{"id":19125,"date":"2016-10-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-09T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-034\/"},"modified":"2016-10-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-10-09T05:00:00","slug":"soteriology-034","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-034\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 034"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[89],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19125","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-acts","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 034","sermon_date":"20161009","sermon_month":"10","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":3986,"sermon_slides":3987,"sermon_mp3":3991,"sermon_id":"10916105187","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":89,"chapter_and_verse":"5:1-11","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSoteriology 34,\u00a0 Acts 5:1-11\n\nOctober 9, 2016\n\nFather, we\u2019re grateful for today, grateful for a chance to gather and grateful for the exciting things You\u2019re doing here, grateful for all the people that are going to be baptized later on this afternoon.\u00a0 So I just ask that you\u2019ll be with our worship service and Sunday School class and everything that\u2019s going on here this morning.\u00a0\u00a0 And we just ask that Your Spirit would come and illuminate our minds to spiritual truth.\u00a0 We just ask that we would come before You today with the right spirit and heart and that we might receive from You, and we just ask that you would work mightily.\u00a0 And we ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said Amen.\n\nIf we could open our Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 5 and verses 1-11.\u00a0 As you all know we have been venturing through this teaching on eternal security, no longer really laying out the arguments for eternal security.\u00a0 Of course, eternal security means the grace that saved you is the grace that keeps you until the end so.\u00a0 So loss of salvation is not a possibility according to the doctrine of eternal security.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I believe, but really what I believe doesn\u2019t matter, it\u2019s what the Bible teaches.\u00a0 Right?\n\nSo we\u2019ve walked through several arguments about the eternal security of the believer and now we\u2019re into those passages that seem to deny the security of the believer.\u00a0 And what we\u2019re learning is how to harmonize those with the clear passages that teach once saved always saved.\u00a0 So we\u2019ve looked at Old Testament passages, passages from the Old Testament, we\u2019ve looked at passages from Matthew, we\u2019ve looked at passages from John\u2019s Gospel which seem to deny eternal security, and so you see that we\u2019re actually moving, we\u2019re progressing, now we\u2019re finished with the gospels and the Old Testament, and today we\u2019re going to look at a few passages in the book of Acts, and if time permits I\u2019m going to start showing you passages, at least one, in the writings of the Apostle Paul.\n\nSo there are passages at first glance that make it look like you can lose your salvation.\u00a0 One of those is Acts 5:1-11; Acts 5:1-11 is basically the death of Ananias and Sapphira, so let me read those verses to you if I could.\u00a0 It says: \u201cBut a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, [2] and kept back some<\/em> of the price for himself, with his wife\u2019s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles\u2019 feet.[3] But Peter said, \u2018Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some<\/em> of the price of the land? [4] While it remained unsold,<\/em> did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.\u2019 \u00a0[5] And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. [6] The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.\n\n[7] Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. [8] And Peter responded to her, \u2018Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?\u2019 And she said, \u2018Yes, that was the price.\u2019 [9] Then Peter said<\/em> to her, \u2018Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well. <\/em>[10] And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. \u00a0[11] And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.\u201d\n\nSo not exactly a warm fuzzy thought for the day, is it?\u00a0 You have this husband and wife team and people are confused about the sin.\u00a0 People think the sin was they sold their property and didn\u2019t give it all to the church, and that really wasn\u2019t their sin.\u00a0 Their sin was they sold a piece of property, so they liquidated their assets and they told the church we\u2019ve given all the money from the sale to the church; that\u2019s how they publicly represented themselves and the fact of the matter is they hadn\u2019t done so; they had kept back part of the proceeds for themselves.\u00a0 So their sin wasn\u2019t they didn\u2019t sell everything, their sin was they lied about it.\u00a0 They exaggerated their level of generosity.\u00a0 And I just bring this up just as a side note; there\u2019s a big effort today, sadly, to mix the principles of communism with the principles of the Bible.\u00a0 And that\u2019s called liberation theology.\u00a0 And they always quote Acts 2, where the church had \u201call things in common.\u201d\u00a0 [Acts 2:44, \u201cAnd all those who had believed were together and had all things in common.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Acts 4:32, \u201cAnd the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.\u201d]\n\nSo they want to kind of pretend that the early church was practicing an early form of Marxism, which it was not because under Marxism the government comes in and controls your wealth and the government is not involved in Acts 2 at all.\u00a0 And the last time I checked the Bible says \u201cThe Lord loves\u201d a what kind of giver?\u00a0 \u201ca cheerful giver.\u201d\u00a0 [2 Corinthians 9:7, \u201cEach one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.\u201d]\u00a0 I\u2019m not all that cheerful April 15th<\/sup>; are\u00a0 you guys cheerful on April 15th<\/sup>?\u00a0 No, it\u2019s being forced out of my hand.\n\nSo the Bible doesn\u2019t teach communism, it teaches what I would call passionate capitalism where God is interested in the ownership of property and He\u2019s interested that we use those things that He loans to us as stewards generously.\u00a0 And it\u2019s very clear in verse 3, Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart.\u00a0 [Acts 5:3, \u201cBut Peter said, \"Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?\u201d]\u00a0 Verse 4, \u201cWhile it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?\u201d\u00a0 In other words, they were allowed to own the property, they were allowed to sell the property, they were allowed to do whatever they wanted with the proceeds because God is into the ownership of private property.\u00a0 But the problem with these two is they sold the property, they told the church they\u2019d given all the proceeds to the church when in reality they hadn\u2019t.\n\nSo as you read through these eleven verses what you discover is the Lord struck them dead right there on the spot for this sin.\u00a0 And people say well, obviously then they lost their salvation.\u00a0 A couple of points on that.\u00a0 First of all, I\u2019m very convinced that Ananias and Sapphira were believers.\u00a0 A lot of people will say well, they weren\u2019t believers.\u00a0 The reason I say they were believers is because this is taking place in church, which is where believers go.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 And in fact if you go down to verse 11 it says, \u00a0\u201cAnd great fear came over the whole\u201d what?\u00a0 Church.\u00a0 So why would the church be afraid if an unbeliever was struck dead; that wouldn\u2019t cause a lot of fear, would it?\u00a0 But what happened is one of their own were struck dead.\u00a0 And as you look at verse 3 this is why people think they were unbelievers.\u00a0 Peter says, \u201c\u2026why has Satan filled your heart\u201d the Greek word for \u201cfill\u201d there is pl\u0113ro<\/em>\u014d<\/em>, and it\u2019s the same verb used in Ephesians 5:18 which says that we are to be \u201cfilled with the Holy Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 [Ephesians 5:18, \u201cAnd do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.\u201d]\u00a0 So people say well how can they be believers when a believer is supposed to be filled with the Holy Spirit?\u00a0 The verbiage that\u2019s used here is they weren\u2019t filled with the Holy Spirit, they were filled with satanic motivation, so obviously they were unbelievers, people say.\n\nBut the fact of the matter is the devil cannot possess a Christian but he can significantly influence a Christian and we\u2019re warned about this over and over again.\u00a0 In fact, Peter himself (who spoke these words to Ananias and Sapphira) a little bit earlier, while Jesus was on the earth, Peter made a statement and he actually tried to talk Jesus out of going to the cross, Matthew 16:21-23. And Jesus said to Peter, \u201cGet behind me,\u201d what? \u201cSatan.\u201d\u00a0 [Matthew 16:21, \u201cFrom that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. [22] Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, \u201cGod forbid it,<\/em> Lord! This shall never happen to You.\u201d [23] But He turned and said to Peter, \u201cGet behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God\u2019s interests, but man\u2019s.\u201d]\n\nSo very clearly was Peter saved?\u00a0 Of course he was, but Peter went back and I think he catered to the sin nature in some sense; maybe it was pride, I\u2019m not sure what the issue was, and the moment you go back to the sin nature the demons can\u2019t possess you but they can significantly influence you.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what\u2019s happening here with Ananias and Sapphira, they\u2019re being motivated by a desire to lie and Satan actually took their fleshly activity and they gave Satan a foothold and he filled their hearts.\n\nThe book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 26-27, now Ephesians 4 very clearly is speaking to a believer because he says there we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and things of that nature, but Paul in Ephesians 4:26-27 says, \u201c\u2026do not let the sun go down on your anger,\u201d that\u2019s why I\u2019ve always wanted to move to Alaska, \u201c\u2026do not let the sun go down on your anger\u201d because in doing so you give the devil a what?\u00a0 A foothold.\u00a0\u00a0 So isn\u2019t it interesting that when we\u2019re angry we\u2019re harboring bitterness, we say angry things to people.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that how it typically works?\u00a0 And a lot of the angry things we say it spills out on innocent people.\u00a0 So if I\u2019m going to cater to my sin nature then I\u2019m giving Satan, not an opportunity to possess me because God and Satan I don\u2019t think can be roommates if my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, but I have given him ground to use me.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 And see, that\u2019s how to understand what was happening here with Ananias and Sapphira; they were catering to a fleshly desire to be seen by men, to misrepresent their level of generosity and the Lord immediately killed them on the spot.\n\nSo this is not a loss of salvation issue; this is a divine discipline issue because Hebrews 12:5-11 says \u201cwhom the Lord loves, the Lord\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cchastens.\u201d\u00a0 [Hebrews 12:5-11, \u201cAnd you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, \u2018MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; [6] FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.\u2019\u00a0 [7] It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his<\/em> father does not discipline? [8] But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. [9] Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? [10] For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us<\/em> for our<\/em> good, so that we may share His holiness. [11] All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.\u201d]\n\nJesus, in Revelation 3:19 says, \u201cThose whom I love, I reprove [and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.\u201d]\u00a0 So you can go under the chastening of God, much like David went under that in the Old Testament, but that\u2019s not a loss of salvation.