"Now when they heard this, there were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"."
"When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;"
Acts 2:37; 7:54, 57 (NKJV)
The Book of Acts shows us two incidents where people heard the truth and then reacted to it. The first story is from Acts 2 and it took place on the Day of Pentecost when Peter spoke to the multitude. As Peter preached a message to the people it tells us that those people were "cut to the heart" by what they heard. The multitude reacted by asking what they should do; they heard the truth and they willingly received it. There is another story similar to this in Acts 7 where there was a much different reaction to the truth.
In Acts 7 Stephen is speaking to a group of people, these people also had a reaction when they too were "cut to the heart" by what they heard. The thing is that this group of people in Acts 7 didn't ask about what they needed to do to change, they got mad about the truth they heard and they attacked and killed Stephen! The group of people in Acts 7 who heard the truth rejected it and were upset with the messenger. In both cases people heard the truth from God's Word and they had a reaction; there is something we can learn from these stories.
How do we react when we hear the truth from God's Word, how do we respond when we hear a message that "cuts us to the heart"? Are we willing to humble ourselves, receive the truth, and make an adjustment or do we get upset with the person we heard the truth from or make some excuse why the truth we have learned somehow does not apply to us? When we hear the truth we need to accept it and then act on it. If we do this we will develop and grow up spiritually, if we don't do this we will stay in a state of spiritually immaturity. My choice is to be a doer of the truth that I learn and not just a hearer, how about you?
"When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;"
Acts 2:37; 7:54, 57 (NKJV)
The Book of Acts shows us two incidents where people heard the truth and then reacted to it. The first story is from Acts 2 and it took place on the Day of Pentecost when Peter spoke to the multitude. As Peter preached a message to the people it tells us that those people were "cut to the heart" by what they heard. The multitude reacted by asking what they should do; they heard the truth and they willingly received it. There is another story similar to this in Acts 7 where there was a much different reaction to the truth.
In Acts 7 Stephen is speaking to a group of people, these people also had a reaction when they too were "cut to the heart" by what they heard. The thing is that this group of people in Acts 7 didn't ask about what they needed to do to change, they got mad about the truth they heard and they attacked and killed Stephen! The group of people in Acts 7 who heard the truth rejected it and were upset with the messenger. In both cases people heard the truth from God's Word and they had a reaction; there is something we can learn from these stories.
How do we react when we hear the truth from God's Word, how do we respond when we hear a message that "cuts us to the heart"? Are we willing to humble ourselves, receive the truth, and make an adjustment or do we get upset with the person we heard the truth from or make some excuse why the truth we have learned somehow does not apply to us? When we hear the truth we need to accept it and then act on it. If we do this we will develop and grow up spiritually, if we don't do this we will stay in a state of spiritually immaturity. My choice is to be a doer of the truth that I learn and not just a hearer, how about you?
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