Some of us do what we do because we just don’t know anything different. I wondered was this the case with the woman I saw walking in the offering line with more than a little cleavage. I wondered if she purposely pushed her boobs up and out or if she simply came to church in what she had; she believed in Jesus as her Savior and needed to come and praise Him. Maybe she just didn’t know that He was supposed to be Lord, even over her wardrobe. Perhaps she was like Simon the Sorcerer, and seduction was what she knew, even after she got saved.
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they [their] hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and [in] the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.–Acts 8:9-24
We see that Simon deceived using sorcery, but even after He believed in Christ, he himself was deceived; he thought he could buy the power to impart the Holy Ghost, that he could continue to deceive even as part of the family of God. Peter got to the heart of the matter, telling Simon that he was in the “gall of bitterness, and [in] the bond of iniquity.” Though Peter doesn’t say what Simon was bitter about, perhaps he despised that the people of Samaria now followed Philip, Peter and John instead of him. Perhaps his bond of iniquity was that he was still rooted in the allure of deception, not understanding fully that belief in Christ is only the beginning of the transformation. He still needed to hear the truth of the Gospel and let it penetrate and heal his soul so his thoughts would reflect a sincere, not a seducing, heart. He asked Peter to pray for him, but he needed to do this for himself to begin fellowship with God so God could speak directly to him and make a direct impact on his heart.
Some of us have gotten away from, or maybe, like Simon, never had personal fellowship with God. But it’s never too late to repent and walk away from deception, thinking it’s okay just being in God’s family and not having actions that reflect that. Change is possible, even if we are in the bond of iniquity (1 John 1:9).
Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith