Simony a Terrible Sin

                       

Fish sometimes leap out of the water with great energy, but it would be foolish to conclude that they have left the liquid element for ever; in a moment they are swimming again as if they had never forsaken the stream; indeed it was but a fly that tempted them aloft, or a sudden freak: the water is still their home, sweet home.

When temptations arose after the death of Stephen, Phillip fled to Samaria. The land that was dominated by forces of darkness! There was a certain man called Simon, who practiced sorcery in the city. Simon had astonished the people of Samaria for a long time. His influence was extensive; the least to the greatest were paying attention to him. Simon's satanic sorcery successfully saturated all levels of the society (Acts 8:4-11).

Simon was doing miracles by satanic power. Yet, the Samaritans wrongly assumed that he had real power from God. They referred to him as “the great power of God”. When Philip arrived, he started preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. God used signs performed by Philip to garner the attention of the Samaritans and point them to the Gospel. Both men and women believed and were baptized (Acts 8:12-13).

The work of God through Philip amazed even Simon. He was a sorcerer, he dealt in supernatural power. He knew real power when he saw it. So when Philip came to town and performed signs, Simon knew the power was real and that it was stronger than his power. He believed and, along with others, was baptized. He followed Philip professing to be a believer.

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” (Acts 8:14-17).

Peter a “pure breed” laid his hands on Samaritans, people he had earlier considered "a contaminated breed" on whom he would never have even laid a finger!  Earlier, John wanted literal fire to be called down from heaven to consume the Samaritans (Luke 9:51-56). Now John was calling down the Holy Spirit to give the Samaritans power to live transformed lives. The apostle’s actions demonstrate that they truly had a radical change in the heart. This is the supernatural power of the Gospel in a person's life.

In Samaria, baptism with the Holy Spirit occurred somewhat differently than it had in Jerusalem. There it happened spontaneously, but here it came in answer to the apostles' prayer and with the laying on of their hands. God in his providence withheld the gift of the Holy Spirit until Peter and John, two leading apostles who were highly thought of in the mother church at Jerusalem came.

The main reason God brought the apostles to Samaria at this time was not to bestow but to witness the Samaritans receiving the Holy Spirit. The Lord delayed the falling of the Holy Spirit for the apostles’ benefit, to assure them that He had accepted the Samaritans and had made them full-fledged brothers and sisters in the kingdom. Peter and John became convinced that the Samaritans were truly included in the kingdom of God.

Also, there was a need to make a connection between the believers in Samaria and the believers in Jerusalem. Had this not happened, the Samaritans may have thought that their brand of Christianity was distinct from the brand in Jerusalem, thus dividing the Church.  Jesus had said “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink(1 Cor. 12:12-13). The apostles needed to be there as reliable witnesses on behalf of the Jerusalem church to witness the Holy Spirit incorporating the Samaritans into the universal Church.

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. Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. (Acts 8:18-22).”

Clearly Simon did not understand the work of the Holy Spirit. He saw money in merchandising miracles. He was ready to buy the gift.  He may have thought that paying for this power was legitimate, since others had probably paid him for the secret power of his magic.  Peter's stern response revealed the seriousness of Simon's error- Simon had no part or share in the ministry. 

Simon believed and was baptized but the word believe does not always mean saving faith in the New Testament. When Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did; but Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men ... he himself knew what was in man (John 2:23-25). Their "faith" or "believing" was not genuine and Jesus could see into the heart and knew that it wasn't.

Paul taught the same possibility in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2.  He said “moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain.” It is possible for someone to let go the gospel .If that happens, all their previous belief won’t do them any good. It will be as if they had believed in vain.

Peter told Simon “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” (Acts 8:22-24).  Philip had taken the place Simon previously occupied. The people he had previously astonished now believed Philip; this might have made him bitter.”

A bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many (Heb.12:15).  The “counterfeit of the true” are among the most dangerous enemies of Christianity.  They are “roots in the midst of God people that produces bitter poison”(Deut.29:18).  Simon was still a slave to sin. Romans 6:16 says “when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey; Whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.

So when the Peter and John had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans (Acts 8:25). The Apostles now fully accepted the Samaritans as fellow believers and freely moved in their villages preaching. The prejudice was overcome and the gospel was gladly received. There is one gospel for all people and it has the same effect.

The case of Simon shows us again how the devil seeks to divide Christians from within.  The devil's first attempt was in the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira.  His second attempt was to cause dissension among the widows in the local church at Jerusalem . Now in the case of Simon the devil sows tares among the wheat in that a false Christian gets embedded with true Christians.

There are many in church who are counterfeit Christians. Simon had all the outward trappings. He answered that he did believe in Jesus, and so he was baptized. But it was not a genuine faith. Paul wrote “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Cor.13:5). Jesus the Judge of all mankind was very clear in His warning in Matthew 7:21-23.

Simon's error may have been an innocent mistake, due to theological ignorance. But theological errors are very serious. The Prophet Hosea said “for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “there is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land…Therefore you shall stumble in the day; the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night…my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge…” (Hosea 4:1-6).

When people lack or reject the knowledge of God, soon truth and mercy are both gone. Truth must be rooted in something more than personal opinion and mercy means going beyond self-interest. It’s bad enough to stumble in the night. But when God’s people cast off the knowledge of God they shall stumble even in the day. God paints a picture so bleak that even the prophet stumbles.

When God’s people are destroyed, it is not because God has lost either His love or strength. It’s because His people lack knowledge. They have some knowledge, but not enough. They know God a little and they know his word a little. Therefore they are “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming”(Eph 4:14). To be safe we need “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

Simon was a follower of Philip a true disciple of Jesus Christ. One might say that demonstrates that he was a genuine believer. However if that is the case, then Judas Iscariot would be classified as a genuine believer because he followed Jesus for three years! Following a genuine pastor or being a member of a genuine church does not automatically make anyone a true believer (Matt 7:13-14,23). Salvation is personal.

Whenever the gospel is preached, the word will fall on good soil and bad soil (Luke 8:13-15). There will be branches who abide in the vine, and those that are cut off and burned (John 15:2,5).There will be those with living faith and those with dead faith ( James 2:14-22). There will be wheat and there will be tares (Matt.13:25-30). There are those who " draw back to perdition and those who believe to the saving of the soul" (Heb 10:39).

Simon’s main problem was the desire to get fame and riches. Losing followers and income made him bitter. He was ready to go to any length to restore what he had lost and possibly do better. The Bible cautions against becoming entrapped by material things. Pursuit of material wealth has ultimately drowned men and women who started well. Some started in the spirit but ended in the flesh (Gal 3:3) . Today we still hear of preachers buying "spiritual power"  for personal gain. This is known as Simony; the name originates from Simon of Samaria ,the first man who tried it.

In Deuteronomy 7:25, Moses warned the Israelites "the graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared  by it, for it is an abomination  to the Lord your God”. Paul cautioned that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition (1 Tim 6:9). Jesus asked “ what does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul (mark 8:36).