You Son Of The Devil

But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
Acts 13:8-10

We find pretty strong language used by the Apostle Paul in our text above as he encountered a Jew named Bar-Jesus, also known as Elymas. This sorcerer had long enjoyed great influence over the ruling official in the city of Salamis on the island of Cyprus, but when Paul and Barnabas’ message began to win the heart of this proconsul, Elymus realized quickly the threat the gospel message posed to his respected status. He immediately sought to turn the governor from the truth but instead ended up being rebuked by the apostle and made blind for a season. In spite of Satan seeking to hinder the work of God’s ministers, the end result was that the proconsul believed! (v. 12) Indeed, if God is for us, who can stand against us?!! (Rom 8:31)

This text highlights the fact that we are called at times to resist certain individuals strongly. Certainly the Lord has called us to peace. “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” (Rom 12:18) But, as seen in this encounter, sometimes peace is just not possible. Even the peacemakers, those blessed ones of Mat 5:9, must at times give strong rebuke and deal sharply with people. So, when are we instructed to act in such a way? We are to do so when individuals would purposely seek to pervert the gospel and deceive souls in order to benefit themselves. It was always the religious teachers who twisted God’s word for selfish means that Christ dealt with most harshly (see Mat 23:13-33). We see this same teaching in Paul’s letter to Titus concerning the Cretans among whom he was ministering. In Tit 1:10-13, he writes:

For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith…

Notice why Titus needed to deal with such individuals so harshly: “that they may be sound in the faith”. The goal is the recovery of these souls! We don’t deal with them in this fashion because we despise them. Rather out of love, we show the severity of their sin by resisting them severely. Consider the book of Galatians. The Apostle Paul was tough on that church! He spoke roughly to them. You’ll find no pleasantries at the beginning of that letter like you find in his writings to the other churches. His first direct statement to them in Gal 1:6 is, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel…” But, he asks them later in 4:16, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” He wasn’t dealing with them as an enemy–he was being their best friend because he was telling them the truth!

Paul’s words to Elymas weren’t out of line. They were needful both for the sake of the governor he was influencing, and they were needful for Elymas’ own soul’s sake. We see the same example set forth by our Lord in Joh 8:44-45 as He spoke to the Jews who were rejecting Him and encouraging others to do the same. Jesus’ words weren’t tender and mild here! “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.” He was their best friend–He told them the truth! We shouldn’t feel guilty when holy zeal prompts a harsh rebuke. Remember, “Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Pro 27:5-6)

Jamie

Leave a Reply