March 5: A Simple Message

Acts 2:37  Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

The first thing that happened after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was a sermon by Peter the disciple of Jesus. And the conclusion of that message was the people getting convicted of their sins and asking Peter what they needed to do to be saved. The response to that question was significant “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. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Shortly afterwards we see three thousand people obeying Peter’s instructions and being added to the church.

One of the main roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict a person of their sins and the need for a Savior. Jesus had already spoken of this prior to His resurrection. He said this about the Holy Spirit “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me (Jn 16:8-9). The sign that someone is convicted is that they will genuinely want to repent of their sins. It is this repentance combined with believing that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and a public affirmation through water baptism, that saves a person and ushers the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Peter’s message was simple. He quoted the prophet Joel as fulfilment of God’s promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and quoted King David who prophesied about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. He lifted up the name of Jesus and challenged people to believe that Jesus was indeed the Christ. Peter had nothing spectacular to present but his message was carried by the Holy Spirit into the hearts of those around him, resulting in thousands of people getting saved (Acts 2:41).

The message of the Gospel is meant to be kept simple. No matter how much knowledge one has, the message remains unchanged: Jesus saves. It might or might not make logical sense to the hearer. But it’s the plain simple truth. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18)

It is not in the eloquence of a speech or the length of a message, that someone gets saved. It is in the simplicity of the message spoken in truth and in love. So again I say: Jesus saves. Believe and be baptised. And you will have the gift of eternal life.