Acts 8:27 "And, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians".... 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?...
This passage of scripture teaches us that the personal touch must at times be incorporated into the gospel commission, wherever and whenever possible. On this occasion the Ethiopian eunuch was already on his way to the kingdom of God, for he was returning from the worship services at Jerusalem, and was reading from the scriptures in the book of Isaiah. But even though he took a deep interest in what he was reading, he did not understand the passages that were being read, and thus the Holy Spirit instructed Phillip to join himself to the chariot the man was traveling in. Upon inquiring of the Ethiopian whether he understood the particular passage of scripture, the man then invited Phillip up into his chariot so that a one on one Bible study could be given to clear up the matter. Let's read:
Acts 8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
It is worthy of note that Phillip was directed by The Holy Spirit to start where the man was at, and not go with some preconceived format that was learned in theological seminary. The Ethiopian had stumbled a bit in his understanding of a particular passage, very much the same as many people today do, yet by his actions he had shown that he was a genuine seeker for truth, and to all those who sincerely seek after God, Christ will reveal Himself. Now, while it is good to have a general format for the spreading or teaching of the gospel, yet as Christians we must make allowance for the impromptu situations, where a person may just have one sticking point to be cleared up. In such cases it is not necessary to go through all of the fundamental doctrines of the church, if the person has already understood those.
In our day we need to present the gospel with a personal touch, for in many cases people are already on their way to the kingdom of God, but there may be one or two sticking points they may not fully understand. One such point is the doctrine of the true Sabbath, for many sincere believers have adopted Sunday as the official day of rest, because they have been taught this for many generations, and so, in our interactions with them it is not necessary to go over the fundamentals of faith in Christ, since they have already understood that, and have passed that stage. In our daily conversations with fellow Christians, we may well ask the same question as did Phillip, "Understandest thou what thou readest?" and if the answer is no, then we should be willing and ready to administer the gospel commission with a personal touch, by offering to study the word of God on a one on one basis, to those who are willing.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which calls upon us to take the great gospel commission both seriously and personally, for it is in this context that Christ has promised to be with us until the end of the age. Let's read:
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless