“Peter replied ‘Repent and be baptized each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are fan off, as many as the Lord our God will call. With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, ‘Be saved from this corrupt generation’.” – Acts 2: 38-40
“Corrupt” translates the greek “Skolios”, which means “bent, crocked”.
The idea here is that the system of this world is twisted out of alignment with the Creator’s intended design.
Our desires are out of order.
Our actions are out of order.
Our cultures are deformed in ways that seem internally valid but are incapable of creating lasting harmony and peace.
Why? Because at best they are out of sync with their intended design and at worst they are fully opposed to it.
It is into this very climate that God, through Peter, sends a message of deliverance.
He offers a ray of hope for a better future called “The Kingdom of God”.
This message of the Kingdom clearly identifies the problem: sin.
It also offers a clear solution, repentance and faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
And the solution has a condition: only through this gateway can we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to straighten what is crooked and bring us in to true peace and joy.
That’s why the hope of the Gospel is never an affirmation of our lifestyle.
It is never God saying, “I don’t mind your sin, it’s not that bad, and you’ve had a hard time.”
Rather, the hope of the Gospel is a transformation of our very life into the true life we were created to live.
It is also a powerful impacter of generations because a transformed parent so often leads to a transformed child.
And in this generation, that kind of transformation is exactly what we need.
