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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Acts 15
When Peter spoke of his prior interaction with Cornelius, testifying that God gave that group of Gentiles His Holy Spirit, he noted that God had cleansed their hearts by faith. That jumped out at me because it highlighted the truth that God’s Spirit and a clean heart go together. A holy God will not inhabit a defiled space. Our hearts are by nature defiled. But when we put our faith in Jesus, allowing Him to cover us with His own righteousness, God changes things. Like David in his darkest hour of sin we pray, “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10). And that is exactly what He does, by grace through our faith in Christ.
Acts 16
There are a lot of things about Christian living that are hard to explain. One of those things is where to draw the line between forgiveness and accountability. Some people think that forgiving means letting everybody off the hook for whatever they do. But I don’t see that line of thinking to be consistent with the Bible. Paul gives an example here. He could have silently walked out of that prison and let the issue go. But he didn’t. Instead, he insisted on holding the officials who had wronged him and Silas to account. Why did he not simply forgive?
It’s possible that Paul’s insistence on accountability in this case had to do with the fact that the wrongdoers were governing officials. He could certainly forgive the individuals involved, even while holding the body of government accountable to their own laws. I have to think, though, that Paul would have handled the situation differently had he been dealing with fellow believers. I think he would choose to be wronged if doing so would reconcile the offending believers to God.
Also, I think about Jesus’ parable about the unforgiving servant, who demanded repayment of a very minor debt after being forgiven his own impossible one. Forgiveness has two distinct sides. It does its work in the heart of the forgiver regardless of what the other party does. However, if the other party refuses to accept the forgiveness, he remains accountable for his misdeed. Such was the case for that unforgiving servant. We receive forgiveness through repentance. Thus, where there is no repentance, there is accountability. So that line between forgiveness and accountability? I’m not so sure it’s a line at all. Both seek reconciliation with God. Letting an unrepentant heart bypass the consequences of its wrong actions will never accomplish that.