Pocket Devotions Day 89: Speaking Directly Against Sin Acts 8:20-23 Peter answered: May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. Thoughts for Today: Peter was certainly known as someone who spoke his mind. In these verses you can almost hear the emotion dripping from his words. Put yourself for a minute in Simons place. He had only asked to pay for the secret to giving someone the Holy Spirit; it wasnt like he was trying to steal it. Then Peter spoke without hesitation against him. If we were there -- if that happened in our church -- as an observer, how would you react? Would you think Peter was being a little harsh? When was the last time you heard a pastor or other leader say to someone (as Peter did), ...your money perish with you... you thought you could buy the gift of God with money... you have no part in this ministry... your heart is not right before God... repent of this wickedness, and my personal favorite: ...you are full of bitterness and captive to sin. Wow, those are pretty strong words -- talk about a confrontation! Remember that the people had been following Simon for years, yet here was Peter getting in his face and speaking directly against sin. We need some of this today in our churches as well. Too often we see people in error who are allowed to continue on without correction. It seems we have misunderstood and misapplied the principle of love -- it is not meant to be accepting of all beliefs and opinions. Some like Simons are simply wrong and need to be confronted. Many times we are more concerned with political correctness than we are in defending the integrity of Jesus message. Too often I have seen churches and ministries go off track because godly men and women failed to speak up before it was too late. Questions to Ponder: I am not advocating that every man, woman and child within the Body of Christ speak up immediately and publicly against what they might perceive as sin within the church or a ministry. Proverbs 27:17 speaks to our responsibility, As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. The key here is mutual accountability among friends or a ministry group. The Bible tells us we dont even know or understand our own thoughts and motivations, so how could we possibly understand or judge someone elses. We do have the responsibility to question the behavior of a friend or the strategy or objectives of a ministry group in which we participate. Is there such a situation in your life right now? If so, ask God to give you guidance and wisdom. If not, ask yourself today -- How would I respond to such a circumstance in the future?
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:51:35 +0000
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