Useless Faith?

Over the last few weeks we have watched as several individuals have encountered Jesus.  Nicodemus, the religious guy needed to be born again.  The Samaritan Sinner needed living water.  Zach, the tax collector, needed a visit from Jesus.   All three were changed by their encounter with Christ.  Now we shift to a whole new world.  Jesus has left the disciples on their own.  Ok, they are not actually on their own, they do have the power of the Holy Spirit working in mighty ways through them.  Everything has changed since the Holy Spirit came upon them.   Peter's first sermon resulted in 3000 new believers.  That's just a few more than my first sermon.  Thousands more came to faith as they encountered Jesus through the lives and testimony of the Apostles.   One of those, a man named Steven was executed because he stood up for the name of Jesus.  After Steven's execution, Saul made it his life mission to destroy the church.  This persecution forced the believers to head for the hills.   The amazing thing is that as they were running for their lives they continued to introduce people to Jesus.  One of these believers was Philip.  He did something strange.  Yet Jesus had done the same thing.  He went to Samaria.  And lots of people encountered Jesus as Philip shared with them in the power of the Holy Spirit.  And yet, there is this guy Simon whom everyone called the "Great Power"  At first it seems he truly encountered Christ and was saved.  But then we see him trying to buy the Holy Spirit.  That kind of ticked off Peter and things went downhill from there.  Is it possible to believe in Jesus in some way but never place your faith in him?  Is it possible that there are people around us who claim to believe but have never come to a saving faith?  Is it possible that some of us claim to believe, yet have never given our lives to Christ?    Check out Acts chapter 8 for this story.