Acts (Part 26) - Acts 3:18-19a

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Acts (Part 26) - Acts 3:18-19a 1. Act 3:18 – But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. A. But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, i. God revealed through the OT prophets that Christ should suffer. a. God revealed to Adam and Eve that Christ would suffer persecution by the devil (the serpent) (Gen 3:15). b. God revealed to Abraham that Christ (God manifest in the flesh) would be the lamb of God who would be sacrificed (Gen 22:7-8). c. Moses prophesied of the suffering of Christ which was typified through the sacrificing of the Passover lamb (Exo 12:3-7, 13, 23) and the goat and scapegoat on the day of atonement (Lev 16:7-10, 15- 22). d. David prophesied of the suffering of Christ (Psa 22:6-18). e. Isaiah prophesied of the suffering of Christ (Isa 50:6; Isa 53:4-12). f. Daniel prophesied of the suffering of Christ (Dan 9:24-27). g. Zechariah prophesied of the suffering of Christ (Zec 11:12-13; Zec 12:10; Zec 13:6-7). ii. These are just some of the prophecies of the suffering of Christ by the OT prophets. iii. All of the prophets and the law of Moses prophesied of the sufferings of Christ (Act 26:22-23; Luk 24:25-27). B. he hath so fulfilled. i. All of the prophecies of the suffering of Christ were fulfilled when the Jews crucified Jesus (Act 13:29). ii. Even small details of the sufferings of Christ that had been prophesied were fulfilled (Joh 19:28). iii. Not even one word of what God showed by the mouth of His prophets failed (1Ki 8:56). 2. Act 3:19 – Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; A. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, i. The word therefore shows that Peter’s command to repent and be converted is predicated upon the fact that Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of His people in fulfillment of prophecy (Act 3:18). ii. Repentance and conversion is the proper response to hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. iii. Repent v. – 1. refl. To affect (oneself) with contrition or regret for something done, etc. (cf. 3.) 3. intr. To feel contrition, compunction, sorrow or regret for something one has done or left undone; to change one's mind with regard to past action or conduct through dissatisfaction with it or its results. iv. Converted ppl. – 1. Turned, turned back; 2. That has turned or been brought over to a religious faith or profession, whether from a different religion or from irreligious life.  v. By commanding them to repent and be converted, Peter is essentially commanding them repent and be baptized as he commanded their countrymen to do on the day of Pentecost (Act 2:38). vi. Conversion is not regeneration. a. Conversion is turning to God (Act 15:3 c/w Act 15:19) from a life of unbelief and sin to a life of faith and obedience. b. Conversion includes belief (Act 13:48; Act 14:1) and baptism which results in being added to a church (Act 2:38, 41, 47 c/w Act 14:21- 23). B. that your sins may be blotted out, i. The blotting out of sins in this verse cannot be referring to the acquiring of eternal forgiveness of sins for the following reasons: a. Repentance is a work (Mat 12:41 c/w Jonah 3:10). b. Conversion is a work. (i) Conversion is a turning from sin to God (Act 15:3 c/w Act 15:19). (ii) Therefore, conversion (turning from evil) is a work (Jonah 3:10). c. Eternal forgiveness of sins is acquired by grace, not works (Eph 1:7; Col 1:12-14; Col 2:13; Tit 3:5). d. Therefore, the forgiveness being acquired in Act 3:19 is not eternal forgiveness. ii. These Jews would not acquire eternal forgiveness, but they would acquire temporal or fatherly forgiveness through repentance and conversion. a. Temporal forgiveness is conditioned on confession of sins to God (1Jo 1:9). b. Confession of sins is part of repentance (Psa 51:1-3; Psa 32:3-5; Psa 38:18). c. This is exactly the type of forgiveness that those Jews who murdered Jesus would receive if they repented, turned to God, and confessed their sins to Him (Act 3:14-19). iii. The sins of the elect were eternally blotted out before God called them to repentance (Isa 44:22). a. The sins of the elect were legally blotted out by Christ when He died for them on the cross (1Co 15:3; Eph 1:7; Rev 1:5). b. The fact that our sins have been blotted out will be confirmed at the second coming of Christ when we stand before Him on judgment day and we are declared innocent of all charges against us because our sins are blotted out of the books and our names are found written in the book of life (Rev 20:11-15).