Acts 8 Devotional

The Gift That Cannot Be Bought

“Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”Acts 8:35 (BSB)

After Stephen's death, persecution scatters the church, and Saul drags believers off to prison (8:1-3). Yet the scattered believers preach the word wherever they go (8:4). Philip brings the message of Christ to Samaria, and there is great joy in that city (8:8). When Simon, a sorcerer, sees the Spirit given through the apostles' hands, he offers them money for the same power, and Peter tells him sharply that the gift of God cannot be bought (8:18-20).

Then an angel sends Philip to a desert road, and the Spirit sends him to one chariot (8:26, 8:29). Inside is an official from Ethiopia reading a passage from Isaiah about a silent, suffering servant who is led away to die, and he asks whom the prophet means. Beginning with that very Scripture, Philip tells him the good news about Jesus (8:35). The man is baptized and goes on his way rejoicing. God arranged that meeting down to the verse being read. Salvation cannot be purchased. It is a gift from a God who sends his messengers after a single seeker.

To think about: Is there any part of you that still tries to earn or buy God's favor, rather than receiving it as a gift?