Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 7/15/01 Brad Brandt

Acts 8:9-25 "The Man Who Thought He Was Saved"**

Last week my wife brought home a melon. We enjoy fruit in the summer, and she bought this fresh produce at the store. But when she cut into it, lo and behold it was—you guessed it—rotten.

What you see isn’t always what you get. That’s true of products you buy. That’s also true of people.

Looks can be misleading. We find a vivid illustration of this in Acts 8.

In Acts 8:9-25 we meet a man who thought he was saved—and so did everybody else, at least for awhile. His name was Simon.

It was in Acts 8 that God in essence told His church, "It’s time to go to Samaria." You may recall from our last study that He used persecution to accomplish this task. Following the death of Stephen, Saul of Tarsus began to attack the believers in Jerusalem. Consequently, the Christians fled for their lives. Some ended up in Samaria.

Remember, before the Lord left the earth He told His followers they were to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (1:8). And the Sovereign Lord used the hostility of Saul to open up a fruitful door of ministry in Samaria.

Philip spearheaded the effort. Twenty-five years later, this same Philip was living in the city of Caesarea, where Luke and Paul visited him. On that occasion, Luke

called him "Philip the Evangelist, one of the Seven (Acts 21:8)." That’s quite a commendation. Philip served in the church—as one of the Seven. And he served to extend the church—as an Evangelist.

Here’s a man who had a heart to reach lost people. In fact, he was willing to cross the tracks to do it. To the Jews, the Samaritans were second class, half-breeds. But to Philip, they were people loved by God who needed to know of the Savior. So he went to them.

My hunch is that though Luke put the spotlight on Philip in Acts 8, Philip was merely representative of a host of unnamed ambassadors of Christ. The church was full of "Philips," Christians who took the great commission seriously. Philip was a pioneer, a trail-blazer, yet there were many who walked the trail he opened. Verse 4 makes it clear, "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."

Know this. When a church takes its mission seriously, that is, when its members take the good news of Christ to lost people around them, things will happen. There will be fruit. There will also be imitation fruit. We see both in Acts 8.

In Acts 8:9-40, Luke records two incidents to show what the church faced as its mission expanded. We meet Simon the Sorcerer in verses 9-25, and we meet the Ethiopian Eunuch in verses 26-40. With Simon, we see the gospel confronting a charlatan. With the Ethiopian, we see the gospel reaching a genuine seeker. The church reaped fruit and imitation fruit. It’s no different today, as we’ll see.

This morning, we’re going to take a close look at the first incident. We’re going to examine Simon, a man who thought he was saved. Specifically, we’re going to consider three phases of Simon’s life revealed in verses 9-25, and then take personal inventory.

This is a critical study for us. We live in a nation where forty to sixty percent of the population call themselves "born again Christians" (depending on whose statistics you take). Answer this. Is a person a Christian just because he says he is? Keep that question in mind as we investigate Simon today. Here’s phase #1…

"Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, ¹⁰ and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power. ¹¹ They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic."

Did you ever play the game "Simon Says" when you were a child? It’s a game, as you may recall, where the leader tries to talk fast and convincingly in order to trick people. The Simon of Acts 8 was good at both. He was a fast talker, and he was convincing.

Luke informs us of three characteristics of Simon prior to his exposure to Christianity.

A. He was powerful (9a). The text says he practiced sorcery. He’d done it for some time, too, and according to the KJV, he "bewitched the people of Samaria." Whether he utilized trickery or demonic power, we’re not told. Perhaps both.

B. He was proud (9b). Luke says he "boasted that he was someone great."

Many believe this Simon is the same man referred to in later Christian writings as Simon Magnus, the father of Gnostic heresy. The early church fathers reported that he viewed himself as God incarnate.

Note the text says that Simon himself boasted that he was someone great. Verse 10 says the people called him "The Great Power."

Pride is a deadly sin. "Pride goes before the fall," as the Proverb puts it. Pride cost Lucifer his home in heaven. Pride cost Adam and Eve their residence in the garden. Paul says in Galatians 6:3, "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself."

In fact, the proud cannot be saved. Only the humble can, those who come to grips with their spiritual bankruptcy before God. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). We see no evidence of genuine humility in the case of Simon anywhere in this story, only a pseudo-sorrow when his cover is blown.

