Acts 8:4-25 The Nature of Saving Belief

Acts 8:4-25: The Nature of Saving Belief

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of Acts, and today the next passage we come to is Acts 8:4-25 as the passage upon which today’s message will be based. It says,

4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 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. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city. 9 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 somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached 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. 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” 25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. 

We’ve been going through the book of Acts passage by passage, and this morning the next passage we come to is Acts 8:4-25. And let’s pray before we proceed any further. [Prayer]

I’m not sure how often I’ve done it, but there have been several times when I’ve strapped one my kids into their car seat only to discover after we arrived at our destination that the car seat wasn’t hooked in to the regular seat of the car. It’s probably happened at least 3-4 times. And of course, every time it happens, I think to myself, “Man, I’m like a terrible parent,” right? I strapped them in at the beginning of the trip and thought they were secure. But in reality, they actually weren’t secure at all. So the sense of security that I felt and that they probably felt was a false sense of security. And we’re going to see in our text this morning that just as it’s possible to have a false sense of security with a car seat, it’s also possible to have a false sense of security regarding the state of our soul. It’s possible to think you’re saved when, in reality, you’re actually not. 

The story of Simon that we read in Acts 8 shows us that there’s a kind of “believing” in Jesus that isn’t saving belief. Because at one point in the narrative, we’re told that Simon supposedly “believed.” But then, as the story unfolds, it becomes evident that Simon’s belief isn’t saving belief but is instead an empty belief and a false belief.  

And this isn’t the only place in the New Testament where we find this kind of teaching, either. In John 2:23-25, it states, 23 Now when [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. So Jesus knew that there were many people who supposedly “believed” in him because of the miracles he was performing but whose “belief” fell short of genuine, saving belief. Also, Paul writes this in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2: 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. So there is such a thing as believing in vain. 

So the question that all of these passages should lead us to ask about ourselves is “What kind of belief do I have?” and “How can I know what kind of belief I have? How can I know whether I have genuine, saving belief or empty, false belief?” Hopefully your heart is sensitive enough to be asking those questions right now. 

Listen to this observation from John MacArthur: “One of the most fearful realities in all of Scripture is that some who think they are saved will be eternally lost. Thinking they are on the narrow way of saving truth that leads to heaven, they are in reality on the broad way of religion that leads to destruction. They will one day hear from the Lord Jesus Christ the most shocking, terrifying words any human could ever hear: ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:23). To their horror, they will discover too late that there is an entrance to hell at the edge of the very gates of heaven.” 

You know, guys, I’ve had some pretty bad nightmares over the course of my life—as I’m sure you’ve also had—that involved some crazy and downright terrifying scenarios. But surely this right here—hearing Jesus say, “I never knew you; depart from Me”—is far more terrifying than any nightmare any of us have ever had. What a tragedy! I think we could probably even call it the greatest of all tragedies—for someone to go through their entire life thinking that they’re saved when in reality they’re actually still under God’s condemnation. So, again, how can you know what kind of belief you have—whether you have saving belief or false belief?  When you think about it, that’s the most important question anyone could ever ask about themselves. I mean, really, what else in this life is more important than the question of where we’ll spend eternity? 

And that’s why I believe this passage in Acts 8 is so deserving of our utmost attention. The chapter’s just recorded how a great persecution broke out against the Christians in Jerusalem that scattered them throughout the region. The story then picks up in verses 4-8: 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 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. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city. 

So Philip, who was one of the seven men appointed in Acts 6 to oversee the church’s food distribution ministry, goes out and takes the gospel to Samaria. And this is a really big deal—because, until now, the gospel’s been confined to Jerusalem. But now, Philip takes the gospel to the neighboring region of Samaria. And the thing to understand about the Samaritans is that—to put it mildly—they weren’t regarded very highly by the Jews. The Samaritans were descended from the northern tribes of Israel but had been conquered by the Assyrian Empire and subsequently intermarried with Gentiles—which was a big “no-no” according to the Old Testament law. Not only that, but they had also adopted a lot of pagan beliefs and practices and mixed them with the teachings of the Old Testament. So the Samaritans held a lot of the same theological beliefs that the Jews held, but the Jews refused to acknowledge any spiritual legitimacy in the Samaritans and, in fact, despised them. So that’s why Philip taking the gospel to Samaria is such a big deal. He’s pushing through some ethnic and cultural boundaries that have existed for centuries. 

