And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money. Acts 8:18
What was Simon the Sorcerer really looking for? The next verse tells us that he wanted the power to lay hands on people and have those people receive the Holy Ghost. It was obvious that this power would have been important to Simon, also known as Simon Magus, but he was obviously looking for much more than that. This man had held a very high position in Samaria before the Gospel came. All looked up to him as a great religious leader, and through his magic tricks he promoted himself and held his position. Why would such a powerful and influential man be so welcoming of the Gospel, which would have destroyed his position and authority? It is obvious that Simon saw in the Gospel not God’s salvation but a means to promote himself and his own interests. He wanted to become an apostle and to make of it a great business. He has many counterparts today.
Some would tell us that Simon Magus, and not Simon Peter, who founded the idolatrous and blasphemous religion of Roman Catholicizm. That may be likely, since it obviously wasn’t the apostle Peter. But Simon saw in an apostleship the authority to gain great control over people, and his offer of money to obtain it shows that his interests were as much monetary as religious. Peter identifies him as a false Christian. Those who employ so-called Christianity as a business usually are not true believers. We see them around us today. In past years, we have seen the fakes among the televangelists such as Oral Roberts, Jim and Tammy-Faye Bakker, and Jimmy Swaggart of the 1980s who descended into shameful misbehaviour in the pursuit of filthy lucre. Mega-church leaders of today are quarterbacked by Joel Olsteen and his prosperity Gospel, a man whose doctrines show him to have no grasp of the true gospel and no possession of eternal life. Or consider Benny Hill’s spectacular faith healing fakery that earns him and his organization $100 million a year. These men are not in it for the truth – which they obviously don’t know – or for the good of their followers, whose money they steal with their false promises and claims. On a much smaller scale, hundreds of denominational seminaries are churning out graduates who regard their ‘ministry’ as nothing more than a nice career that pays a decent wage. The Bible does make it clear that those who labour in the Gospel should live of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14). Our full-time workers are fully deserving of the support that the Lord’s people give them – and probably more. Their attitude toward financial support is a refreshing difference from the mercenary approach to religion around us.
Greed should have no part in spreading the Gospel, and we should be aware of the need to avoid the taint of filthy lucre on such a high and holy calling. -Jim MacIntosh