Jesus Christ in His Church..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. and Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on the day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles.

The men buried Stephen made great lamentation over him, but Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house. He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.

For unclean spirits crying out with loud voices came out and many who had them and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in the city. But there was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria saying that he himself was someone great. They all paid attention to him from the least to the greatest saying, this man is the power of God that is called great. And they paid attention to him for a long time.

He had amazed them with his magic. Verse 12. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized, he continued with Philip after seeing signs and great miracles performed.

He was amazed. Now, when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now, when Simon saw that the spirit was given through the laying of the hand, the apostles hands, he offered them some money saying, give me this power also so that anyone of whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.

You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. And Simon answered, Pray for me to the Lord that nothing of what you have said may come upon me. Now when they had testified and spoken to the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem preaching gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

26, now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, rise and go forward to south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert place. And he rose and went, and there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot.

So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, and asked, do you understand that you are reading? And he said, how can I understand unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the scripture that you was reading was this. like a sheep who was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent.

So he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can ascribe his generation for his life is taken away from the earth. And the eunuch said to Philip about whom I ask you, does this prophet say this about himself or about someone else? Then Philip opened his mouth and began with the scripture, or this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus.

And as they were going along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, see, here is water. What prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord carried Philip away and the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing.

But Philip found himself at Azotus. And as he passed through preaching, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Amen. This beloved is indeed the inerrant infallible God breathed word. Well, Church, last week together, we meditated on the contents of Acts chapter seven.

And as I said then, chapter seven would serve as a pivotal point for the early New Testament Church in fulfilling the great commission given to her by our Lord Jesus Christ as he continues to extend his kingdom from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and then to the outermost parts of the earth, Acts 1.8. Up until this point, the church and its gospel proclamation was very much centered and concentrated in Jerusalem. The text of the first few chapters in Acts makes this point very clear, but that's not at all to suggest that church's growth at this time had become stagnant. Nothing could be further from the truth, because in these chapters, we're told that thousands upon thousands in this city of Jerusalem had become Christian.

believed in the apostolic preaching of the good news of Christ and were therefore added to the church. The Spirit of God was working a revival among these people in Jerusalem in a very, very powerful way. Now, of course, when such an outpouring of the Spirit is powerfully evident and multitudes of sinners are saved by being plucked from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of the sun, then what is expected also is Satan's opposition against the gospel would also increase. And of course, that's what we see. You see, by default, man is a slave to sin and unrighteousness.

Satan is by default their master, and he won't give up his people lightly. Now, although he cannot stand against the power of God, drawing sinners onto Christ through the gospel, he will nonetheless try by any means he can to obstruct this work. Already Luke has made mention of several instances of this obstruction being evident in this book already. It began in chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost with the mocking of the Jews, if you remember. Then in the Jewish religious leaders in chapter 3, filled with jealousy we're told, capture Peter and John and threaten them no longer to speak of this Jesus Christ.

Of course, these disciples filled with boldness assert if they had to decide whether to obey them, men, or God, then the answer is easy. They will always obey God. the Satan's attacks were also from within. And so it wasn't long before these disciples found themselves before the Sanhedrin again. But this time, not only were they threatened not to proclaim in the name of Jesus, but they were also flogged as the persecution from the Jews upon the Christians is on the rise.

We've also witnessed Satan's attacks from within the church. In chapter 5 he does this through the lying lips and the deceptive hearts of Ananias and his wife Sapphira when they lied about the proceeds of the land they'd sold and they were offering to the church. You remember that back in chapter 5. And then again in chapter 6 in Satan's attempt to fracture the unity of the church by creating within the believers themselves a sense of discrimination. In this case, the Hellenistic widows were thought to be overlooked in the daily distribution.

Of course, no such racism must exist in the Church of Jesus Christ, not even a hint of it, because all are one in Christ. And so the Church wisely appoints seven spirit-filled deacons to eliminate that problem, two of which would become the emphasis of the next two chapters. Chapter 7, last week, that was Stephen. And then chapter eight, this week's chapter. And last week we mentioned as we meditated upon chapter seven, that the chapter is all about Stephen and it was indeed a pivotal point.

Stephen was brought to the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, because of false charges laid against him. Serious charges of blaspheming against God and against Moses and speaking against the law and the holy place, of course, meaning the temple. In our time together last week, we saw how Stephen, one by one, decimates the false allegations raised against him by surveying the Old Testament, starting from Abraham, showing not only that this Hellenistic Jew knows the scripture, but he believes every last word. And it is that very scripture that the men before him claim to believe and understand that has its goal and purpose in the Messiah. promised by God.

It was coming to the world only to be rejected by these religious leaders. You see, Stephen turns the table back on the religious leaders of Israel in the Sanhedrin in particular, and then points his finger at them and says, you are the lawbreakers. See, he's no longer on the defense, but becomes the prosecuting attorney, indicting these Jews to be no different to their forefathers who have a recurring history of resisting the Holy Spirit by rejecting the prophets sent by God to speak on behalf of God. Now, they prove themselves to be stiff-necked, idolatrous people by hating Messiah without a cause and murdering him unjustly. The irony is this.

that as they murdered our Lord without cause, they would now turn to Stephen and murder him without cause. Because when Stephen mentions seeing Jesus in heaven at the right hand of the Father, the Jews filled with rage, drag him outside the city and stone him to death without cause. Breaking their own law, beloved, for stoning a man without a proper trial, proving the final words of Stephen's indictment against them to be absolutely true. Verse 53, you received the law, but you did not keep it. And now we come to chapter eight.

