2 Samuel 20-21, Acts 8, Psalm 93
Act 8: 20-21 (ESV)
“But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you,
because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have
neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.”
In verse 20-21from Acts 8, we read about Peter’s rebuke to
Simon the Magician in Samaria who wanted to pay for Simon to give him the power
to give people the Holy Spirit. Peter scolds Simon and tells him that you
cannot buy spiritual gifts, because the grace of Father-God cannot be purchased
or earned. The gift of being able to lay hands on people so they receive the
Holy Spirit comes to those who repent and right with Father-God. Simon wanted
to lay hands on people to give the gift of the Holy Spirit for his own selfish
purposes, and not to serve and spread the message of Jesus Christ and glorify Father-God.
Father-God wants our motives to be aligned with his will which is serve him and
follow his will for our life. I think Simon the Magician would feel right at
home in our current age of celebrity on social media by wanting to have gifts
from God, so he could be a star and makes a video that goes viral. But Peter
speaks for Father-God when he tells Simon his motives are wrong, and that you
cannot have the gifts of the Holy Spirit unless you repent of your sins and are
right with God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit will only be given to those who
are right with God and want to serve him according to his will for their lives.
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