Lineage of Believers
Have you ever shared the gospel with someone only to have them turn around shake their fist at you and completely shut down your attempts to share the gospel with them? It can certainly be frustrating and when faced with someone who you thought would come to know Christ but doesn’t, it can almost be disheartening to share the gospel with others. However, today I want to take a moment to encourage us all to continue to share the gospel, when we do there is a bigger impact then we may ever be aware of.
Paul faced this situation a number of times. He would preach the gospel, call the people to repent and turn to God, only for the majority of the time to have this met with imprisonment, stoning, and beating. So how did Paul find the strength to continue? And how can we have the same courage? The answer can be found in Acts 18:5-11.
“5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, were believing and being baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul by a vision at night, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he settled there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
Here we see Paul has come to Corinth and was staying with a born-again Jewish believer named Aquila and his wife, Priscilla. Paul would go into the synagogue to preach the gospel and was met with accusations in front of a court with the intention to have him imprisoned or killed. Now based on Paul’s response in verse six, you would almost think that he had given up sharing the gospel with his Jewish brethren. But that was far from the case, Paul simply changed tactics and instead of large groups, he built more of a one one one relationship by going to those nearby the synagogue. If you are involved in a life group or similar type Christian fellowship, I am sure that you can imagine the conversations that Paul and Titius Justus were having, conveniently within earshot of a leader of the synagogue; Crispus who then shared with his family resulting in all of them becoming born again.
Are you beginning to see how when we talk about the gospel it spreads? In verse eight we see that Crispus listened to Paul and believed, but Paul’s influence does not end with just face to face conversations. Remember Aquila and Priscilla I mentioned earlier? Paul stayed with them and worked with them, he undoubtedly had conversations regarding the gospel with them that helped to grow their understanding as well. To the point that even when Paul was no longer at Corinth, his influence on Aquila and Priscilla was still evident.
“24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was accurately speaking and teaching things about Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; 26 and he began speaking boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him. 27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”
Acts 18:24-28
Here we have Apollos, a man who had not met Paul and yet he was knowledgeable of the Scriptures and was teaching others about them. However, there must have been some areas of refinement for Apollos, because the husband and wife that Paul stayed with took Apollos aside to more accurately explain the scriptures to him. Apollos then went to Achaia where he encouraged other believers and was able to explain to others that Jesus is the Christ. It was due to Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla having that time together that Aquila and Priscilla were able to help guide Apollos. So the next time that you feel downhearted when someone that you are sharing the gospel with turns away from it, remember that we must continue to share the gospel. While the person we were trying to witness to may deny it, there may be others who are listening who will accept Jesus. When they then go and share the gospel, we will be unaware of the impact they had as well.
“11 So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11
Two weeks from now we will go over the second part that can challenge people when the offer is turned down, discipleship is a meaningful and important practice that Christians sometimes forget about when sharing the gospel.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex