Two Good Men

When one sees the title of this article, it might not bring to mind the two individuals that I plan to cite here. But the purpose of this treatise is to point out two really great men who served God but were not followers of Jesus Christ and were not in a saved condition.

The first person to be noted is the Ethiopian nobleman, finance office for the queen of Ethiopia, as we read about in Acts 8 beginning with verse 26. He was clearly a man of God; he had left Ethiopia and traveled on a chariot all the way to Jerusalem to worship and now was returning home; this is a long trip. He comes to our attention while he is sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah. Now this is a godly man! But as we read on, we see that he did not know Jesus. And the preacher, Philip, teaches him about Jesus and about salvation. He asked to be baptized and went on his way rejoicing.

We also note the man Cornelius, who is discussed in Acts 10 and 11. He is described as a "devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always." This for sure is a Godly man! But as the story goes on, we realize that Cornelius doesn't know Jesus and is not in a saved condition. Peter preaches to him and concludes his speech in Acts 10:48 with "and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord."

So the conclusion to these two accounts is obvious. It is not enough to just be a good man. It is not enough to worship God, give money to God's work, or to live a good life. We must be followers of Jesus and to do what He has taught us, i.e., keep His commandments. Here we have two good men who still had something else to do to be pleasing to God and to find salvation. And that, of course, is what we all want. Have a good week and see you next time.