You Can't Buy a Gift!

August 24, 2025

In Acts 8, Philip brings the gospel to Samaria, and Simon the Sorcerer learns the hard truth that grace is never for sale.

As Acts transitions from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, we see God turning persecution into purpose. After Stephen’s martyrdom, the church is scattered, and Philip boldly proclaims Christ in Samaria with signs and miracles. The apostles soon follow, ensuring the gospel message is complete: redemption through Christ’s death and new life through the Spirit’s power.

Yet in Simon the Sorcerer, we meet a faith that looks real on the outside but is empty within. Though he believes and is baptized, Peter exposes his heart: still captive to selfishness, bitterness, and the world’s way of power and transaction. Simon wants what Christ can do for him—not Christ Himself. This passage reminds us that salvation is not about lip service, fear, or works—it is about a transformed heart made alive by the Spirit. Grace is a gift, and the fruit of the Spirit is its evidence.