05/31/2026
"What Shall We Do?"
Acts 2:36-47
This passage is one of the greatest sermonic moments in all of scripture. In it, Peter revealed to a great mass of people that the prophecy of Messiah had been fulfilled. It was fulfilled by Him who had been delivered by the determinant foreknowledge and counsel of God into the hands of the evil men that were in fact at that moment being addressed was crucified and slain by them. But Deity had raised him again into His humanity, raised from death because the Just One could not be held by it. And in that, God kept His word as He had given it to their patriarch, prophet, and King - David - that he would see an heir to forever sit upon the divinely bequeathed throne. And so this Jesus, who was crucified on a Friday and rose early Sunday morning to ascend to the right hand of God, had bestowed the promise of the Holy Spirit, whose actions and words were before them. Therefore, all of the House of Israel should assuredly know that God had made that same Jesus, whom they had crucified, whom they had seen with their eyes and handled with their hands, both Lord and Christ.
Through the ministry of Jesus, the Lord had done great and mighty things. He had healed the sick. He had raised the dead. He preached to thousands and fed thousands at a time from little resources. Through Him the Kingdom of God had come into the world not by imposition and force but by importunity and faith. Submissive grace was offered by His own example as the alternative to self gratification. And the question posed unto Peter at the conclusion of his exposition by those who should have under conviction was, "What shall we do?"
I've learned a few things about people. We all should have learned a few things about people. People will tell you about themselves by what they say. But you learn a lot about people by what they don't say. They had heard the declarative discourse and the elucidated exposition. As a preacher, I have sometimes hoped that simply presenting the precepts of God would be enough for people to make a decision for the faith. But this is the truth. People will never make a decision for the faith just because they heard the gospel. They will invariably look for an alternative that will allow them to have an assurance of God's salvation while allowing them to stay in sin. This is the essence of their question, "What shall we do?" How can we get the good of God and stay the same as we are? Is there some other way that I can get the blessed benefits while avoiding accountability? This is so prevalent in people who don't know the Lord and have not ever heard the gospel. It's horrible and abhorrent. But what's worse is when you hear the question from people who are supposed to be His people.
And here is where we have to all be careful because conviction does not always produce conversion. Every one of us can be absolutely convicted of our sins, accosted by accountability, declared to be derelict, and shown to be slothful when it comes to the things of God. We reject our responsibilities, skip the depths of spirituality, and immerse ourselves in our iniquities all so we can absolve ourselves of the requirements of being faithful unto God. We always want to try to find another way so that we don't have to do it God's way.
Everybody wants to find the easy path, find someone else to do the work, find someone else to pay the bill, bail out and bounce when we don't get our way, when the work of God is us working for one another. Too much of our Americanized and Westernized so-called Christianity is focused on how to get what we want instead of doing what God requires. There is no one who is truly of the faith that comes to the faith for what they can get. Someone who faithfully believes in God comes to serve and not to be served, to commend and not be commended, to lift instead of being lifted. No one is to come to have his own way but all are to come to let God have His way.
This is the hurdle of ego that all who would serve the Lord must decide to leap. This is truly a leap of faith because we cannot make it on our own. But if you will jump, the Lord will carry you over. You may bump your shin. You might fall when you do it. But the thing about jumping hurdles is that even if you knock it over and fall down on the track, you can get back up again and keep running. And the most frustrating thing of all is that I see so many get into the starting blocks and take off running, but as soon as there's a hurdle to leap in front of them, they stop and say, "What shall we do?!" Let me explain to some and remind some others that this is your race to run but you are on a team and your teammates are depending on you to finish your race. But you cannot finish the race unless you get over the hurdles! You have to get over the hurdles because that's what hurdlers do! And you have to finish your race because no one else can finish the race for you!
With the race set before you and the hurdles in your path, what will you do?
1. Know The Christ vv36-38
- If you are the people of God, know the Christ. More than just knowing the name Jesus, can you testify that you actually know the Christ? Do you know the one who was crucified for your sins - the one whom you are responsible for having been crucified. Peter said "that the same Jesus whom you have crucified," which meant that they bore responsibility - even though they had not fashioned the cross, had not driven the spikes, had not crowned the thorns, had not jabbed the spear in His side - they were still responsible. And this is important for me to say right now and I need you to hear me clearly:
The issue with many is that they don't believe that they are to blame. They weren't there. They've never been that bad. Many of us have convinced ourselves that we've tried to be good and that our effort to look good in front of other people should count for something. Your righteousness is as filthy rags before God. I don't care how good you think you have been, you're not good enough, you're not smart enough, you don't give enough, you don't love enough, and you're not cute enough to escape your responsibility for the Lord being crucified. And anyone who thinks that they are exempt from the responsibility of Jesus being crucified, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. The only way that you are going to know Christ is if you will admit that the reason that He died was because of your sin. You cannot know Christ unless you're honest about yourself. That is why when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts. They were convicted of their sins but had not been converted into saints.
The only way to know if one knows Christ is if they repent of their sins and make the confession of Jesus Christ that their sins will be remitted and then receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. You cannot have the Holy Ghost if you don't know Jesus Christ. But if you know Jesus Christ, God lives in you. In that, you gain the intimacy and fellowship that empowers you to declare that you know Him! Know the Christ!
*You don't need to know an imaginary Jesus! You need to know the Christ!
*You don't have to put on a show for everybody! You need to know the Christ!
*You don't need to show how holy you are! You need to know the Christ!
For as God the Father hath made Jesus the Christ, Jesus is also Lord which means that He has all authority, gives the first word and the last word! He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Way out of no way, the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God! What shall you do?! Do what He said and know the Christ!
