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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to the book of Acts. We're in Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8, Philip's ministry 
in Samaria. I'll begin reading in verse 9 
in Acts chapter 8. But there was a certain man called 
Simon who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished 
the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to 
whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, 
this man is the great power of God. And they heeded him because 
he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But 
when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning 
the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, 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. 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 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 hands may receive the Holy 
Spirit. 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. 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. Amen. Let us 
pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
Your written Word, and we pray now for the ministry of the Holy 
Spirit who gave us this Word. We ask that You would guide us 
and instruct us and help us to see what is happening in this 
passage of Scripture. And God, may You cause us to 
reflect upon the truths herein. And may you cause us all to reflect 
upon the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How we 
praise you that you made him who knew no sin to be sin for 
us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 
How we thank you for your graciousness and for your mercy. How we thank 
you for your salvation wrought in our hearts. And now we thank 
you for bringing us together on this Lord's Day. And do forgive 
us for our sins and our transgressions now, cleansing us in the blood 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and again, filling us with your Holy 
Spirit. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, we have seen 
as a result of the great persecution against the church that the people 
of God were scattered and they left Jerusalem and they went 
into various other parts of the earth at that time. And Philip 
goes into Samaria. Remember, Samaria was looked 
down upon by Israelites. They were looked down upon as 
persons that were as not important as the Jews. And yet the gospel 
goes to them. And as we see specifically in 
verse 12, People in Samaria heard what Philip preached, they believed 
by God's grace, and they were baptized and added to the church. 
And then there's this fellow called Simon Magus, Magus referring 
to magician, that's how he's been referred to in the history 
of the church. Notice at verse 13, 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. The apostles, 
Peter and John, now come to investigate the work of God going on in Samaria. They pray for the people that 
they would receive the Holy Spirit, and then they lay hands on them 
so that they do, in fact, receive the Holy Spirit. And then we 
have this account of Simon asking to purchase this gift so that 
he may convey the Spirit to others. It's a bit of a difficult passage. It's a bit of a puzzle as to 
whether or not he was genuinely converted. The mix between commentators 
is pretty well divided. Some put him in heaven, some 
put him in hell. I'm not sure that I can give 
you a definitive answer, but as we look at this particular 
passage, I hope that we'll appreciate some things concerning God's 
grace, concerning the availability of forgiveness of sin, and concerning 
the mercy that there is in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. 
So I want to look at three things this morning. First, the request 
made by Simon in verses 18 and 19. Secondly, the rebuke given 
by Peter in verses 20 to 24. And then finally, the return 
to Jerusalem by the apostles in verse 25. Bit of a transition 
passage, and then we'll pick up the Ethiopian eunuch next 
time. But notice the request made by Simon. What he saw with 
reference to the apostles' ministry. Again, they prayed that the Samaritans 
would receive the Spirit. They then lay hands on the Samaritans, 
and then the Spirit comes upon them in a dramatic and obvious 
way. Now, whether the gift of tongues 
associated or was done here, we're not sure. It doesn't tell 
us. In Acts 2, when the Spirit comes in a powerful way, the 
people of God speak in strange tongues or other languages. But 
we don't know that that happened here. The fact that it's not 
mentioned would probably indicate or possibly indicate that it 
didn't, but there was something manifest. There was something 
visible. There was something by which 
Simon was able to conclude that the Holy Spirit had in fact really 
fallen upon these Samaritan believers. these new confessors of faith 
in Jesus Christ. In other words, there was some 
manifestation, and Simon saw it, and then Simon requests this. F. F. Bruce says, whether the 
external signs which accompanied the reception of the Spirit on 
this occasion were identical with the Pentecostal signs or 
not, they were at any rate of so impressive a nature that Simon 
Magus craved the power to reproduce them at will. So he sees this, 
according to verse 18, and then he offers them money so that 
he can purchase this ability for himself. There is this desire 
for power on the part of Simon Magus that certainly tilts the 
scales in the favor of him not having been genuinely converted. I'm going to kind of tip these 
scales back and forth as we move through the message this morning. 
I feel a bit like those commentators that say, well, here are the 
two views. Now go figure it out. But that's going to kind of be 
how I end today. And I'm sorry, but there are 
compelling pieces of evidence on either side as to whether 
or not Simon Magus is converted. New believers do some terrible 
things. Old believers do some terrible 
things. The reality is, is that our righteousness 
is in Jesus Christ. The reality is, is that it's 
not our virtue, or our performance, or our merit, or our law-keeping 
that commends us to God. Jesus' blood and righteousness 
is the ground upon which we stand. So that Simon Magus did a terrible 
thing doesn't necessarily eliminate him from the kingdom of God. 
Simon Peter did a terrible thing and that didn't eliminate him 
from the kingdom of God. King David did a terrible thing 
and that didn't eliminate him from the kingdom of God. In fact, 
we'll look at the King David narrative tonight in 2 Samuel 
12 with reference to the supper, because again, it extols the 
glory and the majesty and the excellency, not of King David, 
but of David's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So with reference 
to his desire, he offers them money. The whole idea is so paradoxical. It's not that you purchase the 
gift of God. It is the gift of God. Gift, 
by definition, is something freely given. And for Simon to even 
proffer this, or to offer them money, is indicative that he 
hasn't really understood Philip's preaching. Notice that nowhere, 
Peter says to Philip, how did you train this guy so poorly? 
How did you teach him so badly? Philip is not chided for his 
proclamation of the truth. Rather, Peter goes against or 
highlights the gravity of Simon Magus' sin. But in this instance, 
he reverses the gift character of God's grace. Alexander says, 
the sin and folly of the sorcerer's offer lay not merely in the thought 
of bribing God, but in that of purchasing what from its very 
nature could only be a free gift. And he gravitates toward this 
power, and that's consistent with what he was in his former 
life. Remember, prior to his belief 
and prior to his baptism, he claimed to be somebody great, 
according to Acts chapter 8. As well, the people around him, 
according to verse 10, confessed that he was the great power of 
God. So he liked this identification 
with power, and he gravitated toward this particular situation. 
But here he sort of goes to the top. He says, I want to purchase 
from the apostles the ability to convey the Holy Spirit upon 
these people or upon other people. No doubt, for profit, he's spending 
money to make some money. Whether it's altruism and he 
just wants to go about the countryside dispensing the Holy Spirit because 
he's a great guy, most likely he wants that gift to be able 
to convey to others for a nominal price. And so what we see here 
is not good thus far. His interest is shown in the 
miracles and signs associated with Philip's preaching. Notice 
in verse 13. Again, this doesn't disqualify him necessarily. If Philip was in my presence 
and he was doing miracles and signs, I would be dazzled as 
well. I don't want to, you know, make you think that I'm so pious. 
All I would want is the truth of God's doctrine. No, verse 
13, Simon himself also believed that when he was baptized, he 
continued with Philip and was amazed seeing the miracles and 
signs which were done. And I think it would be nice 
if he was amazed at the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
He was amazed at the reality that my sin, oh, the bliss of 
this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole is 
nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. 
Praise the Lord. as well his offer to these apostles 
in order to purchase the Holy Spirit of the power so that he 
can convey it to others? I'd be more impressive if he 
said to Peter and John, what would you have me to do in your 
service? What is there I can do to benefit you? I don't doubt 
that when persons get converted, when they believe the gospel, 
when they're baptized, they have this desire to serve. They have 
this desire to glorify God. But they usually don't shoot 
for the top gift right off the bat. That's obviously a wrong 
thing. It would have been far more consistent 
with genuine conversion for him to say to them, I will gladly 
carry your water. I will gladly tie and untie your 
shoelaces. I would gladly do any mundane 
task that you have to offer for me. Or better had he said, teach 
me the Bible, instruct me in doctrine, cause me to reflect 
upon the truth so that I may grow in the grace and in the 
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No, he goes for 
the very top. He goes to these apostles and 
he says, let me peel back some dough and give it to you so that 
you can convey to me the power to convey this to others. Again, 
most likely for a price. Remember how Elisha the prophet 
is described by a servant when he is rehearsing the presence 
of Elisha the prophet to Jehoshaphat the king. He describes Elisha 
in 2nd Kings chapter 3 as the one who poured water on the hands 
of Elijah. What's that mean? It means that 
Elisha was perfectly content with the mundane. Elisha was 
perfectly content with being a servant to the prophet Elijah. He was perfectly content pouring 
water on another man's hands for the service of God Almighty. It wasn't until the translation 
of Elijah, when he goes up into heaven, he receives the mantle 
of the prophet, Elisha does, and then he prophesies in the 
name of Yahweh. But he's identified by that service. And that's not the case with 
Simon Magus. He wants to purchase this because 
he is mesmerized and enamored with the power associated with 
it. And I think we've seen this sort of a response to Christianity 
in the history of the church. There are persons that are so 
enamored with the miracles and the signs and the wonders. And 
again, if there are genuine miracles, signs, and wonders, I think all 
of God's people would say, wow, that's impressive, that's glorious, 
that's wondrous, and they would honor God. But being so interested 
in that to the exclusion of the mundane, to the exclusion of 
pouring water on another servant's hands, or to the exclusion of 
learning sound doctrine, that's a problem and that's faulty. 
We need to be the people of God that say with John the Baptist 
that Christ must increase and I must decrease. I've always 
loved and appreciated that statement by John the Baptist. I'm not 
saying I embody it, but I love and appreciate it nonetheless. 
He doesn't say Jesus must increase and I must stay the same. Jesus 
must increase and I must increase a little bit. No, while Jesus 
increases, John the Baptist says, I must decrease. I must take 
the back seat. I must be not viewed anymore. I must not be esteemed by anyone 
because Christ is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. 
It seems to me that in the history of the church, there have been 
those types of people that say he must increase and I must a 
little bit. And I'm going to engage in these 
signs and wonders. And I want to have the ability to cast these 
things upon others and do these miraculous things in the name 
of God. Do you know what God's church typically needs? people 
that are masters of the mundane, people that excel at the ordinary. 
People that aren't looking after prestige, but rather perseverance. Persons that aren't looking after 
fame and fortune, but faithfulness under God. That's what the church 
of Jesus Christ has always needed, not signs and wonders and miracle 
workers. Again, those associated the apostolic 
ministry, I don't believe their extent today in the same way 
that they were during the apostolic ministry, but this idea that 
this man comes to the apostles and says, let me purchase this 
power so that I can convey it to others. That does not tip 
the scales favorably in his direction. Now notice, secondly, the rebuke 
given by Peter. Now, this really doesn't tip 
the scales favorably for him. If all we had were Peter's words, 
I think we'd all have to conclude that Simon Magus is in hell. Notice the rebuke given in verses 
20 and 21. He says, but Peter said to him, 
your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of 
God could be purchased with money. The words are not a curse properly, 
but a threat of a curse. There is conditionality in the 
passage. Peter desires ultimately Simon's 
conversion or salvation, not his damnation. In verse 22, he 
says to him specifically to repent. He says to him specifically to 
pray to the Lord God Most High that he might grant you forgiveness. 
But in this instance, he does threaten this curse upon him, 
and it's most powerful. Your money perish with you. He's 
not just saying your money perish, but your money perish with you. 
An older Bible version. It's a paraphrase. I don't recommend 
it. It's the work of a single fellow by the name of Phillips. 
If you go to biblegateway.com or you go to one of these other 
Bible things, it's in the list. It's a translation that the church 
has at least looked at or seen or used. But he translates this 
this way, to hell with you and your money. And in some sense, 
that gets at the idiom that's involved. What Peter is saying 
is that what you are doing is betraying a fundamental knowledge 
of what Christ's gospel is all about. You actually think that 
the gift of the Holy Spirit is purchasable, it's a commodity, 
it's something to be trafficked in, that it goes to the right 
bidder, the highest price? You actually think that the God 
of heaven and earth can be purchased? You think that He can be bought? 
You think that He can be bribed? You think that He needs guys 
like you going out and doing His bidding so that all the world 
may know, for a fee, that there is a God in Israel. No, the Lord 
doesn't need that. God's not Baal. That's the way 
Baal was worshipped. He was manipulated. He was bribed. He was controlled, or an attempt 
was made to control him, so that from Baal all blessings would 
flow. But that's not Jehovah. That's not Yahweh. That is not 
the true and the living God. So Peter's rebuke is serious, 
it is sharp, and it is very specific. The words apply to his money 
and to him. May destruction take your money 
with you. Notice the judgment rendered 
by Peter in verse 21. He says you have neither part 
nor portion in this matter. Now probably in the matter of 
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or in the matter of the Christian 
faith as a whole. You have neither part nor portion 
in this. You haven't come to the basic 
knowledge of what it is to be saved by grace through faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, it's hard to navigate 
and say decisively all the ins and outs here, because is Peter 
saying you have neither part nor portion in Christianity or 
in this gift of the Holy Spirit and who the Holy Spirit comes 
upon? Either way, what Peter then goes on to say underscores 
some fundamental issues in the heart of Simon Magus. Notice 
in verse 21, after saying, you have neither part nor portion 
in this matter, he says, for your heart is not right in the 
sight of God. Now, when an apostle tells you 
that, you've got problems. Now, did he know it by revelation 
or did he know it by the rotten fruit? Did Peter have revelation 
from God that gave him the ability to, with clear-cut insight, see 
the defective heart of Simon Magus, or did he just judge the 
rotten fruit? See, we just judge rotten fruits. 
If somebody were to say, look, I want to purchase the gift of 
the Holy Spirit so that I can give that to others. We would 
say, your heart's not right in the sight of God, based on the 
fact that he tried to engage in such a diabolical thing. But 
Simon Peter, as an apostle in the apostolic age, with authority 
and power invested in him by Christ himself, may have had 
that special insight. He may have had revelation into 
the man's heart that you and I don't have, and we're simply 
going off the external evidence, the bad fruit consistent with 
this Simon Magus. Now, notice the activity commanded 
in verses 22 and 23. He says, "...repent therefore 
of this your wickedness." Again, the command to repent highlights 
Peter's desire. He hasn't just said, okay, that's 
it, you're done. You committed the unpardonable sin. It's a 
bad sin. It's a horrible sin. The thought 
of bribing God or buying the ability to convey the Holy Spirit 
is certainly right up there with the big sins, brethren. But Peter 
doesn't treat it as if it is the unpardonable sin. And I think 
there's encouragement in this passage for each and every one 
of us. There is forgiveness with God 
that he may be feared. This is what Peter is telling 
Simon Magus. Repent, therefore. No longer 
think these same thoughts. No longer have this idea that 
you can control, manipulate, or buy God or buy this power 
so that you can convey it to others. You need to repent of 
that. See, oftentimes we mistake what repentance is. We take the 
fruits of repentance and we call that repentance. No, the fruits 
of repentance are the fruits of repentance. Repentance, first 
and foremost, is a change of mind. Now, when that mind is 
changed by the grace of God, there are fruits consistent with 
it. But if we merely judge fruit, we might be inclined to say that 
somebody who stopped smoking crack has now believed and repented. Well, that's not necessarily 
the case. People stop smoking crack, or they stop lives of 
prostitution, or they stop other sinful activities, but that's 
not necessarily the fruit of repentance. Repentance in the 
first instance is a change of mind, and this is what Simon 
Peter tells Simon Magus. He has to change his mind about 
how the kingdom of God functions. He has to change his mind about 
the way things are done. He cannot think the way that 
he did in his former life when he claimed to be somebody great, 
and he loved to hear the praises that he was, in fact, the great 
power of God. He can't do that anymore. He 
has to stop engaging in this, your wickedness. So on the one 
hand, Simon Peter recognizes that there is forgiveness with 
God. He recognizes that there is repentance to be had, even 
in the case of Simon Magus, but he doesn't minimize the man's 
sin. He says, this is wicked. This is terrible. You don't do 
this. I just read on the news recently 
a famous preacher, a famous guy. I wouldn't call him a preacher, 
but he was asked by a reporter why he has three private jets. 
