Two (Very Different) Effects of the Preaching of the Gospel

The audio from this video was originally part of a sermon delivered in 2005 to a packed house of college students in Birmingham, AL. And it was an accident because the prosperity gospel — the health, wealth and prosperity gospel — was not what Piper had planned to preach on.

Instead, he had come to suffering. The southeast Gulf Coast had recently been devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the message he was intending to preach was “Where Is God?”

Why the change? Well, turns out that out of the group of college students he was preaching to, some had bought into this health, wealth and prosperity gospel. And before the event, the host had spoken with Piper about his concern about this false teaching and asked pastor Piper to say something on this false teaching.

He agreed to talk about it in his sermon. He still preached his original sermon, but about two thirds into the sermon, he went off-script. And that’s where this clip comes in. John Piper is normally a very meticulous preacher. He writes his messages out word for word. But this three-minute clip in which he went off-script has become an internet sensation, the very definition of a viral video.

In fact, John Piper has become known, in many ways, in the evangelical world precisely for this video. This particular version of the video has received over 350,000 views in the past nine years. The original version has gained over one million views since then. Those three minutes were given to pastor Piper by the Holy Spirit in a clear instance of divine anointing. He had no time to prepare those remarks and claimed later that he didn’t even really have much of a memory of saying what he said.

Our text this morning in Acts gives us a chance to talk about the health, wealth and prosperity gospel. John Piper told us how he feels about that false teaching. I’m going to be presumptuous and go out on a limb and tell you how I think you as Christians should feel about it: you should feel angry about it. You should feel outraged about the prosperity gospel.

The prosperity gospel says that God wants you to enjoy perfect health in this life, overflowing bank accounts in this life, unfettered happiness in this life, and that if you do not experience these things in this life, something is wrong with you; you are defective; you need to get right with God.

Just a moment’s reflection will reveal why this teaching cannot possibly be true. But let’s get into our text and we’ll learn more.

What we’re looking at this morning is what happens when the gospel takes hold in a new place among previously unreached people. Demonic strongholds are broken when the gospel takes hold in a new place with previously unreached people. And, people sometimes make false professions of faith. You might wonder how the prosperity gospel fits into that, but I trust it will become clear to you as we go through it.

So, Acts 8:9-25. Just two points today and the first: When the gospel is preached, demonic strongholds are often broken.

#1: When the gospel is preached, demonic strongholds are often broken

In Acts 1:8, the Lord Jesus before He ascended into heaven gave the early disciples a commission. He said “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 ESV). The whole book of Acts up to this point has seen the church in action in Jerusalem and Judea and only. But the persecution that broke out after Stephen was killed sparked a mass exodus of believers from Jerusalem. Jesus had told them to make their way to Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. God used that first persecution to nudge them toward obedience. And it paid off.

Because now Philip is actually in Samaria. He’s preaching the gospel in Samaria. Look at verse 12. What is he preaching? “But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ...” That’s the gospel. The incredibly good news that despite our sin and depravity, the gracious rule and reign of our God has entered into the brokenness of our world and our lives in and through His Son Jesus who will redeem us out of that sin and brokenness if we will place our trust in Him. That message changes lives and it changed Samaria. Here’s how. Look with me at verses 9-11: Acts 8:9-11

Acts 8:9–11 ESV

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. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

I saw a magic show recently. First one I’ve ever actually been to in person. It was really fascinating, genuinely entertaining. Think about guys like David Copperfield. Is that demonic? I don’t think so.

I think when the Bible talks about magic, it’s talking about something a lot darker than David Copperfield. I think we’re talking about something like the dark arts. Oriental magic. Things like occult practices and sorcery.

There’s a biblical example of this.

Now I want you to see this hold that Simon had over the Samaritans. The way you see this is by putting these sentences together and seeing the pattern. Luke has structured these sentences with similar words and phrases that when you stack them and label them you see the pattern and it’s the two phrases in the center that show us what Luke wants to emphasize.

Simon’s hold on the people of Samaria:

A: “previously practiced magic”

B: “amazed the Samaritans”

C: “said he was someone great”

D: “they all paid attention to him”

C1: “this man is the great power of God”

D1: “they paid attention to him”

B1: “he had amazed them for a long time”

A1: “with his magic”

He wants to emphasize two things indicated by C and D and C1 and D1: the people of Samaria 1) thought he was really someone who was a sort of divine man, they said he was someone great, the power of God that is called great, they said. And 2) they as a result paid close attention to him. He held sway over them. He had power over their minds. They couldn’t look away.

