But in Acts chapter 7, it seemed from human perspective that the train ran off the track. Stephen was taken into custody by the Sanhedrin Council and stoned to death in a scene of mob like violence. That set in motion a chain reaction of persecution that ultimately affected the direction of the entire church. To the Jerusalem Christians, it must have looked like a tragedy. But God used it providentially, as we shall see, to spread the seed of the gospel to the whole world.

Some years ago, C.S. Lewis wrote a description of providence that helped me grasp that subject perhaps a little better. He compared God’s providence to the way a novelist works out the plot of his book, only on a much greater scale. Let me read you his description:

"Suppose I am writing a novel. I have the following problems on my hands: (1) Old Mr. A must be dead before chapter 15. (2) He’d better die suddenly because I have to prevent him from altering his will. (3) His daughter (my heroine) must be kept out of London for three chapters at least. (4) My hero must recover the heroine’s good opinion which he lost in chapter 7. (5) That young prig B, who has to improve before the end of the book, needs a bad moral shock to take the conceit out of him. (6) We haven’t decided on B’s job yet; but the whole development of his character will involve giving him a job and showing him actually at work. How on earth am I to get in all these six things? I have it! What about a railway accident? Old A can be killed in it, and that settles him. In fact the accident can occur while he is actually going up to London to see his solicitor with the very purpose of getting his will altered. What more natural than that his daughter should run up with him? We’ll have her slightly injured in the accident. That will prevent her reaching London for as many chapters as we need. And the hero can be on the train. He can behave with great coolness and heroism during the accident – probably he’ll rescue the heroin from a burning carriage. That settles my fourth point for the young prig B. We’ll make him the signalman whose negligence caused the accident. That gives him his moral shock and also links him up with the main plot. In fact, once we have thought of the railway accident that single event will solve six apparently separate problems."(1)

Lewis apologized for the imperfections of the illustration, but nonetheless, I think it helps us see how seemingly unrelated events can work together for good to serve the purpose of the mind behind it all.

My message today, part of our ongoing Acts of the Apostles series, is called Train Wrecks and Phony Faith Healers. The reason for the name will become evident as we progress. The text is Acts 8:1-8.

As we move into the eighth chapter of Acts we find what could figuratively be called a "railway accident" of providence. At least from the perspective of the Christians living in the city of Jerusalem, it must have seemed like a train wreck. The church was growing rapidly across the city. Multitudes of men and women had been converted, with more being added each day.

But in chapter 7, it seemed from human perspective that the train ran off the track. Stephen was taken into custody by the Sanhedrin Council and stoned to death in a scene of mob like violence. That set in motion a chain reaction of persecution that ultimately affected the direction of the entire church. To the Jerusalem Christians, it must have looked like a tragedy. But God used it providentially, as we shall see, to spread the seed of the gospel to the whole world.

Acts 8:1 records the first crunch of metal in this particular "train wreck" of providence. The one who pulled the switch that brought the collision was a young man named Saul.

The "him" referred to here is Stephen. It was soon to be that the very mention of the name "Saul" would strike terror in the minds of those who came to accept Jesus as Messiah. We saw in chapter 7, verse 58, how Saul had held the robes of those who stoned Stephen, marking him as the chief witness of the prosecution in the trial that was never completed. Luke says here that he was in "hearty agreement" with Stephen’s murder. The fact is everything this man Saul did was "hearty." Zeal like that of Saul of Tarsus would be an asset if he were channeled in the right direction. But at this point Saul was still on the wrong side – a formidable enemy of Christianity. His boiling zeal suddenly takes a vicious turn and spills over into the entire city where it devastated the Christians. Reading on in verse one:

The words "on that day" mark the beginning of the second main division of the book of acts. Recalling our basic outline taken from Luke’s own words back in chapter 1, verse 8, the first division was "The church in Jerusalem." The second division was, "The church in Judea and Samaria." Finally, the third division was "The church to the remotest parts of the earth." At this point the current of the narrative is diverted from Jerusalem to the surrounding areas of Judea and Samaria. The River of faith spills out of its Jerusalem banks and runs in all directions as people run for their lives from the rage of Saul of Tarsus.

It must’ve taken some nerve to come forward in the face danger after Stephen was killed. But someone needed to bury this gallant man. That is probably why Luke refers to Stephen’s pallbearers as "devout" men. A devout person is one who puts his or her actions behind their beliefs even when there is a risk. These men could have been jailed for their devout stand and association with Stephen – but to them, right was right, even when it wasn’t easy. We need men and women today with that same moral fiber.

House to house search was to follow.

For the Christians it was like living in an occupied country in the days of the third Reich. You never knew when the knock on the door in the middle of the night would be heard as Saul ravaged the church. It quickly became clear that you were a Christian, you had a simple choice to make – run or be arrested. Many people ran. But that isn’t as bad as it sounds.

That word "scattered" appears two times in verses 1-4. Verse 1 tells us who was scattered. Verse 4 tells us what they did. First look at who was scattered in verse 1:

"... They were all scattered... except the apostles."

