I will probably eventually rework this to be a study of the passage in question, but this still has some merit.
The original show is at
October 25th, 2015 — Acts 8:1-25 "Why Simon?"
Pastor Bill,
I just listened to your Sunday morning show. Good points overall, but you miss a few points:
I just listened to your Sunday morning show. Good points overall, but you miss a few points:
You completely remove any promise of assurance in our salvation.
[1 John 5:13 KJV] 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
No one has that assurance per your logic, since they all could really have not been reborn in the past. I also do not read his actions as being those of a social Christian of today in the example you gave. That individual has not made a life changing decision that transformed his life per 1 Cor 5:17.
Simon wasn't seeking to buy the Holy Spirit, but the rather the ability to lay his hands on them so they could receive the Holy Spirit.
[Acts 8:19 KJV] 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Not the Holy Ghost, but the ability to lay his hands on people for those people to receive the Holy Ghost.
Something clearly happened when their hands were laid on people. Speaking in tongues is the only logical thing, but your Calvary Chapel doctrine keeps you from believing that. Simon could have laid his hands on people all day if it was just a "warm fuzzy feeling" or something like that. He wanted this power because something visual happened when people there were filled with the Holy Spirit. It is especially ironic that every believer has the power and ability to pray and lay hands on others to receive the Holy Spirit, as that was not limited to Peter and John. It seemed that way only because of the special conditions around this first time of the Gospel reaching into the Samaritans.
Simon was almost certainly bitter because he lost is Alpha Man of the Group status. Lost status when situations change can be a major hit to those who have thrived on such. Note the number of famous people (Bob Dylan is a good example) who likely had conversions that seemed genuine and even powerful, yet withered realizing it may have more of an impact on their lives than they realized.
Whether someone is reborn is based on the state of their inner spirit, not any outward action. That SHOULD impact the outside, but can get quite buried by many things, including carnal living. (See Paul's writings to the Corinthians as an example.
Have you now become a Calvanist, where you explain failure away by claiming "well, they never really born again"? I will freely admit I would not want to push the edges and rely on making it in because of a confession and action on that confession (public baptism in this case), but nothing indicates that is not a saving action and everything written about it indicates it was.
Have you never seen long term Christians get tied up by bitterness? This issue is a tough one for all of us and we cannot get completely rid of this dandelion root any more that we can become perfect in this world. We were given 1 John 1:9 for a reason, we need to actively repent and align ourselves away from sin. You are completely correct that we should not stay in bondage to bitterness, but we must realize it rarely just poofs away, instead requiring us to stay in constant vigilance against it.
We are imperfect in this life. That is the reason this is so hard, but we must discern underlying truth, not make up dangerous doctrines, like the idea that "you may not really be saved." That might be true, but should be covered in other ways. No one can have any security in what you preached since they will always be in a state where they may never have been saved in the first place. That is a really poor way to live life.
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