The Apostle's Head to Samaria

Recap:

Last week we looked at the Power of the Gospel in Samaria at work in the lives of people who were clearly swayed and pursuaded by the practice of the occult in that city.

How do we know this?

Because of Simon the Magician

Simon the Magician:

Was able to use magic (The is satanic/demonic influence of the world around Simon)

This magic was used to pursuade people of the power that Simpon possessed

It was clear that the peole thought he was actually from a diety

Acts 8:10 ESV

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.”

What this does is paints a backdrop for the amazing grace of God to show itself in power and might!

It was this man, who had swayed the populous with his dark art, that would hear Philipp’s message on grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ and give his life over to Jesus!

After being Baptized he continued with Philipp and seeing the signs and wonders that were being done he was the one now amazed!

Acts 8:13 ESV

13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

Introduction:

When it comes to the Christian life there is a lot of work that God has do in our Lives after we trust in Him as savior!

I know it would be so much easier to just be made perfect that moment we trust in Christ!

But we know the reality here is not that we are made perfect but that we now have the perfect righteousness of Christ!

It is from this new position in Chris that God does his work in our lives!

Where he can now teach us through the Scriptures and the Spirit of God

Where he can work out the struggles that we still have in this life that are tied to our flesh and the carnality we have be deliever from

Where God makes us daily into the image of His glorious son!

But the reason God has to do much work in us to make us like His Son, is because there is the old man that is hanging on trying to cling to whatever he can to pull us back to our old man, to the world!

We as followers of Christ tonight can testify not only that there is an evil side of us , that is carnal, and fleshly, whose apetite for the things of carnality is great.

But we know that we now know the one who has overcome this world, our flesh, and has risen in victory over sin and death, and is now seated in victory at the right hand of the Father!

1 John 4:4 ESV

4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

And although this is the goal of the believer, to live victoriously through Christ, defeating the temptation and power of the flesh in our lives.

This come through a process called sanctification, and so yes we are going to make bad choices, we are going to fail and fall short.

Not that we aim for that, but as God works in us He reveals areas where work still needs to be done, where we need to conform to the righteousness that is now our through faith in Christ.

The question tonight is are we going to allow God to do the work that He desire to in our lives? Or are you going to push back and fight against it?

Good News Travels Fast:

Acts 8:14 ESV

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,

So after the amazing impact the Gospel was having in Samaria, word had traveled back to the church in Jerusalem, where the Apostles had remained!

You can picture the elation that would be there as more and more souls were coming to know Christ.

But for the Apostles this was uncharted territory:

Remember this group of people weren’t exactly the most well revered by the Jews

And to this point in the church they had primarily been growing in Jerusalem and was primarly Jewish.

So now with the new wave of beleivers the church was growing in ways that they couldn’t imagine!

So now Peter and John have been dispatched to go and see what was happening first hand

The Samarians Recieve the Holy Spirit:

Acts 8:15–17 ESV

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.

Question:

At first glance here, what seems odd or out of place?

Question:

To what end was it that they did not recieve the Holy Spirit the moemnet they believed?

I think to understand this fully we must understand that these were true believers who had heard the Gospel and believed.

Acts 8:12 ESV

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.

“Although they did not recieve the Holy Spirit intil the apostles came from Jerusalem, the account indicates that the Samaritans had genuinely believed and were saved. They words used of them, “believed Philip,” “recieved the Word of God,” and “were baptized,” suggest nothing lacking in their faithor obedience. Apparently Philip recognized no lack for he baptized them. Even Pete and John did not question their faith, for they preached not further to them. Hence it must not have been the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit whcih was lackin, but the external manifestations which accompanied the Spirit’s arrival at Pentecost.” (Homer A Kent Jr.; Jerusalem to Rome A Study in Acts)

So the next question that we must ask then, is why was the Spirit withheld from the Samaratian believers.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 8:14–17

Normally the Holy Spirit baptizes, indwells, and seals at the moment of faith, but in this instance the delay served several purposes: (1) Peter and John’s prayer (for bestowing of the Holy Spirit) and their laying on of hands (resulting in the coming of the Spirit) confirmed Philip’s ministry among the Samaritans. This authenticated this new work to the Jerusalem apostles. (2) Also this confirmed Philip’s ministry to the Samaritans. This message Philip had preached was validated by the coming of the Spirit, a mark of the coming kingdom (cf. v. 12; Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 36:23–27; Joel 2:28–32). (3) Perhaps the most important aspect of God’s withholding the Spirit till apostolic representatives came from the Jerusalem church was to prevent schism. Because of the natural propensity of division between Jews and Samaritans it was essential for Peter and John to welcome the Samaritan believers officially into the church. The contrast between John’s attitude here and in Luke 9:52–54 is significant.