\u00a0 And sometimes the chastening of God can be so severe that God can actually remove the life of a child of God from the earth before it\u2019s really their time to die.\u00a0 So God can terminate the natural expiration of someone\u2019s life when they get involved in certain sins.\n\nAnd to my count the Bible teaches this at least four other times.\u00a0 I want to show you that this is a New Testament doctrine.\u00a0 For example, in 1 Corinthians 11:30, where the Corinthians were drunk and disorderly at the Lord\u2019s table and they had taken what was holy and turned it into a common meal where the poor were being excluded because they didn\u2019t have enough money to participate, Paul says, 1 Corinthians 11:30, \u201cFor this reason many among you are weak and sick,\u201d and some of you have what? \u201cfallen asleep.\u201d\u00a0 Now when he says \u201cfallen asleep\u201d that\u2019s a euphemism or a way of saying death.\u00a0 So God actually moved into Corinth and actually began to exercise divine discipline on His people.\u00a0 And there\u2019s no hint, as you go through the book of Corinthians, and I\u2019ve gone through some of it with you even in this class, that the folks in Corinth were unbelievers.\u00a0 Paul commends them for being saints at the beginning of the book, positionally, but the rest of the book they\u2019re not acting very saintly, are they?\u00a0 So the Lord moved in there in 1 Corinthians 11:30 with divine discipline and even brought some people to the point of death.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I would call maximum divine discipline.\n\nAnother place where this is taught is 1 John 5:19, which says there is a sin that leads to death, and then it never defines what the sin is.\u00a0 So everybody asks me well, what\u2019s the sin, and I don\u2019t have any idea what it is but it\u2019s something bad, whatever it is.\u00a0 [I John 5:19, \u201cIf anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.\u201d]\u00a0 In other words, it\u2019s opening the door there, 1 John is, all written to believers, by the way, \u201cMy little children\u201d and so forth, all the way through 1 John.\u00a0 And then he talks about a sin that leads unto death; there are some sins you get into that can become so severe that it not only warrants divine discipline but it actually warrants God terminating somebody\u2019s life span, which is what happened with Ananias and Sapphira.\n\nAnd then only other time in the New Testament where I know this happens is over in the book of Revelation, chapter 2 and verse 23 where Jesus is speaking to the seven churches.\u00a0 And in Revelation 2:23 Jesus says to the church at Thyatira, \u201cAnd I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.\u201d\u00a0 And Jesus is reacting there to a sin taking place in their midst, which is described in verse 22, He says, \u201cBehold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s some kind of terrible sin taking place there in Thyatira, and that\u2019s when Jesus says \u201cI will kill her children\u201d and that\u2019s her spiritual children I believe, \u201cwith pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts, and I will give to each one according to his deeds.\u201d\n\nSo this maximum divine discipline has a natural purifying effect on the church.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what Jesus means there when He says, \u201cand all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts,\u201d and that\u2019s what Acts 5:11 is talking about, where it says and the whole church became fearful, great fear came over the whole church.\u00a0 [Acts 5:11, \u201cAnd great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.\u201d]\u00a0 God moves in, not just with discipline but maximum divine discipline and people start to die.\u00a0 You get a sense that God is pretty serious about sin in the life of the believer.\n\nNow is every death a result of maximum divine discipline?\u00a0 No, not necessarily, but there is this New Testament reality that sometimes death can be attributable to some kind of divine discipline in the sinning believer\u2019s life.\u00a0 And so it was necessary here in Acts 5 particularly, because the church just started\u2026 and by the way, a lot of people will say the church really didn\u2019t start in Acts 2, but look at verse 11, \u201cgreat fear came over the whole\u201d what? \u201cchurch,\u201d that\u2019s the Greek word ecclesia<\/em>, so obviously the church is in existence here.\u00a0 When did the church come into existence?\u00a0 I believe the church came into existence in Acts 2.\u00a0 So very clearly the church is in existence, it just consists primarily of Jewish believers, completely Jewish believers at this point.\n\nAnd the thing to understand is the church is a newborn infant at this point.\u00a0\u00a0 So a newborn is particularly vulnerable, are they not, to diseases, to infections, which can destroy the life of that newborn.\u00a0 And that\u2019s how this newborn church was functioning; it\u2019s brand new and any spiritual virus that entered it could have destroyed that infant and that\u2019s why God was so severe with Ananias and Sapphira here in terms of the sin that was taking place in their lives, which was lying to the Holy Spirit.\n\nSo all of this to say that this is a maximum divine discipline issue with Ananias and Sapphira. It really has nothing to do with loss of salvation.\u00a0 I believe that when Ananias and Sapphira were killed by God their souls immediately went into His presence.\u00a0 As Paul says, \u201cabsent from the body\u201d is what? \u201cpresent with the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 So don\u2019t read a bunch of loss of salvation ideas into Acts 5, that\u2019s really not the point; it\u2019s a divine discipline issue, and in this case I would call it maximum divine discipline.\n\nLet me take you to another one; let\u2019s go over to Acts 8:5-25, this is the conversion of Simon the Sorcerer, and Acts 8:5 says this, \u201cPhilip went down to the city of Samaria\u201d Philip being one of the deacons, Philip\u2019s name is given in Acts 6, he\u2019s one of the deacons. \u00a0\u201cPhilip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. \u00a0[6] The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. [7] For in the case of<\/em> many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them<\/em> shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. [8] So there was much rejoicing in that city.