Sermon for 1/22/2006
Acts 8:4-25
Introduction:
In February 2001, Adam Burtle, a 20 year old student at the University of Washington put his soul up for auction on eBay. The ad read: "Hardly used. I make no warranties as to the condition of my soul. As of now it is near mint condition, with only minor scratches. Due to difficulties involved with removing my soul the winning bidder will either have to settle for night of yummy Thai food and watching Indiana Jones Movies, or wait until my natural death."
The bidding started at a nickel; his ex-girlfriend bid it up to $6.66, the mark of the "Beast." In the final hour of bidding, the price rose from $56 to $400, placed by a woman in Des Moines, Iowa…
But then eBay officials learned of the auction and removed the listing before bidding closed. EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove explained "EBay is only for pieces of merchandise that a seller can deliver to a buyer. This individual cannot deliver his soul to anyone". (EBay also forbids the selling of drugs, alcohol, guns and body parts).
People will do all kinds of things for money… some are apparently even willing to sell their souls on E-Bay
WBTU:
A. Start with two characters here, Simon and Philip:
1. Simon
a. Simon was a magician. Simon thought he was someone great.
c. Now I need to make it clear that this is NOT the kind of magic that we think of when we think of magic; this is the real kind of magic. Simon practiced witchcraft. The Bible does indeed teach that this sort of thing is real. The power comes from the devil.
f. Simon was full of Satan and he was full of himself.
2. Philip
a. Now Philip comes to town. Philip is an interesting contrast to Simon.
b. Philip has great power, but no one is calling him the great power.
c. There is no mentioning of Philip boasting about himself or thinking he was great. Philip did not come to town to draw attention to him; he came to preach the name of Jesus. He didn’t exalt himself but he exalted Jesus Christ.
e. Philip had the Holy Spirit. Philip had a greater power than Simon.
f. Philip was not the divine power, but a divine servant. Philip was there to bring glory to God, not to himself.
B. Simon and Philip meet
1. Simon was astonished by the great signs and miracles that Philip preformed.
2. Simon knew that what he had was nothing compared to what Philip had.
4. Simon knew that he was nothing compared to Christ.
5. Simon believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and was baptized.
6. Philip baptized SIMON—the "divine power" was baptized by the divine servant.
C. Was Simon really saved? Was he really a Christian?
1. We don’t know anyone’s heart but we see in Vs. 13 much evidence of salvation.
2. Simon believed like the rest of the Samaritans. Simon was obedient to the gospel by putting on Christ through baptism like the rest of the Samaritans. Simon left what he was doing; he left the sorcery and followed Philip. Simon was willing to set aside his desires, his way of life, to follow Philip, to follow Christ. He was willing to learn more by following Philip.
D. One problem in vs. 14- 17
1. Look at these verses. Does anybody see a problem here?
2. Now… for those of you who don’t understand WHY that would be a problem, it would help for us to go back to Acts 2 and read what Peter told the crowd at Pentecost:
Acts 2:38 says: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
3. If you want to be saved: Repent of your sins And be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ AND – when you do that You shall receive forgiveness of your sins AND the gift the Holy Spirit
4. BUT… in Acts 8 we have hundreds of people who responded to Philip’s preaching
They believe… they’re baptized and yet they don’t seem to have the Holy Spirit yet!
What’s the deal? This leaves us with only two options:
a. Either the Samaritans were not saved until Peter and John came to Samaria (EVEN tho’ they had BELIEVED and were BAPTIZED)
b. OR, something else is happening here.
10. When Acts 8:16 tells us that “the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus” it’s not trying to say that baptism didn’t accomplish anything. As Acts 2:38 tells us, the result of repentance and baptism was forgiveness of sins and the reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit. What Acts 8:16 is saying is - baptism wasn’t intended to impart these dynamic gifts of the Spirit (things like tongues and prophecy) that apparently could only be received by the laying on of apostolic hands. AND that’s obviously what had happened in Samaria because Acts 8:18 tells us “…Simon SAW that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands…”
- He didn’t just THINK that this is what had happened
- He wasn’t just TAUGHT that this is what happened…
- He actually SAW results when the Apostles laid hands on the Samaritans
E. The apostles had the power to pass on miraculous gifts. Power can lead to corruption, abuse of that power. This is what we see Simon asking Peter to do in Vs. 19. I doubt that Peter could make Simon an apostle and give him the ability to give out the miraculous, but this is what Simon wanted.
F. Simon, before he came to Christ, was a worldly man. He fleeced the people of their money and he probably still had some of it after he came to Christ. He used that money to get what he wanted. If he found someone who could do a particular trick or magical power, he probably paid that person to show him how to do it. Simon probably was just going back to his old ways! Don’t be too hard on Simon! Old habits die hard!
G. (2 Cor 5:16 NIV) So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Simon was regarding Peter and what he was doing from a worldly point of view. Therefore, Simon responded in a worldly way.
H. (Gal 5:6 NIV) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
J. We should not value anything except this! We should not fear anything or anyone but God. Jesus Christ should be #1.
Thesis: Let’s look at three forms of corruption that we need to guard against!