And as a result of what transpired in chapter seven, the church life in Jerusalem will never ever be the same again. This chapter beloved in before us, the one that we just read can be divided into four sections. Verse one through three speaks of the persecution upon the church in Jerusalem and the consequences of that persecution. Then from verses four through eight, we see the gospel proclamation departing from Jerusalem and reaching Samaria through the deacon Philip. Verses 9 through 25, we read of the fruit of the gospel proclamation.

In Samaria, many believed and are saved. Praise be to God. But with true converts, there's always false or counterfeit converts. Remember, Satan is still at work. And so we're introduced to an interesting character by the name of Simon, a sorcerer or a magician who was a false convert.

And then finally, in the final section from verses 26 through 40, the gospel is preached to an Ethiopian eunuch and he receives it with joy. So now let's walk our way through the text. Let's read verse one through three. And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.

And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house. He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Don't miss the point being made with Stephen buried by devout men and mourned, and he was mourned over.

Beloved, the term devout men is not speaking of Christians here, but devout Jews who are not happy, it seems, with the illegal stoning of Stephen. You see the Sanhedrin and its actions made a mockery of the law and so their respectful burial of Stephen and their mourning over him was perhaps an indicator of their displeasure of the Jewish authorities and the Sanhedrin. And so they showed a great deal of sympathy for Stephen who was dealt with in an unlawful manner. You see, this would have been a public protest against the Sanhedrin's actions and also a sign of courage on behalf of these devout Jews, because Jewish Mishnah, which is the Jewish oral tradition was clear. Mourning over a man who had been stoned was forbidden.

And if it was in place then, then they would have known that this was a forbidden act. Now we're told on the day, on that day, rose a great persecution. You see, the stoning of Stephen was not a simple manifestation of the Jews or the hatred of the Jews against just one man. but all who would proclaim the name of Jesus Christ. It's no surprise, but beloved, our Lord had already warned that this would happen.

In John 16, he taught so clearly that if the world hated him, then they would hate his followers also. In that same passage, he says that the world will, that his disciples will face tribulation and it will surely come. He warned of the cost of being a disciple in Luke 14 already. He said, be prepared. It could cost you everything.

It could cost you your families. It could cost you your friends. It could cost you your possessions, your home, even your own life. These weren't not, they're not romantic metaphors that our Lord was using. This was a reality, a reality for which the people who are called by his name were warned of because this would come.

true for those who follow after Christ. And that's exactly what the church in Jerusalem was about to experience after the hatred of the Jews reached fever pitched after stoning Stephen. They had enough, enough of these Christians. They had enough of their king. Who is this resurrected Messiah?

We don't believe in him. We don't want you anymore. We don't want you and we don't want your blasphemous gospel. That's their thoughts. The persecution was so great that we're told the believers, apart from the apostles, were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.

Now the apostles remained, we're told, and that's probably most likely to shepherd the flock of those who remained in Jerusalem because not all of the Christians were departed. We know this as we continue to read in the book of Acts. It reveals that the church in Jerusalem wasn't completely decimated at this time, but rather it had become a severe victim of heavy, heavy persecution at this time. But for the vast majority, the persecution was so fierce that the Christians had no choice but to depart, to leave everything behind and to go into the northern regions of Judea and Samaria. And much of that persecution, beloved, was from the hands of a man by the name of Saul.

Now we were introduced to Saul back in chapter seven in verse 58 in fact. The garments of those stoning Stephen were placed at this young man's feet. Now the term used for young man is a term that indicates between a man between the age of 24 and 40. So Saul was probably and perhaps likely in his 30s at this point in time, maybe 30 years of age. And the fact that the Jews had laid their garments at his feet as they stoned Stephen would mean that they'd already recognized him, that Saul, as a leader in the opposition against the early church.

The death of Stephen would weigh upon his conscience in the future. We know this. It would be etched into his memory for a very, very long time. In fact, in 20 to 25 years time, when the apostle Paul comes back to Jerusalem and is arrested in Jerusalem. He'll recall this exact event and he'll recall it as though it just happened.

It will be etched into his memory, all right. But for now, at least, the unconverted Saul was a leader in the persecution of the Church of Jesus Christ. The chapter begins with, and Saul approved of his execution. Beloved, we don't have to read long before we recognize that Paul's or Saul's approval was not a passive one, he was an active one. His deep-rooted zeal for the law and what he thought was true religion, Judaism, as a devout Pharisee, put the church of Jesus Christ in great peril.

Because he threatened the church and he became a very violent persecutor of it. Beloved, think for a moment about what is written for us in verse three. But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house. He dragged off men and women, committing them to prison. Ravaging.

That's the word used here. This word literally means destroying. devastating. This man was set out not to simply imprison these people, but to annihilate the church of Jesus Christ. And he would go to any lengths to do it, literally breaking into people's homes and dragging men and women away, devastating their homes, traumatizing their children.

But that didn't matter because he had such a deep seated hatred for Christ and his people. throwing them into prison. And in chapter nine, we're told breathing murderous threats. Beloved, the meaning of breathing murderous threats was not simply that he was keen to put them in prison, but he was also keen to convict them to death. That was Saul.

Brothers and sisters, we must not be too quick to move off this truth. We must think of the cost of being a disciple in these times. What would you have done? If a band of authorities broke into your place in the comfort of your own home and demanded to know whether you bend your knee to Jesus Christ, how would you respond? How would you respond?