\u00a0 [9] Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; [10] and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, \u2018This man is what is called the Great Power of God.\u2019 \u00a0[11] And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts. [12] But when they believed\u201d that\u2019s the Samaritans, \u201cPhilip, preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.\u201d\u00a0 Verse 13 is the key verse, \u201cEven Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.\u201d\n\n[14] \u201cNow when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent 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 upon any of them;\u201d that\u2019s the people in Samaria, \u201cthey had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then they began<\/em> laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. [18] Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles\u2019 hands, he offered them money, [19] saying, \u2018Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.\u2019 \u00a0[20] But Peter said to him, \u2018May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! [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.\u2019 \u00a0[<\/strong>24] But Simon answered and said, \u2018Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.\u2019\u00a0 [25] So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.\u201d\n\nSo what has happened here in the book of Acts, and the reason Luke brings all of this up in the book of Acts is because Luke is trying to document, not just the birth of the church but its progress.\u00a0 And the fact that you get Samaritans believing in Jesus is like a major ethnic step, it\u2019s like a quantum leap forward for the church, because if there was ever a group of people that hated each other it was the Jews and the Samaritans.\u00a0 And this conflict actually goes all the way back to the seventh century; the Samaritans were a group of people that were brought into the land by an Assyrian king after the northern kingdom was evicted in 722 B.C. and they kind of\u2026 the Jews had been displaced so they brought in this kind of Babylonian group and they started to intermarry with some of the Jews and they became what\u2019s called a half-breed hybrid race.\u00a0 And they were people that just basically followed their own program; they wouldn\u2019t go to Jerusalem like they were supposed to, to worship, they instead decided to set up a rival religious system on Mr. Gerizim.\u00a0 You might remember from the book of Deuteronomy that when Moses enters the land he was told there\u2019s going to be two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, and I want you to read the curses of the law, God said to Moses, for Ebal, and I want you to read the blessings of the law from Gerizim, and so these people liked the blessings part of that so when this half-breed hybrid race started they just sort of decided we\u2019re not going to worship in Jerusalem like we\u2019re supposed to, we\u2019re going to worship on Gerizim.\n\nAnd so what you have to understand is for seven hundred years, that\u2019s a long time, isn\u2019t it, there is nothing but hostility racially between the Jews and the Samaritans.\u00a0 That\u2019s why when Jesus ministers to a Samaritan woman, John 4, everybody is stunned.\u00a0 I mean, first of all, she\u2019s just a woman, why are\u00a0 you ministering to her?\u00a0 And secondly, why are you ministering to a hated race?\u00a0 So Jesus has come into the world to transcend all of these barriers that men have erected, the gender barrier, and what I mean by that is women are to be despised and hated, that\u2019s not Christianity.\u00a0 That\u2019s not even God\u2019s original design for creation, going back to Genesis 1.\u00a0 And Jesus is not into, Christianity is not into, racial hatred.\u00a0 Paul specifically says in Galatians 3:28, \u201cThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus,\u201d for we are all one in Christ.\n\nAnd what happens is people in Samaria, because of Philip\u2019s ministry start getting saved like crazy.\u00a0 And the apostles back home, in Jerusalem, the whole leadership of the early church was Jewish, can\u2019t really believe this has happened.\u00a0 I mean,\u00a0 you\u2019re telling me that those Samaritans are believing in Jesus?\u00a0 So they have to actually travel from Jerusalem a little further up north, if I remember right in my map, and they have to actually lay hands on the Samaritans so that they can receive the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 So this is a unique occurrence in Acts where people get saved in Samaria but they don\u2019t receive the Holy Spirit immediately.\u00a0 That occurrence is not normal today; \u00a0Paul specifically says in Romans 8 and verse 9 that anyone who has believed in Christ has His Spirit.\u00a0 [Romans 8:9, \u201cHowever, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.\u201d]\n\nBut here what you\u2019ll discover is the Spirit was postponed so the Jerusalem apostles could lay hands on these Samaritans and they received the Spirit that way.\u00a0 Now why did God do that?\u00a0 I think the answer is very simple; if these folks had received the Spirit immediately upon believing (through Philip\u2019s ministry) in Jesus Christ there would have been two churches.\u00a0 The racial hatred that had existed for 700 years would have just kept on existing in the church age and that\u2019s not God\u2019s purpose for the church.\n\nSo what happened is God intentionally delayed the giving of the Holy Spirit here so that the apostles could really see that yeah, these Samaritans are saved.\u00a0 And the Samaritans could really understand that they\u2019re now part of the same program of God that the Jewish saints in Jerusalem are in because of their faith in Christ.\u00a0 So the reason that the apostles have to come and lay hands is because Jerusalem needs to understand that Samaria now belongs to Jerusalem and Samaria needs to understand that Jerusalem belongs to Samaria.\u00a0 You would have two bodies of Christ if this had not transpired the way God did it here.\n\nSo that\u2019s why you can\u2019t go to the book of Acts, as many people try to do, particularly our Pentecostal brothers and sisters, they go to Acts and they to define what\u2019s normal today from the book of Acts.