The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 18:4,11,19,28,
“Every Sabbath he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” “So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.” “He [Paul] himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.” “He [Apollos] vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”
In this chapter of Acts we see that the method of evangelism employed by both Paul and Apollos was one of reasoning, and that from the Scriptures. In just this chapter alone the Scriptures are referred to four times.
The Lord has provided our lives with purpose and meaning in his kingdom by employing us to further the gospel message and to build one another up. He has not left us without tools to do this with as he has provided us his word. In this chapter I see two men and a married couple who were very effective in their work by reasoning from the Scriptures.
The nature of the sacred library we call our Bible is a bit of a mystery to me, much as the dual nature of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God. Likewise, the Scriptures have their origin in a divinely crafted methodology. Peter puts it this way in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Clearly our Bible is from God and he used the agency of man to bring it into written form.
As I recognize the unique nature of Scripture as being inspired by God, I also recognize it is to be used as a tool to aid us in our evangelistic efforts and to build one another up. Just think of what it would be like if God had not provided us with this wonderful collection of inspired writings…
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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