Acts 8:14

Acts 8:14 says, Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:  When the apostles heard what was going on in Samaria, they wanted to find out the truth.  They did not rely on secondhand information.  They sent Peter and John to investigate. Verse fifteen states, Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:  When they got there, they prayed for the Samaritans. Whenever we are looking for the truth, we need to start with prayer.  The discussion of the next few events will be based on my understanding of what the Bible is stating. Peter and John prayed that the people might receive the Holy Ghost.  Of course, once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are immediately indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Verse sixteen adds, (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)  Baptism is a sign of our identification as a part of the followers of Christ. It is not necessary for salvation or receiving the Holy Spirit but is a sign of obedience to God's instruction.  Verse seventeen continues, Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.  As stated in an earlier post, my understanding is that we as Christians are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, and no one can control our receiving of the Holy Spirit.  We never will need any to represent us before Christ or to endow us with the Holy Spirit.  Each person must go to Christ for themself, and God alone endows us with the Holy Spirit.  No man controls either.  Verse eighteen declares, And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,  When Simon saw what Peter and John were doing, and he perceived or thought that they were in control of the giving of the Holy Spirit, he wanted to buy this gift from them.  Verse nineteen adds, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.  We are told that he believed and was baptized.  He was continuing to travel with Phillip, but he still had some spiritual growing to do. We do a great injustice to new believers today when we don't ground them in the Gospel.  This is especially true, I believe, if they have come to Christ because of some miracle or great work that they have seen.  It may lead them to the belief that the gifts of God are for material blessings or self-glorification.  Simon evidently thought the gifts of God could be bought.  Verse twenty continues, But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.  Peter quickly corrected him.  Verse twenty-one declares, Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.  Simon was told his heart was not right.  If we think that we can buy the things of God, our heart is not right.  Verse twenty-two adds, Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.  He was told to pray for forgiveness, for his heart was in the bond of iniquity.  Even though we are saved once and for all time by Christ's death on the cross, we can and too often do let iniquity into our heart.  Verse twenty-three continues, For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.  Peter told Simon that he perceived that he was still in the bond of iniquity.  Not everyone who professes to accept Jesus Christ really does and some who do profess to don’t really understand what all this implies and until they do, they are still in the bond of iniquity.  Verse twenty-four concludes, Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.  Simon asked for their prayers that he might be forgiven, and they prayed for him.  Simon could have found forgiveness through his own prayers, but sometimes it is good to know that others are praying for you, especially for a new believer.  There is no evidence that Simon was ever saved, but he was still just going through the motions for show, since he himself did not pray for forgiveness.  We may make a public show of accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but until we pray for forgiveness, it will never happen. 

When we move into Acts chapter eight, we read a little more of the young man Saul. Even if we would like to hear that after watching Stephen's death that Saul had become a follower of Christ, he instead was still wreaking havoc on those who followed Christ.  We might like to believe that someone witnessing such a display of faith would immediately decide to follow Christ, but that isn't always the case. Some will go away even more determined to do away with those who follow Christ.  This does not mean that Stephen's death was meaningless.  We don't know how the others around him reacted, but we do know that Stephen was faithful to the death.  We need to be just as committed to our faith in Christ.  We may never know the results of our witnessing, and in Stephen's case we can certainly say that he saw no results in this world from his death, but we must always be faithful in following Christ, even to our death.  Likewise, we cannot really say how much his death ultimately affected Saul on his journey to becoming Paul.  We are only called on to be obedient to the call of God no matter the cost on this earth.  Stephen, like Jesus, was not left in the grave. Whatever sacrifice we make for God will be insignificant in the light of the reward.  If our death even had a small impact on reaching the next Paul, as he became known, what a small price to pay, as we celebrated with those in heaven.  We do know that the church was severely persecuted and this led to their being scattered abroad.  What the religious leaders had done to silence the gospel had only spread it.