\u00a0 What you have to understand is the book of Acts is a transitionary book; it\u2019s a historical book and there are all kinds of things happening in Acts that are not normative today.\u00a0 So if you want to document something as normative today you have to find it not just in the book of Acts, you have to also find it in the epistles.\u00a0 And here the epistles are saying something different related to when we receive the Holy Spirit and what is found in the book of Acts.\n\nBut anyway, in the midst of all of this you\u2019ve got this guy, Simon, the Sorcerer, who obviously was channeled into the occult, or Satan, because he\u2019s performing miracles; he\u2019s performing miracles before he believes and we know from the Bible that God is not the only miracle-worker in the Bible.\u00a0 Satan, to a large extent, can imitate many of God\u2019s miracles; of course, he can\u2019t imitate them to the extent God can perform them, but you know from the book of Exodus that Pharaoh\u2019s magicians actually were able to duplicate the miracles performed by Moses and Aaron, up to a certain point.\u00a0 And we know that the coming antichrist is going to come forth, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02 Thessalonians 2:9, with great power, signs and wonders.\u00a0 [2 Thessalonians 2:9, \u201cthat is, the\u00a0 one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders.\u201d]\n\nThose Greek words,\u00a0 \u201cpower, signs and wonders\u201d dunamis<\/em>, I think it\u2019s terasin<\/em> and s\u0113meion<\/em>, are the same words used to describe Christ\u2019s miracles in the gospels.\u00a0 So Simon the sorcerer is\u00a0 working miracles through satanic power.\u00a0 Philip shows up, preaches Jesus to him, Simon believes, and then when this issue of the Holy Spirit takes place, where the Holy Spirit doesn\u2019t come upon the Samaritans until the Jerusalem saints are prayed for and laid hands on, I think I said that wrong, the Samaritans don\u2019t receive the Holy Spirit until the Jerusalem saints pray for them and lay hands on them.\u00a0 Simeon sees this transfer of power and what he says is I want that power, and he actually tried to purchase that power through money.\n\nSo this passage raises a big problem because verse 13 clearly says that Simon believed. \u00a0Acts 8:13, \u201cEven Simon himself believed....\u201d]\u00a0 It says it as clear as it could be said, right?\u00a0 How many conditions are there to becoming right with God?\u00a0 One, faith alone in Christ alone.\u00a0 Simon believed, yet he\u2019s coveting, verses 18-19, he\u2019s described as perishing, verse 20, he\u2019s described as having no portion in the things of God, verse 21; he\u2019s told that his heart is not right with God, verse 21, he\u2019s told that he needs forgiveness, verse 22, he\u2019s told that he is wrapped up in bitterness, verse 23, and Peter also tells him that he is in bondage, verse 23.\n\n[Acts 8:18, \u201cNow when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,\u00a0 [19] saying, \u2018Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.\u2019 [20] But Peter said to him, \u2018May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!\u00a0 [21] You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.\u00a0 [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.\u201d]\n\nSo hmmm, this is a very interesting thing, we\u2019ve got a guy who believed and we don\u2019t see a lot of fruit there as a believer.\u00a0 Now here\u2019s the solution of Calvinism. Calvinism is big on this idea of spurious faith; there is a faith that saves and a faith that doesn\u2019t save.\u00a0 And I believe that from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet that that is a destructive doctrine because if you believe that you\u2019re going to spend your whole life wondering if you\u2019ve got the right kind of faith or not.\u00a0 So simple faith is not enough, there\u2019s got to be contrition, brokenness, remorse, there\u2019s got to be some kind of emotion, there\u2019s got to be fruitfulness, when in reality all faith in the Bible means is confidence; you place your confidence or trust in what Jesus has done.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter how remorseful I am or sorrowful; it really doesn\u2019t matter if I cry tears like a river, if I cry crocodile tears.\u00a0 Now if you want to cry then cry up a storm but that\u2019s not a requirement.\u00a0 See?\n\nSo what they\u2019ll say is well, Simon here didn\u2019t have the right kind of faith, and they call that the doctrine of spurious or illusory faith.\u00a0\u00a0 For example, I\u2019ve quoted here in prior studies William Hendrickson, a pretty well-known Calvinist and I\u2019ve the relative portion underlined, he says: \u201cNot all faith is faith today.\u201d\u00a0 So there\u2019s a faith that saves and a faith that doesn\u2019t save apparently, in the doctrine of Calvinism.\u00a0 And so that\u2019s what the Calvinist would say and they would say Simeon obviously didn\u2019t have the right kind of faith, spurious faith.\n\nWhat are the problems with that?\u00a0 Number 1, it says, verse 13, Simon believed. [\u201cEven Simon himself believed\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 Now when I was at Dallas Seminary they gave us, in the doctoral program, a test that they called carols, and my wife would always say you\u2019re spending too much time with carol, which was kind of a joke, not another woman but the wife kind of feels like it\u2019s another woman because you\u2019re spending so much time on your studies.\u00a0 And I was right next to\u2026 and they put us all next to each other, it\u2019s like all the people that disagreed with each other the most they\u00a0 put us right next to each other, I don\u2019t know if they planned that.\u00a0 And I was seated next to a guy who now is a professor over there, I don\u2019t know what his beliefs are today, a really smart guy, and he was a Five-point Calvinist, and I brought up this passage to him one time and I pointed out to him that Simon believed.\u00a0 And this is his answer, he says \u201cI don\u2019t accept that, I don\u2019t accept the authenticity of the salvation.\u201d\u00a0 I was kind of put back by that, I didn\u2019t know we were in a position where we could kind of go through the Bible and decide what we\u2019re going to accept and what we\u2019re not going to accept.