[Acts 8:4-24, New International Version of the Bible: ]
ACTS 8:4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. [5] Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. [6] When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. [7] With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. [8] So there was great joy in that city.
ACTS 8:9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, [10] and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.” [11] They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. [12] But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. [13] Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
ACTS 8:14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. [15] When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, [16] because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
ACTS 8:18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money [19] and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
ACTS 8:20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! [21] You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. [22] Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. [23] For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
ACTS 8:24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Well, Simon is a sorcerer—a magician. He went around making a living as a sorcerer. He was also able to have great honor, praise and prestige from all the people because he was able to trick them and do things that would amaze them. They thought that he had some divine power, known as the “Great Power.” In our day, we might say, “May the Force be with you.”
But Simon’s power was trickery! It was “slight of hand”, and he knew that. And when he saw the true miracles, and the true signs and wonders that the apostles were doing, he was amazed, and he believed.
Philip is a prominent person in this story—a prominent minister/preacher/evangelist. I think Philip is sort of a great “unsung hero” in the Bible. You kind of see him here and there, and get little snatches and grabs of his life.
We see Philip first in Acts 6 when he is one of the seven men chosen to serve. We see him here in the story of Simon the Sorcerer in a city in Samaria. Now that’s interesting, isn’t it. Philip is in Samaria. And that’s an important fact. You remember when Jesus was talking to the woman at the well, [John 4:4-42], it says that He had to go through Samaria. Well, Jesus didn’t really have to go through Samaria. There was a well-worn path around Samaria that any good Jew would take. [Samaria and the people of Samaria were considered “unclean” by the Jews. The Jews of Samaria had intermarried with people of other nations and therefore were not full-blooded Jews. Any Jew having to travel would travel around Samaria, and not through it.] But because of who Jesus was, He had to go through Samaria—He had to talk to those people. And Philip is like that. He goes to Samaria and preaches to the people. Of course, later, we see Philip with the Ethiopian Eunuch, [Acts 8:26-40]. Philip taught him and then baptized him. And then near the end of the book of Acts, Acts 21, we see that Paul and Luke, and maybe several others, stay at Philip’s house with his family. Philip is a great “unsung hero.”
So, let’s look at this story. I want to look at three topics that you will see through this story. It talks about salvation. It talks about signs and wonders—signs and miracles, depending on which version of the Bible you are reading. And it talks about sin. Let’s take a look at those three topics.
We’re told that the people believed and were baptized. You know, if you listen to religious radio programs you don’t hear things like that. We used to always hear that the way that you are saved is to hear, believe, repent, confess AND be baptized, and that that’s how you get into heaven. But you don’t hear ALL of that Truth any more. And that’s what I call a “contraption.”
A couple of month’s ago when it was much colder outside than it is now, I locked my car keys in my car while at work. I had to try to get into the car, so I made a “contraption.” I took the metal pieces off of two hanging file folders and hooked them together to make a long metal piece. I wanted to use the little hook at the end of the metal piece, slide the metal piece down the window toward the lock, hook the lock and pull open the lock on the door of my car.
It was very cold in the afternoon as I stood outside by my car. A weather front had come in. I stood out there for more than 30 minutes trying to get my car door open with this “contraption” that I had made because I didn’t have the real thing—my key. I couldn’t do it. I thought I could. I truly believed I could. The colder I became, the more I thought, “No, this can work. I know this can work!” And I kept trying and trying because I truly, truly, really believed that I could get into my car using the “contraption” that I had made. It didn’t happen. But you know, it didn’t matter how sincere I was in my belief that I could unlock my car in a different way.
Well, you know the point I’m trying to make. There’s only one way into heaven. We’re told in Romans 10, and verse 17, that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing [comes] by the Word of God.” We are told in John 3, and verse 16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” So, we are to hear and to believe.
In Acts 17, verses 29 and 30, we’re told to repent: “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent.”
We’re told, again in Romans 10, to confess the Lord—Romans 10, and beginning in verse 8: “But what does it say? ‘The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the Word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved,” [Romans 10:8-10].
