During the time I worked in a public setting, I was fortunate to mostly work for those who were “believers.”  By believers, I mean that they believed in God and had some feeling of respect for the Bible. In my last job, many of the people I saw on a daily basis used some profanity and still proclaimed to be religious. Some saw nothing wrong with social drinking, but most respected that I didn’t and made no issue of it.

I’ve always been amazed at those who profess to be believers and yet easily engage in worldly activities, things the Bible condemns. This is sometimes even true of members of our church family.

It is difficult to address these issues with friends and co-workers, even under the best of circumstances. We really shy away from talking to strangers or new acquaintances about such matters. Even getting the nerve up to ask about someone’s religious beliefs or invite them to worship can be daunting, and it is especially difficult to correct someone who is teaching something that isn’t true.

We have such a wonderful example in the Bible, and I am so surprised that I haven’t related it to some of my own situations. We find the brief story in Acts 18. The teachers are Aquila and Priscilla, and the man teaching error is Apollos.

The apostle Paul met this couple in the city of Corinth. They were among the Jews forced to leave Rome by command of the emperor, Claudius. When Paul met Aquila and Priscilla, their relationship was solidified because they shared two common interests. They were Christians, and they had the same occupation. They were tentmakers.

We do not know if Paul converted this couple or if they were already Christians, but their love for Christ certainly held them together from this time forward. Paul left and sailed to Syria, and he took his friends with him. When they came to Ephesus, Paul left his friends and traveled on his own to Jerusalem. It is fortunate that they stayed because Apollos came to Ephesus. Scripture says he was “an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures.” He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and he taught about Jesus and the baptism of John (Acts 18:24-25).

Apollos was a brave man to publicly teach when even the Jews were eager to refute the teachings of Jesus and anything John the Baptizer had taught. He stood up in the synagogue and spoke, probably at the risk of being tortured, imprisoned, or even killed. Apollos had a problem that was more important that had to be dealt with immediately. He was teaching the baptism of John, not the message of the gospel proclaimed on Pentecost. Fortunately, Aquila and Priscilla were there and heard him. They immediately took him aside and explained “the way of God more perfectly” (verse 26).

This is not so different than our hearing error taught today. The way they handled the situation is one that we need to adopt as our own way of teaching.

First, they listened. They made sure they understood the message Apollos was presenting. Second, they took him aside. They didn’t interrupt him, which would have embarrassed him. They did it quietly. Third, they taught him carefully. They didn’t reprimand him or humiliate him. They carefully taught him that John’s baptism was no longer valid, and they explained “the way of God.”

Now, look at Apollos’ response. First, Apollos was willing to be taught. Second, Apollos changed when he realized he was wrong. Third, once he knew the truth, he preached it. He would probably have had to correct publicly some of the things he had previously taught.

We know that Apollos became an important man in the life of Paul and the church. Paul spoke of him in the first chapter of First Corinthians. The church at Corinth was in a state of disagreement about a lot of things. They had divided themselves into groups as though they were following different church leaders—Paul, Apollos, and Peter. Paul makes it clear that their attitude was wrong. We know from this passage that Apollos was still teaching and baptizing.

Though Apollos knew the Old Testament well, and had been educated by the best teachers, and been instructed in the way of the Lord, and had obeyed John’s teaching, there was something he lacked. When he was taught “more perfectly,” he responded immediately.

Let’s be sure we are studying to live right and not to satisfy our own belief. Let’s take God’s Word for what He wants us to do. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (Second Timothy 2:15 KJV). We need to also be willing to take someone aside that is teaching error and teach them the way of the Lord. Who knows? Someone we teach may one day become like Apollos.

Sandra Oliver