DailyPBJ Devotionals

Read 1 Corinthians 15. As this letter to the Corinthians continued, Paul continued addressing issues he knew of in the church. Here in chapter 15, he addressed the resurrection, which was denied by some of the believers in Corinth (v. 12). Paul began by reminded the Corinthians that they were saved by the gospel he brought to them (vv. 1-2) and that gospel was the death (v. 3), burial (v. 4a), and resurrection of Christ (v. 4b) along with the eyewitness proof of Christ’s resurrection (vv. 5-7). After a brief digression about his apostleship (vv. 8-11), Paul began taking apart the false doctrine that there is no resurrection (vv. 12-49). If there is no resurrection than Christ wasn’t raised from the dead and the entire gospel message is a fraud (vv. 12-19). But Christ did rise from the dead and his resurrection is a promissory note of a future hope for us (vv. 20-49). Finally, in verses 50-58, Paul spelled out the future hope we have in Christ because of his resurrection. Death is not a permanent state (v. 51); instead, everyone who died in Christ will be raised again with a glorified body (vv. 52-57). This is our hope. Death is a fearful thing for people but in Christ we are promised deliverance from death through the final resurrection. Christ’s resurrection foreshadows (“the firstfruits,” vv. 20-23) our resurrection. What good is it to us today to believe in the resurrection? The answer is that it gives us motivation to stand firm in Christ and to invest in his work. Verse 58 says, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” The promise of the resurrection is both the promise of eternal life with God and the prospect of future rewards in his kingdom. Do you ever wonder if it is worth it to follow Christ? Do you ever consider quitting your area of ministry because you feel the results are not there? Most of us have felt that from time to time but this passage urges us to hold fast and keep serving because eternity will be worth it. So don’t quit! Keep following Christ and living for him and you will be glad you did when you reach the final resurrection.

Read 1 Corinthians 14. Paul continued writing about miraculous gifts in this chapter and he recommended the gift of prophecy over the gift of tongues (vv. 1-25). Paul made several points in this chapter to try to correct the errors of the Corinthians: Tongues in a church’s gathering are useless (v 6: “what good will I be?” and v. 28). They do not edify other believers (vv. 1-12) and they make unbelievers think that you are insane (v. 24). Interpreted tongues are useful (vv. 13-17) so pray for that gift if you find yourself speaking in tongues. Tongues are given to benefit unbelievers not believers (vv. 10-11, 21-22a). The benefit Paul has in mind here is the benefit of hearing the gospel in one’s own language with out a translator (v. 21). Since the Corinthians all shared a common language, there was no need for anyone to speak in tongues, particularly if there were no interpreter. So the Corinthians shouldn’t seek the gift of tongues or elevate it to the ultimate expression of spirituality. The gift of prophecy edifies believers (vv. 3-5, 19) and it convicts unbelievers (vv. 22-25), so it is a superior spiritual gift to tongues. There are two larger principles in this passage beyond speaking in tongues and prophecy: The goal of church gatherings is to edify believers primarily (vv. 5, 12, 19, 26c) and secondarily to convict unbelievers (vv. 24-25). Church gatherings should be done in an orderly way (vv. 26-40). Chaos does not please the Lord (v. 33). These two principles should guide anyone leading a church and planning a worship service. They should inform you if you find yourself looking for a church someday. The second of these two principles is drawn from a basic principle about God’s nature: “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (v. 33a). As followers of Christ, we should seek order in our everyday lives as well. Is there chaos somewhere in your life? What is one action today that could move you a step closer to peace and order in that area?

Read 1 Corinthians 13. This famous chapter of scripture is part of Paul's teaching on spiritual gifts which began back in chapter 12. The Corinthians had a proud perspective on spiritual gifts. The more powerfully God had gifted someone, the more spiritual that person seemed to be. Here in verses 1-3, Paul taught that spiritual power is useless without love. It doesn't matter how elevated your language is through the gift of tongues, how prophetic your words are or how sacrificial your giving may be, without love there is no meaningful spiritual impact So what is love? Instead of defining it, Paul described it. It is patient and kind. It does not envy others or call attention to itself. It is not defensive. All of these things point to one reality--love is a focus on what is good for others. It is so easy for us to become self-centered, isn't it? We serve but we are aware of the cost that service extracts from us. We give but we resent the attention someone else gets for using their gifts in the body. We make a contribution but wonder why we don't get more out of the church. These are all self-centered, unloving thoughts. If you want your life to count for Jesus, you need to ask him to teach you to love--that is to focus on benefiting others and not think about yourself. The Bible says that love is the fruit of the Spirit; that means it is the result of your growth in grace by the spirit of God. Again, because pride and self-centeredness come so naturally to us this is something we need to continually ask God's help for.

Read 1 Corinthians 12 We've seen already that the Corinthian church was divided by opinions about teachers such as Paul and Apollos and by distinctions between the wealthy and the poor. Another divisive item in the church was the issue of spiritual gifts--miraculous spiritual gifts in particular (vv. 1-11). Miraculous powers, especially the gift of tongues, seems to have been a way to rank who was the most spiritual in the church. In this chapter Paul taught the Corinthians that spiritual gifts are... gifts. That is, they are not earned or developed by a believer who then has the right to feel proud. Instead, different gifts are distributed by the Spirit of God (vv. 4-5) and for his purposes not for our pride (vv. 6-11). The analogy Paul used to teach this was the human body (vv. 12-27). Just as the human body needs different organs and limbs to contribute different functions for the good of the whole body, the church needs different people exercising different gifts for the health of the entire body of Christ. I never think about my spleen, but I'm glad I have one; likewise, there are people in our body who have very public gifts and others whose service to the Lord's body is invisible but vital. How has God uniquely gifted you to serve him by helping his church? Have you figured out what you have to contribute and found a place to make that contribution? Going further, God gave leaders to the church to serve his body (vv. 28-29). We know from other passages that church leaders were given to defend the church, instruct the church, and equip the church. If you don't know what your gift is, need help developing your gift or need help finding a place to use it, that's one of the reasons the leaders of the church exist. So, let's talk! One major undercurrent in this chapter, which will be developed more in the next, is that, whatever our gift or role in the body is, we're here to give ourselves for the good of the body. Our gifts and ministries are to serve not to be exalted. That's something we need to be reminded about continually because each of us has natural tendencies toward pride. If you find yourself drawn to a ministry because you like the attention that ministry brings you, it is time to humble yourself before the Lord and ask him to give you a true servant's heart.

Read1 Corinthians 11. Paul seems to have finished addressing the questions and matters that the Corinthians had written to him about and, here in chapter 11, he moved on to things he was concerned about within the church. Generally speaking, Paul was concerned with how chaotic the worship services of the Corinthian church were. Starting here in 1 Corinthians 11 and continuing through 1 Corinthians 14, Paul instructed the Corinthians about aspects of their worship that were not glorifying to God. In today’s chapter, 1 Corinthians 11, Paul addressed two problem areas. They are (1) how women worship (vv. 1-16) and (2) how the entire church practiced the Lord’s supper (vv. 17-34). When this chapter was written, it was customary for women in the Roman world, at least, to cover their heads as a symbol of submission to their husbands. But it was also becoming fashionable for women in that culture not to submit to their husbands and to show their lack of submission by not wearing a head covering. In verses 2-16, Paul rebuked some of the wives in Corinth who had stopped wearing head coverings. Although women were (and are) equal to the men in their importance to God and their position before God in Christ, on this earth God commands women who are married to live in submission to their husbands. Verse 3 explained that Christ, the Son of God, was in submission to God the Father. Although he is equal with the Father in every way, he functions in submission to the Father in everything. Likewise, wives should live in submission to their husbands. Shedding the symbol of that submission in the worship service was improper (vv. 13-16), so married women in the church should show their proper relationship to their husbands by covering their heads in the worship service. This was the first of two ways that the Corinthians needed to straighten up their worship services. The second way in which they needed to bring order to their worship services is in their practice of the Lord’s supper (vv. 17-34). The Lord’s Supper was practiced as part of a full meal that the church shared together. The church met on Sunday, as we do, but unlike in our culture, Sunday was a typical work day so the church gathering happened at night. The wealthier members of their church could arrive earlier than the more common workers and slaves in their church family could. Apparently the Corinthians were not waiting for the whole church to be gathered before they started the meal and Lord’s Supper observance. Instead, people would arrive and start eating and drinking. By the time those who were poorer arrived, the food was gone and many people were drunk (vv. 20-21). Paul rebuked the Corinthians for this practice (v. 22), then instructed them again about how the Lord’s Supper began in the church (vv. 23-25). The Lord’s Supper is a sacred act of worship (v. 27) so it should be observed in a way that unifies the body (vv. 18-19, 22) and in a way that is reverent (vv. 27-34). When we come together to worship each Sundays, do you prepare yourself well? I don’t mean getting your best Sunday clothes together the night before. I mean, do you think about your relationships and whether they are glorifying to God (vv. 2-16) and do you think about how to unify the body of Christ and show favor to the disfavored in this world (vv. 21-22)? Do you take time to examine yourself and your life and come before the Lord in a reverent, worshipful way (vv. 27-28)?

Read 1 Corinthians 10. This chapter concluded Paul’s teaching to the Corinthians on the matter of eating meat offered to idols. The chapter began by pointing to Israel’s history (vv. 1-5). It reminded the Corinthians how much God did for the entire nation (vv. 1-4). But it also reminded them how many in that nation fell under the judgment of God due to their unbelief (v. 5). That survey of Israel’s exodus was addressed to the Corinthian believers who believed they were strong in Christ and could exercise much Christian liberty. Yes, God had done much in their lives and in their church but he did much for Israel, too. God's powerful acts for Israel did not prevent Israelites from worshipping idols (vv. 6-7), committing sexual sins (v. 8), testing Christ (v. 9), and being complainers (v. 10). We too have received much from Christ but that should never lead us to believe that we are immune from sin (vv. 11-12). Although idols aren’t real and there is no spiritual or moral damage done by eating meat offered to idols, there is temptation associated with idol meat. That temptation is idolatry (v. 14). The idols are not real gods or even representatives of real gods; nevertheless idolatry is demonic (v. 20). If the Corinthian Christians participated in Christ through communion (vv. 16-17) then went to the idol’s temple and were involved there (vv. 18-22), they were participating in the demonic. Paul said they would face the Lord’s discipline (vv. 21-22) for those actions. It is important, then, whenever a Christian exercises Christian liberty not to focus on themselves but on others around them (vv. 23-30). The guiding questions for a Christian’s life are: Am I playing with temptation to sin but calling it Christian liberty (vv. 12-13)? and Is God glorified by this (v. 31)--meaning does it help or create obstacles to the spread of the gospel in the lives of others (vv. 32-33)? Christians may answer these questions differently on the same subject. Here’s an example: One issue that Christians debate is whether it is acceptable to drink alcohol. The Bible condemns and warns against drunkenness but not against all consumption of alcohol. Christ himself drank wine and most Christians have consumed wine throughout the centuries until very recently. But alcoholism is a serious problem in our world and many Christians were saved from a sinful life where alcohol was part of their sinful lifestyle. Some of these Christians stopped drinking completely in order to live an orderly, obedient life to Christ. Personally, I don’t drink at all for several reasons, but if I did, I would be exposing myself to temptation--the temptation to drink too much and the possible reckless things I might do while drunk. So, if I were to choose to exercise my Christian liberty by having a beer, my faith in Christ and desire to please him should lead me to be careful about having more than one or two, lest I give into temptation (vv. 12-13). Also, it may not be wrong for me to drink a glass of wine, but if I knowingly drink when I’m with another believer who doesn’t drink because he has less self-control, then I am sinning by putting him into a position where he may be tempted. So the limits of Christian liberty are about avoiding temptation myself and not leading another believer or unbeliever to sin (v. 32). Is there an area of your life where you’re living in Christian liberty but you’re tempted to go further into something that is sinful? Are you considerate of the affect of your life on others--either leading them closer to Christ or misleading them from following Christ? Let these chapters from 1 Corinthians help you to guide your thinking as you make choices in everyday life.

Read 1 Corinthians 9. In this chapter, Paul began to defend how he served God in the role of Apostle. Verses 1 & 2 offer his qualifications to be an apostle. The main qualification is in verse 1: “Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” That is a reference to his Damascus road vision. Christ both saved him there and commanded him to preach the gospel (see Acts 9). The remainder of 1 Corinthians 9:1-2 describes how the conversion of the Corinthians proved his authenticity as an apostle. In verses 3-14, Paul defended his right to be supported financially by those he served in the ministry of the gospel. He argued that he had the right to be paid by the Corinthians and others for his service in the gospel (vv. 3-14). But then he explained how he refused to insist on this support so that the gospel would travel unrestricted (v. 12b, 15a). In verses 19-23, Paul explained that everything he did was designed to advance the gospel. As one of my teachers, Haddon Robinson, once put it: “He would do anything short of sinning to win people to Christ.” Would you "do anything short of sinning to reach people for Christ"? Or, do we do everything we can to avoid talking about Christ? Those are convicting questions. They challenge our lack of evangelistic zeal and expose our desire to please people more than to please Christ. Is the gospel coming up in your conversations with others? Are you looking for ways to talk about Jesus? That's how Paul acted and how we should approach life in this world.

Read 1 Corinthians 8. In the last devotional, I told you that the Corinthians had written a letter to Paul with questions and Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, in part, to answer those questions. The first question, in the previous chapter, was about celibacy and whether it was wise or even righteous for Christians not to marry at all. Paul answered that question in 1 Corinthians 7. Here in 1 Corinthians 8, Paul took up the next item in the list of things in the Corinthians’ letter to Paul. That item was whether or not it is acceptable for Christians to eat meat that had been offered to idols. The world in which the New Testament was written was a world full of idolatry. Everywhere the gospel went, except for Israel, there were already established patterns of idol worship. In Corinth, people would bring animals to the pagan temples to offer as sacrifices. Whatever the altar did not burn up, the priests could eat, but whatever they did not eat was sold in the marketplace. The idol meat sold in that market was cheaper than the non-idol meat, so many people would buy it to save some money. The Corinthian believers were divided on the morality of eating that cheaper idol meat. Some believers said it was acceptable for Christians to eat it. Others could not eat that meat in good conscience. So the Corinthian church included this question in their letter to Paul. One side of the issue argued that (a) idols represent false, non-existent gods (v. 4a) and (b) there is only one real God (v. 4b-6), so what’s the harm in enjoying some Apollo sirloin? Paul actually agreed with that argument (see 1 Cor 10:25-26) but not with the hardhearted believer who made it. Yes, it is true that idols are not real, so meat offered to them has no special powers or curses attached to it. Likewise, someone who bought and ate the meat did so in the open market, not in the pagan temple. That person was, therefore, not engaging in a worship feast or entering spiritually into idolatry. All of that argumentation was true. So logic dictated that eating idol meat was totally acceptable for Christians based on these theological conclusions. But what about someone whose theology was not yet developed? If someone had been heavily involved in idolatry before becoming a Christian, eating idol meat could create a temptation that led that person back into idolatry. This chapter is one of several in the Bible that discussed the topic of “Christian liberty, and, here in this context, that topic was raised by the Corinthians' question about eating idol meat. The first thing Paul wanted every Christian to know about Christian liberty is that Christian liberty should never be used in a way that causes another Christian to be tempted to sin. That’s what verse 9 is saying when it says, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (v. 9). While the topic of Christian liberty is too large to tackle in a devotional, it is important to understand the heart of Paul’s instructions in this passage. The heart of Paul’s instructions in this passage is to consider how your actions affect the walk of another believer in Christ. The stronger you are as a believer, the more you should consider how your example affects other believers. And, if you have reason to believe that your actions could cause another believer to sin, you should avoid those actions (vv. 12-13) for the good of that other believer. How often do you think about your influence on others? Are there things you do as a believer which may not be sins but might be harmful to the spiritual life of another believer by causing that person to sin? Remember that if your children are believers. They are watching you more closely than anyone. Be wise, therefore, in the choices you make in life! Consider how those choices might affect the faith of other believers who look to you as an example of spiritual leadership.

Read 1 Corinthians 7. This chapter from 1 Corinthians contains several instructions around the subject of marriage. Verse 1 began the chapter with the phrase, “Now for the matters you wrote about.” The Corinthian believers had many questions about what was right and wrong for Christians to do, so they wrote a letter to Paul spelling out their questions. The first question was about sexual ethics: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” This is not a statement from Paul; rather, Paul is quoting back to them their first question or point of confusion: “Is celibacy Christian?” Paul explored this question from a number of angles. First, there is nothing morally wrong with marriage and a person should marry (v. 2) and have regular sexual relations with his or her spouse (vv. 3-5). One reason for this is to protect against a church full of single people giving into their sexual desires (v. 2a), committing adultery (v. 5b) or burning with lust (v. 9). Second, Paul commended the single life if a person can be single without giving into sexual temptation (vv. 8-9, 25-40). Third, he commanded believers not to divorce (vv. 10-14) but also not to contest a divorce if an unbelieving spouse divorces you, the believer (vv. 15-16). This is the passage which gives an additional exception for divorce to the exception Jesus gave in Matthew 19. The main principle in this passage is “remain as you are” (vv. 17-24). If you are a married person, give your spouse what you promised (vv. 3-5) and don’t divorce him or her--even if he or she is an unbeliever (vv. 12-14). In fact, the passage teaches that faith in Christ has a sanctifying effect on the unbelieving spouse. That is a reason to stay in the marriage (v. 14). But if your non-Christian spouse leaves you, you do not have to contest the divorce and are free to remarry (vv. 15-16). Although marriage is the dominant topic in this chapter, Paul suddenly references circumcision (vv. 18-19) and slavery (vv. 21-24). These have nothing to do with decisions about marriage, but they are other applications of the principle, “remain as you are” (v. 17, 20) In other words, your faith in Christ applies to your life whether you are single or married, circumcised or uncircumcised, slave or free (vv. 21-24). There are no second class Christians; whatever situation you are in is an opportunity for you to live for God today. Christians who are married to other Christians have advantages that others do not have, but God isn’t evaluating you based on your circumstances. He’s called you and empowered you to live a godly life in whatever circumstances you are in today. What circumstances are you in today that you wish were different? Do you find yourself thinking that you could be a more godly Christian if you had a different spouse--or no spouse at all? Do you think it would be easier to be holy if you had a different job or that God would be more pleased with you if left your secular job to work in the ministry full-time? This passage should cause you to reconsider. There is nothing wrong with changing your circumstances if you can do it without sinning (vv. 21b-23), but a change of circumstances is not what you need to live a godly life. You already have what you need to live a godly life--God’s divine power--no matter what circumstances you are in. So believe that by faith and live within your situation differently for the glory of God.

Read 1 Corinthians 6. At the end of our reading yesterday in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul stated that he does not judge outsiders to the church. Instead, God would judge them (5:12-13). Here in chapter 6 he picked up the theme of judgment and rebuked the Corinthian believers for using secular courts and unbelieving judges to decide their disputes (v. 1). Throughout this chapter, Paul rebuked the Corinthians by making distinctions between how unbelievers live and how believers should live. Unbelievers go to court when they have a dispute with another person. Believers should go to the church leaders to resolve those issues (vv. 1-5) Unbelievers will never accept being cheated and wronged. Believers should never wrong each other--we’re brothers and sisters in Christ, after all. But, if we are wronged, we should accept being wronged rather than expose our problems to the secular world (vv. 7-9). Unbelievers live in all kinds of sinful ways. Believers used to be like that, but were redeemed by Christ (vv. 9-11). Unbelievers justify their sinful behavior by any rationalization necessary. Believers understand that we belong to God and, therefore, want to live for him with our bodies, especially in the realm of our sexuality (vv. 12-20). Does your life look any different than the unbelievers around you? If you’re in Christ, it certainly does. But are there any areas where you need to grow in your submission to the Lordship of Christ? You may not sue another believer, but will you gossip and backstab him if possible? You may not live an immoral life, but do you have food habits or drinking habits or entertainment habits that are not glorifying to God? A passage like this one calls us to reflect on our lives. Verses 19-20 say, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” Is there anything you’re consistently doing with your body or your mind that the Holy Spirit would not do?

Read 1 Corinthians 5 This short chapter discusses the difficult subject of church discipline. The person who needed discipline in Corinth was a man in their church who was committing adultery with his father’s wife (v. 1). The fact that she is not called his mother probably means that she is a step-mother to the man. Regardless, Paul was appalled both that someone who claimed to be a believer would do this (v. 1) and that the Corinthian church tolerated this sin in their church family (v. 2). "Tolerated” is too mild a term, in fact. The phrase, “and you are proud” in verse 2 indicates that the Corinthians celebrated this sin. It would be nice to know more about what Paul was meant. It is possible that the Corinthians saw their tolerance of this sin as some advanced display of grace, but we don't know for certain. Regardless, Paul called on the church to remove this man from the church through church discipline as we saw in the phrase, “put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this” (v. 2b). What, then, does this passage teach us about church discipline? First, that church discipline is public. Verse 4 told the Corinthians to handle this matter, “when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present” (v. 4). That phrase is speaking of a public gathering of the church. When someone is removed from church membership through discipline, all the other members of the church should know of his removal and why he was removed. Second, that church discipline is for the spiritual good of the person placed under discipline. Verse 5b describes the purpose of this act with this phrase, “so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.” Remember that no one should be disciplined from the church until they have been confronted with their sin and given the opportunity to repent. A repentant believer is not removed from the church because repentance is the way that a Christian should respond to sin. But a person who will not repent when sin is addressed is acting like an unbeliever. Paul is very concerned that the man described in 1 Corinthians 5 will go to hell because his open practice of sin is not consistent with the life of a believer. A main goal of removing him publicly is to shake him out of his false confidence of salvation so that he will repent of his sin like a believer should or turn to Christ genuinely for salvation. Third, that church discipline is for the good of the church, too. Verses 6-8 compares sin to yeast (leaven). A little bit of yeast expands throughout baking dough to make the resulting bread soft and cause it to rise. The image is that the yeast grows to affect the whole loaf; likewise, sin unaddressed in the church also grows and expands until it pervades the entire body. Church discipline, then, removes the sin by disassociating the church from the person under discipline. While the people in the church might still see this man around, they are no longer to regard him as a brother in Christ who is growing in his faith. This has a sobering affect on the rest of the congregation, showing them that sin will not be tolerated in the body of Christ. Church discipline is always a difficult thing, stressful for everyone involved. It is like surgery for the body of Christ. A surgeon wounds your physical body in order to remove or repair something that is affecting your health in the long term. Church discipline, likewise, is painful to the body, but God uses it to bring long-term health and healing to the body of Christ.

Read Galatians 4. Paul’s plea to the Galatians continued in this chapter, and it was a very anxious plea! To Paul, following the law is like being under someone else's control as a child or even a slave would be (vv. 1-3). By contrast, believing in Christ is like being a fully adopted adult son (vv. 4-7). In Christ, we are free and equipped to know and love God. So why would anyone choose following the law over believing in Christ? To do that would make you like a minor again (vv. 8-11) instead of having all the wealth, blessings, rights, and privileges that an adult heir would receive from his father. It’s like choosing to be Ishmael instead of Isaac (vv. 24-31); nobody would make that choice, but that’s what subjecting yourself to the law is, spiritually speaking. Within Paul’s explanation about this he described one of the benefits of believing in Christ. Christ died for our sins so that “we might receive adoption to sonship” (v. 5). Adoption is such a great metaphor for what God has done for us in Christ. When a couple adopts a child, that child is conferred--credited--with all the rights and privileges that a natural-born child has. In the same way, by adopting us in Christ, God gives us the same status of sonship as Christ himself. But “status” is not something we experience, at least not in this life. If we are going to relate to God as his sons, we need more than just status. So God did something else for us so that we could benefit from our status as sons in this life. As Paul put it in verse 6, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” The reason why we can experience assurance of our salvation is that we have the Spirit within us that speaks truth to us about our relationship to God as his sons now in Christ. The reason we can pray in faith that God hears us is that the Holy Spirit within us calls out to him. This gives us hope for a future eternity with God. As verse 7 put it, “So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” Christ promised an inheritance to us in his eternal kingdom; that inheritance comes from the status we received as a gift of grace from Jesus.

Read Galatians 3. When God called Abraham in Genesis 3 and made what we call the "Abrahamic Covenant" with him, God promised Abraham, "...all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3). How exactly God intended to fulfill this worldwide covenant promise is not spelled out in Genesis 12. In fact, the Old Testament doesn't explain it in great detail, though it does give some light on the subject. Paul quoted Genesis 12:3 here in Galatians 3:8. According to Paul, Genesis 12:3 "announced the gospel in advance" as we read to Galatians 3:8. But how did God include us Gentiles? Did he do so by making us obedient to the law of Moses? No! Again, according to Galatians 3:8, the promise God made to Abraham was "that God would justify the Gentiles by faith" because Abraham was a man of faith (vv. 6, 9) not a man of the law. The question Galatians 3 answers is, how can Gentiles be legitimate descendants of Abraham and, thus, partake in God's promises to Abraham? Jewish people, of course, physically descended from Abraham, so they are legitimate heirs to the covenant promises of Genesis 12. But how do we Gentiles become heirs? The answer is through Messiah--Jesus. He descended from Abraham physically. Paul makes a big point about this in verse 16. Genesis 12 promised these blessings to Abraham's seed (singular) not "seeds." Paul says that means one person was intended--Jesus. He wrote (again in verse 16), "Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ." It is our connection to Christ--by faith--that makes us eligible for the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant (vv. 26-29), not our obedience to the law (vv. 10-14). This has implications for what the law means to us as Christians. We no longer need to obey the law--or should obey the law--because Christ unlocked us from the law's obligations and penalties (vv. 23-25). God's law reveals to us so much about the character of God and our accountability to him, but it cannot save us or make us holy (vv. 21-22). Stay away, then, from anyone or any group that says you need Christ PLUS obedience to the law of God or obedience to any other kind of religious ceremony or activity to be saved or sanctified. In Christ we have everything we need--salvation (vv. 8, 11-12) and the Holy Spirit of God (vv. 2-5).

Read Galatians 2. In our earlier readings from Acts, we noted the tensions that began when God saved Gentiles and gave them the same spiritual status as the Jewish believers in Jesus had. Here in the book of Galatians, Paul urged the churches he started in this region not to succumb to the teaching of the “Judaizers.” That was a group of people who claimed faith in Jesus but insisted that all Christians conform to Jewish law. Here in Galatians 2, Paul recounted his own first-hand struggle as a Christian against the idea that Christians must obey the law. Peter recognized Paul as a genuine believer (v. 9b) and Peter and the other apostles also recognized the commission of Christ to Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles (vv. 7, 9c). Yet Peter himself failed, at times, to act “in line with the truth of the gospel.” (v. 14b). Sometimes Peter acted as if his Jewish background didn’t matter, so he blended right in with the Gentile believers (v. 12a). But when there were Jewish believers around, Peter feared their disapproval and segregated himself from the Gentiles (v. 12b). That was hypocrisy (v. 13a) and Paul spoke to Peter directly about it. The point of this chapter is to emphasize the implications of the gospel. If Jesus really has fulfilled the law of God and if we are justified simply by believing in him, then it is wrong to add any religious or moral works as requirements for salvation. But a secondary lesson in this passage has to do with Peter’s hypocrisy. Despite how much Jesus loved Peter, taught him, and entrusted to him as an apostle, Peter was still human. He was still vulnerable to fear the opinions of others and, therefore, still susceptible to hypocrisy. Yet, despite his status as an apostle, Peter had the humility to receive Paul’s correction. Let none of us, then, think that we are above or beyond the correcting power of truth. We remain sinners until Jesus glorifies us finally, so let’s be ready to accept correction and grow from it when we are corrected with the truth.

Read Galatians 1. As our society becomes more secular, it is a relief when we find others who profess to know Jesus Christ. However, many people and groups have adopted the name of Jesus without embracing everything that the Bible teaches about Christ. Since they claim to love Christ and may say many things about Christ that we find agreeable, we want to affirm them as Christians and fellowship with them, too. But, the scriptures warn us here (and elsewhere) to be on guard against “a different gospel” (v. 6). The church at Galatia was caught in a struggle over "a different gospel" when Paul wrote this letter to them. After receiving the good news that Christ alone saves people by grace alone through faith alone, they welcomed teachers who said that true faith in Christ must be accompanied by obedience to Old Testament law. Paul said that was a “different gospel” and was “really no gospel at all” but rather an attempt to “pervert the gospel of Christ” (vv. 6b-7). It was “no gospel at all” because the good news has been replaced by the old news—obey God or else. Our faith in Christ teaches that the merits of Christ’s good works on earth (theologians call this his “active obedience”) and the penalty Christ paid for sin (Christ’s “passive obedience”) are applied to us by faith. You don’t need to obey the Law because Christ obeyed it perfectly and, by faith, God has credited you with that perfect obedience. You don’t have to fear God’s penalty for your sins because Jesus paid the penalty fully through his death on the cross. Any “good news” that requires something more than what Christ has done for us is not good news at all; it is very bad news because we can't save ourselves or contribute to our salvation in any way. We are fallen so we will inevitably fail to do whatever good works that other gospel would require of us. And, God isn't impressed by our good works anyway, so we wouldn't earn anything from him even if we could be perfect. Note that Paul warned them and us to beware of the messenger in verse 7. Even if Paul himself were the messenger or if an angelic being appeared with supplementary instructions, that messenger would deserve, not God’s blessing but God’s eternal curse (v. 8). Just in case we missed it, Paul repeated this truth in verse 9. It is so comforting to find someone else at work who believes in Jesus, isn’t it? Our tendency when we feel isolated in a secular world is to hold on to anyone else who claims to follow Jesus, too. If they truly do follow Jesus, that is an extraordinary gift. But, if that person tells you that you need Christ plus something else, beware! The message they have believed is not good news that sets you free from the power of sin; it is, instead, a perversion of our faith (v. 7b) which will enslave you.

Read Acts 15. Paul and Barnabas had been chosen by the Holy Spirit back in Acts 13 to take the gospel to the Gentles. Here in Acts 15, however, they had a disagreement that they could not solve. That disagreement was detailed in verses 36-41: The occasion for their disagreement was a desire to return to the churches they had founded on their first missionary journey (v. 36). Ultimately, this trip would become Paul’s second missionary journey. The reason for their disagreement was John Mark. Barnabas wanted John Mark to come but Paul was opposed to it because John Mark had deserted them on the first missionary journey (v. 38). The result of their disagreement was that they split and went their separate ways (v. 39). This passage is instructive in a number of ways. According to verse 40 Paul was “commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.” That suggests the church at Antioch (see v. 35) officially backed Paul, so he would seem to be the winner of this dispute. Over time, however, God used John Mark to write “The Gospel According to Mark” and even Paul had to admit that Mark was useful to Paul’s ministry (2 Tim 4:11). So while Paul may have been backed officially by the church, apparently Barnabas was wise to include Mark despite Paul’s objections. One lesson from this passage is that, sadly, there are times when godly Christians have problems with each other that cannot be solved. That seems strange to admit. If everyone involved is walking with God, it would seem that every issue should be solvable. But if godly men like Paul and Barnabas could not agree to extend grace to Mark after his failure, we should accept that sometimes disagreements among God’s people cannot always be resolved. Another related lesson is to realize that God used Paul and Silas and he also used Barnabas and John Mark. In other words, although they did not agree, that did not mean that one party was in sin and the other was not. Have you ever had a disagreement with another believer that could not be solved? Were you convinced that you were right and they were wrong? Did you conclude that they must be in sin or at least unwise? Let this passage cause you to reconsider. As believers we should do everything we can to resolve our issues with other believers but we should also be prepared to “disagree agreeably” without condemning the other person. Can you choose to believe the best about another believer even if you can’t resolve every problem? NOTE: In the next devotional, we are going to leave the book of Acts for a bit and read the book of Galatians for the next several days. 

Read Acts 14. Paul and Barnabas are still on that first missionary journey which concluded here at the end of Acts 14, specifically verses 26-28. God’s miraculous power was at work through these chosen men (vv. 8-10). So, it was inevitable that someone would ascribe deity to them and that happened in verses 11-13. Unlike Herod back in Acts 12, Barnabas and Paul did not accept the worship that was offered to them; instead, they turned the attention back to the one true God (vv. 14-15) and used this misunderstanding as another avenue to deliver the true gospel. In just a few short verses--verses 15b-18, to be exact, Paul began to describe the religious history of humanity: First, God created everyone and everything. Verse 15b says, “...the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.” Second, humanity rebelled against God by sinning. As families developed into nations, God chose Abraham and the nation that would come from him and let all other “nations go their own way” (v. 16). The third point would have been “but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30b) but Jewish opponents interrupted Paul’s message in verses 19-20. Going back to the second point where God “let all nations go their own way” (v. 16), one might think that it would be unjust for God to punish pagan nations that did not receive his law and his promises like Israel did. Paul and Barnabas anticipated that objection in verse 17a and said, “Yet he has not left himself without testimony....” God did not speak directly--theologians call this “special revelation”--to other nations as he did with Israel. But he did communicate with these nations through “general revelation.” Barnabas and Paul specified what this general revelation--the “testimony” they referenced--was in the next few phrases of verse 17: “by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” We tend to focus on the hardships of living in a fallen world and there are severe hardships. Some of these hardships are death and the sorrow it causes, physical pain due to illness and injury, sin and the consequences and pain it causes, natural disasters, and others. But God has been very good to us all--believers and unbelievers alike. During our lifetime, we enjoy food, friendships and family, physical affection, excitement, joy, rest, and many other blessings. These are all gifts of God; he could have punished Adam and Eve with immediate death that would have disallowed the human race from ever growing beyond them. That would have prevented us from ever knowing the joys of God’s creation and from wondering about the Creator who is the source of them all. Unbelievers, then, know enough about God to damn their souls for eternity. This knowledge gives us a starting point for evangelism, just as it did for Paul and Barnabas in this chapter. As Christians, now that we know God and have the better light of his word--“special revelation”--we have all the things Paul and Barnabas listed here and more to lift our hearts in praise and worship to God. Think of one blessing in your life that you may have taken for granted today. Now let that be the starting point for your prayers and praise to God today.

Read Acts 13. When Paul described the core of the gospel, he wrote: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor 15:3-4). "The Scriptures" Paul talked about in those verses are, of course, what we call the Old Testament. It isn't hard to show how the scriptures prophesied that Christ would die for our sins. But where exactly does the Old Testament predict the burial and resurrection of Jesus? Verses 32-37 answer that question. In verse 32, Paul said that "God promised our ancestors" that Christ would rise from the dead. He quoted from several Psalms in the following verses. The most relevant to the promise of Christ's resurrection was Psalm 16:10 which Paul quoted here in Acts 13:35: "So it is also stated elsewhere: ‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’" David wrote those words and people naturally interpreted those words as referring to him, that is, to David. But, as Paul pointed out in verse 36, David died, "was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed." So, Paul reasoned, David must not have been writing about himself (v. 36). Instead, David was writing prophetically about Jesus. Verse 37 says, "But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay." The death and resurrection of Jesus were not an unexpected detour or change in the plan of God. Old Testament prophesies show that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus were the plan of God all along. They are essential to everything we have through faith in Christ and to every promise God has made to us in eternity. So, rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus and don't ever look at it as optional to our faith or a secondary point of doctrine. Instead, hold fast to the resurrection of Jesus; it means everything to us as his followers and children.

