Scripture
“What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptised. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.”
Observation
Paul is addressing the mob in Jerusalem in Aramaic, their own language.
He briefly tells the story of how he was a zealous Jew, persecuting the followers of Jesus. He had an encounter with the Lord on the way to Damascus. Paul was blinded by a bright light from which the voice of the Lord confronted him about his persecution of christians. The Lord tells him to go to Damascus where he will receive further instructions.
Paul is led by the hand, and finds a believer called Ananias who restores his sight. Then Ananias tells him to get up, be baptised and be forgiven by the Lord.
Application
The Way of the Lord is not difficult- there are not hundreds of rules and rituals to be followed. It is simple- be baptised and receive God’s forgiveness.
In several places in the Bible the simple promise is repeated- “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This is not a religious test in which we repeat a formula or prayer that gets us forgiven. No! To call on the name of the Lord is to admit that you are lost and need saving. It is an expression of trust that God alone can save us.
What are we being saved from? In a word, hell.
Every person has a choice of where they will spend eternity. We can either receive God’s grace and spend eternity in heaven, or we can receive God’s judgement on our sins and go to hell. We either live in joyful relationship with our loving Creator, or we suffer separation from God for ever.
The choice we make in this life affects the destination in the next life.
The promise of God is that if we give our lives to Him, trusting Him to forgive us, then our sins will be wiped away, and our soul will be saved.
Prayer
Thank you Father for your great love. I receive your forgiveness in the name of Jesus. Amen.
