When it begins, the chronicle of Acts 8:4-24 looks like another one of the success stories of the early church.  As often happens throughout the book, when someone (in this case, Philip the Evangelist) brings the gospel to a new location (in this case, the city of Samaria), it is received with joy.  As also happens, like Elymas in Cyprus, Sosthenes in Corinth, and Demetrius in Ephesus, an opponent of the gospel emerges, somebody who views the early church as spiritual competition.  In Acts 8, this opponent is Simon, a (stage) magician who had been leading the people astray for a good while.

However, in Acts 8, the narrative doesn’t go in the expected direction.  Rather than being blinded or getting beaten, Simon himself becomes a disciple.  He believes in Jesus!  He is baptized!  Indeed, he abandons his deceptive lifestyle, following Philip and being amazed himself rather than amazing others.

Tragically, events expose Simon to a temptation that he fails to resist.  Peter and John come to town and, as only apostles can do, begin to impart miraculous spiritual gifts to others by laying hands on them.  Simon’s reaction, though, reveals that despite his conversion, he has come to the Lord with significant baggage.  He offers the apostles money in exchange for the ability to pass along the Holy Spirit himself.  Though the text doesn’t say so, we can infer that Simon wasn’t planning to offer those gifts for free. 

Peter forthrightly condemns Simon for his covetous heart, and Simon’s ambiguous reply leaves us uncertain whether he has repented or not.  Ultimately, he proves to be little different than the other villains of the book of Acts.

Nonetheless, Simon’s example offers us two valuable spiritual lessons.  First, he shows us that it is all too possible for us to fall away.  This is denied by Calvinists, who hold to the doctrine of eternal security.  Typically, they will argue that Simon wasn’t really saved.  He only appeared to be.

However, rather than offering security, this argument merely replaces uncertainty about our ultimate fate with uncertainty about our initial salvation.  If Simon was not saved despite having believed and having been baptized, none of us can be sure that we were saved through belief and baptism either.  Additionally, if Jesus says in Mark 16:16 that those who believe and are baptized will be saved, who are we to disagree, even in the case of Simon?

Second, Simon shows how the flaws in our character before we come to the Lord can distort our service to Him.  He had been a con man, and despite his awe at the power of God, it ultimately meant nothing more to him than a way to make money.  So too for us.  If we are not careful, the lust, pride, or greed that ruled us before Christ will simply find a new expression in a religious context.  If we wish to inherit eternal life, we must succeed where Simon failed by making no provision for the flesh and its lusts.

When I was growing up, I attended many Bible classes about the necessity of baptism for salvation.  Clearly, that’s a good and worthwhile thing to teach children, but not all the arguments I heard in defense of that Biblical truth were equally good. 

In particular, I remember being taught to use James 2:14-26 as a counter to Ephesians 2:8-9:  “You say that we’re saved by faith apart from works, and baptism is a work, so we don’t have to be baptized?  Well, here’s a passage that says we’re saved by works, so we do have to be baptized!”

There are several problems with the above exchange.  First, despite the multitude of claims to the contrary, Ephesians 2:8-9 isn’t about baptism.  Baptism isn’t even referred to in Ephesians until 4:5, which describes baptism as an essential ground for the unity of the Spirit.

Instead, 2:8-9 is an abbreviated form of the arguments Paul makes in Romans 3:19-4:12 and Galatians 3:1-14.  In those passages, he contrasts justification by faith with justification by the works of the Law, especially circumcision.  There is no reason to read any other meaning into “works” in Ephesians 2 than the meaning Paul repeatedly assigns to it elsewhere, particularly when no Biblical author ever describes baptism as a work.  All Paul is saying in 2:8-9 is that we cannot be saved by perfect Law-keeping.

In short, the argument against baptism from Ephesians 2 is a bad argument.  The text doesn’t come anywhere close to supporting it.  Sadly, when we argue for baptism from James 2, we implicitly accept the false equivalence between works and baptism and concede the validity of this bad argument.

However, James 2 in context isn’t about baptism either.  As far as I know, baptism is not mentioned anywhere in the entire epistle.  Instead, where Paul is concerned with defeating Judaizing teachers, James has a different objective.  He’s addressing brethren who have gone to the opposite extreme, who claim that because they are justified by faith in Christ, they don’t have to make any efforts to live righteously. 

In response, James points out that the faith that does not produce spiritual fruit is useless, dead, and ineffective for salvation.  The “Christian” who agrees that Jesus is the Christ but lives wickedly is no better than the demon who agrees that God is one and shudders.  We cannot be justified by works in the sense that we keep the Law perfectly, but we are justified by the works that complete our faith and give it life.

This is a valuable argument, and one that ought to apply a boot to the backsides of do-nothing disciples everywhere.  It does not, however, prove that baptism is necessary for salvation, nor do we need it to.  There are plenty of other passages for that! 

Acts 7:2-53 contains the longest sermon in the New Testament by anybody but Jesus.  The speaker is Stephen, on trial for his life before the Sanhedrin, and he is accused of a number of crimes.  According to Acts 6:11-13, he is accused of blaspheming God and Moses, speaking against the temple and the Law, and advocating the destruction of the temple and the Mosaic customs. 

As one might expect from an inspired prophet, Stephen’s defense is ingenious.  He points out that from time immemorial, the true custom of the Jews has been disregarding God’s law and God’s chosen.  Indeed, God commonly has used those rejected by His people to bring about salvation.  According to Acts 7:9-16, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers but later saved them all from famine.  In 7:17-36, Moses is the rejected deliverer. 

In 7:37-50, Stephen turns his attention to the temple.  Once again, true Jewish custom is not to worship God, but to worship idols, as revealed by the idolatry of the Israelites in the wilderness.  When they built the tabernacle and the temple, they failed to realize that God did not truly dwell in any human creation. 

In 7:51-53, though, Stephen abruptly switches course.  He accuses his audience of being as evil as their fathers and, in the rest of the chapter, is dragged out and stoned to death.  Admittedly, the text doesn’t say this straight out, but my impression is that Stephen realizes the Sanhedrin is about to jump him and skips to the end of his sermon.  He never finishes developing his arguments.

However, it’s not hard to figure out what the full sermon might have been.  In Acts 2, Peter uses the evidence of miraculous spiritual gifts, prophecy, and eyewitness testimony to establish that Jesus, though rejected by the Jews, had been made Lord and Christ by God.  Stephen would have been familiar with Peter’s argument, and he easily could have shown that as a rejected deliverer, Jesus fits into the pattern established by Joseph and Moses.  If his audience had been receptive, he could have invited them into the salvation offered by Jesus just as their fathers had benefited from Joseph and Moses.

Similarly, his comments about God not dwelling in temples made with human hands could have led easily into Jesus’ teaching on the subject.  In Matthew 24:2, Jesus predicted that the temple would be destroyed.  However, this loss would not be as dire as the Jews might think.  According to John 4:21-24, Jesus predicted a time when true worshipers would worship the Father not in a particular earthly location, but in spirit and in truth.

Today, these things are still vital to us.  We recognize that the name of Jesus is the only name under heaven by which we might be saved.  We understand that when we come to the Father through the Son, we can come to Him anywhere.  This is the truth that saves us, and it could have saved the Sanhedrin too, if only they were willing to listen.

Acts 5 contains a fairly convoluted series of events.  As with Acts 4, the climax of the chapter is a confrontation between the apostles and the Sanhedrin.  However, the path to the confrontation is a little more winding. 

In 5:17-18, the apostles are arrested.  However, in 5:19-24, an angel rescues them from prison so they can continue proclaiming the gospel.  In 5:25-26, they are asked nicely to appear before the Council, and only then does the famous showdown take place.

Of particular note, though, is the angel’s instruction to the imprisoned apostles in 5:20.  He tells them, “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of life.”  Don’t leave anything out, even the parts that might get you arrested and killed.  Preach the whole thing.

Still today, daring to proclaim the whole gospel is divisive, and it even can be dangerous.  There are millions of people who do not want to hear the bad news about their sin, even if it is followed by the good news about salvation through Christ.  All of us have friends, neighbors, and even brethren in that boat.  There are many churches in which repeating the plain teaching of Jesus in Matthew 19:1-9 will not find favor. 

However, preaching the whole message, especially the unpopular parts, has great value.  First, it demonstrates our integrity and commitment to God.  A few years back, I was talking with a progressive friend about my opposition to the practice of homosexuality.  As many progressives do in that area, he resorted to the conservatives-are-hypocrites argument and informed me that we didn’t honor Jesus’ teaching on divorce.  “Well, actually. . .” I replied.

Declaring the whole counsel of God might open us to charges of being extremists, legalists, or fanatics.  However, it insulates us from accusations of hypocrisy.  When we say we honor the word of God, we can prove that we mean it. 

That kind of strong stand might awaken hatred from others (which, according to John 15:18-19, is nothing more than disciples can expect), but crucially, it does not expose us to contempt.  Everyone knows the difference between people of principle and those who will abandon the ideals they claim whenever convenient.  The latter are easily dismissed; the former cannot be.  Even on the cross, Jesus’ righteousness overcame the shame of His death.

Second, faithfully repeating the whole gospel finds favor with God.  Discipleship is not about convenience, either for us or others.  It is about obeying our Lord, even when it is difficult, even when we don’t want to, even when obedience costs us things we hold dear.  When we surrender our will to God’s, we reveal that we have the mind of Christ.

However, just as Jesus was highly exalted when He humbled Himself to the point of death, so too will we be exalted.  When we confess Him before men, He will confess us before His Father.  When we honor God, He will honor us.  Nobody will lose their souls for showing too much respect for God’s word, but danger lies in editing the message to suit our preferences.

When we read the account of John 21:1-19, we can’t help but be struck by the similarity between the narrative of the chapter and the accounts recorded in Matthew 4:18-22 and Luke 5:1-11.  Both stories take place by the Sea of Galilee.  Both involve an enormous catch of fish.  Both conclude with a call from Jesus to Simon Peter:  “Follow Me!”

Bible skeptics love to seize on these similarities and claim they are different versions of the same poorly remembered (extremely poorly remembered, given the miraculous catch) event.  Those poor dumb disciples!  It’s a good thing the skeptics know much better than the disciples what happened, even though they were eyewitnesses and the skeptics aren’t, and the skeptics live thousands of years later.

Of course, the Evangelists didn’t get their facts wrong.  Instead, they have recorded a display of the wisdom of Jesus.  He is the One driving events both in Luke 5 and John 21, and the narrative in both cases is so similar because He makes it so for the benefit of His disciples, in particular, for the benefit of Peter.

Consider Peter’s emotional ups and downs over the past couple of months.  During the Triumphal Entry, he, along with the rest of Jesus’ disciples, is convinced that Jesus is about to re-establish God’s kingdom on earth.  On the night of Jesus’ betrayal, he proudly declares his willingness to die for and with his Lord. 

However, when he begins to fight, Jesus tells him to put up his sword.  In fear and confusion, he denies his Master three times, as He had told him he would.  He watches the One he thought was the Messiah die a painful, shameful, public death.

And then, against all expectations, on Sunday morning the tomb is empty.  Jesus is indeed the Christ, though a different kind of Christ than Peter had ever imagined He would be.  It is this Christ, mocked, beaten, crucified, and raised, who tells Peter for a second time, “Follow Me.”  The words and setting are the same, but what Peter hears is very different. 

So too for us.  As any of us who have been disciples for any length of time know, discipleship has its twists and turns.  Sometimes we ride high spiritually; sometimes we struggle.  Sometimes we blow it as completely as Peter blew it. 

Through it all, though, unless we give up entirely, we continue to learn.  We understand better what it means to follow Jesus, to die to ourselves as He died that we too might attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Even more encouragingly, through it all, Jesus continues to invite us to follow.  In His vast mercy, He gives us all second chances, like He gave Peter a second chance, and third, fourth, and fifth chances—as many as necessary.  Our understanding will be different, but His call always is the same:  “Follow Me,” until the day when no more following is necessary because we have joined Him where all of us always will be.