Philip and the Ethiopian - Acts 8:26-40

  

My family and I have been reading through Acts.  We just made it to 8:26-40 and the familiar story of the Ethiopian eunuch.  In my experience growing up in church, I typically heard this passage preached in regards to the need to be able to share the Gospel at any time with anyone, even if there is a racial barrier.  Given our country’s racial history, this is an important lesson—Jesus is not just for my race, but for all races—people from every nation, tribe and tongue will be before the throne of the King.

We should not limit Gospel opportunities to people of our own race.  Nor should we limit Gospel opportunities just to people we know or are comfortable with.  God led Philip to a total stranger.  He listened and observed and when the door opened, he stepped through it, trusting God to guide his words.  The words the Eunuch was reading, Isaiah 53, is one of the most prophetic and messianic passages in the Old Testament but Philip still had to have the knowledge and courage to start with those Scriptures and lead someone to Christ.

But something else struck us in reading this passage.  When the Eunuch asks, “Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”, he and Philip were not talking about race or a racial barrier.  They were talking about the man being a eunuch.

Ethiopia had a significant Jewish population from the days of the Exile, highlighted particularly by the flight of Jews who took Jeremiah with them into Africa.  To this day there is a significant Jewish population in that area and they maintain an entrenched tradition regarding the Ark of the Covenant replete with many replicas.

It’s likely that this man was either born a Jew or was a convert to Judaism.  He had made a long pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship.  But when he got there, the doors would have been closed to him.  He would not have had access to the Temple because of the injury done to him in making him a eunuch.

Deuteronomy 23:1 is a graphic verse which prohibits anyone with his type of condition from entering in the Assembly of the people.  He was cut off physically, and that cut him off spiritually.  He was not allowed to worship in Jerusalem, not allowed to offer sacrifices, not allowed to enter into the courts of the Temple.  He was excluded from full participation and citizenship in the Assembly of the people.

Imagine his disappointment after traveling all that way. 

This is worse than a rain out at a baseball game.  Worse than coming home to the house burned down.  Worse than your honeymoon flight to Hawaii being cancelled.  Worse than making a trip to the Statue of Liberty only to have it closed for repairs.

He was denied access to God.  It wasn’t that it was closed, or rained out or shut down for maintenance.  He was stopped at the door while everyone else was walking right in and worshiping.

It wasn’t his race that stopped him; it was the fact that he was a eunuch. 

What happened to this man was probably forced upon him and yet he was denied access to God.   

This was not a moral issue, this was an injury.  

 Sadly, to the Temple establishment, it didn’t matter how far he had come to worship.

He was on his way home: disappointed, confused, frustrated. 

He was wealthy enough to have brought or bought a copy of Isaiah, but it’s unlikely anyone would have helped him, anyone would have answered his questions

And then along came Philip. 

Philip had been in Samaria—a city maybe 30 miles north of Jerusalem.  God told Philip to get on the road that goes south from Jerusalem.  So he knew that God had something for him to do on this trip.  The amazing thing is that God would have told Philip to start his journey a couple of days before the Ethiopian was even ready to leave Jerusalem—there’s no mention of miraculous transportation like happened later. 

Philip would have made this trip looking for God’s opportunity.  Then he heard the voice of God saying to go near this wealthy man’s chariot.

Reading into it a little bit, the text mentions the man’s wealth.  But so far, Acts reminds people that the believers were willing to give away everything.  So I’m guessing that Philip did not have clothes to match the status of this man.  And he came running up to the chariot which likely had a number of servants and animals in a traveling group, for a wealthy man would not travel alone and he couldn’t be reading the scroll and driving the chariot at the same time.  Not to mention that the whole scroll of Isaiah was likely a very expensive item.

Here’s an example of what the scroll looks like and a museum housing a whole copy.  

The first picture below may give you a sense of what it could look like.  The second is an actual picture of the Isaiah scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls.  It is about 24 feet long.

Now what do you think their first thought would be to Philip running up to them?

·         Was he a beggar, asking for food or money?

·         Was he the first wave of robbers that they have to defend against?  A distraction?

·         Was he going to treat their master with contempt if the stranger finds out he is a eunuch?

·         In other words, is this guy going to be a problem?

