The Angel And...

Keith McNeely
Preaches for the Curry St church of Christ
West Plains Missouri

Angels are popular. We see angels mentioned in several places, one town is called “the city of angels”, television shows and sports teams have taken up the angel theme Perhaps one of the most famous of modern times would be Clarence in the 1946 movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”. For a few minutes lets think about two angels that are mentioned in the Bible.

The angel and Philip in Acts 8:26 is available to teach us a lesson that is usable in our religious life. “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise and go” (Acts 8:26). Philip had been successfully preaching in the region of Samaria was here summoned by “the angel of the Lord” to go south and eventually join himself to a man that was returning from worship in Jerusalem. This man, known as the Ethiopian eunuch was reading his Bible as he traveled along, and Philip after joining him began to preach Jesus unto the man. The eunuch having learned the full gospel story is baptized, and he goes on his way rejoicing, giving evidence that his sins were washed away by the blood
of Jesus.

The angel and Cornelius in Acts 10 saw an angel in a vision and the angel advised Cornelius to send to Joppa for Peter, another preacher of the Gospel. To summarize the gospel was brought to Cornelius house were several heard and obeyed the command of baptism (Acts 10:48).

The simple, and concise point of these two accounts is that even after the angel made visit to the humble walk of humanity those in question (the eunuch and Cornelius) were still lost until they heard the Gospel preached from the mouth of God’s faithful preachers.

It is no different today friend, for you and I to come to Christ we must come via the Gospel truths found in the New Testament. Angels, claimed visions, or religious “experiences” do not save, but rather the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).