Acts 13:10
“And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
Have you ever heard of someone accused of bending the rules? To bend the rules would be to twist what they say for the sake of not being guilty of breaking them. The only reason a person would bend the rules is for personal gain.
It is a powerful indictment for God to describe Elymas as a person who perverts “the right ways of the Lord.” To “pervert” something means to distort, twist or corrupt. In other words to “pervert the right ways of the Lord” means that someone is twisting, distorting or corrupting His ways. Elymas the sorcerer perverted the ways of the LORD for his personal gain; however, what God describes as perverting the “right ways” is not what most people would expect. God shows four ways Elymas perverted His ways.
First, he perverted them through subtlety. In other words, he was very deceitful in his actions. He didn't pervert these ways openly, but he hid the truth from those whom he influenced. My question for you would be, are you perverting the right ways by being deceitful? Christians ought to be people who are not secretive about what they are doing. For instance, in my home there are two words that we live by to keep deceit from destroying it. Those two words are: “no secrets.” This brings me to question you; are you withholding something from your spouse or parents? Christians should be transparent in their actions. Anything that must be done in secret is founded in deceit and is wrong.
Second, he perverted the right ways through mischief. The word “mischief” means, to hurt others through playful misbehavior. In other words, Elymas used teasing words to hurt the Gospel. You must be careful with the words you use. Words are powerful, and when the words you say are hurtful, you are guilty of perverting the right ways. Be careful about tearing people down in a playful manner. Moreover, you don't have to belittle people to fight sin. Degrading people because they commit sin is not what the LORD would have you do. Call sin what it is, and let the Scriptures do the work in the heart of the individual.
Third, he perverted the right ways by not being saved. Elymas was called a “child of the devil.” Let me ask you, are you saved? Are you portraying to be saved, but inside know you are not. Don't be like Elymas who portrayed to be a religious person, but was knowingly lost. If you have doubts about your salvation, get them settled. There is no place for a person in the service of the LORD to doubt their salvation. You are perverting the ways of the LORD when you do this.
Fourth, he perverted the right ways by being an “enemy of righteousness.” In other words, he openly worked against the works of God. Many Christians have become an “enemy of righteousness”by fighting the holiness standards God has placed in His Word. Just because you don't like the standard God established for holiness doesn't give you a right to fight against it. If you choose to fight against God’s standards, you are fighting against God.
Are you perverting the “right ways” of God? God’s children are to be people of truth. Be careful that you don't allow yourself to become God’s enemy by allowing these four things into your life.