The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the Book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 8, verses 9 through 25.

Tony Clark: They were so impressed with him that they said, "This man is the great power of God." Now, from this title, it shows that Simon claimed to be God, like the early church fathers wrote about. Verse 11 says that they heeded him because he astonished them for a long time. The Samaritans believed in God and were waiting on the Messiah, which we learn from the Samaritan woman Jesus talked to in John chapter 4 and verse 25. This made them very vulnerable to being deceived by someone like Simon.

So, number one, Simon had an incorrect view of himself. Let's see what else happens. Look at verses 12 and 13. "But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done."

Once again, we see Luke, the author, contrasting the works of Simon with the work of Philip by using the conjunction "but." Verse 12 tells us, but when Philip came into town and preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Revival broke out in Samaria, an awakening of people's spiritual condition through the preaching of the gospel.

Philip preached about Jesus: His life, His death, His resurrection. Simon had the people looking to him; Philip had the people looking to Jesus. Beware of anyone constantly talking about himself more than Jesus, taking your attention off of Jesus and putting them on them. Beware of such people. They have a Simon mindset, a Simon mentality.

However, verse 13 is a very interesting verse. It says that Simon himself believed and was baptized, and he continued with Philip. Aren't these the ingredients of salvation? Yes, it can be, but we will see that Simon was not a born-again believer. He had a counterfeit faith.

What do I mean? Well, James 2:19 says that even the demons believe in God and they tremble, but they are not saved. I think someone put it correctly: you can miss heaven by 18 inches. That's the distance between your head and your heart. You can believe in your head intellectually, but you can miss it experientially. If it is not in your heart and has not changed your life, you are in no better shape than the demons.

There is not one demon who doubts that there is a God. Not one demon who doubts the Bible is God's Word. Satan even quotes it in Matthew 4:6. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God, according to Mark 5:7. We see that they ran and fell down and worshiped Jesus, the demon-possessed man in Mark 5:6.

So let's put this all together for you to see, because this is a real wake-up call for many of you in here today. Satan and his demons believe that there is one God, the Bible is God's Word, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and even worship Him. And not one demon or one devil will be in heaven. This kind of faith is counterfeit: not real, not genuine. It's not just what you believe intellectually, but it's when that belief has entered your heart and has changed your life.

If your belief has not affected your behavior, then it is a counterfeit faith, dear people. Simon, number two, had an incorrect view of salvation. This is amazing because verse 13 says that he believed, was baptized, and continued with Philip. Surely such a person is saved, right? Not necessarily. In Luke's version of the parable of the sower, it says in Luke 8:13, "But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, they receive it with joy; and they have no root, who believe for a while, like Simon, and in time of temptation, fall away."

You have to understand that the parable of the sower is describing true and false conversions. Out of the four soils that the seed of God's Word fell upon, three were false, and only one was true. I believe that the church today is filled with a lot of stony ground hearers: people like Simon who receive the word with joy when the word is speaking about something they want to hear. They are baptized and continue for a time, but bear no fruit, the fruit of a changed life.

Does this describe you today? Then you need to repent and cry out to God to change your life and make you like Him. Many people have this faith. They say they believe in God and they think, "Well, I'm good, right? I believe in God." The demons believe in God, but it hasn't affected their behavior. It hasn't changed their lives. So all because you believe in God just proves you're not a fool.

It doesn't mean you're saved; it just proves you're not a fool. Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 say the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." So you just acknowledging that there is a God just proves you're not a fool. It doesn't mean that you're saved. It doesn't mean you're born again. There must be the fruit of a changed life.

Now, we're about to see Simon's counterfeit faith exposed. Look at verses 14 through 19. "Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as of yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit."

"And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'" In these verses, we see number three: Simon had an incorrect view of the Spirit. The revival in Samaria had reached the ears of the apostles in Jerusalem, according to verse 14. So they sent Peter and John to them.

Once they got there, verse 15 says that they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, according to verse 16. What happened next? Verse 17 says that they laid hands on them, and they, the Samaritans, received the Holy Spirit.

Now, when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, what did Simon see? It's obvious that the Samaritans spoke in tongues. He saw something that made his counterfeit faith come out, because the end of verse 18 says he offered them money. This is where the term "simony" comes from, which is the practice of buying a position in the church.

During the Middle Ages, many of the popes actually bought their way into office, and it became known as simony, which was derived from these verses here. We must beware of the Simon mentality. It can creep into our lives when we think that we can purchase the gift of God through our devotional life, through our piety, or our fasting, or our spirituality.

I tried to do this very early on in my walk with the Lord. I thought that through my great devotional life and my spirituality, I could get God to do things in my life. As I was reading through the book of Acts, I got to chapter 3 and verse 12, and God had that verse leap off the page and hit me between the eyes like never before. I've read it hundreds of times.

It was when Peter and John were used by God to heal the man laid at the gate called Beautiful. Peter reached down, grabbed him, lifted him up, and he began to dance and followed them into the temple. Afterwards, all of a sudden the crowd started crowding around Peter and John, and Peter said, "Why do you look at us as though by our own power or godliness we made this man walk?"

God had that verse knock me between the eyes and say, "Tony, the work that I'm going to do through you is not going to be by your power or your godliness." That phrase knocked me over. It's not going to be through your great devotional life, or your prayer, or your fasting that I'm going to do the work I'm going to do through you. It's not going to be by your power, nor your godliness, that people in Newport News and the surrounding area are going to walk with Me.

The Holy Spirit is a gift. It cannot be purchased with money or energy. Jesus said in Luke 11:13, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!" Listen to this verse in Isaiah 55, verse 1: "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."

