“Apologetics”
[Acts 18:18-28]
September 12, 2010 Second Reformed Church
After Paul was brought before Gallio and released, he spent many more days in Corinth. In fact, he ministered among the Corinthians for one and a half years – perhaps longer than he spent in any other place. And Luke tells us that Paul decided to return to Syria with his new friends Priscilla and Aquila – to Antioch – north of Israel. But first, he went to Cenchreae – just east of Corinth – to cut his hair, for he had made a vow.
What?
We’re not sure what this referred to, but it is likely that Paul had taken a Nazarite vow. The Nazarite vow was a special vow that women and men could take to set themselves apart to the Lord for a specific period of time. During that time, the person making the vow was not to eat or drink anything made from grapes, the person was not to cut his or her hair, and the person was to stay away from dead bodies. When the time of the vow was completed, the person was to shave his or her head completely and burn his or her hair, and bring a burnt offering of a lamb, and a peace offering of bread, to the Temple in Jerusalem. After the offerings were prepared, a wave offering was made with the shoulder and the breast of the lamb. Then the Nazarite vow would be completed. You may read the details in Numbers chapter nine.
We don’t know why – if this was a Nazarite vow – Paul made it at this time. Yet we might wonder why he took the vow at all – didn’t we see in chapter fifteen that Paul argued and persuaded the Jerusalem Council that the Ceremonial and Judicial Laws of Israel were not binding? Was Paul going against what he had argued previously by taking a ceremonial vow? No.
Paul later wrote to the Corinthians, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law (not outside of the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (I Corinthians 9:19-23, ESV).
We looked at this passage when we discussed Timothy’s circumcision: Paul is not arguing that we should be hypocrites. What he is saying is that we Christians are not under the Ceremonial and Judicial Law of Ancient Israel, but, if someone will only listen to the Gospel if you or I do something – and it is not sin – than we should do it to be able to tell them the Gospel. For example: I have no interest in football. However, if someone said that he would let me explain the Gospel to him if I first watch a football game with him, I would watch the football game because it would give me the opportunity to tell him about Jesus.
In the same way, we may look at Paul’s taking of a Nazarite vow: did he have to take it? Absolutely not. May he take it if doing so will allow him to tell certain of the Jews who see themselves as still under the Ceremonial and Judicial Law about Jesus and His Gospel? Absolutely.
There’s one catch: if he takes the vow – even though he is not under the Ceremonial Law – since it is a vow – he was obligated before God to complete the vow. As Solomon wrote, “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, ESV).
Thus, Paul shaved his head and burned his hair at the end of the vow, and then he had to get to Jerusalem to offer the burnt offering and the peace offering at the Temple. So Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila, sailed to Ephesus on the western coast of what we would now call Turkey.
When they arrived, Paul went to the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews that Jesus is the Savior that God sent. After arguing with them for some time – after engaging in apologetics – the art of arguing, Paul said he had to leave – he had to fulfill the Nazarite vow completely within the time frame vowed. They asked him to stay, but he told them he had to leave, but would return if the Lord willed.
Paul left Priscilla and Aquila behind with the Ephesians to continue to proclaim the Gospel among them, and he got on a ship and sailed for Jerusalem, where he fulfilled his vow. He then went to Caesarea, up the coast of Israel and to Antioch, where he reported all he had done on his second missionary journey. And right away, Luke tells us, he went off on his third missionary journey, beginning by going to Galatia and Phrygia and discipling and strengthening the believers there.
Meanwhile, back in Ephesus, a Jew named Apollos, from Alexandria in Egypt, arrived. Apollos was an eloquent speaker, he knew the Old Testament inside and out, he knew about Jesus and taught what Jesus had taught, “though he only knew the baptism of John.”
What does that mean?
If we remember back to the Gospels, John the Baptist preached repentance and looked forward to the coming of the Savior and baptized for the forgiveness of sins in the Name of that Savior Who was to come. For most of his ministry, John the Baptist didn’t know that Jesus is the Savior that God sent. And that’s what Apollos didn’t know. Apollos knew the Law and the Prophets, he knew about Jesus’ teachings, but he probably didn’t know about Jesus’ Resurrection, and he certainly did not know that Jesus is the Promised Savior. Apollos knew John and Jesus’ teaching, but he didn’t have faith in Jesus as the Savior.
So when Apollos began preaching in the synagogue, Priscilla and Aquila sat him down and said, “We have great news for you The prophecy of John the Baptist has come to pass, Jesus is the Savior God sent, and if you believe in Him and that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (cf. Romans 10:9). And Apollos believed.
And Apollos said he wanted to go to Achaia – to southern Greece – to preach the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ Alone to them, so Priscilla and Aquila wrote letters to the disciples asking them to welcome Apollos and his preaching. And Luke tells us that when Apollos arrived in Achaia, “he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.”
Apollos went to Achaia and encouraged the believers, explaining to them the Word of God as it had been explained to him that they would all understand better and be more faithful in their belief and life. And Apollos engaged in debate – in apologetics – with the Jews, showing them that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies made in the Law and the Prophets.
