A World of Knockoffs: False Conversion Part 1
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I want to begin a short series called The World of Knockoffs. When anything from food, clothing, movies, technology gains popularity, then some version of a knockoff is created to profit off of its counterpart’s successes. Usually a logo is similar but changed just a bit. For example, in China you can enjoy Sunbucks Coffee instead of Starbucks. Same color scheme in the logo but a slight alteration. Maybe as a kid, your mom served you the cheaper Fruit Rings instead of Fruit Loops.
These knockoffs are harmless, but they are those that are much more dangerous. Our enemy, the devil is a deceiver, and his primary goal is to deceive people in their understanding of and in a relationship with their Creator. His deceptions come in the form of spiritual knockoffs that I want to cover for the next few weeks.
Our first message this afternoon looks at False Conversions.
Rapport-
Aaron Dallas, in Colorado and a strange medical condition he discovered. He developed headaches and sores on his head. Ignored his symptoms for a while until he started finding blood on his pillow and loss of sleep. Went to Dr. –said it was shingles Problems persisted, bleeding and intense pain. Aaron thought he was going crazy because he said he could hear and feel something moving in his head. 2nd Dr. Visit- confirmed that it was not shingles, but 5 botfly larvae were living the life of a parasite, with his head as the host.
As disgusting as that may sound, there is a spiritual lesson that can be applied today. This man, Aaron, at first ignored his symptoms, but the evidence that something was wrong was overwhelming and that led him to seek professional help. His first diagnosis-Shingles. Still feeling something was wrong, he got examined by a specialist and the truth was realized- he was hosting a party for five parasitic botflys in his head.
I wonder how many people are in the church today that are ignoring the physical evidence in their life that something is wrong with them. It is not a physical problem, but a spiritual one. The signs and evidence in their life points to one thing- they are not truly saved. Christ is not Lord of their life and if they died, they would spend eternity in hell. These condemned souls have experienced false conversion. They said all the right prayers, they walked down the aisle, they participated in church, sang in the choir, but yet they are not truly saved.
They may even be like Aaron, our Botfly guy, who got help concerning their problem from a professional, in this case a pastor, but they were misdiagnosed- or given assurance of their salvation when there was never true faith in Christ Jesus.
God’s word gives compelling evidence that false conversion is a reality. In Matthew 7, when Jesus warned his disciples that false conversion is a reality among people in the church.
I always thought of these false prophets as intentionally trying to deceive the masses with their false gospels and their wicked lies. I am not denying that they are a deception but I think a lot of them actually are deceived by Satan into believing that they are proclaiming truth. Here is why I think that!
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Now this shows me that on the day that we stand before Jesus, many will be SURPRISED that they are not making it into heaven. If these people whom Jesus is referring are proclaiming the gospel, and performing ministry, and yet at judgment, they discover they are not truly saved, then what about the people in churches who just claim to love Christ yet do not the things that he says. How many of us in here tonight will be surprised to find out that we will not make it into heaven because we were not truly saved?
On the day of judgment, there will be some who claim to be Christians who will be turned away from God’s kingdom. They will be like counterfeit money when it reaches the bank. Suppose you are given a counterfeit bill in change at the store. Thinking it is genuine, you use it to pay for some gas. The station owner uses it to pay one of his employees, who uses it to buy groceries. From there it goes to the bank where the teller says, “I’m sorry, but this bill is counterfeit.”
The bill may have been used to do a lot of good while it was in circulation, but when it arrived at the bank, it was exposed for what it really was and put out of circulation. A counterfeit Christian may do many good works, but still be rejected at the gates of judgment.
In our passage today, we will see a sad example of a man who I believe was one who looked on the outside like one professing faith in Jesus Christ but inwardly was never truly converted. His story serves the church as a warning to examine ourselves and makes sure we are in the faith.
Let me share with you 4 OBSERVATIONS ABOUT FALSE CONVERSIONS
A WORK OF THE ENEMY
A WORK OF THE ENEMY
Let me give you some background to this passage so you will know what is going on in the history of the church.
Acts is all about the power of the Holy Spirit and the use of the Holy Spirit’s power through the Apostles and the church to spread the gospel message or the good news of Christ Jesus all over the world. Jesus leaves earth to go to heaven, sending out his disciples who are now called apostles, which means sent out ones, with the commands:
8 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.”
