“Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.” Acts 8:5

Image © Providence Collection from GoodSalt.com

This week’s lesson on Philip as Missionary takes us back to the good ole days. Those were the days when the preaching of Christ and Christ alone was sufficient. Those were the days when it was all about the spreading of the word of God. Yes those were the good ole days.

Our study of Philip launches during a time of severe persecution to the early church. This was more than just having your rights infringed upon and perhaps disrespected in the marketplace. This was a round them up and lock them up time. It costs dearly to name the name of Christ.

We could draw many lessons about how the early church handled this time of persecution. For today, our attention is drawn to the result of their persecution. Did the church collapse and die away? Did the church organize itself against this tyranny and morph into a political power to defend itself? The answer is given in one sentence of scripture.

“Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” Acts 8:4

The net result of this horrific time of persecution was that the word of God was spread abroad. That’s it; but that says a lot. It tells us that the spreading of the word of God was their mission in life. It tells us that they used the bad to bring good to more people. It was all about the word and Jesus Christ. Those were the good ole days.

Today, in many of our homes the word of God is an unopened book or an unused smart phone app. We have found that we can claim religion without being too religious. We learned (or memorized) the key doctrines of the church and we feel no pressing need for more. This may not apply to you (Praise God) but for far too much of my Christian experience, I have been guilty of operating on auto-pilot.

The evidence of the decline of importance of the word of God in our lives is magnified in our churches. From week to week in many of our churches the word of God has taken a back seat to doing church. Our once a week morning times for greater Bible study called Sabbath School is dying a slow death. Our times of congregational worship, which can last for hours, many times only includes a few minutes of actual Bible study. It has now become more about the experience and how to attract the masses. We honestly don’t believe that preaching the word of God is enough in today’s busy world.

But Philip, our subject of this week, points us to a better way. He simply preached Christ.

Sounds too simplistic? Let’s look at his case study. We can safely assume that Philip was dedicated to his calling in life. His devoutness and character was affirmed by the laying on of hands. The Bible is silent on how Philip lived before his connection to the church but it makes clear that as a member of the early church, he gave his full attention to preaching Christ.

In the city of Samaria, not a place anyone would consider promising for the gospel, multitudes accepted the teaching of Philip. The miracles that accompanied the preaching of Christ only added to the success of Philip’s endeavors. “And there was great joy in that city.” And this was all a result of persecution.

Next we find Philip beside the chariot of the Ethiopian who is reading aloud a passage from the scriptures. After being invited into the chariot Philip explained the passage of scripture that this man of great authority was perplexed to understand. Consistent with what we know about Philip, he preached Christ.

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.” Acts 8:35

The resulting baptism of the eunuch of Ethiopia gives another evidence of the power of preaching Christ. It reminds us of the promise Christ himself gave. It was both a literal and figurative promise.

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” John 12:32

The story of Philip is another evidence of the simplicity of the gospel. It can be argued that as times change, methods of spreading the gospel must change. The lack of success may be attributed to outdated ways of evangelism. But maybe, just maybe, in all of our doing we have failed to keep the main thing the main thing – the preaching of Christ and Him crucified. Just like it was in the good ole days.

Here are a few Hit the Mark questions for this week’s lesson discussion:

• What does “preaching Christ” mean to you?
• Knowing there was no new testament during the days of the early church, how could they have preached Christ?
• Is it true that we are called to the particular role of primarily preaching and teaching the Sabbath and obedience to the commandments? Explain your answer.
• Why, if at all, would a non-believer find the story of Christ a compelling reason to join His church?
• Is it true that God is pleased with our passionate corporate worship even if we neglect (or ignore) His word? Why yes or no?
• Is the following statement True, Mostly True, Somewhat True or Not True: The preaching and teaching of the word of God is not enough to attract non-believers in this fast paced world. Explain your answer.

We close this week with an accusation against Paul and Silas as they preached the word and Jesus Christ in Thessalonica. It’s an accusation against the church that will one day be repeated. And I’m believing for the very same reasons.

“These that have turned the world upside down” Acts 17:6

Until next week, let’s all continue to Hit the Mark in Sabbath School!

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