We know that Apollos ministered in the Corinthian church, as Paul wrote, “I planted, Apollos watered, but the Lord gave the growth” (I Corinthians 3:6, ESV). Whereas Paul went and first preached the Gospel, Apollos went and taught further, explained in greater detail and corrected misunderstandings in the churches.
Before we move on, let’s notice something: Paul’s first two missionary trips brought him to Syria, Turkey, and Greece. Priscilla and Aquila were from Italy. Apollos was from North Africa – Egypt. Who brought the Gospel to those places?
Remember back in Acts chapter two, there were people from all over the world who had come to Jerusalem to worship. And on the day of Pentecost – after Peter preached – three thousand believed. And then – at least some of them went home – all over the world. The Gospel spreads by our telling our friends and neighbors and then by trusting God to work His Will in their lives.
What does this mean for us?
It is means that you and I, like Paul and Priscilla and Aquila and Apollos, have a duty to teach and proclaim what we know wherever we are. And, truthfully, we ought to want to tell others. The example we find in the Gospel is that when Jesus told people not to tell others Who He was, their response was to say, “I’ve....got to tell somebody ” God has entrusted you and me to tell others about His Savior, Jesus. God will not audibly speak again until the shout from Heaven announcing Jesus’ Return, and then it will be too late.
Larry Norman used to say that we should tell our friends and neighbors about Jesus today...because they might move, or die. We may only have one opportunity to tell someone that there is Only Salvation in Jesus Alone.
Now, some of you are saying, “That’s not me. I can’t explain all this stuff. I’m not a people person.” That’s ok. We have talked about how God has given us all different gifts and talents. Some people can argue from the Scripture like Apollos, some are not as well versed – and that is not an excuse not to learn and try to understand more. We aren’t all called to a pulpit. Some of us are called to invite people to worship. Some of us are called to give people Bibles or tracts or other good Christian literature. Some people are called to give tapes and CDs. There are many things we can do to get the Gospel out; the one thing we cannot do is nothing. If you can’t think of something you can do, ask me, and we’ll figure it out.
Our text also means that we ought to help each other to better understand God’s Word. We ought to read the Bible together, discuss it together – if we see a brother or sister who is confused about an issue that we understand, we ought to sit him or her down and show him or her what we understand. We are to encourage each other and help each other to grow.
And, we also ought to hold our pastors accountable:
Pastors ought to be well-versed in the Scripture and able to argue – to engage in apologetics – to explain from the Scripture why what he has said is so. Now, again, pastors are different – we have different gifts and abilities – but every pastor ought to spend a great deal of time every day and every week in the Bible, studying, learning, trying to understand, and learning to explain it – teach it – to others. If he is not, he ought to leave the pulpit.
I don’t know why I’m shocked any more, but I am: I know of a pastor in our Classis who listens to a certain preacher on TV early in the morning and then just summarizes what he said as his sermon. I know of a pastor who said he didn’t care for reading the Bible. I know of a pastor, now retired, who never read his Bible, and never prepared a sermon, he just got up in the pulpit and winged it each week. Is it any wonder that we are so biblically illiterate. Have we lost our First Love?
Pastors also ought to preach the Scripture and Christ out of the Scripture. Nothing more and nothing less. The pulpit is not the place for the pastor to talk about anything other than what the Scripture says and how it applies to us today. The pulpit is not the place for the pastor to try to convince the congregation of his political views. It is not the place for him to butter up his congregants. It is not the place for him to show how smart he is.
I heard a “sermon” about how much this pastor enjoyed riding her bike as a child. I heard a “sermon” about how we should give soup to people who are hungry. I heard a “sermon” about how the congregation was not nice enough to the pastor who was preaching. These are not actually sermons.
Hold pastors accountable. Hold me accountable. Ask me if I’m reading my Bible, studying it, trying to understand it. Make sure I preaching and teaching what the text says, where Jesus is to be found in it, and how it applies to us. Come to me or the elders if you have questions or concerns about what comes from this pulpit.
And let us all do everything we can to make the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ Alone known to everyone we come in contact with. Let us find a way that we are able to reach out to other people and let them know that there is hope and life and truth – this sinful, fallen world is not all there is – this is not the end. Let them know Who Jesus is and what He has done and that there is Salvation in Him for all those who will believe.
Let us spend time together to learn from God and each other that we would mature and better be able to tell others about Jesus. I know, I know, you don’t have time. Actually, you do – how much time do you spend watching TV each day?
It’s a matter of priorities, beloved.
Is Jesus our First Love?
Then let us pray:
Almighty God, you have given us the high call of bearing Your Glory and the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Alone in these clay pots that we are. We ask that You would increase our desire for You and Your Word, for understanding and fellowship. Lord, open our eyes so that when we look at the world we will see the need that every human has for You and then do something about it. Gives us the words to speak. Inspire us to do things that will get the Gospel to others. Help us to learn from the book of Acts that You grow Your Church by sending us out and working through us. May Jesus Christ be praised, Amen.
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