Lighting a candle, or cursing the darkness?

Note: This month I’m posting a series of devotional thoughts from Acts. Many of these are reposts, some are new. I’m “working out the kinks” for submission to a compilation of short, pastoral writings in Acts to be published later this year. If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please let me know!

“You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.” Acts 19:37

Paul had obviously upset the order of things in Ephesus. He was proclaiming a message that caused people to turn from their twisted worship, and the ministry was so successful that many abruptly stopped participating in occult practices and ceased supporting the local idol trade. Because this was more than a handful of Christians boycotting the industry, there was serious concern among those who made their living from selling religious workmanship.

So they were rioting, and were ready to tear Paul and company apart limb by limb to save their industry, but cooler heads prevailed.

What amazes me is the reason for these cooler heads. The city clerk correctly reminded these people that at no time during the preaching of Paul’s message did he rip them off or even blaspheme their primary deity.

That always makes me stop…

…and I think, “there must be a way to preach the good news of Jesus without having to actively go after and brutally rip apart other people’s belief systems first!”

Sometimes I wonder if the Gospel itself is a weapon that demolishes the strongholds and pretensions that set themselves up against God, and I wonder if we should focus more on simply and boldly preaching the true Gospel.

Because part of this Gospel is that Jesus alone is Lord. There is a choice that must be made between Him and other objects of worship. If that’s true, maybe we don’t have to go on the offensive like a cheap political campaign strategist trying to find the dirt on all the other “god-candidates”. Perhaps the proper exaltation of the One True God and the explanation that He will not share His Glory with any other is enough to diminish not only false worship, but all of the structures that support that worship as well.

Please hear me; I’m not suggesting that proper apologetics or exposing destructive objects of worship does not have its place, but that sometimes a Spirit-empowered preaching of the Gospel can bring freedom from bondage without us having to set up a website declaring ourselves as the “blasphemers” of what others are worshipping.