"Simon Magus -- Heretic" Sermon: Acts 8:4-25

“Simon Magus – Heretic”
[Acts 8:4-25]
October 4, 2009 Second Reformed Church

Do you know what “simony” is? Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “simony” as the “buying or selling of sacred or spiritual things, as sacraments or benefices” – a church office – priest, bishop, etc. The word came into existence and is named for the character we meet in this morning’s Scripture.

Last week we saw the first martyr of the Church – Stephen – and the beginning of a great persecution against the Christians, who were, at that time, primarily in Jerusalem. The Jews of Jerusalem followed the Sanhedrin in their sin and sought to purge Jerusalem of Christians. In God’s Providence, this moved the Christians out of Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria, just as Jesus had prophesied before His Ascension.

We may remember from the Gospels that Samaria was an area in Northern Israel where half-breeds – people who were half-Jewish and half of a pagan nationality – lived. They were looked down upon and considered to be more pagan than Jewish. Jesus ministered among them and was criticized for it.

As we have seen Luke do already, this morning’s text begins with a summary statement and then gives a specific story. He begins with a general account of Philip’s ministry in Samaria and then gives us a specific story of a magician named Simon.

Those who left Jerusalem at the beginning of the persecution included everyone except the apostles. For that reason, we know that this Philip was not one of the twelve apostles, but was probably the Philip we meet in chapter six – one of the first deacons. And he, with others, continued to preach the Word – that there is Only Salvation in Jesus Alone – as they left Jerusalem and went to Judea and Samaria.

Philip went to Samaria and preached Christ as the Savior that God sent for all who would believe. Luke tells us that great crowds went out to hear Philip preach, and Philip cast out demons and healed the paralyzed and the lame by the power of the Holy Spirit. And the city was filled with much joy, by which we understand that they also believed what Philip was preaching: there was a mass conversion of Samaritans to Christianity.

What does that tell us? It tells us that we should not shut our mouths because times get tough or because others don’t want the Gospel to be preached. As we’ve seen before, Christianity flourishes under persecution. It’s when times are good that people forget that they are sinners in need of a Savior. That’s why it is so difficult for the Church in the United States, especially in the Northeast: we have it so easy compared to the rest of the world, we are so rich compared to the rest of the world, that the plain Gospel is not well received. Some well-meaning people have tried to make the Gospel more “saleable” to Americans, but in so doing, they have compromised the truth and the heart of the Gospel.

For example, Rev. Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral in California has named his eldest daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman, to be his successor when he retires. In an interview, she said that one of the major things she plans to do differently is to stay away from the Scripture and tell stories that reflect the moral teaching of the Scripture instead.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ – the Jesus of the Scriptures – the Scriptures which are the Very Word of God. We cannot do less, neither for well-meaning reasons, nor out of fear. We must, in the way that God has gifted us, tell others that there is Only Salvation in Jesus Alone. The Holy Spirit lives in every Christian and we receive grace through the reading and preaching of the Word, through the sacraments, and through prayer – to be able to be Jesus’ witnesses. Let us be like Philip, not looking to be killed, but using wisdom to go forth and let others know wherever we are of the Salvation that is only found in Jesus.

“But.” There’s always a “but.” There was not good news for every person: Luke tells us “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.”

Simon was a very famous person, Justin Martyr records, “After Christ’s ascension into heaven, the devils put forward certain people who said that they themselves were gods; and they were not only not persecuted by you [the Roman government] but even deemed worthy of honors. There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius Caesar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, and as a god he was honored by you with a statue, which statue was erected on the river Tiber, between the two bridges, and bore that inscription, in the language of Rome, ‘Simoni Deo Sancto,’ ‘To Simon the holy god.’ And almost all of the Samaritans, and a few even of other nations, worship him and acknowledge him as the first god, ...” (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament V: Acts, 90).

