Turn with me back to Acts chapter
18. Acts chapter 18, let's start with
verse 18. It says, And Paul after this,
we've been looking at chapter 18, he came to Corinth and he
met Aquila and Priscilla. and he preached the gospel to
them. And after he was there a year and a half, many people
believed the truth. The Lord said he had many people
in Corinth. And many people hated the truth,
and they rejected it, and persecutions came. It says in verse 17, the
Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and they
beat him before the judgment seat. Great persecution came. Verse 18, and Paul after this,
tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the
brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla
and Aquila, having shorn his head in Sincreia, for he had
a vow." Now, our message is specific tonight, but I want to say something
about this before we get there. All right? Paul shaved his head
in a vow before God. The reason he did this is because
he was going to go to Jerusalem to keep the feast with the Jews. That's what it says in verse
21. It says that he bade them farewell saying, I must by all
means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem. Now shaving his
head was according to Jewish custom. It was what they did
for this feast. It was Jewish law. And he's going to do it again
in chapter 21. He did it in chapter 18. He's
going to do it again in chapter 21. And I honestly don't know
why he did it. That's pretty much how I spent
Monday trying to find out why did he do this. I don't know.
I truly don't know. Robert Hawker said, this is his
exact wording, I am at a loss how to explain or even account
for this vow of Paul. So what he's saying is, I don't
even know what to say about it. And nobody else did either. Robert Hawker brought out the
fact that by this point right here in Acts chapter 18, Paul
had been converted for over 15 years. This was not leftover
baggage, religious baggage. And he also brought out that
by this point right here, Paul had already written his letter
to the Galatians, the epistle of the Galatians. And in that
letter he stressed, I mean he stressed, do not mix Jewish customs
with the gospel of God's grace. That's what the whole letter
is about. Turn with me to Galatians 1. Let me show you a few verses
in it. Galatians chapter 1. Verse 6, Paul wrote, I marvel
that you are so soon removed from him that called you into
the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another,
but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel
of Christ. Verse 10, he said, for do I now
persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should
not be the servant of Christ. If I'm going around trying to
do what men think I ought to be doing, then I'm not the servant
of Christ. Chapter 2, Galatians 2 verse
11, it says, But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood
him to the face. Because he was to be blamed. Now these men are apostles, but
they are men. Peter did things that were wrong
all the time. They're just men. And he said,
when Peter was come to Antioch, I was stood him to the face because
he was to be blamed. For before that, certain came
from James. A bunch of Jews came from James.
He did eat with the Gentiles. But when they were come, he withdrew
and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision."
He said Peter was wrong. He was a wrong example of the
grace of God. As soon as the Jews showed up,
he quit the liberty of being with the Gentiles and he got
back in line again with the Jews. All right, now look at chapter
3, verse 1. Paul wrote, O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth,
crucified among you? This only would I learn of you.
He's saying this is all I want to know. Received ye the Spirit
by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you
so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are
you now made perfect by the flesh? Chapter 4, look at verse 9. But now after that you have known
God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak
and beggarly elements, or rudiments, whereunto you desire again to
be in bondage? You observe days and months and
times and years, Paul was over there telling them, I've got
to get to Jerusalem by a certain day. I've got to shave my head
and I've got to get over there. I've got a feast to keep." And he said, you observe days
and months and times and years. I'm afraid of you or for you.
I'm afraid for you. Lest I have bestowed upon you
labor in vain. He is condemning himself is what
he's doing. Chapter 5, verse 1, he said,
Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath
made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Don't go back to that bondage. Stand fast in the liberty. So
along with Robert Hawker, I'm at a loss for words. I don't
know why he did that. It does not say in the Word of
God why he did that. It does not explain why later
on. It just says he did it. He did
say this, he said, I am made all things to all men that I
might by all means save some. So we'll leave it right there.
That's where we're going to leave it. Now I do have something for
us to take from this. Turn with me to Ecclesiastes
chapter 5. I do have something for us to learn
from this. Ecclesiastes chapter 5, look
at verse 4. When thou vowest a vow unto God,
defer not to pay it, for he hath no pleasure in fools. Pay that
which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest
not vow than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Here's the lesson
for all of us. Don't make a vow to God. We can't pay it. We won't pay
it. We will not pay it. God, I promise
you, if you will do this, I promise you, don't do that. Don't do
that. We will not keep our promise. It's better to not vow at all
than to vow and not pay. Verse 6, it says, suffer not
thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin. That's what would happen.
Our mouth would cause our flesh to sin. Neither say thou before
the angel, it was an error. Well, I'm sorry about that. Wherefore
should God be angry at thy voice and destroy the work of thine
hands? For in the multitude of dreams, in many words, there
are also diverse vanities. Just fear God. Just fear God. Let's not make promises we can't
keep. Just fear God. All right, go back with me to
Acts 18. And let's pick it up in verse 19. And Paul came to Ephesus and
left them there. But he himself entered into the
synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they desired him to
tarry longer time with them, he consented not, but bade them
farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh
in Jerusalem. But I will return again unto
you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus, and
when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up and saluted the church,
he went down to Antioch. And after he had spent some time
there, he departed and went over all the country of Galatia and
Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. Aquila and
Priscilla, they met him in Corinth. They left Corinth with him, and
they went to Ephesus. And then Paul left them there
in Ephesus, and he went on to the other churches. Aquila and
Priscilla did not want to separate from him. They wanted him to
tarry longer with them. But God's providence had them
stay there in Ephesus. Here's why. Here's where the
message starts, all right? Here's where the message starts.
