradictions is to make the proper distinctions between Law and Gospel. For then, contradictions are seen not to be real but only apparent.

The problem comes when we assume that because the verb to repent is an imperative (command) that God expects us to be able to accomplish such repentance. There are folks like Charles Finney who taught that every command from God to us is able to be observed by us, or else God is cruel and vindictive. However, proper proclamation of the Law in Christianity is not to help someone climb up to God but to make him realize that what is being commanded is impossible for him to achieve.

Then what is repentance if not something we do? The best definition of repentance is found in Luke 15 and the parable of the lost sheep. At the end of the parable Jesus reveals that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over those who don’t think they need to repent! Repentance according to the parable is not the sheep turning around, looking for the shepherd and then jumping on his shoulders. No, repentance is the shepherd finding the sheep, putting it on his shoulders and carrying it back home rejoicing!

Returning to Acts 2, the way God does that rescuing of us from the devil is found in the verb “baptized.” For this verb is not an active verb as though you do the work of baptism. It is a passive verb which means that you receive the gifts of the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit by grace through faith without any work or merit on your own.

Thinking of the benefits of baptism as due to our work removes baptism from the category of a sacrament through which God does everything to a category of a work we do for which we get the credit. Yes, it is true that for salvation one needs to repent. What is not true is that we are capable of such repentance on our own. Instead, God does for us what we are unable to do for ourselves.