Acts 8:21

Lot - Portion; destiny; fate.

Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter - Thou hast no part among the faithful, and no lot in this ministry. That the word κληρος, which we translate lot, is to be understood as implying a spiritual portion, office, etc., see proved in the note on Numbers 26:55 (note).

Thy heart is not right - It is not through motives of purity, benevolence, or love to the souls of men, that thou desirest to be enabled to confer the Holy Ghost; it is through pride, vain glory, and love of money: thou wouldest now give a little money that thou mightest, by thy new gift, gain much.

Neither part - You have no "portion" of the grace of God; that is, you are destitute of it altogether. This word commonly denotes the "part" of an inheritance which falls to one when it is divided.

Nor lot - This word means properly a portion which "falls" to one when an estate, or when spoil in war is divided into portions, according to the number of those who are to be partakers, and the part of each one is determined by "lot." The two words denote "emphatically" that he was in no sense a partaker of the favor of God.

In this matter - Greek: in this "word"; that is, thing. That which is referred to here is the religion of Christ. Simon was not a Christian. It is remarkable that Peter judged him so soon, and when he had seen but "one" act of his. But it was an act which satisfied him that he was a stranger to religion. One act may sometimes bring out the "whole character"; it may evince the "governing" motives; it may show traits of character utterly "inconsistent" with true religion; and then it is as certain a criterion as any long series of acts.

Thy heart - Your "affections," or "governing motives"; your principle of conduct. Comp, 2 Kings 10:15. You love gold and popularity, and not the gospel for what it is. There is no evidence here that Peter saw this in a miraculous manner, or by any supernatural influence. It was apparent and plain that Simon was not influenced by the pure, disinterested motives of the gospel, but by the love of power and of the world.

In the sight of God - That is, God sees or judges that your heart is not sincere and pure. No external profession is acceptable without the heart. Reader, is your heart right with God? Are your motives pure; and does "God" see there the exercise of holy, sincere, and benevolent affections toward him? God "knows" the motives; and with unerring certainty he will judge, and with unerring justice he will fix our doom according to the affections of the heart.

8:21 Thou hast neither part - By purchase, nor lot - Given gratis, in this matter - This gift of God. For thy heart is not right before God - Probably St. Peter discerned this long before he had declared it; although it does not appear that God gave to any of the apostles a universal power of discerning the hearts of all they conversed with; any more than a universal power of healing all the sick they came near. This we are sure St. Paul had not; though he was not inferior to the chief of the apostles.Otherwise he would not have suffered the illness of Epaphroditus to have brought him so near to death, Philippians 2:25- 27; nor have left so useful a fellow labourer as Trophimus sick at Miletus, 4:20.