Acts 8:9-25. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 5, 2023.
We are going to look at a man named Simon in our text today. He is often referred to as Simon Magus because it is a Latin transliteration of the underlying Greek term here. Magus is behind our word for "magician," but this probably brings to mind something more like David Copperfield, an illusionist. A magus would have trained in the occult, magical arts. This is why I am using the term "sorcerer." As in any field of endeavor, some were more adept than others in these arts.
We should note two things about this, whether we are talking about 20 centuries ago or today. First, there are real evil spirits that some people are able to contact. They can obtain information and a small degree of physical power through these spirits. Of course, God warns us in the Bible against reaching out to such spirits because they are deceivers and manipulators.
The second thing we should notice is that these sorcerers will, to more or less degree, employ trickery in their activity. Sometimes a spiritist is 100% a trickster, a sham, a con artist. Other times, there is a mixture.
An example from before 2nd century AD comes to us through Hyppolytus in his work The Refutation of all Heresies. He tells the story of a sorcerer in Libya named Apsethus who trained parrots to say, "Apsethus is god." He then released them in the area where they flew around saying that Apsethus was god. This was used by him to manipulate the people to believe in his "magical" powers. Apparently, a man figured out what was going on and captured some of the parrots. He then taught the parrots to say, "Apsethus having caged us, compelled us to say Apsethus is a god." Upon the release of the parrots, the Libyans were not happy with Apsethus and burned him to death.
Humans can be highly manipulable when we are not grounded in Truth. Even many who give lip-service to Truth can find themselves being manipulated by others.
Today, we are going to talk about the importance of true repentance when we become a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. Philip has been preaching at Samaria along with amazing signs and miracles happening. This brings us to verse nine of this chapter, where we find that there is a man in the crowd who is a sorcerer.
This sorcerer appears to be saved at first, but his actions will prove to be false. He was not actually converted to putting his faith in Jesus Christ. Outward appearance without inner repentance will always express itself outwardly over time.
Let's look at our passage.
Verse 6 mentions that multitudes were heeding Philip's words because of the miracles they saw him doing. This brings us to the man Simon.
We do not know much about this man. He has a Hebrew name, which would not be uncommon for a Samaritan. He would not be considered a good religious Samaritan because of his sorcery. However, he would most likely be familiar with Samaritan religious thinking, and Judean religious thinking to some degree.
Somewhere along the line, he was attracted to the magical arts of the occult. He would have studied it and practiced it until he was adept enough to make a name for himself. This is what he had done at Samaria. He had been able to convince them that he had great power, even astonishing them to the point that they called him "The Great Power of god" (I refuse to capitalize god in this case). There is no description of what great things Simon did to deserve this title. Whether he used tricks such as parrots, or he was in connection with evil spirits, Simon was taking advantage of their spiritual ignorance.
Are we any wiser today? It is easy to think of these Samaritans as ignorant, but not to see how much we can be like them. Are we any less "wowed" by people and exhibit worship like activity towards them? We may not call them gods, but we often act as if they are. Whole groups today can come under the powerful persuasion of an individual, or an ideology, and it doesn't have to be religious.
Yet, the power of the One True God showed up one day in the person of Philip the Evangelist. God is always "messing" with our little human rackets. The power of the Holy Spirit through Philip clearly eclipsed anything that Simon had been doing. He knew that he could not compete with what Philip was doing.
We are told by Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyon c. AD 120 to AD 150, that Simon Magus turned back to the dark arts and mixed Christianity with the occult. This gave rise to what would later be called Gnosticism.
As the Samaritans are believing on Jesus and being baptized by Philip, Simon the "great sorcerer" was not leading in any capacity. He wasn't leading against Philip and he wasn't leading towards Philip. Simon was somewhat paralyzed by the power Philip displayed. However, he gets in line of those who are saying they believe and want to be baptized in water.
I will point out, in light of the testimony of Hippolytus and others of the 2nd century, that it never says that Simon was saved, only that he believed. What exactly did he believe?
Simon clearly made a confession of faith and he is baptized too. However, biblical faith that saves has an object for which believe, i.e., a good future, and a subject (foundation) upon which, or because of which, we believe. It is supposed to be Jesus and what he has done that upholds our faith that God will not judge us, but instead save us for eternity. We are told by James that the demons believe in God (His existence); they even tremble (His power). Yet, they do not mix such belief with faith upon Jesus and towards glorifying God.
