Evangelism Begins

Following the stoning of Stephen, persecution of Christians accelerated, which forced the apostles to flee Jerusalem. Had this not occurred, they may not have been likely to spread the gospel outside the city and beyond the scope of the Jews. Persecution ensured that God's message was taken to the world. Philip took the message to Samaria, where the people were hated by the Jews. The extent of the animosity between the groups is equivalent to that of modern Israelis and Palestinians. Simon the Sorcerer seems to have been a genuine believer, although there are some scholars who would debate that. But Christians do not become sin-free at the point of conversion. His display of a self-seeking heart regarding the desire for spiritual powers, does not disqualify him from the faith. He was rebuked but was not treated as harshly as Ananias and Sapphira had been, which indicates that he may not have been as cognizant, and therefore culpable, for his sin. Simon's case is like that of so many others we know. We may wonder about the salvation of others when their actions do not match up with their testimonies, but only God knows the heart.

A troublesome passage from this account is verses 15 and 16, which indicate that the Samaritan believers did not receive the Holy Spirit until the apostles arrived and laid hands on them. This is the exception to the rule in scripture and should not be used to build a doctrine upon, but it is used to support the Pentecostal position that Holy Spirit baptism is an event separate from the salvation experience. I read several commentaries on the subject but none of the explanations resonated with me. Luke gives the explanation that "they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus'. I read that and thought "what else is there?" I don't know what that statement means but have to remember that this was written to an audience nearly 2000 years before my time. The explanation seems so plainly stated that it must have had an obvious meaning to Luke's contemporaries. There was a reason the Holy Spirit indwelt these believers in a unique way. We just don't know for certain what it was. It is surmised that there was a need for the salvation of these first Gentile converts to be authenticated by the disciples. In that case, the delaying of the Spirit may have been intentional so that Peter could personally lay hands on them, thereby verifying that they were legitimate recipients. Regardless of the reason, this is an isolated incident. Everywhere else in Scripture, the Spirit indwells believers at the time of salvation.

There are three prepositions used with the Holy Spirit in the Greek..."in", "with" and "upon". So there are different ministries of the Spirit. The Spirit is "in" a believer at the time of salvation. The Spirit is "with' believers as they live their lives seeking to glorify God. And the Spirit comes "upon" believers, which is to say that there can be a special filling of the Spirit at times critical for the kingdom. This occurs only at God's sovereign choosing.

Tomorrow's reading: Acts 10:1-12:5