May 16 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

When they had heard the gospel, many people replied: "What are we to do?" Whenever the call of the gospel has penetrated our hearts, we are bound to ask: What is my duty with respect to Christ? What am I to do? Unless our conscience reacts in such a way, we have been superficial listeners. People who hear the gospel year after year but have nothing to say except that it was a good or a bad sermon have never really heard the Spirit speak.

"Repent!" Repentance begins when we are sorry for our sins. Repentance takes hold of us when our hearts turn away from the former love and practice of evil and turn to God and Christ.

"Be baptized!" Christian baptism is the visible expression of our relationship to Christ and Christ's to us. All Christians agree that baptism is the door through which we enter into the fellowship of those who belong to Jesus Christ. Christians differ on the question whether the sons and daughters of believers should be baptized. The record does not indicate whether the children of those who repented and believed were received into the new fellowship. In view of verse 39, I think it is unlikely that they were excluded.

The forgiveness of sins is connected with baptism and repentance. Forgiveness is by grace but not by ritual. The water of baptism makes visible what Christ gives to those who repent and believe.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is for all Christians. The Spirit gives a new kind of life to all repentant sinners when they turn to Christ. You cannot be baptized in Christ without being baptized in his Spirit, for where the Lord is, there is his Spirit.

All these requirements and benefits of church membership are as real today as they were when Peter made his proclamation.

REFLECTIONS

Frame a prayer around each of the requirements and benefits of church membership found in today's Scripture and reading.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.