Biblical Evidence
To help people achieve
saving faith in Jesus Christ,
we should help them understand
from Scripture what God says
about this experience.
Here's Dr. Gene Getz:
Now as we have looked at the book of Acts,
as we have observed people
responding to the gospel,
we've had a lot of references
to people generally believing.
For example, after Peter preached,
there were three thousand who believed.
Later on, there were five thousand men,
representing probably households that believed.
On several occasions, we read,
and many more believed.
So heretofore in the book of Acts,
we have the generalizations about believing.
But now Luke, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, wants us to see
specific examples of what belief really is.
And what we've just seen
in the previous Principle
is a man who did not have
an authentic experience in faith.
An extreme illustration, obviously,
of false motives.
But now, and I don't think it's by an accident
that back to back here we have
another illustration of what real faith is.
And it involves a man that was an Ethiopian.
In fact he's called an Ethiopian eunuch.
So in Acts chapter 8, beginning in verse 26,
notice it says:
An angel the Lord spoke to Philip...
Now remember, Philip is in Samaria.
Philip has been ministering.
Many people are coming to faith.
But at this point in time in his experience,
he has this very, very direct experience
that is miraculous.
An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: ...
Now that is miraculous.
That's another one of those unique experiences
that we see in the book of Acts.
This angel of the Lord said:
..."Get up and go south to the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza."
(This is the desert road.)
So he got up and went. ...
Now geographically, just to help you
gain a perspective of this, remember
this Ethiopian eunuch was in Jerusalem.
And he is now in a chariot
heading towards the Gaza.
And you can see that illustrated.
And that's the setting
now in relationship to the angel of the Lord
giving Philip some direct instruction.
And this is what we read here.
...There was an Ethiopian man,
a eunuch [and] high official of Candace,
queen of the Ethiopians, who was
in charge of her entire treasury.
He had come to worship in Jerusalem
and was sitting in his chariot on his way home
reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.
The Spirit told Philip...
And again, you have a very direct revelation.
The Spirit actually spoke to him verbally.
..."Go and join that chariot."
Now remember what happened
on the day of Pentecost.
And this map helps us to understand that
once the Holy Spirit came on the apostles,
they got up and spoke
all these different languages.
And they came from all of these
different places.
From Rome and Asia.
These people that were there
worshiping in Jerusalem.
God-fearing Grecian Jews.
But notice, they were there from Egypt.
It says very specifically from Egypt.
Now it is possible that this Ethiopian eunuch
had come to Jerusalem as a Gentile
to worship God.
And to discover more about God.
Because of his influence from Judaism.
And if it's so, he's on his way back.
But notice something very unique happened
in relationship to this situation.
We have a remarkable encounter
with Philip and this Ethiopian eunuch.
By the way, this is not referring
to modern Ethiopia.
This is ancient Ethiopia.
It was considered the ends of the earth.
And that's rather significant.
Because remember, Jesus said to the apostles:
You'll begin in Jerusalem,
then in Samaria, and then to the
ends of the earth.
In those days, this was a long way away:
[So] when Philip ran up to it, [that is the chariot]
he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah...
Now think about that.
...reading the prophet Isaiah, and said,
"Do you understand what
you're reading?" [And the eunuch said,]
"How can I," he said,
"unless someone guides me?"
So he invited Philip to come up
and sit with him.
Now think about this.
He didn't go into a bookstore
and buy a copy of Isaiah the prophet.
These were hand written, copied scrolls
that were hidden away.
Very difficult to obtain.
This man was a very wealthy man
to be able to buy a scroll of Isaiah.
And he's reading from this scroll.
And as I was thinking about that,
I was thinking about the wonderful experience.
And if you ever have an opportunity
to go to the "Shrine of the Book"
in Jerusalem--some of you've been there.
And you'll notice from this picture,
the shrine actually simulates a jar.
Which represents the fact that the
Dead Sea Scrolls were found in these caves.
In jars. Preserved.
And in that Shrine of the Book museum,
you will see a copy of the scroll of Isaiah.
You get a close-up there.
But you can also see a large drum,
where that whole scroll circles that drum.
The whole of the book of Isaiah.
And here, this Ethiopian eunuch had this scroll.
And he's reading from it.
Now what fascinates me
is I've stood at that drum.
