The Gift

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

THE GIFT

Acts 2:37-41

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call." 40 With many other words, he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

NIV

When they heard about Jesus, the people were cut to the heart. That is the clue of the whole gospel. There is a difference between saying or even believing we are Christians and being cut to the heart. We wonder if it is just that one day when we repented, changed our mind, as the Greek word Metanoeoo means. Once, we did not think of Jesus as Lord and Savior, but when we were cut to the heart, we changed how we thought about him, and all we wanted to do was follow him. Peter told them to repent and be baptized, which is in line with what Jesus did. That would give us the clue that all new believers should be baptized. It is not that baptism saved them from their sins, for Jesus has accomplished the forgiveness of our sins. But baptism is following Jesus. Receiving the Holy Spirit is also following Jesus, as when John the Baptist baptized Jesus, the Spirit descended upon him. We cannot make that a hard-and-fast rule about the Holy Spirit descending upon us at the moment of baptism, as we also know the Spirit came as a mighty rushing wind, and what appeared as fire rested on each of the heads of all those in the upper room. We believe all the disciples were baptized at some time as they walked with Jesus. We know that the apostles, or disciples, baptized people who came to believe in Jesus. It is the way of life for all new believers. However, there is also power that comes upon us when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. We know from the next verses that the Apostles did many signs and wonders, as they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. How can we believe that we would not have power if we are baptized or filled with the Spirit? Have we quenched the Spirit and therefore live as a disabled Christian? Just as our salvation is a gift from God, so is the Holy Spirit. Because the Spirit comes from God and dwells within us, we believe we should have an untold amount of power, even with signs and wonders. It is the most wonderful truth in our lives that in the name of Jesus Christ, our sins have been forgiven, and we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit.