A World of Knockoffs: False Conversions Pt. 2
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Intro: Piltdown Man
Have you ever heard the story of the Piltdown man. In 1912, workers were digging at a location in Piltdown England, near Sussex, when they discovered some bone fragments that were strangely human. They turned those bones over to a local scientist named Charles Dawson. Dawson soon made the scientific claim that the recovered bone fragments were England’s first ape-man, giving evidence of evolutionary theory. This evidence proved the transition from ape to man in his mind. Dawson died 4 years later but not before solidifying himself as a scientific elite only behind the famous evolutionist Charles Darwin.
But 40 years later, scientists actually discovered the entire presentation of Piltdown man, was a hoax. Although the hoax is not credited to one person, further investigation of this ape-man led to this evidence as evolutionary embarrassment. Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell of Answers in Genesis writes,
“(scientists) found the impressive cranium belonged to a modern human and the jawbone belonged to an orangutan or a chimpanzee. All were stained to look old and to match. The teeth had been filed down. What no one had remarked for forty years was now plain for everyone to see, and Piltdown moved from the evolutionary hall of fame to the hall of shame.”
What is interesting about the story is that when Dawson made his claims to the scientific community, he took his fraudulent claims to the National History Museum who then reported it to the Geological Society. Without any tests or examinations performed, the specimens were authenticated and celebrated. (show painting- notice photo of Charles Darwin overlooking group)
In relationship to our study today and last week, truthful and proper examination is the key. Not a biased examination based upon presupposed worldviews, but an unbiased one. Because the English scientific community chose to forgo true scientific methods for the sake of their desire to prove evolution to be true, then they ended up looking the fool.
The church likewise seems scared at times to preach the need to authenticate those who belong to the organized body of believers. Some might consider it unkind for church leadership to pose questions as to whether a person is truly a follower of Jesus Christ or not. But as we look at our passage in Acts 8 last week, authentication is necessary if the church seeks to bring glory to the Lord Jesus until he returns. Jesus Christ is dishonored and the church looks foolish when unbelievers are accepted and included into the body of Christ. You might say spiritually dead persons attached to a healthy body of believers makes the person awkward and unhealthy. Many unbelievers can slip into the church membership, do great things for the body of Christ and yet be lost and disjointed from the true body of Jesus Christ- the church.
Be reminded that the church that Jesus Christ died for upon the cross DOES NOT exist upon the foundation of people with community ties, similar political views,
or familial relationships. It exists on the foundation of spiritually dead persons who were made alive together with Christ when they display a faith in Jesus alone and a turning from sin.
Review:
Remember with me that we saw two evidence of false conversion last week.
4 observations
A work of the enemy
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
A wrong faith
Not Emotional
Not Intellectual
Full Surrender: Faith and Repentance
3. A MISSING SEAL
3. A MISSING SEAL
As we look in vs. 17-18 we see that Simon was never given the Holy Spirit by the apostles after his conversion even though the other Samaritans did receive him. Why did Simon not receive the Holy Spirit like the others who placed their trust in Christ? Why did the Holy Spirit come later following conversion instead of immediately like He does today?
#1 – Why did Simon not receive the Holy Spirit?
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
Notice the grammar of v 12-13. They refers to the Samaritans with Simon as a contrasted by Luke. They believed....even Simon believed. Now consider verses 17-18 as a similar contrast. They received the Holy Spirit ....now Simon offered them money. You could argue that Simon wanted the power to use for his own benefit after he himself received the Holy Spirit with the rest of them, but I would argue otherwise. The grammar sets the distinction here and Simon’s actions back up the argument.
It is obvious that Simon did not receive the Holy Spirit, or he would not have asked for it, but why? It is clearly a sign that Simon was not truly trusting in Christ alone for salvation. Simon was not genuine so God did not grant the Holy Spirit to him. It was the apostles Peter and John who were laying hands on the believers to receive the Spirit, but God obviously held back Peter and John from laying hands on Simon, since his faith was not authentic. Peter eventually rebukes Simon and says, ! 21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Peter meant Simon did not have ownership or partnership with the Holy Spirit or with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is given to believers who place their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit initially in the life of a believer is to seal them to family of God. Eph. 1:13-14
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Sealed by the Holy Spirit means that a person is authenticated by God as true believers. The GK word for sealed in the NT carries the idea of a sealed letter or document sent by a king. On the letter is placed hot wax and the king’s impression of a royal emblem to signify that the letter is not fake but it is authentic documentation. When believers receive the Holy Spirit immediately at their salvation, it is as if the King of all Kings places a seal on us that proves that we are His children and we belong to His Kingdom.
This GK word “sealed” also carries the idea of security. That wax stamp was placed on the container of the letter showing that the documentation was secure. If the letter arrived without a broken seal, the document could be understood to have remained secure upon delivery. We have the seal and we can have confidence that once we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, we are secure in Christ Jesus. There is another interesting note about the Holy Spirit.
In Eph we also read that the Holy Spirit is given “as a pledge of our inheritance.” This word “pledge” in my bible may be different in your bible. Yours may say the “guarantee of our inheritance” or the “earnest of our inheritance” or the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. All these different translation are trying to convey that the Holy Spirit is also a mark on us that one day we will inherit the blessings of God in heaven, our inheritance in glory. Simon could not attain this gift from God because he had not come to surrender himself to God and thus He could not receive the Holy Spirit.
#2- Why did the Holy Spirit have a delayed coming upon the Samaritans?
There was constant bitterness and strife between the Jews and the Samaritans. Now that God was allowing the gospel to reach to those outside the realm of Judaism, special events were natural to take place. This instance of the unique coming of the Spirit upon believers is one of three instances where God used these events to teach the Jews about Himself.
