Did you know, you can do the right thing but your heart not be right with God? God cares not only about what we do, but He cares also about why we do it. In this study, Don Blackwell examines why our motives matter to God. Is your heart right with God? The answer has eternal implications.

Does the Heart’s Motive Matter?

Acts 8:14-25 (NLT2)
¹⁴  When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there.
¹⁵  As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.
¹⁶  The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
¹⁷  Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
¹⁸  When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power.
¹⁹  “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”
²⁰  But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought!
²¹  You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God.
²²  Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts,
²³  for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”
²⁴  “Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”
²⁵  After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News.