Bethany Covenant Church

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Book of Acts

• November 4, 2007
• Week 8

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Book of Acts

• Chapter 81b-40
• The Pure and the Phony

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Pure Phony

• Persecution Acts 81-4
• Preaching of Philip Acts 85-8
• Phony Acts 89-11
• Profession Acts 812-13
• Power Acts 814-17
• Payment Acts 818-19
• Pronouncement Acts 820-23
• Prayer Acts 824-25

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When the Going Got Tough, the Tough Left Town!

• 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. Now those who were
  scattered went about preaching the word.
  Acts 81b-4

Does not say they were Christians. Some believe
these were Jews who did not approve of the
persecution and murder.
Scattered is the same word used in Matthew 13 to
describe the sower of the seed
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It Took 81 To Make 18 Happen

• But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
  has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses
  in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to
  the end of the earth." Acts 18

• 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. Acts 81

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Philip the Deacon
Not Philip the Apostle. This Philip was one of
the 7 deacons in Acts 65
Jews avoided Samaria and considered the
Samaritans half-breeds and half-faithful. These
people descended from the northern tribes and
worshiped at Mt. Gerizim, which irritated Jews.

• Philip went down to a city in Samaria and
  proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds
  heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did,
  they all paid close attention to what he said.
  Acts 85-6

The proclamation is that the Jesus they heard
about is the Christ (Greek) Messiah (Hebrew)
Philip was given power to perform miracles
because he was engaging in spiritual battles
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• Have we seen this before?
• The evil spirit shook the man violently and came
  out of him with a shriek. Mark 126
• Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down
  before him and cried out, You are the Son of
  God. Mark 311
• The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and
  came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse
  that many said, Hes dead. Mark 926

With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and
many paralytics and cripples were healed. So
there was great joy in that city. Acts 87-8
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Simon Magus, was a magician, probably working in
the occult, sorcery, astrology, divination,
fortune telling and potions.

• Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced
  sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of
  Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
  and all the people, both high and low, gave him
  their attention and exclaimed, This man is the
  divine power known as the Great Power. Acts
  89-10

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And they paid attention to him because for a long
time he had amazed them with his magic. 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.
Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he
followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the
great signs and miracles he saw. Acts 811-13
Notice No mention of the Holy Spirit. This will
be an issue later.
Notice No repentance. This will also be an issue
later.
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• When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria
  had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and
  John to them. Acts 814

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Rocky Son of Thunder

• Recall that John was not exactly a supporter of
  Samaria. John and James were called sons of
  thunder for a reason. In Luke 9 they ask if
  Jesus would let them call fire down on Samaria
  because the people rejected Jesus.

• As the time approached for him to be taken up to
  heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
  And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a
  Samaritan village to get things ready for him
  but the people there did not welcome him, because
  he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples
  James and John saw this, they asked, Lord, do
  you want us to call fire down from heaven to
  destroy them? But Jesus turned and rebuked them,
  Luke 951-55

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When they arrived, they prayed for them that they
might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy
Spirit had not yet come upon any of them they
had simply been baptized into the name of the
Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their
hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 815-17
Why this delay in granting the Spirit?
God, who knows the heart, showed that he
accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them,
just as he did to us. He made no distinction
between us and them, for he purified their hearts
by faith. Acts 158-9
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When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the
laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them
money and said, Give me also this ability so
that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive
the Holy Spirit. Acts 818 -19
Simony To buy or sell a church office
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• 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. Acts 820-21

The Fall of Simon MagusBenozzo Gozzoli
Simon Magus was asking to purchase a trade secret
from a fellow professional. But Simon Peter
wanted him to understand that he is dealing with
eternal destruction, not simply earthly power and
entertainment.
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Simon vs. Simon
Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord.
Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a
thought in your heart. For I see that you are
full of bitterness and captive to sin. Then
Simon answered, Pray to the Lord for me so that
nothing you have said may happen to me. Acts
822-24
Notice Simon apparently feels he cannot pray for
himself here. He asks the apostles to pray for
him.
He wants protection, not repentance.
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, Pray
to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my
people, and I will let your people go to offer
sacrifices to the Lord. Exodus 88
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Apostles witness return to Jerusalem

• When they had testified and proclaimed the word
  of the Lord, Peter and John returned to
  Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan
  villages. Acts 825

Last mention of John in Acts.
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• Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Go
  south to the roadthe desert roadthat goes down
  from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he started out, and
  on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an
  important official in charge of all the treasury
  of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. Acts 826-27a

