In acts 8 vs 13 it says Then Simon believed and was baptized and continued with Philip and was amazed seeing miracles then drop down to verses 20-23 and Peter tells him he has no part in this ministry he tells him to repent and he is bound by bitterness and iniquity, so does that mean simon was not saved ? What does bound by bitterness mean, I have bitterness i am struggling with because of issues with some family members but i know i am saved acts 5 vs 32 says the spirit is given to those that obey him, is it still obeying for instance if I want to watch a movie that has violence, cursing and the like but i make a deliberate choice not to. Confusing sorry
That is a very telling portion of Scripture, again showing that water baptism is simply one's visible act of identification with the crucified risen Christ & not necessarily an evidence of saving faith. One would always rejoice in another's baptism testimony but only the Lord knows & judges the heart.
Simon appeared as one saved, as the Scriptures indicate, but he had other plans that were not consistent with his salvation experience: he wanted to continue his profession, no more in sorcery, but in using the "power of God" which seemed much greater than he had before, to earn him bigger bucks. So in both ignorance & wickedness he sought to purchase this "power". Peter then withstood him & essentially told him, that if this was his attitude, then his salvation & baptism were not real. And that he was in "the gall of bitterness" suggests that Simon's heart was as gall, which is similar to Hebrews 12:15: "root of bitterness". What was he bitter about? Simon was in the grip of envy, so strong that the envy he should have had for receiving more of Christ, was actually envy for his personal carnal profit. And this proved a heart of bitterness towards those who had what he didn't have.
For any bitterness that you have, you need to deal with that speedily. A bitter spirit against others, for any reason, is like a canker that will continually eat into you, even to the point that you may wonder whether you're actually saved. Bitterness & hatred are close cousins; both are not acceptable by the Lord. You recognized this in you, which is the first step. Then you have to deal with it: seek forgiveness from God & the other person, pray for yourselves - for healing of the mind & spirit, do good things for him/her - cover it with love.
When you know something is wrong (e.g. the violent movie) & refuse to watch it, then you're obeying the Spirit's Word to your heart. If you however, disobey, you will soon get the Spirit's tug to remind you that "Alec, you should know better".
Hi, Alex. The verse says that he was "in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity."
This means that Simon was jealous of the apostles' power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself and he believed that money could purchase power from God.
Furthermore, Peter also said, "Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God."
Interestingly, in John 13:8 "Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."
Peter used words similar to Jesus when He sais, concerning Peter, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."
It is not at all clear whether Simon was truly bore again and if he actually did repent and regain fellowship with God.
Your bitterness seems to be about your relationships with family members. Do some self examination. "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psa 139:23-24 (KJV)
I'm having difficulty understanding that on one hand you, "want to watch a movie that has violence, cursing and the like" but on the other hand you "make a deliberate choice not to." I have to tell you that I've actually done things like that and I've paid the price of rebellion against God. "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph 4:30 (KJV) When we know what is sin and willfully disobey, we grieve the holy Spirit of God. I don't want to do that any more. How 'bout you? Read the whole chapter. Read Ephesians. Get into God's Word every day. It's food for your soul. Read Psalm 19. It ends like this, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." You can't really do this when you're filling your head with violence and foul language.
Simon appeared as one saved, as the Scriptures indicate, but he had other plans that were not consistent with his salvation experience: he wanted to continue his profession, no more in sorcery, but in using the "power of God" which seemed much greater than he had before, to earn him bigger bucks. So in both ignorance & wickedness he sought to purchase this "power". Peter then withstood him & essentially told him, that if this was his attitude, then his salvation & baptism were not real. And that he was in "the gall of bitterness" suggests that Simon's heart was as gall, which is similar to Hebrews 12:15: "root of bitterness". What was he bitter about? Simon was in the grip of envy, so strong that the envy he should have had for receiving more of Christ, was actually envy for his personal carnal profit. And this proved a heart of bitterness towards those who had what he didn't have.
For any bitterness that you have, you need to deal with that speedily. A bitter spirit against others, for any reason, is like a canker that will continually eat into you, even to the point that you may wonder whether you're actually saved. Bitterness & hatred are close cousins; both are not acceptable by the Lord. You recognized this in you, which is the first step. Then you have to deal with it: seek forgiveness from God & the other person, pray for yourselves - for healing of the mind & spirit, do good things for him/her - cover it with love.
When you know something is wrong (e.g. the violent movie) & refuse to watch it, then you're obeying the Spirit's Word to your heart. If you however, disobey, you will soon get the Spirit's tug to remind you that "Alec, you should know better".
This means that Simon was jealous of the apostles' power to bestow the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, and wanted that power for himself and he believed that money could purchase power from God.
Furthermore, Peter also said, "Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God."
Interestingly, in John 13:8 "Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."
Peter used words similar to Jesus when He sais, concerning Peter, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."
It is not at all clear whether Simon was truly bore again and if he actually did repent and regain fellowship with God.
Your bitterness seems to be about your relationships with family members. Do some self examination. "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psa 139:23-24 (KJV)
I'm having difficulty understanding that on one hand you, "want to watch a movie that has violence, cursing and the like" but on the other hand you "make a deliberate choice not to." I have to tell you that I've actually done things like that and I've paid the price of rebellion against God. "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph 4:30 (KJV) When we know what is sin and willfully disobey, we grieve the holy Spirit of God. I don't want to do that any more. How 'bout you? Read the whole chapter. Read Ephesians. Get into God's Word every day. It's food for your soul. Read Psalm 19. It ends like this, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." You can't really do this when you're filling your head with violence and foul language.
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