THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

Examples of great men and women abound in the New Testament as the early church struggled to its feet. Those were difficult days as the nature of the Kingdom of God was being built by the hands of devout disciples. Among the early disciples was a husband and wife name Aquila and Priscilla. Role models are important for learning and the example of these two saints of the Lord serve as a needed pattern for the church today. What we know about Aquila and Priscilla is found in Luke’s history of the early church (Acts 18) and Paul’s letters to Rome, Corinth and young Timothy.

When Paul arrived in Corinth on his second missionary journey, he found “a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers” (Acts 18:2-3). Paul enjoyed the blessing of a Godly home that welcomed preachers to stay and work with them. The apostle had learned tent making in his youth and now enjoyed a common bond with these saints of God. Their home was a wonderful haven of spiritual truth.

Paul continued preaching in Corinth for a “year and six months” as he “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:11,4). Finally being opposed at the synagogue he went to the house of Justus and taught there. One can only imagine the wonderful discussions enjoyed by Aquila and Priscilla as they studied with Paul and talked of the days events. One of the great blessings families can enjoy in the church today is the hospitality of faithful men of God in their homes.

After some time, Paul left Corinth and Priscilla and Aquila went with him. Now we have a husband and wife who are willing to travel the world to help a gospel preacher in his work. We refer to these journeys as Paul’s missionary journeys but they were journeys of many people who traveled with him – many times suffering under the same conditions of the apostle Paul. The church needs more husband and wives who are willing to make these journeys to help gospel preachers in their work.

Aquila and Priscilla stayed in Ephesus while Paul continued on his way to Syria. While in Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla were in the synagogue and heard “a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man … he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out 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” (Acts 18:24-26). This husband and wife were bold to approach a man such as Apollos to correct him in the truth but their love of the truth guided them to seek his salvation. May their tribe increase for boldness to teach the gospel to every man, no matter their station in life.

In Paul’s letters to Rome and Corinth, he commends this couple as being his “fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks” and mentions “the church that is in their house” (Romans 16:3-5). These were not passive members of the Lord’s church. They were workers in the kingdom, even in the face of adversity. How fitting that Paul closes his last recorded letter with mention of their name (2 Timothy 4:19). Aquila and Priscilla are valuable examples of what we can do for the Lord today.

It is not uncommon in some churches (both in denominational churches and in those that supposedly belong to Christ) to hear folks complain about "doctrinal" sermons. "We don't want all that theological preaching!" they will say. "Just tell us what we're supposed to do!" Said differently: "We don't need to know all the right doctrines; just give us practical teaching."

Of course, this is not altogether a bad thing! Sometimes "theology" has very little to do with what the Bible actually teaches. It often confuses, clouds, or even corrupts Bible doctrines, instead of accurately explaining them.

But in a very real sense, there can be no correct practical teaching without correct theology. In other words, there is no right practice without doctrinal accuracy.

"Why is that?" you may ask. Simply because all doctrinal teaching is practical, it all has some kind of application! Doctrine is supposed to affect a person's conduct--how he acts or behaves. And so, one cannot know what he's supposed to do until he correctly understands the doctrine of Christ revealed in the Bible. It is precisely that--the doctrine of Christ--that motivates and gives power to practical application. Without doctrine, there is no practical application! In fact, often a misunderstanding of Bible doctrines leads men to disagree over what the correct practice ought to be. The point is that some people disagree about what they are supposed to do, because they do not correctly understand the doctrine of Christ.

At the root of the problem is an artificial distinction that we sometimes make between "doctrine" and "teaching." What do we normally think of when we hear the expression, "doctrinal sermon"? I would venture to say that most folks probably think of some theological explanation of some Biblical topic that has little or no real practical application. But folks, that, in and of itself, demonstrates a misunderstanding of the word, "doctrine" or "doctrinal." Let me be absolutely clear about this: there is no Biblical distinction between "doctrine" and "teaching." Doctrine is teaching! The truth is: all "teaching" is "doctrinal." And that means that all of our sermons had better be "doctrinal" or else they are not correct.

