The Titanic sank over a century ago. The 20 lifeboats, capable of saving only 1178 of the 2208 on board pushed away half-full, saving only 705. Why didn’t those on them save more? Perhaps it was fear or lack of preparation in the panic of the survival situation? Perhaps in their selfishness they judged those not on the lifeboats as either not worthy of saving or that their addition would swamp their vessel of salvation?
Like the ship, this world is sinking to its final destruction. Each local body of the Lord’s church is a lifeboat that is only partially filled. Rather than do the Lord’s job of judgment about who can climb in or is excluded, we need to be about ours of encouraging and teaching the way of God more accurately to those who don’t yet know it (Mark 9:38-41).
I. Matthew 7:13-14. A spokesman for the disciples posed the situation of a man doing good works in Jesus’ name as a problem because he was not following “us.” After all, Jesus himself had earlier spoken of the few who were on the narrow path that led to eternal life while the many were heading to destruction. That is not what Jesus understood was happening. Where the followers saw this as a situation of division (1 Corinthians 1:10), God in the flesh saw one who was perhaps not yet His follower (2 Peter 3:9).
II. Acts 19:1-7. When we see people in other lifeboats or in areas where several local bodies of the Lord’s church meet, those who have gone from our lifeboat to another, we pray that their vessel is sound enough to save them. But what about those treading the icy water or are just clinging to debris? When Paul encountered “disciples” who hadn’t heard of the Holy Spirit and knew only John’s baptism, he sought to fill his lifeboat by preaching the gospel. While maintaining the distinction between “us” and “him,” Jesus told his followers not to stop the man doing good works in His name “for the one who is not against us is for us.”
III. Acts 18:24-26. As a Jew, Apollos was not part of the new covenant in Christ, although God had given him many skills and he taught about Jesus as accurately as he knew. He would be one today that many in their partially-filled lifeboat would uncaringly watch float by while he clung well to a piece of the wreckage. Not Priscilla and Aquila. They “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” While we dismiss many Apollos-es as not doing the will of the Father, Jesus reminds us that judgment and the giving of rewards is His job (Matthew 7:21-23) while ours is to fill the lifeboat (Matthew 20:18-20).
The way of salvation is indeed narrow and few find it, but it is not up to us to designate who those few are. Rather, understanding that those who are not against us are for us, are you filling your lifeboat?
