Acts 2:36-44 • Babel Restored
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(This transcript was prepared using software tools and has not been reviewed for complete accuracy.)
From Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, this is In the Covenant of Grace. Here's the president of Covenant Seminary, Dr. Brian Chappell.
I think of our great examples, the people we look to who speak with such passion about their beliefs in the gospel and what is right and yet balance it so carefully with the love that God requires. The command to love must mean something.
Our own strength, zeal and enthusiasm ends usually like Peter's sword in betraying the one that we love.
The mission of Covenant Theological Seminary is to train servants of the Triune God that they might walk with Him and learn to interpret and communicate God's Word to lead God's people, that they would be living in the Covenant of Grace.
Today Dr. Brian Chappell comes to the message "Babel Restored" as we continue in the series Taming the Tongue.
Many of us would admit that it can be a bit challenging to speak out against a particular issue or a situation we know is wrong, but we're commanded to speak the truth even when it makes us feel uncomfortable.
However, is there another element to this equation that many times gets overlooked when it comes to speaking the truth?
The scripture text for today's teaching is from Acts Chapter 2, Verses 36-44.
Now once again, here's Dr. Brian Chappell with today's broadcast we've entitled "Babel Restored."
Verse 36, Peter says, "Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this.
God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other Apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call." With many other words, he warned them and he pleaded with them. "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized and about 3,000 were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the Apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common, selling their possessions and goods as they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The last time I talked with you, I spoke about the power of the tongue, particularly as James was cautioning us about the misuse of the tongue in the words that we use. But I recognize that cautions are not enough simply to say what we should not do doesn't really tell us what we should do and that is my intention today. To address what spirit-controlled speech sounds like, what do we actually say when we're under the spirit's direction? And Peter here, of course, is addressing a great evil, people who have just crucified His Lord and He must now speak to them about the claims of Christ. And it's my concern that we see how He speaks.
I'm not the first one, of course, to recognize that this passage is sometimes identified as the time that Babel is restored. As in Genesis 11, you had tongues divided and the nations scattered. Here in Acts 2, you have the nations coming together into Jerusalem and a tongue united so that they will hear the true religion that is their only true way to God. How does Peter speak? Let me just tell you as we begin, it's not so much my intention today to look at the content of these words so much as the character and structure of this language, to think of the character of what we say as well. How do we speak in a Christian way when we face abortion or racism or disregard for the poor or political enemies or church enemies, doctrinal error? How do we address what is wrong rightly? What is the nature of Christian speech? Let me start with the obvious.
Christian speech is founded on truth. What we say must be founded on truth. That means, among other things, we must be willing to say what is right. Peter does it plainly and boldly. Consider verse 36 where he says, "Let all Israel be assured of this. God has made Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Here is the proclamation of Christ. Clearly boldly He is Lord, God, Christ. You must recognize who He is. This is the truth that you must acknowledge.
It's sometimes difficult truth that He will proclaim. If you just back up a little bit to verse 23 of the same speech, Jesus says this one that you crucified in verse 23, "This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge, and you with the help of wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." Here is not just the proclamation of who Christ is, but the proclamation of God's sovereign plan from all eternity, that His Son would be crucified but He would also be raised from the dead, the proclamation of not only who Jesus is but what God planned to do and accomplished through Christ's resurrection. And there is also clear statement of what must be done as a result, the truth in verse 38, "You must repent and be baptized every one of you." And verse 39 continues that call of repentance by extending the covenant promise. The promise now is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all who the Lord our God will call. The mission mandate, the covenantal promise being extended, all of that is included. Think of what's just been said in these brief little capsules of truth that is right being stated, the message of the Savior, of God's sovereignty, of the nature of salvation, of God's covenant plan and promise. It's all truth plainly, boldly put before people, just right things said. They are not always easy things though they are precious.
