How to Think Right and Live Right (Acts 8 5-25)

For an ad-free version of the podcast plus the opportunity to enjoy hours of exclusive content and two bonus episodes a month and also help keep the Bible Project Daily Podcast free  for listeners everywhere at;
patreon.com/JeremyMcCandless

Subscribe here to receive my new church history podcast every few weeks at.
https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com

Welcome:

Welcome to today's episode! In this episode, we delve into Acts 8:5-25 to explore the importance of aligning our thoughts with God's thoughts and how this transformation can lead us to live a godly life. Through the story of Philip in Samaria and the intriguing character of Simon the Sorcerer, we uncover practical lessons about thinking and acting in ways that reflect God's will.

Episode Notes

Main Themes:

• The importance of aligning our thoughts with God's thoughts.
• How transformed thinking leads to godly living.
• The impact of Philip's ministry in Samaria.
• The story of Simon the Sorcerer and the lessons we can learn from his encounter with the apostles.

Key Points:

1. Introduction to the Passage:
   • Philip's mission to Samaria and the miracles he performed.
   • The joy in the city as a result of God's work.
2. Simon's Background:
   • Simon's practice of sorcery and his claims of greatness.
   • The people's admiration for Simon before Philip's arrival.
3. The Shift in Belief:
   • The Samaritans' response to Philip's preaching.
   • Simon's belief and baptism.
4. Controversy and Correction:
   • Simon's misunderstanding about the Holy Spirit.
   • Peter's rebuke and call for Simon's repentance.
5. Lessons Learned:
   • The significance of thinking like God to transform our lives.
   • How actions rooted in godly thinking can lead to true spiritual transformation.

Reflection Questions:

• How can we ensure our thoughts align with God's thoughts?
• What steps can we take to transform our thinking through the renewal of our minds?
• How can we apply the lessons from Simon's story to our own spiritual journey?

Practical Application:

• Daily Scripture reading and meditation to align our thoughts with God's Word.
• Prayer for wisdom and discernment to think and act in ways that please God.
• Engaging in community and fellowship with other believers to encourage godly thinking and living.

Thank you for joining me I hope you found it insightful and inspiring. Be sure to tune in next time as we continue to explore biblical principles for contemporary life.

Transcript

How to Think Right and Live Right. (Acts 8: 5-25)

Transcript: 

Have you ever listened to somebody talk and thought to yourself, "That person is not thinking straight"? That's like asking, "Did you have any conversations with anybody last week?" We all encounter people who, we think, just don't make sense. Imagine what God thinks when He listens to us. He may hear the way we talk and think, and shake His head, “thinking what are they saying, they just don't get it."

In the Old Testament, we're told that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. The gap between us and God is vast—He says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My thoughts higher than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). 

You might wonder, "What difference does that make? Of course, God thinks differently; He's God, and I'm just a normal man or woman. This is critical because the road to godliness lies in our beginning to think like God. Romans 12:2 says, “We are transformed by the renewing of our minds”. Meaning as we are exposed to God's thoughts and begin to think like Him, we become godly people. Thoughts precede actions, so it's crucial that we align our thinking with God's in order to live a Godly life.

You might think that this transformation happens automatically when you become a Christian, or does it? When you come to Christ, you start to think like God because the Holy Spirit is in you. But does that always happen? It doesn't always seem to work that way. So, today we are going to examine the idea of thinking God's thoughts after Him…. Welcome….

Thinking God thoughts, how do we do that?

In the book of Acts, there's a story about a man that illustrates the importance of thinking correctly. From him, we can learn a valuable, practical lesson. With that in mind, let's turn to Acts 8:5-25.

5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed, or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

9 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, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

(Acts 8: 5-25)

This story is straightforward. It opens with Philip going to Samaria. If you've been tracking with me through the book of Acts, you’ll remember that way back in chapter 1, verse 8, Jesus told the apostles that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Jerusalem was the city, Judea the state, and Samaria the adjoining state. It's like saying, "Preach in London, England and then the whole of Great Britian.

They set up camp in Jerusalem and stayed there until Stephen was martyred. Then, as we read in chapter 8, verse 1, "A great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles." 

Now, Jesus had commanded them to go, but they didn’t. It was the persecution, as a result of Stephen's martyrdom that forced them to move beyond Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria.

Philip went to Samaria and preached that Jesus was the Messiah. We're told several times in Acts that they demonstrated from the Old Testament that the Messiah must die and rise from the dead, and that this Jesus is the Messiah.

What we see in this passage is the importance of understanding and aligning our thoughts with God's thoughts. Philip's actions and preaching were in line with God's plan, while Simon's misunderstanding showed a need for deeper transformation. 

As we continue to explore this passage, we'll uncover more about what it means to think God's thoughts after Him and how that transforms our lives and the lives of those around us.