And to be baptized? Well, let’s spend a few minutes on that one, because that’s the one that is so hard for people to seem to be able to grasp. Let’s read Acts 2:37 and 38. Of course, you’ll recognize this as Peter’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Repent and be baptized FOR the forgiveness of your sins.
Have you ever heard of the term called “baptismal regeneration?” If you are a member of the church of Christ, then the people you hear on the radio [religious programs] “SAY” that THAT’S what you [as a member of the church of Christ] believe. And I’d never heard this term, “baptismal regeneration,” used in the church of Christ. “Baptismal regeneration.” It’s a belief that there’s something “magic” about baptism that saves you—specifically that there is something magic about the water that saves you. And if you truly listen to the way the religious programs describe it on the radio, it is truly stupid, to be very honest. We would have the same objections to this “baptismal regeneration” belief that Naaman [in 2 Kings, chapter 5] had when he was told to “go dip in the Jordan River,” and Naaman said, “Aren’t the rivers where I came from better rivers than the Jordan River? Don’t they have better water? What’s magic about the water in the Jordan River?” [Read the exact words Naaman spoke in 2 Kings 5:12.] Well, there wasn’t anything “magic” about the water in the Jordan River! But God SAID, “Go dip in the Jordan!” It was a matter of obedience! The point is obedience! Naaman was told to wash in the Jordan River.
Baptism is a symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. Tommy Woodall read to us from Romans 6, and I’ll not repeat all of that reading. But Romans 6 is talking about baptism as a symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. But another point about baptism has to do with obedience—that in baptism, we OBEY! We DO what we have been told to do! And if you won’t obey God in something so very easy like baptism, how are you going to obey God when the difficult times come into your life? We start our walk with the Lord through baptism. It’s something so very easy.
And we’re told here in Acts 2:38 that we are baptized “FOR the forgiveness of your sins.” Well, if you listen to the radio or listen to some denominations, you will also hear them talk about this verse, and they say, “Oh. Yeah. What that means is that you’re being baptized because you have already been forgiven.” They say that the word “FOR” in “FOR the forgiveness of your sins” means that you have already been forgiven, so you are only being baptized to “glorify God or to praise Him,” because “you’ve ALREADY been forgiven of your sins.”
Well, let’s study that belief for a minute. If you look in Matthew, chapter 26, and verse 28—let me start in verse 27 just so you will understand the situation—Matthew 26:27-29: “Then He [Jesus] took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many FOR the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.’” The phrase there that Jesus uses, “FOR the forgiveness of sins,” is the exact same phrase, even in the original Greek transcripts, to the phrase that Peter uses about baptism in Acts 2:38, that we are baptized “FOR the forgiveness of your sins.” How foolish would it be to read here in Matthew where Jesus is talking about dying, about shedding His blood FOR the forgiveness of sins, and to think, “Oh, He is just saying, ‘I’m going to shed My blood because you have already been forgiven.” [In other words, why would Jesus die FOR the forgiveness of the sins of people who are already forgiven?] That makes so little sense that it is hard to even think about, isn’t it? We are baptized FOR [to receive] the forgiveness of sins. And so, in our story about Simon, many people were being baptized FOR the forgiveness of sins. Simon himself was baptized FOR the forgiveness of sins.
And Simon the Sorcerer believes because he sees these true signs and miracles that are happening. He knows the difference between true signs and miracles that he sees the apostles doing, and his own “magic” and tricks. He is not easily fooled [because he already knows how to fool people with magic and sorcery]. We see in verse 13, “Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles that he saw.”
What were signs and miracles for? What was their purpose? Well, we’re told in at least two places [in the Scriptures] about the purpose of signs and miracles. First, in Mark 16, and verse 20, we’re told, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and CONFIRMED His Word by the signs that accompanied it.” The signs and the wonders and the miracles were to CONFIRM THE WORD! Second, we are told in Acts 14, and verse 3,…Paul and Barnabas are in the city of Iconium…“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who CONFIRMED the message of His grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.” And these signs and wonders had that effect, even on Simon—even on someone who made his living by “amazing the people.”