Knowing that an affirmative answer would mean not only you, but your wife would be imprisoned, possibly sentenced to death and your children would end up as orphans. Beloved, please, please do not be too quick to read over these passages without slowing down and meditating what exactly the cost is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in a Christ-hating world. We have not experienced anything like this persecution in Australia. But beloved, if it comes, are you ready? But it seems, It seems that the city of Jerusalem for now is being judged.

The city that is meant to be a city of salam, of peace, now has become a city of violence. The Jews held the baton for centuries, preserving the scriptures and awaiting the advent of Messiah. But now the Messiah has come and they have clearly rejected him. They hated him and his church. And because of that, the baton is now passed to the Gentiles who will soon become the light bearers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And through them, Christ will bear much fruit for his kingdom. Beloved, this is a fulfillment of the parable of the tenants in Matthew 21. And so the change begins starting from verse four in our passage, beginning in Samaria and Judea as Jesus foretold in Acts chapter one. I love, I love how this section from verse 4 to 8 begins. The Christians were scattered because of the persecution on account of their faith in Jesus Christ and his gospel.

And what do they do? They preach the word. Literally in the original form, it's the root word euangelion. They preach the gospel, the good news. Think about that.

Now I know Philip will be the focal point of this, the preaching in Sumeria, but Luke is making it clear, he's taking lengths to make sure his readers understand that it wasn't only Philip but the scattered ones, that's the believers who were preaching the gospel. Those who were confined in Jerusalem only the days before and the weeks and the months before, maybe some 20,000 plus of them became gospel proclaimers in the regions they had to escape to as exiles from their homes. Think about the remarkable truth. Think about it. They've lost their incomes.

They've lost their homes, they've lost all their possessions, they've lost practically everything in this world. Now the logical thing is to put your affairs in order, right? To prioritize. It's the logical thing the world will tell you would be to put your head down and work really hard at building yourself back up. People, look, take it easy.

Find jobs, build homes, buy your possessions, replace your clothing, establish yourself, and set yourself up in that place now that you call home. That would be the logical thing, right? No doubt they provided for their families. They weren't irresponsible Christians, not at all, not by any stretch. But Luke makes a special note to tell us that they went about preaching the word.

That was their priority. Beloved, despite losing all their possessions that this world would see as valuable, they knew exactly where their treasure lies. And the first order of business after their horrific ordeal is to proclaim the gospel of Christ so that they can offer to others what they know to be the true eternal treasure found only in Jesus Christ. You see, Stephen's martyrdom didn't muffle the believers at all. You would think, humanly speaking, that's what would happen.

People would be riddled with fear and they would close their mouths, but rather, it didn't have that effect. Rather, it had the effect that his devastating death would now make several thousand missionaries. multiplying the proclamation of the gospel beyond human comprehension into the regions that they scattered into Judea and Samaria, they would both be, those regions would be saturated with thousands of candles lighting up the regions with the light of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The words of a particular church father come to mind, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Philip is one of those candles.

He was scattered. He was dispersed from Jerusalem to Samaria, and he proclaimed to them, we're told here, the Christ, the Messiah. You see, most of you would remember that Samaria what used to be the 10 northern tribes of Israel, for a long time now, had been in hostility with the southern Jews. The hostility began back even before they were overtaken by the Assyrian Empire back in 722 BC. But after the takeover, the southern Jews began treating them essentially as dirty Gentiles.

Why? Well, because the Assyrian populated the land with pagans from surrounding nations and these people intermingled with those Israelites who remained in the north. They'd now become a mixed race. They're no longer a pure Israelite. And as the Apostle John tells us in the fourth chapter of the gospel that bears his name, the Jews had little or no dealings with the Samaritans.

This meant that despite claiming to worship the same God and adhering to the law of Moses for centuries now, they were forbidden to worship in Jerusalem. So they built up, well, they built their own temple in Mount Gerizim. You would remember this from John 4, when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman. And that's where they worshiped God. But our Lord did say that day, that a day would come where the Father would seek those who worship Him, neither in Jerusalem or in Gerizim.

but he will be worshipped anywhere and everywhere in the spirit and in truth. So now that day has come, beloved, and that good news is being proclaimed through the deacon, Philip. He proclaimed, we're told in verse five, The Christ, that was his message. He was speaking about the Christ. We know Christ is Messiah.

You see, the Samaritans believed in the first five books of the Bible, they believed they were the inspired Bible, the scripture. And so they were too awaiting God's Messiah, but they link the Messiah, not so much to the one from David, the King David's loins, but they were linking the Messiah back to Deuteronomy chapter 18, the prophet like Moses, we're all familiar with the passage. However, they called him the Tahib, which means the Restorer. Now, this Hellenistic Jew by the name of Philip had come to this city proclaiming the Messiah, the Restorer, as they would know him, has come. And in him is the good news of salvation.

The Lord was with Philip in a special way, and the Samaritans could see it. His proclamation was authenticated through powerful spirit-wrought healings and exorcisms. People who were overtaken by demons were set free. People who were overtaken by physical infirmities were made well. The Spirit of God was making people whole again by ridding them of all their infirmities and crushing the demonic powers that held them hostage and bondage for so long.

