Acts 8:9-25: You Cannot Buy the Things of God

"But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because

you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!'" Acts 8:20

This morning we approach a perhaps odd story, one that is difficult to discern the true application of. Yet nevertheless, if we believe that all of scripture is God-breathed and therefore useful, we must dive into it all, asking the Spirit to help us see how and where we ought to apply it to our own lives.

In the context of our scripture reading this morning, we find ourselves in the second movement of the books of Acts, where the Gospel is being preached in Samaria. The Gospel has spread among Jerusalem, and now in response to the persecution and scattering of the church after Stephen's murder, the Gospel is now being preached in Samaria. Note here: persecution advances the church! In God's sovereign plan, He often uses persecution to advance his Gospel to those who would not know it otherwise. What a wise God we serve!

Yet here in Samaria, we find a magician named Simon. Now, Simon was not the type of "magician" you'd meet at your ten-year-old son's birthday party. Simon was a wicked magician who used evil powers and said that he had the power of God. Yet, through the Church's preaching of the Gospel in that day, Simon's followers came to believe and be baptized in the Lord, and so did Simon--at least, that's what it looked like. After Peter and John (who are currently in Jerusalem) hear of Simon and his followers' belief and baptism, they come to Samaria that they might lay hands on them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Simon, seeing this great power that the apostles had, asked if he could quite literally buy this power from them, that he might lay his hands on men and give them the Holy Spirit. Quite literally, Simon wanted to use his money to buy the power of God.

Let us diagnose the heart behind Simon's question really fast. Why did he ask this? Well, at first, it might seem as if he had a righteous heart behind it. Perhaps he wanted to be a powerful minister of the Gospel, and the best way he knew how to get there was by all the money he received from his former lifestyle. Yet, upon further examination, we find it more likely that Simon was simply coveting power and popularity. He didn't want the power of God in order to save people, he simply wanted to look good, as he did before the sight of all the people with his magic. This interpretation is confirmed for us by Peter's harsh rebuke in the following verses. Peter goes so far as to say that Simon's heart is "not right before God," and that he needs to "repent." Simon was certainly in the wrong. He wanted to buy the things of God for his own benefit.

Yet, let us turn the corner and examine our own hearts here. Notice this: Simon was attempting to attain the things of God on his own for his own power and popularity. How often do we do the same? How often do we go to church just so that we can "work" towards our own righteousness, only to show it off in front of our friends? How many of us seek to use the things of God to look good in front of others, giving ourselves the glory rather than God? By reading Peter's harsh rebuke of this kind of thinking, we find that this is anti-Gospel. The pattern of the Gospel is God giving gifts freely for his own glory. To seek to "buy" those gifts is to turn the Gospel inside-out and attempt to attain glory on our own, rather than ascribing it to the one who deserves it. This was the great sin of Simon, and it will be ours as well, if we are not careful.

So, in response to our devotional today, let me encourage you: let God do the saving, and let God have the power and the glory. Don't try to flip the Gospel over by working hard that you might obtain the glory. The glory and fame among men is not yours; it's God's. Simon forgot that, and it sowed for him harsh punishment that he would have to plea for the Lord to forgive. Don't put yourself in those shoes. Rather, follow Christ's example, who saw every deed he did for the glory of his Father in Heaven. Amen!