Passion isnt enough

Introduction

This week we will be wrapping up our series that we have been calling Intentional where we have unpacked what it means for us to be intentional with our faith in a culture that stands in opposition.

Next week we will be starting a new 4 week series called Jesus & Sexuality where we will be taking a break from the book of Acts and exploring Sex, relationships, marriage, gender, sexuality, and Jesus. Its going to be a Biblically based (duh) and culturally important series for us that will conclude in a Q&A with the members of our teaching team, and maybe some guests from our team too! This series is one of the most important series i’ve ever been a part of…I can promise you, it will be worth coming. You’ll find out more next week when we kick it off!

This week I’ll be teaching out of Acts 18: 24-28 so go ahead and open up your Bibles

Acts 18:24–28 ESV

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, 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.

Content

Today I want to teach from this idea, Passion isn’t enough. What I mean by that is, your outward passion and performance is not enough to qualify as “faith.”

Before we really dig in, lets set the scene for this scripture.

Last week, we talked about Paul’s arrival in Corinth and the moral shock that it had on him. He began to live in fear for what would inevitably come should his ministry be successful (which it was) BUT in the midst of that fear he met a couple who became encouragers and close friends of his: Priscilla & Aquila, these were well-known and influential individuals who Paul even makes reference to “saving his neck” in the book of Romans. Why are they important here?

Because they were the two who came to the aid of Apollos. We don’t know how long it had been since Paul left Corinth, but we know at least a year and a half had passed between his arrival and his departure. Some time after Apollos comes on the scene and begins preaching in Corinth, the location of one of Paul’s most successful ministries.

Now, who was Apollos? He was a native of Alexandria, which was an intellectual center in Egypt which housed one of the world’s most famous libraries at the time. That is important because it helps us understand the type of guy Apollos was. He was smart! Verse 24 says, “He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures”

What does that mean? One thing we have to keep in mind when reading the New Testament is that the New Testament hadn’t been determined to be the New Testament yet. For the New Testament believers, the Old Testament was the only scripture they had. That means that not everyone who was competent in the Scriptures actually knew Jesus, or had received the Holy Spirit.

A lot of times people like to from Apollos as being a good believer who was in need of doctrinal correction…its actually not the case. He wasn’t a believer at all! At this point its assumed that Apollos, who was baptized in the baptism of John, which just means he was a disciple of John the Baptist, he was obediently baptized into repentance, and he was looking for the coming Messiah. But he did not know the meaning of the cross. He was not familiar with the fact of the Resurrection or the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

He was a superb man who had a burden for the scattered Jews of the ancient world. He wanted them to be ready for the coming of the Messiah. That is what he was like before receiving the life of the Spirit. But…what happening to Apollos during the reception of the spirit?

Acts 18:26 ESV

He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Priscilla and Aquila recognized some deficiencies in Apollos’ understanding, but they did not correct him in public. There was no scorn, criticism, or rejection. They did not embarrass him. Only God’s grace makes us like this.

When I was in college I took as many classes from one of the professors I could. His name is Jim Beilby and he is a hero in the faith for me. One of my mentors. A friend. a Brother in Christ. and man oh man is he one of the smartest men I’ve ever read, spoken to, or listened to. There was one particular class I took called Contemporary Christian Issues where we talked about ethics and hot-topic theological issues. One of my classmates was, frankly, a legalist. He believed it was his way or the high way, and if you didn’t agree with him he would quite literally proclaim you a heretic and proceed to tell you why you weren’t going to inherit the kingdom of God. One instance stands out.

We had been learning about various theological issues, homosexuality, abortion, violence, spiritual warfare, you name it, we talked about it in class. And of course throughout the semester he and Professor Beilby had some disagreements- and considering what I just said about this dude you can imagine how those went. One day, he approached Professor Beilby after class and said to him, I kid you not, something along the lines of “Because you believe this you are a heretic and you will not be in Heaven when you die” mind you, the reason why he said this was because Professor Beilby taught on Egalitarianism, which is the belief that men and women are equal in marriage roles and that women can be pastors. Not necessarily the most important theological issue. At the end of the semester he took it upon himself to ignore the final paper topic and write about how the professor and his friends are all heretics. You guessed it, he failed the class. Now, why do I tell this story?

