1 Kings 18:17 -19, 30-40; Acts 18:24 -28
In these two scripture passages, we find two different types of believers. There are the people of the Old Testament, as described in the reading from 1 Kings, who require an enormous display of God’s power before they will fall on their faces and declare that God is the Lord. Elijah prepares an elaborate sacrifice, and God sends fire that consumes not only the offering itself, but also the altar and the surrounding water.
By contrast, the reading from Acts introduces us to Apollos, a New Testament believer. He is well-versed in scripture, and has been taught about the Lord. He speaks with “burning enthusiasm” as he teaches others about Jesus. In this passage, Apollos deepens his faith, not by meeting Jesus or by witnessing a sign from God, but by listening to the teaching of others. He then continues to boldly proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.
Many of our friends and neighbors in the 21st century are not Christian believers. Surely, many would change their ways quickly if they were to observe a large, obvious display of God’s power, such as the fire that consumed Elijah’s altar. However, that is unlikely to happen. And so we are called to be New Testament believers. We must believe without necessarily seeing. But that’s not where it ends. As believers, it is our job to act as Apollos, Priscilla, and Aquila did, and share the good news about Jesus with others. Apollos spoke enthusiastically to anyone who would listen, and he publicly and powerfully argued with those who would try to prove him wrong. Priscilla and Aquila saw that a fellow believer didn’t quite have all the information, and they took him aside and explained what he needed to know, deepening his faith and his commitment to spreading Jesus’ message.
If the believers don’t speak out, who will? People who don’t know Jesus are waiting to hear from us. We have to be the “sign from God” that they are waiting for.
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