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to the book of Acts. We're in 
Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8. We're going to 
focus on verses 14 to 17. There's some interesting things 
going on there that demand attention from us. There's a lot of bad 
doctrine or a lot of false interpretation attaching to this section. So 
that'll be the focus of our message this morning. But I do want to 
begin reading in verse 4 in Acts chapter 8. Therefore, those who 
were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip 
went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 
And the multitudes, with one accord, heeded the things spoken 
by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For 
unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many 
who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were 
healed. And there was great joy in that city. 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. And 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. Well, let 
us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you 
for your word. We thank you for this record of the early church. And we pray now that your spirit 
would help us and guide us and direct us as we consider this 
passage of scripture. We ask as well that you would 
forgive us for all sin and anything that would darken our understanding 
and help us to receive with thankful hearts your word of God. We know, 
Father, that this is a means by which you sanctify your people. And we pray to that end. And 
we pray that we would love that word. delight in it. We would 
say with David, oh, how I love your law, it is my meditation 
all the day. Give us grace to receive with 
thanksgiving that word, and again, Father, for any and all who are 
unsaved, we pray that today would be the day of salvation, that 
your Holy Spirit, that spirit that is so clearly demonstrated 
in this passage, would be at work in hearts and in lives, 
bringing sinners forth unto the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray 
in his most blessed name, amen. Well, remember that there was 
a great persecution against the church on the heels of the martyrdom 
of Stephen. And as a result, the people of 
God in Jerusalem were scattered. When they scattered, they went 
about preaching the word. And then we see that Philip goes 
specifically to this region called Samaria. And the Samaritans were 
looked down upon. The Samaritans were not held 
in esteem by those in Israel. And so when Philip goes to minister 
there, God opens his heart and sends forth the gospel in that 
particular region. And many believed and many came 
to know Christ as Lord and Savior. Now here in verses 14 to 17, 
we have the apostles investigate. And I want to try and tell you 
what this doesn't mean and try and tell you what it does mean. 
So I want to look at two things this morning as we consider verses 
14 to 17. In the first place, the apostles 
investigate Samaria, verse 14. And then secondly, the Samaritans 
experience Pentecost in verses 15 to 17. Now, again, I'll explain 
what I mean as we move through the passage, but we need to understand 
that what's on display here is not descriptive. Rather, it is 
descriptive, it's not prescriptive. Luke is telling us something 
that happened in the founding of the church in Samaria. He 
is not prescribing that it must always be this way. You'll notice 
in this particular section, persons are converted. They believe the 
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but there's this period of time 
until the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Well, as we read our Bibles, 
those who believe the gospel receive the Holy Spirit. So why 
the delay with reference to these Samaritans? Again, he's describing 
what happened, and I hope to describe as well the larger context 
in what is happening in the book of Acts as a whole. He's not 
prescribing that when we see persons converted, we hope and 
pray that someday they'll receive the Holy Spirit. No, when you 
believe the gospel by the grace of God, you receive the Holy 
Spirit as well. And so what we find here again 
is what was unique with reference to redemptive history and not 
what is specified must take place in every church subsequent. So 
let's look first at the apostles investigate Samaria in verse 
14. It tells us in verse 14, when 
the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received 
the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Now the apostles 
in Jerusalem might sound like that there are apostles elsewhere. 
I think this is simply reminiscent of 8.1, where it says that when 
the church was scattered, the people of God were scattered, 
the apostles remained there in Jerusalem. Now they've gotten 
wind of or heard that the Samaritans are receiving the word, and so 
they send Peter and John. Earlier in the book of Acts, 
we see Peter and John working together in Acts chapter 3, and 
then again in Acts chapter 4. And this is a contrast between 
John in the book of Acts and what we see with reference to 
John during the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. There's 
an instance in Luke's gospel, in Luke chapter 9, where they 
pass through a Samaritan village. And the Samaritans there are 
not very favorable to our Lord Jesus Christ. And so these two 
brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, they call down 
fire, or rather ask Jesus if they should call down fire to 
consume the city of Samaria. In Luke 9.54, they ask, Lord, 
do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and 
consume them just as Elijah did? So there's a big difference now 
in the life and heart of John with reference to these Samaritans 
than there was at the time of the ministry of the Lord Jesus. 
And for those of you not familiar with the story, Jesus says, no, 
don't do that. Don't consume the city of Samaria 
with fire. You don't know what spirit you're 
up. In other words, Jesus already knew that these Samaritans were 
ultimately going to be in that plan of God Almighty. But as 
we come now to this, we want to remember the authority of 
the apostles. The apostles did possess authority. 
Not absolute authority, not papal authority, but they had authority. 
Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone of the church, but the apostles 
played a foundational role in the church according to Ephesians 
2.20. When you get to the book of Revelation, you see the 12 
apostles' names at the New Jerusalem. And so these men were given authority 
by Jesus Christ in a very specific way. And so Peter and John come 
to investigate, and I want to suggest that the apostles want 
to investigate the work, not because Philip wasn't an apostle. 