But of course, these physical, tangible manifestations are are of the saving work which is done in the soul by the Spirit. They were pointing to the reality of what Christ can do and that is to make them spiritually whole. And much joy, much joy had come upon that city, not only because their sick were made well and the demon oppressed were now liberated, but because they have had an encounter with the true Son of God, Jesus Christ, much like the joy they experienced when Jesus himself entered into the city or the town of Sychar back in John 4 and spent a couple of days amongst the Samaritans. The real reason, beloved, the real reason for the joy that these people were experiencing was not only because of the physical healings they experienced, but because of the gospel. That's the real reason the whole chapter, chapter eight is gospel saturated.

In fact, five times in the original, the U.N. Galleon, which is the good news is written for us in chapter eight. Luke is telling us that now the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news is going outside of Jerusalem. And the reason why God has put these people outside and scattered them along the regions of Judea and Samaria is because the gospel will be proclaimed.

beyond the city, Jerusalem. The word is found in verse four and 12, 25, 35, and 40. Beloved, this chapter is gospel saturated. In verse six, we're told, and the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. You see, the signs and the wonders, we've said this on many occasions, is to bring the attention to what is being said.

They're a sign, they're not the main point. The main point is what's being said by the mouth of the one performing the signs. And these Samaritans had their hearts opened by God now to pay attention, careful attention, to what is being said from the mouth of Philip. And we know already it pertained to the Christ, the gospel of Jesus, the true Messiah of not only Israel, but the whole world. You see, finally, these Samaritans who were excluded from worship in Jerusalem and now being told that the Messiah is not only the Messiah of the Jews, but also the Messiah of all people, including the Samaritans.

He's just as much the Samaritan's Messiah as he is the Jewish Messiah. Beloved, that is good news. and cause for rejoicing. In Christ, they are no longer second-rate citizens. That's what they were considered as by the Jews, no longer but equal in the church of Jesus Christ.

It's important to realize that this gospel, what they heard from the mouth of Philip was what gripped their attention. The miracles were great, but believing the gospel In this city, the gospel entering into the city of Samaria was the reason for great joy upon the city. And you have to remember, joy is a fruit of the spirit. Remember Galatians 5. Beloved, it is possible.

It's possible to marvel at signs. It's possible to marvel at the wonders and the miracles. We've seen this through our study in the gospel of John. It's possible even to acknowledge some of the details of the good news and say, yes, I believe, but not have a true saving faith. And that's exactly the emphasis of the next section of that chapter.

When we're introduced to a character by the name of Simon, the sorcerer, you see Simon was among the Samaritans. He'd seen among the Samaritans the joy that they'd experienced by receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ. He'd seen them believe. He'd seen the authenticity of the words of Philip as he performed these wonderful miracles. And he was mesmerized.

He was mesmerized by them. But what we need to know, as this passage tells us, was before he was mesmerized by Philip, all the people of Samaria were mesmerized by the miracles of Philip and then rejoiced in the gospel. They were first mesmerized by Simon for a very long time. You see, Satan had used this man to deceive the people. They were spellbound by him.

We're told he was indeed deemed, he was deemed as someone great among them and he deemed himself to be great. And you can see an oozing of pride in those words. Even these people, these people, after seeing what he could do, they said in verse 10, this man is the power of God that is called great. His renown is spoken of in the history books also suggesting that his fame and popularity had even reached as far as Rome. This guy, beloved, was a big deal.

Nowadays, a magician has mastered the art of trickery, you know, the sleight of hand, but this was unlikely to be Simon. It's more perhaps because of the titles and the accolades we're given in this chapter to see that this Simon was indeed practicing the dark arts. It's most likely that he was practicing and delving in the forbidden arts of witchcraft. His magic was demonic, to say simply. Samaria had for a long time paid attention because they were gripped by Simon and his magic, we're told.

But now the attention of the people, and by the way, the attention that's given to Philip and the gospel is the same word as that which was given to Simon. So if they were mesmerized and taken over in astonishment at what Simon was doing, now they are mesmerized and taken over by what Philip is doing and what he had to say. And so now that their attention is diverted to Philip, and their gaze is firmly set upon what he has to say, and beloved, he preaches to them the good news of Christ and their need to believe in him. Verse 10, verse 12. But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."

13, even Simon himself believed. And after being baptized, he continued with Philip and seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. The Samaritans believed. They heard the good news and recognized their desperate need for Jesus Christ. Their eyes were now open and they were able to see truth from error.

You see, for years now, they were deceived and captivated by Simon, a sorcerer. They esteemed him and attributed the power of God to this man. We're told they were captivated for a long time, meaning possibly many years. But now the light of the gospel shines bright and exposes, hear this beloved, the truth from the lie. And Simon was seen for what he actually is, a fraud.

His was not a power from God. but of Satan, because now these people have witnessed the true power of God, and they now know that Simon was a counterfeit. And as a result of the Spirit of God opening their eyes to see the good news, they now are able to recognize that salvation is in Christ and Christ alone, as the Gospel Philip had preached. But they're also able to recognize and look back and see, oh, no, We were indeed living under great deception because we saw this man, Simon, as being from the power of God. But now with eyes to see, we can clearly see he never was from God.

We were deceived. He was a man worked by Satan. You see, they were blind, but now they can see. And so they believed. They believed in Jesus.

They believed in the gospel. They believed that Jesus is establishing his kingdom on this earth and the kingdom citizens of those who believe upon him and they were baptized. It's interesting though. how the people now are able to see the difference between the power that fascinated them for years and the power of the Spirit of God. You see, it requires a knowledge of the genuine thing to identify the counterfeit.

