For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
Peter spoke these words to rebuke Simon Magus after his baptism, when Simon offered money for power to give the Holy Spirit, exposing his heart as not right before God and calling him to repent and pray for forgiveness. His attempt showed wicked presumption and selfishness that treated a sacred gift of God as merchandise to be bought for worldly gain, when pardon must be sought from God and spiritual gifts cannot be purchased. To be in this state is to be trapped in inward bitterness and degrading bondage to sin, bound by unbelief that keeps the heart from grace even while the person imagines himself free. It describes profession without sanctification, where one may hold correct doctrine and even preach it yet remain disconnected from God, bitter in heart and bound as truly as the wicked while thinking himself righteous. Escape comes only by repentance with broken-hearted confession and by receiving Christ within, who died as the only hope of rescue and through the Holy Spirit purifies the nature and brings rest and peace.
Simon's Sin and Rebuke
Peter's words are a sharp rebuke spoken to Simon Magus after his baptism, when Simon offered money for power to bestow the Holy Spirit. His heart was declared not right in the sight of God, untouched by divine grace and still held under the power of sin in inward bitterness. He was exposed as a deceiver whose plots were defeated as the gospel was carried forward. He was called to repent and to pray for forgiveness, for a heart so bound needs repentance and forgiveness.
His attempt to obtain the Spirit's power with money revealed wickedness, presumption and selfishness. He valued God's gift as a means of worldly gain and treated sacred things of God as merchandise, coming to the banquet yet not eating the Word of life. Sacred spiritual gifts cannot be bought or sold, and sacred eternal interests must be distinguished from common things. Pardon is to be sought from God rather than purchased with money from a human religious authority.
Simon had welcomed satanic influence to obtain supernatural power, and therefore, unlike those tormented by possession, he had no conflict with demons. Though baptized and joined to the disciples, he remained a tare among wheat. His example shows that one counted among believers can still be a false brother and unworthy member, in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.
Bound Heart Exposed
To be in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity is to be trapped in inward bitterness and degrading bondage to sin, with a heart not right and untouched by divine grace. The bond is unbelief, the occasion of all sin, whose work is to make straight things crooked and to shut the heart against grace and keep it from drinking in the great salvation offered. That unbelief rests under woe when it hardens into criticism that refuses the Spirit, while faith is its opposite, bringing rest and peace as the soul becomes as a little child learning of Jesus and living by every word of God. Even so the bound person may imagine himself free while following his own desires, yet remain in bitter, sinful bondage without thorough conversion, needing Christ who died as the only hope of rescue to awaken a sense of the sinfulness of sin and draw him to himself through the cross.
A heart still ruled by cherished evil is in this condition, for secretly enjoying impure thoughts or lustful looks shows sin dwelling within. Open wrongdoing does not create that evil but brings to light what was already hidden in the heart.
The verse describes profession without sanctification by Bible truth, even when a person holds its theory, preaches it to others, and may be correct on doctrine, as in the truth about the law in Galatians. Such a state is known by fruits in talk and writings that are not after Christ's order, proves disconnection from God, unfits a man to teach the truth and to be a mouthpiece to the people, and requires entering the school of Christ to learn meekness, gentleness and lowliness after the perfect Pattern so that speech becomes as Jesus spoke and writings breathe the Spirit of Christ. Professing Christians who do not do Christ's words remain bitter in heart and bound by sin just as truly as the children of the wicked one and do his works just as truly, and those who depart from uprightness remain morally deformed and impure even when they claim to serve God and speak of mercy and love, failing to recognize guile in their own hearts while thinking themselves righteous.
The condition can persist after years under the message, with those so situated still unconverted and needing converting now. Leaving it requires thorough conversion and complete new birth, for habits, thought, capacity for enjoyment and character need radical change, with frivolity and cheapness of mind, uncleanness and unholiness, acting out own impulses and refusing repression or restraint surely ending in perishing in sins unless Satan is cast off and Christ is accepted to dwell within by faith as the hope of glory, the Holy Spirit purifying the entire nature from moral defilement into an altogether different character where God is all and in all and capabilities are employed in His service through entire surrender without reserve. It appears as wickedness and disobedience with great evil carried on in secret for years now being brought to light, as seen in San Francisco and likewise in many cities. The gall of bitterness is deep bitterness of soul shown in hatred toward appointed leaders, in being a bitter opponent full of the spirit of Satan working against ministers, continually opposing their labors and interrupting their meetings, so that a claimed surrender is not genuine while that bitterness remains and will not be accepted.
Repentance and New Life
To be in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity is to stand under Peter's sharp rebuke to Simon after his baptism, when Simon offered money for power to bestow the Holy Spirit and was told his heart was not right before God and that he must repent and pray for forgiveness. Such a baptized professor can still be a tare among wheat, coming to the banquet yet not eating the Word of life and treating sacred things as merchandise, and sacred spiritual gifts cannot be bought or sold. That condition must be met with sharp testimony that reveals sin and distinguishes sacred eternal interests from common things, even when the worker is disappointed and discouraged because the carnal mind is dark and spiritual things are spiritually discerned. God now bids all who profess Christ yet do not do His words, who remain bitter in heart and bound just as truly as children of the wicked one and do his works, to come to repentance with hearts broken before Him, with confession of sins and conversion, with humility in seeking the Lord and sincerity in doing His works, a work that causes angels to rejoice when ministers and people take it up.
