A Gospel Believing Church-Bible Study 301

Acts 8:26-31    Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

I love how my favorite study Bible puts this; “This question indicates the diligence that is required in the study of Scripture. The Spirit of God does not eliminate the need for human teachers or diligent study. The Spirit is not give to make study needless but to make study effective.” The eunuch had been to Jerusalem and was searching for the truth. He had likely been taught the in the synagogues by the teachers of the day, but yet he still had questions. This is an incredible passage of how Phillip took the passage of suffering, and showed the eunuch that the One that would suffer was not Israel, but Jesus Christ for all humanity. Phillip showed the evidence of Christ in the Old Testament, and presented the Gospel to him. The eunuch came to know Christ as his Savior, and even was baptized, all by the leading of the Spirit, and the obedience of Phillip. 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

Sadly today we see so many trying to do Christianity alone. You could fill a book full of their excuses for not going to church, but all of their excuses are the plans of Satan becoming successful in their lives. Satan has always sought to divide the church, for he knows the power of a united church. Christianity is not a solo sport; pride is at the root of all the reasons to be a loner, and failure is at the peak of that pursuit. The Bible is very clear in it’s teaching of this ideology; Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. As the body of believers we gather together to encourage each other and learn from good preachers and teachers of the Word. A teacher explains the scripture, a preacher explains the relevancy of it in our lives. It is critical in your Christian journey that you find and participate in a Gospel believing church that preaches repentance, Christ alone, and spreading that Good News to others.