Jeff Schreve - Decision Time
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Happy New Year. I’m Pastor Jeff Schreve, and today, as we look to the New Year, we’re going to consider the most important decision that anyone can ever make. It’s the decision concerning Jesus, a decision that determines your eternal destiny. So grab your Bible, follow along, and prepare your heart for a blessing.
The decision that you make today is critical, and God wants you to make the right decision. Now Acts chapter 2 is one of the most important chapters of the New Testament because it’s the birth of the church. It’s the Day of Pentecost. Jesus has been gone for ten days. He’s ascended to heaven. He was crucified at Passover, Pentecost comes 50 days after Passover and it’s the Day of Pentecost, and that’s the day the Holy Spirit is coming. And Jesus told the guys in Acts chapter 1, «You’re to remain in Jerusalem until you receive the promise of My Father, which I told you about». And so they were there and they were waiting. And on the Day of Pentecost, that’s when the Holy Spirit descended.
Now, the Holy Spirit was coming. This was new because He was coming not just to be with them but to live inside them, the indwelling Holy Spirit. Remember, Jesus said, «It’s to your advantage that I go away, because if I don’t go away, then the Holy Spirit won’t come». And that happened on the Day of Pentecost, and we know what happened. So you have 120 believers, and the Holy Spirit falls, and they begin to speak with tongues. Not gibberish but known languages, but they were languages that these people, these Galileans, had never heard and they had never learned. And it was all the native tongues of the people that had gathered for the great feast. Pentecost was a great feast. And they asked this question, they said, «What does this mean»? Great question. They were filled with amazement.
What does this mean? They knew something was taking place that was extraordinary, and that opened the door for Peter to preach. And Peter preached about Jesus and he said, «You guys all know about Jesus because He did all these miracles, and everybody was talking about Jesus, and Jesus was huge news,» and he said, «and you killed Him. He is the Messiah and God raised Him from the dead». And he gives this powerful sermon and he ends up the sermon this way. He says in Acts 2:36, '"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.' Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do? '»
Oh, it was like somebody ran them through in the heart with a spear. They were pierced and so convicted. «This is what we did. We crucified our Messiah, our long awaited Messiah. We’ve been waiting for Him for thousands of years. And when He got here, we rejected Him. And we said, 'Not this man, but Barabbas.' And we crucified the Prince of Life. And that is such a tremendous, horrible, awful sin. How can you get worse than that»? And they said to Peter and the apostles, «What shall we do»? Well, it’s decision time, and he is going to give us, in the rest of Acts chapter 2, four decisions that every person must make, four decisions that every person must make, and they’re in order. You make this decision and the second decision and the third decision and the fourth decision, and this is the Christian life.
The first decision deals with salvation. So they asked the question, verse 37, «'Brethren, what shall we do? '» «Brethren» not talking about Christian brothers, talking about Jewish brothers, «'Brethren, what shall we do? ' And Peter said to them, 'Repent…'» Repent. What do you do? You have committed this sin that’s beyond comprehension, that you would murder not with your own hands but by calling for the death of Messiah, thinking that you believe the lies of the chief priest that Jesus was a blasphemer and that He was a fraud and He was not your Messiah. And you said, «Not this man, but Barabbas». You’ve done that terrible sin and God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. What shall we do? And so they said to them, Peter said to them, «You guys need to repent. There is hope for you because you can repent».
Now, the Lord calls us to repent and believe. That’s very, very clear. And you say, «Well, it doesn’t say anything about them believing. It just says that they should repent». Well, you know, the Bible uses those terms interchangeably. So true repentance always means that you’re repenting and believing, and true belief always means that you’re repenting. So in Acts chapter 16, you have the Philippian jailer and he comes before Paul and Silas when the Lord worked a miracle and opened up the jail and this guy thought he was… all the prisoners had escaped. He’s getting ready to kill himself. And Paul said, «Do yourself no harm. We’re all still here». And he fell down before Paul and Silas and he says, «Sirs, what must I do to be saved»? And they said, «Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you’ll be saved, you and your household».