So that's the kind of thing that Philip did, but he also did something else. Verse 6 says that the people were seeing and hearing the miracles he performed and verse 7 explains three kinds of miracles: 

1.   He was casting out demons.

2.   He was healing people who were paralyzed.

3.   He was healing those who were lame.

Philip goes to Samaria, preaches Jesus as Messiah, and demonstrates this with great power.

This sets the stage for the story, which concerns a man named Simon. Before we delve into Simon's story, understand that Philip is preaching and demonstrating great power.

One other observation before we get to Simon: verse 8 says, "There was great joy in that city."

You can imagine the joy. People were coming to Christ, being saved, and experiencing the joy of having their sins forgiven. Some were even being healed. There's nothing like being sick and then being declared well again; it automatically produces joy. 

But this joy goes beyond just salvation and healing. The key point is that God is at work. The theme of the book of Acts is that Jesus began to do and teach in the book of Luke, and in Acts, He continues to work through the Holy Spirit. The very fact that God is at work produces joy. Psalm 16:11 says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy."

That’s the context now, Luke turns his focus on one individual—Simon, and verse 9 introduces him:

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 rightly called the Great Power of God.”

(Acts 8: 9-10)

Simon was narcissistic, boasting of his greatness. But it was more than just a claim; He was not just claiming to be great among humans; he was claiming a kind of deity, and the people are attributed divinity to him because of his sorcery.

Simon practiced magic and did things that seemed supernatural, impressing the people to the point of declaring him "the great power of God." 

This had gone on for a long time. But then Philip comes to town, performing miracles that were undeniable and greater than anything Simon had done. Philip was healing paralyzed and lame people—miracles that clearly demonstrated a greater power than Simon's.

The people started listening to Philip but when they believed they believed in what he said concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus as the Messiah and, both men and women were baptized." Philip's preaching and miracles led people to Christ, and they were baptized in responce. 

This sets the scene for the next significant detail: Simon himself also believed.

What does it take to be saved? John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." So if you believe, you receive eternal life, right? The text says Simon believed. Was he saved? Did he receive eternal life?

This is where controversy arises. The vast majority of Bible-believing Christians teach that Simon was not saved, based on what Peter says later in the passage. 

Let's jump to verse 18 for a moment. Simon offers money to the apostles, saying, Peter responds strongly in verse 20: 

Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

(Acts 8: 20-23)

Many conclude that Simon was not truly saved based on Peter's rebuke in verses 20-23. They argue that Simon's desire to buy the power of the Holy Spirit reveals a misunderstanding of the gospel. But what's the real story with Simon? This passage shows a complex character whose belief may have been superficial, raising questions about true faith and genuine transformation.

When I first accepted Jesus, I only knew salvation is by faith. One day, a preacher claimed Simon wasn't saved. I looked at the passage, which says Simon believed. The Bible says if you believe, you are saved. Acts 16:31 and the gospel of John also support this idea throughout its entire text.

Verse 12 shows people believing and being baptized, and verse 13 says Simon also believed and was baptized. If the people in verse 12 were saved, then so was Simon. Philip even baptized him, indicating he believed Simon was saved.

I would suggest that if Simon's belief isn't saving faith, it undermines the entire gospel. If the text says he believed, then he believed to the saving of his soul.

After Simon's salvation, the Samaritans hadn't received the Holy Spirit yet. Peter and John laid hands on them to receive it. This was to unite Jewish and Samaritan believers, ensuring one unified church. Normally, receiving the Holy Spirit isn't a separate event after conversion lime was in example like Romans 8:9, and Ephesians 1:3.

Simon saw the power in laying hands and wanted it. Despite being saved, he was still thinking like an unsaved person, believing power and money went hand-in-hand. He offered money for this power.

Peter strongly rebuked him, saying, "Your money will perish with you because you thought the gift of God could be purchased." This rebuke doesn't necessarily mean eternal damnation but rather severe consequences, including of course possibly physical death. Peter aimed to correct Simon's misunderstanding.

Simon had eternal life based on his faith in Christ. When Peter said, "Your money perishes with you," it referred to temporal consequences, not eternal damnation.

Peter warned Simon: "You have no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not right before God." This meant Simon couldn't participate in the ministry of laying hands on people for the Holy Spirit. It wasn't about losing salvation but missing out on the benefits and ministry opportunities in the Christian life.

Simon needed to repent—change his mind—and pray for forgiveness. Repentance here is about changing thinking, not conduct. Simon's sin was in his thoughts, believing he could buy God's gift.

"Then Peter says, For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”' 

He's poisoned by bitterness and captive by sin! But can a believer be filled with bitterness? Absolutely. Ephesians 4:31 says, 'Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.' 

Christians can struggle with bitterness. 

Furthermore, do you know any Christians who struggle with sin? Maybe you do, I know I do.

