The Salvation of Simon and the Samaritans

Introduction

We have a good number in attendance again this evening, and we have some in the come in the congregation this evening who are not members of the Church of Christ. We want you to know that you indeed are our honored guest, and we count it a great privilege to have you in our assembly and to have the opportunity to study the Bible with you for a few minutes. I hope you can come back tomorrow night on tomorrow night’s study. We’re going to be talking about enjoying the journey. And it’s simply going to be a lesson about appreciating what we have in life and in being able to enjoy life. On Thursday night of this week, we’re going to be trying to answer some questions from the Bible, some questions that people have about repentance.

And then on Friday night at 7 30, our final lesson of the week. Fearless living in fearful times. Indeed, we do live in fearful times, and there are numerous things that we could point to that are occasions of fear. But we’ll talk about what the Bible says about having fearless living in such times as these. This evening, if you’ll allow me to, I want to do something a little different in the beginning. I want to begin with a geography lesson. Can I do that? You know, we don’t know much about geography these days. We don’t study it in school like we used to, and we’re not even so familiar with Bible geography, not as familiar at least as we ought to be. One of the interesting things about Bible geography is that up and down typically do not refer to north and south.

It’s much more likely for those terms up and down to refer to elevation. Want you to notice this reference in Acts chapter 8 and verse 26. It says an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, this is desert. Now, Philip went down, the Bible says, and it specifies that this was to the south. However, the use of the word down in this text does not refer to direction, but it refers to elevation change from Jerusalem to Gaza. Jerusalem is some twenty six hundred feet above sea level. Gaza, by contrast, is near the coast and is in a much lower terrain. And so when the Bible says, go down from Jerusalem to Gaza, it’s not referring to direction, but rather it’s referring to elevation.

Notice this passage also regarding the same Philip in Acts chapter 8 and verse 5. It says, Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. Here again he went down, and the idea is going down from Jerusalem. And as you look at the text here, as you look at the text here, again, down refers to elevation. Notice this map, and on our map here that we have, you notice the two cities in question that we’ve just mentioned. Here you see Gaza and Gaza indeed. Gaza was indeed to the south or southwest, and Samaria was to the north, and yet it still spoke of him going down, going down from Jerusalem to Samaria. The region of Samaria is in the hill country of Manasseh and Ephraim.

And of course, it was at a much lower elevation than the city of Jerusalem. The city of Samaria had been the capital of the old northern kingdom of Israel. It was about fifty miles to the north of Jerusalem, and yet Philip went down in elevation to that city. Tonight in our study, we’re going to take a trip to the city of Samaria. Samaria is the name not only of a city, but of this central part of Palestine, this region. And just about any time, any time you go to Samaria in Bible times, nearly always you’re going to find trouble there because it was nearly always a troubled place. You go to the ancient Samaria, you’ll find there in that city, the city of Amri and Ahab, two wicked kings of Israel, you’ll find the remains, what is left of their palace and of their city that they had built.

Notice here these colonnades on this main street. There evidently were markets that were set up here in the city of Samaria. Here’s the remains of the palace of Ahab and Omri in that city. These men were idolaters. They led Israel down the path of destruction. In process of time, the Jews who lived in Samaria intermarried with the Gentiles, and as a result, they were regarded as outcasts. These Jews were regarded as mixed breeds, so much so that other Jews even avoided going through Samaria because of the intermarriage of Jews and Gentiles, those who were regarded as not really part of the people of Israel any longer. And then you can go to the New Testament period to the eighth chapter of the book of Acts, and you come there, and you’ll find that this city again was in trouble.

1. Philip Preached the Kingdom and the Name

This city of Samaria that’s mentioned in Acts chapter 8 was in the clutches of a man who is called a sorcerer, a wicked man named Simon. Simon claimed to have magical powers and had deceived the people of Samaria into thinking that he was a special agent from God. Upon our arrival at Samaria in Acts chapter 8, we find this sad state of affairs, but things are about to change. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to see the salvation of Simon and the Samaritans. Now let’s begin with this man that we introduced tonight, Philip, because it was Philip, remember, who went down to Samaria to preach Christ to them. And notice the text with me. I’m reading from Acts chapter 8, verses 4 through 8. The occasion here, of course, there had been a great persecution against the church at Jerusalem in Acts chapter 8 and verse 1.

