Living Faith in a Combat Culture — Select Passages
Living Faith in a Combat Culture
October 9, 2022
This week's passages: Select Passages
We spent time in Acts 19 this Sunday, looking at Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and what it teaches about living faithfully in a divided world.
Three scenes, three lessons. First, Paul withdrew from the synagogue when people came looking for a fight. He didn’t quarrel. He moved to the hall of Tyrannus and taught there for two years. The result? All of Asia heard the word. Gracious speech persuades. Quarreling only ruins the hearers.
Second, the sons of Sceva tried to invoke Jesus’ name without actually knowing Him. The demons saw right through it. Authenticity carries power. Pretense collapses. Paul’s sincere faith had extraordinary impact because it was real, rooted in a genuine relationship with Jesus.
Third, a riot broke out among silversmiths whose idol-making business was threatened by the gospel. Enraged worship of Artemis stood in contrast to Paul’s message of love. We looked at Revelation 2, where Jesus later warned this same church: “You have abandoned the love you had at first.” Before doctrine, endurance, and good works, love comes first.
Something to sit with this week:
Where has anger or division pushed love to the side in your life?
Want to go deeper?
Read the full article at makeadisciple.org