"A Wrong View of Sin" (Acts 8:22-24)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/14/2017 9:40 AM

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  “A Wrong View of Sin”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:22-24

            Message of the verses:  “22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity." 24 But Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.’”

            It seems to me that Peter had great insight into what was going on in the heart of Simon for the first thing that Peter did was to say to Simon that he needed to repent, and perhaps because of his background in being a magician he did not realize what Peter was talking about.  Repent (metanoeo) involves turning from sin to God.  One has to realize that they are a sinner before they repent; one has to be convicted by the Holy Spirit that they are a sinner, and as I read this passage I don’t believe that Simon understood or was convicted by God’s Spirit.  Peter tells him “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”  John MacArthur writes “The phrase gall of bitterness is very strong.  Chole (gall) refers to a bitter ingredient or bile.  Coupled with pikria (bitterness), it conveys an extremely bitter, harsh, and distasteful condition.  It vividly pictures the reality of one in the bondage of iniquity.  Sin is a harsh taskmaster.  Proverbs 5:22 warns that ‘his own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin.’”

            Let us look at the next statement from Simon “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”  I believe that if Simon wanted to repent he would have gotten down on his knees and cried out to the Lord, for Peter had just said that he was in need of repentance.  It seems that all he wanted to do was escape the temporal consequences of his sin, but true repentance, however, consists of more than just being sorrowful as was the case with Judas.  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10,

“9  I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

            MacArthur concludes “Simon had a wrong view of self, of salvation, of the Spirit, and of sin.  All that added up to a faith that did not save.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Sin is very serious, and understanding that when I sin I must turn from it and claim the forgiveness that the Lord has for me as seen in 1 John 1:9. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to trust that the Lord will give me wisdom as I continue looking at my Sunday school lesson for this week and also what I have planned for next week’s special Christmas class.

Memory verses:  Philippians 4:1, 8 “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”  8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jesus” (Matthew 4:19).

Today’s Bible question:  “By what brook did the ravens feed Elijah?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/14/2017 10:13 AM