In fact, let’s just begin there. It says Saul was consenting to Stephen’s death, and at that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And then in verse four, it says, Therefore, those who were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed, and there was great joy in that city. Notice the Bible says that Philip preached Christ at Samaria.

Now, part of Philip, of course, was part of that group of Christians that were forced to flee the city. The Philip mentioned here in our text is not Philip the Apostle. Philip the Apostle was one of the ones who stayed back in the city of Jerusalem. Rather he is one of those seven deacons who were chosen back in Acts chapter six to serve those needy widows. Now, Philip’s message was the same message that was preached in every place. Now what does it mean to preach Christ? If you drop down to verse twelve, you’ll see we don’t have to guess at that. In verse twelve, it says, When they believe Philip, as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

That’s what we want to focus on, ladies and gentlemen. He preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Let’s begin with this phrase, the kingdom of God. What does it mean when he preached the kingdom? Folks, let me tell you that the kingdom that Philip preached is the kingdom that was prophesied in the Old Testament. It’s what Daniel spoke of in Daniel chapter two and in verse forty four, when he said, In the days of these kings, that is, in the days of the Roman Empire, in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

Daniel, hundreds of years prior to the time of Christ, hundreds of years before Philip ever went to Samaria, Daniel spoke of a great kingdom that God was going to establish. Notice this text in Luke chapter 1, verses 32 and 33. This is the kingdom that Jesus was born into the world in order to receive. It said, He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his Father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. That was what was said even at the time that Jesus was born. And then notice this passage. Jesus himself in Mark chapter 9, verse 1, promised to establish a kingdom.

He said to those men who were standing there, he said, Assuredly I say to you, that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power. And so Jesus said that the kingdom would come indeed in the lifetime of those men. Also in this text, in John chapter 18, verse 36, as Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, Pilate asked him whether or not he was a king. And Jesus answered and said, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now my kingdom is not from here. That’s an interesting statement that Jesus says, My kingdom is not of this world.

It is a spiritual kingdom that Jesus the Christ came to establish, a spiritual kingdom. And yet there are men and women in this land today, who are constantly speaking of the time when God is going to send Jesus back to the earth, and he’ll set up a physical kingdom here on this earth, a kingdom that is of this world. When the Savior Himself said, It’s not so. My kingdom is not of this world. It is the same kingdom of which Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 16, verses 18 and 19, when he said, I say unto you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

In this text, ladies and gentlemen, as in many places, church and kingdom are used interchangeably. The church is the kingdom, the kingdom is the church in this context. And then this. In Acts chapter 2, verse 47. We closed our study last night, remember with Acts chapter 2, verses 36 down to verse 39 and 40. And on that occasion, remember we said in verse 41 that there were three thousand baptized that day. Verse 47 continues to show the growth of the cause of Christ, and it says they were praising God. They were having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily, those who were being saved. The Lord’s church, the Lord’s kingdom. That’s what Philip preached when he went to the city of Samaria, the church of our Lord that was established on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.

When Philip went to Samaria, he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God. Yes, he said that it was something that was prophesied. That must have been part of it. He must have talked about the birth of Jesus, how that he would be given the throne of his father David. And he must have talked about the words of Jesus himself, how that Jesus promised a kingdom, and then that kingdom, how that it came into existence. Those are some of the things that Philip preached when he preached Christ to them at the city of Samaria. But there was more. If you notice again our text, it said he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Now, what does it mean to preach the name of Jesus Christ?

Well, it’s more than just saying his name. I trust that you being intelligent Bible students, you know that. It’s more than just saying his name. It’s the idea, ladies and gentlemen, of preaching his authority. Colossians 3 17, whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. To do something in the name of another is to do that by the authority of another. When the Queen of England sends an ambassador to the United States, he comes in the name of the Queen. That is, he comes by her authority. When the policeman knocks on the door and says, Open up in the name of the law. It’s the idea of the authority that the law has vested in that man.

