Acts 13:9-11 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.… Paul's rebuke, of course, applies to the specific iniquity of Elymas, but with a master hand the apostle at the same time delineates the characteristics of sin in general. The punishment of Elymas is also typical. I. SIN. 1. Its subtle methods. There is nothing straightforward about sin; nor can there be: for were its nature and consequences clear, it would be universally shunned and abhorred. Its methods, therefore, must needs be crooked and insinuating. Evil is dressed up in the guise of good. The fruit of the tree was made pleasant to the eyes of Eve. So is it all through time. 2. Its mischievous effects. It debases the body, degrades the mind, debilitates the will, and damns the soul. 3. Its Satanic paternity. "The serpent was more subtle than all the beasts of the field." The devil injects the sinful thought, guides the sinful resolution, helps the sinful action, and enjoys the sinful effect. 4. Its enmity to righteousness. Right and wrong are not coordinate powers which, like adjacent states, can flourish side by side and enter into peaceful alliances with each other. They are ever in irreconcilable antagonism, and the prosperity of the one is absolutely dependent on the destruction of the other. 5. Its perversion of the right ways of the Lord. This is the essence of sin. It is not simply negation, but perversion; and its highest achievement is to secure the acceptance of evil under the guise of good. Elymas, as a Jewish prophet, armed with the authority of a Divine dispensation, threw a spell over the mind of the proconsul, and endeavoured to use his usurped authority for selfish and villainous purposes. Wherein does he differ from the modern hypocrite? II. ITS PUNISHMENT. 1. Its subtlety is detected. (1) Sometimes sin overreaches itself; it is not sufficiently comprehensive in its views. Ahab calculated on getting Naboth's vineyard, but did not calculate on Elijah. So here Elymas overlooked the possibility of the advent of a Paul. (2) Sometimes its detection is the result of some extraordinary Divine agency — "Saul, filled with the Holy Ghost." The common saying, "Murder will out." How often, by a trivial oversight on the part of the criminal, or by some trifling coincidence, has a great crime been revealed. 2. Its mischievous effects are turned upon the sinner. He who sought to blind the intellect of Sergius Paulus is himself made blind. "Be sure your sin will find you out." 3. The son inherits the father's punishment. Satan is the prince of darkness, and his children are doomed to walk in darkness. The dark ways in which the devil leads his victims leads to "outer darkness." 4. Its enmity to righteousness is met by the righteous God. "Though hand join in hand the wicked shall not go unpunished." 5. Its perversion is met by perversion. "He went about," etc. (ver. 11). (J. W. Burn.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,WEB: But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him, |
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