Paul clearly said in Romans 7:23 that it is possible for Christians to be captive to sin. So just because Simon was full of bitterness and captive by sin doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't a believer; it could mean he was a believer who wasn't thinking straight and resented being rebuked by Peter. 

Peter then told him, 'You need to change your mind about this because there are serious consequences; you could perish just like your money in a banking crash.

"Simon then said, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me”.

The text doesn't tell us what happened next; it just says they went back to Jerusalem, preaching in other places in Samaria."

A couple of hundred years after this was written, some Christian writers said that Simon was the first false teacher, and that idea has persisted throughout history, in fact some claim he was the father of what we call the Druids.

But as some scholars have pointed out, a quotation written a hundred years later doesn't necessarily mean this is the same Simon 

I personally suspect that Peter and John prayed for him and that he got right with the Lord. How do I know? Well, I don't know for certain, but the writing that appeared about him being the father of false teachers appeared  decades after the gospel account were written.

If Simon had become the false teacher everyone says he is, I think Luke later on in his gospel account might have mentioned that. The fact that he does says Simon asked for prayer implies that Simon had a change of heart."

I think the point of this passage is simply this: Simon was saved, but he was thinking like an unsaved person. In other words, conversion does not immediately correct wrong thinking. Just because you become a Christian doesn't mean you automatically start thinking correctly.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3 that some believers walk as mere men, behaving like unsaved people. Just because we become Christians doesn't mean we automatically have a heavenly encyclopedia dropped into our brains and start thinking like God.

We need to learn to think straight. What does that mean? It means we need to renew our minds, as Romans 12:2 says. It means we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It applies to every area of our lives. 

Simon's thinking about money. As an unsaved person, he had always believed that money could buy anything. After becoming a Christian, he tried to buy a ministry. He thinking wasn’t straight about money, he had totally wrong thinking, wrong theology about the economy of God.

Money can buy entertainment but not joy. Money can buy medicine but not health. Money can buy a house but not a home."

Simon needed to learn that true power and true riches come from God and cannot be purchased. We all need to think straight about money and every other aspect of our lives.

For us today thinking straight about money is about recognizing that God has made us stewards of it. We are to use it to provide for ourselves and our families, enjoy it, as stated in 1 Timothy 6, and also give some of it away.

I rarely speak about giving, but let me just tell you one thing: according to Jesus, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Does that go against everything we naturally think? Yes, it really does.

So we need to think straight about money, but I also I think we need to notice that Simon wanted to buy the ministry.  So maybe we also need to rethink our concept of the church and ministry. 

When we say 'church,' we often think of a building where people sit in pews and a pastor stands behind a pulpit. But who is really in the ministry? Is it just the pastor and a couple of leaders? 

No. Let's be clear: the church is not a building; the church is the people.

Every person who knows Jesus Christ is in the ministry. Service is not about sitting in a pew; it is about actively serving others. Unfortunately, we have reduced these meaningful words—church, ministry, service—to just an hour on Sunday morning. But think about it: in the New Testament, they met in homes, not buildings. There were no pews; they sat on sofas, beds, pallets, or even on the floor.

The way our services are currently set up can reinforce the wrong ideas. You all look at the back of someone's head and at the minister at the front         and that’s you view so to speak of ministry.

But in the New Testament, they looked at each other and interacted. They had true fellowship. That’s why we started having meals together after services, they met frequently during the week. That’s where ministry happens. Yes, there is central a place for teaching, but real the ministry happens when we take what we have learned and serve one another.

So, we need to think straight about ministry.

Another area where we need to think straight is about the Messiah. Simon had a Messiah complex, thinking he was someone great. When he saw Peter and John laying hands on people, he wanted that power for himself. 

We might think we would never do that, but we all have a bit of a Messiah complex. The key to relationships is humility—serving one another in love, as Galatians 5:13 says.

Our attitude often says, “I’m here to be served. I’m someone special.” But that thinking needs to be corrected. 

Let me share a historical example: In 1715, King Louis XIV of France died after a reign of 72 years. He called himself 'Louis the Great' and famously said, “I am the state.” His funeral was as grand as his life. His body lay in a golden coffin, and the cathedral was dimly lit with only a special candle above his coffin to dramatize his greatness. As the memorial began, thousands gathered, and the bishop stood to speak. He reached down, snuffed out the candle, and said, “Only God is great.” Some people need their candle snuffed out to realize only God is great.

We need to think straight. The issue, the same as Simon faced after trusting Christ for salvation, we need to begin to think like Christ so that, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, we have the mind of Christ, or as he says in Philippians 2, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” 

We need to change our minds—repent—so that our lives are transformed, as Romans 12:2 says. We focus on externals instead of internals, on feeling good and looking good instead of being good, on getting ahead instead of serving others.

The happiest people don’t have the best of everything; they make the best of everything. Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God. Life should be measured in memories.

We need to do some soul searching, change our minds, and be transformed into the image of Christ.