When our kids were little and we’d be watching TV, if one of them needed to leave the room to get something or whatever, sometimes they would back out of the room instead of walking straight ahead so they didn’t have to take their eyes off the TV. It had a hold on them. Many of us battle constantly to put the phone down and be engaged with our families or whoever we’re with. At least times we feel transfixed by all that our phones can do. Literally all the accumulated information of the ages is available with the touch of a finger. Our phones have a hold on us.

And I don’t know about you, but I think there’s something more sinister beneath the surface with all of this. I don’t think it’s just a matter of being preoccupied with entertainment. I’m not sure it’s merely that we’re obsessed with social media. Especially when we consider how much of a struggle it is to break away from them. The deeper question is, why are we obsessed with our devices? Why do they have a hold over us? Could it be that we’re dealing with a demonic influence?

In Samaria, there was a demonic influence at work among the Samaritans through Simon. Whenever we try to access the spiritual realm on our own apart from Christ, we open ourselves to demonic influences. That’s why the Lord is so adamant that we avoid those things.

Deuteronomy 18:9–14 ESV

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.

These things are real. The spiritual realm is real. These practices are real. They aren’t fake. Human beings can access the spiritual realm. The reason God doesn’t want us to, though, is that we are not up to the task; doing those things puts us in the realm of demonic powers so sinister and so powerful that we can’t handle what we get ourselves into.

What kind of “magic” must we avoid?

Sorcery

Witchcraft

Wiccan practices

Attempting to contact the dead

Anything supernatural that does not involve God

So what happens when the gospel is preached? Strongholds are broken. Acts 8:12

Acts 8:12 ESV

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.

As they heard the gospel preached, they repented. They were convicted of their idolatry of magic. They were grieved for their sins. They called upon the name of the Lord and they were saved, forgiven, regenerated, made new. And when we read in verse 13 that they believed Philip as he preached good news, right after verse 12 in which Simon’s hold on them was described, we are to understand that Philip held sway over them no more. Someone better than Philip had come along, someone whose power is real, not contrived and manufactured like Simon’s. The stronghold of Philip’s magical arts was broken. Jesus has come in and asserted His rightful place on the throne of their hearts.

Verse 13 tells us that even Simon himself, the ringleader, the one who had the hold over them, believed. Luke wants to emphasize that so he doesn’t just say “Simon believed” - he says “even Simon believed!”

The gospel breaks strongholds. What is a stronghold? A stronghold is a deeply embedded sin habit that has been controlling a person for a very long time. There’s a demonic element to it. A person cannot break it on their own. We’re talking about addictions here, we’re talking about long-standing patterns of abuse, we’re talking Satanic worldviews and opinions. The apostle Paul says these are our real battle. 2Cor. 10:3-5

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 ESV

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

This is what the gospel does, church. The gospel of salvation full and free by faith alone in Christ alone does not just rescue us from hell; it sets us free from the chains that bind us; it changes us; it makes us new. We don’t become perfect, but God sets us on a trajectory toward godliness and Christlikeness. If we’ve trusted in Christ for salvation, God declares us innocent and perfect and then immediately gets to to work in making us like that in reality. That is how the gospel breaks strongholds.

Do you need a stronghold broken in your life today? As we’ve been going through this text, you’ve been thinking about it. You know what it is, between you and God alone. Ask God to break its power over you by the power of Christ and the message of the gospel. He may take it away immediately or he may allow you to still struggle with it but gradually fight against it and win the victory with His help.

Either way, when the gospel is preached, demonic strongholds are often broken. Secondly, when the gospel is preached, people sometimes make false professions of faith.

#2: When the gospel is preached, people sometimes make false professions of faith

Now what is a false profession of faith? A false profession of faith is when someone makes a commitment to Christ that is not sincere. A false profession of faith happens whenever someone makes a commitment to Jesus Christ under pressure, under emotional manipulation, etc.

When I was 13 years old, I went to you a youth rally. You know the 1980s and 1990s were the years of the big youth rallies. There would usually be a gifted, charismatic, funny preacher and a good band and a strong altar call at the end.

Problem is, there was this extremely emotional appeal given at the end of the sermon by the preacher. And all my friends went down front. And when you’re 13, and you want to be accepted by your friends, and they’re all going down, you feel like maybe you should go down too. “Well, there goes Michael and Josh. And Holly. Geez, now Lucas is going down and, no, not Josh - now, I have to go down. I don’t want them to think bad of me. …And it couldn’t hurt to rehash this again anyway. So down I went.

