Peter said, “Pray that the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.” What needs to be forgiven? Not the man but the deed, or rather the intention behind it. He needed to stop relying on his own understanding and begin walking in the new way of the Spirit. Like every single one of us, Simon needed to throw off the old and put on the new. “If you believe God can be bought, you have no share in the Spirit’s ministry.” Obviously that approach would not work in the kingdom of God and Peter told him so. He probably got his training in the occult arts by paying people to teach him. Yes, that was stupid, but it was probably how he had operated in the past. In other words, “ Change the way you think.” Simon thought he could buy his way into the Holy Spirit’s ministry. It’s just that our mistakes don’t lead to a scolding from the most intense apostle of them all. I hope that sounds familiar because we all make mistakes. He believed, got baptized, but then he made a mistake. Simon had an encounter with the grace of God. Here we are not talking about Simon the forgiven sinner, but the wicked intention of his heart. If God is no longer holding our sins against us, he is no longer counting Simon’s sin. Will Simon be forgiven? That’s the wrong question because the gospel declares Simon is forgiven. “Simon was told to repent and pray and even then there were no guarantee that the Lord would forgive him.” (Act 8:20-21)įrom this gem of a story, some have concluded that the Lord’s forgiveness is not a sure thing. May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. He wanted to lay hands and pray for people too, so he offered Peter money. When Peter came to town to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Simon was amazed at the results. Simon was an occult practitioner who, along with other Samaritans, heard the gospel, believed and was baptized (Act 8:13). It kind of sounds like Simon has to do stuff to merit forgiveness. That doesn’t sound like unconditional forgiveness. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
But what about when Peter said this to Simon the Sorcerer: My answers to these questions can be found in the links above. Whenever I tell people that God’s forgiveness is complete and unconditional, I invariably get hit with questions like these: So thank the Lord for his forgiveness and live free. Grace cannot be purchased it can only be received by faith. They’re bringing sacrifices of tears and confession and they are trying to earn what God has freely provided. It’s a liberating truth, yet many haven’t heard it. In Christ, you are eternally and unconditionally forgiven. God’s forgiveness is revealed in the matchless and unrepeatable sacrifice of the One who died for all sin. I thank You for Your unfailing love, and Your faithfulness.If God loves you, God forgives you, and God loves you indeed! AMENįather, because my heart is confident in You, I can sing your praises.
Help me to always keep aware of the desire for power and undue recognition that may make its way into my thinking and heart. You are the only true God, and I will love You only, and give praise to You for the miracles You do. Power can become addictive if we don’t keep our heart pure before God.
It is all about the heart, and what we let creep in. It can be so easy to get caught in the trap of praise and position! Simon had been told he was the “great one”, and when he saw that he could have power with the laying on of hands, he wanted that too. But then he saw that with the laying on of hands, people received the Holy Spirit, and he wanted to buy that power. Then he heard about Jesus, and he believed and was baptized. 19 “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 8:18-19 NLT) (Acts 8:13 NLT)ġ8 When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands upon people’s heads, he offered money to buy this power. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the great miracles and signs Philip performed. 10 The Samaritan people, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One-the Power of God.” (Acts 8:9-10 NLT)ġ3 Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. 9 A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, claiming to be someone great.
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