And as we read on in the passage, we see that Philip encounters a man named Simon. And the very way Simon is introduced alerts us to the fact that some not-so-good things are going to happen with him. Look at how the beginning of verse 9 phrases it: “But there was a man named Simon.” Keep in mind the previous verse just told us about all the joy there was among the Samaritans because of Philip’s ministry. Then immediately after reading about their joy in verse 8, we read in verse 9, “But there was a man named Simon.” Today, it’d be kind of like saying something like, “We were having a great time at this party at so-and-so’s house, but then Henry showed up…”  Right away, even if you don’t know Henry at all, you get the distinct impression that he’s probably not the kind of guy who’s enjoyable to have at a party. And likewise with Simon, we’re immediately given a clue that things probably aren’t going to turn out very well with him. 

But let’s read on in verses 9-13: 9 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 somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached 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. 

So Simon had a pretty good hustle going on. It says that he “practiced magic.” And keep in mind that this wasn’t the kind of magic that we might go and see today with things like disappearing animals and neat card tricks and things like that. I remember, when I was eight or nine years old, I got this super-cool Lance Burton magic kit and was convinced that I was going to become an amazing magician. But this magic that Simon was doing was nothing like that. This was the kind of magic that was actually demonic. So there are some very dark realities associated with the magic Simon was doing. And he was apparently pretty successful with it, because it says that he “amazed the people of Samaria” and that “they all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the power of God that is called Great.’” So Simon was something of a local celebrity. And he really enjoyed having that status. 

But then Philip comes into town and starts outdoing Simon. Of course, Philip’s miracles come from God rather than demons, so naturally, they’re going to be more impressive. And Philip’s miracles also have a higher purpose than Simon’s. They’re designed not to make Philip rich or famous but instead to give him a platform to proclaim the gospel. Verse 12 states that Philip “preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.” You know, there’s so much bad news in this world. So praise God that he offers us a message of good news. And as we look at the verse, this message of good news that Philip was preaching had two components. 

First, “the kingdom of God,” which is a reference to God’s sovereign rule over his people that’s partially visible now and that will one day reach its climax in the new heavens and new earth. Conversion is often spoken of in the New Testament as entering into the kingdom of God. So the kingdom of God is like the realm of God’s blessing that exists under his righteous rule. 

And then the second component of Philip’s message is “the name of Jesus Christ,” which stands for all that Jesus is and all that he’s done to redeem us from our sins. The Bible teaches that when we were condemned in our sins and helpless to save ourselves from God’s judgment, Jesus came to our rescue. He came to this earth, lived a perfectly sinless life, and then died on the cross to make atonement on our behalf. So instead of us having to suffer the punishment our sins deserved, Jesus suffered it in our place. He loved us so much that he took that punishment on himself. Then after he died, Jesus didn’t stay in the grave but instead resurrected from the dead three days later so that we also can share in his victory over sin and death if we’ll simply put our trust in him. So talk about “good news”—that’s the best news in the history of the world. And that’s the message Philip was sharing with the Samaritans. 

As we can see, it’s a message that centers around Jesus. He’s the hero of the story. In fact, back in verse 5, the text even sums up Philip’s message by saying “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ”—which is Jesus. It’s all ultimately about him. You know, if you ever have an opportunity to talk with someone about spiritually meaningful things but maybe have trouble articulating the logical progression of the gospel the way you often hear me share it on Sundays, just start talking about Jesus, and you’ll probably be okay. Just share whatever comes to your mind that’s biblical about Jesus—how perfect he is in his life of righteousness, how compassionate he is toward those who are hurting, how gracious he’s been in dying on the cross to pay for our sins, how glorious he is as he reigns from the throne of heaven, and what a mighty Savior he is for all who trust in him. Just start talking about Jesus—because he’s the sum and substance of the gospel. 

