And when they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:18-21)It's an interesting portrait of an Apostle, of a messenger chosen and sent by God. He describes his ministry as humble and tearful and trying. The part that really caught my attention was that phrase, "I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house ..."
We live in a country that, technically, has a freedom of religion. Guaranteed. But ... we know that's not quite true. Especially in our times. We know there are things we're not supposed to say. We're definitely not supposed to point to Scriptures that suggest submission, especially of wives to husbands, but submission in general, or any kind of patriarchal hierarchy (e.g., 1 Cor 11:3). We're not supposed to point to Scriptures about sexual immorality and, specifically, the sin of homosexual behavior. We're not supposed to point out that sex and gender are God's work, not ours (Gen 1:27). We are not supposed to make anyone feel uncomfortable or guilty. We're not supposed to call for a change of heart or repentance. There are just some things -- critical things in the Christian message and faith -- that we're not supposed to believe, let alone state out loud.
Paul said he did not shrink from declaring the truth. That is, there was reason in Paul's day to fear stating the truth. But he did not shrink from it. Instead, he told them "anything that was profitable" and did it publicly, starting with the Gospel, which he knew was an offense (1 Cor 1:18) only removed by being silent (Gal 5:11). He wouldn't be silent. Paul would preach everything, publicly, that was profitable to them. Boldly. And, eventually, fatally. Because, he said, "I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:13). Are we?
2 comments:
No, most of us are not prepared to take risks to communicate our faith. We don't want to be jailed, sued, or slandered.
To be fair, we spent the last 4 years under an administration that chose to apply a standard of justice to Christians for publicly expressing their faith that was incredibly unfair and disproportionately harsh. But that shouldn't be enough to stop us.
I often ask myself how I will react when the price of my Christianity is my life. Unfortunately, I've not done a good job of encouraging that effort in smaller ways.
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