A Look at
Acts 2:39 by George L. Faull


I thought it might
be well for me to
comment on a
verse-Acts 2:39.
Though we often
refer to verse 38
of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, we would do well to read
the context. Verse 39 is abused by many. Let’s look at
verses 37-41.
“37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles,
Men and brethren, what shall we do? 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. 39 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. 40 And
with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying,
Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then
they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the
same day there were added unto them about three
thousand souls.”
The 39th verse is an abused text by four major religious
factions to prove their particular heresy.
THE PENTECOSTALS use the verse to prove that the
Holy Spirit’s miraculous power is available to all men
today. They consider “the Promise” to refer back to
verses 16-21.
These verses are a quote of a prophecy of Joel, which
states that wonders will be done in the last days by those
of “all ages”, old and young, “all genders”, sons and
daughters, “all social status”, my servants and
handmaidens, and “all nations”, all flesh.
They ignore a sermon had been completed and Christ
was shown to be both Lord and Christ and they had killed
Him. The listeners asked the question, “Men and
brethren, what shall we do?” Peter’s answer in verse 38
shows the question was not what shall we do to get these
miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. Rather, what do we do
to be forgiven for our killing our Messiah? It was a
specific question about salvation and not about speaking
in tongues or the wonders and signs of Joel’s prophecy.
The question preceded the offer of salvation and the gift
of the Spirit. Acts 2:39
THE ROMANISTS who favor infant baptism make their
emphasis on the inclusion of children receiving the
promise offered by Peter. On the contrary, it is a promise
to the descendants of the listeners who could enjoy the
promise of salvation and the Holy Spirit if they too repent
and are baptized.
It is ludicrous to get out of this text that there is grace
bestowed in baptizing unbelieving babies who need no
repentance. There is no water regeneration taught in
verses 38 – 39. There is no merit or dispensing of grace
by baptizing infants who can neither believe nor in need of
repentance.
Even Albert Barnes, who advocated infant baptism,
rebukes those who try to use this verse to advocate infant
baptism. “It does not refer to children as children, and
should not be adduced to establish the propriety of infant
baptism, or as applicable particularly to infants. It is a
promise, indeed, to parents, that the blessings of salvation
shall not be confined to parents, but shall be extended
also to their posterity. Under this promise parents may be
encouraged to train up their children for God; to devote
them to his service; believing that it is the gracious
purpose of God to perpetuate the blessings of salvation
from age to age.”
THE CALVINISTS are the third group that abuses this
text. They take their clue from the expression, “even as
many as the Lord our God shall call.” The word, “call”, is
the trigger word for a Calvinist. Their doctrine is that God
calls specific persons to salvation to the exclusion of
others.
When they hear the word “call”, it conjures up in their
mind the whole theory of election, predestination, and
eternal security. They like to point out the last phase of
verse 39 is in the middle voice and this means God is
doing the calling.
In Robertson Word Study (he is a Calvinist) writes, “It is a
first aorist middle subjunction with ‘an’ in an indefinite
relative clause, a perfectly regular construction. The Lord
"From the cowardice that shrinks from
new truth, from the laziness that is content
with half truths, from the arrogance that
thinks it knows all truth, O, God of Truth,
deliver us."2 THE GOSPEL UNASHAMED April 2010
calls men of every nation, anywhere, whether Jew or
Gentile.” We have never read the verse any other way
than the Lord is calling men to Himself.
THE BEREAN BIBLE SOCIETY is the fourth group that
abuses the text and are the successors of E. W. Bullinger,
Corneluis Stam, and J. C. Ohair. They teach that the
Gospel invitation offered here by Peter was for Jews only.
They are hyper or ultra-dispensationalists in that they
believe this offer by Peter was for a Jewish millennial
kingdom.
They believe baptism is a Jewish ordinance and has been
phased out for today and not a requirement for this
dispensation.
They ignore that those who are “afar off”, in verse 39, are
the Gentiles as Ephesians 2:12-16 plainly affirms.
They pretend that the gospel of Peter and Paul differ and
that Paul, as the apostle to the Gentiles, revealed a
different Gospel than Peter.
Such alleged scholars wrest this Scripture as they do all
the Scriptures.
II Peter 3:15-16: “15 And account that the longsuffering of
our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul
also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written
unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them
of these things; in which are some things hard to be
understood, which they that are unlearned and
unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures,
unto their own destruction.”
The listeners and their children and those who were “afar
off” (Gentiles) are all made the promise of the remission of
sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit when they repent and
are immersed. This agrees perfectly with other Bible
passages.
1. The Gospel call is for the Jew first, also to the
Greek.
Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek.”
2. Those who are “afar off” are the Gentiles.
Ephesians 2:12-13: “12 That at that time ye were
without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ
Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are
made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
3. The Lord calls men to Himself by the Gospel.
Listen how it is done.
II Thessalonians 2:13-14: “13 But we are bound
to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the
obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
4. Why does God send out this call? He wants
all men to come to repentance and not perish.
II Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.”
5. The call to the Father is offered to “whosoever
will”.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.”
Revelation 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride
say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely.”
So our Pentecostal, Romanist, Calvinist, and Berean
friends have twisted or perverted this text. It is very
simple to understand the meaning.
In verse 37 a question is asked, “Men and brethren, what
shall we do?” (Since we killed the Christ.)
In verse 38 an answer is given. There are two
commands, “Repent and be baptized” and two results
promised “the remission of sins and the Gift of the Holy
Spirit.”
In verse 39 we are told who can repent and be baptized
and enjoy the promise of salvation. “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.”
In verse 40 an offer was made, “Save yourselves (it is
passive) from this untoward (perverted) generation.”
In verse 41 we are told the response to the offer that
Peter made in his sermon, “Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized: and the same day there were
added …about three thousand souls.”
Do not be misled by the theologies of men. A text out of
context becomes a pretext.
Those who responded had heard the call of God and they
came to Him and obeyed the offer.
God does the saving if we do not refuse His call.April 2010 THE GOSPEL UNASHAMED 3
Joel had said, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the LORD shall be
delivered:….” Joel 2:32a
Paul was told, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be
baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the
name of the Lord.” Acts 22:16
God has called you by the Good News of the Gospel and
now you need to call upon Him. God has always planned
that Abraham’s seed, which is Christ, be a blessing to all
nations, not just the Jews. The promise to all was made
in Peter’s sermon on Pentecost in verse 39.
What says the Scripture? Galatians 3:8: “And the
scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith, preached before the gospel unto
Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
Galatians 3:27-29: “27 For as many of you as have
been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Won’t you, like the 3,000 on Pentecost, gladly receive the
Word and be baptized and let the Lord add you to His
Church?
He will keep His promise. That has been His desire for all
men from the foundation of the world.