And yet God sent Philip, not to beg but to be a blessing.  The physically poor was going to give to the wealthy.

This tells me something about the heart of God.  The Ethiopian may have left Jerusalem disappointed, and cut of from God, but God wanted to make sure they “met together”.  God wanted to restore this man and men like him—to once again tear down the wall, the veil that kept people separate from him.

Philip obeyed and ran to the chariot—he was allowed to approach or at least get within earshot.   

Maybe the Eunuch wondered how long it would take before the stranger asked for a handout.   

Instead, Philip did the unexpected because God had prepared the opportunity.

He could hear the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah.  And not just any part of Isaiah… chapter 53.  I have my own experience with this chapter.  It is a powerful and prophetic chapter on the suffering & sacrifice of the Messiah.

Instead of asking for something, Philip offered something.  Instead of taking or receiving, Philip gave and blessed.  Philip may have been poor materially, but he was wealthy spiritually.  He was exemplifying Peter’s words to a paralyzed man—“I don’t have any silver or gold, but what I do have, I give to you…”

Philip had the Truth.  Philip had faith in the Messiah.  Philip had the Holy Spirit empowering him.   

And he faithfully gave.

“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?”

I hope that each one of us, if presented with an opportunity like this, we would not hesitate to speak.  I love what comes next in describing Philips actions—vs. 35—“Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”

Philip was invited closer, to sit and speak with this man.  Philip followed the leading of the Spirit, showed an interest in him, spoke up when the door of opportunity opened, and started right where the man was and pointed him to Christ.

This with a man who was likely very disillusioned.  Somehow, in the course of their conversation, the man was asked, “Look, here is water.  Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”

This is the man asking about the fine print.  He’s asking if there’s any catch to this Jesus.  He’s asking if there’s something about him or his body that prevents him from fully participating in the Way of being a disciple of Jesus.

If you’ve ever wondered what it was about Philip’s conversation that moved this man to want to go from Judaism to Jesus, this question of the Eunuch’s is the answer.

The answer was No.  There was nothing that hinders him from full participation in the faith.  Philip showed him from Scripture that the Messiah makes a man such as him whole and includes him in the Temple.  The ministry and promise of the Messiah includes him and does not denigrate him.

·         Isaiah 56:3-8--Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from His people.”
Nor let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4For thus says the LORD,
“To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.
6“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD,
To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the Sabbath
And holds fast My covenant;
7Even those I will bring to My holy mountain
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
8The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
“Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.”

Just a couple of chapters from the verse they started with is the answer and hope to the eunuch’s 

frustration and exclusion.

• God through Messiah will escort men like him into the Temple—God’s own house
• God through Messiah will give men like him a Memorial - history with the people
• God through Messiah will give men like him, a family name and essentially adopt him as an heir that cannot be removed.
• God through Messiah will give men like him, a foreigner a role of purpose and significance
• God through Messiah will accept his offerings and sacrifices
• God through Messiah will hear his prayer

This is exactly what the Eunuch was hoping for in the first place and he jumps at the opportunity to be included in what Jesus is doing.  He is excited, he is included, he is wanted.

Jesus will take this man, formerly excluded, and draw him near and make him a citizen.  As foreigners and eunuchs were treated much the same—what Philip explains to him mirrors Ephesians 2:11-13—

“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (that done in the body by the hands of men)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”

Vs. 18 says that “For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”

Ephesians 3:12—“In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

Hebrews 4:16—“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

“Is there some reason why I can’t be baptized?”  Is there anything excluding me?  Is there any fine print I need to know about so I don’t waste my time again?

No there is no reason.  Nothing is stopping you from coming to Jesus.  You can approach the throne of Grace with confidence because you are accepted on the basis of the Blood of Christ.

The only thing stopping this man at this point was not believing the message.  I suspect he was concerned that this was too good to be true.  The same thing that stops any man or woman is our own unwillingness. 

Unwillingness to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus—this is called repentance.  It requires agreeing with God that what He calls sin is your sin—not excusing it, not trying to get off on a technicality, not saying the Bible is wrong or outdated. 

I’m not saying you instantly become perfect or no longer struggle with sin, but you are agreeing that there is something wrong, that something does need to change.  No matter what that sin is, Jesus will welcome you close and promise to cover your sin with His blood shed on the Cross.  He will say, “Go and sin no more” then empower you to overcome the temptation.

