HOUSEHOLD RELIGION
Acts 18:1-3, 18-19, 24-26 11/10/02
Let me introduce to you before we read God’s precious Word, Aquila and Priscilla. I have never truly met them until this past week. These are a Godly family. I believe the Bible teaches that faith is intended to be a household matter. You remember when the jailer said to Paul what must I do to be saved? Paul said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you shall be saved and your house. I believe the household of the jailer come to believe on Jesus and therefore became a household religion. Then there was the time Jesus cast the demons out of a man named Legion. Man Legion wanted to follow Jesus and preach the good news. Jesus said you go back to your family and tell your friends about Me. When Legion met Jesus he became a new man. He went from cursing God to caring for people. That is a good sign.
I have come to believe you really do not live the Christian faith unless you live it at home. If you do not live for Jesus at your house then I question weather you live it anywhere else. The Lord intends the Christian faith be a family affair.
I remember another family. In this same book we read about the family of Cornelius. He did a wonderful thing. He gathered together in his household his whole family and his friends. When the preacher, Simon Peter came to preach the house of Cornelius was saved. This is what you call household religion.
But I want to talk about this family of Aquila and Priscilla. There are three things I want to point out about household religion using this family. I believe what I have to say this morning will speak to all in this building. First I want to point out that theirs was a CHRISTIAN HOUSEHOLD. I don’t know what people can say about your family. They may say you live in a wonderful home. They may say you have lovely furnishings. They may say you drive a beautiful car. They may even say you own a lot of this worlds material. That is good if God has blessed you that way. But still they haven’t said what ought to be said unless they say you are a Christian family. Every girl and boy ought to have a mother who knows Jesus. Every child ought to be able to say they have a father who loves Jesus and leads his household by the book. A household where Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
Listen, if our household is a family of faith don’t mean we won’t have some problems. Listen, this couple had some problems. Aquila was a Jew and Priscilla was a Roman. They fell in love and got married with all that working against them. But let me show you how God worked in their lives for the good. We are told that they had to move from Italy over to Corinth because Claudius, who was emperor hated the Jews. He just told all the Jews they would have to leave. If you know what it is to just pick up and leave your business and home. They were going to where they had no friends. They did not know anyone in Corinth. But God was working behind the scenes. There is never a time that God isn’t at work in the lives of His people. As they were moving East Paul was moving West. They met right in the city of Corinth. Paul was a tent maker and guess what Aquila and Priscilla did? They were tent makers as well. They met Paul and begin to work together. Like all good Christians, Paul begin to tell them about Jesus. How that He died for their sins and rose again to heaven. He told them that God would save them through faith in this same Jesus. They got saved. You know I believed they blessed the day that they moved from Italy to Corinth. If they had not moved to Corinth, they would have never met Paul. If they had not met Paul they might have died and gone to hell. God works that way. God had Aquila and Priscilla to met Paul that they could have a chance to be saved. It might be that God has you here this morning that you can get saved. He wants to give you the opportunity to come to Jesus for Salvation.
But listen, they just didn’t get saved and forget about God. No they wanted to live their lives for God. You can see this in the next point. You see, they were not only a Christian household but they had a CONCERNED HOUSEHOLD. Everything you read about this wonderful couple you find they had a concern for people. When Paul wrote back to Rome he said I want you to greet this couple. They help me so much in my ministry. They risk their own lives for me. Listen they had another occupation. They were concerned about people so they would tell the good news wherever they went. When Paul moved on they staid back to win souls for Jesus.
Into that city came a young preacher. The Bible says he was Holy Spirit led. That means he could preach the stars down from heaven. I like to see preachers who believe what they preach don’t you? That would be the man Apolos. He was the type of preacher who would be standing on about two inches of his shirt tail when he finished preaching. Most Baptist churches would run him off today. Even as good preacher as he was he still needed some learning. He evidently did not have the depth in the Scriptures as he needed to have. But there were two who had that depth and that was this couple. They were good teachers of the Word. You thank God for the Bible teachers in your church. I believe we have some of the finest teachers you can find anywhere.
It was a Christian household, a concerned household, and finally it was a CHURCH HOUSEHOLD. Paul’s letter to Corinth said the churches of Asia salute you Aquila and Priscilla. The church you have in your house. They did not have fine buildings as we have today. They would meet in houses and preach Jesus till the late hours of the night. Listen folks we can have church walking knee deep on carpet or walking on sawdust. They had what every house ought to have. They had a love for God and a love for people. The best thing we can do for people is to bring them to Jesus. Men, women, is your household like that of Aquila and Priscilla? Make God the head of your household.