But what's even harder is to recognize that with these statements of what is right are clear statements of what is wrong as well. Peter will clearly question the actions of the people who are operating here. Remember again, verse 36, "This Jesus who is Lord in Christ," he says, "you crucified." He doesn't merely criticize their actions, he criticized everything they have anchored themselves to. Verse 40, "With many other words he warned them and he pleaded with them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Now our ears kind of hear only lineage being referred to but the Jews would have understood when he is saying you are part of a corrupt generation, he's referring to everything they have committed themselves to. And he's saying everything you have anchored yourself to in lifestyle and belief, that's wrong too. And still he's not done for as he says there in verse 40, "You must come from this corrupt generation." He's asking not just for them to separate themselves from their anchors but their associations because we know now 3000 verse 41 were added to their number, the new number of the church that day. People must correct their associations. Their actions are wrong. What they've anchored themselves to is wrong. Their associations are wrong and he challenges it all by saying, "I'm not just going to tell you what's right, I'm going to tell you what is wrong as well." It is this notion that we cling to in the church yet that we must state the truth and if necessary let the truth divide from error. We say what is right and we say what is wrong as well. For some of what we must recognize of saying what is right as well as wrong comes right into our very families. Some of the reasons that we struggle as couples is that we're scared sometimes for the sake of the relationship to say what is right and what is wrong. We don't want to make waves. And so we swallow words. I'm not talking about being tactless or being mean but sometimes we just won't address things with those that we love the most. But the Bible requires of us to speak with courage plainly of what is right and what is wrong. What I want to add to this understanding is something I learned in journalism school and we were learning to write truth in newspapers. And we got this very important, even strange caution because the assumption of almost everyone who is not in journalism is news is as long as it's true you can write it. And we were quickly cautioned that that was a grave error. That the actual definition of libel and slander in this country is not that you have said something that is untrue. You can actually say something true and still libel and slander people. It's not legal because it's true. In order to be legal it must also not have malintent. You must never speak in such a way as to hold particularly non-public characters up to public ridicule or contempt. It's not merely the content of what you say, what's the intent of what you are doing that determines its legality. And of course Scripture is reminding of that as well in this passage. That speech that is truly Christian is not merely founded on truth, it must be grounded in love. That means we must be seeking the good of others. Maybe that's not so obvious in the passage until you see the way in which the people address one another in this interaction with Peter. In verse 37 after Peter has said, "You have crucified My Lord." They respond, people cut to the heart by saying, "Brothers, what shall we do?" You hear the familiar response, they have just been accused and they're saying, "Brothers, what shall we do?" The reason they're willing to speak that way in such familiar terms is because of the way that Peter has addressed them. There has been a progression in the passage, if you'll just look back to verse 14. Initially the crowd is accusing Peter and the others of being drunk because of the way they are speaking. But Peter responds in verse 14 by saying, "Fellow Jews, in all you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you." Now at this point he's simply addressing them in terms of their ethnicity and their geography. Jews and those of you who live in Jerusalem listen to me. The accusation that you're bringing that we are drunk is wrong. But it's going to get more pointed, look at verse 22. There he says, "Men of Israel," he's reminding them of their covenant heritage, closer to home, but listen to what is added now. Listen to this, "Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and sign which God did among you through him. As you yourselves know, this man was handed over to you by God, set purpose and foreknowledge, and you with the help of wicked men put him to death." Now I address you not just by ethnicity and geography, I remind you of your covenant heritage, even as I tell you, you crucified a man that you and I both know about. But he will come closer to home even as the truth intensifies. Verse 29, "There he addresses these people in the most familiar and careful of terms,
brothers." What is that all prelude to? He is about to tell them about David's promise of the one who would not have decay and therefore, verse 36, tell them of the one, now he says it again, "You crucified who is both Lord and Christ." Think of what he has done. The more difficult is the truth that he is communicating, not just having done something wrong in accusation, not having done something wrong in crucifying a man, but now having done something wrong in crucifying the Lord, he speaks to them in the most intimate and familiar of terms. It is an amazing progression. The harder the truth he has to say, the more intimate and caring is his expression.
It is a lesson for the picket lines and the political debates. What does it mean to speak Christianly? Surely it means to say hard truth but it is always concern for the good of others and seeking in such a way that we can penetrate, can be heard, love cannot be lacking.
