Dear brothers and sisters,
How spiritually acrobatic are you in your walk with Christ? The Greek word akrobos occurs in the New Testament 9 times. And it’s easy to see where we get our English word, acrobatic, from this Greek word. These occurrences of akrobos shed a bit of light on its various meanings. All four ways below, in which akrobos occurs, express the meaning of precision and taking great care. It’s just as one must be careful while walking across a high wire between two buildings. It is considered a difficult acrobatic feat.
In the N.T. the 9 occurrences and its usages are:
1) A Careful, precise research of a matter (albeit for evil intentions)
- Matt. 2:8 – Herod carefully inquired of the wise men when the star appeared as a plot to find and kill the newborn Christ.
- Acts 23:15 – Chief priests and elders wish to carefully interrogate Paul as a pretense to murder him.
We see in these two occurrences that evil men practice this kind of thorough and precise examination of facts with evil intent. Of course, the application for believers would be to carefully research a matter with good intentions. So the application and meaning of the word, akrobos, for believers, is to carefully research what the Scriptures teach.
It reminds me of the Bereans in Acts 17:11 “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (See also 2 Tim. 2:15)
What is our purpose in researching the truth?
2) Carefully researching and in addition, conveying fully this truth to others.
- Luke 1:3 – Luke carefully wrote Theophilus his research of the life of Christ.
- Acts 18:25 – Apollo taught with care the ways of the things of the Lord.
- Acts 18:26 – Aquila and Priscilla taught Apollo more accurately the way of God.
- Acts 23:20 – Young man explains more accurately to the captain the motives of the Chief Priests and elders, and their desire to murder Paul.
So when we know the truth, do we carefully and accurately pass that on to others?
3) Simply reminding others of the details and accuracy of a truth.
- Acts 24:22 – Paul states that Felix has accurate knowledge of the way.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 –Paul states they know fully that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.
4) The last usage of akrobos is not just carefully researching or conveying the truth, but also carefully implementing this knowledge of truth in our walk with Christ.
- Ephesians 5:15 says, “Walk carefully (akrobos), not as fools but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.”
But to accurately know the truth and to do the truth are two different things.
I remember when I first came to Christ, my mentor, Lee Patton, shared something with me that changed my life in a significant way. He referred me to John 8:31, 32 which says, “If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The life of a believer is not to sit and soak but to carefully and precisely put truth into practice. Lee explained, for example, that the results of carefully implementing what we know is true, brings two types of freedom.
- First, for unsaved persons, when they come to know Christ and clearly understand they are saved by grace apart from their good works, they receive freedom from the penalty of sin. It changes a person’s eternal status, and they become a child of God. Their destiny is changed forever. And they receive eternal life and are guaranteed heaven someday.
- Second, Lee explained that once we know Christ as a believer, then we are urged to carefully put truth into action. And as we implement the truth in the Bible, we will experientially reaffirm those truths for ourselves and grow in our faith. In this way, God teaches us, in a progressive way, how to be free from the power of sin.
So the question is:
What truth in the Bible is God calling you to carefully implement today?
It is my prayer that we, as acrobats on a high wire, may take precise and careful steps in our walk with Christ!
Warmly in Christ,
-Dean
