When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
Here we see the power of the gospel, the fruit of repentance, and the end result of God's glory and kingdom expanding. That which was previously important and valuable to them became known for what it really was: sinful and offensive to God. So they destroyed it!
Surely they could have sold their scrolls and made a great deal of profit, even with the intention of giving it to the church or in support of Paul's ministry. But the ends do not justify the means, and the only suitable end for these items was complete destruction, lest they lead others away from the one true God.
In our lives, are we willing to take such drastic measures to rid ourselves of those things that displease and dishonor God? Do we make the effort to completely end those sinful habits in our lives, or do we merely try to limit them? Tone them down? Or maybe profit from them as they exit the door?
May God grant us to live out this kind of repentance, regardless of the cost, that it might glorify Him and display the power of His gospel in our lives!
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