Those trapped in sin and its bitterness are lost sinners needing rescue, and Christ's death is their only hope of saving them. Lifted on the cross erected to save man, He became sin for the fallen race without knowing sin by sinning, bore the terrible weight of the guilt of the whole world, and became propitiation so that all who receive Him become sons of God. Through the cross He awakens in the repenting soul a sense of the sinfulness of sin and seeks to draw all to Himself. Through the Holy Spirit a new principle of mental and spiritual power is brought to man to become one with God through association with divinity.
Leaving that condition comes only by receiving Christ, having Christ within as the hope of glory and dwelling in the heart by faith. Habits, thought, capacity for enjoyment, and character need radical change, for frivolity and cheapness of mind, uncleanness and unholiness, acting out own impulses and refusing repression or restraint, will surely end in perishing in sins unless Satan is cast off and Jesus is accepted. The Holy Spirit then purifies the entire nature from moral defilement, producing an altogether different character where God is all and in all, with no wish that needs to be repressed and with capabilities employed in God's service through entire surrender without reserve to the Lord's will. A heart unsanctified by Bible truth even while holding its theory and preaching it to others is known by fruits in talk and writings, proves disconnection from God, and unfits a man to teach and to be a mouthpiece for God, until he enters the school of Christ to learn meekness, gentleness and lowliness after the perfect Pattern so that speech becomes as Jesus spoke and writings breathe the Spirit of Christ. The bond of iniquity is unbelief, the occasion of all sin whose work is to make crooked things that are straight, while faith is its opposite, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen, bringing rest and peace when the soul becomes as a little child learning of Jesus and living by every word of God; and a woe rests on the unbelief and criticism that refuses the Spirit of God, which shuts the heart against divine grace and keeps it from drinking in the great salvation offered.
Those who have had the message before them for years can still be unconverted in this bond and need converting now by careful study of Acts 8, by giving the individual self to God, and by becoming truly converted men baptized with the Holy Spirit so the Spirit will cooperate. The work is to spread out into neglected cities by division and subdivision instead of centering in a few places and leaving missionary work undone. Small schools are to be established to prepare workers, and books and papers are to be dispensed.
Peter spoke these words to rebuke Simon Magus after his baptism, when Simon offered money for power to give the Holy Spirit, exposing his heart as not right before God and calling him to repent and pray for forgiveness.
His attempt showed wicked presumption and selfishness that treated a sacred gift of God as merchandise to be bought for worldly gain, when pardon must be sought from God and spiritual gifts cannot be purchased.
To be in this state is to be trapped in inward bitterness and degrading bondage to sin, bound by unbelief that keeps the heart from grace even while the person imagines himself free.
It describes profession without sanctification, where one may hold correct doctrine and even preach it yet remain disconnected from God, bitter in heart and bound as truly as the wicked while thinking himself righteous.
Escape comes only by repentance with broken-hearted confession and by receiving Christ within, who died as the only hope of rescue and through the Holy Spirit purifies the nature and brings rest and peace.
Simon's Sin and Rebuke
Peter's words are a sharp rebuke spoken to Simon Magus after his baptism, when Simon offered money for power to bestow the Holy Spirit. His heart was declared not right in the sight of God, untouched by divine grace and still held under the power of sin in inward bitterness. He was exposed as a deceiver whose plots were defeated as the gospel was carried forward. He was called to repent and to pray for forgiveness, for a heart so bound needs repentance and forgiveness.
His attempt to obtain the Spirit's power with money revealed wickedness, presumption and selfishness. He valued God's gift as a means of worldly gain and treated sacred things of God as merchandise, coming to the banquet yet not eating the Word of life. Sacred spiritual gifts cannot be bought or sold, and sacred eternal interests must be distinguished from common things. Pardon is to be sought from God rather than purchased with money from a human religious authority.
Simon had welcomed satanic influence to obtain supernatural power, and therefore, unlike those tormented by possession, he had no conflict with demons. Though baptized and joined to the disciples, he remained a tare among wheat. His example shows that one counted among believers can still be a false brother and unworthy member, in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.
Bound Heart Exposed
To be in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity is to be trapped in inward bitterness and degrading bondage to sin, with a heart not right and untouched by divine grace. The bond is unbelief, the occasion of all sin, whose work is to make straight things crooked and to shut the heart against grace and keep it from drinking in the great salvation offered. That unbelief rests under woe when it hardens into criticism that refuses the Spirit, while faith is its opposite, bringing rest and peace as the soul becomes as a little child learning of Jesus and living by every word of God. Even so the bound person may imagine himself free while following his own desires, yet remain in bitter, sinful bondage without thorough conversion, needing Christ who died as the only hope of rescue to awaken a sense of the sinfulness of sin and draw him to himself through the cross.
