GREAT HELP
Acts 18:27-28 NKJV
27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
Apollos is the only person in the New Testament who has anything mentioned about his speaking ability. All the other New Testament authors never list any superlatives regarding preaching or teaching. Preachers are called faithful servants or fellow soldiers, but that is about it. Paul stringently corrected the Corinthian church, who was dividing along the lines of their favorite preachers. Paul was having none of it. He referred to himself and others as those who plant seed or water seed, but it was God who gave the increase. So, when Luke calls Apollos an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures that is the highest praise given to a speaker.
When Apollos went into Achaia, he was a great help to those who had believed through grace. His help must have been significant among the Jews who believed in Jesus. The words through grace would show that these were Jewish individuals who were basing their faith on Jesus and His death, burial, and resurrection for their salvation. Grace indicates that there was no work involved. The basic tenets of Judaism were very much based on keeping the Jewish laws. This was a very works-oriented religious culture. So, when Paul came preaching that keeping the law was not important, it flew in the face of Jewish tradition.
This works versus grace was a constant challenge for the early church. Paul would go to an area preaching the grace of the Lord Jesus. And often, right behind him would come the people preaching circumcision and keeping the law of Moses. These antagonist religious Jews were a continual problem and source of frustration for Paul. And they were a constant problem for the new believers who did not have a good way to refute these Jewish preachers.
When Apollos showed up, he was a great help because he gave the believers a scriptural basis of belief. Apollos would refute the Jews publicly. And his opposition to the Jews was based on Scripture, not opinion. That is where the great help came in. When Apollos came, he championed salvation through grace and had the scriptures to back up his position. Showing from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ gave ammunition to a beleaguered group of young believers. Now they had something to stand on, and someone who could, in effect, shut the mouths of the preachers trying to drag the new believers back under the law of Moses.
APPLICATION
When you have a solid scriptural basis for your beliefs, you are standing on solid ground. Over the years, we developed a saying around The Ark. Don’t get mad; get Scripture. In other words, don’t get upset if our teaching is different from what you have learned in the past. Find scriptures, plural, that back up your position.
I have noticed that often when people write to me to complain about something that was said or something they think should be said, they rarely ever include scriptures to support their opinions. Without a scriptural basis, opinions are just that, opinions. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 that if we continue in His word, we are His disciples. And based on that word, we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free. That is what Apollos did for the believers in Achaia. He gave them scriptural truth that set them free from Jewish law and traditions. And that is a great help.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your word. Your words are the truth that strengthens me and makes me free.