They're not saying that Philip was some sort of junior member 
and therefore they have to validate and confirm everything that he 
preached and taught. As well, they don't want to investigate 
because they were jealous of Philip's apparent success in 
Samaria. They weren't celebrity preachers 
trying to maintain a stronghold on people and have everybody 
put them on a pedestal. Pedestal, that's not what's happening 
in this particular passage. As well, they're not going to 
investigate because they're suspicious that these conversions weren't 
legitimate. That's not the reason why they're 
going to investigate here in Samaria. They want to investigate 
the work because Samaria is included in the mission statement in Acts 
1A. You will be my witnesses first 
in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts 
of the earth. So they want to go and investigate 
and confirm that what is happening is in fact the work of God consistent 
with that statement of our Lord in Acts 1-8. As well, they want 
to encourage, they want to build up, they want to exhort the people 
of God in Samaria, and certainly that would have made those Samaritans 
feel pretty good and feel pretty special that Peter and John leave 
Jerusalem to come and to exhort them and encourage them. And 
what we find with reference to this encouragement is that it's 
consistent with what we find elsewhere in the book of Acts. When the Gentiles are included, 
we notice that the apostles investigate. Turn over to Acts chapter 10. 
In Acts chapter 10, we see Peter preach at the household of Cornelius 
and the Holy Spirit comes down. And this is what I will call 
then the Gentile Pentecost. What we're looking at this morning 
is the Samaritan Pentecost. This was a Gentile Pentecost. 
There's a lot of similarities in terms of the Holy Spirit falling 
upon these people. But then notice in Acts 11 verse 
1, now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea, where Jerusalem 
is, heard that the Gentiles, notice the same language that 
we have going on in chapter 8 with reference to the Samaritans, 
had also received the word of God. So they hear this, and again, 
they're not suspicious, they don't think that Peter's faking, 
they don't think that these people are faking, but rather they are 
confirming and validating the work, Allah, the mission statement 
of Acts 1.8. When the Lord Christ Almighty 
is blessing his apostles in the work of the ministry, in Acts 
2, he sends forth the Holy Spirit in a very powerful way. When 
the Lord Jesus blesses the work of Philip in Samaria, the apostles 
come and authenticate that work, and then Jesus sends the Spirit 
in a powerful way. And then in Acts chapter 10, 
when these Gentiles are included in the covenant of grace, the 
Lord Jesus does the same thing. He sends the Spirit in a powerful 
way. And again, this isn't to be repeated 
in the church today in terms of us seeking additional Pentecosts, 
but this follows the map. It follows the mission. It follows 
the statement in Acts 1A. First Jerusalem, then Judea and 
Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. That's what's 
happening in Acts 1A. 8, 14 to 17. And then there's that interesting 
bit in Acts 19 where the Apostle Paul investigates the work of 
God with reference to those Ephesian disciples. And we'll deal with 
that or at least reference it as we move through the message 
this morning. Now, notice that the Samaritans experienced Pentecost 
here in Acts 8, 7 to 14. In the first place, the apostles 
prayed for the Holy Spirit. Notice what it says in verse 
15. Who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might 
receive the Holy Spirit. Now, again, the emphasis is upon 
the corporate reception of the Holy Spirit and not individual 
experience. This is crucial and key for us. The same obtains with reference 
to the Jews in Acts 2 and that Pentecost, and then to the Gentiles 
in Acts 10 and that Pentecost. It's not the single individual 
conversion account that is happening here. It's when people groups 
are being added to the covenant of grace in accordance with the 
Old Testament prophets that God had specified that in Christ 
all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And the token, 
the visible representation that this is in fact the case is the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way, such that 
when these people groups are now included and they've all 
received the Holy Spirit, we don't look for additional day 
of Pentecost with reference to Jews or Samaritans or to Gentiles. They were unrepeatable. They 
were one-time good deals in the history of the church, and the 
significance is powerful in the flow of the book as a whole. Now notice, specifically, what 
we find. In terms of this particular passage, 
who when they had come down, prayed for them that they might 
receive the Holy Spirit. Samaria received, they sent Peter 
and John to them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Upon 
none of them, they had only they received. It's not individual 
reception, it's corporate reception according to what Christ's plan 
is. Now, in terms of some other views. 
The Roman Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of confirmation, 
and they get it, at least from other places, they get it from 
this particular passage. And Roman Catholic confirmation, 
I think, is similar to what is practiced in the Reformed churches, 
and that's called the confession of faith. In the Roman Catholic 
Church, you're baptized when you're a baby, you receive your 
first communion when you're in grade 2, and then in grade 7, 
you have this act called the confirmation. This is when the 
Spirit, supposedly, comes upon you, and this is their proof 
text, that there are these stages in the redemptive process. There 
are these stages in which you believe, and then later on there's 
the subsequent reception of the Holy Spirit. But it's not just 
Rome that has problems with this particular passage. They don't 
think they have problems with it, but they do have problems 
with it. There's other groups that teach a subsequent work 
of the Holy Spirit. Pentecostals and Charismatics 
often teach this. You can be converted, you can 
believe the gospel, and then go through this period of time 
where there's no Holy Spirit. and then you pray for the Holy 
Spirit, or a preacher prays for the Holy Spirit, and the Holy 
Spirit comes upon you, and then you possibly will speak in tongues 
as an evidence that that has in fact occurred. That is taking 
a lot out of this passage that is absolutely not in the passage. You need to understand it in 
its larger context in terms of Acts 2, Acts 10, and what God 
is doing in terms of the gospel going forth first to Jerusalem, 
Judea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. 
It's not Roman Catholic confirmation. It's not Pentecostal sort of 
second work of grace or second blessing or the subsequent reception 
of the Holy Spirit after a person has already been born again. 
No, that's not the case. When a person is born again, 
when a person believes the gospel, when a person comes to the Savior, 
they receive the Holy Spirit. It's a wonderful and a glorious 
thing. If you look at Ephesians 1, it's 
just one specimen passage as to what occurs when you believe 
the gospel. Ephesians 1, the apostle celebrates 
the work of the triune God in the salvation of sinners. He 
highlights the father's work in terms of election and adoption 
in verses 3 to 6. He highlights the son's work 
in terms of redemption and reconciliation in verses 7 to 12. And then he 
highlights the spirit's work in verses 13 and 14. Notice what 
he says in Ephesians 1.13. In him you also, after you heard 
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also 
having believed, notice, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit 
of promise. That's the experience of God's 
people. If you are not God's people today, 
I'm going to urge upon you and encourage you and exhort you 
to believe the gospel. If by the grace of God you believe 
the gospel, guess what you'll receive? you'll receive the Holy 
Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given by God 
to dwell in the hearts of his people. That spirit of adoption, 
that spirit of intercession, that spirit that aids and guides 
and directs and keeps and helps and assures us and all those 
things. Notice in verse 14, he says, who is the guarantee of 
our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to 
the praise of his glory. So back in Acts chapter eight, 
verses seven verses 14 to 17, the emphasis is not on Roman 
Catholic confirmation, it's not on Pentecostal or charismatic 
sort of second work of grace, but it's also not on just the 
extraordinary gifts of the Spirit. It's the way some of our dear 
brothers take this particular passage, but I don't think that's 
what's going on. In other words, what they suggest 
is that this prayer is for the miraculous, powerful gifts of 
the Holy Spirit to come upon not all in Samaria, but upon 
some of them in Samaria. They would exclude women because 
some of those gifts would enable preaching. Some of those gifts 
would enable the sorts of things that are undertaken by men alone. 
So brothers that I love and esteem highly would suggest that what's 
in view in terms of the gift of the Spirit here, it's not 
the Spirit according to the Acts 2, Acts 10. paradigm, but it's 
the Spirit in terms of the extraordinary giftings that He will indeed 
enable ministry in Samaria. Now, I don't think that's heretical. 
I don't think it's on par with the Confirmation idea or the 
Pentecostal idea, but I don't think that's the point in the 
passage with reference to the book as a whole. Now, notice 
they pray in verse 16. I'm sorry, they pray in verse 
15, and then in verse 16, it tells us why they did so. For as yet, He, the Spirit, had 
fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in 
the name of the Lord Jesus. Now the emphasis is on their 
having been baptized, but not yet having received the Holy 
Spirit. If we were not in a preaching service, I'd ask by a show of 
hands if anybody's ever heard of those Pentecostals that baptize 
in Jesus' name only. You've heard that. We baptize 
in Jesus' name only. That's not the point of this 
text. He's not saying they were only baptized in the name of 
the Lord Jesus to the exclusion of the name of the Father and 
of the Spirit. That's not the point. They were only baptized. They hadn't yet received the 
Spirit. See, when God saves sinners, 
things happen. They believe the gospel, and 
then typically they receive the Holy Spirit, and then this is 
represented or signified by baptism. So they had been baptized, but 
they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Alexander says, 
only implies that the two things were expected or accustomed to 
go together. Baptism is the external sign 
of the internal change, such that when somebody believes the 
gospel, they receive the Spirit. That they had been baptized was 
to give evidence that the internal activity had happened, that they 
believe the gospel, but they hadn't yet received the Spirit. 
So it's not a reference to Jesus' name-only baptism. It's a reference 
to they'd only been baptized, and they hadn't yet received 
the Holy Spirit. Now, those of you who look thoroughly confused, 
stay with me. Stick with me. This is a big 
passage. And again, in the grand scheme 
of the book of Acts, I hope that you'll appreciate how it functions 
when we get to the end of the sermon. But you need to understand, 
there is not a whiff of confirmation in this passage. And there is 
not a whiff of Pentecostal or charismatic sort of second work 
of grace or subsequent blessing or subsequent reception of the 
Spirit. To teach people that, or to tell 
people that, is to completely misread the passage. And we don't 
want to misread passages, we want to get passages, because 
Jesus prayed, sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth. 
If we have a faulty understanding of salvation, we have a faulty 
understanding of the reception of the Spirit consistent with 
belief in Jesus Christ, then we will have a faulty understanding 
of what's going on in this particular section and miss the point by 
a lot. As well, the reference, for as 
yet, notice in verse 16, for as yet he had fallen upon none 
of them. Doesn't that highlight the inextricable 
link between belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and the reception 
of the Holy Spirit? There's something other going 
on than this sort of not having the Spirit accompany those who 
are believing in Jesus Christ. As well, the delay in the reception 
of the Spirit is not due to anything on the part of the Samaritans. 
This is probably the worst form of butchery that happens in the 
Pentecostal and Charismatic. What do you mean you don't speak 
in tongues? What's your problem? What do you mean that you haven't 
received the Holy Spirit? Do you lack faith? Are you not 
obeying? Are you not doing something? 
That's terrible, to hit a new believer with that kind of judgment 
or that kind of chastisement. Now, hopefully, it would be a 
Reformed believer that would say, I don't believe in speaking 
in tongues, period. You see, people use this passage 
to manipulate others and to abuse them. Imagine you're a brand 
new believer that's never spoken in tongues and you happen to 
go to a charismatic or Pentecostal church. They're going to raise 
an eyebrow at you when you say, well, I've never spoken in tongues. 
Well, what do you mean you haven't spoken in tongues? See, for some 
of them, speaking in tongues is the evidence that you have 
the Spirit. It's when you get the Spirit, 
you speak in tongues. That's not what the text is teaching. Intriguingly, there's no tongues 
in this particular Pentecost. There happens to be in Acts 2 
in the Jerusalem Pentecost, and there happens to be in Acts 10 
in the Gentile Pentecost, but not here in the Samaritan Pentecost. 
That should give anybody cause for concern about ever mandating 
that it's a one-size-fits-all process in terms of how people 
come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But in this 
particular instance, we need to appreciate that's not what's 
happening. They're not being lambasted, 
you Samaritans, you're wretched, you're terrible, you're horrible, 
you haven't received the Holy Spirit yet, as evidenced in speaking 
in tongues, you second-class citizens. But notice that it's 
not the fault of Philip either. See, some would say, well, Philip 
was just a junior member. Philip was just a freelance evangelist. In fact, I'm going to quote FF 
Bruce favorably in just a moment, where he does refer to Philip 
as a freelance evangelist. But later on in this very chapter, 
in Acts chapter 8 at verse 38, What does Philip do in terms 
of that Ethiopian unit? He baptizes him. He baptizes 
him without any apostles around to legitimize it, to authenticate 
it, or to confirm it. They don't look down at him and 
say, well, you don't have the power. You don't have the authority. 
You don't have the status that we have. That's not what's happening. 
That's not what's in view. There's no evidence whatsoever 
that Philip feels slighted. There's no evidence whatsoever 
that Peter and John hold the magic power. There's no evidence 
whatsoever that there was something lacking on the part of the Samaritans. It is a redemptive historical 
act wherein God Most High is furnishing proof that Jesus is 
seated at his right hand and that Jesus gives the Holy Spirit 
consistent with that paradigm in Acts 1.8, Jerusalem, Judea, 
Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. But it would 
benefit these Samaritans as well. Here's F.F. Bruce. He says, in 
the present instance, some people evidence, some people, I'm sorry, 
some special evidence may have been necessary to assure the 
Samaritans so accustomed to being despised, excuse me for a moment, 
It's cold, just keeps hanging on. So accustomed to being despised 
as outsiders by the people of Jerusalem that they were fully 
incorporated into the new community of the people of God. See what 
he's saying? This would have benefited them. Some special 
evidence that they now participated in the same covenant promises 
as those in Jerusalem did. There was this big chasm. There 
was this big divide. The Jews didn't like the Samaritans. They looked down upon them. So 
now the Samaritans are receiving their own Pentecost to show that 
they've been incorporated into the one people of God along with 
the Jews. And when the Gentiles are added 
in mass in chapter 10, it's the same significance. What the Spirit 
is displaying is the oneness of the people of God Almighty. They're on an equal footing. 
There's no special status for the Jews. There's no lesser status 
for the Samaritans, and then a third tier for the Gentiles 
later on. The same Spirit comes in the 
same manner, demonstrating the same Savior at the right hand 
of the Father, giving this promise, according to the prophetic word, 
in the sense of bringing the people of God together. It's 
a beautiful, wonderful, glorious thing. Bruce goes on to say, 
it was one thing for them to be baptized by a freelance evangelist 
like Philip, but not until they had been acknowledged and welcomed 
by the leaders of the Jerusalem church did they experience the 
signs which confirmed and attested their membership in the spirit-possessed 
society. Now notice in verse 17, so they 
pray in verse 15. The reason why they pray is in 
verse 16, and now the reception of the Spirit comes in verse 
17. They lay hands on them. They 
had verse 17, then they laid hands on them, and they received 
the Holy Spirit. Again, the idea is not that the 
magic was in the hands of the apostles. Simon interprets it 
this way, doesn't he? Simon says, I want that gift 
too. I'll give you money. I'll cough up some dough so that 
you give me that power so that when I lay the whammy on someone 
else, they receive the Spirit. That's Simony. He's trying to 
purchase ecclesiastical gift for his own benefit and for his 
own whatever, prestige. I don't know. Why would somebody 
want that? The apostles don't have the magic touch, but they 
are the authoritative representatives of our Lord Jesus Christ, upon 
whom the church is built. So Christ is the chief cornerstone, 
the apostles are foundational in it, Ephesians 2.20, and now 
the apostles lay hands on that. But again, we can't extrapolate 
from that a practice. Because in Acts 10, when the 
Holy Spirit comes, they speak in tongues, but there's no laying 
on of hands. So you have to be careful about 
making something a law that isn't a law. You have to be careful 
about making something an ordinance or a sacrament that's not an 
ordinance or a sacrament. In fact, the idea of confirmation. With Roman Catholicism, that 
is one of the seven sacraments of the church. There's two sacraments 
in the Bible, brethren. It's baptism and it's the Lord's 
Supper. But they elevate confirmation, 
this being one of the proof texts, as a sacrament, and they say 
that if others don't recognize it as a sacrament, then they 
must be anathema. Well, I stand publicly anathematized 
by the Roman Church because I deny that confirmation is a sacrament. You as well, if you amen that 
statement, maybe not verbally and audibly, but in your own 
heart. If you deny that confirmation 
is a sacrament of the Church, you are anathema to the Church 
of Rome. That same church, incidentally, 
which says that Jews and Muslims are going to go to heaven because 
they're monotheists. I've never been able to get my mind wrapped 
around that one. You preach justification by faith 
alone, you're anathematized. You deny the sacramental status 
of confirmation and you're anathematized. But if you're a Jew or a Muslim 
and you affirm monotheism, well then you're going to go to heaven. 
