ANNOUNCER: In Acts chapter 8 about Simon the Sorcerer, was Simon a believer and why did Peter threaten him? Hello friend, this is Grace in Focus; glad you’ve joined us today. Grace in Focus is a ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. Our website is www.faithalone.org. Time is of the essence if you want to get registered for our National Annual Conference. The pre-registration closes May the 7th, so just a little bit more than a week left, registration will be available in person at the event, which happens May the 18th through the 21st. It’s at Camp Copass in Denton, Texas, a beautiful venue, and we will be centering on the theme, “Believe in Christ For Life. We’ll also have VBS for kids and you need to tell us if your kids are coming, they will be studying crowns and rewards. Get online and register, get signed up today at faithalone.org. 

And now with today’s question and answer discussion, here are Bob Wilkin and Sam Marr. 

SAM: All right Bob, we’ve got a question from Gary, Acts chapter 8 talking about Simon the Sorcerer. So his question is, he just read one of your blogs in which you stated that John 3:16 covers all that is needed for salvation. I tend to agree with your view, however, in that context, I’m puzzled over Peter’s response to Simon Peter [sic]. Can you help me understand why Peter would say such a thing to a baptized believer? 

BOB: The reason he calls him a baptized believer is because of what happens earlier in the passage. I guess we’re going back to verse 13. 

SAM: So verse 13 says, “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.” So he believed, he was baptized and then he started following Philip and Peter.

BOB: And verse 12 talks about the other Samaritans who “believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.” Philip’s not baptizing unbelievers. He’s baptizing believers. And when he says Simon himself also believed, some people mistakenly think what this is is Simon himself professed to believe. That’s not what it says. This is inspired Scripture. Luke is writing an inspired Scripture and says that Simon himself believed. So he’s not only baptized, but as Gary says, he’s a believer. Now go to verses 20-23. This is the heart of what Gary’s asking about because Peter basically threatens Simon. I guess it’s verse 19 where Simon wants to give him money so that he can lay hands on people and they’ll receive the spirit, right? 

SAM: Yeah. Nineteen, Simon says, ” ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. And then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” 

BOB: Okay. So notice what Peter says. He says, “May your money perish with you” or “May your silver perish with you.” In my book, The 10 Most Misunderstood Words, I discuss the word lost. And that’s what this is. This is the verb, apollumi, which can be translated, perish, be destroyed or lost. And when he says, may your money perish with you, we’ve got two things Peter’s talking about perishing, right? One is his money and what’s the other, him, right? So is he saying, may your money go to hell and you go to hell? I don’t think so. I think he’s saying, may your money be destroyed and you too.

Now we can argue what kind of destruction he’s talking about. But I would say in the context of a baptized believer or even if he wasn’t baptized, this can’t be eternal condemnation. So this would be physical death. Basically saying, may your silver be thrown away, we don’t need your money and, may you die or at least have God’s judgment that could lead to premature death. Then he goes on to say, though, repent. Therefore, if this your wickedness and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 

SAM: Yeah, Peter clearly has more insight into Simon here than we do. Because just from the text, it’s unclear. He’s asking for the ability to impart the Holy Spirit, which at this time was an apostle’s job, an apostle’s ability. There’s no one else. 

BOB: And we don’t know how many other occasions this occurred, but it did occur here. And by the way, I don’t know if you’ve heard this, Sam, but in church history, buying church office or attempting to buy church office has been called simony because of this very passage. So like if you wanted to buy, let’s say, being an archbishop or you wanted to buy being a cardinal, and so you were willing to pay so much money, that’s simony.

SAM: And I think that’s true to what’s going on here because it seems to me like it’s not that Simon really wants some magic powers or he really wants to help people. He wants to be counted among the apostles, which only Christ made the apostles, so. 

BOB: Well, the other ironic thing is he was a magician before he came to faith and people marveled at what he did. Whether this was all sleight of hand or whether he was doing some things from the power of Satan. I don’t know. I assume it was just sleight of hand kind of things. But whatever it was, he was used to having a crowd and people oohing and aahing what he did. And now he sees this opportunity and so he offers money to get this. But Peter isn’t threatening him with eternal condemnation. He’s threatening him with judgment in this life. 

And the remedy, by the way, is repentance. When you study repentance in the New Testament, it is a remedy for premature physical death and it’s a remedy for avoiding ongoing judgment from God. So the prodigal son’s in the far country and he comes to his senses, repents and goes back to his father and he gets back in fellowship with his father. He gets the fatted calf, he gets a robe, he gets a ring, he gets sandals. He gets welcomed back into fellowship with his father and his family. That’s the case with any believer who is coming back to the Lord. They’re going to find restoration. And this is what he’s being offered. It’s the extension of his life, which, well, he’s saying, if perhaps. And I think the reason he says if, Peter was present in Acts chapter 5, when Ananias and Sapphira lied about how much money they sold this land for. God struck him down dead. So how does Peter know that God isn’t going to do that with Simon right here? 

