Chaplain’s Corner – August
24, 2007
Rev.
Rich Hines
The Kind of Faith In Christ, That Does Not Save
This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ
as their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain or a gospel
minister in a jail, prison or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission –
in the
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deviation from the NKJV text is placed within parenthesis signs (). These usually occur as direct translations
from the original languages, or as notes from the
original setting to help apply the text to today’s culture.
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize words in a text, or
to make a comment about a biblical text, or emphasize a statement.
One
of the hardest things about ministry to down-and-outers, whether they’re
incarcerated or residents at a rescue mission, is this: the reality of fake
faith in Christ. There’s a lot of that
out there in our society today. In
correctional facilities it’s known as “Jail house religion.”
For
the next two months
I want to go over the biblical account of two different men who professed faith
in Christ, they both were even baptized.
The first man had the kind of faith that DOES NOT SAVE,
the second had a faith that truly SAVED.
The record is found in Acts 8:9-39.
The
first man, like many you deal with in your ministry, had the wrong kind of
faith in Christ. I’ll focus on him for
this month’s message. As we read through
the account in Acts 8:9-24, I’ll point out some key traits of the kind of faith
- even in Christ - THAT DOES NOT SAVE.
As
I approach this passage a little background is necessary. The Book of Acts records the spread of the
gospel both geographically and culturally from the Jews in
In
that city there was a great response, as many of the Samaritans came to profess
faith in Christ. At this point we pick
up the record of what happened, beginning in verse 9:
9 But there was a certain man called Simon,
who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of
10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This
man is the great power of God.”
11 And they heeded him because he had
astonished them with his sorceries for a long time.
12 But when they believed Philip
as he preached the things concerning the
13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was
baptized he continued with Philip, and
was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
Here, in these verses
there are at least two traits of non-saving faith revealed.
FIRST, Simon was
caught up with a join the crowd mentality and so, he DIDN’T REALLY COUNT THE
COST of what it would mean to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paraphrasing verses 12, 13 it tells us “When
they believed…Then, Simon…believed.”
He just jumped on the
Jesus bandwagon. His “faith” response was impulsive and impetuous. Today, especially in rescue mission services
and in jails this kind of response is sadly even encouraged! As leaders, take a
stand against that! The last thing you
want is a fake commitment based on the thought, “well if everybody else in here
is doing this, I might as well join them.”
In giving the gospel
message, when someone seems to understand, don’t rush them to “make a
decision.” If God is truly getting
through to them, they’ll be begging to truly embrace Christ with genuine
repentance and a desire to have Him take over their life.
The SECOND trait of
non-saving faith is revealed as Simon was only
attracted to the things of Christ by external displays of power.
Before Philip arrived
with this gospel message, Simon the sorcerer had astonished, amazed, or wowed
the people with what he had them believe was his power. In fact, the power connected to his sorcery was
demonic or drug induced, or some of both!
Note it -
9 But there was a certain man called Simon,
who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of
10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This
man is the great power of God.”
11 And they heeded
him because he had astonished them with
his sorceries for a long time.
But when these same
people responded to Philip’s gospel message, Simon also professed faith in
Christ (he was even baptized publicly).
But the end of verse 13 explains another thing about his non-saving
faith –
13 … he continued with
Philip, and was amazed (literally,
‘constantly amazed’), seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
This tells us the
former wow-er, got wowed! There is so much like that to watch out for,
especially in correctional ministry. It
works like this: this inmate got an early out, after professing Christ as
Savior and Lord, or that inmate over there that has been coming to Bible
classes, gets news that his wife has dropped the divorce proceedings. Some see the wonderful things that happen in
the lives of others, and think if only I profess Christ like they did, the same kinds of things will happen to me.
You need to tell
inmates, the only reason to come
to Christ is to get your sin forgiven and out of gratitude by His Spirit’s
power to live a new holy kind of life for God’s glory. All the rest is extra,
it’s not the main thing to seek.
Verses 14-17 in this
Acts 8 text move us along in time and they also set up the unveiling of Simon’s
wrong kind of attachment to the things of Christ. It says,
14 Now when the apostles who were at
15 who when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the
Holy Spirit.
16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them.
They had only been baptized in the name of Jesus.
17 Then they (the Apostles) laid hands on them, and they received the Holy
Spirit.
This section is a
necessary record, because of the transitional nature of the book of Acts,
especially in the minds of the believers who had a Jewish background. The
They needed to see
that Gentiles and Samaritans (who were really half-breed Jews) were also
objects of God’s grace and full salvation.
They needed to understand that when other people believed the same
message they did, they would receive the Holy Spirit with a powerful
manifestation the same way they did, on that first Day of Pentecost in the
church age, in Acts 2.
I believe the gift
and ability to speak unlearned, but real known human languages, called in most
English translations “tongues,” was foundational and ended with the close of
the canon of the New Testament. But
that’s what I believed happened here in Acts 8:17. I think the Samaritan believers evidenced the
presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives by supernaturally speaking other
languages, which they had not learned.
And, when Simon saw
what happened, he wanted the ability to do what he perceived the Apostles had
done. He wanted to have the power to
give people God’s miraculous supernatural ability with the touch of his hands. Note this in verses 18 and 19.
