Bible Study October 24, 2024
Acts 17:2 – 6 (ESV)
“And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.”
Imagine for a moment you are in that setting doing what you are called to do share the Good News of Jesus when a mob comes in. What would you do? I ask that question because many people around the world are being persecuted for believing in Jesus Christ.
These people were offending others because “they were turning the world upside down.” Our culture today is asking if the church is relevant. Things have happened to people in the church throughout history. Even with some unsavory things done the impact of the church in the world is still relevant today.
If someone disagrees with us they want to “cancel” us. Dave Ramsey recently said who he was voting for and followed it with these words: “”People have threatened me like, ‘I’m going to cancel you.’ That’s hard to do. I own the show and so you’re not going to get to cancel me,” he said. “So you can leave, but you can’t cancel me.”
As he did we need to take a stand for what we believe from what we have learned from the scriptures. Stand firm, do not waver, do not back down. I believe we will see a time when the church will be more persecuted than it is today. Religious freedom may be an election or two away.
“Now the church is not wood and stone, but the company of people who believe in Christ.” Martin Luther.
God Bless.
Asbury Chapel 