You are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. Acts 8.23
The converted magician, Simon, had the very bad idea to buy the Holy Spirit and got an epic rebuke and a bad rep for two-thousand years. Before this Med continues, the I want to be clear that offering to purchase the Holy Spirit is not appropriate. Actually, it’s evil. Urbangelical also recognizes that Philip’s power was what first impressed Simon. Still, his instinct isn’t hard to understand. However long it took to send someone to check on the Samaritan revival, Simon was still a neophyte and a lifetime spent peddling the dark arts takes time to unlearn. However, Peter lets him have it anyway. Imagine saying that to a member that got baptized six months ago, and then said something stupid.
Hopefully, you don’t look for chances to be harsh, but don’t assume grace means you can only be gentle.
That’s the stuff podcasts about church leaders are made of. Hopefully, you don’t look for chances to be harsh, but don’t assume grace means you can only be gentle. Jesus wasn’t always gentle. Peter learned that when he got called Satan. So when can you talk that way to people? Not as often as your frustrated pastor-heart wants to, but not never. To his credit, Simon didn’t do a TikTok about toxic church leaders. Luke artfully leaves the end of Simon’s story untold, but we know he felt the weight of Peter’s rebuke and asked for prayer. And that’s a win that even our kindest words often don’t get.
