Space does not allow me to give a historical look at the hostility between the Jews and the Sa-maritans. Suffice it to say that the Samaritans were a mixed race of Jew and heathen. Consequently, the pure stock of Hebrew people surrounding them in Palestine did not look upon them with favor. This ill feeling, by the way, ran in the opposite direction also. It is therefore a wonderful commentary on the grace of God and the power of the gospel to see Jew and Samaritan join hands and hearts in a great se-ries of conversions that occurred there in the first century. These conversions are recorded in Acts 8:4-13. Please read through this text and remind yourself of its details before continuing in this article. What does the text (Acts 8:4-13) show us about the nature of their conversion?

Faith. The disciple, Philip, went to Samaria for the express purpose of instilling faith in those people. But, as Paul asked, "...how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom.10:14) Thus we're told in the text of Acts 8 that Philip went to Samaria and preached to them. What did he preach?

1. Philip preached Christ. (v.5) The Samaritans accepted the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) and studied them diligently. Therefore, they believed in a coming Messiah. They believed in One who would be the seed of Abraham. (Gen.22:18). They believed in One who would be a prophet like Moses. (Deut.18:15-17) A Samaritan woman told Jesus that she anticipated the coming of the Messiah who would tell them all things. (Jn.4:25) When Philip preached Christ, he preached that the Messiah (the Christ) had indeed come.

2. Philip preached the things concerning the kingdom of God. (v.12) The coming of this kingdom was connected to the coming of the Messiah. At the brink of disaster and the ruin of the Jewish kingdom, Isaiah told them that in the latter days, the mountain of the Lord's house would be established and the word of the Lord would be proclaimed from Jerusalem. (Isa.2:1-4) Jesus came and taught the people the imminence of this kingdom. (Mk.1:15) In preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, then, he would have explained that this was not a national kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom entered through the Spirit and water. (Jn.3:1-5)

3. Philip preached the name of Jesus Christ. (v.12) Philip helped them make the connection between the Messiah they anticipated and Jesus of Nazareth. In this, he would have preached Jesus' ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and certainly His message of salvation. What was the response of the Samaritans? "And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip.they believed Philip as he preached the things." (vv.6,12)

Repentance. Remember that repentance involves the change in a person's will. When a person believes in the gospel message he has heard, he must decide what he is going to do about it. He must decide whether he will change his life and bring it in line with the will of Jesus Christ. The decision to do such is repentance. Evidence of the Samaritans' repentance is found in their eventual rejection of a local charlatan named Simon. This was one who performed many apparent wonders and had gathered quite a number of followers. (vv.11-12) Notice, however, that upon believing in the message of Christ, they rejected their "idol" and determined to follow this new master.

Baptism. I have mentioned that in preaching "the name of Jesus Christ" (v.12), Philip would have preached His will concerning salvation. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved." (Mark 16:15-16) So the Samaritans believed and were baptized to be saved. This makes sense in light of the last conversion we studied from the day of Pentecost. (See last article.) Peter told them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. (Acts 2:38) The Samaritans were also baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. (See Acts 8:16.)