Author : Patrick Farish
We begin to read about Simon the Sorcerer, in Acts 8:9-13.
But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying This man is the power of God that is called Great. And they paid attention to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. And Simon himself believed: and after being baptized, he continued with Philip; and seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
Simon Also Himself Believed
Philip the evangelist preached Christ to Simon and the other Samaritans. Verse 12 of Acts 8 shows that preaching Christ involves preaching good news about the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, and baptism. Because “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17), when Simon with a good heart heard this preaching it produced faith/belief in him. The same preaching produced the same effect in other Samaritans, according to the divine record. When Simon believed, he was baptized for the remission of his sins, as the man of God instructed.
The Sin Of Simon
Sometime subsequent to his conversion, Simon observed power exercised by the apostles Peter and John, as they bestowed the Holy Spirit in miraculous measure on those who had been converted. Succumbing to temptation, the new convert offered the apostles money, “saying, Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit” , Acts 8:19. Simon was rebuked severely for this; the apostle Peter described him as one who was perishing, whose heart was not right before God, who was guilty of wickedness, and needed to be forgiven. Notice these charges, and the remedy presented, in Acts 8:20-22:
But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
Here is what one must do to be saved, who has obeyed the gospel and then sinned. These requirements are not the same as those revealed for the forgiveness of one who is not a child of God.
The one who is not a child of God must hear the gospel and believe it, repent of his sins, confess his faith in Christ and be buried with Him in baptism for the remission of his sins. On the other hand, the erring child of God must repent of his sins, and pray God to forgive him, as Simon was here instructed. The sinning Christian is not baptized again; the alien sinner, the person who is not a Christian, cannot pray sins away. In either case, the required conduct is the way of “access by faith” into grace (Romans 5:2).
A Teaching Of Error Examined
The effort to defend the doctrine of the impossibility of apostasy has caused some to deny that Simon was ever really saved. This idea, that a child of God who is once saved is always saved, (or, “once in grace always in grace”), is obviously in conflict with the plain statement of the conversion and subsequent transgression of Simon. According to this teaching, if Simon was really saved, then he could not be lost, or be in danger of being lost. However, the record shows plainly that he DID so sin as to put his soul in jeopardy. So, the effort is made to show that Simon was not saved, in the first place. It is suggested that Simon did not really believe; or, that he did not have what is described as “saving faith”. To the contrary, the Bible shows that Simon had the SAME faith as the rest of the converted Samaritans. It states explicitly that “Simon himself believed”: the Samaritans believed, and Simon believed. The belief of Simon the sorcerer was of no difference in quality and calibre from the belief of the other people whose conversion is recorded in this place. Efforts to disparage Simon’s faith must necessarily reflect on the faith of the rest of the Samaritans. Also, to deny Simon’s salvation is to reflect on the integrity of our Lord, for He promised in Mark 16:16 that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”; Simon believed; “and after being baptized, he continued with Philip”.
Some Bible History
Where did the notion of the impossibility of apostasy originate? Who first taught that men “once in grace” are “always in grace”? God warned Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:2, 3 that they would die if they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In Genesis 3:4 is recorded the deceitful assurance of Satan that this was not true: “You will not surely die”. Thus, the devil in the garden of Eden, first announced that a child of God could not fall from grace. To know who first preached “once in grace, always in grace” should of itself be sufficient to warn men away.
Several passages of Scripture are used by those who believe that it is impossible to fall from grace. Probably the most frequently cited is 1 John 3:9, “Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God”. The contested phrase is, “he cannot sin”.
It is suggested that this phrase denotes an absolute impossibility: that it is just literally impossible for the child of God to sin; but is this a proper conclusion? Does the expression, “he cannot sin”, indicate that it is beyond his ability to sin? Certainly not. This is made plain by the teaching which John has already done in this epistle; notice 1 John 1:8 – 2:1:
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
The point under consideration in 1 John 3:9 is not that the child of God is irresistibly prevented from the commission of sin; but rather, that the one in whom the word of God abides, whose life is controlled therefore by the direction of God, does not walk in the practice of sin: he is not an habitual sinner. This is made clear by the translation of the English Standard Version: “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God”, 1 John 3:9.
This does not say that the child of God does not occasionally commit sin. Nor does it say that he will be permitted to commit this sin with no concern for punishment if it is not forgiven; 1 John 2:1 makes that clear. It DOES say that the habit of his life, his practice, is the effort to obey God, to walk in the light.
Another passage that is perverted to teach the unconditional eternal security of saints is John 10:27-29:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life: and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
“No one will snatch them out of my hand” — who is Jesus talking about here? Those who hear his voice, and follow him, as the verse says. No one questions the security of those who are faithful, who continue to follow the Lord. The truth is, though, that a believer can become an unbeliever; one who is faithful, can become unfaithful; a follower, can cease to follow. The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul warned of this, in 1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith …”. Man is a free agent; he has the power of choice; he chooses to obey God in the beginning, and he must continue to choose God rather than the devil throughout his life. Should his choice change, he chooses to return to the world. His condition is described in 2 Peter 2:20-22:
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them, The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.
If A Child Of God Cannot Fall From Grace…
If a child of God cannot fall from grace, the apostle Paul spoke falsely in Galatians 5:4, where he said “you are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace”.
If a child of God cannot so sin as to be lost, the multitude of warnings given in the New Testament against apostasy are less than useless: they are needlessly alarming. For instance, 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall”. Again, Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”.
What is the point to all this? Are we denying that the faithful enjoy security with God? Not for a minute; but we deny that this security which God provides is unconditional. God does not promise that those who are once saved can then be immoral, dishonest, unrighteous, and still expect to go to heaven. This is a feature of this idea that makes it more distressing than the usual error: if a man feels that, having been saved, he can do whatever he wants without jeopardizing his soul, he has little or no real compulsion to do what is right, and to abstain from evil. It might be good here to note the warning of Revelation 21:8, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Paul warned the Colossians, “Do not lie one to another; seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices”, Colossians 3:9. If a Christian cannot lie, there is no need for exhortations not to lie. When Paul exhorts the Colossian Christians not to lie, therefore, it must be because it is possible for him to lie. And, if he lies and is not forgiven, he will be lost eternally, for all liars shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.
The Secure Way
Now, look at the prescription of God for eternal security. It is found in 2 Peter 1:10, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure: for if you practise these qualities you will never fall”. What is the promise? “You will never fall”. WHO will never fall? The one who does “these qualities”, the things listed in verses 5-7 of that chapter: supplement faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. “These qualities” prevent one’s being idle, being barren, being spiritually nearsighted: he will never stumble. This is the security God provides: His unfailing protection to those who follow the Lord, who do “these qualities”.
Men would have us believe that a child of God cannot fall from grace; yet the Bible prophesies of it, warns against it, tells how to avoid it, and provides the remedy for it for the ones who will repent. If Simon the sorcerer did not obey the instruction given him by the apostle Peter, though he had been forgiven in his original obedience to the gospel, he was lost eternally. The doctrine of the impossibility of apostasy is a doctrine of the devil, deluding and deceiving the souls of men into eternal torment: it is utterly false. Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”. 1 Corinthians 9:27, “but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected”.
