200 - Les Feldick Bible Study Lesson 2 - Part 4 - Book 17 - Explanation of Acts 2:38 - Part 2

Peter is speaking to Jew only (with an occasional proselyte). There is no Gentile ground here. God doesn't put Gentiles in this group and neither should we. It's a Jewish feast day, a Jewish crowd, a Jewish speaker, and a Jewish message. And now verse 36:
Peter is accusing these Jews of killing Christ their Messiah. In Chapter 16, Paul has begun his missionary journey throughout western Turkey. Earlier in this chapter the Holy Spirit directed him over into Greece. The Roman authority would have killed him if prisoners had escaped.
Why did this pagan Gentile jailer pick Paul and Silas out of all his prisoners? Somehow, God let him know that here was the answer to his dilemma. Peter, preaching in Acts Chapter 2, is dealing with the Covenant Nation of Israel. Look at Peter's answer.
Acts 2:38
"Then Peter said unto them, `Repent, and be baptized (the next two words are crucial) 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,'"
Peter also tells them this in Acts 3:26. Look at the message. Peter says, "Repent and be baptized." Who began that message? John was the herald of The King, and his message was, "Repent and be baptized." Now compare this with Paul's answer to the Gentile in Acts Chapter 16. Paul is not talking to the Nation of Israel, he's talking to a Gentile. And when this Gentile asks what he must do to be saved, what does Paul tell him?
Acts 16:31
"And they (Paul and Silas) said, `Believe on The Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.'"
Does it say Repent and be baptized? God has now turned to the Gentiles through the Apostle Paul, without Israel. The answer is simple: "Only Believe on The Lord Jesus Christ." Believe the Gospel. You search Paul's letters from Romans through Hebrews (and Hebrews is more Jewish than the rest and there is a reason for that), and show me one place where Paul teaches repentance and baptism for Salvation. Paul doesn't teach it. Paul's message is a different economy and you can't mix them. To the Gentile it is believe the Gospel. Read verse 38 again:
Acts 2:38
"Then Peter said unto them, `Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,...'" The whole Nation of Israel had to repent and be baptized.
Winning the whole world has never been implied with Paul. In Acts 15, when even James had to agree that God is using Paul to go to the Gentiles, what was the expression that James used? Calling out a people for His name. "...and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,"
What was the prerequisite in this verse for receiving the Holy Spirit? Repentance and baptism. "...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 Spirit."
Not a word. In Acts Chapter 10, we have Peter at the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. Not a Gentile has been saved. Back in Acts 2, the Jews had to repent and be baptized, then they could receive the Holy Spirit. "While Peter yet spake (he hadn't come to the end of his message) these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. "
Ten is Gentile and Two is still Jew. The moment we believe for our Salvation the Gospel of Grace, that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, the Holy Spirit baptizes us and we are saved. Don't put the message that Peter preached and the message that Paul preached in a blender and mix it all up and expect to understand it. I don't do that, the Holy Spirit does that when you search the Scriptures.
It is so plain if you will just separate the Jewish program from the Gentile. It's the same God. God hasn't changed but His program has. Peter hasn't been told about this yet, Peter is still on Covenant ground. So he is still proclaiming a repentance and baptism, and then the Holy Spirit. Let's look in Ephesians Chapter 1. Ephesians is one of Paul's later epistles. Ephesians 1:12,13
It doesn't say repented and baptized, but rather first trusted in Christ. "In whom ye also trusted, after (notice the progression) that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation (I Corinthians 15:1-4): in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. "
The moment we believe the Gospel the Holy Spirit comes in, and becomes God's brand upon us, He becomes the very power of God within us, and we are not under Law but rather Grace. Grace is never license. We are now led and guided by the Holy Spirit of God. A lot of people who are church members have never experienced true Salvation. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:14