Get saved, but don’t leave until you get loved and taught.

Steve Brown:
Get saved, but don’t leave till you get loved and taught. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown. He doesn’t want to be your guru and he’s not trying to be your mother. He just opens the Bible and gives you the simple truth that will make you free. Steve’s a lifelong broadcaster, author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you have your Bible, open it to the 18th chapter of Acts and we’re looking at the final paragraph in that chapter and it’s about a Apollos. And we’re looking at how God used him and the developmental stages through which he went so God could use him even more. And we saw the first thing about him is that God had prepared him for that moment in his life, Acts 18. Acts 18 didn’t happen in a vacuum. Apollos was born in a particular place, to particular parents, taught in a particular way, went to particular schools so that he could become what Luke describes in the last part of the 18th chapter Acts. And then secondly, we noticed that the step ladder of development not only included God’s preparation, and this is true of you too, but notice that it included the brothers instruction, Acts 18:25 through 26. And we saw that when Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching and he said, that’s a mighty sermon and then Priscilla said, yeah, but he shouldn’t have said this, and he shouldn’t have said that. And they called him aside and they loved him and they taught him. He only knew about the baptism of John. He didn’t know all the details of what happened to him. And so, they taught him and then sent him so he could be used even in a greater way. There’s the instruction that needs to be made about salvation. Evangelism is not hustling souls for Jesus, it’s presenting accurate information, in an accurate way, at the right time, to the people God has chosen as his own. And when that spark hits that match, there is a fire that you can’t put out. Salvation is important, how it happens, what Jesus did, why he did it, what’s going to happen cause of it is very important to begin with. Spurgeon, I often say, and I pause sometimes on this broadcast to tell anybody who is listening and there aren’t many who don’t know Jesus. I’m not an evangelist, I’m a teacher of God’s people. But when I come on a text that has a salvation message to it, I pause and go through it and then even have a sinners prayer. And then I say to the people who are listening, from now on, you will never again be able to say, nobody ever told me cause I just told you. Spurgeon, 19th century, amazing prince of preachers and one of my heroes, would often talk about his death, in fact, and he was very human. He went through great periods of depression that required him to move out of the pulpit, and he couldn’t even preach, and he was very human. And, that’s one of the reasons people were drawn to him as well as the magnificent sermons that he preached. Did you know that Spurgeon sometimes when he would go to bed at night, would go to sleep, picturing himself in a coffin. , You say, that’s weird, man. There’s something wrong with Spurgeon. No, he was crazy, but he was crazy like a fox because he knew that you had to kiss the demon and when you kiss the demon, the demon lost its power. And so, he faced his own death. One time in a sermon in 1874. Let me tell you what he said.

In a little while, there will be a concourse of persons in the streets here. Me thinks, I hear someone inquiring, what are all these people waiting for? Do you know? He is to be buried today. And who is that? What? The man that preached at the tabernacle? Yes, they’re going to bury him today. That will happen, maybe soon. And when you see the coffin carried to the silent grave. I should like every one of you, whether converted or not to be constrained to say, he did earnestly urge us in plain and simple language, not to put off the considerable issue of eternal life. He did entreat us to look to Jesus. Now he is gone. Our blood is not at his door or our perishing.

I think that’s really good and make sure people are instructed in salvation. That’s an important message. But don’t stop there cause there are a lot more to the Christian faith than just that. You know the story and I probably told you when the famous theologian was asked what he had learned after his years of teaching, he said. I’ve learned Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Now, that’s a wonderful statement, and it’s true and it’s the most important thing, but that’s not all he learned. And thank heavens, that’s not all he learned. We need to immerse ourselves in Scripture. We need to learn not only about salvation, but to understand what went on and the council of God, about our salvation, about our lives, about where we’re called, about what this thing is all about. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we see a lot of Christians drifting off. A lot of Christians becoming a part of a cult. A lot of Christians writing books about how horrible their church background was. Do you know what happened? They were simply shallow. They had their eyes on people instead of on God, and nobody instructed them about God. That would be theology, the study of God. And the place you get accurate information on the study of God is in the Scripture. And so, in the developmental stage of Apollos, first he was prepared by God, and secondly, he was taught by brothers and sisters, especially Priscilla and Aquila. Now, let’s move to the third step in that developmental stage and first preparation, then secondly, teaching. And then notice in the development of Apollos, not only God’s preparation, the brother’s instruction. Note, the church’s encouragement, Acts 18:27.

And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed.

Why was he able to help those who through grace had believed because he had been encouraged by his brothers and sisters in Christ. I was a pastor, it was the first pastorate I ever served. It was on Cape Cod. It was a little church in East Dennis, Massachusetts. And it was picturesque, it’s the kind of church you put on postcards, had a belfry that rang out the hour and it overlooked the bay of Cape Cod. And it was a wonderful place. And I went there and was a pastor there while I was a seminary student in Boston. And I didn’t know anything. The older I get, I find out there’s a lot I don’t know, and it gets to be a bigger body of things that I don’t know than I ever thought. But in those days, I didn’t even know how to start. I had one sermon and that was it. I remember going to an early mentor who was a part of that church, Dr. John Stanton. And I said to him, Dr. Stanton, I told them everything I know today. What am I going to do next Sunday? And he laughed. Took me back to a back room at his Cape Cod house, and there were trunks and trunks in that back room. He opened one. And it was clear that all those trunks were filled with sermons. And he said, son, when I preached my first sermon, I thought that was all I had. But God has been faithful in every step of the way. And in that early church, there were five retired pastors who could have destroyed my ministry if they had wanted to be. If they had been critical, if they had beaten me over the head, if they had corrected me every time I turned around, it would’ve been awful. But do you know what they did? They encouraged me. They prayed for me. They stood beside me. They were my mentors and my friends, and I will be eternally grateful for them. And what I’m doing right now in this place, in teaching you on this broadcast has a lot to do with them. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thanks Steve. So few verses about Apollos, yet so much to learn from his story here in Acts 18. And we’ll continue our exploration tomorrow. We’ll save a seat for you then. So, Christmas is on the way. Yay. Ok, now that we’ve said that, can we have some real talk? With everything going on right now, sometimes it’s hard to get our hearts in the right place to prepare ourselves for God with us. Well, that’s why we would very much like to send you a special free gift from Key Life. It’s a booklet called Christmas Meditations. It’s a newly reprinted collection of Steve’s writings on the real meaning of Christmas, the Incarnation of God in Christ. The booklet also includes Scripture and devotional questions to help you focus and reflect on the impact of Christ coming. Get your copy right now by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE. That’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for the booklet. If you’d like to mail your request, send it to

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