Believed and Baptised, No Salvation Yet (Acts 8:13-25)

The statement presents a genuine tension in Acts 8:13–25, though scholars disagree sharply about what it means.

Simon believed and was baptized, yet the Holy Spirit had not come upon him or the other new believers—they had only been baptized in Jesus’s name. (Acts 8:9–25) This sequence is factually accurate. However, whether this indicates Simon lacked salvation depends on how you interpret his conversion.

One interpretive camp argues that the text indicates Simon was a saved man who believed, was baptized, and followed Philip as a disciple, suggesting he was regenerate.[1] From this perspective, his sin was selfish ambition—wanting to purchase the power to impart the Holy Spirit—but the presence of prideful ambition is not grounds for concluding someone is unsaved.[1]

Others see Simon’s story differently. When read against the parable of the soils, Simon’s conversion appears obstructed by wealth, and his heart is crooked rather than one of integrity persevering through faith.[2] Simon Magus exemplifies merely outward baptism with water, without the inward baptism with the Holy Ghost.[3]

The key insight is that conversion functions as a process of reformation, and it’s unsurprising that shortly after baptism Simon remained within the grip of his former habits.[2] Peter’s diagnosis—that Simon’s heart was not right before God and he needed to repent—suggests his faith required genuine transformation, not merely intellectual assent. (Acts 8:9–25)

The passage illustrates that belief and baptism alone don’t guarantee authentic conversion if they lack the corresponding inward change of heart and allegiance to God’s ways.

[1] Joseph Dillow, “The Possibility of Failure in the Christian Life,” in A Defense of Free Grace Theology: With Respect to Saving Faith, Perseverance, and Assurance, ed. Fred Chay (Houston, TX: Grace Theology Press, 2017), 301–302.
[2] Joel B. Green, Conversion in Luke-Acts: Divine Action, Human Cognition, and the People of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015), 156–157.
[3] Philip Schaff, History of the Apostolic Church; With a General Introduction to Church History, trans. Edward D. Yeomans (New York: Charles Scribner, 1859), 566.