Theme Number 27 The Gospel breaks out but the Jewish Elders need convincing.

Peter explains what happened

Act 11:1  And the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the nations also received the Word of God.
Act 11:2  And when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him,
Act 11:3  saying, You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them.
Notes: The Leaders, the Apostles; and the brothers in Judea heard what had happened at the house of Cornelius in Caesurea. “So extraordinary an occurrence as this, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles, and their reception into the church, would excite attention, and be likely to produce much sensitiveness in regard to the conduct of Peter and those with him. It was so contrary to all the ideas of the Jews, that it is not to be wondered at that it led to contention.Barnes Notes

Act 11:2  And when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him,
They that were of the circumcision (hoi ek peritomēs).
Literally, those of circumcision (on the side of circumcision, of the circumcision party). The phrase in Act_10:46 is confined to the six brethren with Peter in Caesarea (Act_11:12)That can hardly be the meaning here for it would mean that they were the ones who brought the charge against Peter though Hort takes this view. All the disciples in Jerusalem were Jews so that it can hardly mean the whole body. In Gal_2:12 the phrase has the narrower sense of the Judaizing or Pharisaic wing of the disciples (Act_15:5) who made circumcision necessary for all Gentile converts. Probably here by anticipation Luke so describes the beginning of that great controversy. The objectors probably did not know of Peter’s vision at Joppa, but only of the revolutionary conduct of Peter in Caesarea. These extremists who spoke probably had abundant sympathy in their protest. The apostles are mentioned in Act_11:1, but are not referred to in Act_11:2. Apparently they are in contrast with the circumcision party in the church. RWP
to contend diakrinō Thayer’s Dictionary : to separate one’s self in a hostile spirit, to oppose, strive with dispute, contend.
(diekrinonto).Contended:  Imperfect middle of the common verb diakrinō, to separate. Here to separate oneself apart (dia), to take sides against, to make a cleavage (dia, two, in two) as in Jud_1:9. So Peter is at once put on the defensive as the contention went on. It is plain that Peter was not regarded as any kind of pope or overlord.

Act 11:3  "You went into the houses of men who are not Jews (uncircumcised)," they said, "and you ate with them." WNT
Notes : Men uncircumcised (andras akrobustian echontas). “Men having uncircumcision.” It is a contemptuous expression. They did not object to Peter’s preaching to the Gentiles, but to his going into the house of Cornelius and eating with them, violating his supposed obligations as a Jew (Hackett). It was the same complaint in principle that the Pharisees had made against Jesus when he ate with publicans and sinners (Luk_15:12). The Jews had not merely the Mosaic regulations about clean and unclean food, but also the fact that at a Gentile table some of the meat may have been an idol sacrifice. And Peter himself had similar scruples when the vision came to him at Joppa and when he entered the house of Cornelius in Caesarea Act_10:28). Peter had been led beyond the circumcision party.RWP
So it had been accepted that Peter could preach the Gospel to the Uncircumcised but to actually b enter their house and eat with them and sleep with them was against the Jewish scruples and regulations.


Act 11:4  Peter, however, explained the whole matter to them from the beginning.
Act 11:5  "While I was in the town of Jaffa, offering prayer," he said, "in a trance I saw a vision. There descended what seemed to be an enormous sail, being let down from the sky by ropes at the four corners, and it came close to me.
Act 11:6  Fixing my eyes on it, I examined it closely, and saw various kinds of quadrupeds, wild beasts, reptiles and birds.
Act 11:7  I also heard a voice saying to me, "'Rise, Peter, kill and eat.'
Act 11:8  "'On no account, Lord,' I replied, 'for nothing unholy or impure has ever gone into my mouth.'
Act 11:9  "But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky, "'What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'
Act 11:10  "This was said three times, and then everything was drawn up again out of sight.

Notes: v.4 explained and expounded the whole matter in order,Imperfect middle of ektithēmi, to set forth, old verb, but in the N.T. only in Acts (Act_7:21; Act_11:4; Act_18:26; Act_28:23), a deliberate and detailed narrative “in order” (kathexēs). Old word for in succession.
Acts 11: 5-10 he explains the vision at Joppa as it happened.  “A simple and unvarnished statement of facts is usually the best way of disarming prejudice and silencing opposition. Opposition most commonly arises from prejudice, or from false and exaggerated statements, and such opposition can be best removed, not by angry contention, but by an unvarnished relation of facts. In most cases prejudice will thus be disarmed, and opposition will die away, as was the case in regard to the admission of the Gentiles to the church.
And expounded it - Explained it; stated it as it actually occurred.

Act 11:11  "Now at that very moment three men came to the house where we were, having been sent from Caesarea to find me. i.e  Peter and his assistants
Act 11:12  And the Spirit told me to accompany them without any misgivings. There also went with me these six brethren who are now present, and we reached the Centurion's house.
Act 11:13  Then he described to us how he had seen the angel come and enter his house and say, "'Send to Jaffa and fetch Simon, surnamed Peter.
Act 11:14  He will teach you truths by which you and all your family will be saved.'"
The Holy Spirit falling upon the Gentiles
Act 11:15  "And," said Peter, "no sooner had I begun to speak than the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He fell upon us at the first.
Act 11:16  Then I remembered the Lord's words, how He used to say, "'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.'
Act 11:17  "If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we first believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, why, who was I to be able to thwart God?"
Act 11:18  This statement of Peter's silenced his opponents. They extolled the goodness of God, and said, "So, then, to the Gentiles also God has given the repentance which leads to Life."

Acts 11:15: Notes : "no sooner had I begun to speak than the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He fell upon us at the first. “ God is no respecter of persons. He shows no partiality. He has no favourites. The blessing of the outpuoring of the Holy Spirit is for all. 

Now they are convinced because the Lord had done this and not man.

Theme Number 26 Holy Spirit comes upon Gentile believers.

Act 10:44  While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the Message.
Act 10:45  And all the Jewish believers who had come with Peter were astonished that on the Gentiles also the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out.
Act 10:46  For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling the majesty of God. Then Peter said,
Act 10:47  "Can any one forbid the use of water, and object to these persons being baptized--men who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?"
Act 10:48  And he directed that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they begged him to remain with them for a time.

Notes:   While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell# on all who were listening to the Message. Barnes Notes:  endowing them with the power of speaking with other tongues, Act_10:46. Of this the apostle Peter makes much in his argument in Act_11:17. By this, God showed that the Gentiles were to be admitted to the same privileges with the Jews, and to the blessings of salvation in the same manner. Compare Act_2:1-4.

Acts 10:45 the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out. ( because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the nations also.) So after the falling upon in v.44 now we have the Holy Spirit poured out upon the gentiles from heaven. Act 10:46  For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling the majesty of God
Speaking in tongues was the Initial sign of the Pentecostal glossalalia we see in Acts 2:4 and is here repeated upon the Gentile Roman believers at Caesurea.

Act 10:48  And he directed that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.Right there after being filled with the Holy Spirit Cornelius and his whole household were baptised in water. What an amazing set of events. This was the new wave of the Spirit reaching out to the Nations of the world and peter was there in the middle of it.

The gentile Pentecost

Then they begged him to remain with them for a time.
They didn’t want their visitors to leave. The Gentiles had had their Pentecost.
Applications
1. Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? Have you had the Holy Spirit fall upon you?
He is here and has been poured out on all who are hungry?
2. The evidence of the Infilling of the Spirit is speaking in tongues.
3.This will cause great amazement in the church and explosive growth

Peter’s sermon to Gentiles in Cornelius’ house.

Pter arrives at Cornelius' House

2) Peter’s sermon to Gentiles in Cornelius’ house.
Act 10:27  As Peter entered the house, he was still talking with Cornelius. Many people were there,
Act 10:28  and Peter said to them, "You know that we Jews are not allowed to have anything to do with other people. But God has shown me that he doesn't think anyone is unclean or unfit.
Act 10:29  I agreed to come here, but I want to know why you sent for me."
Act 10:30  Cornelius answered: Four days ago at about three o'clock in the afternoon I was praying at home. Suddenly a man in bright clothes stood in front of me.
Act 10:31  He said, "Cornelius, God has heard your prayers, and he knows about your gifts to the poor.
Act 10:32  Now send to Joppa for Simon Peter. He is visiting in the home of Simon the leather maker, who lives near the sea."
Act 10:33  I sent for you right away, and you have been good enough to come. All of us are here in the presence of the Lord God, so that we can hear what he has to say.
Act 10:34  Peter then said: Now I am certain that God treats all people alike.