Open up in the name of the law. And so when you see this phrase in the name of, typically it means by the authority of, and that’s what it means to preach the name of Jesus Christ. That means to preach that he has authority, and that indeed he is Lord. Notice this passage, Jesus Himself speaks Luke 6.46. Why do you call me Lord, Lord? And do not do the things which I say. You see, the idea of the Lordship, the rulership of Jesus, is inherent in the idea of the name of Christ. And then, of course, the idea of salvation is through him. That’s what it means to preach in his name. Acts chapter 4 and verse 12. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

And so when Philip went to the city of Samaria to preach, he indeed did preach that Jesus is the Savior and that he alone is the Savior. And to preach in His name is to preach that men must obey Him in order to be saved. The passage we looked at last night from Acts 2, verse 38, where Peter said to them, Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And so what did this man Philip preach? Well, he went to this to the city of Samaria. He preached Christ, but verse 12 says he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

2. Miracles Confirmed the Gospel Philip Preached

Now, here’s a question. Why should the people of Samaria believe this man, Philip? Why should they believe that his message is true? Most of these people in Samaria don’t know anything about Jesus. They certainly don’t have a New Testament they can turn to and read about Jesus. So why should they believe that this message is the truth? Well, if you look at Acts chapter 8, verses 5 and 6, you’ll see the thing that convinced them that the preaching of Christ indeed was the truth. You see, verse 5 said, Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them, and the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Ladies and gentlemen, when Philip went to the city, he performed miracles.

God had given men like Philip the power, the power to heal the sick, the power to cast out demons, the power to do all manner of miracles. And what was the purpose of the miracles? It was to confirm that the gospel that they preached was indeed the truth. Look with me to Mark chapter 16, verse 20. Mark 16, verse 20, the very last verse of the book of Mark. And what you see happening in Acts chapter 8 is what Jesus said would happen, and is indeed what happened in every place where these apostles and certain other special disciples went preaching. It says in Acts chapter 7, I’m sorry, Mark chapter 16, verse 20, that these men went out and they preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, confirming the word with the accompanying signs.

The idea of confirming the word is saying that this is God’s stamp of approval. And so when this man goes to the city of Samaria and preaches Christ to them and then performs miracles alongside the preaching, that’s God’s stamp of approval, but the preaching is the truth. And so these things were indeed indeed were confirmed by the signs. These signs validated the message that Philip preached. And so what was the result? Well, verse number eight says, and there was great joy in that city. Well, there were a couple of reasons. I think a couple of reasons why there was great joy. First of all, it had to do with the fact that so many people were healed. I mean, that’s what it says when you look again at the text.

3. Simon, the Sorcerer of Samaria

In verse number seven, it said, Unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city. So you could understand with all these healings that indeed there would be great joy. But I think it also had to do with the fact that what was being done in the city, the miracles that were being done there had never been done in that city before. And this was true, even though there was a man in the city of Samaria who claimed to have miraculous power. There was a man who had been there for a long time who claimed to be able to do what Philip actually did. And that takes us, ladies and gentlemen, to Simon, the sorcerer of Samaria.

Let’s read the text, verses 9 through 11. It says, Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And they heated him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. Now, folks, don’t underestimate the power this man had over the people of Samaria. And don’t think that if you could take people from Beaumont, Texas, where I live, or Orlando, Florida, where you live, if you could just take people back to Samaria 2,000 years ago and just take people from our community and stick them back there in that city in front of Simon, don’t think they wouldn’t be deceived.

You say, Oh, we think we’re so sophisticated. Nobody could fool us. You know, we’re the we’re we are the height of intelligence. We know more. Listen, you know, people watch these stage magicians. I find it interesting. They watch these fellows on stage like David Copperfield or someone like that, or the amazing Randy, James Randy, and they say, look at that man what he did. You know, he says it’s only a trick, but I don’t believe it. I think he’s got supernatural power. I don’t know what that power is, but I think he’s got supernatural power. What wh why do people say that? Well, it’s like this, you see, if I can’t figure out how the man did it, it must be something really special. It’s really a statement of arrogance when we when we see someone working a trick on the stage, and what was it, David Copperfield a few years ago made made a Boeing 747 disappear?