Everyone meets and comes to Jesus this way.  The first thing He will deal with is admitting our need for Him and His forgiveness.  That means agreeing with Him and His judgment on your sin—then moving forward in a new life with Him.

We are all born with a sin problem.  It may manifest as a different struggle for you than for me but both of us must start our walk with Christ with the repentant heart—I’m wrong, my sin is wrong—help me overcome my sin by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Over time, your understanding of what sin is will grow and change as you spend time worshipping God through the reading and hearing from the Word of God.  By that I mean, you’ll come to learn that some things you never thought of, some things that you excused, that other people or your culture said was OK, really are not compatible with a walk with Jesus.  Don’t ignore this voice.

This Eunuch was seeing the barrier that excluded him come crashing down in the love of Christ. 

As a result, he stopped everything. 

He stopped his chariot and everyone traveling with him.  He didn’t waste any time committing himself to this new access to God in which even he was acceptable.  His baptism was his crossing over from death to life, accepting the proposal from the bridegroom and identifying himself with the family of God.

That was the greatest miracle this day.  A new creation took place in front of everyone.  A man’s eternal destiny was changed.  It is my conviction that this is a greater miracle than the miraculous disappearance of Philip.

I believe the Eunuch would agree.  My evidence?  The man went away rejoicing, not because Philip disappeared but because he found new life in Christ.  In this moment, his life, and possibly the life of his home nation, was forever changed as he carried home this new hope of access to God.

Sermon--Faith's Pledge of a Good Conscience--1 Peter 3:21-22

A Pledge of a Good Conscious--Making it and Keeping It

This week we are dealing with a very difficult passage of Scripture. It has been used as a proof-text for arguing that baptism is necessary for salvation. However, that is not the point of the passage--we will be looking at the larger context of the passage today. Turn to 1 Peter 3:13-22 and look closely at vs. 21 which describes our baptism as “not the removal of dirt from the body but…” some translations say “appeal”, “promise”, or “answer”—which is an important point in a minute, I like the way the NIV translates this word, “the pledge of a good conscience toward God.” Underline the word in your Bible and note pledge in your margin and keep your finger there. Before we look closely at that passage we must understand what a pledge in the mind of someone like Peter would be. Turn back to Numbers 30.

Numbers 30:1-2—this whole chapter deals with pledges and vows. Pledges are Irrevocable even if they are foolish, done without thinking or have a high cost. In the OT, if you have made a pledge to God, there is no going back. In the same way you were not allowed to go back on a pledge, keep in mind that once Noah agreed to get on the ark and God closed the door, there was no way he could go back to his old world.

The Water of Judgment was also the instrument of Salvation—lifting Noah and His family to safety—but once they passed through the water—the world was forever changed—Noah could not go back.

Jesus addressed the subject of vows and pledges in Matthew 5:33—

Jesus said that elaborate promises and vows are wrong and unnecessary, but to let your “yes” be just as binding as a pledge, your “yes” be “yes” and your “no,” “no”. By saying this, if you agree to something, your honor and relationship with God will hold you accountable to being truthful, honest, and filled with integrity. Again, a vow or pledge does not have to be fancy or formal to be binding for a believer. Take everything you agree to seriously and see to it that you fulfill your word.

When you became a believer, you made a pledge to God.

What is the Evidence of Your Pledge of a Good Conscious? READ 1 Peter 3:18-22

Jesus died for sins (v. 18) in order to bring us to God. We know He was successful because God raised Him from the dead and has (vs. 22) gone into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God. A position of Power, Honor, Rest and Intercession.

You have been brought to God--while those around you have not. The only way to be brought to God is to have your sin forgiven and your conscious cleansed. Hebrews 10:22-23—“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

You have a good conscience before God in Christ. Your life does not have to be dominated by Guilt & Shame.

Your Pledge is your commitment to Live the Life that Christ has called you to, no matter what—even if it turns into suffering. By becoming a Christian, you are making an irrevocable pledge to be a Disciple—to die to yourself and live for God. The visible symbol of that completed transaction is Baptism.