Notes :
1. Peter and his companions had walked from Joppa to Caesarea about 30miles or 56Km. They arrived the next day.
2. Peter explained that he now believed that no one was unclean or unfit for the Kingdom of God.v. 28
3. The Angel of the Lord explained that God had heard his prayers and took note of his gifts to the poor. God is not ignorant of your prayers and your kindness to others. Vv 31-32
4. The whole household of Cornelius were assembled in his house waiting for the arrival of Peter and to hear what he had to say.
5. Peter was now convinced that God treats everyone alike. he has no favourites.

Act 10:35  God is pleased with everyone who worships him and does right, no matter what nation they come from.
God is looking for true worshippers ( people who reverence, venerate, to treat Him with deference or reverential obedience) and people who do what is right. (integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting) Thayer’s Dictionary.
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in John 4   God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth.
Act 10:36  This is the same message that God gave to the people of Israel, when he sent Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, to offer peace to them.
Act 10:37  You surely know what happened everywhere in Judea. It all began in Galilee after John had told everyone to be baptized.
Act 10:38  God gave the Holy Spirit and power to Jesus from Nazareth. He was with Jesus, as he went around doing good and healing everyone who was under the power of the devil.
Act 10:39  We all saw what Jesus did both in Israel and in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus was put to death on a cross.
Act 10:40  But three days later, God raised him to life and let him be seen.
He preached the Life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is the essence of the Gospel. 1 Cor 15 :1-3

Act 10:41  Not everyone saw him. He was seen only by us, who ate and drank with him after he was raised from death. We were the ones God chose to tell others about him.
Act 10:42  God told us to announce clearly to the people that Jesus is the one he has chosen to judge the living and the dead.
Act 10:43  Every one of the prophets has said that all who have faith in Jesus will have their sins forgiven in his name.
Note here:
1.  He revealed himself to his chosen Apostles and instructed them to announce, proclaim and preach that jesus is the One God has chosen to Judge the living and the dead.
2. The  Prophets had spoken of those who ahd faith in Jesus would receive the forgiveness of their sins.
Applications.
1. God is recording our lives, our prayers and our giving to help the poor.
2.  God is impartial. He’s looking for true worshippers and righteous living.
3. WE are to prclaim that Jesus is the Judge of all.

Theme Number 24 Contents: Peter opens the gospel door to the Gentiles.

l

Cornelius and the Ange

Acts 10:1-48

1) Cornelius sends for Peter and Peter goes to Caesarea.
Act 10:1  In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, who was the captain of a group of soldiers called "The Italian Unit."
Act 10:2  Cornelius was a very religious man. He worshiped God, and so did everyone else who lived in his house. He had given a lot of money to the poor and was always praying to God.
Act 10:3  One afternoon at about three o'clock, Cornelius had a vision. He saw an angel from God coming to him and calling him by name.
Act 10:4  Cornelius was surprised and stared at the angel. Then he asked, "What is this all about?" The angel answered, "God has heard your prayers and knows about your gifts to the poor.
Act 10:5  Now send some men to Joppa for a man named Simon Peter.

Notes:This chapter Acts 10 commences a very important part of the history of the transactions of the apostles. Before this, they had preached the gospel to the Jews only. They seemed to have retained the feelings of their countrymen on this subject, that the Jews were to be regarded as the especially favored people, and that salvation was not to be offered beyond the limits of their nation. It was important, indeed, that the gospel should be offered to them first; but the whole tendency of the Christian religion was to enlarge and liberalize the mind; to overcome the narrow policy and prejudices of the Jewish people; and to diffuse itself over all the nations of the earth. In various ways, and by various parables, the Saviour had taught the apostles, indeed, that his gospel should he spread among the Gentiles. He had commanded them to go and preach it to every creature, Mar_16:15. But he had told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high, Luk_24:49.
It was natural, therefore, that they should receive special instructions and divine revelation on a point so important as this; and God selected the case of Cornelius as the instance by which he would fully establish his purpose of conveying the gospel to the Gentile world. Barnes Notes.


Cornelius sends to Joppa to Call Peter
Peter was a typical Jew in that they would not enter the home of a gentile (non-Jew) nor eat with them. So for the Gospel to break out from its Jewish confines,  a change of mentality was needed.  The Lord repeated the vision three times so that Peter really understood.

Act 10:8  He explained everything to them and sent them off to Joppa.
Act 10:9  The next day about noon these men were coming near Joppa. Peter went up on the roof of the house to pray
Act 10:10  and became very hungry. While the food was being prepared, he fell sound asleep and had a vision.
Act 10:11  He saw heaven open, and something came down like a huge sheet held up by its four corners.
Act 10:12  In it were all kinds of animals, snakes, and birds.
Act 10:13  A voice said to him, "Peter, get up! Kill these and eat them."
Act 10:14  But Peter said, "Lord, I can't do that! I've never eaten anything that is unclean and not fit to eat." (anything that is common and unclean. )

The Sheet let down from heaven

I have never eaten ... - In the Old Testament God had made a distinction between clean and unclean animals. See Lev. 11:2-27; Deut. 14:3-20. This law remained in the Scriptures, and Peter pled that he had never violated it, implying that he could not now violate it, as it was a law of God, and that, as it was unrepealed, he did not dare to act in a different manner from what it required.
That is common - This word properly denotes “what pertains to all,” but among the Jews, who were bound by special laws, and who were prohibited from many things that were freely indulged in by other nations, the word “common” came to be opposed to the word “sacred,” and to denote what was in common use among the pagans, hence, that which was “profane,” or “polluted.” Here it means the same as “profane,” or “forbidden.”
Unclean - Ceremonially unclean; that is, what is forbidden by the ceremonial law of Moses.

Act 10:15  The voice spoke to him again, "When God says that something can be used for food, don't say it isn't fit to eat."
Act 10:16  This happened three times before the sheet was suddenly taken back to heaven.
Act 10:17  Peter was still wondering what all of this meant, when the men sent by Cornelius came and stood at the gate. They had found their way to Simon's house
Act 10:18  and were asking if Simon Peter was staying there.
Act 10:19  While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, "Three men are here looking for you.
Act 10:20  Hurry down and go with them. Don't worry, I sent them."
Act 10:21  Peter went down and said to the men, "I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?"

Applications.
1. Cornelius was a faithful, God fearing man who worshipped God and prayed and gave alms.
2. God rewarded his faith by sending an angel to Him to instruct him.
3. Peter is prepared to go to a gentiles home via a Vision.

Theme Number 24 True Conversion - Saul of Tarsus

Saul meets Jesus on the Road to Damascus

Act 9:1  Now Saul, whose every breath was a threat of destruction for the disciples of the Lord,
Act 9:2  went to the High Priest and begged from him letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, in order that if he found any believers there, either men or women, he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem.
Act 9:3  But on the journey, as he was getting near Damascus, suddenly there flashed round him a light from Heaven;
Act 9:4  and falling to the ground he heard a voice which said to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
Act 9:5  "Who art thou, Lord?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," was the reply.

Conversion according to the Scriptures is a Transformation from darkness to light from the power of Satan to God.  Saul, the bigotted  fanatic of Judaism, breathed out threats and persecution to the Disciples of Jesus Christ. On the road to Damascus he met the Lord Jesus Himself and his life was for ever changed.
He was overpowered with a Light from heaven which blinded him for two days. Here was authority greater than he had ever encountered.
He fell to the ground hearing a voice, “Saul, Saul, Why are you persecuting me?” it asked.
He asked from the ground, “ Who are you Lord?” and was answered.” I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting?” Now he acknowledged that he was no longer in charge and that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Blind he was instructed now what to do, instead of giving the instructions himself.

