Would you turn with me to Acts
chapter 2? Verse 37. Acts chapter 2. Now,
when they heard this, they were pricked or stabbed
in their heart and said unto Peter and to the
rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? I've entitled this message, shall
I do? What shall I do? Now, three times in the book of Acts,
this specific question is asked. What shall I do? Here on the
day of Pentecost, after they heard this sermon by Peter, They
said, we're in a world of trouble. What shall we do? Give us some
direction. What shall we do? And then in
Acts chapter 16, the Philippian jailer asked this question and
he was a little bit more specific. What must I do? What must I do
to be saved? And then in Acts chapter 22,
When Paul is giving us the account of his conversion experience,
he's giving his testimony. And after the Lord appeared to
him, he said in Acts chapter 22, verse 10 to the Lord, What
shall I do, Lord? What shall I do, Lord? Now, this is a good question,
isn't it? What shall I do? And it's one that you and I ought
to be asking. What shall I do? This is very important. In all
three of these instances in the Book of Acts, where they ask
this question, what shall I do? This question was not answered
with there's nothing you can do. I want you to think about that. If there was a time he could
have said, well, there's nothing you can do. You can't be saved
by your works. He could have said that, but that's not what
he said. There's nothing you can do. That's not what he said
at all. Now, with that question, the Bible teaches the total depravity
and the total inability of man. Now, what's meant by that? It
sounds like theological terms. What's meant by that? Well, by
total depravity and total inability, it means that by nature, the
way we're born into this world, with the nature we have, we are
completely unable to believe. We're completely unable to repent.
We're completely unable to love God. This is beyond our ability. We're totally depraved. And that
doesn't mean that you're out murdering and all the, what we
would consider gross sins, but you would if God took His hand
off you. Do you realize, and I'm talking
to myself, I'm talking to you, do you realize that there is
no sin that you wouldn't commit right now? Do you believe that about yourself? Do you believe? Without doubt, The Bible teaches
the complete depravity, the total depravity and the inability of
man. Our Lord put it this way in John chapter 6, verse 44.
No man can come to me. Except the Father, which has
sent me, draw him. But if our understanding of that
would lead us to answer the question, what shall I do with a there
is nothing you can do? All we prove by that is we do
not really understand what the Bible means by total depravity
and total inability. Now that's chapter 2, that passage
of scripture I just read in verse 37. This question was asked by
men who had participated in the murder of Jesus Christ. Now I want you to put yourself
in their place for just a moment. These are the same fellows who
said, let him be crucified. These are the same fellows who
actually participated and called for and requested the actual
murder of Jesus Christ. They hated Jesus Christ. They
wanted Him dead. Perhaps some of the people were
there that actually drove the nails in His hands and His feet. These were men who participated
in the murder of Jesus Christ. Now, I realize he laid down his
life willingly, and no man could take it from him. The scripture
points that out. I love it when Pilate said to
our Lord, he said, don't you know that I have power to crucify
you and I have power to release you? And he said, you would have
no power at all over me, except it were given thee from above.
I love the majesty of that language. You see, when When those fellows
drove the nails in His hands and in His feet, who gave Him
strength to do it? You know, even at that time,
He willed everything that was taking place. He was in control
of everything. So we realize that He was no
victim. He was not a victim when He was
nailed to that cross. It happened according to the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. We realize that. But
it's equally true that these men were guilty of murdering
the Son of God. Look in Acts chapter 2 verse
23, ìHim being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands,î they actually
did this, ìhave crucified and slain." Look in verse 36, "...therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
this same Jesus, whom you crucified." They were guilty of the actual
physical crucifixion of Christ. He said, "...know assuredly that
God hath made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord
and Christ." Now, can you imagine how terrified these people were?
This One that you crucified is nobody less than the Son of God.
God has raised Him from the dead. He's alive and you're in His
hands. And He can do with you whatever
He's pleased to do. Now, can you imagine how terrified
these people were? I mean, they crucified the Son
of God and now He's alive. And they know that. What's going
to happen? Men and brethren, what shall
we do? We're in a mess. What are we
supposed to do? Give me some direction. That's
what they're saying. Give me some direction. What
shall I do? Now I want to ask you a question. Do you personally have any reason
to be any less terrified than they were on that day? Now think about that. Do you
have any reason to be less alarmed than they were? You see, in reality, you and
I are equally guilty before God of this particular crime, murdering
the Son of God. If I would have been there, I
would have done the same thing, and you would too. It is not
like we are these poor, unfortunate victims who have The crimes and
sins of somebody else charged to our account, we are as guilty
as they are, because we're guilty of the same sin. Now, when we
talk about the imputation of Adam's sin to our race, and indeed
that did happen, the Bible teaches that. What Adam did is charged
to our account. When we talk about the imputation
of Adam's sin to our race, we are mistaken if we think we are
held responsible for a sin we did not actually commit. Do you hear what I'm saying?
If we think that we're simply held responsible for a sin that
we didn't actually commit, you know what that means? If that's
what we believe, that means we believe we're just victims. were
just victims. Poor, unfortunate us. Something's
been charged to our account that we didn't really do. Turn with
me to Romans chapter 5 for a moment. Verse 12. Wherefore, as by one
man Sin entered into the world. That's talking about Adam's transgression,
his eating of the fruit, and death by sin. So death passed
upon all men for that all had his sin laid to their account.
I didn't read that right, did I? It says, wherefore, as by one
man sin entered into the world and death by sin, so death passed
upon all men for that all have sinned. When Adam sinned this
sin, you know who else did? I did. You did. Now, that's what
the Bible teaches. We're not merely held responsible
for what Adam did. We are responsible. We did it. Now that's what the
Bible teaches. So in reality, you and I don't
have any reason to be any less terrified than these people were
at this time when they said, men and brethren, what are we
going to do? We've crucified the Son of God.
He's raised from the dead. We're in His hands. He can send
us to hell right now. And whatever He does is just,
what are we going to do? Give us some direction. Now what
does Peter say to them? They're preaching their hearts.
Men and brethren, what shall we do? Look in verse 38. Then
Peter said unto them, and here's what we're to do. Repent. And be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the promises
unto you and your children and to all that are far off, even
as many as the Lord our God shall call. What are we to do? Repent. What does that mean? Repent? I know. For so long, I'd always try to
think of what does it mean to repent? Does it mean to be sorry? Well, you ought to be sorry for
your sins. There's no doubt about that. But how sorry is sorry
enough? Does it mean to stop sinning? I've heard preachers say, you
haven't really repented if you're still sinning that sin. Well,
I understand somebody saying that. Don't get me wrong. I understand
somebody saying that. But what sin have you stopped in your
heart? Is there even one sin that you've stopped committing
in your heart? Now, if you have any honesty, you know that there's
not one sin that you stopped in your heart. So that's talking
about if repentance is talking about being sorry and stopping,
nobody in this room is repentant. What's it mean? The word means,
literally, change your mind. What do we do? Change your mind. All your thoughts regarding God
are wrong. All your thoughts regarding yourself
are wrong. All your thoughts regarding salvation
are wrong. Change your mind. Repent. And be baptized, every one of
you, for the remission of sins. Repent, change your mind, and
be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins. Now, does the act of baptism
remit sins? Does going under the water And
coming back up, and that's what he's talking about. He's talking
about water baptism, water immersion. That's the believer's confession
of Christ. Does going under the water and coming back up cause
sins to be remitted? Well, you know better than that. But what baptism represents is
what causes the remission of sins. You see, what baptism represents
is union with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the believer's
confession of Christ. When I'm baptized, I'm confessing. This is my confession of Christ.
I'm confessing that my hope of being accepted by God is because
when Christ kept the law, I did. When Christ died as a sin-bearing
substitute, I did. When he was raised from the dead,
I was raised from the dead and all my sins are remitted, washed
away. I'm perfect in Christ Jesus because
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what I'm confessing in
baptism. It's not just a meaning religious ritual. I'm confessing
something in baptism. And he told them to repent and
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
Turn with me to Mark chapter one for a moment. Verse 4, John, Mark 1, 4, John did baptize
in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for
the remission of sins. You could just as easily read
that repentance concerning the remission of sins. And there
went out unto him all the land of Judaea and of Jerusalem, and
were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their
sins. Now, here they are baptizing in the
river Jordan. John's baptizing these people
and says they were all baptized of him, confessing their sins.
