Acts Study #28: Philip and the apostles Peter and John destroyed the influence of Simon Magus among the Samaritans with the Gospel (Acts 8:5

Acts Study #28: Philip and the apostles Peter and John destroyed the influence of Simon Magus among the Samaritans with the Gospel (Acts 8:5 - 25)

Hechos Estudio #28: Felipe y los apóstoles Pedro y Juan destruyeron la influencia de Simón el Mago entre los samaritanos con el Evangelio (Hechos 8:5-25)

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“This is the work of Jehovah! It is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23

Acts, Chapter 1.4: The salvation of Saul of Tarsus: a devout, but false Jew under the Old Covenant (8:5 - 9:31)

§Unique Introduction: Philip and the apostles Peter and John destroyed the evil influence of Simon Magus among the Samaritans with the Gospel (8:5 - 25)

¶Opposite Philip won many Samaritans to the Lord Jesus, and away from the evil influence of the Simon the Magician (8:5 - 13)

¶Opposite Peter uncompromisingly rebuked the wicked attempt of Simon to bribe the apostles for the power to give the Holy Spirit (8:14 - 25)

§Complement Body: Saul of Tarsus was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to suffer for his Name’s sake (8:26 - 9:22)

¶Opposite Philip preached the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, a gentile who had been saved under the Old Covenant (8:26 - 35)

¶Opposite After baptizing the completed Christian Jew, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip (8:36 - 40)

¶Complement Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus and was blinded by the experience (9:1 - 9)

¶Complement The Lord Jesus Christ sent Ananias to baptize Saul and restore his sight (9:10 - 19a)

¶Unique Saul immediately preached Christ in the synagogues of Damascus, and proved that Jesus is the Christ (9:19b - 22)

§Complement Conclusion: Saul suffered persecution by his former allies at Damascus and Jerusalem (9:23 - 31)

¶Complement After Saul escaped persecution at Damascus, he met with the apostles in Jerusalem (9:23 - 28)

¶Complement After Saul escaped persecution at Jerusalem, the churches of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were strengthened and multiplied (9:29 - 31)

Comments: The Introduction Section of Chapter 1.4 of Acts is all about Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven deacons chosen by the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:5) in the previous Chapter.

Do not confuse this Philip with the apostle called Philip (Mark 3:18); they are two different men.

This Philip went down to Samaria and conducted what we would all today an evangelism crusade: not a crusade like in the Middle Ages with weapons of war; but a spiritual crusade or a battle for the souls of men, waged with words from the Scriptures that are empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.

Ephesians 6:10 - 18: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil: for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this Age, and against evil spirits in high places. Therefore take to you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day; and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your waist girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Above all, having taken up the shield of faith (by which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the Wicked one), also take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God): praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit; and in accordance with this, continually watching with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

Notice what Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:17:

“also take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God)”.

The Word of God, the Holy Bible, is the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.

Hebrews 4:12 - 14: “for the Word of God is living and powerful; and sharper than any two-edged sword; piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; neither is there any creature that is not exposed in his sight, but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

You pastors and preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: PREACH THE WORD! Quote the Bible often in your sermons; read the Bible often in your church; help your people to understand what the Bible says! If you aren’t preaching the Bible and what it says, then you have the wrong message, and you are not a man of God!

§Unique Introduction: Philip and the apostles Peter and John destroyed the influence of Simon Magus among the Samaritans with the Gospel (8:5 - 25)

¶Opposite Philip won many Samaritans to the Lord Jesus, and away from the influence of the evil Simon the Magician (8:5 - 13)

Unique Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord paid attention to those things which Philip spoke: hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many that were possessed by them; and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. And there was great joy in that city.

Complement But there was a certain man, called Simon, who formerly in the same city practiced witchcraft; and he amazed the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one; to whom they all gave attention, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God!”

Complement And they listened to him, because for a long time he had enthralled them with witchcraft.

Opposite But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Opposite Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip; and he wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

Comments: Now Simon was a wizard (or a male witch) who lived among the Samaritans; and he made his living by casting spells on people for money.

I have had many of these same kind of people posting messages on my Bible studies on Facebook, trying to get my readers to go to their website and learn how to cast spells on other people or have spells cast on other people to get them to do something for them.

