“And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?  Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine,” Acts 2:12-13.

The world has ever been amazed by the message of the Gospel. It is not of this world. It is outside the reasoning of men to devise such a message and so when he hears it, he reacts just as did the people on the day of Pentecost! 

I. IT MUST BE REMEMBERED THAT THESE WERE JEWS!!! 

They were of that ONE NATION under heaven who were privileged to have the truth of God revealed to them since the time of the Exodus!

Paul says of them: “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises,” Romans 9:4. These were their privileges! They were not as other men in darkness but had the truth of God set before them for centuries. 

However, they could not, would not avail themselves of these blessings because of their sinful, fallen nature!

WHY ARE YOU NOT SAVED? Because you have a heart which is sinful and rebels against the Lord and unless you are ‘born again’ by the grace and power of God, you will go on in this sinful rejection of saving mercy and be lost. The Saviour calls sinners to come to Him that they may experience this mercy. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28. “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out,” John 6:37.

II. BY NATURE MAN HAS ONLY TWO RESPONSES. 

Doubting or mocking! Only grace can bestow faith and enable the sinner to embrace the truth of God as his.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast,” Ephesians 2:8-9.

Doubting. That is simply not believing what God says. The Gospel is too wonderful for man to accept! ‘It can’t be that easy’, he thinks. But it is, for “Salvation is of the LORD,” Jonah 2:9. This Jonah learned when he was beyond all human help at the bottom of the sea! We all must learn that if we are to be saved and go to heaven, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him,” John 6:44. The meaning of the word “draw”is seen in John 21:11. “Simon Peter went up, and drew (same Greek word) the net to land full of great fishes . . .” We must be caught and drawn to Christ by the power of God in the gospel net!

Mocking. This is beyond doubting! This appears only in one other place, in Acts 17:32. “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.” The Resurrection of Christ is one of the greatest works of God and men  have always ‘jeered’ at it!

III. GOSPEL MINISTERS NEED TO BE READY TO ANSWER THE WORLD’S DOUBTING AND MOCKING! 

“But Peter, standing up with the eleven.” Here is a phrase we still use still _ ‘Taking a stand’! Even the world uses it, without knowing its source.

1. He answered them from the Word of God. “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel,” Acts 2:16. This is the ONLY instrument that is to be used in answering the follies of men and devils. Remember the Saviour’s response when tempted by the devil. “But he answered and said, It is written . . .” Matthew 4:4, 7, 

2. It was a soul-winning message. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls,” Acts 2:41. Confrontational messages are often the means of God saving sinners. Throughout the Saviour’s ministry and that of the Apostles and also the Reformation era, battles took place with the Word of God being used as a sword against the teachers of error with great soul-winning success. The early years of the Free Presbyterian Church also showed this to be so.

3. Peter used the plainest of condemnatory statements. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ,” Acts 2:36. It is such plainness that brings home to sinners their sin and guilt. “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?” Verse 37. Sinners will never repent until they are told of their guilt! Are you aware of your guilt today if you are yet unsaved, girls and boys?