Read Acts 12. Persecution by the religious leadership in Jerusalem started back in Acts 7 with the stoning of Stephen. It continued in Acts 8 through Saul, but God saved him in Acts 9. Here in Acts 12 we were told that Herod, a Jewish political leader, joined in the persecution of the church. Herod began this persecution in a brutal way with the execution of James (vv. 1-2). There are a few guys in the New Testament named James; another one of them is actually mentioned in verse 17. The James that Herod killed in verse 2 was "the brother of John," which identifies him as one of the Twelve apostles and the son of Zebedee (see Matt 4:21 & 10:2). The religious leaders of Israel were happy that Herod had joined them in persecuting the church (v. 3a), so he arrested Simon Peter and intended to try him publicly (v. 4). Because it was Passover season, Herod waited for Peter's trial and execution, and, during that time of waiting, the church came together to pray for him. Verse 5 told us, "the church was earnestly praying to God for him." And God answered their prayers in a miraculous way by sending an angel to rescue Simon Peter (vv. 7-11). Yet, when Peter showed up to the prayer meeting, people had a hard time believing that he had really been freed (vv. 12-17). When I was taught this passage as a child in Sunday school, the teacher suggested that the church didn't really believe that God would answer their prayers, that why they were so startled to see Peter. I'm not sure that's right; in fact, I'm pretty sure it is wrong. The fact that the church was "earnestly praying for Peter" (v. 5) suggests that God's people were doing the right thing--prayer--from sincere hearts. They wanted God to free Peter and believed that God would, if it was his will. That last part, "...if it was his will..." is important. Verse 2 didn't tell us that anyone was praying for James to be freed but it is hard to believe that they weren't praying for that. Yet God did not will to rescue James from death as he did for Peter. I think the church was startled when Peter was released because of how God rescued him, not that God rescued him. I think the church was expecting a more providential release, meaning that God would change Herod's heart and Peter would be acquitted at his trial (v. 4d) or just outright released. Instead of that, though, God performed a miracle to release Peter. It was so startling--and unexpected--that even Peter himself was unprepared for it (vv. 6-11). The lesson here, then, is not that we should have more faith when we pray. That's always true; as fallen people, our faith could always be stronger and purer. The lesson instead is that we shouldn't set our hopes on the method by which God answers prayer. Part of praying in faith is submitting our prayers to God's will--both for the outcome and for the way in which God makes that outcome happen. Have you ever been surprised by how God answered your prayers? Maybe he made your faith stronger through a trial in your life. Maybe he helped you get rid of a sin in your life by causing that sin to be exposed instead of making your desire for it go away suddenly. What have you been praying for? Is it possible that God is answering--but you just don't see it yet because you're looking for a different answer?

Read Acts 11. In the devotional about Acts 10, I suggested that there would be tensions in the early church as God transitioned her from a group of Jewish believers in Jesus into a trans-national, worldwide group with no ethnic distinctions. Here in Acts 11 we read about that tension. Despite facing criticism for his fellowship with Gentiles (vv. 1-3), the Jewish believers accepted Peter’s account of how God saved the Gentiles and how they received the same sign of the Holy Spirit as the Jewish believers did in Acts 2 (Acts 11:4-17). They then praised God for his mercy on the Gentiles (v. 18) and a church that had begun gathering at Antioch began actively evangelizing Gentiles (vv. 19-21). Barnabas emerged at the end of today’s chapter. He was sent to Antioch from Jerusalem when the Jerusalem church heard about all that God was doing at Antioch (vv. 22-24). We’ve actually met Barnabas before in Acts 4. His real name is “Joseph” (Acts 4:36) but was nicknamed “Barnabas” because he was always so encouraging. He’s the guy who sold some property and gave all the money to the church which led Ananias and Sapphira to do what they did in Acts 5. Barnabas also showed up in Acts 9:27 and he persuaded the church to accept Saul after his conversion. Now, here in Acts 11, when he saw how much God was doing in Antioch, he went and found Saul so that Saul could contribute to the growth and strengthening of that church (Acts 11:25-26). Although Barnabas did not have the same role that God called Saul to occupy, he knew how to connect people together for the growth of God’s work. By no means was Barnabas a man who just served in the background; verse 36 says that he... met with the church and taught great numbers of people.” So he had a strong teaching gift and used that gift publicly to strengthen and grow God’s church. Nevertheless, Barnabas served in the shadow of Saul because Saul was such a giant in the early days of the church. Yet he never viewed Saul as his rival or was jealous of how God chose to use Saul. He was a man who was all about the work God was doing, not about who was getting the credit for doing it. Barnabas could have stayed in Antioch and held even greater authority and respect than he had, but he knew that this church would benefit from Saul’s gifting. So, in great humility, Barnabas recruited Saul’s help because it would be best for the church. That is the attitude that all of us followers of Christ should have. God’s work is never about you or me. It is about doing what is best for the Lord’s church. If that means serving in someone else’s shadow, then let God be glorified. Have you ever felt jealous of another believer who has gifts or positions or attention that you don't have? Consider the life of Barnabas. If ministry is all about the minister, God will not be glorified and there will be problems in the growth and godliness of the church. If ministry is all about how best to glorify God, we should all be willing to step out of the way and let the most gifted and godly serve where they will be most effective.

Read Acts 10. In Acts 8, we read about how God used Saul’s persecution to move the church and the gospel out of Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria, just as Jesus said would happen in Acts 1:8. Then, in Acts 9, we read how Jesus redeemed Saul and told Ananias how Saul was the Lord’s chosen instrument to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Taking the gospel to the Gentiles was the final phase of Jesus’ great commission in Acts 1:8. But transitioning the Christian church from a Jewish sect to a worldwide movement was going to be difficult. Gentiles were allowed to convert to Judaism before Jesus came, but they were always second class citizen to native Jews. For Gentile Christians to have full acceptance in the church, God would have to move in a special way. That’s what we read about today in Acts 10. Although Saul was God’s chosen instrument to take the gospel to the Gentiles, God used Peter to be the first apostle to see Gentile converts to Christianity. Notice how God did this here in Acts 10. First, God sent a vision to Cornelius in verses 1-8. Verse 2 of Acts 10 said, “He and all his family were devout and God-fearing....” The phrase “devout and God-fearing” indicates that he was a Gentile convert to Judaism. When God spoke to him, he was told to send for Simon Peter and he was told where to find him. Second, just before Cornelius’ messengers arrived, God sent a vision to Peter telling him to eat foods that were unclean according to the law of Moses (vv. 11-14). Peter saw this vision three times (v. 16)--probably so that he would be completely convinced of what he saw. But verse 17 told us, “Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision...” which shows us that the larger meaning--the broadest interpretation and application of this revelation--was unclear to Peter. Surely God was not concerned about Peter’s diet, but what could be the greater lesson of this vision? According to verse 17, the men sent by Cornelius arrived “while Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision.” Peter understood that the timing was not coincidental and he went to see Cornelius despite the fact that “it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile” (v. 28b) In verses 28b-29, Peter applied his vision about the unclean food to this meeting with Cornelius. Peter realized then and there “that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right” (vv. 34-35). Therefore, Peter gave them the gospel. That brings us to the next step in God’s process of bringing Gentiles into the church: Third, “the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (v. 44b). The Jewish Christians who heard this “were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles” (v. 45b). This is telling us that these new Gentile believers had the same experience that Jesus’ disciples had in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost and that the Samaritan disciples had in Acts 8. The purpose of that dramatic, miraculous demonstration of the Spirit’s power was not to show us that all Christians must have these signs; rather, it was to demonstrate that Gentile believers are equal to Jewish believers in Jesus in every way. As a result of this experience, Peter “ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (v. 48a). The full implications of a church integrated with Jews and Gentiles alike would still have to be worked out by the early church. We’ll read about that in some of the chapters ahead. But the point of this chapter was to show that God viewed and treated Gentile believers as equal in the church to Jewish believers. It would be wrong for the church, therefore, to discriminate against any believer. Although we no longer have those Jewish-Gentile tensions in every Christian church, there are other ways in which the church is sometimes divided by race. Churches here in America are still divided along racial lines with “mostly white” churches, like ours is, frankly, and churches that are mostly African-Americans, or Latinos/Latinas, or Romanians, or Chinese Christians, and so on. Language differences create some of these distinctions, but all of them are contrary to how God views true believers. In Christ there are no “white Christians” or “black Christians” or any other human category of Christians. To Jesus, there are only believers and unbelievers. All believers are accepted fully into God’s family through Him. We cannot solve the divisions of churches in America on our own, but we can and should fully accept, welcome, and integrate anyone into our church family who has faith in Christ, is baptized in his name, and is seeking to do what the Lord commands. We should strive for this kind of unity, then, because it is pleasing to God.