2. Know When & Who He Calls v39
- One of the greatest things about God is that God makes promises and God keeps His promises, but God also keeps promises to those who don't even want His promises. Peter told his gathered audience that the promise was unto them, to their children, and to all that were afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Listen to me seeker, questioner, doubter, and self-determiner. In this life there are going to be moments when you are unsure. You don't know what's going to happen or when it's going to happen or to whom it's going to happen. But you cannot go through life acting like nothing's going to happen. Some things are going to happen that you expect and things are going to happen that you won't expect. Somebody in here on the testify with me that one day you walked into somebody's church house and you thought that you were just going to go through the motions of what you always did and that you were just going to say what you always say. But you still had your own thoughts and you still had your own ways and you still wanted to do what you wanted to do. That was what you expected. But that day something happened that you didn't expect. The Lord got ahold of you. It was more than just a feeling. It was more than you getting happy. It was something changing inside of you and you heard the word like you never heard it before. It was if the Lord was speaking to you directly. Anybody else remember that day? Anybody else remember the hour when something got ahold of you? The saints used to sing that something got ahold of me! That was the Lord calling unto you! It was nobody but Jesus calling you. And if you have not heard the voice of Jesus now is the time for you to finally listen and hear the Lord's call! We spend so much time telling people to call on the Lord. But the only way you can call on the Lord is if He calls you first!
And when the Lord calls on you, you need to remember that He didn't just call you for you! The Lord called you to call on your children! The Lord called you to call on those who are afar off! Because when the Lord called you, He called you to tell everybody that there is somebody who can save anybody! If the Lord has ever done anything for you, you need to tell somebody that Jesus saves!
*When He called you, He wants you!
*When He called you, He wants your children!
*When He called you, He wants your neighbor!
*When He called you, He wants your friend!
*When He called you, He wants those near and far!
Peter was preaching to them! But it was God calling! And you have to know that when He calls you, there's work to do! Open up your ears and open up your heart and know when and who He calls because the Lord is calling you!
3. Know When To Come vv40-41
- And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
There is a moment for all of us when we have to decide. I believe in giving the best effort that I can to posit the good sense of believing and trusting with a whole heart. Peter preached with power but he also preached with passion and persuasion. He testified of the Lord and encouraged them to come out of their comfort in an unbelieving generation. Nobody's going to make it if they're comfortable in the crowd and if they're cool with the clique. At some point while the blood is running warm, if one is to be saved, one must know when to come. And the scripture says that they who gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. But implicit in the statement is that there was some that did not gladly receive his word. They missed out because they did not know when to come.
And I don't know how you feel about it. But I'm glad to have received the word! That word did not turn me off to God! That word became as a burning fire shut up in my bones and I could not forbear! I learned to confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that the same Spirit that raised Jesus saved me because I understood when to come! And right now I can testify that this joy that I have, the world didn't give it to me! Ever since that day and ever since that hour, joy bells ringing in my soul!
*I believe that Jesus came to this world to be born in Bethlehem!
*I believe that Jesus was reared in Nazareth
*I believe that one Friday, Jesus went to Calvary, that they hung Him high, they stretched Him wide, He hung His head, He bled and died! He died! Didn't He die!
*They put Jesus in a cold and borrowed tomb!
*But bright early Sunday morning, Jesus rose with all power! Jesus walked with the disciples for 40 days! And I believe that He walks with me, He talks with me, and He tells me that I am His own! Through my trials, my tribulation, He is with me!
*Jesus went unto the Father
*But He will be coming back!
We need to know when to come because Jesus knew to come to us!
I am sure that there are more than a couple people who are tired of hearing this preaching. And I know sometimes when there's a little more to say, I tell you that I'm just going to give you this one for free. But naw baby, y'all need to pay me for this one. I worked on this. One more thing I need to say to you today is:
4. Know How To Continue vv42-47
- Here is where we perfectly positioned praisers and saved sanctified saints can help ourselves because this is where we fatally fail in our faith. We don't demonstrate that we know how to continue. Getting saved is your new beginning. Behaving like you're saved is how you continue. Did any of us think that God would not know? God has the expectation that we would continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine - their teachings - and in fellowship with each other, remembering the sacrifice of Christ and why He died for us, and prayers. Far too often we don't concern ourselves with the important things and our fear of God is absent. We don't have all things common and only live for ourselves. We sacrifice nothing, give very little or at most the bare minimum - the tithe - and refuse to bless others. Then, when we finally show up to the fellowship or worship, we still try to have our own way - no joy, no praise - but want favor with all people. Then we wonder why we're not seeing the Lord add to the church daily such as should be saved. Why would God add anybody into fellowship with people who do not continue in the faith?
You have to continue in the faith. The road is not always going to be easy. You're going to have challenges along the way. You are not always going to have the things you want. And things are not always going to go your way.
But in those moments when things have become difficult, that's when you need to look back over your life. That's when you need to think things over. That's when you need to remember how the Lord kept you! You need to remember how He never left you! You need to be faithful because God is faithful!
*Remember how He's been a bridge over troubled waters
*He's a way out of no way
*He's still a rock in a weary land
*He brought you and then He taught you
*God saved you and then He raised you
We continue by staying with what the Lord said - in the apostles doctrine and not our own. Here is what we all need to see: They asked the wrong question. They were looking for what they should do. They never asked what God wanted them to do. And the difference between the two questions is much wider than you might think. But Peter gave them the answer to what they didn't ask, the answer to what they didn't say. And it's all because God's ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our thoughts. How about you think God's thoughts and stop trying to do things your way? There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but only but the end thereof is death and destruction. And as long as you have breath in your body, do it God's way and not your own. The one who will be saved is the one that continues until the end. And the only way that you continue is to follow the path that the Lord has set before us.
