Daily Archives: February 10, 2009

This morning I am scheduled to speak at the Florida College annual lectures on the subject “Do the Work of an Evangelist.” I thought I would share a tiny section of the material I have prepared in a part of the lecture dealing with the importance of preparation (next two paragraphs).

The evangelist must be an approved workman who can handle accurately the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). A. T. Robertson wrote a small book nearly 90 years ago entitled Types of Preachers in the New Testament. He began with a chapter on “Apollos the Minister with Insufficient Preparation.” Apollos was eloquent (learned, cultured) and “mighty in the Scriptures” (Acts 18:24). We understand that his knowledge was incomplete, but that he was willing to learn. Robertson’s comment is apropos for today.

There is hope for the man who is ready to learn. One is never too old to learn. The minister who is always learning will always have a hearing. There is no deadline for him. That comes the minute one stops learning. Apollos is a rebuke to the preacher who is content to preach his old sermons through the years without reading the new books or mastering the old ones. Here is a profound student of the Scriptures, a master in Old Testament interpretation, who is glad to sit at the feet of Priscilla and Aquila and learn more of Jesus. That is the place for all of us, at the feet of anyone who can teach us more about Jesus. We cannot know too much about Him. We cannot be too accurate in our knowledge of Him. (24)

Paul, Timothy, Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila were all associated with the work of the gospel at Ephesus (Acts 18:24-19:1; 1 Timothy 1:3). The photo below shows the ruins of the Arcadian Way. This street led from the theater to the harbor. The harbor is now dry, but must have been used by all of these characters in their contact with the city of Ephesus.

The Arcadian Way at Ephesus. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.