Now youth rallies can be good. Revivals can be good. The problem was not with the youth rally or the preacher or the band; the problem was my heart.

That’s a false profession of faith. The motive was not the fear of God. What drove me down front to the altar and then backstage to the room with the counselors, was not any sense of my own sin or guilt; it was peer pressure, pure and simple. We might also be able to say I was deceived into believing that I had made a true profession of faith, that I had really and truly realized my sin and repented of it and trusted in Christ as my Savior. I thought I had done that. But I had not done that. Because when I left there that night and in the weeks and months and years that followed, I was no different than I was before I walked in there. There was no change of life.

Simon’s faith: three possibilities

1. He made a sincere profession of faith and was saved, but lost his salvation

2. He made a profession of faith which was later revealed as false

3. He made a sincere profession of faith, fell into sin, and repented

I think Simon’s profession of faith may have been false. Here’s why. Look with me at the text.

First, Simon clung to Philip. Look at verse 13: “Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized”, my translations says he continued with Philip but some translations have “he followed Philip everywhere”, or one translation says “he was like Philip’s shadow”. That might just be discipleship, right? But look at what comes next: “after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.”

That word “amazed” is the same word that was used to describe the fascination the Samaritans had with Simon’s magic. It suggests that while Philip may have believed intellectually in Jesus, he has another god on the throne of his heart, and that god is the ability to amaze people, to entertain a crowd, to gain a following, the sense of exhilaration that comes from having a skill that entertains people and keeps them coming back to you.

But a few verses later, it becomes clear. There is no question about Simon. The apostles John and Peter had come down from Jerusalem to see what was happening in Samaria. They had heard that Philip had preached the gospel there and that many had been born again and changed by trusting in Jesus. That was a big deal because not only did Jesus say for them to go there; Samaritans and Jews were long-time enemies. They had no dealings with each other. But the gospel broke down those barriers and now the despised Samaritans had been brought by grace into the church.

The apostles come down and they pray for the Samaritans and they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. I think the Lord waited to give them the Spirit until the apostle from Jerusalem came so that it could be seen publicly that the Samaritans had received the Holy Spirit just like other believers in Jerusalem had.

But that’s not the point. The point is this, verses 18-19: “Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this’” - note this carefully, church — “give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

So now it’s clear. Simon thinks the Holy Spirit is just another way to for him to keep people amazed and entertained. He thought it was a superior power than he had, to be sure; but we see here that what he really wanted was not so much the Holy Spirit himself; what He wanted was the Spirit’s power. He wanted the power and blessings of God and the popularity that would give him, without actually having to deal with God personally. Beware, church, of wanting what Jesus can do for you more than you want Jesus Himself. Simon thought that the blessings of the gospel could be bought.

So do millions of believers today around the world. And many preachers who aren’t even worthy of the name tell their listeners, “give to my ministry and God will bless you financially.” I actually heard one famous prosperity gospel preacher say “tonight we’re going to give you a chance to increase your income.” The idea was to sow a seed, and God gives a harvest. The seed is $1000, paid, of course, to the preacher himself. And the preacher guarantees that God will give them $5000 or $10000. I have sat in my living room and watched Joel Osteen - I’m sorry to offend any of you who like him — but I have heard him say “God is going to give you that promotion; that cancer? he’ll take it all away by the end of them. That house you want to buy? God’s telling me it’s yours.”

That’s baloney. John Piper had never used the word “crap” in a sermon until he was talking about the prosperity gospel. And he’s right - it is total crap. It preys on undiscerning, immature believers who are often already poor, and they believe the promises these guys make and they’ll send half their unemployment or half their pension to this preacher because he promises them wealth. You see how convenient that is for them? They can extort money from poor souls, promising wealth as a result, and when it inevitably does not come, they can turn around and blame the victim. “If you only had enough faith,” they say.

If you have enough faith, your cancer will be healed. Okay. What about that old humble saint who is an absolute model of godliness and humility who dies from his cancer? If you have enough faith, you can be rich. So what does that mean for the millions upon millions of Christians - in fact the vast majority of Christians in the world - who live in complete poverty?

These guys are not pastors; they aren’t preachers; they’re wannabe’s. They are con artists. They drive private jets and have multiple million-dollar mansions, and they dare to demand 75% of someone’s paycheck and promise on God’s behalf that they’ll receive tenfold! We could talk about the foolishness of the people who fall for it, but God will hold the preachers accountable. If any of you watch any of these guys, I beg of you: do not support their ministry. Their ministry is destructive.