What we really need are "doctrinal" sermons that accurately explain what the Lord wants us to know and how that information is supposed to practically affect our conduct. We need sermons that accurately explain God's Word and at the same time help us make the application to our lives. Doctrinal sermons will be practical and practical sermons must be doctrinal!

So, don't you dare let yourself get bored with "doctrinal" sermons! Listen carefully to every sermon. To learn what the Bible teaches...listen for the doctrine! And then listen for practical application of the teaching...listen for that part of the doctrine too!

But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike … And he [Paul] stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

"It will come about at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not do good or evil!'" (Zephaniah 1:12) (NASV)

The theme of the Book of Zephaniah is the Searching Judgments of God. God, through Zephaniah, told His people He would find those who were "Stagnant in Spirit" and had lost their fear of God (become indifferent toward Him).

The expression "Stagnant in Spirit" caught my attention and motivated me to further study. The word stagnant comes from a Hebrew word defined as, "To shrink, i.e., thicken (as unracked wine), curdled, condense, congeal." It was a word used by the Jews, and it related to making wine.

After they crushed the grapes, bits of the stem and pieces of the skin would be in the juice that they poured from the crusher into a container. These bits of stem and skin would settle to the bottom of the container. They were called the lees.

If the grape juice was allowed to ferment with the lees still in it, it became thick and sour and was unfit to drink. Consequently, they poured the juice, except the bottom portion where the lees had settled, from one container to another. This was done several times until the juice was free of the lees. After that juice was fermented, it was fit for consumption.

Zephaniah was telling God's children, that because they were "at ease in Zion" (Amos 6:1) and rich in material things, they felt they had a rich relationship with God. This type of thinking had caused what might be referred to as practical atheism (Titus 1:16). Although they verbally acknowledged God, they conducted themselves indifferently toward Him. Their thinking had gradually degenerated to a level wherein they felt there was no reward for obedience or punishment for sin. Consequently, due to lack of spiritual growth, they became morally apathetic and comfortable, having indifferent attitudes toward God.

They had become spiritual fence straddlers. They had a saving knowledge of God. However, they had become so preoccupied with their abundant life style (provided by God), and attached to worldly standards that they were unwilling to let go of them. They felt they had found the perfect balance between spiritual and worldly values. This had caused them to become blind to their real spiritual condition.

Let us learn from their mistakes. We also, can become stagnant in spirit if we fail to make an effort to bring into our minds a constant flow of God's living word, which can wash out the decay of worldly values and indifference toward our spiritual responsibilities. Let's not allow our country's prosperity and ease to gradually lead us into a "Stagnant Spirit," which will lull us into an indifferent attitude toward Almighty God.

When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, I will seek" (Psalm 27:8).

Since God desires us to seek Him and is eager to be found by us, we should respond to His call with great desire. He having said, "Seek My face," our fervent answer should always be, "Yes, that is what we long to do. That is what we will do."

In creating us, God envisioned beings who would "correspond" to Him: creatures who would be personal in nature as He is (Genesis 1:27) and who would use their freedom to respond to His love positively. When we chose instead to use our freedom rebelliously, our personal link to God was broken. We were alienated from the very Source of our existence. The result is that now, instead of the "fellowship" that could have been enjoyed, there is only "death," or separation from God.

God, however, was not willing to abandon us to death. It took nothing less than the sacrifice of His own Son to do it, but God has made it possible for our sins to be forgiven. This means that the door is open to reconciliation with God. Having been created for fellowship with Him, we would have sought Him anyway; but if God had not opened the door to reconciliation, our seeking would always have been in vain. As it is, God can now say to us, "Seek My face," and there is actually the possibility that we may find Him! Indeed, He desires for us to do just that. He longs for the fellowship that has been lost, and He will even help us find our way back to Him . . . if that is what we desire to do.

But the question of our desire is really the decisive question, is it not? If we don't desire fellowship with God, then surely we should. Nothing would be more tragic than for us not to see that this is our greatest need (Matthew 23:37-39). But what if we don't see our need? If our hearts tell us that our desire is less than it should be, what can we do? We can begin by "desiring to desire" God. We can at least make the choice to lay down our rebellion against Him. And if our intent is honest, God will surround us with circumstances that will help us to be more open to Him.