There is a story of a young sailor who was learning to steer the ship when a gale blew up. He was frightened, but the older man who was teaching him refused to take back the helm. As the young man strained at the wheel the older man gave him this advice: "Keep facing it. Always keep facing it." Here we see the apostles doing just that. They stayed on in the storm of persecution for the sake of those who were jailed and those who might not be able to flee. Quite a contrast to the timid disciples who had been with Jesus in the earlier days, isn’t it? These men had really grown. That is what God expects of us, too. We should grow in courage as we grow in faith.

The new Christian is comforted by looking up to older saints and encouraged by their resolute example. It provides stability. But the time will come when those older saints will pass on and it will be the next generation’s turn to provide the strong example for the weak. As scary as it sounds, God wants us all to grow in courage so that we can stand strong in the face of opposition.

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity," wrote Paul in 2 Timothy 1:7, "but of power and love and discipline."

Verse 4 of our text also tells us what the Christians did.

It wasn’t just the leaders of the church in that day who spread the message. Everyone spread the news.

"Does that mean we’re all supposed to be preachers?"

That depends on what you mean. Verse 5 tells us:

Acts 21:8 tells us that Philip was an evangelist. True to his calling he proclaimed or preached Christ. The Greek word for "proclaim" in verse 5 of our text is kerusso at it means "to publicly announce." It involves speaking to groups of people, the larger the better. Many of us would be frightened if we had to speak publicly. The Greek word in verse 4 of our text however, is not kerusso. It is euangalidzo, a word that means simply, "to share the good news." It is not restricted to public speaking. It can be done across the back fence to a neighbor or to a group of relatives. What’s the lesson? Simply this: not every Christian is called to be a preacher like Philip. But every Christian is called to share the good news that he knows. One reason the early church grew was because every Christian shared the gospel. So instead of having only twelve apostles who communicated the message, there were thousands who shared the good news. The point is that we can all share what we know.

Years ago when Kathi and I were in California a young man named John LeVey was converted to Christ. He and his wife Sarah, attended the church where I was preaching. One day John hauled away some garbage for a neighbor. The neighbor tried to pay him. John said, "No thanks, just come the church. My wife and I are new Christians and we’d like you to hear what we’re hearing." The guy came.

Luke tells us, "Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word."

Philip was one of those who was scattered. You may remember him from Acts 6 where he was chosen to wait on tables in the church at Jerusalem. From that humble beginning God moved him into an area of greater responsibility.

That word "signs" is significant. It means "attesting miracles." Philip had the power to work miracles. Verse 7 tells us the nature of the miracles he did.

Philip could cast out demons and heal people. Question: Does this mean there are people who can do such miracles today? Surely God can do a miracle in response to the prayers of His people whenever He chooses, but does this power reside in individuals as it did in the case of Philip? I think not. Let me tell you why.

The power to heal is one of the nine miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in First Corinthians 12:8-10. In the first century these gifts were acquired in a very specific way. They came by the laying on of apostle’s hands.

What follows in the next 16 verses of our text in Acts 8 is a case study in just that. Let’s read it first, then I’ll make some comments.

So one of the people converted through Philip’s preaching in Samaria was this magician named Simon. Simon had astonished people for many years with his magic arts. But when Philip came into Samaria doing the miracles of God, Simon could clearly see that he was outclassed. So impressed was he with the miracles of Philip, in fact, that he too was baptized after hearing Philip’s message. After his baptism, he continued on with Philip because he was so amazed at what the evangelist could do.

When the church in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans were being baptized, they did something very important. They sent down two of the apostles, Peter and John, so that they could lay their hands on these new believers and bestow some of the miraculous gifts upon them. As the apostles laid hands on some of them, they were receiving the gifts of the Spirit. Simon saw this and could contain himself no longer. Look again at verse 18:

Notice what it was that attracted Simon. He saw that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit were bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands. He was willing to pay money for this ability.

By the way that’s where Philip had received his own power to do miracles. Look back with me to Acts 6:5:

If you read on in chapter 6 you will see that from that point onward, at least two of these seven men, Stephen and Philip, could do miracles. In the case of the seven men in the Jerusalem church then, and in the case of the Samaritans, we see how the miraculous powers of the Holy Spirit were bestowed. It was through the hands of the apostles.

We do not have living apostles today. Ephesians 2:20 tells us that the office of apostle was part of the foundation of the church. Once the foundation is laid you don’t keep laying it. Today the church is built upon the foundation established in the first century. It is built on the teaching Christ and the original apostles.

So – if the miraculous gifts were passed on through the laying on of the apostles hands, and there are no living apostles today, what would happen to the miraculous gifts? They would cease with the death of the last person who had apostles hands laid on him. Thus my conclusion: There are no miraculous gifts residing in individual Christians today.

But couldn’t the gifts be passed on by someone besides an apostle? In other words, if Peter laid hands on Philip, could Philip in turn lay hands on someone else to pass on the miraculous gifts? From the evidence we have in the Bible, the answer is "no." Had Philip been able to pass on the gifts, there would have been no need for the Jerusalem church to send Peter and John, two apostles, to lay hands on the Samaritans. It is reasonable to conclude that Philip could not pass on the gifts.