And I asked our guide, who was Jewish,
understood Hebrew.
I said: Can you find Isaiah 53?
And he stood there
and remember, this scroll
did not have paragraphs.
It did not have verses.
It did not have numbers.
And this scroll, by the way,
that we were looking at--
the copy--from the discoveries
of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Which was one of the best preserved copies
of the Old Testament that was
in all of these scrolls.
That scroll that was copied,
went back another thousand years.
Another thousand years
before the previous Scrolls that they had.
Which verified and it was almost identical
a thousand years further back in history.
And I remember the guide discovered
Isaiah 53 and he began to read it.
From that scroll.
Well this prophet--or this eunuch
is reading from this scroll: Isaiah 53.
And so he invited Philip to come up.
Here's what we read in this particular situation:
Now the Scripture passage he was reading
was this [and he's quoting Isaiah 53]:
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb is silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will describe his generation?
And what we have here is an incredible
reference to the power of Scripture.
...For his life is taken from the earth.
The eunuch said to Philip,
"I ask you, who is the prophet
saying this about-- ...
They're talking about Isaiah's message.
...himself or someone else?"
[And] Philip proceeded to tell him
the good news about Jesus,
beginning with that Scripture.
Now we're not sure [of] everything.
He may have spent three hours
sitting there beside him,
explaining the birth of Christ.
And explaining the life and ministry of Christ.
And quoting from the Old Testament.
And referring to Bethlehem
as the place of birth.
He may have, of course, talked about
the death of Christ.
And then the resurrection of Christ.
And notice, there was a tremendous response
on the part of this man.
As they were traveling down the road,
they came to some water.
[And] the eunuch said, "Look, there's water.
What would keep me from being baptized?"
[And] so he ordered the chariot to stop,
and both Philip and the eunuch
went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
Now here you have a very unique
conversion experience.
An exceptional, certainly, experience.
But a very specific illustration how God
used the Word of God to bring
this man to faith.
And we don't see him working
any signs or miracles.
Perhaps the eunuch had seen that in Jerusalem.
But he came to faith through the Scriptures.
But he did have an opportunity to see a miracle.
Because after he was baptized
notice what happened.
A miraculous departure.
When they came up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away,
and the eunuch did not see him any longer
but went on his way rejoicing.
Philip appeared in Azotus,
and he was traveling and preaching the gospel
in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Now that was a miracle.
And if you look at this text carefully,
literally it seems to refer to the fact
that the Holy Spirit transported Philip
bodily from one place to another.
Now that is unique.
I've never heard of anyone
since the time of Philip having
this kind of experience.
There was a man who came to Christ, supposedly.
And was promoting in a foreign culture.
And actually claimed that the Holy Spirit
transported him from one place to another.
Well guess what?
It was a fraud.
This is a miracle that stands out
in the book of Acts.
But it's one that relates to the fact
that Philip ministered to this individual
from the Scriptures.
And it was the Scriptures that
brought him to faith in Jesus Christ.
So we see a very important question
I think for application:
Why are the Scriptures so important
in helping people have
a real born-again experience?
Well God knows that we need content.
We don't need just the emotionalism.
We don't need just stories.
We don't need just something
that touches our feelings.
We need something that has substance.
And that's why God began
to reveal the Word of God at Mount Sinai
to the children of Israel.
When he spoke from Mount Sinai,
"Thou shall have no other gods before me."
But then he inscribed the
Ten Commandments on stone.
And then he inspired Moses to record
the first five books of the
Old Testament--the Pentateuch.
This is why he inspired the prophets
who first spoke and then they wrote.
That's why he called the apostles.
Who first spoke and then they wrote.
Which gives us the essence
of the New Testament.
And today we have in our hands
the wonderful gift of Scripture.
I love to reflect on Billy Graham's ministry.
And so many times I've seen him on television.
When he gave those messages.
And how many times did he say:
The Bible says.
There is power in the Word of God.
And we have that available to us today.
I love Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12:
For the word of God is living and effective
and sharper than any double-edged sword,
penetrating as far as the
separation of soul and spirit,
joints and marrow.
It is able to judge the thoughts
and intentions of the heart.
So let's remember this Principle to Live By:
To help people achieve
saving faith in Jesus Christ,
we should help them understand
from Scripture what God says
about this experience.