This is Part 2 of 2 of Lesson 12: Gifted for Service: Philip. The material has been contributed this week by Michelle. Click here to return to the introduction of this lesson.
Philip follows the leading of an angel to go to a remote road. He doesn’t know what he will find there, but he goes in faith. Perhaps this shows that he has grown in confidence from when he fled Jerusalem in the face of persecution from Saul. He meets an Ethiopian of very high rank. A foreigner, from a culture far removed from his own. Philip hears the Ethiopian reading aloud from Isaiah and simply asks “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30, NIV) It is only after the Ethiopian invites Philip to speak with him that Philip starts talking about Jesus.
What we can learn about culture has many implications for Christian service. Here are some to think about (Adapted from Passport to Mission, Institute of World Mission):
The Gospel is a change agent – Before we can effectively minister in a new culture we must first seek to understand the culture within its own context, then we can share the Gospel most appropriately. We must build relationships and trust, which takes time. We need to show interest in others as people, individuals loved by God, not just potential conversions from a short-term international mission visit.
Different is not bad – Each culture operates according to its own innate logic. We must be careful not to condemn people whose customs are not like ours. The Ethiopian had the intelligence to rise to one of the highest administrative roles in his homeland. He would have been very well educated. I overheard a missionary once saying “We’ve got to get them to stop cooking on Sabbath.” I would prefer that the missionary focused on finding out whether the message of God’s grace had could be understood by the worldview of the local people.
Scratch where it itches – Because no society is perfectly integrated, Christians may find openings for witness in problems and questions people cannot answer from within their own culture. The Ethiopian had an itch that had sent him on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Philip was able to scratch where it itched for the Ethiopian by being able to share the good news of Jesus using precisely the passage in Isaiah that the Ethiopian was reading.
When sharing the Gospel with people from a different culture I think it is good to focus on universal Biblical values, such as love, grace, freedom of choice, caring for others and hope for the future. If we trust that the Holy Spirit will guide us in our witness then perhaps we will experience the joy that Philip would have felt when the Ethiopian said after such a short time together: “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptised?” (Acts 8:36, NIV).
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