In Acts 2, we realize that the coming of the Holy Spirit is delayed as it falls upon the apostles who had confessed Christ as Lord long before they received the Spirit. It is important to note that this initial coming of the Spirit marked a new era of the Holy Spirit’s power in the church and in the lives of believers. This era of the Holy Spirit would be like nothing that people had ever seen in the OT. In Acts 8 in our passage tonight, we see again the Holy Spirit come in delayed fashion because God wanted Peter and John to arrive and see the Holy Spirit fall upon these racial rivals to the Jews. It opened the eyes of these apostles to God’s intention for the gospel going to the whole world. Lastly, in Acts 10, as Peter shares the gospel with Gentiles, the Holy Spirit immediately falls upon the Gentiles who believe and then they are baptized. This again was to show the Jews God’s intention to take the gospel beyond the walls of Judaism.
Although this happened uniquely to the early church, it does not mean that is happens the same for us today. Instead, Paul tells the Ephesians that :
You heard the word of truth (the gospel)
You believed
You were sealed
There is no evidence in Scripture after the establishment of the church where the Spirit comes later. Some churches are engaged in teaching a doctrine that you receive the Holy Spirit later in your walk with Christ, as a spiritual level-up of your faith. This implies a few erroneous and dangerous truths for Christians.
1. It implies that there is something more for our faith outside of what Christ provides at salvation. It something that we have to pray for, yearn for and hopefully, receive one day. This is not true and goes against what Christ paid for by his blood. The work is finished, the inheritance is granted and reserved and kept in heave for you.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
2. It creates an elitism in the church of the have and have-nots. Oh, you have the Spirit and it don’t. Let’s have all the Spirit anointed people over here and the the non-Spirit anointed people over here. This is an evil-disunifying truth that we should reject.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
Instead, the Spirit comes immediately upon believers when they trust full in Christ and this is the evidence that we have truly been changed in Christ Jesus.
How do we know the Spirit has truly come?
One way we can tell that we are truly saved is we can clearly see the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We may NOT be able to view the Holy Spirit with our eyes, but we can see his work in us and in the work of others. We can see Him as we read Scripture and it is illuminated in understanding. We can see Him as we are convicted of sin as we read the word of God. We can see Him as he gifts us to serve the church, the bride of Christ.
Can you find evidence in your life that the Holy Spirit is a part of your life?
Let me help you evaluate your life:
TURN WITH ME to Galatians 5:16–25
Does your life reflect a turning from sin, trusting in Christ with a visible evidence that you live seeking to walk by the Spirit and not your flesh. This would mean you possess the shadow of godly character and you disdain sinful practices.
4. A SPIRITUAL VERIFICATION
4. A SPIRITUAL VERIFICATION
Finally, we have to see the importance of Peter and John in this passage as leaders of the church. God sent them providentially to Samaria to encounter Simon. I don't know for sure what came of Simon after this although church history speaks of Simon not truly following Christ. But I do know that God’s plan to send Peter and John into this situation speaks of his appointment of Godly people in our lives and the church that can be a measuring stick for our faith.
Peter and John spoke the truth in love to Simon out of a duty to Christ to shepherd people to trust in Christ alone. Without this interaction, Simon would have never heard the truth and he would have lived a lie. Peter clearly tells him,
21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”
Peter clearly evaluates the situation with spiritual eyes and brings the conclusion that Simon is unconverted and without Christ. He doesn’t call him a babe in Christ or C- in the membership class. He tells him twice that is heart is not right before the Lord and need forgiveness. Peter would not say this to true believer in my understanding.
What this does teach us is the importance of spiritual figures in our lives to walk alongside of for spiritual assessment, restoration and encouragement. Did you hear me? I didn’t just say spiritual rebuke if you get excited about that sort of thing. I said assessment, restoration, and encouragement.
If the church functions the way God intended our community would look like:
Healthy assessment
The Bible speaks of the need for spiritual evaluation to be present in our lives. If you don’t evaluate, you could be a reprobate. Paul tells the Corinthians,
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
Sometimes we are blinded by our own lack of understanding of our spiritual lives and our brothers and sisters might need to point out that lack of true faith in us. This is a healthy thing in the community of believers when we lovingly walk with others to make sure they know Christ. This is our role as your shepherds as well to make sure we don’t just baptize just anyone who wants it, but we make sure you understand the depth of sin and the need for Christ alone to save you.
When Jesus stated in Matthew 16:19
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
He is giving the organized body of believers called the church the authority to operate as a substation of heaven. Keys of the kingdom signify authority and access. That authority and access is not something that is self-appointed but flows out of what the word teaches about leadership in the church, discipline in the church, organization of the church, etc. Therefore your elders, then seek to examine you spiritual condition for your good BASED ON THE WRITTEN WORD that guides us, not by any human standard.
Healthy restoration
Spiritual leaders also are helpful spiritual restoration. In other words, brothers and sisters who are around you are called to help restore you in love for the glory of Gods name. It doesn’t have to be the elders of your church that do this, for Paul writes
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
In Peter and John’s case, they did what was needed for Simon. They pointed out the lack of repentance and the bondage he was still in in his sin. They didn’t sugar coat the truth. What we don’t here is if any work was done with Simon after the fact. We can’t see if more time was spent with Simon helping understand these truths. We can see that in other places in Scripture. Paul continually visited churches he started to equip and encourage the new believers there.
A better example might be Aquila and Priscilla who met Apollos. He didn't not understand everything about the gospel correctly and they walked alongside him, teaching him, loving him in relationship so that he might know clearly what Jesus had done. This is what the church is called to do....not just point out the faults of one another but lovingly walk alongside each other in love and relationship, helping one another to know Christ and walk faithfully with him.
Conclusion