What Shall We Do?
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Act 2:37
That is the question that a lot of folks are asking. It is like the world has turned upside down and things seems so out of control now. And that’s tough for folks who like to be in control. The people who were asking this question of Peter had just heard him proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, the One whom they had crucified, the Son of God. When they heard the words of Peter, Holy Ghost conviction came upon them, and they realized that God would hold them accountable, not only for crucifying His Son, but for all their many sins. If you have ever been under conviction by the Holy Spirit, you would know how they felt because it wasn’t just their sins that caused Jesus to die on the cross, it was our sins as well. For these Jews who stood before Peter, their Messiah was there all the time, but they just didn’t realize it. Their hardened and stubborn hearts had kept them from the truth, but the Holy Spirit was able to penetrate those hardened, self-righteous hearts. Not knowing how to proceed in order to relieve their sin guilt, they asked, “What shall we do?”
Peter was certainly prepared to give them an answer. The first step for them was to repent of their sins, not just be sorry for them, but to change their minds about how they had viewed their own behavior and viewed their perception of a Holy God, and to come to the realization that they were sinners incapable of the righteousness which God requires. They then had to recognize and acknowledge that Jesus Christ died in their place and trust Him as Lord and Savior, receiving Him into their hearts. Salvation is, in effect, to agree with God about one’s sinful, selfish, prideful lifestyle, pleading for forgiveness, and turning the remainder of one’s life over to Christ who will indwell one’s soul with the Holy Spirit, and give one new life, new meaning, and new purpose. This is what it means to repent and be born again.
Peter then gave the next step as water baptism. A cursory reading of Peter’s call to repentance, “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” (Act 2:38) would give the idea that one must also be baptized in water to completely received God’s gift of salvation. Some Christian denominations require immediate baptism after one receives Christ because they believe that salvation is also dependent upon water baptism. However, scripture is clear in it presentation of salvation. Romans 10:9-10 tells us that a person is saved by confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing that God raised Him from the dead. The Apostle Paul does not mention here that water baptism is necessary to complete one’s salvation experience. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that it is “by grace” that we are saved, and not by anything that we do. In John 6:29, Jesus said to the crowd who asked Him what works of God they could do in order to be accepted by God, and He answered, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” Jesus did not mention water baptism as a requirement for salvation. The thief which was crucified next to Jesus acknowledged Jesus as Lord and confessed that he was a sinner. Jesus told him, “Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” The repentant thief went to heaven without being baptized.
If water baptism is not necessary for salvation, why is it so important and why does God command it? First, it is a symbolic representation of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When a person is born again, he or she dies to his or her old sinful lifestyle, buries it in God’s “sea of forgetfulness”, and rises to a new life in Christ. Secondly, water baptism is an outward, public expression of what has occurred inwardly. It shows that one is firmly committed to the Lord and Savior, a public profession of faith that one has received from the Lord. It is a public pledge of allegiance and loyalty to Christ, greater than even the marriage vow that a man and woman make to one another. We know from our present culture that married couples break that marriage vow at an alarming pace due to all sorts of reasons. However, one who is truly committed to Christ would not desire to break that commitment even under persecution and hardship. One more reason that we are baptized when we are born again is because Jesus was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Jesus, being sinless, nevertheless was baptized as a symbolic way to show that a sinner who confesses his/her sin and receives Christ receives Christ’s righteousness of which is the fulfilling of the law, that could never be accomplished by a sinner on his own. Also Jesus was baptized in obedience to His Father. He set the standard by which man is to live and obey.