Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.
Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. Romans 16:10

Apelles and Aristobulus are next on Paul’s greeting list. Appeles seems to get special treatment for a very specific reason. We don’t know exactly what transpired with Appeles but it’s obvious that this person was tested in some significant way, perhaps persecution or even torture. The point is, this person, whether male or female, passed the test of being faithful to Christ.

A while ago, the axiom “if your life was on trial for being a follower of Christ, would they have enough evidence to convict you?” While the phrase hints of a a “works” mentality, it also brings home a point: people are watching what we do and what we say? Do people know about our faith through what we say or do? What would we change if we needed to change?

Perhaps the real question is, if confronted with this reality, would we change?