Now I want you to see in this introduction, how the sovereign power and rule of God is never absent or void- it is always active always working to fulfill the will of God. We can see this in the story of Acts as the Holy Spirit falls upon the apostles in Acts 2 and through that manifested power, and the gospel proclaimed, thousands of Jews were saved and the Christian church began. But with this work of the Spirit in the world, comes great opposition to that transformative change.
From Acts 2 up until Acts 8, where our passages tonight, the gospel and its messengers have focused strategically upon the area of Jerusalem where many of the Jews were populated.From chapter 8 we can see three areas of spiritual darkness at work that is combated and defeated by the light and power of God working through the church.
1. As Saul is persecuting the church, we know that Satan is behind such evil acts of hatred and violence. He tries to exterminate God’s people by throwing them into prison and even killing them. When Stephen is stoned at the end of chapter 7, verse 8:1 tells us that Saul approved of his execution. Satan wants to destroy God’s people and he uses those who are enslaved to sin to carry out his purposes. But we know that while Saul experienced limited victories, we know the rest of the story as to how the Lord gained victory. Through the persecutions, the church grew rapidly as they scattered. Also, the Lord himself calls the enemy of the church to salvation, and makes him the chief ambassador for the gospel. Saul’s conversion to Christ and his name being changed to Paul is a display that of the power of Christ’s work over the enemy of God.
2. Notice also the ministry of Philip in verses 4-8. As Philip heads to Samaria to preach, he encounters a heavy era of demon possession. Verse 7 tells us that the people of Samaria were greatly influenced by demons and with the preaching of the gospel, great liberation came where demons had seized and even crippled the people there. Satan not only influenced people through their own sin to corrupt the gospel and attack the church, but he literally sends forth his demons to possess unbelievers to do his bidding. We should not assume that his strategy has changed in our time of history. Although the time of Christ and the early church seemed to experienced an unusual amount of demon possession, there is no reason to believe that Satan has ceased from such combative actions against the gospel and God’s people.
3. Finally it makes sense, that the story of Simon Magnus in our passage of study today also represents a strategy of Satan to attack the church. But his attack is not a bold persecution of the church or the possession of humans by Satan’s minions. Instead, it is subtle, sly and sneaky
His sly playbook of attack comes in the form of alternative beliefs about god. For Samaria, they were amazed by the power that Simon displayed while practicing magic. Their belief of Simon was that he possessed the “great power of god.” He proved to them his power by performing magic that amazed them. Pay special attention to that word AMAZED for we will see it again. It is used twice in v 9 and v11 as a quality of the people in relationship with Simon.
This magic, we can assume is not simple card tricks with the slight of hand. It is best believed that this is the occult practices which include incantations, spells, and witchcraft of some kind. History shows that many of the nations that influenced Israel in the OT and NT practiced occult magic and worship. Just in the book of Acts alone we see three scenarios including this one:
In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas arrive on their missionary journey to the island of Cyprus where they encounter a magician named Eylmas who opposed the preaching of God’s word. Paul calls this magician a “son of the devil and enemy of all righteousness.” With God’s power the magician was blinded to show God’s defeat over evil. Notice Paul’s identification as this magician as a “son of the devil and enemy of all righteousness.” Magic is still practiced in our day and it is an outworking of the evil of our enemy the devil. Hollywood and media try to normalize such things as fun and entertaining but behind magic is Satan himself laughing at those he ensnares under the ruse of harmless fun.
In Acts 19, Paul was ministering and teaching in Ephesus where he encountered demon possessed people. When he showed the power of God over evil among the people, a great act of personal repentance swept across the city. Among that repentance were people who practiced magic and upon coming to know Christ, burned their books of magic arts. These two accounts, plus our study today show us the great influence of magic in the world of the early church. This is by far not a David Copperfield illusionist account but instead a meddling in the evil practices of Satan’s schemes of robbing God of the glory due to his name.
