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, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
King James Version (KJV)
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This is Peter's answer at Pentecost to listeners who, convicted by his sermon, ask what they must do in response to the news that Jesus is Lord and Christ.
What Does Acts 2:38 Mean?
Acts 2:38 is Peter's direct answer to a crowd cut to the heart -- repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Moments earlier, the listeners had asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" They had just heard Peter declare that Jesus, whom they had crucified, was both Lord and Christ. Conviction had gripped them, and now they wanted to know how to respond. Peter's reply is clear and immediate.
The first word is "Repent" -- the Greek metanoeo, meaning to change one's mind and direction, a turning away from sin and toward God. This is followed by the call to "be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ." Baptism here is the outward act by which these new believers identify openly with the Christ they had once rejected. Peter ties this response to "the remission of sins" -- the Greek aphesis, meaning release, pardon, the sending away of guilt. And the promise that follows is the very thing the crowd had just witnessed pouring out: "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." The same Spirit that filled the apostles is offered to all who turn to Christ. Peter goes on in the next verse to say this promise is "unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off" -- as wide as God's call extends.
In the Original Language
The Greek "metanoeo" (repent) means to change one's mind and turn, and "aphesis" (remission) means release, dismissal, or pardon of sins.
Cross References
“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;”
- Acts 3:19
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
- Mark 16:16
“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
- Acts 2:39
Application
When the truth about Christ pierces the heart, the response is not despair but action -- turning to God, openly identifying with Jesus, and receiving the forgiveness and the Spirit He freely promises.