They didn’t say anything about repent, but it’s embedded in there, repent and believe. And you’ll find it used both ways. So, God is now declaring that all men everywhere should repent. He’s not willing that any should perish, but that all should repent. And when you say «repent,» you’re saying, well, that’s connected to belief, and when you’re saying true belief, that’s connected to repentance. Paul broke it out in Acts 20:21 and he said this, he was, his ministry, «…solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ». Both of those things are critical, vital, essential in order for someone to be right with God, in order for someone to be saved. You can’t be saved apart from repentance and faith.
Now, the Holy Spirit is involved, obviously, in salvation. There can be no salvation without the Holy Spirit opening blind eyes and convicting. But then there’s the response of man. And, see, in salvation we know that the Lord is sovereign and we know that He has given man a free will. Now, we have debates, theological debates, and you’ll find these in seminaries with Calvinism. John Calvin was the one that wrote about these things, and then his followers came up with the Five Points of Calvinism, and they really focus, Calvinism really focuses on the sovereignty of God and they focus on scriptures John chapter 15: «You didn’t choose Me, but I chose you». And we say, «Well, you know, you don’t have a choice in the matter of salvation. God chooses you, He predestines you, and it’s not your choice. It’s God’s choice».
Well, it is God’s choice. «You didn’t choose Me, I chose you,» Jesus said, but then it also says that you’re judged because you did not receive the love of the truth, so as to be saved, but took pleasure in wickedness. There is the response of man. And when Peter preached, and the people said, «What do we do»? well, what do you do? «Well, there’s nothing you can do because it’s just God’s sovereign choice, and so you’re just ripped potato chip. I hope you’re in the elect». He didn’t say that. He said, «What do you do? You need to repent and believe in Jesus, and you’ll be saved and your sins will be washed away».
And so that is critical. That’s the first decision. And, hey, listen, you ask yourself this question: Have I really done that? Have I really left the pigsty of sin and come to the Lord and put my faith and trust in Him? That is the first decision. It deals with salvation. The second decision deals with obedience and identification. So, first I hear I’m convicted, what do I do? Repent. Put your faith and trust in Jesus. Okay, I do that. Now, what do I do? Well, look what he says in verse 38, we’ll read the full verse. «And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'»
Baptism is something you do. Baptism is a work. «It’s not by works,» Titus 3:5, «it’s not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us». So when you put those together in the Bible, you say, «Well, wait a minute. Is there a contradiction»? There is no contradiction. You have to put things into context. And so baptism is identification and obedience. And immersion baptism, that’s what the word means. «Baptizó» in the Greek means to fully immerse. Immersion baptism, this is what it is, it is the outward sign of inward conversion, the outward sign of inward conversion. It shows everybody what’s happened on the inside. If you repent and believe in Jesus, what do you do? You get baptized to show everyone what’s happened on the inside. Baptism is the visible picture of an invisible reality. And immersion baptism is critically important, but not salvific.
You say, «Salvific? Did you just make up that word»? No, I didn’t. I learned it in seminary. It’s a really big word, isn’t it? I remember the first time I heard it, I thought my professor made it up, but it’s a real word. It means «producing salvation». So, immersion baptism, critically important, but not salvific. Why is it critically important? Because it’s the wedding ring of the Christian life, because it lets everybody know that you belong to Jesus. Lets everybody know I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. It’s the very first thing He asked us to do once we get saved, once we repent and believe. He said, «Now give a testimony through baptism». He’s asking you to go down in the water and come back up to let people know that you belong to Him. We can do that. It’s critically important, but it doesn’t produce salvation because it’s a work, and salvation is all of grace. «It’s not of works, lest any man should boast».
Now, there are two examples in scripture that show us beyond any shadow of any doubt that baptism doesn’t save you and you don’t have to be baptized to go to heaven. But if you’re really saved, you’ll wanna be baptized and you wanna be baptized soon. The Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter 8 when Philip shared the gospel with him, and he put his faith and trust in Jesus and he says to Philip, «Look, water. What prevents me from being baptized»? He said, «If you really believe with all your heart, you may». He said, «I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God».