Now, does that mean that before they could be baptized, they
had to get up before everybody and confess all the sins they
committed? You know, some people do that.
I mean, there are churches where you've got to get up and come
out clean with God and confess all your sins to everybody. No,
it doesn't mean that. That's foolishness. That's all
it is, is foolishness. The act of baptism is the act
of confession of sin. When I am baptized, I confess. The only way I can be saved is
by what Christ did for me. That's my confession of faith. That is my public confession
of faith. Believer's baptism. But you know,
two words that are together four times in the New Testament is
repentance and the remission of sins. Now, if I'm going to
understand repentance, I'm going to have to understand some kind
of connection between repentance and the remission of sins. Now,
what does the remission of sins mean? It's the forgiveness of
sins. It's the cleansing away from
sins. It's the washing away from sin.
It's the cancelling of sin. It's the disannulling of sin.
It causes it to not be. That's what remission of sins
is. It's the putting away of sin.
Now, four times in the New Testament, and as a matter of fact, our
Lord's last words there in Luke chapter 24, you can read them,
where He talked about how repentance and remission of sin should be
preached in His name. Repentance, as much as anything
else, is repentance regarding the remission of sins. It is natural for us to think
that the remission of sins is the end of our salvation. If we do this, if we do this,
if we believe this, and if we stop doing that, Then we'll have
the remission of sins and the forgiveness of sins. What that
is called is salvation by works. You are rewarded the remission
of sins because of what you do. But when God gives me light,
I repent of that. And I understand that salvation
does not end with the remission of sins. It begins with the complete
full remission of my sins. Let me show you this in the scripture.
Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Verse 12, But this man, the Lord
Jesus, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin forever, sat
down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till
his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified, whereof the Holy Ghost also is
a witness to us. For after he said before, this
is the covenant that I'll make with him after those days, sayeth
the Lord, I'll put my law into their hearts and in their minds
while I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember
no more. Now, where remission of these
is, there is no more offering for sin. Now, where remission
of these is, David, after Nathan the prophet
has come up to him and said, Thou art the man. He said, I
sinned. And what did Nathan say to him? Anybody remember? The Lord will
put away your sin because you've made that confession? No. The Lord hath put away thy sin. Now you fellows are wondering
how your awful sin can be remitted. It was remitted by what that
one accomplished in you crucifying Him. Now isn't
that amazing? You think of that answer. What can we do? Be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. You see,
your sins were remitted in that very crime that you were perpetrating
against the Son of God. God used that to put away your
sin. Now, I can't think of anything
more amazing than that. That is... wow. Acts chapter 16. Here's the second time the question
is asked. Verse 30. Verse 29. Then he called for a light. And
sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and
Silas and brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to
be saved? Now, this is a very specific
question. What must I do to be safe? And this fellow was in a mess,
too. He was just as much in a mess as these others. He was getting
ready to kill himself, as a matter of fact. Back up to verse 27. And
the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the
prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed
himself. This is how desperate this man was, supposing that
they had all been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice,
Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for
a light and sprang in and came trembling and fell down before
Paul and Silas and brought them out and said, Sir, what must
I do to be saved? Now this man was upset. He was
distraught. And he asked a more specific
question. I think the first question was a little bit more general.
What are we supposed to do? We're in a mess. Give us some
direction. But here he's being even more specific. What must
I do to be saved? You know what? Somebody wrote
me a letter in the last, it's been a month, four or five weeks
ago. And they said, I want to ask you only one question and
I want you to answer it. Is there anything a sinner must
do to be saved? I don't know what his motive
was in asking that question, but I quoted Acts chapter 16,
verse 30 and 31. What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved. Now that answers that question.
What must I do to be saved? I must believe, I must rely upon
the Lord Jesus Christ. That doesn't simply mean believe
in his existence, you know that. The idea here is one of relying. I'm relying upon the Lord. Let's
talk about His name for just a moment. The Lord Jesus Christ. If He's Lord, that means His
will is done. That means He's in control. I'm
relying on His Lordship for Him to simply will my salvation.
