I had seen this verse before but had not noticed these Jews had actually successfully managed to cast out demons calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. This is so crazy because other version describe the men as exorcists and men who were trying the game Paul was doing (implying these men never really believed in Jesus themselves or were in it to profit personally in some way). This shows me that people can receive power from the Lord to do amazing things even when your faith is weak or fake but eventually, this weak faith will come back to bite you. The verses actually say they were able to cast out the demons, "but one day..." they got their butts handed to them because their faith was shown false. You may think half-assed faith will benefit you, but one day, you will be put to the test.

Promise

Those with genuine and lasting faith will be proven true by outlasting all those who claim to be in relationship with Jesus but are only saying the right things. True faith will pass any test thrown at you.

Command

Stop being fake and change. Stop pretending and saying all the right things so people will see that you appear godly.

Warning

People who live as these men did are the same Paul warns timothy of in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. You will be found out if your faith is fake. It cannot be hidden from God because your life does not lie, it only shows the truth.

Application

I do want to be a man whose life is built on religious practices or words. I don't care about looking right for other people, I just want to serve the Lord and bring back people from their lost and powerless states into the ones of conquest they were originally created to be. I need to share these verses with others, specifically my people so that things can change and they will grow.

Tweet