Philip the Evangelist

By David Norfleet

The idea of being heralds or proclaimers of the good news of the kingdom is throughout the New Testament, but there is only one individual who specifically is identified as an “evangelist” and that is Philip (Acts 21:8). Let me offer three simple lessons from Philip’s life that make that description appropriate and worthy of our imitation.

First, Philip is a great example of loving our neighbors.  Due to Saul’s persecution, Philip leaves Jerusalem and goes—of all places—to Samaria and starts proclaiming Christ to them (Acts 8:5)!  Most Jews would not be caught dead with Samaritans (John 4:7-9; 8:48; Luke 9:51-56), but there Philip is, preaching the good news and baptizing men and women (Acts 8:12).  That shows us what the gospel of Christ will do for us—it will open our eyes to the value of a soul irrespective of race, nationality, or stature.  Like Philip, we should be willing to share the gospel with anyone as an act of God’s love.

Second, Philip shows us the power of the gospel.  He is called “the evangelist” (Acts 21:8).  Evangelist means “one who declares the good news.”  After declaring the good news to the Samaritans, Philip preaches Christ to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39). That is what happens all through the book of Acts—preachers present the evidence and build a logical case for Christ—sometimes reasoning and explaining things over a period of weeks and months and years, and because of that, people believed and obeyed.  That is what Philip did for the Samaritans (Acts 8:5,12) and for the Ethiopian (Acts 8:35,36).  Christianity is not based on blind faith or on a subjective feeling in the heart.  It is based upon the inspired word of God!  No wonder Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).  May we learn to trust in the power of the gospel!

Third, Philip shows us that we can grow older and continue the work God has given us to do.  Acts 8:40 mentions that he ends up in Caesarea.  He disappears from the record until a brief reference in Acts 21:8-14, where Paul and his companions stayed with him for several days.  It is here in the record where he’s identified as Philip the evangelist (one who declares the good news) about 20 years after the events of Acts 8.  Let’s appreciate that Philip is still evangelizing years later.  It’s one thing to start with a bang, and maybe to have a zeal fueled by the events in Acts 8, but what about when the newness wears off?  Philip’s longevity serves as a great example to us.  Can we do that?  Can we not only live for Christ through the years, but also be a proclaimer of His good news? (Especially in our families as Philip must have done as his daughters were prophetesses: Acts 21:9.)

May we imitate Philip, whose love for souls caused him to spread the good news about Jesus to whoever he could for as long as he could.

Trusting God in Uncertainty

By Mark McCrary

Life can become burdensome almost every day for some people. The book of Habakkuk wrestles with the sovereignty of God in the face of suffering and injustice. Habakkuk teaches us how to embrace deep, unshakable joy in God, even when our circumstances seem overwhelming.

The Painful Cry of the Faithful (Habakkuk 1:2-4)

Habakkuk begins with a prayer of frustration with the wicked. How could God allow their violence on the poor? Why wouldn't He intervene and save? God’s answer? You haven’t seen the worst of it yet. He would deal with the oppressors in Judah through the Chaldeans (Babylonians) (Hab. 1:6-9).

Three pressing questions arise: Why would a good God allow this? How could a good God allow this? Finally, what would Habakkuk do? Habakkuk’s cry resonates with anyone who has ever felt abandoned in their time of need. He was not turning away from God but earnestly seeking Him.

Here’s the good news: God allows questions, which are a desire for a deeper understanding of His ways. Doubts don’t mean one is unfaithful; they are a testament to deep faith. When we wrestle with our questions, we actively seek a greater understanding of God’s will and character.

God is Still in Control (Habakkuk 2:2-3)

God’s message to Habakkuk is that comfort isn’t necessarily found in the removal of problems but in the sovereignty of God. Either what has come upon us has been put there by God (2 Corinthians 12:7), or it is something God has allowed because of our fallen world: 1 Corinthians 10:13 - God will not allow something in our lives that we cannot, by His power, endure.

This can help us find peace in our struggles. We may not always understand His ways, but we can trust that His plans are for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). Things are not out of control. God loves you (Romans 8:36-39).

Trustful Responses (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Understanding that God wants to hear even our questions and that He is in control of everything, what should be our response?

First, maintain your faith in Him.  God declared, “The just shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4). The idea here is more than simply believing in God; it is acting on what He says. 

Second, verbalize your faith in God.  At the conclusion of the book, Habakkuk wrote, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab. 3:17-18).  Saying something out loud makes it more real and commits you to it. Think of the first time you said, “I love you” to someone else. You probably thought about it a lot, but when you said it, things changed.  State your faith verbally to God, not just in thought. State it to a friend. State it to your faith. Habakkuk's faith and trust were deeply rooted in the character and salvation of God. His joy came from the character of God alone (Hab. 3:18-19), not from external conditions.

Finally, know God will strengthen you.  “God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on my high places” (Hab. 3:19).  Move past trust.  Know with confidence that God will be with you. Just as a deer nimbly moves along, know that in the midst of your uncertainty, God will give you the strength to do the same. Know.

Habakkuk’s name means “embracer.” He embraced God and trusted in Him. It is okay to question God and hurt when life isn’t as imagined. Trust in the sovereign God. Put your faith and confidence in Him, not in circumstances.

The Serpent in The Wilderness

By Paul Earnhart

The Old Testament is not a law for us to keep today.  Colossians 2:14 says that Jesus took it out of the way and nailed it to His cross.  God speaks to us today in the New Testament.  That does not mean, however, that the Old Testament is worthless.  It is essential to the understanding of the New.  Jesus used many examples from the O. T. to teach us about Himself.  In John 3:14-15, Jesus said “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  Without the O. T. that would make no sense.

