Acts 2: Three Steps to Being Born Again

Introduction

"We are not here for religion, but because we have a personal relationship with God." Matthias Kipfer picks up this sentence, heard at the welcome of the service, and immediately asks what it means in concrete terms.

He shares his own story. As a child and then as a teenager, he went to church. In the Gospels and the book of Acts he read about healings, deliverances and new lives. "The preaching was good, but I didn't see anyone come to faith." Around the age of 16, 17, 18, he began to seek God: "I want to see your power." During a week of prayer, while he was alone, God's presence came, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues. "It changed my life."

His goal for the Church is not a room full of people who came for a good service. It is that everyone has a personal encounter with God, is born again and receives the assurance of eternal life. "It would be a shame to go to church your whole life and, in the end, not go to heaven." Starting from Acts 2:37-39, he shows the path to this new life.

Outline of the Message

1. Being Born Again, More Than Going to Church

When a religious man comes to Jesus, he does not tell him, "You must go to church every Sunday." He says, "You must be born anew" (John 3:3-7).
The text of Acts 2 comes right after Pentecost. The disciples have been filled with the Holy Spirit, the crowd has gathered, and Peter has stood up and preached the gospel of the kingdom.
The listeners are cut to the heart and ask, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter answers: "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Before these three steps, the preacher sets out two conditions: the seed must be sown, and a heart must open.

2. The Seed Must Be Sown

For people to be born again, they must hear the gospel. That takes witnesses, people ready to preach and to tell what God has done in their lives.
What gives the strength to be a witness is the baptism in the Holy Spirit: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me" (Acts 1:8).
"Your heart is like a field." The Word falls into the heart like a seed falls where there is nothing, and suddenly it begins to grow. Jesus compares the kingdom to a man who sowed good seed in his field (Matthew 13:24).
Many have lived this: you had nothing to do with God, you were fed up with religion, then someone told you about Jesus or invited you, and faith began to grow.
Romans 10:13-14: how can they believe in someone they have not heard about? "Logical, isn't it?" Your neighbors and your family will not come to faith if they hear neither the gospel nor the testimony of what God can do.
Jesus sees the crowds "distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). "God sees your pain. He sees what is too much for you. He is not far away, busy with his own affairs."
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37-38). In some countries, Christians make up less than 0.1% of the population. In Bern, they may be 7 or 8%, and many have never heard the gospel. Pray to the Lord of the harvest.

3. An Open Heart: Repentance

Becoming a disciple of Jesus means making a U-turn. "I am going in one direction, doing what I want, living in my sin, without God, with my religion." Then come the consequences: divorce, abortion, bitterness, sickness, darkness, depression.
The moment comes when you hear the gospel and admit: "My old life didn't work. I need a Savior." You turn away from sin, from a ruined life, from godlessness, from selfishness.
John the Baptist preached: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:2). Jesus preached the same thing (Matthew 4:17), and then the disciples did. "Religion kills." But whoever repents and follows Jesus, the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), is led into abundant life (John 10:10).
Hollywood, a career, the influencer life all look attractive. Look more closely: divorced five times, alcohol, broken hearts, mental health problems. "That is not the life I want. It is a life the devil dangles in front of you." With Jesus, it seems small at first, but "I can guarantee you: he leads you into life," here and for eternity.
Repentance is a miracle of God. Nobody can force someone to change, and many parents have experienced this. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44).
While Lydia was listening, "the Lord opened her heart" (Acts 16:14). "I can't open your heart, but God can." That is why we pray for our loved ones, our neighbors, our friends: God, open their hearts.

4. Baptism, the First Step of Obedience

After repentance comes baptism. Jesus himself was baptized by John, "for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). He did it as a sign of obedience and as an example for us.
Baptism is a sign of identification. The mission is to preach and to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
We see it throughout Scripture: about three thousand people baptized on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41), the Ethiopian who exclaims "Behold, here is water!" after an hour or two on the road with Philip (Acts 8:36-38), Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:48).
By taking this step, you say: "My old life is over. I now belong to Jesus. I want to do what he says." Something supernatural happens when you move forward in faith.
This first step leads to others. "How do you expect to follow Jesus if you are not ready to take the first step?" Jesus says: "If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples" (John 8:31).

5. The Gift of the Holy Spirit

The third step: "You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Matthias Kipfer distinguishes between the work of the Spirit and the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit is already at work in salvation: he draws you, gives wisdom and brings you to God.
The gift of the Holy Spirit, he says, is the baptism in the Spirit, with the sign of speaking in new tongues. "You are baptized in water, then baptized in the Holy Spirit."
The pattern recurs in Acts: at Pentecost, all are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in other languages (Acts 2:4); at Cornelius's house, the Spirit falls while Peter is preaching (Acts 10:44-47); at Ephesus, Paul lays hands on them and they speak in tongues and prophesy (Acts 19:5-6).
"This is the model God has given us: repent, be baptized in water and be filled with the Holy Spirit." For the preacher, this is the key to revival.
The result: becoming a witness. Before Pentecost, the disciples stayed hidden in their room. Afterward, they went out, preached, and many came to faith. To proclaim the gospel over the long haul, "to the end," you need the power of the Spirit.

6. Fruit That Remains, for You and Your Children

"I am the vine. You are the branches" (John 15:5). Jesus chose us to go and bear fruit that remains (John 15:16).
This fruit is people who are born again, become disciples, grow, become men and women of God and go out in turn to preach the gospel.
"For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all who are far off" (Acts 2:39). It is a promise for you too, father or mother, and for your children.
"I can't heal your heart, but God can, and he is here." The message ends with a call to give your life to Jesus or to return to him, followed by a time of prayer to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Key Takeaways

Being born again does not mean attending church your whole life. It means meeting God personally and receiving the assurance of eternal life.
No one comes to faith without hearing the gospel: witnesses are needed, ready to sow the Word.
Repentance is a U-turn and a miracle of God: he alone opens hearts, which is why we pray for our loved ones.
Water baptism is the first step of obedience, the one that leads to others.
The gift of the Holy Spirit gives the strength to be a witness and to bear fruit that remains.

Personal Application

Do you go to church out of habit, or have you had a personal encounter with God?
Who around you has never yet heard what Jesus has done in your life?
What do you need to turn away from today in order to follow Jesus?
If you have believed, have you taken the step of baptism? What is holding you back?
For which loved one will you pray this week: "Lord, open their heart"?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to be born again according to Acts 2?

For Matthias Kipfer, being born again does not mean going to church your whole life, but meeting God personally. Acts 2:38 gives the path: repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Why is repentance a miracle of God?

Nobody can force someone to change direction. Jesus says that no one can come to him unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). It is the Holy Spirit who touches the heart, just as he opened Lydia's. That is why we pray for our loved ones: that God would open their hearts.

What is the difference between the work of the Holy Spirit and the gift of the Holy Spirit?

The preacher explains that the Spirit is already at work in salvation: he draws people to God and gives wisdom. The gift of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is the baptism in the Spirit, accompanied in his view by speaking in tongues, as in Acts 2, 10 and 19. It gives the strength to be a witness to the end.