Remember, they attributed the power of God to Simon, but now they can see. You see, the lesson for us is this. As long as the deception or the counterfeit or the lie remains in darkness, it'll continue to deceive people. But when God opens our eyes through Christ and the brilliant exposing light of Christ and the good news of his gospel, everything is seen for what it is. All is laid bare and exposed.

The fake is only recognized if you've been enlightened to the genuine thing. That's why, beloved, if we have a love for people and a heart to see them saved from the bondage of sin and the grip of Satan, we must learn to share the gospel of Jesus Christ because it reveals their true condition. That's the only light that reveals man's true condition. Salvation may or may not follow. You need to leave that to God.

But it ought to be our joy and our privilege to shine that light, to expose the sin, to reveal their desperate need for a savior. And we do that through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The very gospel that is the power of God, able to free men and women from the bondage of sin and darkness and the grip of Satan, to free them from that and bring them into the glorious light, the glorious kingdom of the son, Jesus Christ. But the interesting thing in chapter eight is that Simon, he didn't become hostile. He didn't become defensive or angry at this.

Actually, it seems that he instantly recognized the magic he was practicing was, well, how can I say this, a joke in comparison to the power on display through this man called Philip. He instantly, this Simon, recognized the impotence of his power by comparison to the power of the Holy Spirit. We're not told exactly how, but his actions show us this. And in fact, verse 13, we're told even Simon believed. and was baptized.

As far as Philip could see, this was a real conversion and praise be to God. This is a great thing. A man who was so clearly captivated by Satan and captivated in deception, the people of Samaria has now come to recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior. And now he has believed. But beloved, The Lord knows the heart.

The Lord knows the heart and all will be revealed one day, either in this age or the age to come. Philip can be deceived into thinking this man is indeed a follower of Christ, but let me tell you, he will be revealed. And for Simon, that revealing will happen in a matter of weeks because he'll be exposed for who he really is, a counterfeit. And this is grace for the church of Samaria because an unregenerated man like this posing to be a Christian would be capable of doing much damage to the church of Jesus Christ. Let's continue, verse 14.

Now, when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now, it's important that we realize this is a very unusual thing. Let's not look at this as normative.

The Samaritans believed in the gospel with a genuine saving faith and they were baptized, but as of yet they had not received the Holy Spirit. That's unusual. Now the need for the apostles to lay their hands upon them and pray in order for them to receive the spirit should alarm us right now and we should be asking, why is that? That's not usual. As I said in our introduction of this study in the book of Acts, I said back then, many weeks ago, that we must learn to distinguish between what is normative for the church and what is not normative in this book.

The early infant New Testament church experienced things that were unique to it. Experiences we don't have now after the completion of the canon of scripture. We must stand back and recognize this, beloved. And this is one such event that is unique to that particular time and place in history. Because what is normal is the Holy Spirit is received by every Christian, no exceptions at the point of salvation.

That's normal. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and it happens at the point you become born again. No waiting. This is the plain and clear teaching of the New Testament and the pattern for all believers. Here are some passages and teachings on this truth.

On the day of Pentecost, for example, Peter, in his great sermon on that day, says in Acts chapter 2, 38, he says, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift. of the Holy Spirit." No mention of laying hands. Ephesians 1, 13 and 14, In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory. 1 Corinthians 12, 12 through 13, for just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ.

It is for in one spirit, we were all baptized into one body, Jews and Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. And finally, Romans 8, 8 and 9, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. The Apostle Paul is speaking to the Roman Christians. In fact, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you, he says, hear this, this is a big point, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Did you hear that?

It means no Holy Spirit equals not a Christian. It's as simple as that. Despite some wanting to teach that a second experience of receiving or being baptized in the Holy Spirit in this passage, it's not biblical. Now, of course, we need to stand back and we need to distinguish between the biblical doctrine of being filled with the spirit and ongoing experience for the believer as he is matured in the word of Christ by his spirit. And we need to distinguish that with receiving or being baptized in the spirit, which most definitely happens at the point of believing in Christ.

Beloved, what happens here in chapter eight is unusual and is exceptional. But why? Why did God have it so that the Samaritans have to wait for the apostles to come to Samaria and lay their hands and pray for the spirit to be received by them? Well, there has been so many suggestions, but let me tell you, this is what I truly believe. You see, the Samaritans believed in the same gospel.

So that means they were converted and their faith was not deficient. So this speaks nothing of a deficient faith. It wasn't a matter of faith. Their faith was genuine and it was real. The passage indicates that.

And we know also that regeneration is a work that is accomplished by the Spirit of God. So that what they experienced already is the Spirit's work in them, in genuinely saving them from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. And that's why they experienced great joy. We know that for sure. So how are we to understand this?

Well, we need to remember the gospel which was predominantly concentrated in Jerusalem among the Jews is now crossing over new lands and redeeming people from different ethnicities, different cultures. This was a huge step for the gospel. Now it was foretold back in Acts chapter one by our Lord, but this step is nonetheless a big one and would need to be witnessed by the apostles of Christ, the pillars of the church. because by the Apostles making the trip to Samaria and witnessing the Holy Spirit powerfully being poured upon the Samaritans just like he had been poured upon the Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. You can almost say this day was like a mini Pentecost for the Samaritans.

