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Connecting People to God
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Forgiveness                by Dayle Kinney



Acts 8
We continue on our journey through the book of Acts today as we look at Acts Chapter 8.
Saul has started to persecute the Church causing the believers to scatter throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. Those who scattered continued to share their faith and Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ to them with healing and miracles occurring. 
Today I want to look at a man named Simon (Acts 8:9-10) who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people claiming that he was someone great.
Why did Simon want to be great? Did he crave attention, words of affirmation; did he need love, what was his upbringing like? What had caused him to be the way he was?
God puts greatness on the inside of us, a desire to leave a legacy, a mark, to make a difference. It depends on the shaping of our characters whether we seek to be great for ourselves or to benefit others!
Perhaps people’s desire to be great, to be someone is because they feel like a nobody, and overlooked. 
An important revelation is that we are loved by God and precious and special to Him; before we do anything. That is the revelation of our Heavenly Father’s unconditional love.
We look at Simon amongst the people of Samaria who see and hear Philip preaching and the power of God moving, bringing deliverance and physical healing. Simon is listed as amongst those who believes in the Lord Jesus and is baptised in water (verse 12-14).
The apostles in Jerusalem hear what is happening and Peter and John are sent to the new believers (Acts 8:15-19)
The Samaritans had become Christians and had a conversion experience evidenced by water baptism. 
“Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit”. (Acts 8:14-17)
Peter and John’s concern for the Samaritans revival relates directly to their desire that those newly saved also receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Passage clearly differentiates water baptism (verse 12, 16) from receiving the Holy Spirit’s fullness (v 17).
Peter and John laid hands on the converts and they received the Holy Spirit with miracle signs. Many commentators believe it is likely this sign was speaking in tongues as in Acts 2 at Pentecost where the baptism of the Holy Spirit was evidenced by tongues of fire and speaking in other tongues.
This imparting of the fullness of the Holy Spirit was no small thing to the apostles who had come all the way from Jerusalem with the intention of imparting the power of Pentecost (Acts 2) among new believers.
An example of the difference and importance the apostles held for the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the difference seen in Peter’s life. Before he experienced the empowering of the Holy Spirit he is a fisherman who walked with Jesus, and yet denies knowing Jesus three times in his darkest hour. Jesus asked the disciples that after he ascended into heaven to go and wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4). When Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit he is a changed man, and stands in front of thousands of people proclaiming the gospel and leading the early church (Acts 2:14).
As we look again at Simon we see that his attention is caught as he sees the apostles lay hands on them and receives the Holy Spirit. He evidently saw some outward phenomenon that convinced him they had received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands as he offered to pay the apostles to give him the same ability (Acts 8:18-19). Simon wanted this power but his heart was cluttered with sin which he had allowed to get a foothold. God wants us to have pure motives and an openness and love for Him. We have to deal with any issues and be empty vessels for Him to fill with His love and power.
Keeping our hearts right
This account of Simon illustrates to us the importance of keeping our hearts right before God. Though Simon has believed and been water baptised, the residue of his past bondage surfaces as he again seeks power to manipulate others for his own purposes (self exaltation and money).
Peter discerns the root of the problem and calls Simon to repentance (Acts 8:20-23).
There is a warning here of the danger of tolerated or embraced un-forgiveness. Like poison it binds us up and corrupts everything around it. The undealt deepening effect of un-forgiveness is bitterness.
In Simon’s case his bitterness shaped his compulsion to control others (verse 19) which is what prompted his request to try and buy the ability to impart the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Power of Forgiveness

This account points to a main key to freedom in Christ – the act of forgiveness. Forgiving others from our heart flushes out the poison of un-forgiveness and its effect on our lives with the power of the Cross. In contrast un-forgiveness gives root to bitterness, as seen in the life of Simon. It leads us down paths we would never imagine we would travel.

Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive your trespasses.”
Colossians 3:13 “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint 
Hebrews 12:14-15 “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord; looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled”.
As we prepare for Easter let us look again to the Cross and what Jesus has done for us. Let us choose to lay down at the Cross any hurts, disappointments, offense, and un-forgiveness, and let it go!
Let’s come into this Easter with renewed hope, cleansed hearts, free form past bondages. It is the power of the Easter message. Jesus came to bring freedom and deliverance, and who the Son sets free is free indeed!

Discussion Questions
  1. Have you experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Discuss the difference being filled with the Holy Spirit has made to your Christian walk.
  2. What can you take away from hearing about Simon and his attitudes?
  3. How can we be more accountable to one another about any issues, un-forgiveness, offence  so the root of bitterness doesn’t take hold in our lives?