Peter
rebukes Simon for missing the point that he cannot buy God’s power. In fact, Peter condemns not just Simon but
his money, too! Peter is quite clear
that Simon’s heart is not in the right place.
Since his heart is not in the right place Simon has neither “part nor
lot” in the kingdom of God.
Thoughts for Today:
First Thought:
Trying
to buy God’s power is really missing the point.
It isn’t even so much that Simon appears to be looking to use God to
gain a profit. Sure, that’s bad. But what Simon is really getting chastised for
is completely missing the boat about grace.
Nothing we do can bring us into a relationship with God. Nothing we do can cause us to deserve any
kind of recognition (much less forgiveness!) from God. God has every right to completely ignore us
and abandon us to our evil nature. By
trying to buy the power, Simon is showing that he has not even remotely come
close to understanding grace. Without
understanding why it has to be a free gift, we cannot really understand our
depravity. If we don’t understand our
depravity, we don’t get the whole spirituality thing at all. (Depravity means “corruption.”)
Do
you understand your depravity, or is it something you push into the corner
because it makes you sad to think about?
Second Thought:
The
effect of Simon having his heart in the wrong place and missing the point about
grace implies condemnation. Peter is
clear on this. If Simon continues on
this path, even though he has heard about God he will perish. This grants us access to a very important
point: Knowledge of God does not equal love of God. Believing that there is a God does not
guarantee salvation. After all, James 2:19 reminds us that even demons believe that God exists – and surely they have
no part in God’s kingdom! Believing God
exists is one thing, understanding our depravity and why we must rely upon God
is completely another thing. Understanding
our depravity leads us to humbleness before God.
Does
this paragraph scare you at all? If so,
why? If so, where can you go and get
answers to understand why/how you really can be saved into eternal life?
Third Thought:
Peter
uses two words when talking to Simon that seem to mean the same thing. Peter says both “part” and “lot.” If I have a part in something, we might be
able to also say that I have a lot in it.
However, they don’t mean exactly the same thing. A part simply means that I may partake, but
my exact share is a bit undefined. A lot
simply means that I may partake and the amount of my partaking is precisely
defined. So what Peter is telling Simon
is that people of faith have this double dynamic at play in their life. We have a predefined lot in Christ – we will
have eternal life with God. However, the
scope of that eternal life has some elements that are not predefined. While we may have eternal life, our place
within the kingdom is for God to determine.
It is neat to see and understand this aspect of guarantee play together
with a sense of unknown in faith.
How
does it make you feel to know that eternal life is a guarantee for all people
who are genuinely in Christ? How does it make you feel to know that your exact
role in the kingdom is still undefined?
Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 8:22-25
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