By Pastor Rick Smith

Some of you may have heard of Simon the Sorcerer, others may have no clue who he is.  And that is not surprising since he is only mention in Acts 8:4-23.  He was a pagan in Samaria that got caught up in the ministry of Philip the Evangelist.  He saw the miracles and “attached” himself to Philip and professed faith in Jesus and was baptized.  When the apostles came from Jerusalem to confirm the conversion of the Samaritans Simon was caught up in the laying on of hands and the giving of the Holy Spirit to those that believed.  Simon seemed to be enthralled with the power being demonstrated by the apostles.  He offered money and said, “Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 8:19).   He was sternly rebuked by Peter, who concluded by saying, “You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.” (Acts 8:21).  Let’s turn this and ask it as a question: “Is your heart right with God?”

Let me say, first, that your heart is not right with God if you have yet to repent of your sins and trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  We are all born sinners and prove it by all sinning.  God commands all men everywhere to repent – to turn from their sins and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith.  Have you repented and put your trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior?  If not, then how can you be right with God when you reject the only means of the cleansing of your conscience of sin?  Repent and trust Jesus to cleanse you of all your sin so that your heart may be right in the sight of God by faith.

And, even if you are saved, you are not right with God if you are being disobedient to His commands.  Some have failed to be obedient in following Jesus in believer’s baptism.  Maybe you are putting this off for some reason that is reasonable to you, but you are living in disobedience to the command of Christ.  Or, you have yet to join yourself to a Bible believing church as an active member.  That is disobedience and denies you the benefits of being a member of a local church.  And you can’t be right with God when you fail to gather with the fellowship of the local church.  Since the COVID lock down many formerly active going church member are neglecting the fellowship of the church.  And there are other areas that may indicate you are disobedient, which means that your heart is not right with God.  

And, though you may be saved, if you are worldly, then you are not right with God.  “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15).  For most “Christians” today everything comes before God and His will for their lives.  Work, hobbies, entertainment, and so much more are put before the Lord.  When was the last time you read the Bible outside of a church meeting?  How’s your devotional and prayer life?  What about the confession of sin and keeping a clear conscience before God?  How much do you really love the Lord if you let the world pull further and further away from Him? 

Along with these there is one more.  You are not right with God if you are winking at others sins.  This is something that may be related to worldliness.  In First Corinthians we have the situation of a man living in an incestuous relationship with his father’s wife.  The Corinthians, instead of putting a stop to it and calling for repentance or discipline of the sinning member, bragged on how open they were in their church.  And, isn’t that the situation in many of our churches today.  Everything is allowed, even things that God has clearly said are sin.  Some are content to allow sin to continue in the church, because they don’t want to rock the boat. 

Are you right with God?  Are our churches right with God?  If not, then what should we do?  The instructions of Peter to Simon the Sorcerer should be followed by all who are not right with God.  “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” (Acts 8:22).  Are you lost?  Repent and trust the Lord Jesus to save you.  Are you saved, but disobedient?  Repent and return to the Lord.  Are you saved, but worldly?  Again, repent and return to a right relationship with the Lord Jesus.  And if you have been overlooking gross sin, repent.  “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Ephesians 5:11).

If you have any questions, we invite you to visit with us this Sunday.   Worship at 10:50 A.M.  We are located at 711 West Washington Ave.  Check our sermon videos on Youtube @ricksmith2541.  Send comments and prayer requests to prayerlinecmbc@gmail.com.