Made the Statue of Liberty disappear. How in the world do you do that? I don’t know how he does it, but you know what he said? He said it’s a trick. And when he tells me it’s a trick, I believe him. But you know there are people who watch that and say, no, there’s something really supernatural going on here. Because you see, if I can’t figure out how it’s done, and I’m really, really smart, if I can’t figure it out, then it must be something really supernatural. And so if you took people from Orlando or Beaumont and you plucked them out of this place in time and put them back in that place in time, they would be easy prey for Simon the sorcerer, because that’s the way it was for those people back there.

Thousands of people today are being deceived by similar tricks of charlatans like Simon who claim to be special agents from God. Now, this word sorcery is an interesting word. It is from the Greek word majuo, the same word we get our English word magic from, and that encompasses a whole class of deceivers. Sometimes the word could be used to describe astrologers, soothsayers, necromancers, fortune tellers, on and on it goes. And such persons as these pretended to be able to predict future events based on the position of the stars, or by looking at the entrals of a slain animal. They claimed to be able to cure diseases by incantations and spells. In fact, even in the Old Testament, there was a warning not to follow people like this.

Look in the book of Isaiah, just for a moment, in Isaiah chapter, I believe it’s chapter 2 and verse 6. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 6. Here God gave this warning and talked about some of the things that his people had done. In Isaiah 2.6, God says, You have forsaken, for you here’s Isaiah speaking of God, says, God has forsaken his people, the house of Jacob. Why? Because they’re filled with eastern ways, they’re soothsayers like the Philistines, and they’re pleased with the children of foreigners. You see, many of God’s people have become just like the Philistines, have become soothsayers, and God says, That’s why I have forsaken you. I will not call you my people when you do that. Look back to the book of Leviticus.

I’m looking at Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 31. Leviticus 19, verse 31. Here a warning is given. It says, give no regard to mediums and to familiar spirits. Do not seek after them to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. And the idea is you ought to trust in me for your future. You shouldn’t have to go after these fortune tellers and mediums. I’m looking at the next chapter, chapter 20 of Leviticus and verse number six. It says, And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits to prostitute himself with them, I will set my face against that person and cut him off from his people. Ladies and gentlemen, for the people of Israel, to go after fortune tellers, to go after sorcerers, was to do so on the pain of death.

The Jews were expressly forbidden to consult such persons. But Simon, you can read from these three verses that Simon was eminently successful in these practices. In fact, he used the three standard techniques that all false teachers and deceivers use. There are three standard techniques. The first of those has to do with talk. Notice what it says right in the middle of this text here. Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great. How did he speak of himself? He spoke of his greatness when he spoke of himself. And all false teachers talk that way. They talk themselves up. And it’s amazing how that they will often talk themselves up with great humility. I remember seeing a man on the television, the year was 1988, been 16 years ago.

1988. This man was one of the most widely known television television evangelists at the time. And he said that God had given him a special ministry now to Africa. That the whole of Africa was in essence put under his dominion. And that he was the one who was going to be in charge of the gospel going to the whole of Africa. And he’s on television and he’s crying into the camera, saying, Oh, Lord, I don’t know why you’ve chosen me, the least of your servants, to have this great work and to do this important task for you. And goes on and on and on crying about it. All the while on the side. This man was based in Baton Rouge, all the while on the side, he’s slipping over to New Orleans and cavorting with prostitutes.

But he gave out that he was some great one, yet did so with great humility. God had given him the most important work of this generation. The largest work of this generation. You see, that’s the way these fellows do. They claim that they are someone great, even though they may do so with great humility. And then there’s a second technique that they use to deceive people, and that is testimony. You see, there are always people who are willing to give testimony. There are gullible people who are drawn in by these men, who are deceived by this man. You see, notice what the text again says. Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

That’s what the people of Samaria said. And here he’s got the people who will testify. The people who will stand up and say, Oh, yes, I’ve seen him work miracles. I know what his power can do. There’s no question about it. And I want to tell you that deceivers are always looking for people who will testify to their authenticity. And men today are doing the very same thing. But there’s a third technique that they use, and that has to do with tricks. Notice again, we’ll pick up right where it says, This man is the great power of God, and they hated him because he had astonished them. He had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. Remember, we’ve defined that word sorcery. Mazuo is the Greek word, the word for magic, and it encompasses the whole class of deceivers, from astrologers to soothsayers to fortune tellers to necromancers, on and on.

The list may go. This man used his incantations, his spells that he pretended to have to put on people, his stage tricks to make them think that he was something special. Magicians. We mentioned a couple earlier. We mentioned James Randy, the amazing Randy. Randy used to, when Johnny Carson was on the Tonight Show, Randy was a regular guest on his show, would be on there every six months or so. I think he made like 10, 12 appearances over a period of just a few years. Randy is an amazing fellow. He’s he’s the man who is uh the head of the uh magician, the Society of Magicians of America. And uh for many, many years, Randy has been such an interesting character because he used to offer $10,000 dollars.

He used to offer $10,000 to anyone who could demonstrate a trick that he couldn’t figure out. To anyone that could work a real miracle. You might want to pick up at the local bookstore, go to your public library and check out the book called The Faith Healers, James Randy. It’s worthy of your attention because Randy has spent a good part of his life exposing these charlatans. He’s made it his business to watch these men on television and to check them out and to figure out how they’re doing their tricks. Because so many of these televangelists, ladies and gentlemen, and you need to know this, and you’re not going to be told this everywhere, but you’ll be told it in this place. So many of these televangists are performing the same kind of tricks that stage magicians use in order to deceive people.

That’s what Randy says, and he’s got a long, long list of men in his books. And here he shows here’s how this man does his tricks. Here’s how this man does his tricks. In fact, after I read his book on the faith healers, I called Mr. Randy one day, lives in Florida, in fact. I called him and asked if he would be on our radio program. And wow, did we have a terrific program that day? We hooked him up long distance and then we allowed people to call in and ask him questions. But he taught he talked live on the radio about how he had exposed so many people. Now Randy is a terrific magician himself. And the same as one like David Copperfield, and you’ve seen others on the stage and on television who are terrific magicians.

But these men will tell you that they’re doing stage tricks. They don’t really make the Statue of Liberty disappear. A bullying 747 doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s all done, as they say, by smoke and mirrors. You see, the difference between David Copperfield and Simon the Sorcerer is that Copperfield admits that it’s only a trick. Whereas Simon the Sorcerer claims that he is a special agent from God with supernatural power. Simon knew the techniques that many faith healers know today. It was deception then, it is deception now. One of one of my favorite stories about the faith healers has to do with a fellow from uh from upland California. His name is Peter Popov, and he’s been on the radio for years, and about 15 years ago, 20 years ago really, he became more and more popular as a televangist because here would be people that would come into a large auditorium, maybe a civic center, and here would be two, three, four, five thousand people, and and he would walk down the aisles and he would stop and he would talk to a person and he’d say, Your name is and use the name, he’d say, Your name is John Smith, and you live at at uh 1243 Poplar Drive here in this city, right?

And your telephone number is and you come here tonight because you have a special problem. You have a you have a problem with your back, or you have a marital problem, or you have this problem or that problem. Well, you watched that on television and you’d kind of be amazed by that. How does that fellow just walk through a crowd and stop and start talking to someone and knows everything about them? And these people weren’t plants. He didn’t know these people. How did he do it? Well, Randy watched that on television. This is what he told us on on the radio program. He watched that on television, he said, You know, I got to wondering why this faith healer would have a hearing aid.

And he said, I wondered if maybe that wasn’t a hearing aid, but maybe it was a radio receiver. And so here was here was Popoff in one of these uh big crusades in a major city, and Randy took his own money out of his pocket and rented some sophisticated radio equipment, parked his parked this radio truck with technicians outside the Coliseum, and started scanning the radio frequencies. And sure enough, they hit on the right frequency. Popoff’s wife was backstage watching the television monitor as he would move through the crowd. They had already set up eight or ten people in the audience that they were going to stop and talk to. And the way it worked, you see, is when the crowd was coming in, when the crowd was coming in, there would be people that would come in maybe with uh with some certain problem, and there were people who were working the crowd.

They had 15 or 20 people working in the crowd, and and uh they talked to someone and one of these uh lead people who set things up, and they’d say, uh, did you come here with a problem tonight? Oh, yes, I came with a terrible problem. And they listen to what the problem was, then they would go and sit this person in one of the pre-designated seats, one of the seats that he’s going to go to. The person then who is the lead person fills out a card with all this information telling where the person is sitting, how they’re dressed, what they look like, what their name is, address, phone number, everything about them. And then Popoff’s wife has these cards backstage, watching the television monitor, and she says, she always called him Petey instead of Peter.

I have this, by the way, on the video tape at home. She’d say, Petey, that man in the fifth row, second seat, with the brown jacket on. He’s the one to talk to. And then she would give him this information. And it was interesting. Sometimes Peter Popoff would say, What’s that Holy Spirit? What are you telling me? I didn’t hear that, say it again. His wife was the Holy Spirit backstage.

Ladies and gentlemen, you know, we may chuckle at that. There are some elements of that are that are very funny. But there are people who have poured thousands upon thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars into this man’s ministry. And I thought after he was exposed by Randy, he would be done for good. He was off the television for about 18 months. Now he’s back on doing different tricks. But he’s back on again, deceiving people another time. Uh there was another fellow that uh came to Beaumont, Texas several years ago, back in 1987 or 88. His name was Ron Coyne. Ron Coyne is an interesting man in that he has only one eye. He has a glass eye on this side and a real eye on this side.

But his trick is he pops his glass eye out, which is kind of gross in the first place. Then he takes his handkerchief and covers his good eye, covers his good eye, and takes an easy tape and tapes it over this handkerchief so he can’t see.

And then you come up to him with maybe your driver’s license, your social security card or whatever, and you hold that in front of him, and he says that God has given him the power to read out of that empty eye socket. He can read your social security number. Now I’d heard about this. I’d never seen the fellow. So I called I called Randy, called James Randy, and said, How does this guy do this trick? He said, Oh, it’s an old stage magician’s trick. It’s one that every magician knows. He says, sure. He says, You can you can cover both eyes. It’s something anyone can learn. You can take a handkerchief on either eye. But he said, What you must not do is you must not put a piece of tape down the side of the nose, because what these guys are going to do, they’re going to scrunch their face up and they’re going to read right down the side of the nose with a good eye.

Well, I got there that night to that place where this fellow was, and sure enough, that’s exactly what he did. He scrunches his face up, and he and he made sure that there wasn’t that it wasn’t tape down the side of his nose, that handkerchief. And so he’s got a little gap here. And it’s something, folks, that any listen. If you can see through a ladder, you can see through this guy’s trick because he has to scrunch his face up. He has to contort his face and he holds the thing down here to read it. And so here’s people going through a line, you know, and wow, this is amazing. You know, he reads this person’s name off their driver’s license. He reads a person’s name off the social security card and reads the number, and the crowd is, oh, ah, oh.

They’re all in amazement. And so I got in the line. Now, remember, this is a little tough for him to read like this. So he’s he’s he doesn’t read whole sentences at once. He reads a word, a word, a word, and so on. And I had a little yellow notepad like this. And I wrote a little message on it and handed it to him. And he’s reading and says, I know how you do your trick. And the rest of us said, and I’m going to expose you on the radio tomorrow. And I’ll tell you, his good eye just about popped out at that time. He was mad. Ladies and gentlemen, I couldn’t tell you how mad this man was. And he uh and of course it it broke the whole meeting up that night.

And I said, Look, let me put a piece of tape on there. Then let’s see if you can read. And he ordered me out of the assembly. And of course, when you’re ordered out of an assembly, you leave. But I had done nothing more than what they asked for. For people to write things, bring things up for him to read. By the way, as I was leaving, he he was really angry and said, Don’t you use my name on the radio. You better not. If you do, I’ll sue you for everything you’ve got. And as I left, I said, I’ll see you in court. And I did expose the man on the radio the next day. And the next night, he he had a two-night run.

4. Deliverance Comes to the City of Samaria

The next night they had the police there at that assembly hall to prevent me from returning. But the police, there was never any lawyers, never any court. Ladies and gentlemen, men like this need to be exposed. They need to be exposed because people think that these are special agents from God. Simon the sorcerer is a fraud using stage tricks to deceive people. And the same kind of things are being done by many men and even some women today. Now the question for us here in Samaria is this Will the preaching of will the preaching of Philip be powerful enough? Will it be powerful enough to overcome the trickery and the deceptions of Simon? Well, I think you already know the answer to that, ladies and gentlemen, because deliverance comes to the city of Samaria.

Let’s look together at verses 12 and 13. The word of the Lord says, But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. And so notice this first line up here. When they believe Philip as he preached. And folks, it wasn’t hard to believe because now these people were seeing real miracles for the first time in their lives. They’re seeing supernatural acts that indeed are from God. Indeed, the preaching of the truth was sufficient to overcome the deception of the false teacher. The proclamation of the gospel, along with the miracles that confirmed the message, presented an overwhelming argument for God and against Simon. The miracles of Philip stood head and shoulders above the tricks of the sorcerer.

And by the way, let me just say this. Let me repeat that last statement again and then make this comment. The miracles of Philip stood head and shoulders above the tricks of Simon the sorcerer. We have a man in our congregation at home who’s in a wheelchair. He’s been in a wheelchair now for more than 40 years because he was a victim of a terrible accident when he was age 19. He is known to all of our congregation and to many people in the city as a person who cannot walk, who cannot use his arms and legs. If an individual were to come along and have the power, have the power that Philip had, that person could be raised up from that wheelchair and could be made whole instantly.

That’s the kind of thing you don’t see on any of these televangelist shows. If anyone, though, today, if anyone has such supernatural power from God, you know, you’ve got Mormons who claim it, you’ve got Pentecostals who claim it, One is Pentecostals, Trinity Pentecostals. You’ve got all these different groups that claim to have supernatural power from God. If any one of those groups had it, they would stand head and shoulders above all the other groups. But all of them, all of the all they have is claims, and all they have, some of them are tricks and shenanigans and deceptions. They don’t have miraculous power. When Philip worked real miracles, it stood head and shoulders above the tricks of the sorcerers. And so there was deliverance first from the false teacher, but secondly, ladies and gentlemen, there was deliverance from sin in that city.

Acts chapter 8 and verse 12. Again, let’s read. When they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Indeed, there was deliverance from sin, and this is the greater deliverance. This was the purpose for preaching at Samaria. And it is this salvation that we must focus on. Both men and women heard the gospel, both men and women believed it, and both men and women were baptized. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Bible order. And as you go through the book of Acts, this is the invariable order. When you see a conversion story given in detail, you’ll see that always the people heard the message of the gospel, always they believed the message, always they were baptized.

Someone says, Well, what about repentance? Repentance is not mentioned in this text. The very fact that they turned away from the false teacher, turned away from the false doctrine. That in itself, ladies and gentlemen, is an evidence of repentance on the part of the people of Samaria. But another person might ask this how do we know? How do we know for sure that these people were saved? You see, the text says both men and women were baptized. They believed, of course, they’d already heard, they believed and they were baptized. How do we know for sure that these people were saved? We know that they were saved because they did what Jesus said, what Jesus said, men and women must do. Look in your Bible at Mark.

Mark chapter 16. And in verse number 16. Verse 15 of Mark. Mark 16, 15 says, Go into all the world. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples. Go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. Well, now when I look at this case of conversion, what have I seen? I see that these people have heard the gospel and they’ve believed and they’ve been baptized, and Jesus said, when people do that, those people are saved. And so I believe what Jesus said. I believe the record here. And thus then I have to conclude that these people were right with God. If we trust Christ, we trust his word, and that’s what his word says. That being so, we have no reason to doubt the salvation of the Samaritans.

And I would ask you tonight, have you done? Have you done what the word of the Lord said? Jesus said that men must hear the gospel, believe it, and be baptized. Have you done what the word of the Lord says? If not, why not? This is your time, your place, your opportunity right here, right now, to do something about that, to respond to the Lord. Yes, it was almost 2,000 years ago that these Samaritans were saved. But if but if you’ve heard the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, if you believe that he’s the Son of God, you can do just what they did, and you’ll be just what they were. You will be saved. Ah, but that’s not all there is to the story.

