While sin is forgiven through Jesus' death on the cross, this does not mean that sin has consequences.
13 Some Jews who went
around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord
Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name
of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16
Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered
them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house
naked and bleeding.
While it may be true that no matter what sin we commit, God will forgive us, it does NOT mean that sin does not have consequences. So we should live in fear of God proactively and follow God - hence the reaction followed in Ephesus:
17 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. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19
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.20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
You can say in one sense that the Jews in verse 13 paid a physical price for their sin via a beating. Another consequence is that "the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. "
Another key point is that God used all of this for His Glory.
My Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your will and Your ways are great. You are able to use everything about us - good and bad - for glory. I am amazed at how you can use broken human beings for Your glory - truly awesome. I know I am broken and I know I have anger issues - please forgive me for my anger and I pray that you will purify me of this anger. Help me stay close to You and rely on You.