And, you know, and why he said at one time he wouldn't fly on 
a public plane because it would be like being in a tube with 
demons. That's not the character of a 
preacher. It's not the way you're supposed 
to be. Jesus was a friend of sinners, and he ate with them. 
He didn't say, I'm not going to fly on a plane because it's 
a tube with demons. And by the way, I'm going to take one of 
my three private jets. You know, again, I don't condemn 
any man being paid honestly for a hard day's work. The Apostle 
Paul in 1 Timothy chapter 5 says, let the elders who rule well 
be counted worthy of double honor. And double honor there doesn't 
mean a parking spot. It doesn't mean your own private 
bathroom. It means dough. It means payment. It means money. 
Honor the widows who are really widows indeed. It means to cough 
up and give them money. When it comes to honoring elders 
who rule well, especially those who labor in the word of doctrine, 
you pay them well. You do that. So I don't begrudge 
any man any of that. But three private jets? At some 
point, you wonder, is the guy in it for the money? And you 
wonder that at one jet, don't you? You wonder that a long time 
ago before he gets to three jets. There's money associated with 
religion, and some guys have tapped into it. In fact, the 
Apostle Peter in 1 Peter chapter 5 tells would-be elders that 
they're not to be greedy for money. Paul the Apostle says 
that ought to be indicative of one. considered for eldership 
in 1st Timothy 3. What does that suggest? I'll 
tell you exactly what it suggests. It suggests that there was money 
to be made in religion. There was money to be made in 
philosophy. There was money to be made in 
any sort of instruction in the Roman Empire. People paid money 
to get wisdom, to get knowledge, to get the reception of information. 
And so the people of God are told, with reference to the elders 
in the church, that they're not to be greedy, money-grubbing 
men. And this is what Simon Magus, 
at least, appeal appears to be in this instance. So the Apostle 
Peter tells him, encourages him to pray and recognizes that there 
is forgiveness with God, even for this your wickedness. John 
Gill says, it might be pardoned by the grace of God and through 
the blood of Christ. And therefore Peter, who wished 
his salvation and not his damnation, put him upon prayer for it. Again, 
he's not just condemning him in verses 20 and 21, but he's 
prescribing to him the pathway to healing, to redemption, to 
remedy. He says you need to repent. You 
need to repent of this wickedness that's in your heart, and you 
need to pray to God that he'll forgive this, that he will cleanse 
you with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then notice 
he highlights the big problem in Simon Magus' life. Notice 
in verse 23, for I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and 
bound by iniquity. That's a powerful statement. 
Again, if all we had was 20 to 23 in this account, I think we'd 
all reasonably conclude there ain't no way this Simon Magus 
is going to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Would you 
agree with that? It doesn't come off well here. 
Verse 23, "'For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and 
bound by iniquity.'" These are actually concepts or constructs 
or language that comes from the Old Testament. A close parallel 
in the New Testament is Hebrews 12.15. Hebrews 12.15, "'Looking 
carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any 
root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this 
many become defiled.'" Now, the typical approach to exegeting 
Hebrews 12.15 is a prohibition against bitterness. Don't be 
bitter against one another. I think the Bible commands us 
not to be bitter against one another, but I don't think it's 
in Hebrews 12.15. I don't think what Paul is addressing in Hebrews 
12.15 is the sin of bitterness. He's addressing the bitterness 
of sin. And the backdrop is Deuteronomy 
chapter 29 at verse 28. In the context, a person to commit 
apostasy by idolatry. And in Deuteronomy 29, 18, it 
says, so that there may not be among you man or woman or family 
or tribe whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God to 
go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not 
be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood. Again, do not be 
bitter against each other. Ephesians 4.31 tells us very 
specifically not to be bitter against each other. But the context 
of Hebrews 12.15 does not suggest the sin of bitterness. It suggests 
the bitterness of sin. I think John Gill glosses the 
interpretation well when he applies it to Simon Magus. He says, and 
that instead of the root of the matter, the truth of grace being 
in him, there was nothing in him but the bitter root of sin, 
which bore gall and wormwood and everything that was nauseous 
and disagreeable. So that's the emphasis in Peter's 
language with Simon Magus in verse 23. I see that you are 
poisoned by bitterness and then bound by iniquity. I think the 
backdrop here is Proverbs 5.22. His own iniquities entrap the 
wicked man and he is caught in the cords of his sin. Or Isaiah 
58.6. And God's prescription on how 
to engage in fasting and Sabbath. He says specifically, is not 
this the fast that I have chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness? So Peter takes these Old Testament 
concepts, he puts his finger on the crux of the issue with 
this Simon Magus, and he says, you've got big problems. You 
need to repent, and you need to pray to the Lord that he will 
forgive you for this your wickedness. Now, let's look at the response 
of Simon Magus. I think this is where it tips 
the scale the other way. But even then, it's tough. Have 
you ever read your Bible and you wondered, how did people 
say that? Well, there's a great analogy 
online, right? Somebody sends you an email and 
they make a statement and they don't put LOL or they don't put 
a smiley face emoji and you think they're mad at you. We can't 
always interpret tone from an email, right? Or a text. You get a text and it can be 
very ambiguous. Is this person mad at me? Does 
this person hate me? Is this person written me off? 