Here's why they had to stay in Ephesus. Verse 24, and a certain Jew named Apollos,
born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures,
came to Ephesus. Okay, this man showed up in Ephesus. He was from Alexandria, Egypt,
but he came to Ephesus. God purposed for them to cross
paths with this young man who needed to be taught
some things. And it's God's goodness to believers.
God purposed for many people to cross the path of this young
man, and they're still crossing the
path of this young man. God uses means to teach His people. And Apollos is about to be taught
something here. Verse 25 says, This man was instructed
in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the Spirit, he spake
and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the
baptism of John. Apollos had been instructed in
the Word of God. He was instructed in the Word
of God. He was convinced of the things he taught. Because it
says in verse 25, this man was instructed in the way of the
Lord in being fervent in the Spirit. He was convinced. He spake and taught diligently
the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. That's all he knew. That's all
he knew, the baptism of John. Now turn with me over to Mark
chapter 1. Mark chapter 1 verse 4 says, John did baptize in the wilderness
and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. John
did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance
for the remission of sins. Now there are people everywhere,
and I do mean everywhere, that know, they know that there needs to be a remission
of sins. There are people everywhere that
know that. They know they've sinned. They know that something
has to happen. There has to be a remission of
sins. And there are people everywhere
that know there needs to be a change of mind. That's what repentance
is, a change of mind. They know that. But they have not yet seen the
remission of sins. You know that. There are people
everywhere that know there needs to be a remission of sins, but
they have not yet seen the remission of sins. They have not yet received this
new mind. They haven't met Christ. That's
what it is. They have not met Christ. They
stand up there with a fervent spirit preaching against sin,
preaching repentance, preaching remission without preaching Christ. Without preaching Christ. They've
missed Christ. All they know, all they've trusted
in is repentance and remission through the baptism of John.
That's all they know. What they don't realize is John
didn't trust in the baptism of John. John cried, behold the
lamb, right? But they've missed that. They've
missed that. They've missed him. They say
and they know that a payment needs to be made, but they have
not seen the pearl of great price. I haven't seen him. They're so
caught up in their method, they've missed the man. I know a lot of Calvinists. I've met now a lot of Calvinists
who have missed Christ. It's a shame, isn't it? They're so caught up in their
method, they've missed the man. It's one thing to know that God
elected a people. It's one thing to know that.
It's another thing altogether to know why God elected a people. It's one thing to know that Christ
died for those people. It's another thing altogether
to know why Christ died for those people. Go to Romans 5 with me. Romans 5, look at verse 8. But God commendeth his love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Why did God choose some sinners? He loved them. He loved them. Why did Christ
die for those sinners? He loved them. You know that? He loved them. Sinners? How could He love sinners? He loved them in Christ, didn't
He? He loved them. Look back at Acts chapter 18
with me. Verse 25 says, This man was instructed
in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spake and
taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the
baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly
in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they
took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more
perfectly. This young man bounced up into
the pulpit fervently, boldly. It reminds me of that illustration,
that young man who got up into the pulpit, just bounced up there
and he fell flat on his face. He was just so sad, he hung his
head coming out of the pulpit and that old man said, son, if
you would have gone into the pulpit, like you came out of
the pulpit. You would have come out of the
pulpit like you went into the pulpit. That was Apollos. He bounced up into the pulpit.
He was just letting them have it. Aquila and Priscilla were
sitting out in the synagogue listening to this man. He didn't have it. He just didn't
have it. Now, they were not doing this
to every young preacher they ran across. They went up to him
and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. More perfectly. They were not
just doing this to every young preacher. They heard that the
Lord had been pleased to show him some things. You can talk
to some people and it takes no time to realize this person has
no idea who God is. Have you ever talked to somebody
and realized this person has been acquainted with the scripture?
This person knows something. It's still clear that this person
is missing Christ. But this person knows something.
There's a difference here. something different. Well, that
was Apollos. That was Apollos. They could
hear that he'd been taught some things about God's holiness and
God's demands and God's justice, but they could also hear that
he was still missing Christ. He had some of Calvin's points
down. But he was still missing Christ. And the end of verse
26 says, They expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. Had Apollos stood up and said, This is all by the blood of Christ. Had he stood up and said, This
is all by the will of Christ. It's all by the work of Christ.
It's all by the death of Christ. It's all by the resurrection
of Christ. It's all by the obedience of
Christ. It's by the ability and the power
of Christ. It's all Christ. Every bit of
it. Salvation is the work of Christ
alone. Had Apollos said that, then his
message could not have been any more perfect. You know that? not anymore perfect. He could
not have described the way of God more perfectly. I thought about Paul, you know,
Paul left him. I thought about Paul calling
Aquila on the phone. Brother Aquila, this is Paul.
