Good morning my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends wherever you are around the world.
This month of June has been tumultuous for America. “Pride month” has thrust the LGBTQ social agenda to the front and center of the public conversation, especially in the media. Even the White House has hosted high profile public events celebrating the advancement of this social and moral agenda. Also, a former US President has been indicted and had his initial day in court! Moral issues are center stage this summer in America, how about in your city?
Yesterday we watched as the apostle Paul concluded writing the scroll of his first letter to the group of Christians in the Macedonian city of Thessalonica. Today that great city is known as Thessaloniki and is described this way: “It is Greece’s second major economic, industrial, commercial and political center, and a major transportation hub for Greece and southeastern Europe. It has more than 1 million inhabitants and is renowned for its festivals and considered to be Greece’s cultural capital.”
Multiple religions flourish there and generally they coexist in relative peace. Not so in the days of Paul, thus his letter of encouragement to the Christians living in times of persecution in Thessalonica.
While Paul’s letter is not clear about who was entrusted by Paul to take this letter to Thessalonica, and read it to the people, and then explain any questions they may have about Paul’s meaning or intentions in writing, most Bible scholars agree it was likely Timothy, Paul’s most trusted envoy. It would have been a long journey, taking several weeks for him to go from Corinth to Thessalonica, spend adequate time there to fully distribute the letter, evaluate the current conditions, and return to Paul with a report. This map gives us a good idea of how far that journey would have been and the combination of overland and sea travel! In the meantime, Paul was not idle, he never was!
While Paul’s first letter was enroute to Thessalonica, things became tumultuous in Corinth. In fact, it reminds me somewhat of the volatility happening in America and around the world today, especially on moral issues. Acts 18:12 reports: “While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought Paul to the place of judgment. ‘This man’, they charged, ‘Is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.’
Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, ‘If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own [religious] law – settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.’ So Gallio drove them off. Then the crowd turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul, and Gallio showed no concern whatsoever. Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time.” (Acts 18:12-19:1)
What is happening here and how is it similar to what is happening in our day? The apostle Paul was sharing the good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with people in Corinth, as he had in towns and cities all across the empire in his first two missionary trips. While these people had never seen Jesus nor met anyone other than Paul who had, they were compelled to believe the truths of God which Paul spoke and many in Corinth had trusted in Jesus for their salvation from their sin. Forgiven and filled with the Holy Spirit they began living God honoring lives.
This meant they STOPPED doing some of the things they had done in the past which they were now convinced were not God honoring things. Those who had been their companions in those wicked things felt abandoned, of course.
They also began speaking God’s truth, and some people were convicted that their behavior was not God honoring. But rather than turning TO God, they instead turned AGAINST those who spoke about God, REJECTING the Gospel of Jesus. Paul, who had brought the Gospel, became the focus of their anger.
Do you see how that is similar to our day as God’s truth about Gender or Sexuality, or the ultimate source of truth, or who decides what is right and wrong, is all rejected by a segment of vocal, angry people who demand that their alternative lifestyles, and their view of right and wrong, not only be accepted but affirmed and even celebrated, even though it is contrary to God’s truth!?
Gallio, the regional proconsul, was apparently not a religious man. Gallio was a politician and the regional Roman government official responsible for keeping peace and upholding Roman law in his portion of the Roman empire. This crowd and their accusations had nothing to do with Roman law but rather was a rejection of Christianity and God honoring living.
Gallio rejected any involvement, this was not a government matter. Gallio was intelligent enough to know you cannot legislate morality, that is a matter of the heart and conscience. God decides morality and every human being, regardless of the country they live in, must deal directly with God regarding God’s Truth and God’s Morality.
Serious problems arise when governments seek to replace God or set aside God’s Truth and God’s Morals in their effort to accommodate those who reject God. Do you see that playing out on your TV screen, your social media, your newspapers every day all over the world? And how do you see this becoming volatile in your city?
What is happening to those who claim God, the Creator of the Universe, our planet earth, and the human race is the ONLY source of ultimate truth?
What is happening to those who reject any notion that a person can redefine or redesign their genetic makeup, their biological identity, with medications or surgeries or therapeutics?
What is happening to those people who are trying to live peaceful, God honoring lives, and will not accept or affirm or celebrate the rejection of God happening in their city?
I urge us to pause right here for today and ponder how your city, your region, your nation is dealing with the moral revolution that is rejecting God, and anyone who seeks to honor God and God’s truth, with their lives. I invite us to look at this through the lenses of this powerful statement in Psalm 14: “The FOOL says in their heart, ‘There is no God’. They are corrupt, their deeds are vile…The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind, to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.”
I urge you, my friends, to read the rest of this short Psalm and discuss this matter with God. Listen to what He tells you about what HE is seeing as HE watches your city, your extended family, wrestle with these issues. And let’s invite the Holy Spirit to show us what God wants us to understand in this emotional quagmire and how God wants to empower those of us who have entrusted our lives to Jesus, to live our lives for His glory in these days.
Today’s Scripture is Acts 18:12-18.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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