Acts 8:14-17 is a verse used by Pentecostals and other Charismatics to further their belief that you receive the Holy Ghost by the laying of hands. But this is not true.
Acts 8:14-17: “Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”
Who do you think this passage was most likely addressed to? Notice verse 14: Apostles which were at Jerusalem. They went to Samaria, to people who also shared Jewish blood. This is not a context or audience that we can apply to ourselves or current times.
Many heresies will try to tell you that you can commit the unpardonable sin mentioned in Mark 3, or they will try to convince you that the unpardonable sin is not accepting salvation in Jesus. But both of those things are absurd.
Mark 3:28-29: “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme. But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”
But we can’t take this verse and pluck it out of its context. What was going on in the rest of the story?
The Pharisees confronted Jesus and accused Him of casting out demons by the powers of demons. They said to His face that He had an unclean Spirit. Are we able to say the same thing to Jesus’ face? No! So we cannot commit the unpardonable sin. The only time we will be able to do so is during the millennium, when Jesus returns.
Ezekiel 18:20: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses will use this to claim that there is no difference between the soul and the body. But we know that in the Old Testament that the soul was combined with the body, like this verse suggests. But we are not living in the Old Testament era! In the New Testament area, the soul has been separated from the body once again. The Old Testament was all about the physical, but it’s all about the spiritual side of things in the New Testament era.
Malachi 3:10: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
This is the prooftext for charismatics and fundamentalists that you should give your tithes to the church. If you look at context and covenant, who is this verse addressed to? The Jews! This message was for Jews under the Old Testament. Physical prosperity is for Old Testament Jews, because God deals with them in a physical way.
Some people teach that during the millennium, if a Christian does not serve God well, they go to a temporary hell.
Matthew 25:26: “His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:“
Luke 12:46: “The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.“
However, if we are familiar with our covenant and context, the people during the millennium are saved by works. The Christians are totally exempted from this, since they have already been raptured and are saved.
Romans 2:28-29: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
Advocates of the heresy of replacement theology will use this passage to teach that the church has replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. But this passage is talking about spiritual Jews! That is entirely separate from the physical nation of Israel.
1 Thessalonians 2:15-16: “Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.”
Many will use these verses to say that God is done with the Jews. But God doesn’t break His promises! God has cast away the Jews during this time. He will return to them just as He promised from the beginning. Romans 11 shows us that God will restore the nation of Israel.
Let’s look at another passage where the context does not match our own, but people like to twist it that way anyway. Acts 2 has verses that many use to promote speaking in tongues.
Acts 2:1-4: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
The context of this verse was the beginning of the church. This was a transitional period. This congregation was mainly made up of Jews during a very special time in church history when God’s physical healings were still ongoing. Things are different today, and this passage doesn’t apply to our times today.
Acts 3:6: “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.“
If we look at the context, it was for the Jews. A number of heretical healers use the name of “Jesus of Nazareth” but this had nothing to do with our time period.
Acts 10:44-45: “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
This verse clearly shows the transitional period that was going on during the time. Both the Jews and Gentiles were together.
Acts 19:11-12: “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
This was because God was still dealing with the physical nation, the Jews. That’s why God used physical objects for dealings.
Mark 16:16-18: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
As believers, are we doing all of these things today? No! That’s because the context of this verse is not for us. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom! It’s different than the Gospel that Paul preached, which was for our current times. Jesus was speaking of the future reality of God’s Kingdom here on Earth.
1 Corinthians 14:39: “Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.“
God’s physical dealings were still ongoing at that time. But He was switching more to the Christian church.
Seventh Day Adventists find any verse in the New Testament concerning the observance of commandments.
1 John 2:3-4: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
Christians are taught to observe God’s commandments, but we observe the spiritual things, not the physical things like not eating meat, etc.
The following is what post-tribulation people would quote the most.
Matthew 24:29-31: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.“
The context and covenant above is again for Jews. In verses 15-16, we see that they are all for Jews and for tribulation.
2 Thessalonians 2:2-3: “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;“
The context is for tribulation and once again for the Jews (verse 4 – temple of God). God can use double application for one verse.
So many heresies (Church of Christ, post-tribulation rapture, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists) can be debunked with a simple tool: A Christian must know dispensationalism, and understand the covenants and contexts.