|
Introduction:
Who are some of the most surprising converts in the Bible? Paul,
the people mentioned in I
Corinthians 6:9-11, the priests, the Pharisees? I don’t
think you could make this list without Simon the sorcerer of Acts
8. What an amazing man for the powerful gospel to
overcome. Yet it did. Let’s see what we can learn from him. We
will begin our look with this lesson and continue in tonight’s
lesson. Discussion: I.
Modern Pentecostal
“proofs” are nothing new. A.
In our society, Pentecostalism seems to be one of the
fastest growing religious ideologies. Sometimes, we may believe it
is difficult to overcome their alleged proofs. After all, the
people are convinced their testimonials of power are true. The
story of Simon the sorcerer stands clear that these same proofs
are not new and have always been used by those who would trick. B.
From Simon we see the three-pronged approach to asserting
their supposed power. 1.
Tricks
– Simon was a practitioner of magic (Acts
8:9). Essentially, this is tricks used to impress people,
commonly used by court wise men or magi. This is nothing more than
tricks, because even Simon could tell when real power came in the
presence of Philip and then later with the apostles. Today, tricks
are used to claim power. Some tricks are more elaborate than
others. Nonetheless, modern healers use nothing more than tricks
like Simon. 2.
Talk
– Simon was claiming to be someone great (Acts
8:9). All you have to do is turn on the TV and listen to
Pentecostal preachers to learn this kind of talk is still being
used today to impress people and draw followers. Regrettably, it
still works. But it is nothing new. 3.
Testimony
– The smallest to the greatest were giving testimony that Simon
was the power of God among men (Acts
8:10). This is still being used today. Those who claim
modern power often use major portions of their meetings for
testimonials about demonstrations of power. These testimonials are
often from people that no one in the audience has seen. C.
I bring this up, because in Acts
8, we see a man who is beyond doubt a false worker of
miracles. Yet, he hoodwinked people from the smallest to the
greatest. He talked big, he could perform big tricks, and people
testified to his greatness. But he was nothing more than a fake.
When the real power came to town, his followers abandoned him.
Don’t be fooled by the modern tricks, talk and testimony. It is
nothing new and is no proof. The proof is in the power. I
Corinthians 4:18-20 shows Paul speaking against those who
were puffed up. He was going to come displaying the power of the
apostle. He wasn’t going to put up with words from them, he
wanted to see their power. Which leads to our next point. II.
Real miracles outshine trickery. A.
Simon had been able, with his tricks, talk and testimony,
to dupe the people of Samaria. But, when the real power of God
came to town, people were not fooled (Acts
8:6). Vs.
10 claims they were giving attention to Simon, but vs
6 shows their attentions had been turned when they saw the
signs Philip performed. As long as there was no real power in
town, Simon could fool the people. But when the real power came,
there was no more fooling. B.
This is the way it has always been. In Genesis
41:8; 41:25ff, the magicians in Pharaoh’s court could
not interpret his dreams, but Joseph could. In Exodus
7-11, the court magicians tried to match the power of God
with their trickery, but could not (Exodus
8:18). The same is true of Daniel in the court of
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. When no one else could tell the king
his dream and its interpretation, Daniel could (Daniel
2:27-28). When Sergius Paulus heard the teachings and saw
the power of both the magician Elymas and the apostle Paul, the
proconsul was not deceived (Acts
13:4-12). The power of God has always exposed the weakness
of the trickery and fakery of men. Simon was no exception. C.
Today, various groups claim to have the power of God. Yet,
amazingly, they teach varying doctrines. The Catholics, Mormons,
United Pentecostal Church, Metropolitan Community Church, the
Assembly of God, et cetera ad infinitum, teach varying doctrines
on salvation, morality, worship and so on. Remember, the miracles
were signs given to confirm the teaching of those who performed
them (Hebrews
2:4). How can these churches, which contradict one
another, all have the same power? At least some must be faking.
Surely if one had the truth and the miraculous gifts were part of
it, one of these groups would stand head and shoulders above the
rest. But none of them do, they all rely on the same three-pronged
approach which Simon had, tricks, talk and testimony. Because the
miraculous power of God is not demonstrated today, they have
success in fooling the masses, just as Simon did, but that is all
they are doing: deceiving. III.
It is possible for a Christian to become lost. A.
Those who purvey the once saved always saved doctrine find
themselves against a brick wall when they read Acts
8. How would they deal with it? Consider a couple of
options which the once saved, always saved people rely on. 1.
One attempt to reconcile their false doctrine with this
scripture is to claim Simon must never have really been saved.
Yet, as we have already noticed, to make that claim is to claim no
one in Samaria was saved. Acts
8:12-13 says he did what the others did. If they were
saved, Simon was. If Simon wasn’t saved, none of the Samaritans
were. 2.
A second attempt is that he stepped outside of the river of
blessings in Christ and therefore needed to repent, but if he died
he would still go to heaven. Acts
8:23 is a funny way of describing this scenario. Here is a
man in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity. We
are expected to believe that in this state, he has a hope of
heaven. Romans
6:16 teaches that bondage to sin, leads to eternal death,
not eternal life. 3.
A third attempt is to claim that Simon would die saved.
That is, he will sin and go in and out of the blessings of Christ,
but never so sin that salvation would be lost. Christ, through His
providence, would insure that Simon returned to the fold. However,
Peter’s response, “Pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven
you.” Demonstrates that forgiveness was not going to necessarily
come. I believe the “if possible” is based on whether or not
Simon changed the intention of his heart, not God’s willingness
to forgive. But Peter, claimed that it was possible that Simon not
be forgiven and thus eternally lost. B.
The fact is, Simon blows away any possibility that once
saved, always saved doctrine is Biblical. IV.
Baptism does not produce perfect Christians. A.
Many people are distressed when they become Christians and
then within a short time realize they are still faced with the
same temptations, struggles and stresses they had before they
became Christians. New converts often have the naïve idea that
baptism makes life and serving God easier. In the mainstream
denominational world, people are commonly taught they are born
sinners and when they become saved, God comes in and takes over in
their lives. It is simply not the case. God taking over in our
lives is not a miraculous occurrence, it is a growth process. It
comes through continued greater submission to God’s will as our
knowledge increases. Such is revealed in II
Peter 1:5-8. B.
Simon is an example. As already demonstrated, Simon was
converted to Christ. However, his desire to impress others had not
gone away. Soon, when the apostles come into town and began
passing powers on to others, Simon wanted the ability to pass
power along also. He had not become a perfect mature Christian by
being baptized. He had just become a Christian. C.
Temptations and struggles would still be there. It is easy
to stand in judgment over Simon because of Peter’s response to
him (Acts
8:20-23). But, the fact is, we have all been in Simon’s
place, having become a Christian but being plagued by all our old
temptations, whether lust, fornication, lying, stealing, anger,
drinking, drugs, etc. And even submitting at times. D.
Do not naively think that being baptized will take away all
your problems, nor will “rededicating your life to Christ” as
some call it. If you have slipped into the world, coming before
the congregation and confessing your sins will not take the
temptations away. They will continue to be there and will
resurface. Only through continued study and submission to God’s
will and through prayer and reliance on God will you overcome the
tempter. Conclusion: I want you to understand that baptism won’t take away all your problems. Baptism won’t take away all the temptations you face. Baptism won’t make you a great person. Baptism won’t make you a perfectly mature Christian. But understand this, baptism will make you a Christian (Acts 2:38).
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
|
||||||||||
