Acts 14
Pastor John Edwards
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our privilege and responsibility are to present a confrontational gospel – not a coddling one. While love must mark our interaction with others, it doesn’t suggest retreating from the truth that there is only One Way to Heaven – by surrendering one’s life to Him. Acts 14 challenges you and me to present that truth with resolve, not self-preservation.
In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas were the talk of the town...yet they weren’t about to receive a ceremonial key to the city! Their confrontation of the prevailing culture made them the targets of a planned attack.
Next stop…Lystra, where they confronted the tradition of Greek-god icons Zeus and Hermes. This time, the opposition took its best shot at Paul, stoning and dragging him out of the city. His response? Get up and do it again in the next city!
Yet it’s the depiction in verse 21b-23 that challenges me most. Paul and Barnabas returned to the very places where they had faced vicious opposition. It was an unwavering resolve to “strengthen the disciples and encourage them to remain true to their faith.”
As you and I resolve to penetrate our culture with the confrontational truth of God’s Word, we can’t control the circumstances – or the reaction of others. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
It’s a privilege and responsibility to affirm what we believe, live it out daily and take as many people as possible with us along the journey. As those “committed to the grace of God for the work” (verse 26), we don’t deserve the honor, but we must embrace the opportunity with resolve.
It’s His will for us.
Pastor John facilitates strategic planning, while developing public information/ communications direction and serving in collaborative oversight of “Grace Leadership Network” development.
