"Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation."
People follow Jesus, are attracted to Him, for different reasons. Not everyone "comes" to Jesus for the kind of salvation that He intended to bring.
"But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.’ And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." (Acts 8:9-23)
Simon had developed a lifestyle that had granted him three things that he wanted:
• He wanted to be famous (v. 9-11)
• He wanted to do things no one else could do; he wanted to be special (v. 11)
• He wanted everyone to listen to him (v. 10)
When Philip came to town, Philip preached about Jesus, including the miracles that Philip had seen performed by both Jesus and the disciples. Simon was impressed with the miracles and became saved because of that. Simon wanted a release from the mundane suffering and trials of life and saw Christianity as a way to live happier, better, richer, and above the pressing concerns of day-to-day life (v. 13).
When Peter came and the believers began to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit which was accompanied by even more signs and powers, Simon wanted to be able to bestow those kinds of powers upon others. Why? Because he saw the adulation that Peter received (and very likely rejected). Simon realized that having this power would increase his ability to achieve his three goals of fame, uniqueness, and adulation. Peter admonished Simon curtly because Peter understood that the life of a believer is by it’s very definition a life of suffering. The gifts of the Spirit aren’t given to make our lives better but to allow us to minister to those around us, particularly ministering the gospel (the good news of salvation) to those who are lost. We haven’t been given anything, including the consolation for our trials, for our own benefit but only so that we can be strengthened to tell others about Jesus.
Paul is clear in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 that afflictions and tribulations are part of the Christian life; they are part of the salvation process. Paul says "as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation." Consolation, as we saw earlier is that by which we grow closer to the Lord Jesus through His instruction and encouragement. The sufferings are necessary for us to grow in maturity, to grow in faith. When we try to live lives that avoid suffering, we are actually short-changing ourselves because we are trying to "buy" our faith (as Simon was trying) without understanding at all what that faith means or its purpose.
Peter correctly identifies Simon as being "poisoned by bitterness." This is actually an idiom that describes extreme wickedness (Strong’s G4088/Vine’s). Peter further accuses Simon of being "bound by iniquity." We know from Romans 6 that we are no longer slaves to sin, but that as believers we have been freed to choose to serve God. But as Wesley taught (in great detail), we must choose to serve God:
"The flesh, the evil nature, still remains (though subdued) and wars against the Spirit. So much the more let us use all diligence in ‘fighting the good fight of faith.’ So much the more earnestly let us ‘watch and pray’ against the enemy within. The more carefully let us take to ourselves and ‘put on the whole armor of God’; that, although ‘we wrestle’ both ‘with flesh and blood, and with principalities, and powers, and wicked spirits in high places,’ we ‘may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Heritage of great evangelical teaching : Featuring the best of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon and others. 1997, c1996. Thomas Nelson: Nashville)
The "flesh", our very bodies, desires so much for that which seems good to this life: popularity, ease of living, security in earthly resources, power and control of our circumstances. And yet Paul clearly outlines in 2 Corinthians that there are afflictions we must face in order to grow in maturity as believers. I know that I often spend a great deal of my own time and resources trying to make my own life better, focusing upon the temporary life here, rather than focusing upon the things of eternity. I would be better spent to approach each and every situation as if it had eternal consequences . . . because it does; to minister to each and every person as if their very lives depended upon me . . . because their eternal lives may; and, to lean more and more upon the wisdom and will of the Father who knows exactly what it is that I should do that would have eternal results.
© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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