And oh, how it tarnishes our witness; how it dishonors the name of Jesus by making Jesus into a dispenser of treasures rather than a precious treasure Himself. Do you know how Time Magazine summed this up in a recent story about this movement? “Jesus is front and center, but not his death burial and resurrection.” I plead with you: do not watch Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn. Please do not support their ministries; because their ministries are not helping people; they are destroying souls. They are keeping people out of heaven.

“Really, Pastor Dustin? Can you be a little more intolerant there?” I don’t aim to be intolerant. But I won’t tolerate men who are in the ministry to get rich by teaching false doctrine, and you shouldn’t tolerate it either.

And yes, it really does destroy souls and keep them out of heaven. Look at Peter’s response to Simon in verse 20:

Acts 8:20 ESV

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

Note that word “perish” in your Bibles. That does not mean merely death. There is a word in the NT for “death” and this is not it. This word is the word used for eternal punishment, for eternal condemnation — in other words, though it isn’t popular today and though it gives me no pleasure to say it, it’s the word for hell.

He says “You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.” Peter is telling Simon that he is not right with God. Peter isn’t claiming to know Simon’s heart; but he knows it is a very, very bad sign that Simon actually thought he could buy God’s power and offered to do it? Peter is not being intolerant or hateful; Peter is frightened for Simon and he wants to see Simon reconciled to the Lord.

And reconciliation is possible, Peter says. He says in verse 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.” This is not an unforgivable sin.

Church, no matter how many times you think that you have sinned one too many times for the gospel to apply to you, you have not even scratched the surface of the depth of God’s mercy.

“But Pastor Dustin, Peter says “repent, if possible” - God might not let me repent.” I think the “if possible” there refers not to God but to Simon. Would Simon repent? Then he would most certainly be forgiven.

The Bible does teach that it’s possible to be deceived into thinking all is right with God and me when in fact it is not. This is what he said to the Corinthians in 2Cor. 13:5.

Is it possible to make a false profession of faith?

2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Why would we be told to examine ourselves, to see whether we are in the faith, and to test ourselves, if there were not the possibility that we might fail the test? So how can we know? How can I know that my faith is sincere? How can I know that I am born again?

Is my profession of faith sincere?

Do I trust God’s promise that He will save me?

Do I have affection for Jesus?

Do I have affection for His people?

Do I attempt to obey Him?

Am I trying to grow in these areas?

One way I can grow in all these: BRTP. Friends, if you will make every effort to be engaged in the word during the preaching of the word, you will find yourself drawn back to the word during the week. The word of God will grow more precious to you. The Holy Spirit will lodge the word in your heart and with it He will begin to change your life. There is no spiritual growth — no spiritual growth — none — without Bible study both alone, at home, and here with your fellow believers.

When the gospel is preached it sometimes results in false professions of faith. But it doesn’t have to. God intends for His gospel — His message of salvation — to be the power and means of salvation. God intends His gospel to break the strongholds in our lives.

Conclusion and call for response

So let me address this sermon now to two different groups of people:

Let me talk to those of you who have strongholds in your life.

Where are you stuck today? What is that is enslaving you? What is that thing you keep going back to even though you’ve sworn it off 100 times?

You’re not alone. The devil try to make you feel alone, and he’ll do that in order to isolate you, because if he can keep you in the dark, he knows you’ll never get the help you need. You’re not alone. We all have our pet sins.

The question is, what are you doing about it? Do you repent each time it happens? Do you confess to God and apologize to the person you’ve wronged? Does someone else in your life, another believer, know about your stronghold so they can pray for you?

I encourage you to take that step today. Tell someone. It sounds scary. But it is unbelievably freeing. The gospel not only rescues us from hell. Through the gospel, God destroys the strongholds in our lives. You can be free.

Let me talk to those of you who are concerned you may have made a false profession of faith.

What are you trusting in? What are you relying on to make you right with God? When the question arises, Am I going to heaven when I die? Or how can I know that I’m right with God? What is your answer to those questions?

Resist the urge to look to a past event for assurance. Don’t rely on that time you raised your hand or walked the aisle or signed a card. Those things don’t save you. Don’t look to that for assurance.

Look to Christ. Look to Christ, see His glory and His grace, see His arms wide open to receive you, see all the promises of God to save you as fulfilled in Him. See His scars and His wounds, received for you and in your place. See Him risen and glorified in heaven, sitting and reigning by the right hand of God as your Advocate, your Helper, your Intercessor. Look to Him. Jesus declared through the prophet Isaiah, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: For I am God, and there is none else.” All who call upon this One will be saved.

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