Well, we no longer need the signs, and the miracles and the wonders. We have the Word! The Word is finished [in its written form in the Bible]. As we read the Bible, we can look in history and see and read about the wonders and the miracles that happened. We can see that at times even enemies of Christ said that they couldn’t deny the fact that a miraculous sign or wonder had happened, [Acts 4:16].
And how was the power to perform signs and wonders and miracles given from one person to another? How did someone receive the power to do these things? Well, we’re told there in verse 18 of our story—this is Acts 8:18-19—“When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, ‘Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’” So the “laying on of the apostles’ hands” was how people got the ability to do the signs and the wonders.
But do we have apostles today? I guess there are some groups of people today who think that there are apostles today. Let’s study that from God’s Word. (I really like the fact that we are using the book of Acts for our Scripture readings on Sunday nights now. What a wonderful book to study.)
The last apostle to be added was Matthias. We read about him tonight [in our Scripture reading before the sermon began - Acts 1:23-26]. Well, why was he added? Why not just go on with the work with the remaining eleven apostles [Judas having hanged himself after betraying Jesus]? Well, he was added to fulfill Scripture. We’re told that in Acts 1, and verse 20. “‘For,’ said Peter, ‘it is written in the book of Psalms,
“‘May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’
and,
‘May another take his place of leadership.’”
And so they decided that they needed to fill that position that Judas left vacant.
So, what are the qualifications for an apostle? Could you have an apostle today? Well, let’s read on. The next two verses tell us the qualifications for an apostle-Acts 1:21-22: “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” Well, can you have a person today who has lived from the time of the baptism of John? Are there people today who got to see Jesus and be a witness to His resurrection? No, we don’t have anyone that old today! So we can’t have apostles today. And we can’t have these miraculous signs and wonders being passed on from person to person because they were only passed on from the apostles’ hands!
Well, let’s study Simon’s offer. He wanted to be able to have this ability. “Give me this ability also so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Simon is a brand new Christian. How is Peter going to handle this situation? How should you treat a brand new Christian who sins? What does Peter say? He says, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” It says, “You have no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not right before God.” Peter tells Simon to “repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
We see many times where people are misguided—times where Christians sin. In the book of Acts, let’s see how this is handled.
Back in [Acts] chapter 5, we have Ananias and Sapphira. And if you remember the story there, what happened was that people were selling their land, and they would come, and they would lay down the money that they received for their land at the feet of the apostles. And Ananias and Sapphira sell some property, and they come before the apostles and lay down a portion of the money. Well, there was nothing really wrong with that except they laid the portion of it down and made people think that this was the total money they got for the land they had sold! And, thus, they were lying! And Ananias was told in Acts 5, and verse 4, “Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” Well, you know the story. Ananias falls down dead!
The young men carry him off and bury him. The people that did that come back in, and about that time the wife of Ananias is there. She is confronted. “Did you sell the land for this much money?” She answers, “Yeah, we did.” And she falls down dead.
You know, you always hear that the Old Testament is full of stories of God being very swift in judgment, and that the New Testament is just the opposite of that. Some people say that we have a different God in the New Testament than we did in the Old Testament.
Well, let’s keep looking. We have Ananias and Sapphira. We have Simon, who has been confronted there by Peter. And in Acts, chapter 12, we have Herod. Beginning in verse 21 of Acts, chapter 12: “On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man.’ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died,” [Acts 12:21-23]. Well, that doesn’t sound like “kid gloves” there either! That doesn’t sound like trying to do something not to offend somebody!
In chapter 13 of Acts, there is an account of another sorcerer. He was a fellow named Elymas. Beginning in [Acts 13] verse 9: “Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ‘You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.’ Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand,” [Acts 13:9-11]. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!
We have in Acts, chapter 18—this will be the last example I’ll use here, but in [Acts,] chapter 18, verses 18 and following, we have Aquilla and Priscilla and Apollos. And Apollos was a real good evangelist, a real good person. But he didn’t know accurately about baptism. Well, what happens? We’ll begin down in verse 24—Acts 18:24: “Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately,” [Acts 18:24-26].
So, what is tolerated? Was a sin tolerated? No, the sin is hit head on, point blank. Being misguided and teaching misguided things—was that tolerated? Well, perhaps it was dealt with a little more calmly, but no. God’s church should be pure. God’s people should strive to do those things that HE wants us to do.
This morning, John Phillis talked about Cornelius and his family. And often you hear something about Cornelius when you try to talk about baptism among people who belong to a denomination. And just a side note here. You know, we talk about people who are in denominations, and we talk about folks who are “nondenominational.” It used to be, back in the old days, that the church of Christ, as an organization, considered itself undenominational—not a church that could be combined together with other “nondenominational” groups. But the churches of Christ were a group of folks who believed that there should not be any denominations. “Nondenominational” has a meaning to it that, “Oh, it’s okay. Whatever denomination you belong to, we all just sort of believe the same thing. Come on anyway.” Whereas “UNdenominational” has a sense to it that there is one true church, and that THAT is what we strive to copy and to go back to [in the New Testament, as our example and pattern].
But back to Cornelius and his family. Here we have a group of folks who are Gentiles [all people of all nations who were not Hebrews/Jews/Israelites]. Peter goes down there to the city of Joppa to talk to Cornelius and his family. This was after Peter saw the vision of the sheet lowered and raised three times, and he’s wondering what that’s all about. And he finally figures out that this has to do with God’s revelation that you cannot now call anyone “unclean,” that it is now okay to preach to the Gentiles and accept the Gentiles into the Lord’s church.
And in Acts 10, verse 44, we see the Holy Spirit descending upon these Gentiles. They have a baptism of the Holy Spirit, much like on the day of Pentecost for the Jews [in Acts 2]. These are the first Gentiles to be brought into the Lord’s church. “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers [Jews who had been converted to Christ and His church] who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues [speaking in other known and understood languages] and praising God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have,’” [Acts 10:44-47].
Now if you stop reading right there, you can kind of “buy in to”—you can kind of accept or believe—what people are going to tell you. Here are some folks who have received the Holy Spirit and been given the ability to speak in other languages just like the apostles did on the day of Pentecost. And that happens before they are baptized! And so some people think, “Well, aren’t they saved then already?” But what does the next verse say? “So he [Peter] ordered that they be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ…” [Acts 10:48]. The older versions of the Bible say that Peter “commanded” that they be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. Cornelius and his family were ordered to be baptized. Baptism followed these events immediately! There was not even a choice offered there, like—“Well, you know, if you really feel good about what has happened to you, you ought to be baptized. It’s your choice.” NO, they were commanded to be baptized! They were ordered to be baptized!
One last thought about our story of Simon the Sorcerer. Simon is someone who didn’t come from the same kind of background, I suppose, as a lot of the Jews had. He was probably a lot more “rough around the edges” [perhaps not as polite or educated as others—perhaps associating with people who were also robbing or cheating other people]. He was used to deceiving people, and living that kind of life. So he offers the money to the apostles so that he may be able to have the same power as the apostles had, and he gets confronted about that. But in verse 24 of Acts 8, “Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.’”
We are to repent as we are in the process of becoming Christians. Do we ever need to repent after we become Christians? Yes, we do. And here is man who has been a Christian for just a little while, and he is already repenting. He is already asking for prayers.
From this story, we can learn about salvation. We can learn about signs and wonders that once had a very strong importance. These signs and wonders are still something that we can look back to—by reading and studying God’s Word—and cherish because they confirmed the Word of God, which we can now hold in our hands and read, study and obey. We learn about sin, about repentance and about asking others to pray for us. From God’s Word, we can be SURE that our heart is right before Him.