Talk about an incongruity within the Church of Rome that is epic 
and massive and huge, and it really does demonstrate who's 
in their crosshairs in terms of the most notorious heretics. It's the affirmation of Sola 
Scriptura. It's the affirmation of Sola 
Fide. It is the Protestant emphasis 
on the glory of God saving sinners, not based on the sinners themselves, 
but on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that transaction 
conducted by faith alone. You see, what we have here is 
a Pentecost. The laying on of the hands is 
not magic. It is a symbol. It is a visible, 
an external representation. Verse 17 says, Then they laid 
hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. This is not 
paradigmatic for the Church at all times. It is consistent with 
what we have in Jerusalem in Acts 2. It is consistent with 
what we have in the Gentile world in Acts 10. And it's a non-repeatable 
event that took place in the Church to demonstrate the Lordship, 
the Messiahship, and the power of Jesus Christ at the right 
hand of the Father, bringing these people together under His 
headship. Thompson explains it this way. 
He says, Luke's focus in these texts, Acts 2, 8, 10 and 11, 
and 19, is on the fulfillment of prophecy. Now, he mentions 
two, Jerusalem Pentecost. He mentions eight, Samaritan 
Pentecost. He mentions 10 and 11, Gentile 
Pentecost, and then 19. Again, 19 is an interesting situation 
where there were the disciples of John. And Paul then deals 
with them and the Spirit comes upon them. But back to Thompson. He says, Luke's focus in these 
texts is on the fulfillment of prophecy, salvation history, 
and the beginning of the last days rather than paradigms, which 
simply means pattern. If I said paradigm earlier and 
you're wondering what's a paradigm, it means a pattern. It's a scholarly 
way to say pattern. It's really weird, right? Scholars 
don't say story, they say narrative. They don't say section of text, 
they say pericope. There's a jargon involved and 
you got to kind of follow the jargon. So if you've heard paradigm 
in my, you know, my wording here, it just means a pattern. These 
are not patterns for individual experiences. In each of these 
chapters, Luke emphasizes corporate experience. Now that's the way 
that we're supposed to read the Bible a lot. The Bible's not 
all about you. There's this eisegesis wherein, 
one at least has called it narsegesis, we read ourselves into every 
text and find us there. That's not what this text is 
supposed to be utilized as. It is Christ's mission being 
realized during the apostolic ministry. It is an attestation 
of Christ's lordship and power at the right hand of the Father, 
sending the Spirit and incorporating these three people groups into 
one new man in Christ Jesus. In fact, Raymond, in his new 
systematic theology, highlights this. He says, here then is the 
real significance of Pentecost, that's chapter 2, in the history 
of redemption. It was Jesus' self-attestation 
to the truth that he was Israel's Lord and Messiah. And the non-repeatable 
Samaritan Pentecost, here in chapter 8, and the non-repeatable 
Gentile or ends-of-the-earth Pentecost, in chapter 10, are 
to be viewed in the same light. Both were Jesus' self-attestations 
to the church and to the people involved at the critical junctures 
of the missionary endeavor that he had delineated in Acts 1-8 
of his messiahship and saving lordship over the nations. Again, I guess indirectly we're 
here. More so in Acts 10 in the Gentile sort of inclusion. I 
don't think any of us have Samaritan in our blood, but we certainly 
got Gentile in our blood. So if anything, we're closer 
to Acts 10. But the modern man, the modern 
Christian, the modern evangelical only reads the Bible insofar 
as it's him involved. How does Jesus teach us to pray 
in the Lord's Prayer? Our Father who art in heaven. 
There's a corporate dimension and a corporate element that 
is all but gone in the Western world today in terms of Christianity. 
The church as a whole throughout our history has had this huge 
emphasis on the corporate experience of God's people. I was glad when 
they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. We 
crave and we desire and we covet our quiet times or our private 
times more than the public place. That's new in the history of 
redemption, brethren. That's new in the history of 
the experience of God's people. Not that you shouldn't have quiet 
time, not that you shouldn't engage in devotional reading 
of the Bible, but you should crave the public worship of the 
living God. The corporate dimension, God, 
Yahweh, loves the gates of Zion more than He does the dwelling 
places of Jacob. As I've said many times, He doesn't 
hate the dwelling places of Jacob. It's an idiom. It is highlighting 
what is more pleasing to God. In the manner of man, of course, 
there's not more pleasing to one who is impassable, but with 
reference to that reality, God delights in the corporate gathering 
of His people. And in Acts 2, Acts 8, and Acts 
10, we see the corporate gathering of God's people increasing and 
growing and being more stabilized through the outpouring of the 
Holy Spirit by the Lord Christ from the right hand of the Father. 
Your personal experience is not in Acts 8, 14 to 17. If you by 
grace have believed the gospel, then you receive the Holy Spirit. 