And so Philip took him down into the water and baptized him. It doesn’t mean anything until you really believe. But we know that the thief on the cross couldn’t be baptized. He appealed to Jesus, he owned his sin, «I’m getting what I deserve. This Man has done nothing wrong. Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom». And Jesus said to him, «Truly, I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise». He was saved, he wasn’t baptized. He went to heaven. You’ll see him, meet him. If you go to heaven, you’ll meet him in glory. Well, so he didn’t have to be baptized to be saved. And you know who else, definitive case, that shows that baptism does not produce salvation? Acts chapter 10, Cornelius. And Cornelius calls for Peter to come preach the gospel to him, and Peter does, and he’s preaching to him about Jesus and about forgiveness and salvation.
And this is what the scripture says. «While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon those who were listening to the message. And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed,» the circumcised believers, they’re talking about Jews, «who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also». I mean, Gentiles are… Gentiles, no way would God say Gentiles. Yeah, He does say Gentiles and He gives the Holy Spirit to Gentiles, and that’s a good thing because you are a Gentile and so am I. It says, «For they were all hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God».
Just like they did in Acts chapter 2, they were doing in Acts chapter 10. «Then Peter answered, 'Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he? ' And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days». So if you receive the Holy Spirit and He comes to live inside of you, and the evidence is you’re speaking of the mighty deeds of God in a language you’ve never learned but in a language that people can understand because they know it, it’s not gibberish, it’s a language that they knew, you are saved and you haven’t yet been baptized.
That’s what Peter said. He ordered them to be baptized. «It’s obvious these people have been saved. Now, let’s baptize them». You receive the Holy Spirit, you’re a Christian. What does it mean to be a Christian? It means that you have God living inside of you. That’s what a Christian is. To be saved is to be plus God. To be lost is to be minus God. And when the Holy Spirit comes in and He indwells you, you are saved. You’ve been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. You give a testimony through baptism.
So the first decision: I repent and believe. Question. Have you done that? Second decision deals with obedience and identification. Have you followed the Lord in believer’s baptism? Have you put on the wedding ring of the Christian life? Have you said to the world, «I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. And I’m not ashamed of Him and I’m willing to do whatever», my pastor used to say, «If Jesus told us to stand on our head as a testimony to the fact that we put our faith and trust in Him, ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die». Yes, Lord, because You are both Lord and Christ. Decision number three. The third decision deals with church membership and church participation and activity.
It says in verse 41, «So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls». How did they know? They counted them. That’s how they knew. They counted them. Some people say, «Well, you guys are all… you’re just interested in money. You always are interested in the numbers. You’re always counting numbers. Like, why are you so interested in numbers? God’s not interested in numbers». He’s not? There’s a whole book of the Bible called Numbers. He’s pretty interested in numbers, right? Three thousand, they counted them. Then we’re gonna find out that that’s 5000 a little later on.
And so it’s important. Why? We count because people matter. And so they counted those that followed the Lord and those who were baptized, and they were added to the church. They were added to their number. Church membership is important. Church participation and activity is important. God saved us to live in spiritual community. He didn’t save us to live, just, floating around out by ourselves. No, when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, you’re a part of the family of God, and God wants you to be involved in the family. He wants you to be an active member of the family. Jesus said, «Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it».
And see, God uses the church to provide spiritual protection and accountability. Those things are important. How does the church help you? The gathering of the saints of God, the gathering of the people of God. And church is a time where we worship the Lord in spirit and truth. Unbelievers are definitely welcome. They’re always welcome here. But the reason we gather is not to entertain unbelievers. It’s to worship the Lord, and that’s what we do, and we invite people to come in. We’re going to worship our King. We want you to see what that is all about. But we’re not here to entertain you. We’re here to worship Him. And so we come together as a church, and the church provides spiritual protection and accountability. I’ve seen this over and over and over in my years as a pastor.
People, they’re involved in church and they’re doing great. And then what happens? Something happens. Maybe they start dating somebody that pulls them away from the church, or maybe other things start coming in, kids’s sports a lot of times. «Well, we can’t come because we have this and that,» and they pile their schedule with all these other things that don’t matter. And they start drifting away from the church and they say, «Well, it’s no big deal». It’s a big deal.