The Christian disciple Ananias was sent to heal him of his blindness through the laying on of hands. Ananias was definitely wary of this man who was such a persecutor of the Disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he obeyed the heavenly vision and went to the street called Straight. Ananias also knew the prophetic Future of  this young man.
Act 9:15  "Go," replied the Lord; "he is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry My name to the Gentiles and to kings and to the descendants of Israel.
Act 9:16  For I will let him know the great sufferings which he must pass through for My sake."

Saul was healed , filled with the Holy Spirit and was Baptised in water.Then he remained some little time with the disciples in Damascus.
Act 9:20  And in the synagogues he began at once to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God;
Act 9:21  and his hearers were all amazed, and began to ask one another, "Is not this the man who in Jerusalem tried to exterminate those who called upon that Name, and came here on purpose to carry them off in chains to the High Priests?"
Act 9:22  Saul, however, gained more and more influence, and as for the Jews living in Damascus, he bewildered them with his proofs that Jesus is the Christ.
Eventually the Jews attempted to kill Saul and he escaped to Jerusalem

Paul preaches and visits Jerusalem and returns to Tarsus. There is no need to despair of the conversion of those who commit the worst outrages against Christianity, for the power of the Lord Jesus is able to break down the stubborn will of one who is at the same time chief of legalists and chief of sinners. God chooses the instruments He would employ in His service, and is able to fit them for His designs by the power of His Spirit.

Theme Number 23 Acts 8:26-40 : Conversion of The Ethiopian Treasurer.

The Necessity of OBEDIENCE.
Act 8:26  And an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and proceed south to the road that runs down from Jerusalem to Gaza, crossing the Desert."
Act 8:27  Upon this he rose and went. Now, as it happened, an Ethiopian eunuch who was in a position of high authority with Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, as her treasurer, had visited Jerusalem to worship there,
Act 8:28  and was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the Prophet Isaiah.
Act 8:29  Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go and enter that chariot."

Notes : an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and proceed south..... Upon this he rose and went.
Here is the secret of Christian Service - obedience.  Soon after this we have: “Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go and enter that chariot."  v.30  So Philip ran up and cried out ’Do you understand what you are reading?” He was reading from Isaiah 53.
Here was a man of Influence, the Treasurer of Queen Candace of Ethiopia.
He been to Jerusalem to worship. He was a God- seeker and a Scripture searcher. He was reading Hebrew or Greek (the Septuagint) which was not his native language. It seems as if God heard the cry of this man’s heart and sent Philip to answer his prayer.

Philip tells him the Good News about Jesus from the very Passage Is.53
Act 8:30  So Philip ran up and heard the eunuch reading the Prophet Isaiah. "Do you understand what you are reading?" he asked.
Act 8:31  "Why, how can I," replied the eunuch, "unless some one explains it to me?" And he earnestly invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Act 8:32  The passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "LIKE A SHEEP HE WAS LED TO SLAUGHTER, AND JUST AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS DUMB SO HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH.
Act 8:33  IN HIS HUMILIATION JUSTICE WAS DENIED HIM. WHO WILL MAKE KNOWN HIS POSTERITY? FOR HE IS DESTROYED FROM AMONG MEN."
Act 8:34  "Pray, of whom is the Prophet speaking?" inquired the eunuch; "of himself or of some one else?"
Act 8:35  Then Philip began to speak, and, commencing with that same portion of Scripture, told him the Good News about Jesus.

a) People need the Gospel explained to them from the Scriptures
b) Jesus is the Lamb of God led to the slaughter. This was prophesied 700 years before Christ came by Isaiah.
c) The Good News about Jesus is that He was punished in our place. While we were still sinners Christ DIED for us.
d) In His Humiliation He was denied justice.
John GIll says: “ The humiliation, or low estate of Christ, lay in his assumption of human nature, with the weaknesses and imperfections of it; in the meanness of his parentage and education; in the sorrows he endured from his cradle to his cross; in his last conflict with Satan in the garden; in his being apprehended, bound, scourged, and condemned, both by the sanhedrim, and the Roman governor; and in being enclosed with the assembly of the wicked soldiers, who put on him their own clothes, and a crown of thorns on his head, and a reed in his hand, and then in a mock manner bowed to him as king of the Jews; and last of all in his obedience to death, even the death of the cross, and in his being laid in the grave “
Perhaps today You need to Know that Christ died for you. He can forgive you all your sins because He paid the price to redeem you and set you free. HE IS ABLE TO DELIVER YOU TODAY.