This became proof that these once outcasts or deemed outcasts Those who are deemed second-rate people from the North by a demonstration of God's own spirit and power have now been fully incorporated in the Church of Jesus Christ, and the Apostles are there to witness it all. You see, the Apostles who were, as I said earlier, the pillars of the Church needed to be there. Their office was required for the imparting of the Spirit through prayer, but rather because they would be the reliable witnesses that their Samaritan neighbors have now been united into the Church of Jesus Christ that has no distinction between Jew and Samaritan or Gentile. This was indeed good news, beloved. Great news.

But it was possibly difficult news for many to believe without credible witnesses. And now the apostles are credible witnesses to this event. And they can now rejoice, go back to Jerusalem and absolutely rejoice that the Samaritans have been included in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The apostles as I said, were credible witnesses. And they returned back, in verse 25 we're told, they returned back to Jerusalem.

And no doubt, when they went back, they announced the great news, that Judaism, the barriers and the hedges that Judaism had created, have now been broken. Because in Christ, through the power of the Spirit, the apostles can now testify that Jewish Christians and Samaritan Christians, beloved, hear this, are one in Christ. There's not two people, there's a one person in Christ. Let's go to verse 18. Now, when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, so anyone who I lay hands upon will receive the Holy Spirit.

Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity." And Simon answered, pray for me that the Lord, pray for me to the Lord that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.

But in the Lord's manifold wisdom, beloved, he used this opportunity to expose the unconverted heart of Simon. Simon must have thought that this impartation of the Spirit was some sort of magical act at the whim of human beings, in particular the apostles. He wanted what the apostles seemingly had, the power to impart the Spirit of God. But Peter quickly rebuked Simon, informing him not only that the Holy Spirit is not theirs to impart, but rather a gift of God that cannot be obtained by filthy money. But also, but also he reveals by the spirit that Simon's heart was still corrupt.

It wasn't right before God. He needed true repentance from his wickedness, something he had not yet done. He needs to pray for forgiveness. If that be. possible he says now now that's not that God is not able to forgive of course God's able to forgive but unless this Simon truly recognizes his corrupt state in a broken and contrite heart seeking forgiveness before the Lord he will not be forgiven.

Simon was a counterfeit Christian. I think Luke was making this point back in verse 14, when he tells us Simon was amazed in the miracles. You see, it wasn't the grace of God in Christ, which is able to rescue him from the bondage of Satan for so many years, but the miracles that amazed him. Even though we're told in verse 13 that he believed, beloved, we are to see this word. It's the same word as used to genuine believers, but we are to see this believing as the same believing that is described for us in John chapter 2, 23 through 25.

Those who believed and were astonished and were mesmerized at the supernatural exhibition of our Lord's power. And they even believed some of what he had to say, but they did not have a heart knowledge. The Spirit of God had not opened their heart and they had not received saving faith. There was not true evidence of repentance, true evidence of brokenness before God, no true sense of the weight of sin and wickedness within. Simon was not amazed at the grace that was so big that it's able to save a wretch like him.

Rather, he was more concerned with possessing supernatural power. Simon never took off the old clothes of righteousness, beloved. He simply brushed them a little. He tried to clean himself up just a little to have a new look. One that synchronizes the power of the gospel and his deep ingrained desire to be great, greater even than before.

He was still holding on to old self. His heart, beloved, was unchanged. This is not true repentance. Beloved, those who enter into the kingdom of God in Christ give up everything of old self in a heartbeat. Remember the parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13?

The pearl of great price or the treasure in the field. You remember what our Lord said about them? He said, the one that finds these will sell everything he has because of the infinite value of the kingdom. It's a matter of where your treasure is beloved. Has the old gone and the new come?

Because true saving faith strips you of old self and the desires of yourself. All the desires of the flesh are stripped away because Jesus Christ gives us a new heart and a new nature to seek after Him and He becomes the treasure of one's soul. Aren't the things of flesh? Not position, not pride, not prominence, not the desire to be great like we see here in Simon. In fact, his response to Peter in verse 24 after Peter rebukes him is evident that he simply wished to escape the consequences of his sins, but not his bondage to it.

I don't want to go to hell, he would say, but I'm also not prepared to give up my sin. Peter, pray that the things, the curses that you just cursed upon me, pray that God will not give me those. But there was no brokenness over his sin. There was no true repentance. Scary.

His faith was proven counterfeit. Verse 21, Peter says, you have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. The literal word translated matter in our Bibles. In other words, you have no lot part or lot in this matter comes from the root word logos, meaning word or message or gospel. Peter is saying in the current state, Simon, you have no part or share in the gospel or its blessings.

And now he has been found out to be a counterfeit by our Lord, which is a good thing, mind you, because not for him, but for the church in Samaria, because the newly born Samaritan church will now be aware of the danger and the poisonous effect that this man's idolatrous heart could have upon them. We don't know. We don't know what happened to Simon beyond this, where it is no more record of him in the Bible. There's much written about him in church history, but beloved, the Bible leaves it there. So we should leave it there also.

Verse 25 tells us that the apostles continued to share the gospel in many villages and then returned to Jerusalem, no doubt informing the church of the great news in Samaria. But Philip had matters to attend to. Because section three tells us, and that's the section from verse 26 through 40, we're told an angel of the Lord commands Philip to rise and go to the desert road that leads to Gaza. Now Gaza is to the southwest of Jerusalem, just off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Not much info given to Philip.

In fact, he's just told simply get up and go down that road. And I love this, he obeys. He doesn't ask for more detail. He simply gets up and obeys. We're told he arose and he went, and upon arriving, he sees a chariot with an Ethiopian eunuch in it.

