{"id":1265,"date":"2021-08-16T06:30:33","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T11:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1265"},"modified":"2021-08-14T07:18:28","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T12:18:28","slug":"faithful-stewards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/16\/faithful-stewards\/","title":{"rendered":"Faithful Stewards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cMoreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.<\/strong>\u201d
1 Corinthians 4:2 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There are many people in our lives with whom we become\nacquainted. However, one must be cautious that those we spend the most time\nwith have a true knowledge of Jesus and a love for God\u2019s Word. We are to\nunderstand that words alone do not make one a child of God. A very dangerous\nposition in which to be is to be one who does not hold the truth<\/em><\/strong>\nof salvation. What is the condition of those who do not have a true knowledge\nof Jesus? \u201c12. These are spots\nin your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without\nfear: clouds they are<\/em> without water, carried about of winds; trees whose\nfruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13.\nRaging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom\nis reserved the blackness of darkness for ever<\/strong>\u201d (Jude 1:12-13). When\none does not hold the truth of salvation, they might just look and sound<\/em><\/strong>\nlike a Christian, yet they have never known the truth of the Gospel message.\nWhat a sad place to be! Remember the warning Jesus gave: \u201c21. Not every one\nthat saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he\nthat doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22. Many will say to me in\nthat day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have\ncast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? <\/strong>23. And then will I profess unto them, I\nnever knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity<\/strong>\u201d (Matthew 7:21-23). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember an event in the New Testament to help one understand\nthis better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul had met a couple, Aquila and\nPriscilla, while on his second missionary journey in the city of Corinth.\nPaul taught in the synagogue every Sabbath, teaching the people that Jesus was\nthe Christ (the Messiah that had come to take away the sin of anyone who would\nbelieve). Eventually, the chief ruler of the synagogue \u201cbelieved on the Lord with all his house;\nand many of the Corinthians hearing believed<\/strong>\u201d (see Acts 18:8). Paul\nstayed there for a time, teaching the Word of God to the people. When he left Corinth,\nPriscilla and Aquila went with him until he reached Ephesus\nwhere they stayed while Paul continued on his journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Priscilla and Aquila were there,\na man came. \u201cAnd a certain Jew named\nApollos, born at <\/strong>Alexandria<\/strong>, an eloquent man, and<\/em> mighty in the scriptures, came to <\/strong>Ephesus<\/strong>\u201d (Acts\n18:24). See what else God\u2019s Word\nsays of Apollos. \u201cThis man was instructed\nin the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught\ndiligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John<\/strong>\u201d\n(Acts 18:25). One has to stop for a minute to remember what it means by the\n\u201cbaptism of John.\u201d John (also known as John the Baptist) was preaching\nrepentance, calling for people to be baptized, preparing them to receive Jesus\nwhen He came. John the Baptist\u2019s job was to \u201cmake ready a people prepared for\nthe Lord\u201d (see Luke 1:17b). This meant that he was to introduce Jesus to the\npeople as the Messiah (the Christ) for whom they had been waiting. \u201cThe next day John seeth Jesus coming unto\nhim, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world<\/strong>\u201d\n(John 1:29). Somehow, Apollos missed\nthat part of the message. He only knew of the baptism to repentance, but missed\nthat Jesus was the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. He had\nknowledge of much of the Scripture, but he was missing the key part \u2013 Jesus. Repentance\nof sin was important, but it was meaningless unless one understood that Jesus\nwas the One who took the sin from the individual, giving salvation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was Apollos doing with the information of the baptism to repentance that was taught by John the Baptist? \u201cAnd he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them,<\/em> and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly<\/strong>\u201d (Acts 18:26). When Aquila and Priscilla heard that what Apollos was teaching was missing the most important part (Jesus), they went to him and \u201cexpounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.\u201d What does that mean? They explained to Apollos that Jesus was the Christ. \u201cBut these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name<\/strong>\u201d (John 20:31). They had<\/em><\/strong> to tell Apollos about Jesus. \u201cMoreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful<\/strong>\u201d (1 Corinthians 4:2). That was the key part of the message that Apollos had not yet heard. However, when Apollos heard, he believed in Jesus. How do we know that he received the message and believed in Jesus? \u201cFor he mightily convinced the Jews, and that<\/em> publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ<\/strong>\u201d (Acts 18:28). Because Aquila and Priscilla were faithful stewards of God\u2019s Word, not only did Apollos believe, but he proceeded to tell others that Jesus was the Christ, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you told others that Jesus is the Christ, and that by believing they can have life through His name?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to be Saved<\/a><\/blockquote>