THE GOSPEL IS NOT FOR SALE!

Last week, as we followed the adventures in ministry of one of God’s choice servants, Philip, we saw God spark both a city wide revival and track down on man in the middle of the desert who needed to hear the Gospel. Miracles were performed, souls saved, and God revealed His heart for the masses and the individual.

Today, we are going to continue in Acts 8 and see that wherever God is at work, Satan shows up to bring division and delusion. For all God has, Satan has a counterfeit. Simon is a classic example with the fingerprints of Satan all over his life.

ACTS 8:9–11 9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

Simon is identified as a sorcerer, someone who practices black magic for personal gain. Worse, he accepts the people’s worship of him as a divine figure, which from the Christian perspective makes him a satanic agent. Justin Martyr, “himself a Samaritan, reports … that nearly all his countrymen revered Simon as the highest god. It is clear from the history of his movement that ‘the great power’ was a Samaritan designation for the supreme deity.”

In the ancient world, magic—what today we would call witchcraft, sorcery, or the occult—was based on the view that human beings, gods, demons, and the visible world are all connected in ways that can be influenced by rituals involving incantations and the manipulation of objects. So someone that could practice the dark arts was viewed as themselves at least a minor deity. diseases and demons.

ACTS 8:12–13 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

Philip performed signs and wonders, and so did Simon the sorcerer. Both attracted crowds. One, however, belonged to God; the other, to Satan’s lot. Philip’s motives were pure; Simon’s were purely self-serving. The obvious difference was that Simon did it for the money and elicited public adulation and even self-deification. Philip healed people for free and directed all praise toward God by preaching of the kingdom of God. It was his preaching the word, not his miracles, that was the foundation of the Samaritans’ faith. It is important to recognize, “Before any miracles are reported, Philip’s preaching is highlighted along with the fact that the crowds ‘listened eagerly to what was said’ by him (8:6a). When the Samaritans’ belief is mentioned, it is directly connected to Philip’s ‘proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God’ (8:12).” Two summaries that emphasize the preaching of the word and testifying about Jesus also enfold the text (8:4–5, 25). Preaching is therefore the key to conversion. The gift of the Spirit is then given by God to both assure the convert of his salvation and to witness to the world that this is a child of God!

1. Signs and wonders can be from God or from Satan.

The Samaritans expected their own messianic prophet (John 4:25), and to believe that Jesus was the Messiah meant they had to forgo their own misdirected expectation and expand their horizons. They had to believe that the fulfillment of their hopes was to be found in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, and in the Jewish prophetic Scriptures (John 4:22). They also had to abandon their superstitious trust in sorcery as a viable answer to problems.

The people’s submission to the gospel demonstrates its superiority over demonic wizardry, and even the “great” sorcerer Simon is attracted to it. His astonishment at the impressive signs and miracles that come from the power of the Holy Spirit is not repentance but may become the first step toward repentance.

ACTS 8:14–17 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

After the Samaritans had believed and been baptized, why was it necessary for Peter and John to pray and lay hands on them for them to receive the Holy Spirit? The laying on of hands is also connected to the reception of the Holy Spirit in the case of Saul/Paul (9:17) and the Ephesian disciples (19:6), but Luke is not describing it as set pattern by which one receives the Spirit. Luke does not intend to portray the laying on of hands as a special ritual that channels the Spirit.

Luke’s purpose in describing this incident is twofold. First, the apostles’ intervention and laying on of hands are intended to show that the expansion of the Christian mission has been appraised and confirmed by the apostolic witnesses to Jesus’s life and ministry.

Second, Peter and John also prayed for and laid hands on the seven Hellenists (6:6). When they do the same thing for the Samaritans, it is a sign of “acceptance and solidarity” that acknowledges them “as members of the people of God.”

25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Their preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem (8:25) further confirms their desire to convert and accept Samaritans as fellow believers. The apostles’ involvement reveals that old divisions within Judaism are not to be perpetuated in the church! The church is not to be divided into various ethnic splinter groups. The church might be scattered, but believers, whether Hebrews or Hellenists, Jews or Samaritans, are unified by the same Spirit and the same message.

The apostles’ arrival from Jerusalem and participation in Philip’s mission show that any chasm between Samaritans and Jewish Christians has been bridged. Samaritans, baptized and regenerated by the Spirit, take their place alongside Jews in the people of God.

2. There is one church led by one Spirit made up of diverse people.

ACTS 8:18–21 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

Simon has substantial means amassed from his career as a sorcerer and essentially bids to purchase the license that will give him the territorial rights to distribute the Holy Spirit in Samaria. This foolish attempt to buy off the apostles underscores the fact that the enchantments of Simon’s conjuring are nothing compared to the matchless experience of the Holy Spirit.

ACTS 8:22–25 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Did Simon truly repent from his wickedness when he was baptized? Some think that he would believe anything if it was to his advantage. One interpreter of this passage said, Simon, when confronted by Peter, “resembles a cornered criminal, frightened at the prospect of punishment although not obviously remorseful over his crimes.”

Some regard Simon as only pretending to have been converted in receiving baptism. Nothing suggests that he was insincere, but his attempt to buy (and then sell the gift of God) at the very least suggests that his conversion was incomplete.

Perhaps this account simply reveals that many who will come to believe and be baptized, particularly those living in a culture where they meet pagan sorcery at every turn, will need to grow in the faith. Repentance is not a once-for-all occurrence that never needs repeating. Surrendering to the cross and its call to self-renunciation as a way of life may take time.

Old sins also can regain their attractiveness and reclaim persons. Christians can relapse. Those who have leadership positions in the church are also at risk of faltering and of, for example, “making their own persons the theme of their preaching, with the intention of making financial gain.” Lapsing Christians are always offered the option of repenting and remaining in the community.

Peter’s demand that he repent indicates two possibilities: 1. that Simon has not done anything unpardonable and 2. He still can be redeemed. Simon’s plea for Peter to pray for him is an admission of his guilt and a sign of his renewed penitence.

3. Repentance is always an option.

The Holy Spirit is purely a gift of God, and that is made clear by the fact the apostles prayed first and then laid their hands on the people. The gifts of the Spirit are not for sale and cannot be franchised. “The Holy Spirit can be and is used by God to confirm the word proclaimed by God’s servants, but it cannot be used to bring glory to an individual.” The Spirit cannot be directed by humans; instead, the Spirit’s role is to direct the lives and activities of humans. This is grace.

Simon’s case is different from the Ananias and Sapphira situation (5:1-11), in which the hypocritical couple was immediately judged. Perhaps the couple’s sin was dealt with more harshly because it was premeditated while Simon’s sin was committed at least in part by ignorance. Whatever the differentiation may be, Simon was graciously given a second chance. That’s why his story should make us repent and say, “God have mercy on us. Thank you, Lord, for your patience with us.” What a marvelous Savior we have in Jesus!