Spirit Filled (Acts 8:14-17)
When I was in elementary school, relations with the Soviet Union were very poor, and one of my teachers kept telling us that because of the USSR we probably wouldn’t get to grow up—instead, we’d be radioactive debris floating in the upper atmosphere. I was terrified of the Soviets, and I was persuaded a KGB agent was hiding on every street corner to get me.
Well, not long after the Soviet Union fell, I began my freshman year at International Bible College (IBC). IBC placed a huge emphasis on foreign missions—they trained us to be global missionaries, and many students came from foreign countries. And my freshman year, two students hailed from the former Soviet Empire.
One Sunday morning, one of the Russian students asked me for a ride to worship. On the way back from the assembly, I asked Igor some questions about life in the Soviet Union, and I asked him what he had done for a living. Igor had seriously been a KGB agent. I might have only been 18, but I never thought I’d be friends with a KGB agent, be alone with a KGB agent in my car, or worship God with a KGB agent!
Have you ever been surprised to see someone become a Christian? Maybe someone in town was a big “sinner” and he repented and turned to Christ. Perhaps someone in your family had serious issues before she came to Christ. Maybe there was someone in town from the wrong side of the tracks, but he become a Christian. There might have been people who gave up on you, but here you are.
Jesus promised that anyone could come to God through him: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Jesus wished for his disciples to go into all the world with his message: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The early church, however, didn’t go to the Samaritans until after Stephen was martyred. “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ” (Acts 8:5). Not only did the Samaritans hear about Christ, they believed and obeyed (Acts 8:12).
The Samaritans’ response, however, created a couple problems:
- The Samaritans needed to know how to live as Christians. There was no New Testament, and, because Philip wasn’t an apostle, he couldn’t pass on the miraculous measure of the Spirit. How were these new converts to know how to live without direction?
- The Samaritans were only half-Jews. The Samaritans were descended from Abraham through Jacob and had been circumcised. However, their bloodline was corrupted, and there was great racial tension between Jews and Samaritans. How were these new converts to be accepted?
Peter and John went to Samaria to alleviate both of those issues, and this text makes clear: “Anyone can be a Christian.”
Scripture (Acts 8:14-17)
verses 14-16:
When the apostles heard the Samaritans had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John. Any apostle could have laid hands on the Samaritans, but the apostles could not have chosen any two better representatives for this mission. Peter had received the keys of the kingdom and had preached at Pentecost. John was Jesus’s closest friend and his first cousin. By selecting high-profile representatives, the apostles made clear that they viewed these Samaritans as Christians.
At this point, the Samaritans, “had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” “In the name” may reflect ancient business documents and mean that these Samaritans now belonged to the Lord Jesus.
verse 17:
Peter and John laid their hands on the Samaritans, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Application
“Anyone can be a Christian.” When Peter and John bestowed the Holy Spirit on the Samaritans, they made clear that the Samaritans were as much Christians as anyone else. There wasn’t any reason for the Christians in Jerusalem to look down on these Samaritan Christians. It doesn’t matter who one is, he may come to Jesus.
How does that truth impact your life?
One: You Pick.
Philip preached to some folks others would have written off but people who needed to hear the truth of God.
Do you know people you think will never become a Christian? Who would ever have thought that Matthew, a tax collector, could become a disciple? Who would ever have thought that Peter could have the keys of the kingdom after he denied Jesus? Who would ever have thought that Saul could have become an apostle after he murdered Christians?
Pick someone who needs Jesus and know that he or she can come to Jesus.
Two: You Persuade.
Through Philip’s preaching, those in Samaria “received the word of God” (Acts 8:14). Philip knew that the only way those in Samaria could receive Jesus was through the divine word.
If you are to bring people to Jesus, you must Persuade them with the word of God. Only that word has the power to create faith: “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). Only that word has the power to save: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16).
Persuade people with the word of God.
Three: You Pray.
Peter and John “came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:15). Peter and John knew the vital role the Spirit would play in these new converts’ lives; they thus turned to prayer.
What if you were to Pray for people to come to Jesus? Paul did: “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Rom 10:1).
Pray for the lost.
Four: You Pilot.
Peter and John “laid their hands on [the Samaritans] and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17). Why did Peter and John bestow the miraculous measure of the Spirit on the Samaritans? There wasn’t a New Testament, and Jesus had made the apostles this promise: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (Jn 16:13).
You must Pilot new converts, i.e., you must guide new converts into all truth. You do that through continuing to teach new converts the truth. I fear that far too often we believe that once someone is baptized he no longer needs teaching, but nothing could be further from the truth. Notice carefully what Jesus told the disciples: “Go . . . and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20). After disciples were made and baptized, they were to be taught all that Jesus had commanded.
Pilot new converts.
Conclusion
Among the new converts in Samaria was a magician named Simon. When he saw that the Holy Spirit could be bestowed through the laying on the apostles’ hands, he offered them money that he might have that ability. But Peter strongly condemned him and said, “Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you” (Acts 8:22). Do you need to repent and pray to God this morning?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.