Acts 19
Where the word of God is preached, trouble’s not far behind. The pattern continues for Paul, yet he is unfazed. His mission is to preach the gospel, and neither stones nor lashes nor prison nor mocking nor rioting would dissuade him from the high call of the Lord Jesus to proclaim His salvation.
In Ephesus the root of the rioting was the love of money. That’s the root of all kinds of evil, Paul would later write to Timothy – the love of money. Here, as the word of the kingdom of God is preached, as the Holy Spirit falls upon the believers, as extraordinary miracles are being done in the name of Jesus, lo and behold, the idol craftsmen start to lose some business!
God speed the day when the liquor store owners, cigarette manufacturers, pornographers, casino operators and immoral media producers raise a riot in this land against Christians because the word of God is being preached, multitudes of people believe the gospel, and start turning away from all these wicked idols they’ve poured their money into!
Paul never set out to put these idol-makers out of business. He did not organize protests outside of their shops or petition the local government to enact zoning ordinances against them. That wasn’t his calling. Preaching the gospel was! That’s our calling, too, dear Christian. Preach the word! That’ll change this world, and may even raise a riot.
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