ACTS 8:21-24

PONDER THIS

There are so many who say, “I’m a believer,” but they are not saved. You know the plan, but you don’t know the Man. You’ve seen what God has done, but there has never been a change of heart. You say, “Well, doesn’t the Bible say, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31)?” Yes, it does. The Bible also says, “Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19). There’s a superficial faith of false religion; the kind of faith that never really comes and bows the knee to Jesus Christ, never makes Jesus Christ Lord. 

John 2:23-24 says “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men.” Now you don’t see it in the English, but in the Greek the word for “believe” and “commit” is the same word, just translated differently. So, you could say, “Many committed themselves to Him, but He did not commit Himself to them.” Or “Many believed in Him, but He did not believe in them.” They believed in Him like Simon the sorcerer, but He did not believe in them. 

The Lord knows your heart. You may have walked the aisle and prayed the prayer, but He knows what is superficial. Has your faith shaped how you have lived since your moment of confession, or have you been faking it with all the right language and answers?

• What is the difference between knowing the plan of salvation and knowing the Man of salvation, Jesus?
• How has your faith shaped how you have lived? What has stayed the same?

PRACTICE THIS

Talk to a pastor about what it means to live out a sincere and true faith.