Is Baptism Required for Salvation? What Acts 8 Really Says

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, program number four, and then we'll be able to call it an afternoon. We always like to let our television folks know that we tape four programs in succession, and I do that because I don't want people to think I only have one shirt. And we're all here for a whole afternoon. And that means that this is a whole month of programs, you know. So I can about imagine that somebody clear out in California must think, well he wore that shirt last week, he wore it the week before, but we like you to know that we just tape four programs. And all of that is for various reasons, budgetary wise, and travel wise, and everything else. It just makes it so much more convenient that we do them all at once. But anyway, we always like to make folk aware that all of the programs are available on videotape. We do it as nominally as we can. We put six hours on one tape, and we can send them out for $25 or $30, I don't know, I guess they went up when postage went up. But anyway, for the amount of content, we think we're fairly reasonable. And then every tape has been transcribed, almost now, we're catching up. The tapes have been transcribed into booklet form, and a lot of people love the books better even than the tapes. Like one gal wrote from Minneapolis, she said, I can take it out on the patio and read it, or I can take it along in the car, and so whatever, to each his own. We just want you to know that they are available, and that folks are enjoying the printed ones as well. Now then I'd like to bring you back here in the studio to Acts chapter 8, and we're just going to pick right up where we left off. We're taking this pretty much verse by verse, and we left off in verse 11 where we were introduced to Simon the sorcerer, who had been bewitching the Samaritans with sorceries, remember using satanic power, not the power of God. And now verse 12, but when they believed Philip, now remember he's been using the miraculous power of God. So when they believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ. Now see as I come through here, and I know there are probably some people that just tear out their hair in disagreement, but see as I come through here and I read these things, I have to ask myself, does Philip say anything about his death, burial, and resurrection? Have any of these people said anything about his death, burial, and resurrection, which is the core of our Gospel? Our Gospel is that we have to believe that Christ died for my sin, He was buried, and He rose from the dead. Philip doesn't mention that, but what are they preaching? That He was the Messiah, He was the Christ, the Son of the living God, period. And they were baptized, of course, my land, what did John the Baptist start with? The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, repent and be baptized. That was the Jewish message, it was tied to it, and I would be the last one to say that you can separate it back there. Now today I maintain that baptism has no part in salvation. It has to be the finished work of the cross plus nothing. Otherwise we're telling God, you didn't quite finish it, I have to do it with my baptism. And so here's where we have to be so careful, and here's where whenever someone asks me, Well what's your stand on baptism? I say, I only have one stand on baptism, don't you ever make it part of your salvation, because then you are telling God that He didn't quite finish it. You have to do your little two cents worth, and we do not. We rest totally on what Christ accomplished on our behalf. But here, that's not the message yet. Here is again revelation that hasn't been revealed. And so he preached Jesus Christ, and naturally they were baptized men and women. Now this gets interesting. Then Simon himself believed also, and when he was baptized, he went the whole nine yards didn't he? He professed believing, he evidently did his repenting, and they baptized him. He continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and the signs which were done. Oh boy, what is he majoring on? Signs and miracles. What's he minoring on? The person of Christ. See and here's where we have to be so careful. Our priorities have to be based on Scripture. But you see old Simon, since that had been his trade, that was right down his alley to have signs and miracles. He just jumped on that bandwagon, and he says, Hoorah! This is my kind of a thing. But was Simon a true believer? No! No, Simon's not a true believer, he's a fake. He's a counterfeit. Verse 14. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem, now remember that would be Peter and the eleven, because this Philip I do not believe was the Philip of the twelve. This was one of the seven if I understand Scripture correctly. So the twelve down at Jerusalem hear that Samaria had received the Word of God. So what do they do? They send Peter and John. Now James I think is probably dead already, and so that's why he isn't in the midst, because as a rule it was Peter, James and John. But now we have Peter and John, and they go down to Samaria because of what's going on. Verse 15. Now when they were come down, they prayed for them, that is the Samaritan believers, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16. For as yet, in spite of all of Philip�s success in preaching, for as yet he had fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now then, why aren�t they given the Holy Spirit? Well you see God has His reasons. So then they, that is Peter and John, laid their hands on them, the Samaritan believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. Amazing isn�t it? Why did God withhold the Holy Spirit from these baptized Samaritan believers until Peter and John come up, or come down? Well go back with me to John�s Gospel chapter 4. And here we have the account of Jesus and the woman at the well, don�t we? You all know the story. Oh, I don�t even know where to start. I don�t like to just jump in on one verse. I like to get the whole flow if possible, but time probably won�t permit that. But come down to verse 15. Now this is Jesus and the woman of Samaria at the well. Verse 17 of John 4. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. Sounds familiar doesn�t it? Verse 18. In that thou sayest truly, The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Now look at verse 20. The woman of Samaria is speaking, and she says, Our fathers worshipped in this mountain. And you say, being a Jew from Jerusalem, that in Jerusalem is the place to worship. Now again you�ve got to go all the way back into Israel�s history. Remember when the kingdom was divided under Rehoboam and Jeroboam? The Temple of course was in the southern kingdom, Judah, and it carried on as usual. So what did the Israelites of the northern kingdom set up? A secondary Temple worship on Mount Gerizim. And so they had their own counterfeit as it were. The presence of God wasn�t in it, it was just another man made religion. But this is where they headquartered their religion, and they did not recognize that God was dealing with Israel through the Temple in Jerusalem. Now I�ve got to make another point as we go along. All through Israel�s religious history, Jerusalem is the headquarters of God�s operation. For the New Testament Church there is no earthly headquarters of the Church. That�s the vast difference. You see the Church today is headquartered not on earth, but where? In heaven. And even though Antioch was more or less the fountainhead of where the Gospel went out to the Gentiles from the Antioch congregation, yet the Scripture never places Antioch as the headquarters of the New Testament Church, nor is Jerusalem. There is no headquarters of the New Testament Church. But under Judaism, Jerusalem was to be understood that that is where God dealt with His people. But the Samaritans said, �What�s the difference?� Now with that kind of an historic mentality, what did God have to show these Samaritan believers? Jerusalem was the headquarters of God�s dealing with the nation of Israel. And so as these believing Samaritans were certainly saved from Philip�s preaching, yet they did not get the full frosting on the cake until representatives of Jerusalem, Peter and John, came and manifested their divine office, and by their laying on the hands they received the Holy Spirit. Now what did that tell the Samaritans? Jerusalem is where we have to worship, not Samaria. And I think now Simon is seeing all this, and he�s the curious one. So when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles� hands, that is Peter and John, the Holy Spirit was given. Now under this economy remember when the Holy Spirit came down, there was visible evidence that He offered them money. Doesn�t that show you where His heart is? He�s been gaining wealth for years in performing the Miraculous, but now he sees something that was even better than what He�d been able to do. I mean this was better. It had more power. It had more punch. And so Simon says, �Hey, I want to buy into this. I want to be a limited partner.� And that�s exactly what he had in mind. He saw the money to be gained. Now here�s where you have every right in the world to discern the spiritual condition of this man Simon. As a true believer would he make a statement like that? No way. But he�s not. Oh he made a profession, but it was as empty as a bucket. It had absolutely nothing that was life changing. He even went through the baptism. Does that ring a bell? We�ve got millions that are doing it all the time. They go through all of the process, they get baptized, they join the Church, and they�re as lost as a dog. Why? Because there�s been no heart change. Simon is a good example. And so he said, �Let me have this, I�ll buy it.� Verse 19. And Simon said, �Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Spirit.� Oh now wait a minute. Was Simon concerned about the spiritual aspect of the Holy Spirit? No way. But all he could see was the monetary reward. Now Peter saw him as I see him, and I�m sure you see him. Peter saw right through Simon. And Peter said in verse 20, �Thy money perish with thee.� What does that mean? Hey they�re both going down the tube, not just the money, but Simon is too. Now do you see what that says? Even though it says up here in verse 12 that he believed, yet Peter brings us to the truth of the matter. It wasn�t any real belief, he was a fake. He was in it strictly for what he could gain materially. Now it�s neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Let me take the time. Go back with me to Romans 10. We had a good class last night. The whole hour was in Romans 10. And I came away from that class just knowing that hearts were really touched by the Gospel. And here it is, and this is what makes me think of it. Romans 10. Those are verses that I think every servant of God uses when you�re dealing with someone in salvation. Romans 10. Now what does that imply? He died, that�s the Gospel. He died, he was buried, and he rose from the dead. If you believe that with all your heart, thou shalt be saved. Not if, maybe, or hope so. But when we believe God promised it as a fact, thou shalt be saved. That�s a promise. And what does God expect us to do with the promises? Rest on them. not doubt them, not wonder, but we have every right in the world to say, �But God this is what You told me, and I believe it.� And that�s one place where we can hold God accountable, if I may put it that way. Because He said it, we can believe it. But now look at the next verse. Romans 10. For with the heart, not with the head, not with the mind, but with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Now do you see a lot of things that everybody thinks should be in there, and they�re not? Paul doesn�t even allude here to some of the things that we�re seeing back in the early Acts, but all he says is that if we believe with all our heart that God in Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose from the dead, thou shalt be saved. That�s a promise. But it has to be in the heart. Now come back to Acts. See Simon didn�t get it in the heart. Simon just saw with the physical and in the material what was to be gained, and he said, �Hey, I want that.� That�s not the heart. Now read on. Acts 12. Peter says then to Simon, �Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee.� But we have nothing in Scripture to give us the slightest hint that Simon ever changed his mind. In fact we�ve read a book just lately where Simon was probably the promoter of what was later called Gnosticism, and that was a total counterfeit of Christianity. I mean he actually went from Samaria according to some of the archeological, historical findings and so forth, and actually became the enemy of the Gospel. And I can believe that, because he is a satanically endowed individual. So Peter says, �I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.� Is that the description of a believer? No way! Because that�s what salvation breaks, is the bond of iniquity. Salvation breaks those chains of satan. Salvation sets us free. You know I often have to tell my classes during the week, back in the 60�s in the hippie movement, they thought they were free. They thought their lifestyle had just broken all bonds of social behavior, and they could do as they pleased. Those people weren�t free, they were in the very bonds of satan himself. They were bound. But you see the believer is truly set free, and all those shackles are broken by the very power of God when we believe. But poor old Simon couldn�t believe. All he could see was what was the material. Let�s read on. Let�s go back to Romans chapter 10. I�ve always felt that God has given the biggest part of my teaching for the benefit of believers, but that doesn�t mean we don�t recognize that there are a lot of lost people that we touch, and we�ve seen a lot of people come to know the Lord. But I know that I don�t express a lot of evangelistic output in my teaching, and I�d be the first to admit that. That might be a failure on my part. But here it is in Romans chapter 10, that whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Then he brings in this which got Paul in trouble with the Jews, that there is no difference between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all, O not in a blanket effect, but to whom who call upon Him. And then you come into that great verse 13, and I�m always reminded of a lady in Minnesota years ago, that when we brought her through all these verses and we got down to verse 13, through her tears she said, �I never saw this verse before.� She claimed to have been a Sunday School teacher for years. But here�s the capstone again of the whole thing. When we believe what the Bible says about ourselves that we�re sinners, Romans 3.23-24, all have sinned. We�re sinners by virtue of being sons of Adam. And when we take that verse by faith, that God has called me a sinner, then I can believe that Christ died for my sin, He died in my place, but that still isn�t quite enough, because what does God expect us to do? Recognize it, and we recognize it by verbally. Now you don�t have to shout it to a crowd, and you don�t have to shout it to a housetop, but I think even in the privacy of your own prayer closet, or wherever you are, driving down the road, or washing dishes over the sink, whatever the case may be, you verbally say, �Lord I�m a sinner, save me, because I believe that You�ve done everything that needs to be done.� That�s what verse 13 means. Romans 3.23-24 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, and then what�s the promise again? That person shall be saved. I can�t understand it, and I don�t think you can. But that�s what the Book says, that if we call upon Him, He�ll be saved. I�ve always given, I did last night in the class, I give the old simple, almost a childlike illustration of a swimming pool on a hot summer afternoon, and the kids are screaming and laughing and they�re having a ball, and there�s so many heads in there that you can�t see one from the other. But for a lifeguard who knows what he or she is doing, even though they may be carrying on a conversation with kids around their stool, and you know how they do, but what is their ear constantly trained for? That feeble cry, �Help!� And then what does that lifeguard do? Bingo! If they know what they�re doing, they�re in that water and they�re saving that sinking child. Now this is the way, in that simple form, I picture God. He is constantly listening for the feeble call of a sinner who says, �I want to be saved.� And the minute, the second that God hears that, He�s there. And that�s what salvation is all about. And this is exactly what this verse means. Now as I told this lady as I left that evening, I said, �Tomorrow Satan�s going to come back and cast doubt, and he�s going to make you say, �Well, did anything really happen?� And you come right back and open your Bible to Romans 10 and you again verbally, you just simply say it out loud, �But God, You promised it.� See that�s what faith is all about. You promised, and I did what You said I should do. I called upon You, I�ve believed the Gospel, and now I want the assurance that what You�ve said is true. Now listen, I�ve had I don�t know how many people that have come long after the fact and told me, �Well this is what I did, and what a difference.� I remember one time I told one of my classes several years ago, �If you have doubts, don�t go through life doubting. Drop to your knees some morning and just say, �Lord if I�m not truly saved, I want You to save me right now.� And I had a lady one time come and she said, �You know Les, when you said it I kind of smiled, but I did, and what a difference came over my life.� And she said, �Now I know without any doubt that I have called upon Him, and He has responded by saving me, and I no longer have doubts.� Oh listen, don�t go through life wondering, �Am I going to make it? Am I all right?� The Scripture says, �Make your calling and election what?� Sure! And that�s one way of doing it. Now back to Acts chapter 8 for just a few seconds, verse 24. So Simon says, �Praise the Lord for me, and I could have told you that doesn�t work.� But then verse 25, And they, that is Peter and John, when they had testified and preached the Word of the Lord, where did they go? They returned to Jerusalem. Well you�d think they had their appetite whetted now, and they should have kept right on going, but they don�t. And they�re not remiss, and they�re not derelict of duty, because like I said in the last program, they knew that they had no ministry to Gentiles until Israel had the King. And so where do they go? Back to Jerusalem, and there was no indication that they ever went to a Gentile. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, OK 74552. That�s Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, OK 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.