It is free. All you have to do is ask. So if you are thirsty in your soul today, come and drink of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 4:14, "If you drink of Me, you will never thirst again." He paid the bill in full on Calvary's cross. All you have to do is come to Him today in brokenness, in repentance, and humility. Don't try to give God a reason to bless you. Just come as you are.

In our text, Simon is trying to buy the power of the Holy Spirit. He said in verse 19, "Give me this power also, that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." He wanted the power of the Holy Spirit to put on a show, and not to change his life. Simon was treating Peter and John as if they were fellow practitioners of magic and was ready to negotiate the price to buy the secret of their power.

How did Peter react to what Simon said? Look at verses 20 and 21. "But Peter said to him, 'Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.'" Peter was irate at Simon. He said in verse 20, "Your money perish with you." Now, I believe that J.B. Phillips captures what the original Greek says in his paraphrase.

This is what Peter really said, according to the Greek language. Peter said to Simon, "To hell with you and your money." This actually conveys what Peter said in the Greek language. Now, today in our Western mindset, that's like a curse word. No, he was really telling him, "To hell with you and your money." That's why you reacted the way you did, because you've told some folks just this week, "To Hades with you."

That's not what he was saying. Simon wanted to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit and not change his character but to fulfill his ambition. Peter tells him in verse 21, "You neither have part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God." This is why his faith was not right. Simon had an incorrect view of the Spirit. And number four, Simon had an incorrect view of sin. Look at verses 22 to 25.

"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." Then Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me. So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans."

In these verses, we see that Peter tells Simon in verse 22 to repent of his wickedness. The word repent in the Greek language is *metanoia*, which means to turn from sin. It was a military word meaning to walk in one direction, do an about-face, and walk in the other direction. Peter tells him to pray to God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven.

Then Peter says in verse 23, "I can see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." Peter is using some very strong language towards Simon. The phrase "poisoned by bitterness," poisoned, the Greek word refers to a bitter ingredient, human excrement. Coupled with the word bitterness, *pikria* conveys something extremely bitter, harsh, or distasteful. This clearly pictures someone who is bound or enslaved by iniquity.

Then Simon said in verse 24, "Pray for me, that none of these things which you have spoken may come upon me." Simon was not interested in getting right with God. He just didn't want the consequences of his sin. There are many people today who are sorry—sorry they got caught, not sorry for their actions. This is the Simon mentality. Please keep in mind sorrow doesn't equate to repentance, even if a person is shedding some tears.

They could be shedding tears because they know the consequences that are about to come upon them. You see many people in court who, when the sentence has come down, are crying. Not crying for the action they've done; they're crying because of the consequences that now they have to go to jail for those actions. There are many people just like Simon. Simon wasn't sorry; he was just sorry he got caught. He didn't want those consequences to come about.

So after Peter and John had this exchange with Simon, verse 25 says that they returned to Jerusalem, and on their way home, they preached in many of the villages of the Samaritans. What happened to Philip? Last time we saw him, Philip was preaching the gospel in Samaria. We turned all our attention to Simon. Well, you've got to wait until next week, because Philip comes back into the picture and we're going to see what happened with him.

Let me conclude with this: counterfeit faith. Is your faith a counterfeit or is it real? The way that you can know is that you will have a changed life. That means the things you once did, you have a hatred for those things, and the things you once hated, you have a love for those things. Before I was a Christian, I didn't have a desire to read the Bible. I didn't have a desire to pray, only when that spare tire kind of prayer.

When I get a flat in life, I would offer up a prayer, or when I know that the consequences of my actions are about to come, I would throw up some token prayer to God. I didn't have a desire to pray to God. I didn't have a desire to read. I didn't have a desire to go to church. I was made to go to church. I had no desire for those things. But when I repented of my sin and I truly accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I wanted to read the Bible.

I wanted to get to know the one who did that for me. I wanted to talk to the one who would give His only begotten Son to die in my place. I wanted to gather together to worship with the people of God and learn more about Him. Let me tell you something: if people have to force you to come to church, force you to read or pray or do anything spiritual, you're not born again. You've got a Simon mentality. I'm here to tell you: you're not saved.

You're not a born-again believer, but you can be. There's going to be some people up here for you to come and talk to because you want to make sure your life is right with God. You know you're not born again because your life isn't changed. You're still the same person doing the same things, still desire the same things. When you are born again, you are a new person. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things become new."

If people have to constantly drag you and beg you to come to church or to read—"Can you just read with us? Can you just pray?"—you're not saved. You're not born again, but you can leave here—if you come and cry out in repentance and humility and brokenness and say, "My life isn't changed. I thought I was a Christian, but you're just a stony ground hearer like Simon." Just think about it.

The demons believe that there is one God. They believe the Bible is the Word of God; Satan even quotes it. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God and falls down and worships Him. There are demons that are better off than most people, and not one demon will be in heaven. Not one. You want to make sure your life is right with God.

I'm just so thankful because I can look at you and just say we prayed for you last night. I prayed for you this morning that everyone of you sitting in this seat, you've been invited by God to be here. You want to make sure your life is right with God before you leave and not leave out here with the same counterfeit faith you came in here with. If it hasn't changed your life, you've got a counterfeit faith.

The Lord doesn't want you to leave here with that same counterfeit faith. He wants you to leave here with the real deal, the real thing. You know how you'll know it's real? Your family will tell. They will know whether you changed or not. There's going to be some people to pray with you about these things. Let's close in prayer.

Father, thank You so much for this opportunity to share Your Word. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will move in this place. Lord, we've already done our part; now it's time for You to do Your part. Move upon the hearts of the people today. Lord, move them. There are some right now struggling. There are some right now, Lord, that have a tug of war whether they're going to come or not. I pray that Your Spirit will be all over them to come to get things right with You. In Jesus' name, Amen.