"simon himself believed and was baptized. and he followed philip everywhere . . . "this passage reminds us yet again that what outwardly appears to be genuine saving faith may, in fact, be not. simon blended in with all the other men and women who "believed philip as he preached the good news . . . and were baptized". he was indistinguishable from those who came to faith in Jesus Christ, outwardly at least.
but the true state of his heart is revealed when he offers peter money for the ability to give the Holy Spirit to whomever he chose at will. peter discerns that whatever outward profession of faith simon has made, whatever baptism he may have received, that simon's "heart [was] not right with God".
how many of us "look" the part on the outside, but our hearts are not right with God! well, we will be "found out" sooner or later, just as simon was. the true christian is known by God. what we really are inside will be revealed by that which we most long for and desire. simon's desire for power even in a "christian context" betrayed the unrepentant, unbelieving state of his heart, just as the thing(s) that we most desire manifests the true state of ours. whatever we are, genuine or not, we will be "found out".
1 comment:
Thank you, Dulla smn!
Two things I learned from this passage...One is that people who claim that they are saved may not really be saved. It's just mouth service to them and that outward appearances can be deceiving. Two, you cannot buy faith and salvation with money, even though there are people out there that believe that God can be bought with the amount of offering and donation they contribute.
Tsk, tsk, tsk...
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