For instances:
I. Simony (Money)
A. Money is good to have. Without it, we do not eat, we do not have a place to live and we do not have clothing to wear. Beyond this, money makes little contribution to life. Money will buy luxury, but it will not buy spiritual power. Money will buy advancement, but it will not buy the recognition of God. Money will by favor and accolade, but it will not buy respect. Money will buy a library, but it will not buy insight or wisdom. Money can buy a prostitute, but it cannot buy love. Money can buy diamonds, but it cannot buy a sparkle in the eyes. Money can buy pleasure and entertainment, but it cannot buy happiness. Money can buy medicine, but it cannot buy health. Money can buy a house, but it cannot buy a home.
B. Simon started a curse in the church that exists to this day “simony”- this is seeking to buy power with money.
D. "Do everything to make so and so happy! Whatever they want is great! We need their money!" Isn’t that evaluating people from a worldly point of view?
E. Another way- "I give a great deal of money to this church and it is going to go my way. If it doesn’t go my way, I am taking my money someplace else!"
F. (1 Tim 6:9 NIV) People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (1 Tim 6:10 NIV) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
G. The important thing is faith expressed through love.
II. Nepotism (family)
A. This is favoritism shown to relatives, family. This is fine and natural but when it gets immoral, then it is a problem. To have a close knit family is good but when our family gets in the way of our relationship with Christ, then it’s a problem.
B. This term is used many times to describe giving a family member a position of power but that family member is not qualified for that position. He/she only gets it because they are family. It’s like the Godfather idea. What’s important is the family. Even if it is immoral, do it for the family.
C. Someone comes up to the preacher and says, “Hey, don’t preach about drunkenness anymore. Uncle Jed doesn’t like it. If you preach on it again, Uncle Jed is going to leave and we are going to leave with him. Even though we never drink, we support Uncle Jed because he’s family.”
D. Or how about this one. Uncle Jed has a strong opinion about something at the church. He doesn’t get his way. He encourages the rest of his family to raise a stink at the church. The rest of his family probably doesn’t care that much about it, but they support Uncle Jed because he’s family. After all, blood is thicker than water and we need to stand by the family even if they might be wrong.
E. (Luke 14:26 NIV) "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.
F. This word hate that Jesus’ uses is probably an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. Jesus is not saying that we must leave and hate our family, disown them. What he is saying is that we better not value family above our relationship with Christ, because that can lead to spiritual problems.
G. (Isa 1:4 NIV) Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.
H. Yes, we as parents need to give tough love to our children. In my ministries I have seen parents that would do anything for their children. These parents enable their children to engage in their sins.
I. The important thing is faith expressed through love and sometimes that has to be tough love especially with family.
III. Cronyism (friends)
A. Favoritism shown to friends without regard for their qualifications.
B. Wikepedia- The Good Ol’ Boy Network describes a system of social networking and perceptions alleged to exist prevalently among certain communities and social strata in the United States. Although the term originated in The South, these networks can be found throughout the US and the rest of the Western world. It is typically taken to refer to informal social, religious, business, and political associations. The good ol’ boy network is said to manifest in institutions such as conservative churches and the local bar.
C. Another way to describe this is the country club.
D. Another way to describe this is a fraternity or sorority.
E. To have close friends is good but when our friends get in the way of our relationship with Christ, then it’s a problem.
F. Jesus talked about friendship. (John 15:13 NIV) Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:14 NIV) You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:15 NIV) I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
G. Jesus’ love for us is sacrificial. But what we are talking about here is a love that is more selfish. You scratch my back, I scratch your back. (Luke 23:12 NIV) That day Herod and Pilate became friends--before this they had been enemies. Do we believe that Herod and Pilate would die for each other? Hardly!
H. As a matter of fact these corruptions are more evident in the political and business world than in the church. I am sure that many of you have seen these things I am talking about in operation out there in the world. This is how the world operates. It’s not what you know it’s who you know, family and friends.
I. There is a problem with friendship and it is that it can be more exclusive than inclusive. It is hard to break into the circle of friends. Why are we not growing? Because we are more exclusive than inclusive.
J. This corruption is expressed in the same way as families like we have mentioned. However, we must add to this one that many times it is expressed in the church with seniority. As a matter of fact, the word crony comes from a Greek word that refers to a long time, a long time friend. The ones who have been involved the longest want the greatest number of favors. If those with the greatest seniority do not get their way, then they are mad and want to cause problems.
K. Again, the issue is faith expressed through love. IT should not be an issue of seniority, friends, family or money. It should be about Jesus Christ. This is our highest motivation: to please Christ.
So what:
A. (James 2:1 NIV) My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.
C. Vs. 20-23- Peter looks this man dead in the eye and basically says – You’re going to hell!” In fact, J.B. Phillips translation says exactly that: Peter replied: “Go to hell with your money.”
B. We can also look other people in the eye and say, "If you value these relationships with family and friends more than our faith in Christ, then you can go with your family and friends to eternal condemnation."
E. Peter was not condemning this man Simon but he was throwing a cup of cold water into his face to get him to wake up.
F. Simon asks Peter to pray for him. If you need prayer, or if you need to be baptized, or if you need to repent, come forward.
