The Birth of the Church | Acts 8:9-25 
Simon the Magician

Acts 8:9-25

In the gospels, Jesus teaches that there is a kind of ‘nominal’ belief that is not the same as genuine new birth.

Matthew 7:21-23

Ref. John 2:23-25 // Matthew 13:3,5-6, 20-21 // Matthew 13:24-30 // John 6:60-70 // Luke 13:22-30

“We know, from Jesus Himself, that there are people who can be in the church but not of the church. We know there are unsaved “Christians.” And we know that Jesus will not be fooled, even if the rest of us pretend to be.” — Dean Inserra

Simon Magus: Portrait of an ‘Unsaved Christian’:

1) Desirous of the praise of man

2) More interested in the benefits of the church than of Christ

3) Skewed understanding of the gospel

4) Deficient repentance