This Promise Is For You

When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.   Acts 2:6

On the Day of Pentecost, suddenly and spontaneously 120 believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages” (Acts 2:4). They found they were able to speak in languages they had never learned!

Where else have we seen a group of people suddenly begin to speak in languages they had never learned? Answer: the tower of Babel (see Genesis 11:1-9). As humanity’s rebellion against God was growing, God broke their momentum by introducing the confusion of multiple languages.

At Babel, God used the curse of languages to slow down human self-promotion. At Pentecost, God used the gift of language to speed up the advance of Christ’s Kingdom. God had gathered a vast crowd from every nation under heaven to Jerusalem for Pentecost, and when they heard the sound of the wind, they hurried to see what it was (see Acts 2:5-6).

Some who were there on that day thought the believers were drunk, so Peter stepped forward to give an explanation: Jesus was crucified seven weeks ago, but God raised him from the dead, and now he is at the right hand of the Father, pouring out the Holy Spirit on his people.

The people believed Peter, and they cried out, “What should we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter said, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38).

But the promise didn’t end with the three thousand people who responded to Peter’s invitation that day: “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39, NIV).

The promise of forgiveness and new life is for you, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and turn from your sins. It is for your children—it is not limited to one generation. And this promise is for all who are far off, people from every background, and especially for you if you feel far from God today.

For further reading, see Genesis 11