18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the
Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive
the Holy Spirit.”
This reveals the
THIRD trait of non-saving faith. Without any concept of one’s own sinfulness
before God, it seeks the things of Christ for what there might be in it to
further one’s own sinful practices!
As a sorcerer, Simon
actually thought the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ were some kind of more
powerful demon spirits than the ones he had been trafficking in.
Similarly, some
inmates that have practiced being con-men for years, bilking people out of
money or taking advantage sexually of weak willed women, see the Christian
“church thing” as a new set up for furthering these or other sinful activities. Sometimes this is because of the way the
gospel is presented – like “whatever you want is what God wants.” It’s just the opposite!
As the Apostle Peter
by the power of the Holy Spirit rebuked Simon, we see he had never truly been
saved, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD PROFESSED FAITH IN CHRIST AND BEEN BAPTIZED.
20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish
with you, (that’s the equivalent of saying, ‘Your silver go to Hell with
you!’) because you thought the gift of God could be
purchased with money!
21 You have neither part nor portion
in this matter, for YOUR HEART IS NOT RIGHT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.
The first statement
in verse 20, and the two in verse 21, could never be said of someone that had
been saved and truly become God’s child.
Biblically, these three statements can never be said of a real
Christian. But these things were said to
someone that said they believed in Jesus as the Christ and Savior of sinners
through His death and resurrection. Look
at what was said of Simon.
1. He was on his way
to ultimate and total ruin – in the destruction of hell fire forever!
The English word
“perish” carries the idea of ceasing to exist, BUT that’s not the meaning of
this Holy Spirit inspired word here.
This is the word for perdition, which means utter and eternal ruin in
hell fire. W.E. Vine says, “This word refers to ruin, loss, not of being,
but of well-being. “
But when someone has true
saving faith they are headed for heaven forever! Listen to John 5:24 and 1 Peter 1:3-5
“Most assuredly, I
(Jesus) say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me HAS
EVERLASTING LIFE, AND SHALL NOT COME INTO JUDGMENT, but has (been) passed from
death to life.”
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who according to His abundant mercy HAS BEGOTTEN US AGAIN (He’s given
true believers the new birth) to a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that does not fade away, RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU, who are KEPT by the power
of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
So, Simon’s faith
wasn’t the right kind of faith, because he was on his way to hell. Next,
2. He had no part or
inheritance in the things of the Holy Spirit.
That’s exactly what
Peter meant when he said of Simon’s then present condition, “You have neither
part nor portion in this matter.” But
as we just saw from 1 Peter 1:4, truly saved people have an INHERITANCE reserved
in heaven. Simon therefore was never
saved. Lastly:
3. His heart had not
been made right before God.
According to
Scripture, the born of God, true believer in Christ has been JUSTIFIED. Romans 5:1, says, “Therefore, having been
JUSTIFIED by faith, we (the ones justified and made right) have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
That word JUSTIFIED
means declared righteous before God.
Simon had never been justified or made right before God. He still was under the condemnation of his
sins.
So Simon’s fake faith
was unveiled. But even in that, at this
point God was still graciously offering him mercy – if he would truly repent. Note it in verses 22 and 23 -
22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if
perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.
23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
In John 8:31-36,
Jesus taught that His true followers would be SET FREE FROM SIN’S BONDAGE. Simon was not set free,
he was in bondage to his sin. So how did
Simon respond to Peter’s counsel? Did he
repent? Sadly, no he did not.
24 Then Simon
answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you
have spoken may come upon me.”
Peter told Simon to
personally repent and to pray to God about his sin. Instead, Simon only asked Peter to pray for
him that he would escape God’s righteous judgment.
So there is the
FOURTH trait on the kind of faith, even in Jesus Christ, that DOES NOT
SAVE. It refuses to repent! So
many inmates (and people in every situation) hear about Jesus and say they
believe, BUT THEY NEVER REPENT. Like
Simon they’re bound to their sinful lifestyle or career.
So here in Acts
8:9-24 we see the traits of the kind of faith in Christ that does not save are:
1. Profession without
counting the cost, being caught up in an emotional or social movement.
2. Attraction to
Christ based only on external visible manifestations of His power.
3. Desiring Christ
for what one thinks he or she can get out of Him to further his or her own
sinful desires.
4. No repentance.
When you and your
volunteers present the gospel, in response to these tendencies, make sure you
call those who hear to only come to Christ for His salvation from sin –
1. Having thought it
through and counted the cost.
2. Having looked
beyond the external visible blessings others appear to have.
3. With
an understanding that it will mean a radical change in their sinful career.
4. And, with a true,
obedient turning away from their sin.
Next month we’ll look
at the second half of Acts 8, and see in the Ethiopian eunuch the kind of faith
in Christ that really does save. He
sought God when it wasn’t convenient and counted the cost. He was willing to let go of everything the
world said was important and looked deeply into God’s salvation truth in the
Scriptures.
Pray that those you
minister to would be unlike Simon and like the Ethiopian, in Acts 8:26-39.
Rich Hines,