Acts 19:18—“And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.”
These words capture the solemn impact of God’s work in Ephesus, a city steeped in idolatry and magical practices. After the humiliating defeat of the sons of Sceva, fear fell upon Jews and Greeks, and “the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified” (v. 17). Christ’s authority exposed the folly of invoking His name without belonging to Him.
Those who believed responded differently. They came to confess and disclose their deeds. Faith in Christ brought their former practices under the searching light of His lordship. What they had concealed or accepted could no longer be comfortably retained. Their confession acknowledged the sinfulness of their conduct and demonstrated their readiness to forsake it.
The following verse records a costly expression of this repentance: practitioners of curious arts publicly burned their valuable books (v.19). They refused to preserve instruments of spiritual bondage merely because those possessions had considerable monetary worth.
Such actions did not purchase forgiveness. Salvation is God’s gracious gift, received through faith in Christ. Nevertheless, saving faith bears fruit in repentance, honesty, and obedience. Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness (Titus 2:11–12).
We must therefore ask whether we are protecting sins that God’s Word exposes. Confession requires neither indiscriminate public disclosure nor unnecessary descriptions of evil. It requires truthful acknowledgement before God and appropriate confession to those affected.
Let us abandon excuses, seek cleansing through Christ’s blood, and decisively forsake whatever draws our hearts away from Him.