Simon was a servant of Satan and claimed to be “some great one”, just like these other people who also claim to be powerful. These people are not of God; and under no circumstances should you click on their links and go to their websites. Like the people of Samaria, you also may fall prey to their evil, and end up in Hell.

And if you are already saved, and get involved with them, they will only confuse you with their witchcraft, just like the Samaritans were “enthralled” with Simon’s witchcraft. So please, for your own sakes, avoid them at all costs; and keep reading the Scriptures.

I have seen many of these wizards, witches, sorcerers, and "Babas" who comment on my posts on Facebook! They are just as evil and perverted as Simon Magus, perhaps even more so. You must avoid them like the plague! They communicate with Satan and his demons; and this is where they get their power to do the things that they claim. If you pay them to save your marriage, make you rich, or anything else, you have invited these demons into your life! And you will never have any peace in your life until you repent and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation, because these demons are your enemies! Their only desire is to put you in their spiritual chains so that you will not turn to Christ and be saved; and then you will go to Hell, where these demons will torment you forever and ever! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I block and delete these evil people on my Facebook post comments as soon as I see them, because I'm trying to protect you; but you must protect yourself also.

There are many legends about Simon that you can find on the Internet: he could perform miracles, levitate and fly through the air at will, etc. All of them may be true; and in fact, you can find many false prophets today who can levitate and perform miracles of healing: many gurus of India, for example; and many pentecostal and charismatic preachers (supposedly Christian) also claim to perform miracles of healing.

These so-called miracles and miracle workers are of Satan. Satan can also cause miraculous healing through those who serve him. The demons in the guru or the false preacher do the healing, but none of it is from the one true God. Beware of any preacher that comes to you, and all he or she can talk about is healing or miracles!

The only true message of the Bible is the Gospel of Jesus Christ: his death, his burial, and his resurrection from the dead after 3 days for the sins of all mankind; and they should also be inviting sinners to repent of their sins, and come to Jesus Christ to be saved.

Anyone who preaches something different than that message is a false prophet! Avoid them like the plague, because all they really want is your money; they care nothing for your soul!

¶Opposite Peter uncompromisingly rebuked the wicked attempt of Simon to bribe the apostles for the power to give the Holy Spirit (8:14 - 25)

Opposite Now when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent to them Peter and John; who, when they came down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: for as yet he had fallen upon none of them; only they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus.

Opposite Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Complement And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money; saying, “Give me also this authority, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Complement But Peter said to him, “Your money is going into perdition with you, because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter: for your heart is not right in the sight of God; therefore repent of this wickedness of yours; and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you: for I perceive that you are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bondage of iniquity.” Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of these things which you have spoken come upon me.”

Unique And they, when they had testified and preached the Word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem; and they preached the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Comments: You may have heard the saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” This is what Satan has done over the centuries since the Garden of Eden. When Satan could not stop what God was doing (whatever it was), then Satan would use his slaves to join what God was doing, so that he could corrupt and destroy it from within.

Simon followed this plan. He could not stop the great success of Philip the evangelist in winning the Samaritans to Christ; so he pretended to believe and was baptized by Philip, who did not know that Simon was only pretending.

Simon observed that when Peter and John laid their hands on the Samaritans, they received the Holy Spirit. So Simon’s carnal mind immediately thought, “Hey, if I could do that, then I could become rich! I will just ask people to give money, and they will receive the Holy Spirit in exchange.”

This practice of purchasing authority in a church with money is called Simony. The Roman Catholic religion has many historical examples of men who gave money to the Vatican and were given positions of power and influence, including some who bought their way into the position of Bishop, Cardinal and even the pope!

But Peter was trained in the Word of God, so he was wise to the schemes of Satan, and Peter rebuked Simon in the strongest terms:

“But Peter said to him, “Your money is going into perdition with you, because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter: for your heart is not right in the sight of God; therefore repent of this wickedness of yours; and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you: for I perceive that you are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bondage of iniquity.”

You could translate the words of Peter this way:

“Your money is going into Hell with you!”

Beware of men and women who join your church and bring lots of money with them! Christians who used to be Satanists have testified that one of their favorite tactics for destroying churches from within was to join a church and start giving large amounts of money. This will immediately make many pastors smile real big and make the church friendly toward them.

