Simony

Simony - Meaning

ACTS 8 BIBLE STUDY ◄
Acts 8:14-19 Receive the Holy Spirit

Acts 8:20-25 Simony

Acts 8:26-40 Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

ACTS 8:20-25 20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that 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. 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.” 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.” 25 So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Was Simon a believer?
Acts 8:13 says, he "believed" and that he was even baptized, but the rest of the passage above raises serious questions about his faith.

What are some of those questions?
Peter told Simon to "perish" (Acts 8:20), that Simon had "wickedness" (Acts 8:22) but "neither part nor portion" (Acts 8:21) with them, that his heart is "not right" with God (Acts 8:21) but "poisoned by bitterness and bound by inequity" (Acts 8:23). This is not the description of someone who has been born again through Holy Spirit. Someone who is bound by "inequity," which means "sin," isn't someone whose sins have been wiped clean by the blood of Jesus, so Simon was not a believer. According to historians, Simon later became and died as an enemy of the church.

Then why does Acts 8:13 say that Simon "believed"?
For the same reason that James sarcastically chastises in James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!" The root of the original Greek words translated "believe" is πιστευω (pisteuo), which can mean "to think to be true," "to trust," or "to have Christian faith." Both Simon and demons "thought it true" that God is God, but they didn't "have Christian faith." Jesus wasn't their personal Lord and Savior.

What does this passage indicate about baptism's power to save people?
Simon was baptized but died unsaved and went to hell. Baptism is supposed to outwardly express that one has been saved; it does not bring about salvation.

What did Simon want?
He wanted the "power" (Acts 8:19) that he saw. Wanting the power of God or anything else "of God" but not God Himself is "wickedness" (Acts 8:22).

What English word did Simon give us?
"Simony," which means the buying or selling of church office or privileges.

Would Jesus see any trace of simony in your church?