Because he did the opposite of what Priscilla and Aquila did. They saw Apollos’ errors in his thinking and corrected him by inviting him over for dinner and walking him through what they had learned from Paul. They didn’t yell at him, “HERETIC!” rather they probably said something along the lines of, “Apollos, brother, let us help you.” Now, side note, I don’t think my professor was wrong in most of what he taught- BUT! This guy is the opposite theological spectrum as me. We’ll sit down and i’ll look him dead in the eye and tell him I think he’s wrong…its part of what makes our friendship so great. He’s a Ph.D in philosophy and theology and here is a 25 year old telling him he’s wrong…and the best part is I actually think he is wrong most of the time. BUT! It has no impact on our friendship. He loves it!

The point is this, Priscilla and Aquila lovingly completed Apollos'’ theological picture. Apollos of Alexandria at this time became born again— baptized with the Holy Spirit upon salvation. This godly’ couple’s attitude made all the difference.

The Holy Spirit can work with or without us, but he has elected to work most often through his people. From the ground level it appears that Apollos would not have come to life in the Spirit had Priscilla and Aquila not been such gentle channels of divine grace. Life in the Spirit spreads through people like this. Want to know what I love about this the most?

Here is Apollos, a scholar to some extent, brilliant minded, and well spoken. Sitting at the feat of humble tentmakers (as we learned last week, that was their vocation), learning that he has had it all wrong. The truth of Christ and life in the Spirit come to those who are humble enough to listen and to be taught. This attitude is essential for life and ongoing growth with the Spirit of God. Every time we open the Word or talk to someone more mature than us in our faith we should be willing to hear and heed it.

What has your approach been? Let’s face it…High Schoolers are in the habit of thinking they have it all figured out and have nothing wrong. Which, lets just say for the sake of this example is true. You know everything, you aren’t wrong about anything, you have all of it figured out. With that attitude, how do you approach your friends or family that you disagree with? Is it a public argument where you try and win them over with the right rhetoric or theological argument? Maybe you yell at them thinking if you just talk loudly enough it will penetrate their skull and get into their brain? Or maybe you’re combative and don’t even give them a chance to ask questions or have a conversation. Do you look like Priscilla and Aquila? Because the reality is, you can only look like them with the help of the Holy Spirit. Do you need to ask for that help?

Finally, how did Apollos look after the reception of the Holy Spirit? So we saw that before the reception of the Holy Spirit he was teaching that the Messiah was coming, he was being a good disciple of John the Baptism. During the reception of the Holy Spirit he was a good listener who sat humbly at the feet of Priscilla and Aquila. After the reception of the Holy Spirit...

Acts 18:27–28 ESV

And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, 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.

Essentially, Apollos became a superbly effective missionary. It became one of the most well known and effective ministries in history. Apparently, some who knew both Apollos and Paul preferred Apollos! (Important to note, both men rejected the foolishness that came along with this) it says in 1 Corinthians 3:5-6

1 Corinthians 3:5–6 ESV

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

Apollos became one of God’s greatest ambassadors. Some, including Martin Luther (the guy who started the Reformation in 1517), believe that Apollos was the author of Hebrews. The point is, Apollos’ life shows us that we can lift others only to the level on which we ourselves live.

Conclusion

Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria, crazy smart, wicked good at teaching and holding a crowd, understood the Old Testament Scriptures better than most— could only take the people as far as he had come himself, and not one step further.

If you walk away with one point, walk away with this: Do you want people to overflow with the Holy Spirit? Then we must be full ourselves...

Galatians 5:22–26 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

We see in the life of Apollos the truth that none of us have it all, we need others to help us understand Scripture more and to grow more in Christ’s likeness. True disciples, like Priscilla and Aquila, impact the spiritual walk of others.

So let me leave you with this question, who is Discipling you? Because chances are…if you aren’t being discipled, then you are not growing as much as you should be.