F4F | Ryan LeStrange Committing the Sin of Simony

The Problem of Buying Spiritual Gifts

Welcome to another installment of Fighting for the Faith. My name is Chris Rosebro. I am your servant in Jesus Christ, and this is the channel that compares what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God.

No shortage of really crazy things being said out there. We compare those to the written Word of God, rightly divided, if you would. Now, if you've ever been told that you need to pay money or that you can pay money to attend a supernatural school or a prophetic school or a school of the miraculous, you know, put on by an apostle or something like that, and then afterwards you'll learn how to operate in the miraculous.

And it's very inexpensive overall, you know, maybe a few hundred bucks, maybe fifty bucks. It doesn't matter what the amount is. Go ahead and hit the subscribe button down below. Don't forget to like the video and ring the bell, because the person telling you that is engaging in a very specific sin, and it's called the sin of simony.

We will explain that in this video. Case in point, we're heading over to the YouTube channel of Ryan Lestrange, and he has opened up registration for a school of the miraculous e-course. It's a short video, and we'll consider the implications of it.

Ryan LeStrange's School of the Miraculous

Let's tune in to Ryan Lestrange as he explains to us what we will learn at this school of the.

Miraculous. Do you want to learn how to live in the miracle realm, how to heal the sick, how to see impossible breakthrough, and how God can use you?

How to heal the sick. Okay, that's miraculous. I want to teach you. I've been.

Doing it for years, and I want to equip you during my online school of the miraculous. Go sign up today. It's time that you impact the world through the miracle working power of God. I want to be your coach.

Sign up today. He wants.

To be your coach. Sign up today for the school of the miraculous. I mean, it seems, you know, innocuous enough. It's, I mean, what could possibly be wrong with this? He, all he wants to do is impart his experience and knowledge and how to operate in signs and wonders and the Holy Spirit and stuff.

Well, let's head over to Ryan Lestrange, the website that he has set up, and it's school of the miraculous e-course. 50 bucks. $49 for this. And what, I mean, it's not all that expensive. What could possibly be wrong with this?

Simon Magus and the Sin of Simony

Well, let me explain to you what's wrong with it, and we'll take a look at a biblical text to demonstrate. The text in question is in Acts chapter 8, and remember our three rules for sound biblical exegesis.

They are context, context, and context. Well, context being an important thing, let's read this story out. So the end of chapter 7, by the way, you have the martyrdom of Stephen, the very first Christian martyr, Stephen, and so it says Saul approved of his execution.

This is before Saul became the Apostle Paul, and so there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except for the Apostles.

Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him, but Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house. He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed them the Christ, and the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.

For unclean spirits came out with a loud voice, you know, they came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed, so there was much joy in that city. But there was a man named Simon who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.

They all paid attention to him from the least to the greatest, saying, this man is the power of God that is called great, and they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip, and seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

So you'll note that Simon, he hears the message, and he sees the miracles that are accompanying the proclamation of Christ and him crucified for our sins, and he himself is blown away by what he's seeing.

The story continues. Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

So then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money. And watch what Simon says, give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.

But Peter, Peter a true apostle, note that Ryan Lestrange claims that he's an apostle, he calls himself the apostle Ryan Lestrange, but Peter, who is a true apostle, said to Simon, may your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.

Uh-huh, yeah, you have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. And Simon answered, pray for me to you to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me. So you'll note that Simon wanted to buy the miraculous powers of the Holy Spirit with money, and he gets an extremely blunt and super sharp rebuke from the Apostle Peter for even thinking that he could buy the gift of God with money, and then said that he has neither part nor lot in the ministry of the preaching of the gospel, and his heart wasn't right before God.

Well the same thing then applies to Ryan Lestrange, Ryan Lestrange, the school of the miraculous e-course, where you can learn how to operate in the miraculous the same way he did. Number one, Ryan Lestrange for trying to sell the gift of God has no part in the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and anybody who thinks that they can purchase the the gift of God and the Holy Spirit and the ability to operate in the miraculous by paying money, they are committing the sin of simony.

In fact, if you were to do a Google search, go to Google and type in sin of simony, sin of simony, well let's take a look at what comes up. First listing from the Encyclopedia Britannica, simony, buying or selling of something spiritual or closely connected with the spiritual.

More widely, it is any contract of this kind forbidden by divine or ecclesiastical law. The name is taken from Simon Magus of Acts 8 18, who endeavored to buy from the Apostles the power of conferring the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

With money, that's right. This is a very well-known sin, but apparently this little biblical factoid and sin seems to have been overlooked by men claiming to be an apostle like Ryan Lestrange and others.

So I think you get the point. Doesn't need to be a long video, but you know, this by the way puts every prophecy school, including the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, also known as Hogwarts, on the sin of simony list.

Them selling the gifts of God and anybody desiring to buy the gifts of God with money. Yeah, sorry folks. Sin of simony there, and strictly forbidden by God and given the sharpest of rebukes by the real Apostle, the Apostle Peter.

So just wanted to pass that along. If you found this video to be helpful, all the information on how you can share it is down below in the description, and Fighting for the Faith and Pirate Christian Media, we are supported by those whom we serve online in our audience, and all the information on how you can support the ongoing work of Fighting for the Faith and Pirate Christian Media by becoming a crew member, becoming a patron on Patreon, or sending in a one-time gift, all that information is down below in the description as well.

So until next time, may God richly bless you in the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ, and His vicarious death on the cross for all of your sins. Amen.