5. Simon Himself Also Believed

There’s more. For we mentioned this man Simon. It says in verse 13, then Simon himself also believed. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and was amazed. Seeing the miracles and signs which were done. This fellow knew the difference between miracles and tricks. He could see the difference, and that’s why he was amazed. You know, as we look at this case of conversion, we might be s we might be pleasantly surprised at the conversion of the Samaritans. But ladies and gentlemen, we’re absolutely astounded that this archetypical false teacher and deceiver, that he too was saved. He did what the other Samaritans did. You see the text again? It said that he also believed, and he was baptized. And so he did what Jesus said men must do.

We then don’t question his salvation any more than we question the salvation of the other Samaritans. And yet, yet there are many people, I have to tell you tonight that there are many people who question Simon’s salvation. And they say, look, later in the chapter, this man sinned later in the chapter, so that proves he was never saved in the first place because he sinned later. Oh, is that so? If that proves that a person was never saved because they sinned later, then folks, nobody has ever been saved because everybody sins. Even after you become a Christian, you will sin. There will be times when you will fall short of God’s glory. That’s why John said in the book of 1 John, chapter 1, and verses 8 and 9, he said, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

But if we confess our sins, then he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And John used the plural pronoun we and us. He’s talking about himself and other Christians. Don’t ever say that you never sinned. I’ve heard people say that, but their life always proved otherwise. No, folks, the fact that Simon did something wrong later doesn’t prove that he never was saved in the first place. You know, the question, to question whether or not in verse 13. This man is saved when the text says he believed and was baptized, you’re questioning the word of God. There’s where the problem lies. Someone says he only pretended to believe. How do you know that? The Bible never says that.

Conclusion

He only pretended to accept the gospel. How do you know that? The Bible never says that. And if you’re going to call him a pretender, then we might as well call these other Samaritans pretenders also. If you question the salvation of one, you question the salvation of all. And what you’re really questioning is the Holy Spirit who inspired Luke to write this account of conversion and to include it for us in the Word of God. No, we allow no one to say that Simon only pretended to believe. Simon did what many people have done. He believed and he obeyed the gospel, but then he later made a terrible mistake and went into sin. What have we learned tonight? I’ll tell you what we’ve learned this. We’ve learned that this gospel is for everyone.

We’ve learned that it can save those who are deceived. That’s what we saw in the case of the Samaritans. We’ve also learned that it can save even the deceiver. But then we must conclude this, that it will save. All who hear it, believe it and obey it. Look, one of the reasons this church arranged this gospel meeting is to give people a special opportunity to come and have special Bible studies so that folks could hear the gospel and believe it and be saved. Just like, just like Philip went into the city of Samaria and preached Christ. That’s what we’re doing here this week. We’re preaching Christ. And we ought to expect the same kind of responses. And listen, if you’re sitting there right now thinking, should I obey the gospel or should I not?

Should I turn from my sins? I believe Jesus is God’s Son, but I’m not sure if I should be baptized. Yes, you should be. That’s what these people did. These people did that, and they were right with God. And if you can trust the Word of God tonight, if indeed you do trust the Word of God, then you do the same thing. That’s what God wants to see from you. He wants you to obey His Word. That’s the reason why we have this special series of Bible studies.

If you’re sitting there right now and you’re thinking, you know, this really applies to me. I’m that person that needs to be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins. I’ve listened to deceivers. I’ve been led astray by this person, by that person. But look, tonight all we’re asking you to do is just follow the word of God. Not asking you to follow Max. You’ve seen the verses for yourself. You’ve got a Bible in your hand. You’ve read the text here on the screen. This is what the Word of God said people did. And that’s what you can do. And you can do that tonight. In 15 minutes from now, you can leave this building knowing that you’re a child of God, that every sin that you’ve ever committed has been forgiven you, or you’re a new creature in Christ, born again.

Heaven is waiting for your response, for your reply. If tonight you are ready to confess the wonderful and worthy name of the Lord Jesus, if you’re ready tonight to turn from sin, ready tonight to be baptized into Christ. God in heaven is willing and ready to receive you on his terms. Why don’t you come right now as we stand and sing? Come on now.