ANNOUNCER: It’s coming, it’ll be here before you know it. What am I talking about? The Grace Evangelical Society’s National Conference 2026, May 18th through the 21st at Camp Copass, an absolutely beautiful campground in North Texas right on the lake with lots of recreation, great food, a great place to stay, wonderful fellowship, and wonderful Free Grace Bible teaching. Information and online registration now at faithalone.org/events. First timers waive registration fees. Faithalone.org/events.

BOB: But let me throw out two things. First of all, the way most commentators handle this passage. If Gary were to just start pulling commentaries off the shelf, he’d find that probably nine out of 10 say this guy is an unbeliever, or he’s a believer who lost his salvation. But either way, he’s being threatened with hell. That would be eight or nine out of 10 are going to say he’s being threatened with hell. And probably most of them would say he’s either a false professor or he’s a professor who has lost his salvation. But you can find some people who get this. For example, we published, if you go to faithalone.org, we published a journal article. I think that man’s name was Caesar Milan. And it was like in the 1890s that he wrote an article about Simon, and he showed that he was a believer. [See article here.] And we also have several other articles there, multiple articles there that you can check out. 

But I think the key here is to be a Berean, be a believer who searches the Scriptures. There’s nothing here about Peter saying, may you be eternally condemned. No hint of it. When he says, may your silver perish with you, the perishing of silver is temporary or temporal. It’s in this life. It’s not eternal. And therefore, he’s threatening him with premature death or judgment that could lead to premature death. The other thing is, I think Gary’s absolutely right. He is clearly a believer. He’s clearly born again and tying it in with John 3:16, which Gary started with, therefore, we know he’ll never perish. 

SAM: Right. And in John 3:16, my favorite word in there, whosoever, Simon right here, even if he’s flawed and even if he just immediately strays from what he had just been taught into wanting to be a big shot, like the apostles, wanting glory and fame or whatever for himself, he’s part of that whosoever. It doesn’t matter how long he was a believer for. It doesn’t matter how severe, it doesn’t matter if God struck him dead there. He’s part of the whosoever because he believed. Right here, clearly Luke says, Simon himself also believed. There’s no question that he’s a believer. Luke didn’t get it wrong. He wasn’t mis-inspired by the Holy Spirit. So there’s no question in my mind to that.

BOB: That’s a great point. We used to sing the song—I’ve mentioned this many times before—at First Baptist Dallas. “Whosoever surely meaneth me.” Ultimately, what that’s saying is, if I believe that the whosoever in John 3:16 includes me, then I know I’ll never perish. I know I have everlasting life. But if I don’t think that includes me, then I’ll come to a passage like this. And if I’m questioning Simon’s regeneration when the Scripture specifically says, he believed, then I’m going to question my own salvation, right? Because I’m not perfect. And if that’s the case, and if some of these are sufficiently sinful, wouldn’t I doubt my salvation? It would seem like I would if I’m doubting this guy’s salvation.On the other hand, if I know that this is a believer who has strayed, well, then I would say actually for me, that’s good news because I know even if I stray, I’m secure. And that’s the whole point of once saved always saved, isn’t it? 

SAM: Yeah, I’m encouraged by these examples from Old and New Testament believers who sin and stray, not because it’s good, but because it’s just like me. I try my hardest to be like Christ, but I can’t. So I’m going to be somewhere between Paul and Simon or Paul and these other people. 

BOB: Well, we can be like Christ, but we can’t be perfectly like Christ. And that’s where it doesn’t do us any good doing a lot of self-examination. It seems to me that when, like Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5-7 to examine ourselves to see if we’re in the faith in terms of our experience, he’s talking not about seeing if we’re a sinless life or a perfect life or anything like that. He’s saying, are you abiding in sound doctrine? Are you part of the fellowship, you know, are you someone who’s holding to orthodoxy? And if those are the case and you’re walking in the light of God’s Word, then you can say, yeah, I’m that person, but it’s not introspection. It’s not I’m going around trying to figure out, well, how many good works have I had in the last week and how many bad works? Now, that’s not going to do you any good. That’s going to be unhealthy. God never asked us to do that.

SAM: Well, thanks for the question, Gary, and remember, keep grace in focus. 

ANNOUNCER: Be sure to check out our daily blogs at faithalone.org. They are short and full of great teaching, just like what you’ve heard today. Find them at faithalone.org/resources/blog. We would love to hear from you. Maybe you’ve got a question, comment, or some feedback. If you do, please don’t hesitate to send us a message. Here’s our email address. It’s radio@faithalone.org. That’s radio@faithalone.org. And when you do, very important. Please let us know your radio station call letters and the city of your location.

On our next episode: Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation.” What does this mean? Please join us again and until then, let’s keep grace in focus.