A heart still ruled by cherished evil is in this condition, for secretly enjoying impure thoughts or lustful looks shows sin dwelling within. Open wrongdoing does not create that evil but brings to light what was already hidden in the heart.
The verse describes profession without sanctification by Bible truth, even when a person holds its theory, preaches it to others, and may be correct on doctrine, as in the truth about the law in Galatians. Such a state is known by fruits in talk and writings that are not after Christ's order, proves disconnection from God, unfits a man to teach the truth and to be a mouthpiece to the people, and requires entering the school of Christ to learn meekness, gentleness and lowliness after the perfect Pattern so that speech becomes as Jesus spoke and writings breathe the Spirit of Christ. Professing Christians who do not do Christ's words remain bitter in heart and bound by sin just as truly as the children of the wicked one and do his works just as truly, and those who depart from uprightness remain morally deformed and impure even when they claim to serve God and speak of mercy and love, failing to recognize guile in their own hearts while thinking themselves righteous.
The condition can persist after years under the message, with those so situated still unconverted and needing converting now. Leaving it requires thorough conversion and complete new birth, for habits, thought, capacity for enjoyment and character need radical change, with frivolity and cheapness of mind, uncleanness and unholiness, acting out own impulses and refusing repression or restraint surely ending in perishing in sins unless Satan is cast off and Christ is accepted to dwell within by faith as the hope of glory, the Holy Spirit purifying the entire nature from moral defilement into an altogether different character where God is all and in all and capabilities are employed in His service through entire surrender without reserve. It appears as wickedness and disobedience with great evil carried on in secret for years now being brought to light, as seen in San Francisco and likewise in many cities. The gall of bitterness is deep bitterness of soul shown in hatred toward appointed leaders, in being a bitter opponent full of the spirit of Satan working against ministers, continually opposing their labors and interrupting their meetings, so that a claimed surrender is not genuine while that bitterness remains and will not be accepted.
Repentance and New Life
To be in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity is to stand under Peter's sharp rebuke to Simon after his baptism, when Simon offered money for power to bestow the Holy Spirit and was told his heart was not right before God and that he must repent and pray for forgiveness. Such a baptized professor can still be a tare among wheat, coming to the banquet yet not eating the Word of life and treating sacred things as merchandise, and sacred spiritual gifts cannot be bought or sold. That condition must be met with sharp testimony that reveals sin and distinguishes sacred eternal interests from common things, even when the worker is disappointed and discouraged because the carnal mind is dark and spiritual things are spiritually discerned. God now bids all who profess Christ yet do not do His words, who remain bitter in heart and bound just as truly as children of the wicked one and do his works, to come to repentance with hearts broken before Him, with confession of sins and conversion, with humility in seeking the Lord and sincerity in doing His works, a work that causes angels to rejoice when ministers and people take it up.
Those trapped in sin and its bitterness are lost sinners needing rescue, and Christ's death is their only hope of saving them. Lifted on the cross erected to save man, He became sin for the fallen race without knowing sin by sinning, bore the terrible weight of the guilt of the whole world, and became propitiation so that all who receive Him become sons of God. Through the cross He awakens in the repenting soul a sense of the sinfulness of sin and seeks to draw all to Himself. Through the Holy Spirit a new principle of mental and spiritual power is brought to man to become one with God through association with divinity.
Leaving that condition comes only by receiving Christ, having Christ within as the hope of glory and dwelling in the heart by faith. Habits, thought, capacity for enjoyment, and character need radical change, for frivolity and cheapness of mind, uncleanness and unholiness, acting out own impulses and refusing repression or restraint, will surely end in perishing in sins unless Satan is cast off and Jesus is accepted. The Holy Spirit then purifies the entire nature from moral defilement, producing an altogether different character where God is all and in all, with no wish that needs to be repressed and with capabilities employed in God's service through entire surrender without reserve to the Lord's will. A heart unsanctified by Bible truth even while holding its theory and preaching it to others is known by fruits in talk and writings, proves disconnection from God, and unfits a man to teach and to be a mouthpiece for God, until he enters the school of Christ to learn meekness, gentleness and lowliness after the perfect Pattern so that speech becomes as Jesus spoke and writings breathe the Spirit of Christ. The bond of iniquity is unbelief, the occasion of all sin whose work is to make crooked things that are straight, while faith is its opposite, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen, bringing rest and peace when the soul becomes as a little child learning of Jesus and living by every word of God; and a woe rests on the unbelief and criticism that refuses the Spirit of God, which shuts the heart against divine grace and keeps it from drinking in the great salvation offered.
Those who have had the message before them for years can still be unconverted in this bond and need converting now by careful study of Acts 8, by giving the individual self to God, and by becoming truly converted men baptized with the Holy Spirit so the Spirit will cooperate. The work is to spread out into neglected cities by division and subdivision instead of centering in a few places and leaving missionary work undone. Small schools are to be established to prepare workers, and books and papers are to be dispensed.