I believe these verses including our story today show us that Satan wants to deceive people into believing that they are truly saved when they are really NOT! He DOES NOT want people to turn to the difficult road of making Christ Lord over all our lives…time, money, families, aspirations etc. He DOES NOT want people to turn from their sin that offends a holy God. He DOES want people to believe in an inclusive God that loves all people even if their live in habitual sin. He DOES want people to continue in sin, be blinded to the true gospel that calls for repentance and faith as Jesus as Lord.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Illustration: Have you ever seen a beekeeper tend to his bee hives? He uses this smoke that he blows into the hives that allows him to be safer from attack. Do you know what the smoke does? It doesn’t make the bees sleepy as some suggest. Instead, bees operate as a community and when there is danger, bees alert each other by releasing a pheromone in the air that alerts other bees of the danger. The smoke masks the pheromone and therefore the bees are blinded to the potential danger.
This is what Satan does with those who believe themselves to be saved when they really have not truly trusted in Christ…they are not alerted to the reality of their true standing before God.
2. A WRONG FAITH
2. A WRONG FAITH
V 12 stands as the contrast:
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.
Intellectual Belief Does Not Save
Simon believed with his mind, not his heart. Luke points out that the Samaritans believed the good news about the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ and they were baptized to show external obedience to their internal commitment. Notice though, when Simon was saved, the author Luke omits any mention of belief in the kingdom of God or in the name of Jesus Christ. All Luke mentions in regards to Simon’s salvation is Simon’s amazement with Philip’s power and he believed. I think Luke omits this intentionally to show the intent on Simon’s heart. Simon was visually engaged in the power of God, but not volitionally changed by the power of God. The Samaritans were submitting to a new kingdom, the Kingdom of God with Christ as King. Simon in his heart still wanted to be a king of sorts. Intellectual belief in God is not enough. Intellectual belief is affirming the facts about Jesus existing as a human on earth, believing the facts about his death and resurrection, but this factual belief does not change your life. Your will is not changed, your emotions are not different, you just have increased the amount of knowledge in your head. James 2:19 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Friend, this is the danger of every person who grows up in the church throughout their lives. They gain a knowledge of Jesus from a young age and that knowledge grows into habits and habits into spiritual lifestyle but all the while a religious person is practicing their lifestyle, their is not drive of affection, joy or trust in the Lord that is undergirding those actions. In other words, the heart never changed. Friend, this is where you must evaluate your heart and life. All our salvation stories are different, and you don’t have to have an apostle Paul conversion but you do have to be converted. Transformation is undeniable when the Spirit brings conviction of sin and a longing for Jesus.
Emotional Belief Does Not Save
It is clear that Simon is passionate about this power of God. This passion for power leads Simon to profess publicly his faith in Christ by being baptized like the rest of the Samaritans. Like I stated earlier Simon amazed the people with his magic.
Verse 9 says Simon amazed the people. Verse 11 says the Samaritans listened to Simon because he amazed them. Verse 13 says Simon was amazed himself at the power of the Holy Spirit that Philip had. Many times in my ministry I have seen the dangers of creating an emotional atmosphere that during an invitation because people are always drawn into the emotion of it. They get caught up and they misinterpret the chills on their arms for the Holy Spirit working in their lives and calling them forward for salvation. Chills down your back are not the promptings of the Holy Spirit. You could just be cold or sick.
I am reminded of the day I asked Amy to be my wife. I thought it was a great idea to ask Amy to marry me in front of 50 of her sorority sisters at a formal in college. So I got dressed real nice, I hid the ring in my pocket and some flowers by the door. At the close of the evening, with all her sorority sisters watching, I popped the question. NO PRESSURE RIGHT. That was definitely an environment for her to feel emotionally pressured into a commitment just to avoid embarrassment. Luckily she said yes with her heart and not her emotions.
1. Trusting with your heart is necessary
In the Bible, the heart has always been believed to be the central hub of the entire person. It controls the mind, the emotions and the will. So if we truly believe with our heart upon Christ for salvation, it affects our mind and they way we think. It affects our emotions and the way we feel. It affects our will and the choices that we make.
Jeremiah 17:5 5 Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Ask yourself if you are trusting in mankind and your own strength in all of life, including your spiritual position before God. If so then your heart is not set on Christ, and instead turned away from Him.
Jeremiah 17:10 10 “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
God knows each one of our hearts and He knows if our hearts belong to Him or not. It is not a secret! Our God is all-knowing omniscient God. He can see if we have truly believed with our heart in His son Jesus.
Romans 10:9-11 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Believing with our heart can also be called faith. It is this faith that we trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation by confessing Him as our Lord and by believing that He accomplished all that was necessary to free us from sin and bring peace with us and God. Faith is trust and trusting the Lord for salvation is central to all of life.