Simon was not a street-corner magician – he was a master of the dark arts, considered to be a god, and held in high regard by the Samaritans and even the Romans. But when he saw the power that Philip had – as he understood it – when he saw Philip casting out demons – hearing them scream as they left the bodies of the possessed – and saw him healing those who could not be healed by the physicians – he wanted in. He wanted that power. He believed that this Jesus gave them some sort of power, and he wanted it, so he confessed his belief in Jesus and was baptized with the other Samaritans.

Now the apostles in Jerusalem heard of the mass conversion in Samaria, so they sent Peter and John to go and see for themselves, to pray for the converts, to lay hands on them, that they would receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

That might confuse us: haven’t I preached and haven’t we understood from the Scriptures that once we believe in Jesus Alone for salvation, God the Holy Spirit lives in us? I doubt most if any of us have understood that there was a time after conversion that one did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So what is going on here? Why would God have the converts to Christianity not be indwelt by God the Holy Spirit until the apostles laid their hands on them and prayed?

For at least two reasons:

First, the Holy Spirit was not immediately given to the first converts so there would be no confusion that the Holy Spirit is naturally in the apostles or other believers or that He is our own spirit – even our own spirit made better or perfect. No, the Holy Spirit is not something that comes from within us. In fact, He is another Being from us; He is an Alien Person Who inhabits us; Christians have a Person – One of the Persons of God – inhabiting their human person.

And second, the fact that the apostles had to give the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands shows that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a gift. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit has to be given – He cannot be gotten in any other way than as a gift.

So what about today? Are we converted to Christ and then sometime in the future receive the Holy Spirit? Later in the book of Acts we will see that is not true. Now, when a person converts – believe – in Jesus savingly – he or she is immediately indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. Why the change? The major reason is this: in the infancy of the Church, the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of hands by the apostles, and all of the apostles are dead. So now, God immediately gives the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit to the person who believes in Jesus savingly.

“But.” But Simon was a businessman. He went to Peter and asked to have the ability to give the Holy Spirit to anyone he laid hands on. And he offered Peter money for the ability. This is what we now call “simony.” Simon offered to pay for the ability to indwell people with the Holy Spirit.

And Peter flew into a rage: “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right with God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

God gave Peter the insight to know that Simon had not converted – he was still a pagan. We know God gave him that knowledge because no human can judge another’s heart. Our faith or lack of faith is shown – to some extent – through the fruit we bear, but it is possible to fool people and to even fool ourselves. But God made it clear to Peter that Simon did not believe savingly, so Peter cursed Simon and his money, wishing it to rot with him, as it showed his heart was not right with God.

If someone tells you that you have to give money to be saved, don’t believe it. If someone tells you that you have to send money in to a ministry to be healed, don’t believe it. Salvation is free. God’s Grace is free. Understand, I am not saying it is wrong to give to the work of the Church – we are to give as a response of thankfulness. But giving money to a church or a minister will not save you or heal you or get you anything special from God. That is simony, and it is a sin.

Peter also tells Simon to repent of his wickedness. Simon was wicked, still dead in his sins. He had not savingly believed, so the Gospel call to repent and believe was still preached to him. He was still called to repent of his wickedness and come to Christ.

That is the message we have for all people. God did not reveal to Peter whether Simon might one day come to a true faith, so Peter was obliged to continue to preach the Gospel to him. We can’t know a person’s heart, so we are obliged to continue to preach the Gospel. A person may come to faith even in the moment of death, so we cannot say with one hundred percent certainty who is saved and who is not. We can say that there is Only Salvation in Jesus Alone, and if you do not believe in Jesus savingly, you will suffer God’s Wrath eternally in Hell. But we, of our own knowledge, cannot say with certainty whether a person died in faith or not. There are signs. True Christians bear Christ-like fruit. I can say that because of what you say and do, I believe you are a Christian, but I am not God. I cannot see your heart. And you will not have to answer to me at the end of the age. We saw in Peter’s letters that he urged his readers to make their calling and election sure, because Jesus is the Judge. Not you, and not me.