Christians must speak so stridently about wrong but must be so careful in the way in which they speak. The amazing conversions that we know of that are a result of the abortion debate in this country, the conversion of Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade. Now you know that's a person with still lots of troubles, I know that too. But she got death threats and hate mail and cursing from many Christians but she came to know the Lord through the head of an anti-abortion organization who determined to love her.
We have heard as well from Sandra Cano, the other Jane Doe, it was her case which allowed abortion to occur not just where the life of the mother was threatened but where the health of the mother was threatened, what really made abortion just available on demand. She too now is claiming Christ because of those who spoke to her, not of the rightness of her action, the wrongness of it but out of love. It's not enough that it be true. It must have love behind it as well or it is not of God. Even if it's accurate, even if it is doctrinally, precisely on target, it is not enough if love is not behind it. I hope it's what we're about, that we really are seeking the good of others in what we are doing, that the truth is grounded in love. Now part of seeking the good of others means we are also sacrificing the good of self. Remember that Peter was willing and the other apostles to appear drunk, to receive derision and damage to their reputations. By proclaiming this truth we know very quickly they were going to be arrested and their lives were to be at stake. But they were willing to speak of truth in a way that their love was evident not just because they were acting as though they loved people, they put themselves at risk. I want to add that to the list of things that we have to say measures whether what we are speaking is truly loving. Or are we putting ourselves at risk for the sake of others? True love puts self at risk. While it is important that speech that is truthful be wedded to speech that is loving. And sometimes we make awful mistakes. But I recognize that if what we do is we simply maintain a peace by pushing aside opinions and thoughts and wrongs that need to be addressed, it is not a true peace. It is not right peace. It is harmony at the expense of true hearts being united.
Money is important. Truth is important. But remember what Ezekiel said to present of the Lord's own speech.
God says to Ezekiel 3.18, "If you do not warn an evil man of his wickedness, he will die in his sin, but I will require his blood of you." If we do not warn of error, we share in it. Being quiet is not the answer. Speaking the truth in love is the answer. Now these things now begin to balance against one another. Don't we start feeling the weight? How do you stretch those things out? Because if I have to speak what is truthful but I have to be loving at the same time, we recognize love will sometimes frame and form the nature of truth. How will express it? Peter could have said more. He could have spoken in much harsher language. He could have multiplied the sins of the people to whom he's speaking. But he thinks not only the necessity of what he must say but the capacity of the people to hear it. That's the confessional language that we address the necessities and the capacities of the people. Even Jesus, remember, would say to His own apostles, "I have more to say to you but you're not ready to hear it yet." How do we let love frame, form, caution what we say? It is by examining not merely the content of what we say, nor even the intent but ultimately the goals. Where is our speech leading? What's its trajectory?
Where is our speech leading? And it's for that reason basically that I ask you to read with me really what followed the speech of Peter verses 42 on 347. For surely what Peter is saying is that we have to seek Christ's honor, first of all. Remember what these people are doing. We see them devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching. There is this focus on Christ, this dependence to look to Him. It's an increasing of His reputation, of His recognition. You know, the old warrior poem is that, "I could not love thee dear so much, love thy not honor more." But it's the wording of Christians too. "I could not love thee near so much, loved I not the honor of Christ more." It is not loving to allow you to continue in sin. It is not loving to not represent Christ's purposes and make Him foremost. Neither is it loving to speak to you in such a way that you can't hear of Christ. I have to always be examining clearly how does this promote the name of Christ. It's a goal. Where's this leading? I have to be considering the trajectory of my words.
To some extent that means I have to be willing not only to increase His recognition but to decrease my own. For what happened in the church, remember, is that people began to live in this curious altruism of thinking of other people first, being willing to sell their own goods so that others could benefit when they had need, breaking bread, sharing their homes, all this giving of themselves for the sake of others. And it reminds us of the deep rigorous examination we must do of our own hearts when we are saying, "Am I really seeking Christ's honor in this?" You should be examining, "Am I doing it mostly for Christ?" Is that the real reason? And to seek that as a goal, is it for Him and is it for His church?