Pledge out of or in possession of a Good Conscience. “Answer” is also a good translation, but it is an answer in response to a question. Many baptism traditions, even from the early church, ask the candidate a series of questions. The affirmation of believe is what qualified the person for baptism or made the baptism a significant moment. They gave their answer and it changed their world and their lives forever.

Consider the Baptism of Jesus. He did not get baptized in order to be saved or because He needed His sins to be forgiven. It was also more than just setting an example for us. This is the beginning of His public ministry that lead Him to the Cross. He knew from the beginning where He would have to go in order to save you and me. Jesus knew exactly what needed to be done in order to “fulfill (bring about) all righteousness)”—Matthew 3:15. This moment was His pledge—a demonstration of His commitment to fulfill the Father’s plan. The very next moment was Satan tempting Jesus to take a shortcut and not walk that path—not fulfill that pledge. But Jesus refused. When The Father called out—“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Jesus said, “Here am I. Send Me.”

Baptism saves you because of how you have answered the questions. It occurs after you have been forgiven, and the blood of Christ, and the power of the resurrection has been applied to you. It occurs after your conscience has been cleansed, after you have been filled with the Holy Spirit, after you have been brought near to God.

It is a symbolic testimony to what has already happened. Baptism is not only your testimony to your faith, but your dedication to live and fulfill your faith. Baptism is evidence of your pledge and your commitment to the decision you have made to follow Christ. It is a proclamation of your “YES, I will follow Christ”. And Jesus taught clearly that you should follow through with your word no matter what it costs you.

Baptism does not save; baptism in water in itself means nothing. Baptism is not a guarantee of a person’s salvation—all it will do if there is no decision for Christ is make a sinner wet.

The Water itself did not save Noah—God did—by finding Noah favorable, by speaking to, by directing Noah to build the Ark, by Himself closing the Door, by seeing that they survived the flood, telling Noah when it was safe to leave the Ark.

There is no power in baptism, or in the water to do anything for the believer, the power comes only in what it represents.

The Resurrection of Christ is what holds the power in Baptism. Without the resurrection—there is no salvation, there is no good conscience toward God and nothing to pledge your life to.

Without the Power of Easter Sunday—baptism is worthless—we are still in our sins, our conscience has not been cleansed and as Paul said—we are to be pitied above all men.

Your baptism symbolizes what Christ did for you in saving you--dying, being buried and rising again. Baptism doesn't clean your body of dirt physically, it doesn't spiritually either.

What cleans away your sins is the blood of Christ, not the waters of baptism.

So that means that this verse cannot mean that we are saved by faith plus baptism.

If baptism were necessary for salvation, this would mean that the Savior’s work on the cross was not enough. When He cried, “It is finished,” it wasn’t really so.

If baptism is necessary for salvation, it is strange that Jesus did not personally baptize anyone. John 4:2 states that Jesus did not do the actual baptizing of His followers; this was done by His disciples.

The Apostle Paul thanked God that he baptized very few of the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:14–16). This would be strange thanksgiving for an evangelist if baptism were essential for salvation!

The fact that Paul did baptize some shows that he taught believer’s baptism, but the fact that he baptized only a few shows that he did not consider it a requirement for salvation.

It is not possible to be Filled with the Holy Spirit apart from genuine salvation, apart from the application of the Blood of Christ and Reconciliation with God, yet the filling of the Holy Spirit occurred before Baptism

The Gentiles who were saved in Caesarea received the Holy Spirit when they believed (Acts 10:44—“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message… 47—Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”),

The Holy Spirit showed that they already belonged to Christ (Rom. 8:9b). After receiving the Holy Spirit, that is, after being saved, they were baptized (vv. 47, 48). They were saved first, filled with the Holy Spirit, then baptized in water.

There are about 150 passages in the NT which teach that salvation is by faith alone. These cannot be contradicted by two or three verses that seem to teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. To do so makes baptism a work, added to the work of Christ.

Your baptism--your willingness to be baptized in the Name of Christ is a demonstration of your commitment, not of your salvation. If you have not committed yourself to Christ, there is no reason to be baptized.