And someone may ask, “Well, Simon was baptized. Doesn’t that mean he was saved?” The Roman Catholic Church says, “yes.” The Bible says, “no.” We baptize as a sign of salvation – as a sign of what Christ does in a person who believes – which is why we can baptize infants with a clear conscience – we do not claim that baptizing an infant “makes” that child a Christian. But, if a person does coming to a saving faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit seals that baptism – and then it is not merely a sign of what Christ does in a person, but a seal of what Christ has done in a person. We ought to baptize infants as a physical example of what Christ does, but if the child never believes, all the waters of baptism did for the child was get him wet. Baptism does not save a person.

And someone might still ask, “Well, Luke says in verse thirteen that Simon believed. Doesn’t that mean that he was saved?” Given what follows in our text, we must say “no.” God revealed to Peter that Simon had not savingly believed in Jesus, which is why Peter rebuked him and called him to repent of his wickedness. So, what does it mean in verse thirteen to say that Simon believed? Based on his actions, we can say that Simon believed that there was power to be had in Jesus and through His apostles – and Simon wanted that power. He did not believe savingly – he did not repent of his sins and believe in Jesus as the Savior that God sent for all who will believe.

Our biblical knowledge of Simon ends with his request, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” Simon is never again mentioned in the Bible. Did he come to faith? He was certainly scared by what Peter said to him. But the answer is that we do not know for certain. Simon was considered by the Church Fathers as the first heretic, and Justin Martyr who wrote in the second century, some seventy years after this incident in the Scripture, gave us the report of the statue to Simon proclaiming him a god. We don’t know for sure. The historical report is not good. But, as I said, it is possible for a person to repent on his deathbed and be received into the Kingdom.

After this, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, and along the way, they continued to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many of the villages of the Samaritans.

What then can we say?

We are all called, not matter where we are, no matter what we are facing, to let others know that there is Only Salvation in Jesus Christ Alone.

The Holy Spirit is One of the Persons of God; He is not our own spirit.

The indwelling of Holy Spirit is given as a gift by God to those who truly repent of their sins and believe that Jesus is the Savior.

Baptism, in-and-of itself, does not save anyone.

And, it is possible to have belief in the historicity of Jesus, the power of Jesus, the accuracy of the Scripture, and so forth, and still not have saving faith. In order to be saved, we must repent of our sin and believe that Jesus is God the Savior, sent for all those Who will believe. If you do not, you are not a Christian. No matter how much of the Bible you have memorized, no matter how much you respect and admire Jesus and the Scripture – listen, you can be a great preacher, an excellent theologian, pack stadiums, and have a world-famous ministry, but if you do not repent and believe in Jesus as your Savior, you will go to Hell.

Today is Worldwide Communion Sunday. It is the Sunday during the year when “all” churches, not matter how often they normally receive the sacrament, celebrate it together in a unified reception. If you receive the bread and the cup this morning, and you do not believe in Jesus as your Savior, you will receive a bit of bread and a bit of the fruit of the grape. If you receive the bread and the cup this morning, and you do not believe in Jesus as your Savior, you are eating and drinking judgment on yourself. But if you receive the bread and the cup this morning, and you have repented of your sin, and you have believed in Jesus as your Savior, then He will commune with you spiritually this morning. He will minister to you and give you His Grace. He will strengthen you and prepare you for the work that He has called you to do.

You can fool yourself. You can fool me. But you can’t fool God. There is Only Salvation in Jesus Alone. And that Salvation is a gift.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You that You have not left our Salvation to ourselves. We thank You that we do not have to be good enough or rich enough to earn Your Salvation. We thank You that You call us to repent and believe – that you have done all the Work and give us the very faith we need to believe. We ask if any here this morning are unsure, that You would come to them and draw them to You – that You would give them true repentance and Your Salvation, and then that You would meet with them and us as we receive the bread and the cup. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.