Oh, I forgot to put LOL. Whatever, right? We can't always 
interpret tone based on the written word. We don't know if Simon 
Magus is being dismissive. You go ahead and pray for me 
that none of these things happen. Could have been. Have you ever 
told a pagan you were going to pray for them? And they said, 
well, you go right ahead and pray for me. That would be a 
dismissive tone, wouldn't it? But if Simon Magus is true and 
his tone is right, and this does capture his response to Simon 
Peter's rebuke, that's a good sign. Verse 24, if it's legit, 
would certainly tip the scales in favor of Simon Magus' inclusion 
in the kingdom of God. Listen to what he says in verse 
24. Now, preliminarily, when an apostle tells you to pray, 
pray. If he was saved, he's a bit of 
a meathead still. He's still like the rest of us, 
right? We're just dense, and we're thick, 
and we're slow. Oh, Pastor Butler, that hurts 
my feelings. I'm so sorry. We are dense and 
thick and slow. Jesus upbraided his own disciples. 
Have you been with me this long and you still don't understand? 
Why do you think Paul says, preach the word, be ready in season 
and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort, with all what? Long suffering and teaching. Why do you think preachers need 
to have that mindset of long suffering? because Rome wasn't 
built in a day and neither is the kingdom of God. We are slow, 
we are dense, we are sluggish, we are thick-headed. The point 
is that if Simon Peter tells you to pray to the Lord, you 
pray to the Lord. It's okay for you to say, could 
you pray for me too, Simon Peter? That's legit, that's consistent, 
but the fact that we have no indicator that he actually prayed 
doesn't bode well because he didn't do what an apostle of 
Jesus Christ told him to do. But as well, notice, he may be 
still operating under this hierarchical understanding that because the 
apostles are the purveyor of the Holy Spirit, they have access 
to God, that the rest of the slobs don't. No, we all have 
access to God. We can all go to the Father through 
the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. But he may still have 
that. Again, you can't really hold that against him. He goes 
from practicing magician, being claimed to be the great power 
of God, to confessing disciple. I mean, things don't happen overnight 
in the hearts of the people of God. But then notice the reason 
for his prayer. Pray to the Lord for me that 
none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me. 
The things he was concerned about not happening was no doubt the 
threatened curse of verse 20. He didn't want to perish. That's 
legit. That's good. We give him a thumbs 
up on that one. And then as well, the judgment 
of God due to his wickedness in verse 22. And now some would 
say, well, he seems to be more consumed with his own status 
or his own place instead of the glory of God. Aren't we all like 
that to some degree? If somebody had threatened us 
with perdition and perishing and judgment and hell, would 
we pray, oh Lord God, I just want you to be glorified. If 
that means my perdition, my judgment, my hell, then so be it. No, there is that sense where 
we say, Lord, can you please spare me from judgment and hell 
and punishment and curse. We can't really hold that against 
Him. Now, interestingly, I mentioned 
a bit of a division among commentators. I think John Calvin handles the 
passage very well, very responsibly. And I know Calvin doesn't need 
my sort of affirmation of his exegetical prowess, but I'll 
finish with this quote from John Calvin and then John Gill, my 
two favorite Johns. John Calvin says on verse 24, 
Whereas he, Simon, yields when he is reproved, and being touched 
with the feeling of his sin, fears the judgment of God, and 
that done, flies under the mercy of God, and commends himself 
to the prayers of the church. These are assuredly no small 
signs of repentance. Therefore, we may conjecture 
that he repented. Now Calvin then reflects upon 
ancient writers, the church fathers. The church fathers don't have 
a whole lot of good to say about Simon Magus. In fact, they ascribe 
a lot of heresies as having come from Simon Magus. He consorted 
with a prostitute named Helena. Some suggest or some say that 
he taught she emanated from him and that the angels emanated 
from her. That in some locales, Simon Magus 
claimed to be the father. In others, he claimed to be the 
son. And in others, he claimed to be the Holy Spirit. So the 
later patristic tradition put just about everything bad that 
ever could have been conceived of on this Simon Magus. And so 
John Calvin ends with this observation. He says, wherefore, nothing is 
more safe than bidding adieu to uncertain opinions, simply 
to embrace that which is set down in the scriptures. That 
which we read elsewhere of Simon may justly be suspected for many 
causes. Which is a curious thing because 
I know that Calvin in other places grounds doctrine or grounds interpretation 
or at least affirms it or confirms it with an appeal to the patristics, 
with an appeal to the fathers. Here he's saying we need to let 
the testimony of verse 24 captivate our hearts and minds and conclude 
that this man Simon repented. Now John Gill says, but whether 
he was serious and in good earnest in this, his repentance of verse 
24, is a question, since there is no reason to believe he truly 
repented from the accounts given of him by ancient writers, who 
always represent him as an opposer of the apostles and their doctrine, 
as a father of all heresies, as a blasphemous wretch. So again, 
it's a tough one to try and nail down, but I want to revisit that 
in just a moment, but let's finish our exposition in verse 25. Notice 
what we have. Philip's ministry is going to 
continue. Philip is going to be directed to make contact with 
this Ethiopian eunuch. And as I said, God willing, we'll 
take that up in the next couple of weeks, in 826 to 840. But what happened to the apostles 
according to verse 25? Peter and John had gone from 
Jerusalem to Samaria to investigate the work, to pray that the Spirit 
would come, to lay hands on those Samaritans so that the Spirit 
would in fact come. So verse 25 is a transitional 
statement to tell us that they in fact went back to Jerusalem. 
It says, 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. You see, what they do is confirm 
what Philip had been doing. There's no whiff whatsoever in 
this section that Philip was deficient or Philip didn't get 
things right. As I mentioned, Simon Peter doesn't 
rebuke Philip and say, how in the world could this magician 
get the idea that you could purchase the gift of the Holy Spirit? 
No, the fact that the disciples or the apostles rather go back 
through Samaria, go to the villages, they confirm the work of Philip. 
They sign off on what he has done and what he will continue 
to do. He's a legit and efficient man 
in the kingdom of God. But notice what marks Peter and 
John. They don't get on their private 
jet and fly back to Jerusalem. They don't get on the whatever 
was the highest form of transportation and go back to Jerusalem. They 
don't even get on a donkey. They continue going to villages, 
villages, probably small villages. You have Peter and John going 
to Samaritan villages and they're preaching the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. Again, you must see and appreciate 
the extension of Christ's kingdom, the fulfillment of the mission 
statement in Acts 1, verse 8. You will testify or be my witnesses 
in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the outermost parts 
of the earth. The apostles are doing that very thing. And it's a contrast with Luke 
9, as I mentioned last week. John, the one here accompanying 
Peter, is going and preaching in these Samaritan villages. In the ministry of Christ, when 
the Samaritans weren't real receptive to Jesus, John says, Lord, do 
you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume 
them, just as Elijah did? You know, I just kind of wonder 
if he remembered that as he's walking through these villages 
now preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord. It's a beautiful, 
beautiful thing. Now, we won't hear about Simon 
Peter again until Acts chapter 9, and then John doesn't feature 
in Acts at all again, except in Acts chapter 12, when he's 
identified as the brother of the James that is beheaded by 
Herod. So, that's the end of John, at 
least with reference to the book of Acts. Peter, again, will feature, 
but not until chapter 9 and the section in verses 36 and following. 
So, in terms of some concluding thoughts, before we get to the 
question concerning Simon's salvation, I want to first bring up the 
wretchedness of Simon E. Now, simony is a word that means 
buying and selling ecclesiastical office or practice. In fact, 
you dictionary.com it, and you get really good definition. It's 
the making of profit out of sacred things, simony. And it's become 
associated with this Simon, Simon Magus. Now, there's a bit of 
a difference. I don't know that I'd lay upon 
those who pay money for ecclesiastical office the same sort of approach, 
not that I think it's OK, as somebody who thinks they can 
buy the gift of the Holy Spirit so that they can convey it upon 
others. There is an escalation in terms of the original simony. 
There is a heightened sense of wickedness on the part of somebody 
who actually thinks they can buy God to give God or sell God 
to others. But simony is a wretched practice. In the first place, it is an 
attempt to control God. It is an attempt to control God, 
even if it's in an ecclesiastical setting. That's not the way we're 
supposed to function in ecclesiastical settings. I think over the last 
generation, one of the things that's hurt the church is co-opting 
business models and trying to make them, you know, parallel 
or analogous to the way the church should function. Now, there is 
some similarity. You've got a hierarchical structure. 
You have things in place. There are routines. There are 
structures. There are authority. There is all that sort of thing. 
But to co-opt the business model and say, well, the church needs 
to operate that way, well, Simon, he flourishes in such a setting, 
doesn't it? We gotta remember that the church 
of Jesus Christ is the church of Jesus Christ. It's not ours. So we can buy and sell office, 
so we can buy and sell prestige, so that we can buy and sell sort 
of status. That's an attempt to control 
God. As well, it is the communication 
about the wrong message, or it is a communication rather of 
the wrong message concerning God. Back to 2 Kings. Remember when Elisha, the prophet, 
healed, or God used him to heal that man Naaman, in 2 Kings 5.16, 
Naaman, or 5.15, Naaman wanted to give him money. Naaman was 
appreciative. Naaman had been a leper, and 
Naaman was now cleansed. He was healthy and whole. So 
he's like, Elisha, let me give you something for your efforts 
here. And Elisha, by an oath, says that he will not receive 
anything for his having done what he did to Naaman. Now, later 
on, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, goes and finds Naaman and says, 
hey, by the way, there's these two guys that have come and we 
actually need some clothes and some money. So Naaman gives him 
the money. He comes back. Gehazi lies. And Elisha asks him, and Elisha 
says, I know exactly where you were, and I know exactly what 
you did. And so the leprosy that had attached 
itself to Naaman now attaches itself to Gehazi. But it is a 
curious thing. Naaman has offered payment for 
this. Does this undo 1 Timothy chapter 
5, let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of honor? No, 
there's that principle in scripture. The ox is worthy of his wages. You don't muzzle the ox while 
he's threshing out the grain. You let him eat. You let him 
have a life so that he can do that work. That's not the principle. But with a new convert, to tell 
them, yeah, give me money after conveying this gift sends the 
wrong message about God. It says that we can buy things 
from God. It undoes the grace, grace nature 
of God's gifts. Davis describes it this way. 
