Articles
How To Stop The Chariot
When Philip was sent by the angel to travel the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, and when the Spirit sent him, particularly, to overtake the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip found him reading from the book of Isaiah, and asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:26-30). The eunuch honestly replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” and then asked Philip to come up into the chariot with him (Acts 8:31). The passage in Isaiah the eunuch was reading contained prophecies about the Christ, but the eunuch did not understand of whom the writer spoke (Acts 8:32-34). Philip then began to explain the passage and to whom it referred, and Luke tells us, “Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35).
The very next thing we read is, “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may’” (Acts 8:36, 37). Upon the eunuch confession of belief, “he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” (Acts 8:38). What made him stop the chariot?
Today, we may make attempts from time to time to get our friends or family or coworkers to simply listen to what God's word says, with the aim of leading them to know the truth, believe it, and obey it. But that seldom happens. We have great difficulties getting people to study with us from God's word, even greater difficulties in getting them to believe it, and it is rare that someone, upon stating their belief in what they have read, is willing to "stop the chariot" and ask to be baptized. Why is that, and what can we do to help "stop the chariot"; that is, what can we do to get people to obey the Lord by being baptized, as was the Ethiopian eunuch? Can we do anything? Consider the following points from the text of our story.
The Eunuch Was Already Interested in God. The fact of the situation was that we are talking about someone who was extremely interested in God and His revealed word to begin with. The eunuch had traveled from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship God (Acts 8:27), indicating he was either a Jew or, more likely, a proselyte to the Jewish faith. The fact he had come to Jerusalem to worship probably meant he was there for one of the required feasts, too. But consider the dedication of this man, who had traveled about 1300 miles one way, in a chariot with no air conditioning on rough roads [if even a road, at times]! It's hard to get people to travel 10 miles in an air-conditioned car on smooth roads today, so how dedicated must he have been!
Don't let this story confuse you or be a source of discouragement, but let it be a lesson: It is those most interested in God to begin with who will be the ones most likely to positively respond to the truth of God's word. Consider that, in the explanation of the Parable of the Sower, it was the heart that was noble and good that accepted God's word and bore fruit (Luke 8:15); three out of the four eventually turned away from the word of God. We probably will see far fewer than one in four who positively respond today.
Consider, too, the Bereans, who were called “more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica” because they “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether” the things Paul taught were true (Acts 17:11). Note here that these individuals “received the word with all readiness” — they were ready to hear the truth! There will be quite a difference in the reception of truth by those who are ready to hear and those who would rather not hear it at all. Part of what stops the chariot is the heart of those who hear the truth, and that is out of our hands. That is hard to accept and sometimes acknowledge, but that is the way it has always been. We won't get someone to stop the chariot if they have no interest in stopping.
But, since none of us knows what is in the heart of others, we try!
Preach Jesus. The Ethiopian eunuch was reading from God's word, but he admitted he didn't know who the writer was speaking about. It was then that Philip began at the same passage he was reading [in Isaiah] and “preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35). That is important! If we are striving to lead people to know the truth and believe it and obey it, we must start with the one who is the world's only Savior: Jesus!
Jesus Himself said, “if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24), so we must give them words that will convince the hearer that the claim is true.
Preaching Jesus Means Preaching Baptism. The record tells us Philip began at the very text the eunuch was reading (cf. Acts 8:35), but it doesn't say he stayed in Isaiah; from the fact the eunuch asked about being baptized after hearing Philip "preach Jesus," and the fact Isaiah says nothing about baptism, we may know that "preaching Jesus" would necessarily include the teaching of Jesus on the matter.
Today, this may sound strange to many, who have heard religious men and women tell us salvation is by "faith only" [i.e., merely believing]. I submit to you that, as seen here, neither Phillip nor the eunuch accepted that. If baptism was "an outward sign of inward grace" as so many claim it is, then why didn't he wait for more witnesses to the baptism? In this case, only Philip would have witnessed this act, so no one else would have known! The fact is, the eunuch understood, because of Philip's teaching about Jesus, that baptism was absolutely necessary, and it was urgent that he be baptized right away. When he was baptized, he “came up out of the water…and he went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). He went on his way rejoicing because he knew that he was now forgiven of his sins, in the same way those in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost were forgiven (Acts 2:38).
Preach/Teach God's Word. Note well that Philip did not give the eunuch a long dissertation on theology and did not offer his personal opinion, but went to God's word to teach the man about Jesus so he would know who He was and what He had done. I am sure we all would agree that the man could not believe in Jesus if he had never heard of Jesus. John tells us that the things he recorded about the life of Jesus “are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30, 31), so it must be to the text of God's word we go to teach others about Jesus. If one believes based on our opinions or their idea of who Jesus is, without ever seeing the truth as recorded in God's written word, then it is likely their beliefs will be in error.
We Don't Stop the Chariot. As much as we would like to have the power to do this, "stopping the chariot" is not in our hands. If someone is convicted by the truth of God's word, they will stop it; if they are not convicted or simply unwilling to submit to God, they won't. Begging and pleading is not how we "stop the chariot"; personal conviction in the heart of the hearer is how it is done.
So, as we go out to teach others, tell them about Jesus, tell them all God's word says about Him, but only what God's word says, and let them "stop the chariot." —— Steven Harper