The Meaning of Baptism
Act 8:36  So they proceeded on their way till they came to some water; and the eunuch exclaimed, "See, here is water; what is there to prevent my being baptized?"
Act 8:37  OMITTED TEXT
Act 8:38  So he stopped the chariot; and both of them--Philip and the eunuch--went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
Act 8:39  But no sooner had they come up out of the water than the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again. With a glad heart he resumed his journey;
Notes:
They went down into the water showing that they were Baptised - Immersed , plunge.  Baptism signifies “DEATH _ BURIAL_ AND RESURRECTION WITH CHRIST” read Romans 6 : 1-7.

Accept Jesus as Your Saviour today and BE BAPTISED!

Theme Number 22 Simon the Sorcerer or Wizard

Sorcery :the use of power gained from the assistance or control of evil spirits especially for divining : necromancy. Merriam-Webster  Dictionary
Sorcerer SOR'CERER, [L. sors, lot.] A conjurer; an enchanter; a magician. The Egyptian sorcerers corerntended with Moses.


Simon the Sorcer Acts 8:9-24
Act 8:9  Now a certain man [named] Simon had been in the city [Samaria] practicing magic and astonishing the people of Samaria, saying he was someone great.


Magic is the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation, ceremony, ritual, the casting of spells or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.[1]<Wikipedia.org>
Simon is commonly called "Simon Magus", for he was a magician, who had learned diabolical arts, and used enchantments and divinations, as Balaam and the magicians of Egypt did.


Act 8:10  To him people of all classes paid attention, declaring, "This man is the Power of God, known as the great Power." WNT  They all exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.”NIV.
Notes: That is, he is invested with it, and can command and use it. They certainly did not believe him to be God; but they thought him to be endued with a great supernatural power.A.C. The had followed this magician for years.

Act 8:12  But when Philip began to tell the Good News about the Kingdom of God and about the Name of Jesus Christ, and they embraced the faith, they were baptized, men and women alike.

Notes:  Though they had been carried away so long with this deceiver, and had been so much attached unto him, and held in admiration of him; yet when Philip came and preached Christ unto them, such was the power that attended his ministry, and such the efficacy of divine grace that was exerted, that they not only gave heed unto him, but believed what he said: John Gill. May there be such power in the Preaching of the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ today.

Act 8:13  Simon himself also believed, and after being baptized remained in close attendance on Philip, and was full of amazement at seeing such signs and such great miracles performed.

Notes: Simon himself also believed, and after being baptized remained in close attendance on Philip,that is, he believed that Jesus had performed miracles, and was raised from the dead, etc. All this he could believe in entire consistency with his own notions of the power of magic; and all that the connection requires us to suppose is that he believed this Jesus had the power of working miracles; and as he purposed to turn this to his own account, he was willing to profess himself to be his follower. It might have injured his popularity, moreover, if he had taken a stand in opposition when so many were professing to become Christians. People often profess religion because, if they do not, they fear that they will lose their influence, and be left with the ungodly. That Simon was not a real Christian is apparent from the whole narrative, Act_8:18, Act_8:21-23.
And when he was baptized - He was admitted to a “profession” of religion in the same way as others. Philip did not pretend to know the heart; and Simon was admitted because he “professed” his belief. This is all the evidence that ministers of the gospel can now have, and it is no wonder that they, as well Philip, are often deceived.Barnes Notes

Applications
1. Sorcery and Witch-craft are outlawed in the Bible. Gal 5:20, Deut 18:10  There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch,

1Sa_15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idol-worship. Because you have rejected the Word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king!
2Ch_33:6  And he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He also practiced secret arts, and used fortune-telling, and used witchcraft, and dealt with mediums, and with soothsayers. He did much evil in the sight of Jehovah in order to provoke Him to anger.
2. Simon Magnus was a deceiver.   They are still to be found in the church and need to be exposed by the Gift of Discernment of spirits.