Then after they have gained the trust of the pastor and other church members, they began to teach false doctrines in Sunday School, and do whatever they could to lead the church astray from God. Often, the pastor would make them deacons in his church; and that gave them even more power to move the church away from the Bible in the devil’s direction.

Big givers to the church can be a blessing, if they are truly saved and love the Lord! But they can also be a curse upon your church, if Satan sent them to you.

You must vet them carefully with many questions, such as:

1) How and where did you repent of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart to be saved?

2) What do you believe about the Trinity?

3) What do you believe about the Bible?

4) How can a sinner be saved?

And so on....

A lost person will reveal themselves as a false Christian under strong questioning (not ugly, but thorough) to a spiritual, Biblically-trained Born-again Christian.

Under no circumstances should anyone be allowed to join your church unless they give clear, convincing evidence that they have been born again through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ! If you allow them into your church, you have just polluted your church with a child of the devil; and that person will be a source of great evil and trouble in your midst.

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened.” I Corinthians 5:6-7

Just as yeast inflates a lump of dough with air, so an unbeliever in your church will also fill your church with emptiness and evil; and eventually, if they are allowed to stay and to multiply, your church will become useless for God, and even a curse upon your community.

I’m speaking about people who want to join your church, not about visitors who come to your services. Of course, we want everyone, even the servants of Satan, to come to our church so that they might hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved.

The problem comes when they try to join the church; this cannot be allowed, unless they have truly repented of their sins and placed their trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation from sin and from Hell.

Immediately after the service, have them meet with the most spiritual men in your church, hopefully that would be the deacons. Then the deacons can ask detailed questions about how and when they trusted Christ; and also ask them about their personal life, to see if Christ has actually changed their life, or if they are still living in sin and don’t believe they are doing anything wrong.

People who join your church must be truly born again, AND while perfection is never possible with anyone on this Earth, nevertheless, a life that has received Christ must manifest some change toward God and his Word; otherwise, there is no truth in their profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Even if someone still has bad habits, like smoking or even drinking, if they acknowledge that these habits are sin and want to change, then they should be welcome in your church. Churches should be a place where sinners can come to trust Christ as their Savior, and learn to follow Him as the Word is faithfully taught each week.

But, mercy must be combined with truth: a person who continues in sin, year after year, without evidence of repentance and a desire to do better, should be removed from the church rolls, because they are a bad testimony for Christ, and will do more harm than good in your church.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful! It can bring the most wicked person on Earth to repent and pray for salvation from Jesus. But it can also have the opposite effect on persons such as Simon the Sorcerer. As the sun softens the wax, but hardens the clay, so the Gospel will either draw the sinner to Jesus, or turn the sinner into a rebel against God. Our job as Believers in Christ is to preach the Gospel and the Word of God, and let the Holy Spirit do the work in the hearts of those who hear it.

If you are a pastor or a church member, I hope that you have learned this lesson today: be on your guard for people who arrive in your church with lots of money. Forget about their money and ask them probing questions about their faith in Christ, if they truly have any.

If they are truly saved and love the Lord, and just want to be a blessing to your church, then they should be welcomed with open arms; but if their testimony is weak, then do not allow them to join, lest they become a curse to you and your church. You have been warned!

How about you? Have you truly and honestly repented of your sins and placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior? Or are you a fake Christian, like Simon?

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me” John 14:6

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” John 10:1

Before it is eternally too late, repent of your sins now, and give your heart and life to Jesus Christ, so that you don’t end up like Simon, lost forever and burning in Hell.

Here is a prayer that you can use to do that, right now:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.

Hechos Estudio #28: Felipe y los apóstoles Pedro y Juan destruyeron la influencia de Simón el Mago entre los samaritanos con el Evangelio (Hechos 8:5-25)

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“¡Esta es la obra de Jehová! Es maravilloso a nuestros ojos”. Salmo 118:23

Hechos, Capítulo 1.4: Dios eligieron a especiales judíos a escuchar el evangelio y ser salvados (8:5 - 9:31)

§Único Introducción: Felipe, Pedro y Juan destruyeron la mala influencia de Simón el Mago entre los samaritanos con el evangelio (8:5 - 25)

¶Lo opuesto Felipe ganó muchos samaritanos para el Señor Jesús, y la gente se alejó de la mala influencia del mal Simón el Mago (8:5 - 13)