This is important because some people treat water baptism almost as a magical thing itself. The idea that water baptism itself causes a person to be regenerated, made spiritually alive, rather than faith alone is called baptismal regeneration. Going through the "proper" ritual by an "authorized" representative is the typical mentality that tries to give people a stamp of approval based upon an outward action. If a person has true faith, then there will be certain outward actions. However, outward actions can be done without true faith in Jesus. This means that the absence of outward confession and water baptism lets us know that there has not been an inner transformation. But, the presence of outward confession and water baptism cannot reveal what is really going on in a heart. Only time can reveal if true conversion has happened in a heart.
We are told that Simon attaches himself to Philip because of his amazement at the miracles that Philip was doing. Simon is used to doing tricks and magical arts to astonish people, even if demonic power was involved as well. He seems to be trying to figure out Philip's method, as well as enjoying the show.
In this text, there is no indication yet that his belief was false, or insincere. Yet, he will prove not to be right before God.
Isn't Philip filled with the Holy Spirit? Shouldn't he have known that something was wrong with Simon?
There are reasons why God does things in a certain way. Just because you have the Holy Spirit, it does not mean that He will reveal everything in the universe to you. God has His purposes and reasons for doing what He does. It is possible that God left Philip in the dark because He is setting up a clash between Simon the Sorcerer and Simon Peter the Apostle of Jesus Christ.
Yes, God could have used Philip to do this, but He didn't. It is not a matter of power, and not even a matter of position like we tend to think of it, i.e., only apostles can do this. God was laying down the foundation of the Faith for His Church, so it was critical that these apostles be involved in the expansion of the Gospel from Jerusalem into Samaria. It is not a deficiency in Philip, but in God's desire to use someone else. We might find ourselves saying, "Why not me?" And, it can sometimes be an envious thing. We must stop this. The Spirit of God distributes His gifts as He wills, and Christ deploys them as He wills. It is not for us to whine and complain about how He uses us. In fact, whining is a good way to be benched and receive discipline from the Lord. No matter how gifted you are, you need the gifts of the Spirit working through other people to be ministered unto you. The picture is all of the gifts of the Spirit working through each of us so that we all will be conformed to the image of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). It is not about any one of us becoming The Great Power of God!
It will be through the Apostle Peter that Simon's sin is revealed. We wouldn't be human if we didn't fear having sin exposed. This is part of sin's power. It drills into your brain, "I can't be exposed! It will ruin everything if it is!" Of course, this is a lie.
Jesus said that you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free. Yes, knowing Jesus (who is the Truth) is important, but it is also the Truth about me. I am a sinner and in bondage to sin. When I face this, I can truly understand the offer that Jesus is giving to me. We can make the mistake of trying to make people feel good by saying, "You're not really bad." However, we diminish the love of God when we do so. If I am all that and God loves me, then I will have an attitude that is entitled. However, if I know that I am a sinner in bondage to sin, then the love of Christ catches me off-guard, and captures my heart with the unbelievable sacrifice that He made for whosoever will believe on him. Hallelujah! This is the grace of God to Simon that God sends someone to rebuke him of his sin. At that point, true salvation can take place because Simon will be operating from a place of Truth and not deception.
It is from this part of the story that we see that Simon was not actually saved.
We are told in verse 14 that the apostles at Jerusalem "heard that Samaria had received the word of God." It may be that Philip sent word, realizing that he would need some help. He may also have wanted the apostles there to help supervise, or even out of respect for their authority in Christ.
Next, we are told that the apostles decide to send Peter and John to them. We could think of this as an inspection, but I am not so sure that is how it is functioning. According to Ephesians 4:11-16, apostles are one of the gifts that Jesus has given to his Church. It would then seem logical that some of them should go and be the blessing that God intended them to be in Samaria. Notice that there is no hint that Peter is running the show. The disciples appear to decide as a group. However, there choice of Peter and John recognizes that God worked extraordinarily through Peter, even more than the other apostles, except Paul. Paul himself recognized that God worked effectively through him among the Gentiles in the same way that God worked through Peter among the Jews (and we should add Samaritans- see Galatians 2:7-8).
These apostles of Jesus laid down a foundation for the early Church among the Jews, Samaritans, and the nations. This gift of a sure foundation is important for us today. We must build upon that foundation, and not try to see how far off of the foundation we can build without it all falling apart. Yes, I know about the science of cantilevering. However, there's no cantilevering in Jesus!
When the apostles arrive, we are told that they pray for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit while laying their hands upon them. We are not told why, but the Samaritans had only been baptized in the name of Jesus, and not yet baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament recognizes three baptisms among believers in that day. The baptism of John the Baptist was a baptism of repentance that was to become ready for the Messiah. This was specific repentance, but belief on the Messiah in general. Jesus had not yet been revealed. However, one day, John pointed out that Jesus was the lamb of God. Baptism in the name of Jesus is still a baptism of repentance, but it also includes specifically believing that Jesus of Nazareth is that awaited Messiah. From that moment on, the baptism of John would no longer be needed. It's general function has now been specified in Jesus and by his apostles.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit was first shown in Acts chapter two. You can think of it in this way. At salvation, the Holy Spirit baptizes a person into the body of Christ. This is the spiritual reality behind a godly person water baptizing one who has put their faith in Jesus. At the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Jesus baptizes the believer into the Holy Spirit, completely immersed in God's Spirit (Matthew 3:11).
Another way of thinking about these two baptisms involves the picture of being filled. At salvation, the Spirit of God takes up residence within a person. However, at the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a person is completely filled with the Spirit to the point of it overflowing their life. Jesus connected it to an empowering of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).
That said, we can recognize that these Samaritans, who Philip baptized, were now believers in Jesus and the Holy Spirit had taken up residence within them. This is a definite example of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit happening subsequent to salvation.
This same dynamic happened with the 120 Jews in Acts 2. It seems illogical to say that they are not saved during those ten days that they are praying for the Holy Spirit. Yet, we should recognize that the Bible never says that this is necessary. A person can be saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit all at once. God is able to do it as He wills. This seems to be the case with Cornelius and those in his house in Acts 10:47.
The apostles also placed their hands upon these Samaritans as they pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. This too is not a necessary component because we see the household of Cornelius being filled with the Holy Spirit without it, even as Peter is still preaching to them. Thus, we should avoid terminology or ideology that treats the hands as if we are transmitting the Holy Spirit into people. These hands are merely a symbol of the touch of God, and can be an aid to a person's faith in believing.
There is no ritual, or perfect way of doing things, to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. In fact, isn't that the kind of thinking that Simon the sorcerer would have, one of occult thinking, magical thinking?
Believers in Jesus should be water baptized and also pray to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, also called being filled with the Spirit. We should not fret over the timing of this, but simply focus on looking to God in faith for what He has promised, and trusting that His timing is perfect for us.
It is at this point that Simon the sorcerer recognizes the laying on of hands coinciding with the being filled with the Holy Spirit. We don't know exactly what he saw, but it was something visible to those watching. Was it tongues of fire descending upon them like Acts 2 says? Or, was it that they began to speak in tongues? Regardless, Simon recognized that something significant was happening when the apostles laid hands on these believers and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
Simon offers money to the apostles so that they will give him this power, i.e., the ability to lay his hands on people and give them the Holy Spirit. Let's be clear. The New Testament never represents the apostles simply giving the power of the Holy Spirit to others. They are cooperating with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is from God and is a being that comes upon people. He is working with the apostles, not being divvied out by them.
Notice the occult thinking that Simon employs. These men simply have a greater power than him and he can purchase the ability from them. Like buying a spell book, or paying a master craftsman to teach him, Simon is simply trying to better his "spirit-powers." Simon pictures himself in the driver's seat with this power, and no doubt, making a lot of money off of it.
We all have cultural thinking that can cloud how we respond to the Bible and God's things. We also have another layer of trade-craft, or professional, thinking like Simon's occult training. We see this with the Corinthians. The Corinthian Christians were having trouble because they were trying to be a church while using their culture's thinking. By the 10th and 11th centuries, there were several voices within Europe that spoke out against these practices slipping into the Church. These issues continued and became a big part of the Reformation in AD 1530. The things of God are not for sale, and those who sell them bring judgment upon themselves.
To this day, simony is a word used to describe the buying or selling of something spiritual, even a spiritual office. It could be buying a position of authority within the Church, trying to buy the gifts of the spirit, or buying indulgences that purport to remove the guilt of sin.
Let me remind us of a story in 2 Kings 5. This is the story of Naaman the Syrian General who becomes a leper. Nothing can help him until he told about a prophet in Israel named Elisha. Naaman travels to see Elisha and asks to be healed. In the story, Elisha doesn't even come outside to see the General, but sends a message to him to go and dip seven times in the Jordan river.