If you by grace have believed the gospel, you have the Holy 
Spirit. If by grace you are walking with 
the Lord, you are a possessor of the Holy Spirit. There's no 
subsequent reception later. There's no second work of grace. 
There's no higher life. There's no Keswick garbage or 
nonsense involved in it. All of God's people are on an 
equal footing. This is the point in the book 
of Ephesians as well. Paul is writing to Gentiles who 
at one time were far off. They were called uncircumcised 
by those of the circumcision. They were probably called a whole 
lot worse too, but Paul doesn't include all of that. But now 
you've been brought in high. How? Through the blood of Jesus 
Christ. So he's broken down that middle 
wall, that wall that kept the Jews and the Gentiles separate. 
See, any movement that tries to re-separate Jews from Gentiles 
is to fly against the book of Ephesians, but as well to this 
Pentecost pattern that we see in Acts 2, 8, and 10. The people 
of God are one people of God. Our brothers and sisters are 
from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. We have solidarity, 
corporate solidarity, with people from every vantage point in the 
earth. It's a beautiful and a glorious 
thing. And that's what's on display in Acts 2, 8, and 10. Well, in conclusion, a few thoughts, 
and then we'll go. First, this is the fulfillment 
of the mission statement in Acts 1, 8. Not the complete fulfillment. 
We learn in the Prophets, we learn in the Psalter that the 
knowledge of Yahweh will cover the earth as the waters cover 
the sea. We learn in the Prophets and in the Psalter of a great 
work of our Savior, the ends of all the earth, men from every 
tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Those who are presently unreached 
won't always be unreached. And that's a very encouraging 
thought. But in terms of the beginning of the fulfillment 
of Acts 1, 8, it's happening right here in the book of Acts. 
And that's what Luke is telling us. Luke is encouraging us. Luke is inspiring hope in us, 
in this world at this time that was hostile to Christianity, 
that was hostile to the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 
What had God done? What had God done in Jerusalem? He built a church. What had God 
done in Samaria that these people were looked down upon by the 
Israelites for so long prior? What's God doing? He's building 
a church. When we get to the later half of the book of Acts, 
with the call of Saul of Tarsus, he becomes the apostle to who? 
To the Gentiles. So that wherever you go in the 
Gentile world, what's happening? There are churches being planted, 
churches being founded in an increasingly hostile Roman empire. You see, what Luke is saying 
to the people of God in the 21st century is be encouraged, be 
strengthened, be fortified. Christ is building his church 
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The incorporation 
of the Samaritans into the covenant promises of God, their reception 
of the Holy Spirit in a way similar to Acts 2 and the Pentecost experience 
is indicative of that. It's going to be indicative, 
too, when we get to Cornelius in Acts chapter 10, when the 
Gentiles are added to that selfsame church. As well, we see the inclusion 
of Samaritans in the covenant of grace, the promise in Genesis 
9 from Noah. Noah says, May God enlarge Japheth, 
and may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his 
servant. Now, whatever all that means, 
it definitely means this. Japheth, Gentile, will be dwelling 
in the tents of Shem. In other words, back in Genesis 
chapter 9, there is this promise of Gentile inclusion in the covenant 
promises of God. You get to Genesis 12 and the 
call of Abraham. It's reiterated in Genesis 13, 
Genesis 14, Genesis 15, Genesis 17, Genesis 22. What does God 
say repetitively to Abraham? In you, all the families of the 
earth will be blessed. Well, in his seed, ultimately, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, Christ didn't 
just come to save the Jews. Christ didn't just come to save 
the Gentiles. Christ didn't just come to save 
the Samaritans, but he came to save them all. Not all without 
exception, but all without difference. So brethren, this is what's happening. 
Now in terms of the Roman Catholic view, I just want to share this 
with you, those of you who are not brought up in that way. The 
text does not teach Roman Catholic doctrine of confirmation. Listen 
to what they say. Council of Trent, seventh session, I think 
this was 1547. It has never been renounced. It has never been 
turned around. It has never been, you know, 
that Romans never come out and said, you know, we were wrong 
at Trent. They've never done that. You 
know, we're a bit harsh pronouncing anathemas on you Protestants. 
They've never done that. So for those of you who say, 
well, we ought to have rapprochement with Rome. Not until Rome repents. Not until Rome changes Trent. 
Not until there's some major revisions and they lift the anathemas, 
which means condemn to hell on those of us who don't think confirmation 
is a sacrament. They've got to do some big, big 
changing before there's ever reproachment. Ideally, dissolution 
would be the best, and then they join good Protestant churches. 
That would be, I think, the best sort of way for them to go. The 
Pope can go work at a car wash or do something good like that. Canon one in the seventh session. If anyone says that the confirmation 
of those baptized is an empty ceremony and not a true and proper 
sacrament, that's me, of that of old, it was nothing more than 
a sort of instruction whereby those approaching adolescence 
gave an account of their faith to the church, let him be anathema. 
You see, they ain't playing games. Let them be damned to hell who 
deny the doctrine of confirmation. Those lines are still drawn in 
the sand. We don't always see those lines, 
because whenever they're second in a country, they're very nice. 
They're very pleasant. They're very kind. They really 
want to have that unity. But you go to a country where 
Roman Catholicism is dominant, where it's primary, they're not 
so nice. They rule with a heavy hand. 
And then the second canon says, if anyone says that those who 
ascribe any power to the holy oil of confirmation offers insult 
to the Holy Ghost, again, that's me, let him be anathema. And the third canon interestingly 
says that it can only be a bishop that does it, can't just be a 
priest that confirms. That's to totally misread what's 
happening here. Philip's not a junior. Philip 
isn't preaching falsely. Philip isn't lesser than. The 
apostles who are foundational for the building of the church 
of Jesus Christ, in that initial movement of that church, go to 
investigate, go to sign off on it, go to validate and confirm. 
There's no junior associates working or operative in terms 
of church planting and preaching. As well, the text does not teach 
a subsequent reception of the Spirit after an initial belief 
in the gospel. So, on the one hand, you're anathematized 
if you deny Roman Catholic confirmation, but on the other hand, you're 
not a Christian if you're not speaking in tongues. Is that still the 
way they view things, the Pentecostals? Yeah, it's unfortunate. I mean, 
you'd think a bit of reflection on texts like these would fix that. Those of you 
who've not been exposed to Roman Catholicism, there's a little 
taste for you. But those of you who have not 
been exposed to Pentecostalism or Charismaticism, here's a little 
taste for you. If you don't speak in tongues, 
you don't have the spirit. They take something spurious to begin 
with, like speaking in tongues today, which is absolutely not 
for us today, and they make that the sign or the badge of Christianity? You have to see and appreciate 
how bad that is. That's not a little thing to bind the people of God 
and tell them that unless you speak in tongues, you don't have 
the Holy Spirit. You need to prime the pump, you'll hear. 
You need to start it going and just start saying some stuff, 
and then the Spirit will overtake you. Everybody I've ever talked 
to who primed the pump said they just primed the pump and just 
did what everybody else was doing. You know, I bought a Honda, I 
shoulda bought a Yamaha. That's a perfect sort of expression 
of tongues. I bought a Honda, I shoulda bought 
a Yamaha. You say that 10 times fast, it sounds like any tongue 
speaking that you'll ever hear anywhere. You've never been exposed 
to this, brethren. It is not what the Bible emphasizes 
in tongues. It wasn't gibberish. It wasn't 
buying Hondas or Yamahas. It was speaking other languages. 
by the power of the Spirit, so that persons in those target 
languages could hear the great works of God. That's it! That's what tongue speaking is. 
And to take that, and to gibberish it, and say, this is what you 
must do as evidence that you've received the Holy Spirit? That's 
crazy. It is to misread Luke, it's to 
misread Paul, it's to misread Jesus, it's to misread the entirety 
of God's Word. You know what tongues were a 
sign of according to the prophet Isaiah? And how I think they 
functioned even within the church at Corinth? Judgment. Tongues 
were a sign of judgment given in the prophet Isaiah. What does 
that mean? It means that when you're indwelling 
Israel and Babylonians are in your country speaking in their 
tongues, that's a bad thing, right? You don't want Babylonians 
hanging out in your country speaking Babylonian. That's not cool. It was an indicator that God's 
judgment was upon you. And I think it functions that 
way even in the passage there in 1 Corinthians 12 to 14. But 
gibberish and a sign that you've received the Holy Spirit, no. 
You know how you've received the Holy Spirit? You have faith 
in Jesus Christ. You're a believer on the Savior. 
You can't see the Spirit. I mean, He's a Spirit, right? 
He indwells you. What's the evidence that you 
have the Spirit? Well, that you have trusted the 
Lord Jesus Christ and that you walk compliantly with God Almighty. Not that you engage in gibberish. As well, the text does not prescribe 
a pattern for the church, but describes the beginning of the 
church in Samaria. Not everything in the book of 
Acts is for us in terms of church practice, vis-à-vis the tongue 
speaking in Acts 2 and Acts 10. We don't crave that or seek that 
because these are unrepeatable events in the history of the 
church. They describe what happened. They don't prescribe what should 
happen today. And in terms of the significance 
of these Pentecosts, In the first place, it was prophesied that 
this was going to happen. Joel 2, it's quoted in Acts chapter 
2. God says that in the latter days, 
he would pour out his spirit upon all flesh. Again, not every 
single human being without exception, but human beings without distinction, 
Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles. The promise of Joel echoed by 
Peter in Acts 2 when he's interpreting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 
is that this was what was spoken by the prophet Joel. Secondly, 
it is an indicator of the supremacy, the Lordship, and the Messiahship 
of Jesus Christ. In fact, look at Acts 2 as that 
particular point is drawn out and made explicit by Peter. I'm 
sure that back in Acts chapter 2, I mentioned that the primary 
person of the Godhead on display in Acts 2 is not the Spirit. For the Charismatics and the 
Pentecostals, it is the Spirit. The Spirit made them speak in 
tongues. The Spirit did wonderful things. The Spirit is the miracle 
worker, so therefore we ought to have more of that Spirit. 