C. He was persuasive (10-11). The people of Samaria gave him their attention, applauded him as a deity, and actually followed him. Luke says he "amazed" them, such was his power of persuasion.

President Calvin Coolidge invited some people from his hometown to dinner at the White House. Since they did not know how to behave at such an occasion, they thought the best policy would be just to do what the President did. The time came for serving coffee. The President poured his coffee into a saucer. As soon as the home folk saw it, they did the same. The next step for the President was to pour some milk and add a little sugar to the coffee in the saucer. The home folks did the same. They thought for sure that the next step would be for the President to take the saucer with the coffee and begin sipping it. But the President didn't do so. He leaned over, placed the saucer on the floor and called the cat.

I get the sense that this Simon was a very charismatic, magnetic character. He hypnotized the people. He did it for a long time. And the people blindly followed him. He was, indeed, powerful, proud, and persuasive. Such was the past of Simon.

That all changed, however, the day Philip came to town.

Notice verses 12-13, "But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw."

Wow! Talk about a vivid illustration of the power of the gospel! Answer this. How can you penetrate a community that is enslaved to the evil one? How can you rescue people who are blindly devoted to a dominant, charismatic leader? How do you go about breaking Satan’s fierce grip on individuals for whom Christ died?

There’s been a lot of talk in the past twenty years about spiritual warfare. Some say we need to "bind Satan" by marching around city blocks, exorcising the demons, and claiming the territory for Christ. But God didn’t tell us to engage in a "binding" ministry, but a "preaching" ministry. We don’t need to "bind" Satan—Christ already defeated him at the Cross. We need to "preach" Christ, just like Philip did. When Philip preached Christ, the results were staggering. An entire city was set free from demonic control. Even Simon himself was impacted. Here’s phase #2…

It must have been quite a day. No doubt there was rejoicing, with probably quite a few tears shed. Luke says the Samaritans believed Philip as he preached the good news. And lo and behold, even Simon—the ringleader—made a profession of faith!

Let’s take a close look at Simon’s profession. He certainly had two things in his favor.

A. He heard the right message (12). He heard it from Philip, a man commended by the apostles in Acts 6. Realize this. Not just any message can save a person. It must be the right message. Philip’s message involved two ingredients.

1. Philip preached the kingdom of God. And…

2. Philip preached Christ. In reality, those two ingredients comprise one and the same message.

What does it mean to preach the good news of "the kingdom of God?" Sadly, most modern evangelistic presentations seldom mention anything about the kingdom. But the kingdom of God is perhaps the theme that unites the whole Bible.

Perhaps Philip’s message went something like this:

"Men and women, God is King. This is His world. He made it, and He created man to take care of it.

But the first man committed treason. He went his own way rather than God’s way. He tried to establish his own kingdom in God’s world, but in effect he became a slave in the kingdom of darkness. He brought upon himself God’s wrath.

God had every right to destroy mankind, but in His grace He purposed to rescue a people for His glory. He chose to send His own Son into the world to reconcile sinners to Himself. And so, almost forty years ago, King Jesus came.

Jesus lived a perfect life. Just a few years ago, He died on a Roman Cross to pay sin’s penalty. Three days later He arose from the dead, thus conquering the enemies of God’s kingdom. God promises to rescue from the kingdom of darkness all who will submit to Him through repentance and belief in His Son."
Yes, Simon heard the right message, the only message that can save men. Just like you are hearing it today. But merely hearing about Christ isn’t enough. We must offer the right response. As Simon did…

B. He gave the right response (13). Luke says, "Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw." Notice that Simon responded in three ways.

1. He believed. Apparently, just like the other Samaritans did (12).

2. He was baptized. If you have believed in Jesus, God commands you to make your faith public through believer’s baptism (Matt 28:19-20). Baptism is the first step of obedience a follower of Jesus must take. So Simon took it.

3. He followed. A disciple, by definition, is a follower.

But wait. There’s a yellow, caution flag in verse 13. Whom did Simon follow? Was it Christ? Actually, Luke says he followed Philip. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Paul later told the Corinthians, "Follow me as I follow Christ (1 Cor 11:1)." We need models to follow.

But why did Simon follow Philip? What motivated him? Was it a desire to know Christ better? What did Luke say captivated Simon? Verse 13—"the great signs and miracles he saw." Keep that in mind as we approach phase #3…

Before we get to his problem, we find out what it wasn’t. A lot of young "converts" fizzle out due to a lack of good follow-up. But that wasn’t Simon’s situation.

A. He received good follow-up (14-17). From Philip, for starters. And then from the apostles themselves: "When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵ When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."

Some point to this account as proof for a so-called "second work of grace." They say that receiving Jesus as Savior isn’t enough. You must also receive the Holy Spirit, an event that occurs later—and which, they say, is accompanied by phenomenon such as tongues-speaking.

But that misses the transitional nature of the book of Acts. Why did God make the Samaritans wait to receive the Holy Spirit until the apostles came? The answer, really, is quite simple. The Lord wanted one church, not two. Remember, the Jews and Samaritans had been bitter rivals for centuries. By making the Samaritans wait until the Jewish apostles came, God healed the rift. In Christ there is no "Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female (Gal 3:28)."

God did the same thing when the gospel reached the Gentiles in Acts 10:44. He made sure the apostles were represented when the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit, not to establish a pattern for us, but to prevent a fragmented church.

The Lord doesn’t want a Jewish church, nor a Samaritan church, nor a Gentile church. He formed one church, made up of Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. That was the reason for the delay in the reception of the Spirit.

Today, there is no delay—nor was there in the NT after Acts 20. The moment a person receives Christ, he receives the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:13).

At any rate, Simon received good follow-up. But in time…

B. He showed his true colors (18-19). Here’s how: "When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

I would suggest that Simon had a three-fold problem.

1. He had a wrong view of God. Luke says he offered the apostles money, thinking he could buy the "rights" to the Holy Spirit. Talk about a distorted view of God Almighty!

2. He had a wrong view of himself. In fact, Simon is as "full of himself" as he was before his so-called conversion. Just listen to his request, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." He wants power. He wants control. And he thinks he had the right to make such a request. After all, he was such a "catch" for the kingdom.

It’s been well said, "You cannot at the same time show that you are clever and that Christ is wonderful."

3. He had a wrong view of ministry. He tried to do ministry the same way he did it when he practiced sorcery. By touting his power, money, and influence.

Indeed, Simon left his mark on the world. The word "simony" today refers to the unworthy buying and selling of ecclesiastical offices. Simony is based on the notion that you can buy or earn God’s blessings.

And though Simon is gone, simony is alive and well in the contemporary world. It occurs any time a person tries to use God for personal gain. When a businessman comes to church hoping to get business contacts, that’s simony. So is teaching a Sunday School class to gain a following. Or serving as a Trustee so people will think you’re godly. Or ministering in music because you love men’s applause. Or serving as a camp counselor because you love the feeling of being "needed."

What does God think of simony? After Simon showed his true colors…

C. He was exposed (20-23). "Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. ²³ For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."

J. B. Phillips translates Peter’s opening words, "To hell with you and your money!" That may shock our ears, but it’s pretty much what the Greek text says. As I. H. Marshall explains, "It is the utterance of a curse against Simon, consigning him and his money with him to destruction. It is thus tantamount to excommunication from the church, or, perhaps more accurately, it is in the nature of a solemn warning to Simon regarding what will surely happen to him if he does not change his attitude."

Fundamentally, though Simon had gone through the right external motions, he had a heart problem. Peter said, "Your heart is not right before God." The literal rendering says, "Your heart is not straight (eutheia)." In other words, "Simon, you’ve got a crooked heart."

"Wait a minute," someone might say, "That’s not nice to say to someone. That’s being judgmental. You don’t know a person’s heart." It’s true that we can’t see a person’s heart, but we can interpret a person’s heart. How? By being fruit inspectors.

Remember Jesus’ words in Luke 6:43-45? "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

If you want to know the condition of a person’s heart, listen to what comes out of his mouth. When a man says, "I’ll give you money if you’ll give me the power of the Holy Spirit," his words unveil his heart. When another person says, "I don’t care what the Bible says. I’m going to do what makes me happy," that person has just revealed the condition of his heart.

Ponder Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:16-23 "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.