Romans 16:3-5
A HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH
Intro: A person cannot read through the Bible without
encountering several wonderful families mentioned in its
pages. There is that little family in Bethany made up of
Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. They were a great
blessing to the Lord Jesus. There is Timothy's mother and
grandmother, Eunice and Lois and the great impact they made
on young Timothy. There is the family of Mary and Joseph
where the Lord Jesus grew up and lived out His early years.
What a family that must have been!
In this passage we are invited to inspect another great
family. So far as we know, this family was made up of just a
husband and a wife. There names were Aquila and Priscilla.
This couple is one of the greatest families recorded in the
Word of God. The folks are mentioned 6 times in 4 books of
the Bible. Each time, they are mentioned by Paul himself and
this indicates that they were special to his life and ministry.
If we will but take the time to investigate the passages
dedicated to this special household of faith, we will see the
attributes that make them stand out among the families of their
time.
Tonight, I want to preach for a while on the thought A
Household Of Faith. I want to take the experiences and the
testimony of the Bible concerning Aquila and Priscilla and
show the attributes they possessed that make them stand out
as a family of distinction.
I. THEY WERE A HOUSEHOLD OF BELIEVERS
(Ill. If we will take the time to look at the passages
concerning these folks, we can learn who they were, how
they came to know God and how they came to serve Jesus
Christ as a household of faith.) Acts 18:1-3
A. A Family Of Distinction - These three verses give us
some insight into just who these people were. We are
told in verse two that Aquila was a Jew that had been
born in Pontus and who had, at some time, migrated to
Rome. So he is a Jewish man. Priscilla, on the other
hand, bears a Latin name, indicating that she is
probably Roman by birth, and possibly a Gentile.
There was a Roman family that was very socially
prominent about this time that had several female
members by the name of Priscilla. Actually, it is Prisca
in the native tongue. There is also a church of St.
Priscilla and an ancient cemetery graced with her name
as well.
If this is true, then it may be that when Aquila moved
to Rome, he met and married a Roman socialite named
Priscilla. As a result, she would probably have been
ostracized by her family and would have become a
social outcast.
(Note: Just as a side note: young people need to be
very careful about their choice of marriage partners.
When you marry someone, you marry their families as
well! Therefore, observe their backgrounds very
carefully. Also, be careful, if you are a believer, to only
marry another believer. To do anything else is to
violate the clear command of the Lord, 2 Cor. 6:14, 1
Cor. 7:39, and it is to invite trouble to be permanent
resident of your home.)
B. A Family Of Difficulties - Notice what the Bible says in
verse 2. Claudius, the Roman Emperor, was seeking
to reinstitute and recreate new interest in the old
Roman religions. As a result, he hated all religions that
were not Roman in origin. He is remembered especially
for his hatred of the Jews and he issued a command
that all jews were to be expelled from Rome. This edict
forced Aquila and Priscilla to leave the city and find a
new place to live. Certainly this move placed great
hardships upon this family.
(Note: Aquila and Priscilla were not alone! Every family
that I know anything about is a family that problems of
some variety. Think about it, the average American
family deals with problems related to economics,
materialism, pagan influence, etc. If there are children
in the home, the problems are only compounded by the
pressures they face in school from society and from
their peers. One of the greatest problems facing the
families of our world is spiritual. When families are not
Christians and do not allow Jesus Christ in to their
homes, they are headed for trouble I do not see how
they make it through the average day without Him! We
need Someone Who can bond us together as a family
and Who can help us weather the terrible storms that
blow against the family from every angle.
No family is without trouble and problems, but no
family should be without Jesus Christ! Some of you are
alone in your home! You are the sole voice for
righteousness! There are times when you get
discouraged and must feel like quitting, but let me
encourage you just a little tonight. You will never know
what an influence your life is having on those around
you, 1 Cor. 7:12-17; 1 Peter 3:1-2. So, keep living for
Jesus. Keep going to church. Be faithful to God and
trust Him to effect change in the hearts of your loved
ones.)
C. A Family Of Destiny - What, on the surface, must have
appeared as a tragedy was used of the Lord in a
remarkable way. When this couple was forced to leave
Rome, they traveled east toward Corinth. There, they
met a man who had traveled from the east named Paul.
Maybe Aquila and Paul met in the synagogue, but
where ever their paths crossed, it wasn't a coincidence!
When Paul discovered that this couple were of the
same profession as himself, he formed a partnership
with them, moved into their house and they worked
together to provide for their needs.
As they worked, there is little doubt that Paul shared
the story of a Jew named Jesus Who died for the sins
of the world. As he shared with them, they were
converted and came to know the Lord Jesus as their
personal Savior. What had started out as a tragedy in
their lives, turned into the greatest blessing they had
ever experienced. Such is the providence of God!
(Note: May we never forget as we fight the battles of life
that God is working all things out according to the good
pleasure of His will. What looks so bad at the beginning
may well turn out to be a great blessing at the end,
Rom 8:28.)
(Note: Think of how the Lord moved in your life to get
you n a place where you could hear the Gospel
message! His providence is a mighty thing! Thank God
that He will move heaven and earth, if necessary, to
reach us for His glory!)
Can you truly say that you house is a Christian household?
II. THEY WERE ARE HOUSEHOLD WITH BURDENS
(Ill. When a family is serving the Lord as they should be,
there will develop within that family a burden for the things
of God. He will impress His work upon their hearts. We
see this lived out in the lives of Aquila and Priscilla.)
A. A Burden For God's Work - Rom. 16:3 - Paul calls
them his "helpers in Christ Jesus". Paul isn't talking
about making tents here. He is talking about the work
of the Lord. He says that they are his partners in the
business of serving God. Notice that they even
uprooted themselves again to travel with Paul for a
time, Acts 18:18-19. Perhaps the nature of their
business forced them to move around some, but I think
they just went with Paul to be a blessing to the man of
God.
(Note: It appears that they had a special relationship
with Paul. There is not a single word of any contention
between them, whatsoever! Remember, Paul had to
confront Peter face to face, Gal. 2:11ff. He and
Barnabas had disagreement that was so deep that is
caused them to part company, Acts 15:39. He refused
to allow John Mark to travel with Him at one point, Acts
15:38. He rebuked Euodias and Syntyche about their
disagreements, Phil. 4:2. He even records the fact that
a man named Demas, had forsaken him, 2 Tim. 4:10.
We do not know the reasons behind these situations,
but it is safe to say that some of Paul's relationships
were rocky. Yet, even though Paul lived with this
couple, worked with them and worshiped with them,
there is not the slightest hint of a problem between
them.
Thank God for people like Aquila and Priscilla who
will not add to the burden of the man of God, but who
will help him as he labors for the Lord!)
(Note: It is also worthy to note that this couple faithfully
served the Lord wherever they were! There are some
people who are active in a church and then they have
to move to another place. When they get there, they
just want to sit on the pews and do nothing! That is a
shame! There are those who leave their Christianity
behind when they go on vacation. They won't worship
and they live like the world. If you aren't a Christian on
vacation, then what you claim to be when you are home
is a sham and a lie too! There are no vacations from
God! There is never a time to sit down on Him and quit!
If we are going to build a church here for the glory of
God, then it will have to contain some strong families.
There will have to be some who will get behind the work
and help it go forward!)
B. A Burden For God's Word - As this couple ministered
in Ephesus, they encountered and man by the name of
Apollos. The story of their encounter is found in Acts
18:24-28. He was a great speaker with great ability. He
was a who knew the Old Testament Scriptures very well
and was able to open them a declare their message.
He was bold, even entering into the synagogues to
preach to the Jews. But, he was a man with an
incomplete message. His message stopped with John
the Baptist. He was still preaching about the Messiah
Who was to come, not realizing that He had already
come. Apparently, Apollos knew nothing of the death,
resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus. He didn't
even know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
As God would have it, his path crossed that of
Aquila and Priscilla and when they heard him speak,
they realized that he had never heard the whole truth.
They invited him home for dinner and explained the
word of God to him more perfectly. I believe Apollos
received the message and was converted. As he went
on his way, he was mightily used of the Lord because
one family had a burden for the Word of God! In fact,
he got so good that a bigger church called him!
(Ill. Folks have it all wrong about trying to get rid of their
preacher. Instead of running him off, start to pray for
him, he will get so good that another church will take
him off your hands. Maybe you could try shouting
"Amen!" or "Hallelujah!" while he is preaching and he
will preach himself to death. Or maybe, you could just
show up for every service, love him and tell him what a
good job he is doing and he will probably just have a
heart attack!)
(Note: What's the point of all this? Well there are a
couple of lessons this couple teaches us about a
willingness to share what we have learned with others.
1. As they worked, this couple was able to hear Paul
teach and preach the word of God. As a result, they
learned much more about the deep things of God
than others were even exposed to. But, they did not
keep these things to themselves, they used what
they had learned to disciple others in the things of
God. So it should be with us! Jesus never called us
to be, always taking in. Instead, He called us to be
rivers. Letting the water of His love and word flow
from us to help others in this world, John 7:37-39.