This seems to upset the General. Elisha doesn't do him the honor of speaking to him, and then tells him to dip in the Jordan, which he saw as a muddy river that was not on par with the rivers of Syria. Naaman heads home in a huff, but one of his servants talks him into just trying it. Naaman complies, and, when he comes up from dipping the seventh time, he is healed.
He then goes back to Elisha extremely thankful. He wants to bless Elisha with the wealth that he had brought, but Elijah refuses to take anything. There is nothing wrong with what Naaman is doing. He is simply grateful. However, Elijah knows that this is a critical witness to this Gentile and those who will hear his story back home. This is a holy moment, and he would not mess it up by sending the message that the God of Israel, the One True God, can be bought with money. The power and work of God is so precious (it is paid for by the blood of Jesus) that we cannot let ourselves mix it with money.
The story goes on because Elisha's servant Gehazi is shocked that they don't take any money. He sneaks out and catches up with Naaman on the road. He lies and says that his master has changed his mind. Of course, Naaman is happy to give to him whatever he wants. When Gehazi comes back, hiding the stuff, Elisha confronts him. He is told that Naaman's leprosy would now cling to him. Gehazi immediately became a leper and ran out of the house.
There is too much commercialization going on within the Church of Jesus. We need to repent and become far more careful about the things of God because we are sending the wrong message to the world around us. God is not pleased, and judgment will come upon us (is coming upon us even now).
In verse 20, Peter rebukes Simon and details his sin. The true problem in Simon's heart is fourfold.
First, Simon thought he could buy the power of God. God's favor cannot be purchased. You can't give God enough money to obtain His love, favor, or spiritual power. This is the wealthy man's short-cut, and will only bring condemnation. I am not saying that positions on church boards and deals don't happen. I am saying that those people are bringing condemnation upon themselves. Do not be deceived by the slowness of God's judgment. Your sins will find you out; they will catch up to you in the end.
The second sin, Simon's heart is not right with God. He is not agreeing with God that he has been living a life of sin, and he is not humbly crying out for God's forgiveness. This is a heart that is right before God. Even after God forgives us, we walk in humility before him and our fellow man. Learning how to become more like Jesus, not how to obtain personal gain from this new group of people.
The third sin, Simon is poisoned by bitterness. The Holy Spirit helps Peter to see that Simon is sweet on the outside, but inside he is seething with bitterness. Most likely, he is bitter with Philip for messing up the sweet deal he had going in Samaria, and he is probably now bitter with Peter and John. Pretense on the outside and bitterness on the inside is not a person surrendered before God.
Lastly, Simon is still a slave to unrighteousness. He has not died to the old life, and the old man. He is not only looking back, as Lot's wife did, but he really hasn't even left Sodom. He has lost power and position, and all he can think about is how to recoup some of that power and position. This kind of passive-aggressive behavior is not of the Lord and is not pleasing to Him. Such people are always looking for an opportunity for themselves and will stab you in the back if they can.
True believers do not have to worry about such people. Yes, they can cause difficulty and pain in your life, but if you are filled with the Spirit of God, then you He will work all things to your good.
Peter tells Simon to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Peter even adds the suggestion that God is not obligated to forgive Simon. I believe this is more to impress the seriousness of the situation upon him.
Simon still doesn't get it. He begs Peter to pray for him. He still sees Peter as the magician who can fix his problem. No one can repent for you. Simon needed to be broken of that pride and cry out to God for himself.
It doesn't say here, but tradition tells us that Simon went back to his magical arts, mixing Christianity with his occult teachings. This becomes a new form of Gnosticism that tried to used Christian ideas as a vehicle for their spiritual virus. The Bible simply turns from Simon and moves on. Simon's opportunity had come and gone. God's grace had come to him and he was missing it.
The apostles then preach throughout Samaria and head back to Jerusalem.
Let me close with this. We should put Simon the Sorcerer completely out of our mind because many today have the same problem. They see the Bible, Philip, Peter, and John as merely religious charlatans. Yet, the Bible is the Word of God. There is a real power of the Holy Spirit. When God shows up, all of the false powers of this world (whether outside the Church or inside of it) will take a back seat. There was something different about Jesus and his apostles. This true power of God is able to help us to become like Jesus. It is not a power to make me famous, or powerful in the group. It is about helping others, and them helping us. Jesus is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. Let's be a people who are not trying to buy the Holy Spirit, or be good enough to deserve it. Rather, we come to Jesus by faith with hands open saying, "Lord Jesus, fill me that I might be used to bless others, and help me to receive the gifts of your Spirit through others. Amen!"