"And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized."
Acts 18:8
Part 1
Today: The Nature of Salvation, it is Personal, One Sinner at a Time
Evangelistic stories of entire families who learn of Jesus Christ together are beautiful! When each family member, father, mother, son, and daughter, have their eyes opened to the Gospel message at once, it is notable. If they each grasp their need for salvation and personally put their faith in Jesus at that time, it is a glorious sight to behold! A whole family coming to Jesus Christ at the same time is absolutely remarkable. Since there is joy in heaven “over one sinner who repents,” there must be great rejoicing in heaven (Luke 15:7) then. When one sinner or several sinners call upon the Lord for salvation (Romans 10:13), God is glorified.
In these days of grace in which we live, missionaries, evangelists, and pastors can tell of witnessing such joyful occurrences. We understand that salvation comes to individuals who put their faith in Jesus Christ; it is a personal relationship with Him. The Bible does not teach any “general salvation” for whole groups of people. Still, many sinners can be taught the Gospel and believe in Christ during the same event. This has happened historically over and over when the Gospel is preached. Pentecost is an excellent example of this fact. Thousands of people heard Peter’s message that day, and 3,000 were saved, then baptized, and added to the church at the end of his preaching. But think of it, each of those converted sinners came to Jesus one at a time, each one trusting in the Gospel message for themselves. Jesus taught that each of His “sheep,” individually, is important to Him.
“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me… My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:14, 27-28).[1]
Let’s watch as Crispus comes to faith in Jesus.
“And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue.”
Crispus lived in Corinth, as did many Jews at that time in history. He is an interesting man.
We remember reading of the times when Jesus went to the Temple to teach, and it brought down the anger of the Jewish officials upon Him. The leaders in Jerusalem knew who Jesus was, and they hated Him. They watched for Him in and around the Temple that they might attack Him and try to find reasons they could kill Him, “legally.”
How differently Jesus’ name was treated in this synagogue at Corinth, at least by the leadership. Crispus was the highest official in the synagogue, a very influential man among his people and the city. What he said was considered and followed, at least by the Jews. For several weeks Paul has been visiting Crispus’ synagogue to “reason” with and “persuade” the Jews and Greeks, each sabbath day (Acts 18:4). Paul was faithful to “preach the Gospel to the Jew first, and also to the Greeks (Romans 1:16). Crispus was the man responsible for each scripture read and every word taught there in the synagogue. He must have given Paul his undivided attention as he spoke. Yet he let him talk freely.
Paul’s teaching in the synagogue went along very well until one sabbath when he said….! Tomorrow we will find out Paul’s words that broke up that meeting and invited the wrath of the Jews present. See you then.
Quote: “Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way”[2] (A.W. Tozer).
[1] Verse 14 is ESV, and the others are KJV.
[2] Tozer’s quote Downloaded: Monday, February 8, 2021. From: https://www.christianquotes.info/top-quotes/20-awesome-quotes-salvation/.