Huntington Church of Christ

What a wonderful question!! This basic question was asked and answered several times in the book of Acts. On the first Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection, Peter and the other apostles were guided by the Holy Spirit in preaching the first gospel sermon. Their basic message was that those who were present were guilty of the murder of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Acts 2:22,23). They had crucified the Messiah. Peter preached, "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified" (Acts 2:36).

The message convicted the people of sin. Their guilt caused them to respond. "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37) They recognized the magnitude of their sin. They had put to death their only means of deliverance. What could they ever do to rectify or correct their wrongs? How could they ever stand in a right condition before their God?

Peter answered their question: "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Obviously, they already believed Jesus of Nazareth to be the Son of God, now it was required that they repent and be baptized unto (for) the remission of their sins. Repentance demands that they turn away from sinful practices (Luke 13:3). Baptism is immersion in water. It is likened to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3,4). Both are essential to salvation. To neglect one is to be eternally damned (Mark 16:16).

Daniel S. Dow
Huntington Church of Christ