Another example of this "apostles only" means of bestowing the miraculous gifts can be seen in Romans 1:11 in the words of Paul.

The significance of this verse is that at the time of its writing, there is no evidence that an apostle had yet been in Rome. The church had probably been started by people from Rome who were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when 3000 people became Christians. These returned home and shared the good news in the Roman synagogues and started the Roman church. But without an apostle around, they didn’t have the miraculous gifts. So Paul writes to them, telling them how he longs to come to them to impart some of the gifts. Think for a moment. Had Paul been able to pass on the gifts to one of his traveling companions like Luke or Timothy, and they in turn could pass them along to another, Paul could simply have sent these men on ahead. But since it took the hands of an apostle to pass on the gifts he had to wait until he could be there in person.

I asked the question, "Are there people who can do miracles like these today?" I said that my conclusion is "no." But what of those who make the claim that they can do such miracles today? What of the so-called "miracle crusades" and the televangelists who rake in millions of dollars when they claim that for a donation to their lucrative ministries they will heal you?

My assertion is that such claims are phony and that those desperate people who fall prey to them are being fleeced. But perhaps you doubt my conclusion. Here’s another way to check it out. Compare the quality of the miracles described by the Bible to the so-called "miracles" such men claim today. There is a biblical basis for doing so.

In the case of the account of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8, he amazed people with his magic arts, but when Philip came to Samaria Simon quickly realized that his so-called miracles were far inferior to the miracles of God. My point here is that the miracles of the Holy Spirit were quality miracles – or better said, genuine miracles. The things Simon claimed couldn’t hold candle to them. Likewise, closer examination of such claims today will show that they fall far short of the described quality of true biblical miracles. So-called miracle workers today claim as miracles such things as people "passing" cancers (which cannot be seen); legs that are supposedly lengthened by pulling; crutches that are thrown away by ailing people with no follow up to see if they are in the hospital the next day. Telling those who don’t experience healing that they just don’t have enough faith to complete the miracle. And who can check out that claim that if you just touch the television set after mailing your generous check to the televangelist, you’ll be instantly healed?

I had a friend who received a letter from a famous TV evangelist who claimed to have the gift of healing. In the letter he told her that if she would write out a generous check to his ministry and then anoint it with the enclosed vile of "olive oil from the Holy Land" and send it back, she would be instantly healed when the check was cashed. Of course they did misspell both her first and last name on the computer generated letter and missed the fact that she wasn’t sick, but hey, who would ever question the power of such a famous celebrity? In these contexts, how could you ever know what actually happens?

My point is that such claims are bogus when compared to the miracles described by the New Testament. There we read of people who were born crippled suddenly walking and leaping and dancing in the presence of those who knew their history and could verify the facts; people who were born blind who suddenly could see – and people around them who could verify the miracle; people with withered hands that were instantly restored in the plain sight of people who could check it out; people with ears cut off that were put right back on without further effect. Where are the miracles that match these today? Just because someone claims to have power to do miracles doesn’t mean he is from God – or that the miracles are real. Simon made such a claim, but his so-called miracles didn’t cut it when compared to the real thing.

My charismatic friends tell me that the reason I haven’t seen any real miracles is that I don’t believe, and without faith I’ll never see them. But wait a minute. The purpose of New Testament miracles was to convince people who didn’t believe! The stated purpose of the miracles was to confirm the word to those who doubted. Mark 16:20 says, "And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed." It makes no sense to say that if you doubt you will never see a miracle!

The last time I was in California I met a woman who suffered from advanced muscular dystrophy. She was totally bedridden. She could not take care of herself. Her entire life was confined to a single room of a convalescent hospital. If there is anyone today who claims to do miracles that is willing to go down and heal this woman, I will pay for his round-trip plane ticket, put him up in the best motel, and give him $1000 for his troubles. I’ll also hire a video crew so we can film the miracle and display it around the country. And I will publicly repent of the statements I have made in this sermon.

Could God heal this woman if he chose as the result of the prayers of His people? I have no doubt that such a thing could happen. But that power no longer resides in any man. The chicanery that goes on in the name of Christ today is a disgrace to Christianity and makes God’s people a laughing stock. The only things healed are the fat pocketbooks of the charlatans who get rich pushing it off on gullible people.

We began speaking of train wrecks and ended talking about phony faith healers. What do these have to do with you and me?

First, it is evident to me that we need to be careful and not follow just any person that makes exorbitant claims. Satan’s chief tactic is deception and he hasn’t stopped deceiving just because it’s the 21st century. The Bible tells us to "examine everything carefully." Don’t accept what anyone tells you without checking it out in your Bible. That includes what I tell you.

Second, why not make it your responsibility to share the Gospel with someone you know who needs to hear it? Remember they may not hear if we do not speak.

Footnotes: Please use your back button to return to your place.

1. Quoted in Batsell Barrett Baxter's Book, I Believe Because.

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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