It is a visible act of your internal Pledge made because you possess a good conscious before God. By making this pledge, you are agreeing to believe even if it means hardship, difficulty, and suffering. You should not accept Christ thinking that everything will be clear sailing—it will likely bring on hardship—you should know that going into it—once your answer is given—with full knowledge, awareness and understanding, you cannot go back on what you have agreed to even if it means suffering as Christ suffered. Philippians 3:10-11--"I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

We get baptized because you are pledging your life to Christ—no matter what the consequences of that decision are. You may be called to endure hardship and persecution b/c of your relationship with Christ as the readers in Peter’s day were experiencing.

People may make fun of you when you choose to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday, when you choose not to drink, smoke or do drugs. You may not be tempted to totally walk away from your faith—after all, here in America our lives are not in jeopardy, but you may be tempted to hide it, to not talk about it, to fit in rather than stand out.

The question is whether or not you are going to give up, whether you are going to quit and go back on your pledge and commitment to Christ. What decisions are you making because of your faith? What do you see others doing or getting away with that you refuse to? How can you keep your pledge and your good conscience in the face of temptation and if you are suffering?

How to Keep Your pledge and a Good Conscious—

Thankfully, Vs. 14 says you are blessed only if you suffer for what is right and the following verses give us all hope.

Endure hardships and Persecution--only for standing for your faith. Peter himself understood this. When Peter and the other apostles were arrested in Acts 4 & 5 they had to decide who they should obey, the governing authority or God—they said “We must obey God rather than men.” Even if it meant punishment, (they were beaten or flogged) their consciences were clear. If there was wrongdoing or a genuine basis for accusation against them, their conscience would not have been clear.

In your Hearts--Set apart Christ as Lord—In biblical revelation, the heart is the religious center of man that affects and controls the rest of the body and mind. When the center of your life is rightly related to God, no matter what happens around you, you will respond with the power of the Holy Spirit and keep a good conscience. Even if you sin in some way, the Spirit will quickly point it out to you and you will seek forgiveness from God and we know that He is “faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”—1 John 1:9.

Show the Hope that you have —your hope is based on the Resurrection of Christ—that you have been brought near to God--that certainty that your sins are forgiven, that you have power to live for today, and a joyful expectation of eternity. Never let those things be squashed by the pressures and troubles of life to where you don’t have joy in the Lord. Never forget what it took to redeem you, never fail to let your Hope change the way you live.

Be Prepared to give an answer—when you truly live your hope—truly live with the reality of a Good Conscience before God, be prepared to answer why. Be prepared to defend what you are doing, the decisions you are making and how you are living. It’s not your concern whether they fully embrace or understand what you’re doing—your concern is to provide a faithful witness and leave the results up to God.

How will you explain your different way of life? When was the last time someone noticed a difference that you had to? You are fulfilling your pledge to Follow Christ and keeping a clear conscience by giving an answer and sharing your faith.

When you are tempted to be discouraged about how many are embracing Christ just remember that people listened in Noah’s day for 120 years with no response. Only 8 people made it through that time.

Baptism in Noah's day was the burial of the world--judgment of God came--and there was no resurrection for those under the water.

But your baptism says something completely different. You not only were buried under water--death—the penalty you and I deserved which was given to Jesus on your behalf--but you were brought out of the water through the Resurrection of Christ.

The people in Noah's day experienced death and judgment on their own terms--physically and spiritually. In Christ we may experience physical death, but we will never experience spiritual death. Our baptism is not only our public declaration of our faith in Christ, but it is a commitment and a pledge to die to ourselves and live for Christ.

Difference - in Noah's day no one came out of the water, but today, God wants to baptize the whole world again. Not in judgment, but in forgiveness, not unto death, but unto salvation, not to remain buried under the water but to be raised to a new life—a new commitment to the plan and purpose of God.

Have you made that decision, that pledge to follow Christ? If not I want to invite you to do that today.

Baptism also unites us as a fellowship, in that we are united with those who have also answered “Yes” to the questions—in much the same way that the Pledge of Allegiance is supposed to unite our nation as fellow Americans. Our baptism is supposed to strengthen the Body of Christ and identify others around us whom we can call upon in difficulty and for encouragement.

Hell?

If someone you hadn't seen in a while says, "I think I'm definitely going to hell now."

What would you say?

This one is not hypothetical. It happened to me last week.

Kelly