When we turn back to Numbers 21, however, we find God’s people in the wilderness traveling toward the land that God had promised them.  God was providing their needs, but instead of appreciating it, they complained.  God was displeased with their grumbling and sent fiery serpents among them so that many Israelites died.  When they pled with God for relief, God gave the following instructions to Moses: “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard and it shall come about that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live.” (Num. 21:8)  Moses made a serpent of bronze and did as God said, and those who looked upon it were healed.

Now you will agree that this was a strange treatment for snakebite.  We understand, of course, that the bronze serpent did not heal them.  It was God who healed them.  He healed those who had faith enough to look upon the serpent.  It was altogether God’s doing; their part was to simply believe.

Today, all of us are the victims of another serpent…Satan.   He has tempted us all and we all have sinned.  Sin is more deadly than snakebite.  We cannot cure ourselves.  But Jesus came and died on the cross and, by looking to Him in faith, we can be healed.  Just as their faith saved them WHEN THEY OBEYED GOD BY LOOKING AT THE SERPENT, our faith in Jesus saves us when we obey Him.  James 2:26 says, “…faith without works is dead.”

The Son of Man

By Paul Earnhart

When Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, He spoke of Himself as the “Son of Man.” (Jn. 3:13)  Jesus used this expression many times to identify Himself.

It was an accurate description for He was most certainly human.  He was born of a woman, a descendant of Adam and of David.  At the same time, it was a description which His enemies could not use against Him.  If He had called Himself the Son of God in the early part of His ministry, they would have killed Him instantly, and His work of teaching could not have been done.

But for those who believed in Jesus, the expression, Son of Man, had special significance.  For one thing, it tended to identify Him with the prophet Ezekiel who was also called the “Son of Man”.  But more than this, it identified Jesus with two Old Testament scriptures which were recognized as prophecies of the Messiah.  One is Psalm 8:4 where the Psalmist wrote: “What is man that You are mindful of Him or the Son of Man that you visit Him?”  The other is Daniel 7:13 where Daniel wrote: “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like the Son of Man was coming.  And He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.”  When Jesus called Himself the Son of Man, He was discreetly claiming to be that Son of Man mentioned in the Psalm and in Daniel.  He most certainly was not denying that He was also the Son of God.

We should be grateful that Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of Man.  It is this that makes Him our perfect high priest, our mediator and God.  We were separated from God by our sins.  We needed a mediator to plead our case before God, but no man could qualify.  A mediator must be unrelated or equally related to both parties.  As the Son of God, Jesus could stand before God as His equal, and as the Son of Man He understands our weaknesses and can plead with God on our behalf.  He is our pathway to God. (Jn. 14:6)

Do Today’s Youth Accept Absolute Values? - Part 2

By Tom Rose

In part 1, the author presented evidence that many of today’s youth do not accept absolute truth.  Because of this, many youths are making wrong choices.  Part 2 presents a classroom illustration of this issue and provides some action steps parents and religious educators can take to address this problem and why it is extremely important.

Consider an activity in which a group of high school Christians were challenged to grasp the reality of Jesus’ resurrection as objective truth. A jar of marbles was placed in front of the class and students were asked, “How many marbles are in the jar?” They all respond and record their different guesses. The jar was then emptied, and the marbles counted. They quickly determined who had the closest guess and that the number of marbles was a matter of fact, not a personal preference. Next from a bag of Starburst candies, one was given to each student, and the question posed, “Which flavor is right?” The students saw this as an unfair question because each person had a preference that was right for him or her. The class all agreed that in this situation it was a matter of subjective opinion, not objective fact. The teacher then asked, “Is the resurrection of Jesus like the number of marbles in the jar, or is it a matter of personal opinion, like candy preferences?’ Most students concluded that the question of the resurrection belonged in the category of candy preference.

The instructor then concluded the activity by talking about the nature of Jesus’ physical death and resurrection. He proposed, “If we had been present at the cross, we could have felt the warm blood of Jesus trickling down the wooden timber or even watched Him take His last breath (Jn. 19:29-35). And if we had been at the tomb on Sunday morning, we would have seen the stone rolled away and the loincloth of Jesus laying inside (Jn. 20:1-7).” The teacher then reminded the class that while many people may reject the historical resurrection of Jesus, it is not the type of claim that can be “true for you, but not true for me.” The tomb was either empty on the third day, or it was occupied – there can be no middle ground.

What should be done to help our youth become healthy and mature relationally, morally, and spiritually? Josh McDowell in his research identified four components listed in order of importance. Parents (and religious educators) should see that:

1. Teenagers experience a transformed life in Christ.

2. They know why they believe what they believe.

3. They develop healthy relationships with faithful Christians of all ages.

4. They learn to resist ungodly influences and learn how to make right choices.

In closing, we must ask, “Why is this important? What difference does it really make?” Consider that most religions of the world are based on philosophical propositions or theological ideologies. Their observance usually centers around a creed book, catechism, or mantra. Remove its founding prophet or guru and that religion remains essentially intact. That is because these religions are largely based on the teachings, not upon the founding teacher. That is not true of Christianity; it is unique. Christianity isn’t a mere religion. It is not simply based upon various teachings. Christianity is based on the life, character, and identity of a person – Jesus Christ. Christ did not come to earth to teach Christianity, Christ is Christianity. (“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn. 14:6). And to us and our loved ones as believers, that makes all the difference both in this life and the next…for “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:31-32).