He says, why was Elisha so adamant? Note his oath about refusing 
Naaman's gift. Doubtless because he wanted to 
impress upon Naaman that Yahweh is a God of grace. One doesn't 
bribe, manipulate, or cajole Yahweh like pagans do their gods. Yahweh doesn't forever have his 
hand out looking for a payoff. Yahweh is simply a gift-y God. I think that's accurate. So this 
idea of simony is bad. And as well, it shows an affinity 
with Simon Megas and not Simon Peter. The Geneva Bible says, 
they are the successors of Simon Magus and not of Simon Peter, 
which either buy or sell holy things. And John Gill applies 
this to a particular group specifically. He says, a vice which is greatly 
prevailed in the church of Rome and among its popes, and who 
therefore may be more properly called the successors of Simon 
Magus rather than Simon Peter. It's a bad thing. You don't buy 
ecclesiastical gifts. This ain't Walmart, brethren. This is the church that belongs 
to the living and true God. He's given qualifications for 
elders. He's given qualifications for 
deacons. He has specified who occupies 
those offices, and that's it. It's not payment. You know, I 
purchased this, you know, ability to be, you know, no, no, no, 
no, no, no, that's bad. Notice as well the concern of 
the apostle Peter in this instance. Notice what Peter doesn't do. 
Peter doesn't say to Philip, why did you baptize this wretch? 
He doesn't do that. He doesn't chide Philip. I cannot believe you didn't examine 
him well enough and that this guy got baptized and this is 
how he represents. That's not the concern of Simon 
Peter. It happens. We wait so long to baptize people 
because we're so afraid that a goat might actually get in. 
But God's given a tool to deal with goats who do get in. It's 
called church discipline, Matthew 18, or what we find Simon Peter 
do in this particular instance. Now, I'm not saying we indiscriminately 
baptize goats. I'm not saying that. But it says 
he believed and was baptized. Philip didn't have the ability 
to see the heart. Philip was an omniscient. Philip 
was an omnipotent. Philip didn't know everything 
was going on in the heart of Simon Magus. And Simon Peter 
doesn't upbraid Philip and say, I can't believe you did this. 
But notice as well, there's no baptismal regeneration. Some 
have taught and some continue to teach that once you go into 
that water and come up out of the water, you're regenerate. 
Well, it didn't work for Simon Magus, if he's not converted. You see, there's not that. The 
emphasis isn't on, oh, I can't believe Philip baptized a goat. 
The emphasis to the goat is you need to repent and you need to 
pray to the Lord that he will forgive you of your sin. Now, 
the big question concerning Simon's salvation, the case against his 
salvation. No, he wasn't saved. In the first 
place, the actions of Simon argue against his salvation. The actions 
of Simon argue against his salvation. He's probably his own worst enemy 
in helping us to figure out whether he was saved or not. He certainly 
hasn't made it easy for us, but his actions show that there is 
this absolute misapprehension with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
Again, Peter doesn't say to Philip, did you teach him this? Philip 
didn't teach him this. Philip taught concerning the 
kingdom of God and the name of Jesus. Where Simon Magus got, 
I'm going to give you some money so I can purchase this gift so 
that I can convey it to others. That's from him. That's from 
his bad heart. As well, the attempt to purchase 
the ability of the Holy Spirit indicates something with more 
affinity to his previous life. Remember, he claimed to be someone 
great. He listened to the adulations 
of men who said, this is the great power of God. That's a 
heady wine, that's intoxicating. Men get a bit of pride and prestige 
and a bit of notoriety and they forget everything else and they 
crave that, they covet that, they desire that, they want that. 
And that might be the case with Simon Magus in this particular 
instance. As well, the words of Peter argue against his salvation. 21 to 23, very severe reproof 
and a very severe judgment. You are poisoned by bitterness 
and bound by iniquity. Now, the case for his salvation. Was he saved? Well, I think there's 
some compelling evidence to suggest that he was. Look at verse 13. 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. The request for prayer and his 
concern for his predicament in verse 24 as well tips the scale 
in his favor. Pagans don't do that. Again, 
if it was just dismissive, which we don't know the tone, but if 
it was legit and he's actually asking Peter for that kind of 
prayer, I think Calvin's comment there is very appropriate and 
very suggestive that his repentance was in fact the real deal. And then the reality, doesn't 
come right out of the text here exegetically, but it's more of 
a theological observation. I already hinted at it earlier, 
but the reality that God's grace is amazing. Could there be a 
new believer who does something this knuckleheadedly? Yes. Could 
there be a believer like Simon Peter who denies the knowledge 
of Jesus Christ three times to a slave girl? Yes. Could it be 
that a man after God's own heart would commit adultery, try to 
cover that adultery first by having the man lay with his own 
wife, but the man has too much integrity to do that. And so 
then David has to concoct another plan and he marches, or has that 
man marched out to the hottest point in battle so that he would 
be gunned down on the battlefield. Why? So David could cover his 
sin. Yeah. See, I think there's a 
bigger question that Acts 8 asks, or Acts 8 suggests. It isn't so much, was Simon Megas 
saved? But it's, am I saved? Have I 
come to know this one who forgives wickedness? Have I come to know 
this one who grants repentance and faith? Have I come to know 
this one who, in light of King David of Israel, nevertheless 
says, I have dealt with your sin? Have you come to know this 
Christ as Lord and Savior? You can scratch your head this 
morning, you can think about this, you can go home and discuss 
it at the lunch table. Do you think Simon was saved 
or not? The bigger issue is, are you saved? Do you know this 
Christ? Have you by grace repented? Your wickedness may not be simony. You may have never thought in 
your lifetime to purchase the gift of the Holy Spirit or to 
purchase an ecclesiastical office, but there is some wickedness 
in your heart. It's there. It is transgression 
against God's law. It is a lack of conformity unto 
that law. It is rebelling against Him. 