2. They did not grow smug and snobbish in their
learning. They did not look down their noses at
Apollos because he did not know as much as they
did about the things of God. Instead, they opened
their hearts and shared with him. Instead of
laughing at the ignorance of another believer,
maybe we ought to take them aside and help them
grow in the Lord.
3. They did not publically humiliate this man. They
took him into the privacy of their home and taught
him the truth. There are people who will hear a
preacher preach and go home and mock him before
their children. They will make fun of the mistakes he
made. They will ridicule his lack of learning. They
will make fun of him and paint him as a buffoon and
as a joke. Then when their children grow up and
won't go to church, they wonder why. The answer
lies in the fact that mom and dad have created a
bad taste in their own children's mouths for the
things of God! By the way, you had better be very
careful when it comes to what you say about any
man of God, Psa. 105:15. Instead of trying to hurt
this young man, they tried to be a blessing to him.
That is what folk need to do. When a preacher isn't
as "deep" as you think he should be, don't ridicule
him! Don't talk about him! Don't mock him! Love
Him! Pray for Him! And seek to help him grow in the
Lord! Be a blessing, not a stumbling block to God's
preachers!)
C. A Burden To Be God's Witnesses - Paul tells us in
Romans 16:4 that this couple had put their own necks
on the line for Paul. We are not told exactly what they
did, but they were willing to lay down their own lives for
the Man of God so that he could finish his course. My,
how they must have loved him, John 15:13.
Evidently this couple was a bold witness for the
cause of Christ. By the way, the word "witness" comes
from the Greek word that we know as "Martyr". It has
the basic meaning of "one willing to lay down his life
for what he believes." This described Aquila and
Priscilla, does it describe you? If there is one thing the
church in America needs tonight, it is for her members
to be more bold in their witness. May we all come to
the place where we are willing to lay down our necks for
the Gospel, if it becomes necessary. No wonder God
used this family so mightily! By the way, he wants to do
the same with our families as well. Can He?
III. THEY WERE A HOUSEHOLD OF BLESSINGS
(Ill. Romans 16:5, speaks of the "church that is in their
house". This little phrase reveals a couple of blessings
that were enjoyed by this great Christian family.)
A. Blessed To Worship In Simplicity - What we know
about this couple is that they were faithful witnesses of
the Gospel. When they won some folks to the Lord,
they formed them into a church and they even opened
their home for the believers to have a place to worship.
They didn't need buildings, heating and air conditioning,
padded pews and carpeting. These early believers
had the Son of God, the Word of God, the Spirit of
God and the children of God. That was all they
needed and all they wanted for worship. They knew a
secret that we have forgotten. Worship is not about
rituals, formality, buildings and great crowds. Worship
is about God's people gathering to worship God in
the fellowship of His Son Jesus, through the power
of the Spirit and by the Word of God!
May we remember that true worship is about us
loving the Redeemer in an intimate way! Hey, we don't
all these trappings we have around us today. We don't
need this stuff! I am thankful for it, but all we need for
true worship is what we have already been given in the
Lord Jesus. So, whether we are on carpet or sawdust,
on padded pews or homemade benches, whether we
light with flourescent or kerosene, what really matters is
that Jesus is the focus of our meetings and the sole
object of our hearts. God help us to return to the
simplicity of true, biblical, simplistic worship.
B. Blessed To Worship In Sincerity - This phrase also
makes it clear that even though they had a church in
their house, they also had a church in their hearts.
Even if this couple had met somewhere else to worship
on the Lord's Day, they would still have had a church in
their house. They would have worshiped at home.
They would have prayed at home. They would have
met with God at home. This proves that they were
sincere about what they were doing.
Friend, if all you have is what you have at church,
then you don't have much! You need to have a church
in your house! Your house should be as much a place
of worship as is the church house. Is your house a
place of personal worship? It should be! May God help
us to live in a state of worship for His glory day by day,
John 4:24.
Conc: I think it has been clearly demonstrated that this was a
special family. They demonstrated a burden for the Lord's
work and were greatly used by the Lord in those days. They
were so influential in Paul's life that when he was about to be
put to death and he was making his final statements, he makes
a special effort to greet Aquila and Priscilla, 2 Tim. 4:19. May
the Lord help each of us to seek to be all we can be for His
glory. May our lives be like the lives of these two special
believers. Lives that God can use for His glory to make a
difference in His kingdom. Is your family that kind of family?
Is your life that kind of life?
