HARMONY WITH GOD Part 3 of 3 by Zane C. Hodges - Chafer ...

Harmony with God 27
Jesus proclaimed as both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36), they
indicated their belief of this truth with the words, Men and
brethren, what shall we do (Acts 2:37)? But to believe that Jesus is
the Christ is to be born again and possess eternal life (John 20:30,
31; 1 John 5:1). Thus at this point the hearers who asked this
question had been eternally saved!
What did they lack? They lacked harmony with God, whom
they had so deeply offended. What did they need to do? Two
things: Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38). What would happen if they did these
things? The answer is that they would receive remission
[forgiveness] of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
There is no need here to attempt, as many have done, to make
this famous verse (Acts 2:38) say the same thing as John 3:16;
5:24; 6:47; and many other verses. It does not say the same thing!
Why not? Because eternal life and forgiveness of sins are not the
same thing! The former is required for eternal salvation, the latter
for harmony with God.
Paul, the Jewish Model
We have seen already that Cornelius is the classic model for
Gentile salvation. He believes in Christ and immediately receives
the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit. Paul, however, is the
model for the salvation of Palestinian Jews.
If we ask at what point Paul believed that Jesus was the
Christ and received eternal life, there can be only one answer. It
happened on the road to Damascus when the Risen Savior
responded to Paul’s question, Who are you, Lord? with this reply, I
am Jesus, whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:5). There is no reason
to doubt that Paul believed these words then and there and thus
received eternal salvation (1 John 5:1).