The Message on the Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:36-42 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. And hearing this, they were stabbed in the heart, and said to Peter and to the other apostles, Men, brothers, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ to remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And the same day there were added about three thousand souls. And they were continuing steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, and in fellowship and in the breaking of the loaves, and in prayers.

This is the very first message preached in the new church age to sinners in need of salvation. We see here that Peter included repentance, baptism (notice a name is mentioned), and the receiving of the Holy Ghost.
Although some say that the Holy Ghost was only for the apostles, that view is not biblical. Acts 2:39 states that the promise is for generations to follow.
How are sins remitted? By baptism in Jesus’ name. Notice that both a birth of the water (baptism) and the Spirit (Holy Ghost) are mentioned in this passage.
Now let’s look at each of these aspects individually. The fact that the Bible stresses one aspect in one passage does not negate the other passages. Each aspect is indispensable to our salvation.

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