I have just put my faith in Jesus…now what?

Is the reader unconverted? Do you know that you also belong to that world which has killed and rejected the Lord Jesus, now seated at the right hand of God? And what must they do? "Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptised, 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." The very enemies, and murderers, must become the very disciples of Jesus, and they must fully confess this discipleship in baptism. What a complete and confessed change of mind, what self-judgment, for that is what the word translated 'repent' implies. "Then they that gladly received his word were baptised and the same day there were added about three thousand souls." They were deeply convicted of sin, they believed, were completely changed in mind, and showed it by being gladly baptised as the disciples of the crucified and risen Jesus, whom they had so lately rejected and murdered. All this was real matter of fact, confessed, and seen of all men. They were not ashamed to own Him Lord and Christ. Their sins were forgiven. They were gathered, and by the Holy Ghost added to, and formed the assembly of God. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. … And all that believed were together, and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house [or at home]; did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved," or were being saved — that is, from day to day. All were added, but to what? evidently to that which the Holy Ghost was forming, not to different bodies or churches of men, but to the one only church of God.

It is important to notice the connection there was between repentance and baptism: so the Jews must have understood it. John preached, saying, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And great multitudes went out to him, "and were baptised of him in Jordan, confessing their sins." (Matt. 3:1-6.) "John did baptise in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for [or to] the remission of sins," etc. (Mark 1:4-5.) Confession of sins was the scripture ground of forgiveness from the days of ancient Job. "He looks upon men; and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light." We see how this was in the end produced in Job. He says, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees thee. Wherefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. And it was so." When Job was brought to that point, instead of seeking to maintain his own righteousness, he now counted himself vile, completely changed his mind, in dust and ashes. There God met him in unhindered blessing. (Job 33 and 42.)

Was not baptism the outward profession of this entire change of mind? On the day of Pentecost there was a vast multitude of Jobs, so far as seeking to maintain their own religiousness, or righteousness. With astonishment they were convicted of the greatest sin a creature is capable of. They had rejected and murdered the Holy and the Just One. See how Peter, or rather the Holy Ghost, pressed this. In chapter 3 He says, "But ye denied the Holy One and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted to you: and killed the Prince of life, whom God has raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses." And then, after showing them that all this was what God had made known by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, he calls upon them to repent, to entirely change their minds from the mad course they were pursuing; and as many as believed and did thus change their minds were baptised, and this was the evidence, or proof, of confession of sins. In the preaching then of Peter to the Jews, repentance, baptism, and forgiveness were most intimately connected in the name of Jesus. And they thus became the disciples of the crucified and risen Christ.

Further, the Spirit abides evermore, so as to cut off all excuse for not going on with God according to His word and will. So here it is noted that 'they persevered in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers' (ver. 42). Such was the course on which entered the souls just born to God and blessed of Him in Christ. The teaching of the apostles supplied the needed instruction, fitted perfectly as they were not only by the Spirit's recalling to their remembrance all the words of the Lord Jesus, but by His own communication, according to the Saviour's promise, of all that they themselves could not then bear (John 14:26; John 16:12-13). Never was there such teaching for souls whose very recent introduction into divine relationships made them hunger and thirst for all that would satisfy the new spiritual wants and affections of their souls. And they had it not orally alone, but after a while also in forms written by inspiration, that we too might have 'fellowship' with them, taking in now not the 'twelve' only but the great apostle of the Gentiles yet to be called. For 'teaching', however valuable, is not enough without 'fellowship', and few weigh how much they owe to the presence and living commentary on the truth which sharing it all together in practice furnishes.1 Then 'the breaking of bread' has a most influential place, both by keeping the Lord continually before the saints in His unspeakable grace and suffering, and in drawing out the deepest feeling of the heart, where the exercise or display of power might be otherwise a danger, as we see at Corinth, where the true character of the Eucharist was lost, and the assembly became a scene of ostentation (1 Cor. 11:20-34). Nor are 'prayers', meaning (I suppose) the united or common prayers of the saints, left out of this weighty record; for none can neglect 'the prayers' without loss otherwise irreparable, and so much the more of moment were they then as the saints rose to the joy of their new and everlasting blessedness. For power and privilege would be of all things the most fatal if the saints slipped out of the sense of needed and constant dependence on God. {1 Canon W. G. Humphry would, with others, apply κοινωνία here to 'the communication of worldly goods', but this does not suit the immediate connection, and is given in another form subsequently. Besides κοίνωνὶα requires to be modified as in Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 8:4; and Heb. 13:16, to mean other than 'communion', as here.}

But it does now exist, and the souls before us were brought into it on that memorable day. "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers." Stedfast continuance is good. To some Paul had to say, "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?" (Gal. 5:7). Not so in Jerusalem on the Pentecostal day. There are four things to be noticed here. (1) "The apostles' doctrine." What else did they, or do we, want? Apostolic doctrine is the standard and test of truth as John declares, "We are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6). Are we prepared to bring all our ways and the teaching we accept to this test? Tradition is of but little worth, however ancient and widely received; what was "from the beginning" alone has a claim upon our souls. (2) "Fellowship." What a mercy that we are not called to walk alone! In a hostile world, what a relief to the heart that God has given us the fellowship of saints! Do we value it sufficiently? No saint is self-sufficient; we all need what God has for us by means of our brethren. But our fellowship must be holy. Better far to walk alone than compromise the Lord's name. In such a case His grace will be made sufficient for the soul, as many can testify; but such is not the ordinary Christian path, but fellowship. (3) "The breaking of bread." This had clearly a larger place in the Christianity of those days than now. While continuing daily in the temple, they broke bread "at home" on (at least) the first day of the week (Acts 20). Love was too fresh to be satisfied with a monthly or quarterly remembrance of Christ. In our day the very name is well-nigh lost, to say nothing of the reality. What are the sounds around us? One tells us of the mass, another of the sacrament; but how often do we hear God's titles, "the breaking of bread," and "the Lord's supper?" (4) "The prayers." They felt the solemnity of their position in the midst of enemies, and valued united prayer. When the apostles were "let go" in Acts 4, they at once sought out "their own company," and together they gave themselves to prayer. Do we feel our need? It is sorrowful to see saints, who are regular in their attendance at the Lord's table, indifferent to the prayer-meeting. What can be said of their condition of soul?

Turning back to the Acts, we have another aspect of the employment of the saints. It says, "They continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42.) They persevered in learning the mind and will of God as communicated by His servants (for at this time none of the New Testament scriptures were in existence), and hence they were brought into enjoyment of fellowship with the apostles (cp. 1 John 1:3), in which those newly-converted souls delighted to be found. Then together they were gathered around the Lord at His table to commemorate His death, that death which was the foundation of all the blessings into which they had been introduced; and together also the persevered in assembling to pour out their hearts in prayer to God.

Meet as often as possible with your friends and companions for prayer, and converse with them about the Lord's things and His interests. This will be a means of strength. The Lord has instituted Christian fellowship as an important help to our spiritual growth and blessing (Jude 20, 21). But I would again emphasize the statement: Choose companions who are decidedly for Christ.

Now, I hope my young friends will remember that as the green blade requires light from the sun, and rain from heaven in order to produce the ear and the full corn in the ear, so in the Christian life both prayer and the word of God are indispensable for growth and fruitfulness. In prayer you will be consciously in the light of God, Who is light (1 John 1:5). In reading the scripture, God will speak to you out of it concerning His Son, and that will be like showers of refreshing rain upon your heart. By this means, you will "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

While the New Testament sometimes uses the phrase ‘the disciples’ to denote the twelve apostles specially called by the Lord while He was on the earth (Matt. 10:1–4), the word ‘disciples’, particularly in Acts, often refers more generally to those who had believed on the Lord Jesus. In both instances, the meaning of ‘disciple’ is important. Strong’s Concordance gives it as learner or pupil. Another thought connected with the word is a follower (see Luke 14:26–33). Although much of the truth which God has, in His grace, made known to us in the New Testament was still to be revealed at that time, the early Christians had willingly taken upon themselves the yoke of Christ and were learning of Him (Matt. 11:29). They also understood that the Lord Jesus was indeed Lord and that they were not their own (1 Cor. 6:19–20) but had to obey His commandments and follow in His footsteps (1 Pet. 2:21), cost them what it may. The word ‘disciple’ may not encapsulate all of our standing and privileges as believers in this dispensation (which may be why the word does not appear in the epistles), but would any of us want to suggest that we should not forsake all and follow the Lord Jesus in our lives?

