Philip’s ministry in Samaria in Acts 8included the belief and baptism of a man named Simon, who formerly attracted a large following by performing Satanic magic arts in which he boasted. Therefore, his conversion doubtless had a profound impact upon many. But there were at least two problems. One, the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon these new believers of Samaria. God sovereignly resolved that problem by having the apostles (who had remained behind in Jerusalem – v. 1) send Peter and John to Samaria to pray and lay their hands on the believers, and they received the Holy Spirit (vv. 14-17). The second problem was Simon’s response when he observed Peter’s and John’s ministry (vv. 18-19):
Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
We should acknowledge that Simon was theologically ignorant at this point as a brand new believer. Like many of us, he carried a lot of baggage from his former life into his new relationship with Jesus Christ. In addition, he was accustomed to holding sway over people using spiritual power, and apparently desired to continue to do so. It seems that when Peter is around, it’s because there is a difficult task to do (see Acts 2-5)! God gives Peter a view into Simon’s heart, and the apostle proceeds to give Simon a stinging rebuke (vv. 20-23) with at least three major points: 1) the Holy Spirit, and the apostolic authority that He bestows, are gifts of God and therefore cannot be purchased, nor are they subject to any human manipulation; 2) Simon’s wrong heartbefore God was wickedness of which he needed to repent and seek God’s forgiveness; and 3) Simon was in the gall of bitterness. This was an idiom that meant he was envious of someone to the point of resentment. Thus, as Peter said, Simon was in the bondage of iniquity – his former desire to control people by his own spiritual power was still so strong that it was controlling him.
Simon’s response (v. 24) displayed his obvious terror at Peter’s rebuke. He recognized the apostles’ authority and spiritual power, and thus asked Peter and John to pray for him. Was Simon a true believer? Some think not; though we are not told any more of his situation, so we will leave it with God. At a minimum, we can acknowledge that believers can and in fact do what Simon did. It is not uncommon for Christians to be in bondage to private sins, or to be bitterly resentful, or hold grudges. For example, I have told believers that they can give up their grudge; and assumed that was good news. But I see their faces fall, as though I was asking them to give up a prized possession. God’s solution for believers is to repent of our sin and have a fresh experience of our forgiveness through the finished work of Jesus Christ.