Read Acts 9. We met Saul yesterday and saw how he persecuted the church and, in God’s providence, was used to get the gospel out of Jerusalem and into the rest of Judea and also into Samaria, just as the Lord had commanded in Acts 1:8. Now, in the most unlikely way (humanly, that is), God saved Saul (vv. 1-8) and called him “my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (v. 15b). The man whose persecution stimulated the spread of the gospel to Judea and Samaria would now directly lead the effort to take the gospel “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The focus of Acts in the chapters ahead will begin to move off Peter and the other Apostles and on to Saul (Paul) the Apostle to the Gentiles. As we read about Saul’s conversion here in Acts 9, we saw the clash of human values and God’s values in how Saul was treated. People value safety and were understandably wary of someone who killed other Christians but suddenly now claimed to be a Christian himself. We see the skepticism and fear in Ananias (vv. 13-14) and in the Jerusalem church where “they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple” (v. 26b). How was this skepticism resolved? First, Ananias believed God by faith when God told him to go to Saul and pray for him (vv. 11-17a). He even called him “Brother Saul,” acknowledging Saul's claim to faith in Christ. Second, Barnabas became Saul's ambassador when he “took him and brought him to the apostles” (v. 27). Both of these men had to trust that God’s power had actually changed Saul. Because they did trust the life-changing power of the gospel, they were willing to “credit” Saul--trust him as a brother--before there was a long trail of evidence of Saul’s faith. If we’re going to live for Jesus, there will be times when we have to take similar risks of faith on people. For example, trusting Christ in your life might mean trusting someone who has wounded you, based only on their claim to repentance. We become vulnerable to manipulation, embarrassment, or possible betrayal in those situations but this is what God calls us to do. If we trust him, we should trust that he is changing other people. That means giving them our acceptance and trust in advance--like a credit card transaction. Are you facing any uncertainty in your life because you are not certain you should trust someone who claims to be changed by Christ? God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s grace call all of his followers to trust others based on their profession of faith and even to forgive others when they fail to be perfect but demonstrate true repentance. Ananias was afraid of Saul, but he trusted the Lord, so he called Saul his “brother.” God will help you and me learn to trust others, too--before they deserve it, if our hope and faith is in the Lord.

Read Acts 8. Back in Acts 1:8, Jesus said that the disciples would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the earth. Here chapter 8 of Acts, persecution (vv. 1, 4-5) moved the gospel from Jerusalem to Samaria. Phillip, one of the first deacons (see Acts 6:5) went to Samaria, preaching the Gospel, and God began saving some of the Samaritans (v. 12). In verses 14-17, two of the Apostles--Peter and John--came up to Samaria to confirm that these Samaritans were genuine Christians. Many charismatic brothers and sisters of ours, and some non-charismatics, too, think that what Peter and John did is the normal Christian experience. In other words, some Christians think that every Christian needs to receive the Holy Spirit after they believe in Jesus. This is sometimes called the "Second Work of Grace" or the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit." I don't agree with the interpretation that this is the normal Christian experience. I think this passage records an important phase in the development of the early church. It showed the Samaritan believers that their salvation was the same salvation that the Jewish believers in Jesus had. God withheld the Spirit until the Apostles prayed for the new Christians to unite the church and demonstrate that the Samaritans had the same salvation, the same Spirit, the same Lord Jesus Christ as the church in Jerusalem. What stands out to me is how Simon the Sorcerer (vv. 9-11) believed the gospel (vv. 12-13), yet wanted to buy the apostles' power for himself (vv. 18-19). Peter rebuked him (vv. 20-23) and he repented (v. 24), so it looks like he was a genuine Christian. Had he not repented, it would have shown that his confession of faith was false (v. 20: "May your money perish with you"). Yet, despite being a genuine Christian, he desires spiritual power for selfish reasons (v. 23). Verse 9 told us that Simon "boasted that he was someone great" so it seems, based on Peter's rebuke (vv. 22-23) that he still had this desire in him. He wanted power to do ministry so that people would look up to him as a great man. While they may not seek supernatural power like Simon did, many Christians do ministry for the same reason that Simon wanted the power to give the Holy Spirit. Some ministries--preaching, teaching, music. leadership--give people the opportunity to be looked up to, admired, and obeyed. When we aspire to serve God for ourselves, our hearts are "captive to sin" (v. 23). It is only a matter of time before our false motives will be revealed. Because we're all human, we all have mixed motives at times. Just as Peter confronted Simon and called him to repent, you and I may, at times, need the corrective rebuke of other believers when our ministry motives are mixed up and sinful. Are you serving God for the right reasons? Do you regularly assess your heart and ask God to purify your motives? Are you willing to receive godly rebuke when your sinful motives slip out? A healthy faith--and a healthy church--is not made up of perfection. It is made up of genuine believers who are growing. Part of that growth comes from having our movies purified, even in response to the rebuke of others.