\n\nAnd see, this is the problem with theology, you get so into theology you start to rewrite the Bible to accommodate a theology.\u00a0 It says, \u201che believed.\u201d\u00a0 Now beyond that other people thought he was saved because he got what?\u00a0 Baptized.\u00a0 We\u2019re having a baptism today; we don\u2019t just baptize people.\u00a0 There\u2019s a class they go to where we try to ascertain are these people really believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 But the early church thought Simon was saved because they baptized him.\n\nAnd notice that the passage runs parallel with verse 12 which is describing the conversion of the Samaritans.\u00a0 Verse 12 is talking about the Samaritans, \u201cwhen they believed,\u201d that\u2019s the Samaritans, that\u2019s the revival happening in Samaria, Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.\u201d\u00a0 Verse 12, the Samaritans believed and were baptized.\u00a0 Verse 13, \u201cEven Simon himself believed; and after being\u201d what? \u201cbaptized\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 So if you\u2019re going to call into question whether Simon actually was a believer you can\u2019t stop there, you\u2019ve got to challenge everybody\u2019s salvation in Samaria, which to me makes the passage look ridiculous.\u00a0 It\u2019s the exact same words used to describe Simon\u2019s conversion, verse 13; they\u2019re used to describe Samaria\u2019s conversion in verse 12.\u00a0 So there is very little doubt in my mind that this man was saved.\n\nAnd even when Peter pronounces all of these very harsh things against him, if you look at verse 24 of Acts 8 Simon said, \u201cPray to the Lord for me\u2026, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.\u201d\u00a0 So did Simon feel bad about the whole thing?\u00a0 Yeah, he was remorseful and to me the reason he\u2019s remorseful is the Spirit of God really is inside this guy, convicting him of sin.\n\nSo before you get saved the Spirit of God convicts\u00a0 you, John 16:7-11, of your need to believe in Jesus.\u00a0 When the Spirit comes He will convict you of sin, hamartia <\/em>is a Greek noun for sin, singular, and it goes on and it defines what that sin is\u2014unbelief. [John 16:7, \u201cBut I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. \u00a0[8] \u201cAnd He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; \u00a0[9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; [11] and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.\u201d]\n\nAfter you get saved through not justification but now progressive sanctification, as the Spirit of God is inside you have you notice that you start feeling bad about the things you used to do.\u00a0 I mean, you start using profanity like\u00a0 you did as an unsaved person and there\u2019s a check in your spirit.\u00a0 Now what is that?\u00a0 That\u2019s the work of God called progressive sanctification.\u00a0 Simon, I believe, is under that; that\u2019s why he feels bad about all these things that were said about him because the Spirit of God really is inside this man.\u00a0 So is Simon\u2019s conversion authentic?\u00a0 My conclusion is it\u2019s authentic.\n\nNow this is where I have more in common with Armenians, on this point, than Calvinists.\u00a0 The Calvinist would say he\u2019s really not saved.\u00a0 Armenians would say he is saved but he what?\u00a0 Lost his salvation.\u00a0 So at least Armenians acknowledge that the man was truly a believer, they just say he lost it because he committed some kind of unpardonable sin, whether it was lusting for the power of God or something to that extent, and I don\u2019t believe, as I\u2019ve said over and over again that a believer can lose salvation.\u00a0 So that places the burden of proof on me, then, to explain all of these negative descriptors of Simon.\u00a0 How do we explain those things if it is true that Simon was, in fact, a saved person?\n\nWell, this story in Acts takes place within a very short period of time and what it\u2019s describing is a brand new Christian who just came out of the occult.\u00a0 And keep in mind the power that this man, Simon, wielded.\u00a0 Verses 9-11 says he basically wowed, before believing in Christ, he wowed or he amazed a whole city based on these satanic miracles that he could conjure up through Satan\u2019s power.\u00a0 So you\u2019re dealing with a guy who is coming fresh out of occultic activity; he gets saved, and how much time has this guy had to grow?\u00a0 Zero, because these events, I believe, are happening very quick to each other.\u00a0 So he has limited time, if any, for progressive sanctification.\u00a0 His mind has not really been given the opportunity, through progressive sanctification, to be renewed.\u00a0 You say well, why doesn\u2019t the guy just go home and read his Bible?\u00a0 Well, the problem is there isn\u2019t a Bible yet.\n\nSo that\u2019s how I\u2019m understanding these negative descriptors of him.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very young Christian still thinking like a pagan, still thinking like an unsaved person.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why he\u2019s coveting; he sees the apostles lay hands on the Samaritan saints; he sees the power involved in that and what he\u2019s saying to himself is I\u2019m the guy with the power, or at least I used to be.\u00a0 I want you to give me that power because he\u2019s still thinking like a pagan, like someone in the occult, like someone who is unsaved.\u00a0 He wants authority and power; he wants to do magic tricks and things like that to amaze people because he wants to be known as someone great, as the text says.\u00a0 And all he\u2019s done after getting saved is drag all of that wrong mental baggage into his Christianity.\n\nAnd people will do this quite frequently.\u00a0 For example, someone coming out of a works based system, like Roman Catholicism, or Islam, when they hear about Lordship salvation they just gravitate towards it, like moss to a flame, like bees to honey.\u00a0 Now why are they gravitating towards Lordship salvation?\u00a0 Because they still, in their minds think in a works righteousness way.\u00a0 So they naturally gravitate towards false systems within Christendom that still appeal to works.\u00a0 And Simon is into power and he gravitates towards this power that he thought he could possess, thought he could purchase regarding the laying on of hands and the giving of the Holy Spirit.