So this is the message that Philip proclaimed and—as we see in verse 13—that Simon believed—or, at least, that he appeared to believe. It says, “Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.”

The story then continues in verses 14-19: 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” So Simon’s like, “Man, that’s some really powerful magic. I have got to get me some of that.” And he offers the apostles money. 

Then verses 20-25: 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” 25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. 

So it becomes evident that even though Simon had at first seemed to be a genuine Christian, his conversion actually wasn’t genuine at all. In verse 20, Peter clearly implies that Simon—in his current condition, at least—is destined to perish. He states, “May your silver perish with you.” One contemporary paraphrase of the Bible renders it, “To hell with you and your money!”—which certainly seems to convey the sense of Peter’s words. You see, the problem is that even though Simon’s behavior might have changed to some degree on the outside, his heart had never changed on the inside. He was still pursuing the very same things he had pursued before his supposed conversion—only now he was just pursuing them in a different way. His “belief” only went skin deep. 

And I can’t help but wonder whether there are a lot of regular churchgoers today who are similar to Simon in that way. In fact, it’s difficult to say this, but I’d imagine that there probably are. In all likelihood, there are people even here this morning who sincerely think they’re Christians but who have never truly been converted. Their “belief” isn’t saving belief. So the all-important question is, how can we tell whether we have saving belief or not? How can we tell whether we have saving belief or are actually making the same mistake Simon made of thinking we’re saved when we’re actually not? 

Well, here’s how. And, if you’re taking notes, this is the main idea of this entire passage. Saving belief involves a change of heart that manifests itself in genuine repentance. Saving belief involves a change of heart that manifests itself in genuine repentance. So let’s look at those two components of saving belief that are highlighted in this passage. First, a change of heart. And second, genuine repentance. 

A Change of Heart

First, as I’ve mentioned, Simon’s problem was that he never experienced a change of heart. Peter says to him in verse 21, “…your heart is not right before God.” Then, again, Peter tells Simon in verse 22, “…pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” So Simon’s behavior may have changed, but his heart never changed. You see, saving belief isn’t something that’s limited to our minds or our intellect. It’s something that involves all of who we are, including the affections and desires of our hearts. 

Be honest with yourself for a moment. What do you desire? What do you love? What do you treasure? To put it bluntly, if you still desire and love and treasure the same things now as you always have, you’re not saved. It doesn’t matter how often you attend church or what kind of good things you do or what beliefs you’ve given mental assent to. If the affections of your heart haven’t been noticeably transformed—so that, instead being oriented around sin, they’re oriented around God—you’re not saved. You’ve never come to possess saving belief.  

Listen to what David says about God in some of the psalms he wrote, and ask yourself if any of the longings he expresses in these psalms are present within you. Now, I’m not saying you always have to be consumed with these longings every moment of your life—I think we all have some days that just aren’t as good as others—but just listen to what David writes and ask yourself whether these longings are present to at least some degree in your life. Psalm 27:4: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 42:1-2: 1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? And finally, Psalm 73:25-26: 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 

Has God so worked in your heart that you have these affections for him to at least some degree? As J. C. Ryle has said, “Boast not of Christ’s work for you, unless you can show us the Spirit’s work in you.” Have you experienced the supernatural change of heart that’s involved in saving belief? 

Genuine Repentance

And then, out of that change of heart, have you ever repented of your sin? That’s the second component of saving belief we see in this text—genuine repentance. Peter tells Simon in verse 22, “Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours…”—implying that genuine repentance was something Simon lacked even after his supposed conversion. He had never repented—or turned away—from the sinful desires he was pursuing. His life was still oriented around power and fame and wealth rather than being oriented around God. 

And, again, keep in mind that this repentance is something that grows out of the work God does in our hearts. So the second component of saving belief—genuine repentance—grows out of the first component—a change of heart. I once heard a preacher describe it this way. Imagine we brought a pig in here and led him right down to the foot of the stage. Then imagine we also brought in a nice big pile of slop and set it down in front of this pig. I’m sure the pig would love that slop. He’d probably feast on it and role in it and think it was the best thing ever. Why would he think that? Well, because he’s a pig. Pigs like slop. It’s in their nature to like slop. But imagine that we had the ability to instantly turn that pig into a man somehow. What would happen when we did that? How would that man respond to having a mouthful of slop and having slop smeared all over his body? He’d be absolutely disgusted, of course. He’d spit out every bit of that slop, try his best to wipe it off of himself, and be mortified that we had seen him in such a condition. That would be his natural response as a man. By nature, humans find slop disgusting. And that’s the way a true Christian feels about sin and what produces repentance. God has changed their heart—their very nature—in a fundamental way so that they now hate the sin they once loved. They find it repulsive.

So can you discern this genuine repentance that wants nothing to do with sin in your own life? And keep in mind that it’s not just about feeling sorry for sin. You can feel sorry for sin without actually turning away from it—without actually repenting. Genuine repentance involves renouncing everything in our lives and in our hearts that displeases God and making an effort, by God’s grace, to do away with those things. And it’s not a one-time event. It’s something that has a clear beginning at conversion but that also continues throughout the Christian life. 

Listen, this is big: perhaps the greatest indicator that you’re truly saved is that, right now, you’re actively reading the Bible on a regular basis and the Holy Spirit is using the things you read to expose specific sins in your life with the result that you’re repenting of those sins. That’s one of the most important ideas you can grab onto this morning. The greatest indicator that you’re truly saved isn’t feelings of spiritual elation or the ability to spout out Bible facts. It’s that the Spirit of God is using the Word of God to expose specific sins in your life and lead you to repentance on a regular basis. As a preacher named Paul Washer once said, “If you don’t have a new relationship to sin, then you don’t have a new relationship with God.”

You see, salvation isn’t attained by good works, but it is evidenced by them. Good works aren’t the means to salvation, but they are the evidence of salvation. As the Reformers liked to say, we’re saved by faith alone, but faith that saves is never alone.” It always manifests itself in a changed life—a life of continual repentance. 

Looking at Acts 8, that’s what Simon was missing, right? He professed the right beliefs, he was baptized, he became closely associated with Philip who apparently acted as a sort of mentor for him, but he never truly repented. The same sinful, self-exalting ambitions that had ruled his life before his supposed conversion were still driving his life. And that’s an indication that the “belief” he had wasn’t a saving belief at all but rather a false and empty belief. As stated in our main idea, saving belief involves a change of heart that manifests itself in genuine repentance.

Conclusion

You know, it’s so common today for people to approach Christianity with what we might call a consumeristic mentality—a mentality where everything’s oriented around the consumer, which happens to be us. That’s the way it is with so many other things in our society, so why not with Christianity as well, right? One author I was reading named Brett McCracken observes how people with this consumeristic mentality view the gospel as basically just another tool for self-enhancement. They don’t really care whether the gospel’s true or false or what kind of implications it might have for their lifestyle. They just want to know, “What does it do for me? Will it make my life better—more enjoyable, more comfortable?” In their mind, Jesus is great as long as following him isn’t too inconvenient. They’ll stick with him as long as he adds something to their lives without subtracting anything that they like or interfering with their personal autonomy in any way. In other words, it’s all about them. Yet, as we see here in Acts 8, repentance is the exact opposite of that consumeristic mentality. Repentance at its core means vacating the throne of your life so that instead of you being the center of your life, you embrace Jesus as the center of your life. Have you done that? Have you “believed” in that way? 

Guys, I’ll tell you what I’m afraid of. I’m afraid that so many people in evangelical, Bible-believing churches today are asleep at the wheel. The car is speeding toward a cliff, and they’re asleep at the wheel. If that’s you this morning, I pray that God would use Simon’s example here in Acts 8 to wake you up before it’s too late. Turn to Jesus this morning. Turn away from everything in your life that dishonors him and embrace Jesus as three things: the Savior of your soul, the Lord of your life, and the Treasure of your heart. That’s what saving belief looks like—embracing Jesus as the Savior of your soul, the Lord of your life, and the Treasure of your heart. And if you’ll reach out to Jesus in that way, you’ll discover that he’s got his arms wide open, graciously receiving all who will come to him.