What's happening to the church as a result of what I'm doing? What happened in this church? Remember there is this wonderful expression of harmony now happening through the church as a result of what is said here. You think of all the things that are being said. There is fellowship, verse 42, "They break bread together. They pray together." If you look on it, verse 44, "They have things in common." Verse 45, "They gave to anyone as he had need." Verse 46, "They broke bread together. They ate together with sincere and glad hearts."
Here's all this togetherness.
Are my words doing that?
Now togetherness around untruth is not right, but am I even addressing the untruth in a way that's promoting the harmony, the peace of the church? For you must understand there is a structure to this passage. Through the preaching has resulted in 3,000 being added to their number.
But how do numbers keep getting added daily? Verse 47 at the end of the passage, what happens?
It is the sense of peace, of harmony, of this unique community of love that is now promoting the gospel in the ongoing way.
The progress of the church as well as the peace is on our minds so that we recognize if all I am doing is making my name or creating waves, if that's really what I'm doing, I have to say, "What does this lead to? Is the church going to progress? Is the community that is being formed here now going to be strengthened for what's ahead?" I suppose I saw these truths of how we balance truth and love and the trajectory of our words as well in a way that I can't formulate and put in a package for you. I wish I could, but I don't think life is that simple that we...I just come up with a formula and say, "This is what you say all." Ultimately what we're saying is we're guided by God.
There is this spirit-led speech that is part of walking with the spirit. The only thing in this list of things that the people in the church do twice, the only thing that's mentioned twice in that long list is communion, that they keep depending on God, they keep going back and seeing what Christ did and feasting on what He has provided. And I think ultimately that's the answer. I asked a Christian leader recently, I said, "Now, I don't really myself understand. When do we get strident and say, "Stop doing that," and when do we back off?" Because I recognize both pictures are in Scripture, remember? I mean when the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, is almost dissuaded from hearing the Apostle's message, they respond, Paul does, with rigor against the sorceress saying, "You are a child of the devil and God will strike you because of your evil." And the same Paul will say in the church, "To those who are servants of God, you must gently respond to those who oppose you in the trust that God will lead them to repentance and escape from the snare of the devil."
How do we put these together? By recognizing we turn to people who are walking with the Lord, who do you look to for counsel and wisdom? Those who are walking with the Lord regularly, who are in step with the spirit.
That's what makes spirit controlled speech. Not a formula I can give you, but that regular digesting of the food of God, His Word, His Spirit, His people, that makes me informed of the life of the spirit. So now I speak with wisdom, I weigh out these priorities with wisdom. I was in a church in Florida very recently and during a service a man had brought his father who was struggling with Alzheimer's to the service. And as the communion tray with the little wine cups was passed, the older man grabbed onto the tray and would not let it go.
And when the people around him tried to take it from him, he just let out with this huge profanity blast.
And the man whose father it was got up from his seat and tried to get his father up and take him out of the sanctuary. And the pastor just stopped it. He said, "John, you don't need to take your father from this service.
This is your family and your father is always welcome."
Now I think, now how did the pastor know to say that? I mean, think of what he could have been accused of. He allowed profanity in the church. He allowed the impurity of the world to come in on the sacrament of God. I mean, he did this awful thing. But you know your instincts tell you it was the right thing. How do you know that? Because he was still promoting truth. I want you to know what this supper really indicates, that we are in communion, that we are sinners being forgiven by God. I want you to understand that. I want you to have this ground and love. You're part of family now. And ultimately you understand it because it's somebody expressing these truths out of love and a heart that shows his own spirit understanding. This will promote the gospel. But the other thing, the other little picture I want you to see is the man himself. Here he has just said this awful thing with the picture of he's now clinging to the wine. He's now clinging to the blood of Christ. It is what I hope we are actually doing, that we recognize we will wonder about our speech and we will wonder if we said the right things. And sometimes it will be awful, the pollution that spills from our lips. What ultimately will make it right is that we are clinging like the people of God here daily, regularly, always to the knowledge of what Christ has done for us. And it is that knowledge of his great gift that changes us and ultimately conforms us in our speech to the spirit.
They are hard things to balance, but we are called to balance them for the sake of Christ and his church and the gospel.
As Christians, our speech must not only be founded in truth, but also grounded in love.
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