2. Repentance from sin is necessary
Simon never really understood the reality of his sin which is a part of repentance. He never looked at himself as a power hungry guy who had offended God’s holy standard. Instead, after his profession of faith and baptism, we see in verse 18,
18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
We learned that before, Simon was hungry for power, maybe even fortune and fame. But then he supposedly made Christ His Lord and was baptized. Yet, after in vs. 18, he is still hungry for the power. Simon never realized his sin and his need for forgiveness. He just needed that power to give him a better quality of life. More power meant more fame.
Repentance is the other side of the coin with faith. Faith is trust in Christ alone but how can you trust in Christ and still cling to your sin. You cannot do both, therefore repentance is turning from sin’s enticements and practices and turning to Christ
21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Many people in churches consider themselves Christians because they trust that Jesus is the only way to heaven but they want Jesus and their sinful practices. They don’t want to give up what dishonors God. They want the blessings of heaven and the blessings of their own Lordship of their life. That is not salvation.
Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Denying yourself is realizing the sinful nature of a human being and denying those passions and lusts for the world to turn in the opposite direction toward the things of God. Simon had to deny or refuse the passions he had for power and trust in Christ to save him from that bondage to power and fame. Simon never demonstrated a true repentance from sin of a lust for power. Instead, he went so far as to offer money to the apostles to buy the Spirit’s power.
Another example of repentance is seen in the parable of the rich young ruler.
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Trusting in Christ by faith and repentance is also called surrendering to Christ. Denying self does mean denying your gifts or abilities.
Conclusion to part 1:
Lord Supper
3. A MISSING SEAL
3. A MISSING SEAL
As we look in vs. 17-18 we see that Simon was never given the Holy Spirit by the apostles after his conversion even though the other Samaritans did receive him. Why did Simon not receive the Holy Spirit like the others who placed their trust in Christ? Why did the Holy Spirit come later following conversion instead of immediately like He does today?
#1 – Why did Simon not receive the Holy Spirit?
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. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
It is obvious that Simon did not receive the Holy Spirit, or he would not have asked for it, but why? It is clearly a sign that Simon was not truly trusting in Christ alone for salvation. Simon was not genuine so God did not grant the Holy Spirit to him. It was the apostles Peter and John who were laying hands on the believers to receive the Spirit, but God obviously held back Peter and John from laying hands on Simon, since his faith was not authentic. Peter eventually rebukes Simon and says, ! 21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Peter meant Simon did not have ownership or partnership with the Holy Spirit or with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is given to believers who place their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit initially in the life of a believer is to seal them to family of God. Eph. 1:13-14
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Sealed by the Holy Spirit means that a person is authenticated by God as true believers. The GK word for sealed in the NT carries the idea of a sealed letter or document sent by a king. On the letter is placed hot wax and the king’s impression of a royal emblem to signify that the letter is not fake but it is authentic documentation. When believers receive the Holy Spirit immediately at their salvation, it is as if the King of all Kings places a seal on us that proves that we are His children and we belong to His Kingdom. This GK word “sealed” also carries the idea of security. That wax stamp was placed on the container of the letter showing that the documentation was secure. If the letter arrived without a broken seal, the document could be understood to have remained secure upon delivery.
The Holy Spirit also is our security that we are children of God. We have the seal and we can have confidence that once we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, we are secure in Christ Jesus. There is another interesting note about the Holy Spirit. In Eph we also read that the Holy Spirit is given “as a pledge of our inheritance.” This word “pledge” in my bible may be different in your bible. Yours may say the “guarantee of our inheritance” or the “earnest of our inheritance” or the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. All these different translation are trying to convey that the Holy Spirit is also a mark on us that one day we will inherit the blessings of God in heaven, our inheritance in glory. Simon could not attain this gift from God because he had not come to surrender himself to God and thus He could not receive the Holy Spirit.
#2- Why did the Holy Spirit have a delayed coming upon the Samaritans?
There was constant bitterness and strife between the Jews and the Samaritans. Now that God was allowing the gospel to reach to those outside the realm of Judaism, special events were natural to take place. This instance of the unique coming of the Spirit upon believers is one of three instances where God used these events to teach the Jews about Himself. In Acts 2, we realize that the coming of the Holy Spirit is delayed as it falls upon the apostles who had confessed Christ as Lord long before they received the Spirit. It is important to note that this initial coming of the Spirit marked a new era of the Holy Spirit’s power in the church and in the lives of believers. This era of the Holy Spirit would be like nothing that people had ever seen in the OT. In Acts 8 in our passage tonight, we see again the Holy Spirit come in delayed fashion because God wanted Peter and John to arrive and see the Holy Spirit fall upon these racial rivals to the Jews. It opened the eyes of these apostles to God’s intention for the gospel going to the whole world. Lastly, in Acts 10, as Peter shares the gospel with Gentiles, the Holy Spirit immediately falls upon the Gentiles who believe and then they are baptized. This again was to show the Jews God’s intention to take the gospel beyond the walls of Judaism. Although these events were unique, today the Holy Spirit comes immediately as a person trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Simon never made a true commitment to Christ and so he did not possess the Spirit of God.
One way we can tell that we are truly saved is we can clearly see the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We may NOT be able to view the Holy Spirit with our eyes, but we can see his work in us and in the work of others. We can see Him as we read Scripture and it is illuminated in understanding. We can see Him as we are convicted of sin as we read the word of God. We can see Him as he gifts us to serve the church, the bride of Christ.
Can you find evidence in your life that the Holy Spirit is a part of your life?
Let me help you evaluate your life:
TURN WITH ME to Galatians 5:16–25
Does your life reflect a turning from sin, trusting in Christ with a visible evidence that you live seeking to walk by the Spirit and not your flesh. This would mean you possess the shadow of godly character and you disdain sinful practices.
4. A SPIRITUAL VERIFICATION
4. A SPIRITUAL VERIFICATION
Finally, we have to see the importance of Peter and John in this passage as leaders of the church. God sent them providentially to Samaria to encounter Simon. I don't know for sure what came of Simon after this although church history speaks of Simon not truly following Christ. But I do know that God’s plan to send Peter and John into this situation speaks of his appointment of Godly people in our lives and the church that can be a measuring stick for our faith.
Peter and John spoke the truth in love to Simon out of a duty to Christ to shepherd people to trust in Christ alone. Without this interaction, Simon would have never heard the truth and he would have lived a lie. Peter clearly tells him,
21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”
Peter clearly evaluates the situation with spiritual eyes and brings the conclusion that Simon is unconverted and without Christ. He doesn’t call him a babe in Christ or C- in the membership class. He tells him twice that is heart is not right before the Lord and need forgiveness. Peter would not say this to true believer in my understanding.
What this does teach us is the importance of spiritual figures in our lives to walk alongside of for spiritual assessment, restoration and encouragement. Did you hear me? I didn’t just say spiritual rebuke if you get excited about that sort of thing. I said assessment, restoration, and encouragement.
If the church functions the way God intended our community would look like:
Healthy assessment
The Bible speaks of the need for spiritual evaluation to be present in our lives. If you don’t evaluate, you could be a reprobate. Paul tells the Corinthians,
5 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!
Sometimes we are blinded by our own lack of understanding of our spiritual lives and our brothers and sisters might need to point out that lack of true faith in us. This is a healthy thing in the community of believers when we lovingly walk with others to make sure they know Christ. This is our role as your shepherds as well to make sure we don’t just baptize just anyone who wants it, but we make sure you understand the depth of sin and the need for Christ alone to save you.
Healthy restoration
Spiritual leaders also are helpful spiritual restoration. In other words, brothers and sisters who are around you are called to help restore you in love for the glory of Gods name. It doesn’t have to be the elders of your church that do this, for Paul writes
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
In Peter and John’s case, they did what was needed for Simon. They pointed out the lack of repentance and the bondage he was still in in his sin. They didn’t sugar coat the truth. What we don’t here is if any work was done with Simon after the fact. We can’t see if more time was spent with Simon helping understand these truths. We can see that in other places in Scripture. Paul continually visited churches he started to equip and encourage the new believers there.
A better example might be Aquila and Priscilla who met Apollos. He didnt not understand everything about the gospel correctly and they walked alongside him, teaching him, loving him in relationship so that he might know clearly what Jesus had done. This is what the church is called to do....not just point out the faults of one another but lovingly walk alongside each other in love and relationship, helping one another to know Christ and walk faithfully with him.