\n\nNow I don\u2019t really think that\u2019s a basis, the fact that he\u2019s coveting power, that\u2019s not a basis in and of itself to deny that the man was saved.\u00a0 Was Simon the first man ever in the history of Christianity, or the only man I should say in the history of Christianity to covet power, to covet prominence, to covet the spotlight? I would say the Christian world today is filled with people like that.\u00a0 And the church for the last 2,000 years is filled with people like that.\u00a0\u00a0 A lot of people pursue the ministry because they think it\u2019s going to bring them some kind of fame and fortune.\u00a0 Simon, of course, fits that bill, but he\u2019s not the only one because what does Paul say in Philippians 1:14-17?\u00a0 \u201cand that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. [15] Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; [16] the latter do it<\/em> out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; [17] the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.\u201d\n\nSo Paul, later on in Philippians, which was probably written around Acts 28, talks about all kinds of people on the landscape that may be preaching Christ and Paul says for that I\u2019m happy because the gospel is true, whether you preach it with a right motive or a wrong motive.\u00a0 But they\u2019re preaching Christ out of wrong motives, so their minds really haven\u2019t been renewed, they\u2019re not really submitted in progressive sanctification to the things of God, and Simon is just like them.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a justification issue!\u00a0 It\u2019s what kind of issue?\u00a0\u00a0 A progressive sanctification issue.\n\nWell, what about perishing?\u00a0 I mean, didn\u2019t Peter say there in verse 20, related to Simon, that, \u201cMay your silver perish with you\u201d?\u00a0 And people see that word \u201cperish\u201d and they say that\u2019s got to be an unbeliever because after all, John 3:16 says, \u201cFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever should believe in Him shall not\u201d what? \u201cperish.\u201d\u00a0 So obviously Simon wasn\u2019t a believer because Peter says you\u2019re going to perish.\u00a0 Have you noticed though what Peter connects Simon\u2019s perishing with?\u00a0 \u201cBut Peter said to him, \u2018May your\u201d what perish? \u201csilver perish\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 If I have silver and I go to hell does the silver follow me to hell?\u00a0 If I\u2019m an unbeliever and I\u2019ve got a pocket full of money and I wind up in hell does the money follow me?\u00a0 No, so when Peter is talking about perishing he\u2019s not talking\u2026 because he uses the analogy \u201cmay your silver perish with you,\u201d he is not talking about someone\u2019s eternal destiny the way it\u2019s described in John 3:16 or \u201cmay your silver perish with you\u201d doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u00a0 What he\u2019s talking about is perishing of something temporal.\u00a0 In other words, Simon, because you\u2019re involved in this sin as a Christian there are things that are going to perish from your life.\u00a0 Like what?\u00a0 Rewards in heaven, ministry opportunities will perish.\u00a0 What kind of testimony are you going to have to the unsaved when they see that\u00a0 you\u2019re wrapped up in a desire for power.\n\nAnd one of the things that might happen to you, Simon, is you might experience divine discipline.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t that happen a little earlier in the book of Acts?\u00a0 That\u2019s just three chapters earlier, so if you\u2019re reading through the book of Acts chronologically you see this word \u201cperish\u201d and this is the problem with cherry-picking verses to build a theology is you many times remove them from their context.\u00a0 You see the word \u201cperishing\u201d it could be referring to divine discipline, which becomes a big deal as we studied earlier in Acts 5.\u00a0 So the \u201cperishing\u201d here I don\u2019t think is his eternal destiny.\n\nBeyond that, Peter says in verse 20, you have no portion.\u00a0\u00a0 [Verse 20, \u201cYou have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.\u201d]\u00a0 No portion in what?\u00a0 Temporal things that God wants to do in and through you, reward ministry, testimony, avoidance of divine discipline.\u00a0 Those are the things you have no portion in.\n\nAnd then he goes on in verse 21 and he says Simon, \u201cyour heart is not right\u201d and people say that\u2019s got to be an unbeliever; only an unbeliever\u2019s heart is not right with God.\u00a0 Have you read the Psalms lately?\u00a0 Was David saved?\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 What does David say in Psalm 51:10, \u201cCreate in me a clean heart, O God.\u201d\u00a0 David wrote that as a saved man after sin had entered his life, so it\u2019s very clear that a believer can have a wrong heart towards God.\n\nPsalm 66:18, I believe also written by David, says, \u201cIf I regard iniquity in my\u201d what? \u201cheart, the Lord will not hear;\u201d so Peter is saying to Simon, your heart is not right, I don\u2019t think is enough to disqualify the man from being saved.\n\nAnd then the part of it that bothers people also is Acts 8:22 where Peter tells Simon he needs to be forgiven.\u00a0 [Acts 8:22, \u201cTherefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.\u201d]\u00a0 People look at that and they say only an unbeliever needs to be forgiven.\u00a0 Can I ask\u00a0 you a question?\u00a0 Does the believer ever need to be forgiven?\u00a0 Of course, that\u2019s the whole point of 1 John 1:9, you know the verse, \u201cIf we\u201d notice the word \u201cwe\u201d there, John is identifying with these folks that he\u2019s writing to.\u00a0 Was John saved?\u00a0 Sure.\u00a0 \u201cIf we confess our sins He is faithful and righteous to\u201d what? \u201cforgive us our sins and to\u201d what? \u201ccleanse us from all unrighteousness.\u201d It goes on in chapter 2 and verse 1, it says, \u201cMy little children,\u201d obviously to believers.\n\nSo an unbeliever needs to trust in Christ so that they are forgiven of their eternal sins that will separate them from God but as a Christian we still sin.\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 Anybody in that category?