Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian official in Acts 8 gives us very important lessons regarding our Christian lives, particularly our obedience to God and what the Lord wants to do through us.
In this article we'll take a quick look at these things and talk about how we can apply them in our own lives. It will be good for readers to read Acts 8:26-40.
Without further ado, here are a few important things we can learn from Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch.
When God leads the way
Acts 8:26-40 opens with Philip receiving an instruction from God:
"Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot."" (Acts 8:26-29)
This is one of those instances in the Bible where God Himself gives a clear instruction to His people.
Some make the wrong impression that when it comes to evangelism, God has to give clear-cut instructions as to who to preach to and when to do it. Well, the Lord Jesus already gave us the command in Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15, we just have to obey!
What we do notice here, however, is that Philip probably would've never thought to going to a desert road to preach. Who stays in a desert road that he should preach to them?
Well, there might be nobody there, but God knew better -- He commanded Philip to go there because an Ethiopian eunuch was passing by.
Philip, without doubting and questioning God, simply did as told and saw what God wanted him to see: His plan to save people from other parts of the world.
Think about it. If we'd be quick to obey the Spirit of God when He gives us a command (that's always in line with the Scriptures), what would the result be like? The salvation of other people, through the preaching of the Gospel, perhaps?
The necessity of evangelism
Acts 8:30-31 gives us a very important point to consider:
"So Philip ran to [the eunuch], and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him."
God set Philip up to reach the eunuch who was reading the Scriptures.
Some of us might think that since a person reads the Bible, he automatically understands it and is saved. Perhaps, some might think that the person isn't saved yet, but reading the Bible is enough.
Wrong.
The eunuch, someone of great authority under the Ethiopian queen, will probably be knowledgeable about things. He would likely be a man of intellect, since he would require it to manage "all [the queen's] treasury," but his intellect was not enough to make him understand Scripture.
Thus, his words "How can I, unless someone guides me?" should make us think.
Friends, have we ever thought of telling people about the truth of Christ? Today there are many who quote Bible verses without actually knowing what they mean.
Just because a person holds a Bible, quotes a few verses, and seems to sound religious doesn't mean they really know the truth.
We need to seek God in the Scriptures, and let others know Him too.
Christ is the message
Acts 8:32-37 gives us the best point of all:
"The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
"He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth."
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him." (Acts 8:32-35)
When we evangelize and share the Gospel to others, we must always remember that Christ is the very message we preach.
Many churches today use all sorts of gimmicks to bring people to church. Sadly, these "new converts" don't even know the real weight of sin; the true and unredeemed condition of mankind; the necessity of Christ's coming, suffering, death and resurrection; and the importance of repentance and sanctification.
They think Christianity is just having a God who simply loves sinners without punishing sin, and answers all prayers as if He's a personal genie.
Wrong.
We've got to go back to the very message we have been given: Jesus Christ. His sinless life, atoning death, and eventual resurrection is what we are telling people about.
That's what Philip did. That's what we ought to do.