I'm relying on Jesus. That's His name as Savior. Thou
shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from
their sins. I'm relying upon Him as the Savior. He shall save
His people from their sins. That's what He did on Calvary
3. My sins were washed away. He was made to be what I am. He was made sin, and He washed
away my sin, and I'm made to be who He is. I'm found in Him. I'm relying on Jesus. I'm relying
on the Christ. He's God's anointed, God's anointed
prophet. He is the Word of God. I'm relying
on that. He's God's anointed priest. He's
the one who represents me before the Father. I'm relying on Him.
He's God's anointed King. He's the King of Kings. He's
the Lord of Lords. I'm relying on Him. Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Turn over to Acts chapter 22,
verse 10. Now Paul is giving the account
of his conversion experience. And he says in verse 10, And
I said, What shall I do, Lord? What shall I do, Lord? Now he's speaking as someone
who knows who the Lord Jesus Christ is now. And he says, what
shall I do, Lord? Listen, let's back back up to
verse six of Acts chapter twenty two. And it came to pass that
as I made my journey and was come nigh unto Damascus about
noon. Suddenly there shone from heaven
a great light round about me. Anybody know who that light is? That's nobody less than the Lord
Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, in the other
canvass, there's a light above the brightness of the sun. That's
bright, isn't it? This is the Lord Jesus Christ
who appeared to him at this time. Verse 7, And I fell unto the
ground. If Jesus Christ appears to you,
you will fall to the ground. And I heard a voice saying unto
me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who
art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus
of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw
indeed the light, and were afraid, but they heard not the voice
of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do,
Lord?" He knows who He is now. What shall I do, Lord? And the
Lord speaks as only the Lord does. Look how he answers. And
the Lord said unto me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there
it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for
thee to do. And when I could not see for
the glory of that light being led by the hand of them that
were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man,
according to the law, he's the one whom the Lord is going to
use to tell Paul what he had to do. One Ananias, a devout
man, according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews
which dwelt there, came unto me and stood and said unto me,
Brother Saul. Now that's so powerful. Brother Saul. Now, this is the
one who just the day before hated Jesus Christ and wanted to kill
anybody who named the name of Christ and had authority to arrest
and to throw into prison anybody who loved Jesus Christ and believed
that way. All of a sudden now, Ananias
comes to this man who just the day before was like that. And
he said, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up
upon him, and he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen
thee. First thing Paul hears about
is divine election. The God of our fathers hath chosen And here is what you are to do. You're to do it because He chose
you to this. The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldest
know His will. See that just one. Hear the voice
of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness
unto all men. of what you've seen and heard.
Now, why tarryest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash
away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Now, here's
very specific instruction. Lord, what shall I do? What shall
I do? Well, here's the first thing
you're to do. You're to know. The God of our fathers hath chosen
thee that thou shouldst know his will. Now, I know the will
of God. Now, what's meant by that? Is
he talking about knowing his will of command, like knowing
the Ten Commandments? No, Paul knew the Ten Commandments
before this ever took place. He knew it was God's will for
him to not steal and to not lie and to not kill and all those
things. He knew that. That's not talking about knowing
God's will. He's not talking about knowing his will of providence
either. I hear people quite often speak with such confidence. I
know it's God's will for me to do this. I know it's God's will
for me to do that. Talking about providence. Now, I can't say
honestly that I've ever known anything for sure about God's
will regarding providence. Not me. I never have. Now, I
hope it's God's will. And I pray that God will guide
my steps in His Word and that He'll cause me to do His will.
But you never really know His will regarding providence till
after the fact, do you? After it happened, I know it
was his will, because it happened. But until then, I don't really
know God's will regarding providence. When he's saying that thou shouldst
know his will, he's talking about his will of redemption. I know,
and this is something I know, I know it's the will of God that
everybody that Jesus Christ died for be saved. You know that? Our Lord said, I came down from
heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent
me. And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that
of all which He hath given me, I should lose nothing. But raise
it up again at the last day. Now, I know it's God's will for
everybody that Jesus Christ died for to be saved. You know that? Matter of fact, I'm relying on
the fact that everybody He died for is saved. That's why I'm
resting. His death, His person, what He
did. So, what am I to do? First, I'm to know His will. And what does He say next? He
says, the God of our fathers hath chosen me that you should
know His will and see that just one. Now, what's that all about? That you might see that just
one. Well, that has something to do
with having some understanding of how God can be just and justify
somebody like me. You see that just one. Now, I
see, I understand how God can be just and yet justify saying,
I'm not guilty. I see that. And I see that along
with seeing, I can see, I really I can see, I can understand,
where when God looks at me, when I think of myself apart from
Christ, I'm talking about right now. I'm not talking about the
way I was five years ago. I'm talking about the way I am
right now. I can see where if God saw me apart from Christ,
He would feel nothing but hatred and loathing toward me. I really
see that. I don't have any problem with
that at all. I see something about what I am in myself. I'm
so sinful. I see that. And I'm not proud
of it. But I also see, because of the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, how God in His holiness and His
justice can look at me and say, He is without sin. Not only has
he never done anything wrong, he's always done that which is
right. He's perfect in my sight. I can see how God can say that
with regard to me because of that just one. Do you understand
that? Do you understand how God can
be just and justify you? I hope that's not just a point
of doctrine that you agree with, that it's something you're amazed
by, and that I'm amazed by. That I glory and have God can
be just, and yet take somebody like me, who I'm nothing but
sin in and of myself, and say, He's just. He's without sin. He is perfectly conformed to
the image of my Son. Do you understand how God can
be just and justify somebody like you? Isn't that wonderful
how God could be just and justify the ungodly? Let's go and read
verse 14. He said that God, here's what you're to do. You're to
know his will to see that just one and hear the voice of his
mouth. The gospel that I'm preaching
right now. Is nothing less than the word
of God. It's not the word of a man. It's
not a man's opinion. It's the very truth of God. Now, you've heard the gospel
when you know it's Christ's word and not just the preacher's word.
As long as this is just my opinion and my view or this church's
view, you haven't heard from God. But when you know this is
the very truth of God, you've heard the voice of his mouth. Verse 15. For thou shalt be He
is witness unto all men of what you've seen and heard. What am
I to do? You are to be His witness. Now, let me say something about
being a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a witness if
you've seen something. If you have to be trained to
be a witness, you've never seen anything. I think it's almost
Humorous is not the right word, but it is kind of funny how churches
train people to witness. Since when do you train somebody
to be a witness? You witness what you've seen and what you've
heard. What you really believe. I've seen that just one. I know his will. That's what
I'm bearing witness to. Who he is and what he did. I'm
to be his witness to all men of what I've seen and what I've
heard. Now look what he says next. You're to be his witness.
This is talking about every believer. Verse 16, And now, why tarryest
thou? What are you waiting on? What
are you waiting on? Waiting to get better? That ain't
going to happen. You're waiting for some kind
of experience? Are you waiting until you understand more? Are
you waiting until you've learned more? What are you waiting on?
What he's saying is quit waiting. Quit waiting for something to
happen. Why, Terry Estelle, arise and be baptized? What shall I do? Arise and be
baptized. Does baptism save? No. It doesn't. But baptism is my
confession of Christ. And I just don't have any confidence
in someone who refuses to be baptized. What are you waiting
on? Arise and be baptized. Confess. That the life, the death,
the burial and the resurrection of Christ is your salvation. He's who you're relying on. Don't
wait. To wait is disobedience. This is a plain command of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Whoso believeth and is baptized,
the same shall be saved. What shall I do? Arise and be
baptized, washing away thy sins. Now, you know that the act of
baptism doesn't wash away sins, but what it represents washes
away sins. It represents Christ washing
away my sins by precious blood. So it says, Arise and be baptized,
washing away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord. I know this regarding my own
personal experience. Whatever is true regarding my
salvation, my experience of grace, my knowing the Lord, whatever
is true, I know this, it began with me calling upon the name
of the Lord. That's when my experience of grace began, when I actually
called upon the name of the Lord. Lord, save me! Have you ever asked the Lord
to save you? Lord, save me. I can't save myself. I can't
do anything. Save me. That's where my experience
of salvation began. Me calling upon the name of the
Lord. You know where I'm at right now? Same place. Lord, save me. Lord, have mercy on me. Lord,
save me by Your grace. Pass me not. O tender Savior,
hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling,
do not pass me by. That's what I'm crying right
now. Lord, save me. Whosoever, what a wonderful word,
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. What shall I do? Here's some
mighty good advice. Call upon the name of the Lord. Let's pray together.