And what happens to those people over time? Their heart cools for the Lord. And then their lives start going down the tubes and their marriage starts having trouble and their family starts having trouble, and they teach their sons and their daughters that little league is more important than God. It’s a horrible thing to teach your kids. You teach them that the Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God, and we worship Him and serve Him because He is worthy, worthy, worthy. That is critical. Hebrews 13:17 says, «Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you». Hey, spiritual protection, spiritual accountability, those things are good things. They’re not bad things.
Hey, first decision, you’ve repented and believed. Have you done that? Second decision, you followed the Lord in believers baptism. You said, «I’m not ashamed of Jesus. I want the world to know that I belong to Jesus». Third decision, that I’m an active member of the church and I’m here. And I’m not just coming once a month when the mood hits me. I am participating and I am using the gifts and talents God has given me. And the fourth decision, very quickly, the fourth decision deals with spiritual growth.
So you may be hearing, you say, «Well, I’ve done the first decision. I’ve done the second decision. I’ve done the third decision». But what about the fourth decision? What about spiritual growth? Are you growing in your relationship with the Lord? 2 Peter 3:18, «But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ». And so this is what the scripture says, verse 42, «And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people».
Man, they were growing spiritually. Are you growing spiritually? Have you made that decision to grow spiritually? There is no substitute for prayer and Bible study and fellowship. Those things are critical. There’s no substitute for gathering with the people of God, as they would hear the apostles’s teaching. That’s big group. And then they would be house to house. That’s small group. We need big group time, we need small group time. We need Bible study time, we need prayer time. We need fellowship time. Hey, online church and TV church, all those things are great. They’re great supplements, they’re not great substitutes, because you can’t substitute fellowship for something on a screen. You need, it’s just like Facebook.
I’ve told you before, I have 5000 Facebook friends. I don’t have 5000 friends. Sometimes I wonder if I have 50. But, just, all these Facebook friends. «I’m your friend on Facebook». I don’t even know who you are. I’ve never even met you. We’re not really, you know, great friends if I don’t know who you are. So you have to have the interaction time. We need all that, the fellowship time, the one-on-one time with people. And there’s no substitute for that. You never get past that prayer and Bible study and fellowship and gathering and worship and praising God. You never do. And the Bible is our food. It’s our milk, it’s our meat, it’s our bread. And communing with God through prayer, that connects us to the Lord. Those things are critical.
How are you doing with that? Are you growing in your knowledge of the Lord? In your hunger for the Lord? In your fellowship with the Lord? And then, God wonderfully transforms the life of a growing believer. What’s the result? Man, you’re gonna have a heart that’s totally changed. You’re gonna wanna give, and they’re a giving church. You’re gonna wanna praise, and they’re a praising church. There’s gonna be awe, God’s gonna be at work. It is gonna be awesome. You are changed from glory to glory, as it says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. And the Lord does a work in you, «For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure».
And people begin to notice. The sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him goes forth in every place you go. People start noticing. Hey, when you see a growing Christian, you notice there’s something different about them. Man, they’re excited about Jesus. There’s praise on their lips, there’s joy in their heart. They’re not putting on a show. They’re different in the way they act. They’re different in the way they react. You pull them, you know, you pull out in front of them on the road and all of a sudden you find out what’s people are really like, right? But for a Christian that’s growing, and when you’re filled up with Jesus, you put the squeeze on somebody, out comes Jesus. And they respond in grace and kindness, and not in selfishness and ugliness. God wonderfully transforms the life of a growing believer.
And it says in verse 47, «And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved». Man, they had impact. Does your life have impact? People follow you around and they say, «Man, whatever you have, I want it because the power of God is on your life. The sweet aroma, the knowledge of Him is on your life. Tell me what that means»? «You have something I don’t have». That’s what it means to be a witness. Well, yeah, are you growing more like Jesus, or are you crabby and mean and bitter? And nobody wants to be around you? And everything is negative? Well, what has happened to you? Obviously, you need to make decision number four, that you would continue to grow spiritually so you’d be more like Jesus. Decision time. I don’t know what decision you need to make, but I know that there’s not a person in this room that doesn’t need to make a decision today.