And your heart, therefore, is wicked. It could be rightly said 
of you, as it was of Simon Magus, that I see that you are poisoned 
by bitterness and bound by iniquity. If that's the condition, if there 
is that conviction, then take Peter's command seriously. Repent and pray to God Almighty 
that if perhaps, that almost suggests there's contingency 
on the part of God. That's not what Peter's saying. 
The contingency is not on the part of God, it's on the part 
of Simon Magus. If you repent, then God will. The if, perhaps, envisages the 
reality that Simon Magus may not. But there's no contingency 
with God. What does Jesus say? All that 
the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes 
to me, what? I will certainly not cast out. I will never do 
that. What does Hebrews 7 tell us? 
He's holy, harmless, and undefiled, separate from sinners. He is 
able to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh to God through 
Him. Isn't that a beautiful thing? 
The contingency isn't on whether or not God will receive a sinner 
who comes to Him for forgiveness. God always receives sinners who 
come to Him for forgiveness. Remember that instance of the 
prodigal son, the boy that took the share of his father's inheritance 
and he went out and he squandered it, he wasted it, he printed 
it all away on godless, wicked things. And then he's craving 
pig slop. I mean, talk about underscoring 
how bad this guy's condition was. You've all seen what pigs 
eat, right? They don't have a discriminating 
palate. They eat whatever you throw in front of them. And this 
guy's slopping pigs, and he wants to eat what the pigs are eating. 
So he says, I'm going to go back to my father, and I'm going to 
ask him to make me a hired servant. He's not converted there. He 
is a mercenary there. I want to be a day laborer. I 
want to make daily wages just so I don't have to crave pig 
food. I know my father's a merciful man, so I'll go back and I'll 
ask him to do this and restore me." He's not saved at that point. I don't think for a moment that 
he's actually converted. And when this boy, reeking of 
pig, is a long way off, the father sees him, the father runs to 
him, the father falls on him, and the father celebrates. The 
father then puts a ring on his finger, he puts a robe on his 
back, and he calls for the slaying of the fattened beast. What is he showing there? He's 
showing his grace. He's showing his mercy. He's 
showing his kindness. He's showing his bigness when 
it comes to forgiving sin and sinners. If Simon Magus repented, 
there is forgiveness with God that he may be feared. David 
knew that. Peter knows that. You and I know 
that. Anytime we confess with the Apostles' 
Creed, I believe in the forgiveness of sins, we know what that means. We know what it's like to try 
to live holily for 30 seconds in a day. We know what it's like 
to try to keep those commandments for just a brief amount of time. 
Love to God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and 
love to our neighbor as ourself. How many times in a day, how 
many times in a given day, we're not thinking about God one bit, 
and we're not thinking about others one bit? God forgives 
us. I'm not saying go out and sin 
because God forgives, but when we do sin, we have an advocate 
with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. My gut level thought 
is that Calvin's right in his interpretation on verse 24. If it wasn't dismissive, if it 
wasn't just, you know, go away, Peter, I don't care about that. 
He shows those signs. New believers do horrible things. But may I suggest old believers, 
I don't just mean old age. I mean people that have been 
in the faith for 10, 20, 30 years. Can you really rejoice in your 
righteousness? Have you arrived at holiness? Are you godly? Asking the question answers the 
question, right? I hope you're all reflecting 
upon my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest 
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock 
I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. The point is, is that God's grace 
is big enough so that a Simon Magus could sit at the marriage 
supper of the Lamb. It is certainly big enough for 
wretches like you and I to come to the Savior in faith and to 
receive that forgiveness of sins. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Father, thank you for your word and thank you for 
the book of Acts and for the history of the early church. 
We thank you, God, for the Holy Spirit that has given us the 
book, that has given us life, that has given us all things 
necessary in and through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
I pray that we would think clearly concerning passages like these, 
that we would see the bigger issues with reference to salvation, 
that we would appreciate. There is a theology of grace 
from Genesis to Revelation that shows that God is in Christ. 
redeeming, reconciling the world unto himself. I pray for any 
and all here this morning that are not believers, that you would 
work in their hearts, that you would convict them of their sin 
and show them the glory of Jesus Christ. And we ask this in his 
most blessed name. Amen. We will close by singing 
together hymn number 568. Hymn number 568. You can stand 
as we sing