\u00a0 So when I sin as a Christian, and by the way, 1 John tells me that if I think I\u2019m without sin as a Christian then I\u2019ve maybe deceived myself and the truth may not be in me at all.\u00a0 So obviously we sin as Christians.\u00a0 So what do you do as a sinning Christian?\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to trust Christ again for salvation; that issue is secure.\u00a0 You need to confess your sins to God to restore, not your salvation but to restore broken what?\u00a0 Fellowship.\u00a0 So the fact that Peter tells Simon you need forgiveness is not enough to disqualify the man\u2019s salvation.\u00a0 Peter tells him in verse 23 that you\u2019re bitter.\u00a0 [Acts 8:23, \u201cFor I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.\u201d]\u00a0 People look at that and they say well, only unbelievers are bitter.\u00a0 I would encourage you to be a pastor for six months, you\u2019ll see a lot of very bitter people that are saved.\u00a0 They\u2019re angry at this, they\u2019re angry at that, and I can get that way myself.\u00a0 Of course, I can become bitter as a saved person; that\u2019s why I always wanted to move to Alaska where I could be angry all the time and the sun would never go down, that\u2019s my point.\u201d\n\nEphesians 4:26, written to believers, \u201cBe angry and sin not, do not let the sun go down on your anger, do not give the devil a foothold.\u201d\u00a0 Now is that written to a believer?\u00a0 Yes, verse 30, Ephesians 4, \u201cDo not grieve the Holy Spirit,\u201d only the believer has the Holy Spirit inside of them.\u00a0 And then verses 31-32 of Ephesians 4 says, \u201cLet all bitterness\u201d that\u2019s written to a Christian, \u201cLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.\u201d\u00a0 So that means as a Christian I can go right back to the sin nature and begin to experience anger, clamor, slander and malice.\u00a0 If I didn\u2019t have that ability this exhortation by Paul would make no sense.\u00a0 And by the way, how do you get over bitterness.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all been hurt in life, it\u2019s part of living in a fallen world.\u00a0 And let me tell you a little secret about church life; the people in the church have the same sin nature and if they\u2019re not growing in Christ they go back to the same sin nature over and over again.\u00a0 So the church world will hurt you; the unsaved world will hurt you and we can get very angry and bitter as a result.\n\nWell, how do you get over bitterness?\u00a0 Verse 32, \u201cBe kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.\u201d\u00a0 I have no right in Christ to harbor bitterness and what to treat someone else with justice because that\u2019s not how God treated me.\u00a0 And Jesus told a whole parable about this in Matthew 18 related to the inconsistency that we are as God\u2019s people when we demand justice from other people, when God never treated us with justice.\u00a0 Read the parable in Matthew 18 about the man who was forgiven a small amount and he found someone that owed him some money and he demanded that that man be thrown into debtor\u2019s prison, that ever nickel be repaid even though God had forgiven the man an infinite amount and the fellow that owed him money was a very negligible sum.\n\nThat parable is given to expose the inconsistency in our thinking when we are not people of forgiveness.\u00a0 That\u2019s how you get rid of bitterness.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to get into some kind of counseling class where you dial back into your past wounds.\u00a0 This is one of the problems with merging psychological principles with the Bible, is they get you involved in this kind of retrogression, you know, think back in time to what this happened and that happened.\u00a0 There\u2019s not a shred of biblical data to support that practice.\u00a0 In fact, Paul says, \u201cForgetting the things that are behind,\u201d forget all that stuff, you\u2019re a new creature in Christ.\u00a0 And you want to get rid of bitterness so you don\u2019t give Satan a foothold in your life\u2014forgive as you\u2019ve been forgiven.\u00a0 Try it this week and watch your level of angst and anger start to dissipate.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be a lot happier.\u00a0 I think forgiveness is not really so much for the other person, I think it\u2019s for you.\u00a0 Being bitter is like drinking poison thinking it\u2019s going to kill the other guy that hurt me.\u00a0 Bitterness is going to kill you, the guy that hurt you probably doesn\u2019t even remember that he hurt you.\n\nSo can a believer go back into bitterness?\u00a0 Clearly, so when Peter says you\u2019re bitter, Simon, it\u2019s not a statement that he\u2019s unsaved.\u00a0 And the other part of it that bothers people is verse 25, Peter says you\u2019re in bondage, and people say well how can a believer be in bondage.\u00a0 And the answer to that is Paul opens that door in Romans 6:16, where he says, \u201cDo ye not know that when you present yourselves to someone as\u201d what? \u201cslaves for obedience, you are the slave to the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?\u201d\u00a0 So I have a body that has been redeemed, Paul here writing to believers in Romans 6, and I could use my mind and my body to serve God; I can use my mind and my body to go back to the old nature, when I go back to the old nature Paul is very clear that I make myself a slave all over again.\u00a0 So there\u2019s no doubt that a believer can go back into bondage.\n\nSo you sort of put all these things together and I think the proper way to look at Simon the Sorcerer is he\u2019s a new believer, it\u2019s real faith, who just came out of an occultic background with limited if any time for progressive sanctification.\u00a0 And all of these exhortations that Peter gives, and I\u2019ve tried to show you those from the New Testament, are commands applicable to the believer.\u00a0 That\u2019s how to understand Simon, he\u2019s an immature believer that needs to grow up. \u00a0There\u2019s no need to say he lost his salvation, loss of salvation is not even in this passage.\u00a0 And there\u2019s no reason, really, to challenge the authenticity of his faith.\n\nThat\u2019s a couple of passage from Acts and we\u2019ll start looking at passages from Paul next time.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t