What Shall We Do?

Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

37 Ἀκούσαντες δὲ κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν εἶπόν τε πρὸς τὸν Πέτρον καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀποστόλους· τί ποιήσωμεν, ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί; 38  Πέτρος δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς· μετανοήσατε, [φησίν,] καὶ βαπτισθήτω ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν καὶ λήμψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος.

This would be a revival preacher's dream.  Peter didn't even have to provide an invitation.  The people were asking him what they had to do as a result of his message?  Peter's response was very simple -- they had to μετανοήσατε, καὶ βαπτισθήτω.  These are both imperative verbs.  The second is in the passive voice, which the translation brings out just fine.

Notice that Peter didn't tell them to "pray a prayer."  He didn't ask them to raise their hands "with every head bowed and every eye closed."  He didn't ask them to fill out a card.  No, he told them to repent and be baptized.  There were concrete actions expected of them if they were truly changed by this message.

It is vital that we get this.  Too many professing believers in America are going for a Burger King form of Christianity.  We cannot have it our way.  We need to have it God's way that He spells out very clearly in His Word.  Repent!