I'm not relegating or derogating from the work of the Holy Spirit, 
but the person of the Godhead that's primarily on display in 
terms of supremacy, power, and glory is Jesus. And this is Peter's 
point in verse 33. Notice, he says, Therefore, being 
exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from 
the Father, notice, the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured 
out this which you now see in here. See, the question was, 
they're all speaking in tongues, they must be drunk. Peter says, 
we're not drunk, it's only nine o'clock. This is what the prophet 
Joel spoke. The Spirit is poured out on all 
flesh in the last days. They will prophesy, they will 
speak in tongues, they will do those things. And so Peter identifies 
the responsible agent in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit 
as Jesus Christ, the Lord. And note the triadic pattern 
or the Trinitarian reference. Christ is at the right hand of 
the Father. Christ is pouring out the Holy Spirit. Verse 34, 
for David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 
the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make 
your enemies your footstool. Now note the conclusion to the 
sermon is verse 36. Therefore, let all the house 
of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom 
you crucified, both Lord and Christ. So when we read it in 
Acts chapter 8, at verse 17, we ought to think the same thing. 
When we read it in Acts chapter 10, at verses 44 to 48, we ought 
to think the same thing. Therefore, let all the house 
of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom 
you crucified, both Lord and Christ. So the Holy Spirit was 
promised, the Holy Spirit was bestowed, and the Holy Spirit 
gathers the elect together and incorporates them as one new 
man. Thompson again says, the giving 
of the Holy Spirit in Acts highlights the oneness of the people of 
God. These particular stages along 
the way accentuate that unity as Jude, Samaritan, Gentile and 
transitional John the Baptist followers are brought into the 
one people of God through faith in the one Lord Jesus and are 
given the same eschatological gift, the promised Holy Spirit. 
It's beautiful. Glorious, wondrous, Christ's 
prayer for unity in John chapter 17 is excellent. The people of 
God should be unified. Men from every tribe, tongue, 
people, and nation are going to spend eternity in heaven. 
We better figure out how to get along on earth. Unity is what 
Christ prays for. Unity is what Christ purchased 
us for. Unity is most blessed. But to 
sacrifice truth for unity is wrong. Ecumenicism that is not 
grounded upon the truth is wrong. But conversely, brethren, for 
us not to want unity with persons that confess faith in Jesus Christ 
is wrong as well. Well, they're not reformed, or 
they're not this, or they're not that. Brethren, if they are 
confessing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are brothers 
and sisters, even if they don't cross their T's and dot their 
I's the way that we do. And you know me, I am all for 
precision and doctrinal accuracy. That's why I thank God that we 
not only have our Bible, but we have an excellent confession 
of faith. But there's believers in other communions. There are 
believers in other denominations. There are believers in other 
countries that may be different from us, but unity is most excellent 
and most glorious. Never forget what the apostle 
says, there is one body and one spirit, just as you were called 
in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 
one God and father of all who is above all and through all 
and in you all. Again, not that we don't polemicize, 
not that we don't apologize, defend, not that we don't fight 
for and contend earnestly for the faith which was once for 
all delivered to the saints, but we don't cast off genuine 
believers in Christ to hell. Our practice must reflect the 
New Testament. Our practice cannot be, well, 
we only like this demographic. We only want this kind of people. 
No, everyone really is welcome here. All are invited to come. Anybody that confesses faith 
in Jesus Christ is a brother, they're a sister, and they should 
be treated as such. That doesn't mean, again, you 
kowtow and you say, well, I'm going to be an Arminian like 
you, or not Pelagian, but I'm going to be like you when it 
comes to these sorts of things. No, we fight for the truth. We don't fight for the truth 
at the expense of a genuine believer in Jesus Christ. And then finally, 
when we see in the text, at Acts 8, in verse 14, when the apostles 
who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria, note these next words, 
had received the word of God. What does it mean to receive 
the Word of God? It could certainly mean going 
to your local bookstore or going on Amazon and buying a copy of 
the Scriptures. You've thus received the Word 
of God. But that's not what's in view 
here. They had received the Word of God because what we read in 
verse 12. 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. So I end 
with this. Have you received the word of 
God? Again, not by buying it off of Amazon, but by believing 
the truth of the gospel, by believing the truth concerning the kingdom 
of God and the name of Jesus. And if you have believed, if 
you have received, if you are a new believer in Christ Jesus, 
have you been baptized? We run the risk of minimizing 
the place of Christian baptism because we don't ever want to 
offend anybody. Brethren, persons who got saved 
in the book of Acts got baptized. Persons who got saved in the 
history of the church got baptized. If the jury's out in terms of 
your understanding of Pado versus believers, find out, be convinced. What does Scripture say? Come 
to me. We're going to have a baptism 
sermon in a few weeks. We're going to be with Philip 
and the Ethiopian eunuch. I would be happy to baptize anyone 
confessing saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, because what 
happens there is an external testimony of what has happened 
here. And if you're a believer in Jesus, 
you should identify with Jesus. You should repudiate the magic 
of Simon. You should repudiate the magic 
of this world. You should repudiate every bad 
thing out there and identify publicly with the Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit. And if you have not received, 
then believe. Look to Christ in faith, and 
He will save. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for this section 
of Holy Scripture, and I pray that we would think accurately 
concerning it, and I pray that sinners here today would receive 
the Word, that they would believe the truth about Jesus. His perfect 
life of obedience to the Father, His death as a sacrifice and 
substitute on the cross, and His resurrection the third day. 
And the reality that He was delivered up because of our offenses and 
He was raised for our justification. May you work in hearts, both 
young and old, and may you bring sinners to know and to enjoy 
the blessing of being found in Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we 
ask this in His most blessed name. Amen. Well, we'll stand 
together and close our service by singing number four.