Hey brother Paul, how are you? Good, I'm in Phrygia. That young
preacher who came through Apollos, how was his message? Had he said all that, he would
have said, Oh, Brother Paul, it was perfect. It was absolutely
perfect. He pointed us to Christ. He showed
us Christ. He glorified Christ. We were
all rejoicing in Christ. We were resting in the finished
work of Christ alone. He didn't preach the method.
He preached the man. He preached the man. But that's not what Aquila and
Priscilla heard. They heard a lot of true doctrine,
but they didn't hear Christ. So this is what they did. After
the message was over, Aquila said, Priscilla, let's go talk to this young man. I think the Lord might be dealing
with him. Priscilla said, I don't know, honey. He's from Alexandria,
Egypt. It's all about learning over there. That was like Athens.
It's all about knowledge over there. I don't think this young
man will hear us poor old tent makers. This was God's grace because
outside of God's grace, he would not have heard those poor old
tent makers. But if God shines grace in a
sinner's heart, the Lord said, my people are going to be willing
in the day of my power. No matter who the messenger is,
they're not going to be listening to the messenger. They're going
to be listening to God, aren't they? So they went up to him privately
and they said, Brother Apollos, They called him brother because
if they missed him in Christ, they got him in Adam. So they
said, Brother Apollos, my name is Aquila, and this is my wife
Priscilla. Nice to meet you. Likewise. We appreciate you being here
with us today. We really do. That's probably the kindest thing
they could have said. The message was pitiful. Aquila might have said, wasn't
that a great text? Such a good text. You were just preaching on Noah's
Ark. I heard a man preach on that one time. His name is Paul.
Have you ever met him? He's an apostle. I heard him
preach on that one time, and he brought out something that
blessed my heart so much. I thought I'd tell it to you.
I thought it'd be a blessing to you. What is it? Well, He told us all about that
ark. He told us about the window.
He told us about the door. He told us all about that ark.
And then do you know who He said that ark was? Who? That ark is Christ. The one who was covered in atonement
inside and out. the one who God chose to put
all of His people inside. And when the wrath of God beat
down, that ark rose up to safety. That's Christ. And you know how
you made reference over there to that rock that was smitten
in your message? Yeah. Well, do you know who that rock
was? Who? That rock was Christ. That rock was Christ. And when
the law of God, and when the rod of God, and the judgment
and the justice of God struck that rock, life poured out of
it. That's Christ. I know that Apollos said, I've
never heard anything like this before. The reason I know that
is because I've been told the same thing. I've never heard
anything like this before. Aquila said, I hadn't either.
I'd never heard anything like it either. Apollos said, this is the most
amazing thing I've ever heard. Me too. Do you know whenever
the Lord Jesus Christ takes his word and expounds it to a sinner
more perfectly, do you know what they see? They see Christ. Daniel told me that he, growing
up, he saw Bible stories. We were talking, he was talking
about wanting to be baptized. He said, I grew up just seeing
Bible stories. That's all I saw was Bible stories. He said, now
all I see is Christ. That's all I see. This is the greatest thing I've
ever heard. It's the greatest thing I've ever heard. Aquila said, I'll tell you something
else, brother Apollos. You know that lamb that Abel
brought, the one that God accepted? That's what John the Baptist
was talking about when he said, behold the lamb. Behold the lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Behold the
lamb. Apollos, after much time, much talking,
He said, Apollos, if God has called you to preach, then don't
ever forget that every verse of scripture has a road that
leads to Jesus Christ. Your job is to find that road
and get on it. That's your job. Apollos saw, it's really not
about the method, is it? It's about the man. And it is. It's about the man. Doctrine is not Christ. Doctrine
is not Christ. It's not about the method. It's
about the man. It's all about Jesus Christ. Verse 27 says, And when he was
disposed to pass into Achaia, The brethren wrote, they wrote
a letter, exhorting the disciples to receive Apollos, who when
he was come, helped them much, which had believed through grace.
He went all over Achaia, preaching on Noah's ark, in the smitten
rock, and Abel brought a lamb. Whenever you first start preaching,
the Lord gives you a message and you go all over the place
preaching that one message. Can you come? Yes, I have a message. And Apollos had the word expounded
to him more perfectly and he saw Christ in it and he took
it to Achaia and he started preaching that message. And he told everybody
in Achaia, I heard a man preach on this one time, his name is
Aquila. And he brought out something that was such a blessing to me,
I'm going to tell it to you. Maybe it'll be a blessing to
you. Verse 27, when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren
wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him, who when he was
come, helped them much which had believed through grace. For
he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by
the scriptures, that Jesus was Christ. My margin says He is
the Christ. Jesus is the Christ. Everywhere
he went after that, after God sent messengers to him, he carried
with him a perfect message. A perfect message. It couldn't
be any more perfect. He told everybody it's all about
Christ. It's all about Christ. Behold
the Lamb. He didn't preach the baptism
of John anymore. He preached, Behold the Lamb.
That is the perfect message. It is all about Christ. Alright,
let's stand together.