Our responsibility, then, as servants is obedience. As the Lord said to certain professors, "Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). Or, as He said to His disciples, "Ye call Me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13:13-14). As soon, therefore, as Christ is revealed to us as our Saviour, and we acknowledge Him as our Lord, we should take the attitude of Saul when he said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:6; Acts 22:10). From that moment we must accept the place of obedience to His will; and not only accept it, but find our joy in it, even as He Himself said that it was His meat to do His Father's will, and to finish His work (John 4:34). Nor can any believer plead ignorance of what His will is. It is true that many are ignorant; but since He has been pleased to give us in the Scriptures the revelation of His mind for us, to mark out the path in which He would have us walk, to assure us of guidance in every difficulty and perplexity, and since He has sent the Comforter to guide us into all truth (John 16:13), we have no excuse if we remain in ignorance.

Pursuing, however, the special line of truth through the connection, we learn from the next incident, that, if the Lord meets the need of the sinner, He claims his service when his need is met. "After these things He went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He said unto him, Follow me." (v. 27.) Levi was busily occupied with his daily occupations as Jesus was passing by. But he was not his own. The One who saw him claimed all that he was and had, and expressed this claim in the words, "Follow me." Having shown Himself as the Saviour in the two preceding incidents, He now declares His authority as Lord. And as Lord, His word is supreme, demanding the instant and complete obedience of the soul. This is illustrated in the action of Levi. As soon as the Lord had uttered His command, "he left all, rose up, and followed Him." (v. 28.) This proves that it was not so much the assertion of authority, though He who spake had the right to command, as the expression of the claims of His heart. Nay, it was more; it was the presentation of Himself to the heart of Levi; and by the attractive power of His person He thus drew Levi away from everything by which He was surrounded, and after Himself in the path of discipleship. This is how disciples are ever made. Try as we will, we cannot follow Christ until He has disclosed Himself to, and won, our hearts. Then, and only then, we receive power to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to follow Him. But we may well challenge our souls — and this point may be especially pressed with all affection upon young believers — as to whether we have acknowledged, and whether we do habitually acknowledge, the claims of Christ over all that we are and have. There are so few disciples in this day of laxity and worldliness! What, then, let us ask, constitutes a disciple? It is not in the profession of Christianity, otherwise all around us were disciples. No; but it lies in the total setting aside of ourselves — our wills — and in the acceptance of the will of Christ, as Lord, for our daily walk and conversation. It is seen in the action of Levi. He refused himself, and everything around him, and with eyes fixed upon the One who had called him, he steadily followed in His steps. It is seen in the statement of the apostle, "I am crucified with Christ" (if so his will is gone): "nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20.) It is exemplified in a remarkable way in Phil. 3. Again, therefore, we ask, Are we owning the claims of the Saviour as Lord?

No doubt, dear young believer, many will tell you that such doctrine as that will lead you to sin as your old nature likes. “What, then? shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid,” or, far be the thought. They who talk so have never known what the grace of God is, or what true liberty is — not liberty to sin, but liberty from sin. Mark, these words are not to such as are trying to experience that they are dead to sin, or dead with Christ, and alive to God. They have made the profession in baptism that they are dead and buried with Christ, identified with Him in death. They reckon themselves dead to sin, and thus are justified from sin, and alive to God. Oh, wondrous, almost forgotten, truth! Death to sin — the only deliverance from sin. But what deliverance would there be without life in Christ to God? How can you walk in newness of life, if you have not got newness of life? If your old nature were placed under law, then, surely, sin would have dominion. But because God has given you a new life — and that His free gift — and now placed you in His own unchanging, boundless grace, “What, then, shall we sin — [that is, practise sin] because we are not under law, but under grace?” Far be the thought.