Thursday, May 12, 2016

One of the people Philip encountered was a sorcerer named Simon. He had bewitched the Samaritans into believing he was a great one.  The Samaritans were treated as if they were beneath contempt by the people of Israel, so it was probably easy to bewitch them if someone came along promising them hope.  Simon thought very highly of himself, but he thought very lowly of God.  Then, when Philip preached the Gospel to those bewitched Samaritans, they believed, both men and women, and were baptized.  Then, Simon also believed and was baptized, following Philip and beholding the signs and wonders.  We must be careful that we don't allow ourselves to be bewitched by those claiming to be the way to redemption, no matter the problem we need redeeming from, if they put all the emphasis on themselves and not God.  We also must be careful that we are not following Christ simply because we are looking for signs and wonders.  We need to be careful that we are not following Christ to attempt to gain from it materially.  When we become a follower of Christ, all we are promised is a cross to take up daily.  A gospel that states that God will never ask us to do anything that makes us unhappy or that promises only prosperity is not the gospel of the Bible.

No comments:

Post a Comment