Why did the angel of the Lord NOT give the gospel
message directly to the eunuch?
Notice Philip does not question the angel. He
just obeys.
Remember who is writing this A doctor. Wouldnt
you expect a doctor to notice such things?
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If the eunuch was bodily a eunuch and was a Jew,
be probably would have been excluded from the
Temple worship. Deut. 231

• This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on
  his way home was sitting in his chariot reading
  the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told
  Philip, Go to that chariot and stay near it.
  Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the
  man reading Isaiah the prophet. Do you
  understand what you are reading? Philip asked.
  Acts 827b-30

Notice Spirit here, but angel before
No record of Jesus ever running. This showed that
the chariot was moving and Philip had to catch
up. It also demonstrates Philips immediate
obedience.
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• How can I, he said, unless someone explains it
  to me? So he invited Philip to come up and sit
  with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of
  Scripture He was led like a sheep to the
  slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is
  silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his
  humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can
  speak of his descendants? For his life was taken
  from the earth. Acts 831-33

Note A eunuch will have no descendants.
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• The eunuch asked Philip, Tell me, please, who is
  the prophet talking about, himself or someone
  else? Then Philip began with that very passage
  of Scripture and told him the good news about
  Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came
  to some water and the eunuch said, Look, here is
  water. Why shouldnt I be baptized? And he gave
  orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and
  the eunuch went down into the water and Philip
  baptized him. Acts 834-38

• Philip didnt tell the eunuch he first needed to
  read something else or start at another passage.
  He took him from where he was.
• Philip didnt first talk to him about his
  condition, or put any pre-conditions on the Bible
  study. He took him as he found him.
• Philip answered the question.

Why this question?
Why shouldnt I be baptized?
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What was eunuchs concern?

• Race and color
• Religion
• Geography
• Location (Desert)
• Physical defects
• Language
• Culture

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• When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of
  the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the
  eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way
  rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus
  and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all
  the towns until he reached Caesarea. Acts 839-40

Philip left as he came by divine intervention
Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and
stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one
of the Seven. Acts 218
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Simon Magus

• Irenaeus and the others regard Simon Magus as
  the first major heretic, the initiator of a long
  chain of interrelated errors.
• "Gnostic motifs were already felt in Christian
  circles in the Age of the Apostles. Early church
  tradition attributes the rise of Gnosticism to
  Simon Magus, briefly mentioned in Acts 89-24.
• New Bible Dictionary
• Harold O.J. Brown, Heresies

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False Gospel Message

• I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting
  the one who called you by the grace of Christ and
  are turning to a different gospel which is
  really no gospel at all. Evidently some people
  are throwing you into confusion and are trying to
  pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or
  an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other
  than the one we preached to you, let him be
  eternally condemned! As we have already said, so
  now I say again If anybody is preaching to you a
  gospel other than what you accepted, let him be
  eternally condemned! Galatians 16-9

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Jude 3-4

• Dear friends, although I was very eager to write
  to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had
  to write and urge you to contend for the faith
  that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
  For certain men whose condemnation was written
  about long ago have secretly slipped in among
  you. They are godless men, who change the grace
  of our God into a license for immorality and deny
  Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

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False Knowledge

• Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your
  care. Turn away from godless chatter and the
  opposing ideas of what is falsely called
  knowledge, which some have professed and in so
  doing have wandered from the faith. 1 Timothy
  620-21
• Knowledge Gnosis Gnostic

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Gnostic Heresy

• Gnosticism is the doctrine of salvation by
  knowledge. (New Advent, Catholic Encyclopedia)

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Gnostic Redeemer

• Among the Samaritans a popular form of
  Gnosticism made Simon Magus the redeemer.
• The Early Church, Chadwick, H.

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Gnostic Heresy

• Matter was evil, spirit alone was good, the world
  is bad and the body is bad, being a prison for
  the soul.
• Gnosticism pictured a redeemer coming from Heaven
  to earth in human appearance to liberate mankind
  from enslavement to the world of matter.

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Pop Quiz

• What was the name of the Queen of Ethiopia?
• Candace
• What was the name of the magician in Samaria?
• Simon Magus
• Simon Magus was known as the G______ P______?
• Great Power
• Offering money for a church office is known as
  what?
• Simony
• Was Philip one of the 12 apostles?
• No, he was a deacon
• The angel told Philip to go down what road?
• Desert Road
• The eunuch was reading from what book?
• Isaiah
• What was the eunuchs name?
• We dont know

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Bibliography

• The College Press NIV commentary Acts. Joplin,
  Mo. College Press.
• Matthew Henrys Commentary on the Whole Bible.
• The IVP New Testament commentary series Acts.
  Downers, Ill., USA InterVarsity Press.