The bottom line, and what makes sense is that this was not the normal routine, espeically that we see in the rest of the NT.

Rather this was a thing that happened during a pivitol and transitional time in the church.

The delay was primarily to bring unity to the body of Christ between Jewish believers and now Samaritan believers.

But as the Bible Knowledge Commentary points out...

It confirmed the ministry of Philip among the Samaritans

Authenticating the new ministry among the Samaratins

Carnality is right at the door, waiting to be let in:

Acts 8:18–19 ESV

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.”

Obviously there was a bit of confusion here with Simon as he witnessed the Spirit coming on these new believers as they were prayed over by the Apostles.

So in a moment Simon reverted back to what he knew, what was familiar

No doubt he had paid multiple people to endow him with powers

No doubt he had purchased many resources to help him in his practice of magic.

I think his mindset revereted back and see saw opportunity!

The problem was that his heart was in the wrong place and his motives were impure.

He thought that he could simply buy this power that the Apostles had been given by God!

And boy was he about to find out!

But there is a lession here for us!

Carnality is wating at our door, waiting for us to open up and let it in!

It is part of that sin nature that holds on

It rears is ugly head whenever it can

It has not our good in mind but to pull us away from Christ

It is fueled by the great tempter who would desire to see us and our lives with Christ destroyed!

The solution to our carnal desires is Chirst:

Trust in his righteousness that is given to us by faith

Trust in His working in our lives

Trust in what He says is true, right, good, and beneficial for our lives with Him

In Christ we can say no to our carnal desires that would plunge us into sin!

A stern rebuke should accompany us when we give into carnality:

Acts 8:20–23 ESV

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. 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.”

Wow, sounds harsh man!

That seems to be the response that would accompany this kind of rebuke in today’s culture

But make no mistake it was warranted and necessary

I am well away this evening that no one likes being rebuked for doing wrong!

For a couple of reasons:

First: We don’t like to be think or have light shed on the fact that we do wrong, are capable of wrong, and need that wrong to be called out for what it is

Second: A rebuke brings to light the fact that we have not arrived to the full measure of the mature man in Christ.

Third: We don’t like Change or to change. But change is required if we are goin gto be like Christ

The Apostles however new that this idea of being able to purchase Spirit Power needed to be sharply and quickly stamped out as this new church in Samaria was born.

You Can’t buy God:

Acts 8:20 ESV

20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

It was an issue of the heart:

Acts 8:21 ESV

21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.

The only Solution was to repent:

Acts 8:22–23 ESV

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.”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 8:23–24

The allusion to bitterness (lit., “gall of bitterness,” cholēn pikrias) seems to refer to Deuteronomy 29:18, which speaks of idolatry and bitter apostasy (cf. Heb. 12:15). Simon had been captivated by false doctrine and sin. Simon’s response may have been genuine or simply an outcry of fear. At least he was apprehensive about the outcome of his tragic request (Acts 8:18–19).

The request of Simon was unholy and sinful:

Peter calls out Simon to repent:

Of his wickedness

That is to have a change of heart and mind regarding his actions

To turn from his sin and follow again after God

Peter calls Simon to pray for forgiveness of hsi sin

Interesting uses of words here that says “if possible”

What Peter is not saying is that god is somehow unwilling or reluctant to forgive sin when it is confessed

Rather Peter is saying forgiveness is only possible here if the sinner is willing to repent and confess sin

1 John 1:9–10 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

So what did simon do? He Repented

Acts 8:24 ESV

24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Conclusion:

There are many things that God did here in this passage and in this point in history that are amazing.

But in this passage I believe that there are warnings and challenges for us to folow.

Warning # 1: Carnality is lurking and wants to rule!

Warning # 2: There is no way to get around the work both we and God have to put into bring about sanctification!

Exhortation: Repent of sin and turn to God!

Exhortation: Pray and ask God for forgiveness and he will forgive you

Exhortation # 3: It’s up to us as to whether or not we will walk in fellowship with God or in the carnality of our flesh.