This was a royal official from Ethiopia. Now, Ethiopia doesn't exactly match or correspond to the Ethiopia of today. It's referenced, in fact, in the Old Testament many times in the prophecies in particular, but it's known or spoken of as Kush in the Bible, C-U-S-H. It's the region just south of Egypt, which we know today as Sudan. Now, the eunuch was the royal treasurer for Candace, the queen of Ethiopia.

And also Candace was actually the title given to the queen. And this was, you may say, the Ethiopian eunuch was the minister of finance for the queen. He was a guy in charge of all her treasure. So needless to say, he was a very important royal official who'd made his way to Jerusalem to worship God and was now returning home. That made him a God-fearer.

That's one who is sympathetic to the Jewish beliefs and seeks to join himself to their God. He was most possibly a Gentile, but certainly devout because he was making the rather long trip to worship in Jerusalem. But due to him being a eunuch in the royal service, he was likely emasculated. And therefore he could not have been considered a full proselyte. a full proselyte needed to be circumcised.

Furthermore, according to Deuteronomy 21, his access to the temple was very limited because first he may have been, as I said, a Gentile and he was a eunuch. But just as we've seen, the Samaritans who were deemed as outcasts by the Jews and forbidden to worship, now they have full membership rights in the Church of Jesus Christ. That's the great news of the gospel. So too we will see the barriers of Judaism that they have put upon people such as this eunuch, they are now being demolished by the Christian church. A prophecy foretold in Isaiah, actually only a few chapters from where he's reading, where eunuchs such as this man will one day enjoy the full privileges of worship.

No longer will they be deemed outcast. No longer will they be restricted from places of worship where others are unable to go. But despite these limitations in worship, this man continued to come down to Jerusalem to worship. And this shows his devoutness to Judaism. But now he was on his way back to Ethiopia and his chariot and trotting along at probably walking speed.

Now, Philip arrives in obedience to the angel's command and sees the chariot. And then he hears a command from the spirit of God. How that command came, we don't know, but the spirit of God compels him and it says, go over and join the chariot. Verse 29, again, immediately Philip obeys. And he runs over and he hears the eunuch reading Isaiah 53.

It so happened that the eunuch purchased a copy of the scroll of Isaiah and was spending the time on the long journey back home to get familiar with his prophetic writing. Philip knows his cue, he knows full well. And he asks, verse 30, do you understand what you are reading? And the eunuch responds, how can I, unless someone guides me? And so he invites Philip to come up and sit with him.

Now the passage of scripture that he was reading was this, like a sheep he has led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearers is silent. So he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For life is taken away from for his life is taken away from the earth.

And the eunuch said to Philip, about whom, I asked, does this prophet say this, about himself or about someone else? And then Philip opened his mouth and began with the scripture, or with this scripture, he told him the good news of Jesus. You've just got to love the timing of our Lord in all of this, right? Wow. The long road from Gaza to Jerusalem spans some 70 kilometers, and by way of supernatural providence, the Lord organizes this divine appointment where Philip, against all odds, finds himself right beside the eunuch.

Furthermore, I'm sure Philip was eager to preach the gospel to this man anyway, as he had proven to do in other situations. In fact, later on in the book of Acts, he'll be known as Philip the Evangelist. But upon coming close enough to hear what the eunuch was reading, he realized it's Isaiah 53. It's a suffering servant passage, the passage that has been labeled the fifth gospel. Why?

Because it so clearly speaks of Christ in such an unmistakable way. This is the sovereign workings of our God. And upon knowing that the eunuch has confused someone in understanding the passage and wanting to know who this passage speaks to, the eunuch says to Philip, come, jump on the chariot with me and please explain this to me. And then we're told, Philip opened his mouth, beginning with the scripture. In this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus.

Beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus. Does it not sound reminiscent of the word of our Lord in Luke 24, on the road to Emmaus, when he met with the two disciples who did not know him as of yet, or recognizing at least. Back then when the Lord said, and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. Beloved, Philip began in Isaiah 53 because that's where the eunuch was, but our Lord has shown us that all scripture speaks of him. And the reason we must learn this, if we are to preach the gospel, then we must be sure to be biblically faithful.

The truth must be consistent with the Word of God, and no matter where you are, beloved, in the Old or New Testament, it must always, always point to Jesus Christ. That's the hermeneutical principle our Lord has given us, and that's the hermeneutical principle that Philip had. He knew, he knew that the passage will lead to Jesus Christ, and therefore he takes this eunuch to Christ. This eunuch. We're not told what this eunuch was told by Philip, not much anyway.

We don't know exactly how long they were there and what the conversation pertained to in detail, but it could have been several hours that they were together. But the eunuch did have one question on mind, and I know that I'm pretty sure that Philip answered that question. It's not Isaiah that that passage speaks of, but the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He's the one like a sheep who was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearers was silent and he opened not his mouth. Beloved he, that's Christ, he made no defense against those who accused him falsely.

The governor, Pilate, if you remember in John chapter 19, he called Christ and he said to him, make a defense. Defend yourself. Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? But calmly, our Lord responds, you would have no authority over me unless it was given to you from above. complete peace in the Father's will.

He came to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and he would do this through the agonizing death on the Roman cross. The passage continues of Isaiah 53 well beyond the quotation that we have before us and it will clearly speak of this Christ in his death that he dies willingly under the wrath of God and he does it for the benefit of us. He does it for the benefit of others. We know on that day, much of the details that was spoken, but we know the gospel was proclaimed. He started in Isaiah.

