FFC wrote:Let me throw this in. When it says His disciples believed in him what does that mean? What did they believe? Could it be possible that they just believed like Nicodemus at this point that He was a teacher from God? Could it be that they didn't understand the whole truth at this point, which was that Jesus would be the suffering Messiah. There are a few passages when He plainly tells them what is going to happen to them and they don't undersatnd His words.
I can see why you might bring this up, FFC, but I wouldn't go with this line of reasoning on a technical reason. The words "believe in" in John (
pisteuw eis in all its forms) is the term that John uses consistently to describe salvic belief. So, when John says that Jesus disciples "believed in Him," I would take that as saving faith.
Puritan Lad wrote:Well, at least you are consistent.
I would like to know your interpretation of Peter's rebuke of Simon in Acts 8:20-23, which occurred after Simon believed.
"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.”"
If what you say is true, then why did Simon need to repent? Why did he need forgiveness? How is it that he was still bound by iniquity? What did Peter mean when he said that "Your money perish with you". If he was talking about physical death, then was that to be avoided by repenting?
Just because we are saved doesn't mean we don't sin, and when we sin, we have to be forgiven of those sins . . . here's the way I look at it (which, I don't suppose, is very different from the way you look at it): when we are saved, we are born in Christ. Thus, positionally, we are absolutely saved. However, on a day to day basis, our fellowship with God may or may not be where it needs to be. When we sin, we break fellowship with God, and we must confess and repent to bring that relationship back to a right standing.
Now, Simon had thought that he could buy this "magic" power he saw the apostles demonstrating. This isn't a matter of Simon wanting the indwelling of the HS to help him in his Christian life. He wanted to be able to do the kind of things that Peter could do. Thus, he demonstrated his greed, covetness, etc. These are all sin, and Peter rebuked him for these. He told him to repent. Until that happened, he would be a miserable man, being bitter and "bound by iniquity." The iniquity here is his greed. Peter was telling him to give that to God.
And you are right about perishing referring to physical death. It is a common principle in Scripture that sins leads to death in the physical sense. If Simon didn't repent, he was in danger of dying.