¶Lo opuesto Pedro reprendió el malvado intento de Simón de sobornar a los apóstoles para obtener el poder de dar el Espíritu Santo (8:14 - 25)

§El complemento Cuerpo: Saulo de Tarso fue elegido por el Señor Jesucristo para sufrir por su Nombre (8:26 - 9:22)

¶Lo opuesto Felipe predicó el evangelio al eunuco etíope, un gentil que había sido salvado bajo el Antiguo Pacto (8:26 - 35)

¶Lo opuesto Después de bautizar al judío cristiano completado, el Espíritu del Señor arrebató a Felipe (8:36 - 40)

¶El complemento Saulo de Tarso se encontró con el Señor Jesucristo en el camino a Damasco y quedó cegado por la experiencia (9:1 - 9)

¶El complemento El Señor Jesucristo envió a Ananías para bautizar a Saúl y restaurar su vista (9:10 - 19a)

¶Único Saulo inmediatamente predicó a Cristo en las sinagogas de Damasco, y probó que Jesús es el Cristo (9:19b - 22)

§Complement Conclusión: Saúl sufrió la persecución por sus antiguos aliados en Damasco y Jerusalén (9:23 - 31)

¶El complemento Después de que Saúl escapó desde la persecución en Damasco, se encontró con los apóstoles en Jerusalén (9:23 - 27)

¶El complemento Después de que Saúl escapó desde la persecución en Jerusalén, las iglesias de Judea, Galilea y Samaria se fortalecieron (9:28 - 31)

Introducción

La traducción al español de este estudio está pendiente.

Como Ser Salvado

¿Exactamente cómo y cuándo naciste de nuevo?

He aprendido por experiencia que aquellos que se niegan a responder lo hacen porque nunca han nacido de nuevo; no tienen idea de lo que significa, y por eso no pueden responder.

Si ese es tu caso, entonces tu destino eterno en este momento es el Infierno; y más tarde, el Lago de Fuego.

Afortunadamente, podemos cambiar nuestro destino eterno del Infierno al Cielo, si nos arrepentimos de nuestros pecados y recibimos a Jesucristo como nuestro Salvador personal.

Primero, debemos creer que Jesús es el Hijo de Dios; que fue crucificado por nuestros pecados, que fue sepultado y que resucitó de entre los muertos al tercer día.

Romanos 10:8-11: “Pero ¿qué dice? “La Palabra está cerca de ti, incluso en tu boca y en tu corazón”, es decir, la Palabra de fe (que predicamos), que si confesarás con tu boca al Señor Jesús, y creerás en tu corazón que Dios le levantó de los muertos, tú serás salvado: porque con el corazón, el hombre cree para justicia, y con la boca, la confesión se hace para la salvación: porque la Escritura dice, “cualquiera que en él creyere, no será avergonzado”.

Entonces, debemos arrepentirnos de nuestros pecados e invocar el Nombre del Señor Jesús para salvarnos.

Romanos 10:12-13: “Porque no hay diferencia entre el judio y el gentil: porque el mismo Señor sobre todo es rico a todos los que le invocan: porque está escrito, “Cualquiera que llamará sobre el Nombre del Señor será salvado”.

Juan 1:12: “Pero cuantos le recibieron, él les dio autoridad para convertirse los niños de Dios: incluso a aquellos quien creen sobre su Nombre”.

Cuando hacemos eso, entonces nacemos de nuevo instantáneamente en el Reino de Dios.

Estas listo para hacer eso? Si es así, entonces busca un lugar para orar en privado y haz esta oración con todo tu corazón al Señor Jesucristo:

“Señor Jesús, sé que he pecado contra TI. ¡No soy bueno y usted eres justo! Creo que moriste en la cruz por mis pecados, fuiste enterrado y resucitaste de entre los muertos al tercer día. Quiero que vengas a mi vida y seas mi Señor y Salvador. Por favor entra en mi corazón ahora mismo. Perdóname por todos mis pecados y salva mi alma. En el poderoso Nombre de Jesús, oro, ¡Amén!”

Si se apartó de sus pecados y aceptó a Jesucristo como su Señor y único Salvador desde el pecado, por favor envíeme un mensaje a través de Facebook y hágame saber que lo ha hecho, para que pueda orar por usted y alegrarme con usted en lo que Dios tiene hecho en tu vida. Amén.