And we know that he progressed much, much further with this eunuch. How do we know this? Well, we know at least he got to the ordinance of baptism. It took him from Isaiah to Jesus Christ as Messiah, as the one who's been crucified for the sake of those who would come to trust in him. He came to seek and save that which was lost, and he brought him all the way to the Christian baptism.

We know that for sure. How do we know? Because when they came, when the eunuch, my apologies, believed in the words of Philip, when he believed in Jesus and the gospel that's been proclaimed, now he wanted to be baptized. He wished to be baptized. He wished to be obedient to Christ.

Verse 36, and as they were going along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, see here is water what prevents me from being baptized and he commanded the chariot to stop and they both went into the water philip and the eunuch and he that's philip baptized him the eunuch wanted to obey christ and he wanted to be identified with both jesus and his church so upon seeing a body of water no doubt a body deep enough for full immersion he asked to be baptized and philip baptizes him. Now you'd recognize that some of your Bibles may go from, if you have an ESV at least, from verse 36 through 38. That's because there's no verse 37 in your Bibles, because some translations don't have verse 37, and others do. If you have a translation that has verse 37, it would read something like this. And Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, you can, in response to him being baptized.

And he answered, that's the eunuch, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now, although the ESV translators have let it out because of poor attestation, what they deem to be poor attestation to it not being in the original, a scribal edition is likely in that case. It still gives us some insight. What do I mean by that? It gives us an indication, at least, of the professional faith that the early church and the scribes, in fact, required in order to baptize a person.

believing with one's heart and confessing that Jesus is indeed the Son of Christ. There needed to be a true confession, at least one from the mouth in order for the one baptizing to baptize. They needed to know truth and that truth needed to be predicated upon the gospel of Jesus Christ with Jesus himself being the King, the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Savior of that person. Now beloved, Simon, the sorcerer in the story earlier, he may have actually professed this exact profession. He may have actually professed, I believe that Jesus is the Christ.

I believe he saved me from my sins, but his profession was not genuine. And this is the warning. Baptism does not save. One needs to profess, and those who are baptizing, those who have the responsibility to baptize will, in their best estimation with what the Lord has given them, the way of discernment, be able to see the person and the professional faith that comes out of the mouth and to some degree, as far as they know him or her, to see how their lives have been and how their life has authenticated that profession. Because where there's true faith, there's true action.

If there's no true faith, no true action, there's no true faith. We know that faith without deeds is dead. My beloved, just because one has been baptized, it doesn't mean that one is saved. Simon the sorcerer was baptized, but Simon the sorcerer was definitely not saved. Baptism does not save.

Placing one's faith in Jesus Christ and in him alone saves. And that comes, beloved, by divine work of God, when God himself points, puts his finger upon the heart of a man and replaces that heart of stone into a heart of flesh and brings life to where there was once death. And with that life, he gives them saving faith to place in Jesus Christ. And it is that faith that justifies a man or a woman. Faith in Christ is what saves, not baptism.

It seems for the most part that this Ethiopian eunuch believed in his heart. It seems that the text is telling us that he had a genuine faith and he was baptized by Philip. because he wanted to be obedient to Jesus in that ordinance and he wanted to confess to the whole world and that was just Philip at that point in time and maybe the carriage driver or the chariot driver but he knew but probably at that point that that the whole spiritual realm would see this, that God at least, who is omniscient, would see him and know that he seeks to be obedient, to be identified with Jesus. And he seeks to be identified with the church of Jesus Christ that Philip has now been professing to the eunuch in that carriage. And upon being baptized, comes out of the water.

And it seems at least the text is suggesting this. And this is what I believe the text is saying. Philip disappears. The eunuch looks around and sees Philip no more. This is a desert road.

Even if Philip was going to walk away, like some people try to explain this way, it would take, like it would take him half an hour to go out of sight. No, Philip is seen no more. But hear this, the eunuch remains and he goes back into the carriage and heads his way back home. But we're told he does so rejoicing in the Lord. He's rejoicing.

Why? Because he's had a saving encounter with Jesus Christ. He's believed upon the gospel. His sins have been forgiven. And he may now have been beforehand restricted and looked down upon by Judaism.

But in Christ, in Christ, We are one. He knows he's been united in Christ and the body of Christ, which is a church of Jesus Christ. And no matter if he's Ethiopian, Samaritan or a Jew or a Gentile, we are all one in Jesus Christ. Praise be to God. We're told after this, Philip is somehow transported to a place called Azotus, which is some maybe 30 odd kilometers north of Gaza.

which is, and this place is on the Mediterranean Sea, so it's quite close to the Mediterranean Sea, and he continues another 90 kilometers to the north, preaching the good news of the gospel through all the towns that he crosses over until he gets to Caesarea. Caesarea, beloved, is the Roman capital of Judea and the place he'll one day call home. The gospel had gone from Jerusalem into Judea. and Samaria. And before this book is done, it will reach the Gentile world and it will go to the outermost parts of the earth.

Why? Why beloved? Because Jesus said it would. And Jesus, who was the one who began a work in his earthly ministry, will bring that work to completion because Jesus said that he will build his church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. And beloved, the glory of the words of our Lord is this, that His church will be built from every people, from every tribe, from every language and every tongue.

And He will gather a people from all four corners of the globe and He'll bring them unto Himself. And He will be their Redeemer. He will be their King. And they forevermore will rejoice in Him. Let's pray.