Acts 2:38-39—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. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
God gives us an amazing promise through Peter in the passage above. Each and every person who repents from their sins and turns in faith to Jesus Christ will receive forgiveness of sins. Not only was the message for the original audience but also for their children and for all who are far off (us!!!). Every single person that God has determined to come to Him will hear the message of the gospel and come to Him. Some will hear the message through missionaries or through family and friends who communicate the truth about Jesus with them. Some will hear it through reading the Word of God. Some will hear it through coming to church and hearing it preached. And some will hear it from their parents. (Romans 10:14-16)
Although the promise is for us and our children, our children cannot inherit our faith. Although they should be brought up coming to church and knowing the truths of the gospel, merely coming to church and knowing truths about God doesn’t give them saving faith. They must know God. Only God can do that and He does that through the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit.
Each one of us should examine ourselves in the faith. Are we relying on our actions—whether that is baptism, coming to church, reading our Bibles, or good works—to save us or are we completely relying on the finished work of Jesus Christ. Baptism, joy in fellowship, reading our Bibles, and good works may be evidences of our faith, but not the cause of it; those things cannot save us (Matthew. 7:21-23). We cannot inherit someone else’s faith and we cannot earn it ourselves. It is only a free gift of God given to those whom the Lord our God calls to Himself. Something to think about…
Is the faith I confess accompanied with repentance and relying on the work of Christ for the forgiveness of my sins…. or is it relying on something else?