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Preaching In Midst of Opposition - Acts 14
Preaching In Midst Of Opposition – Acts 14
Paul and his companions came to Iconium, entered the synagogue, and preached. While we are not told the specifics of their message, we trust that it was the same as what has been preached so far in Acts. God sent Jesus. The Jewish leaders put him to death. God raised Him from the dead and made Him king of kings and Lord of lords. Through Him we can be forgiven if we trust Him, repent of our sins, and are baptized in His name unto the remission of sins.
The Apostles ‘spoke in such a manner’ that a large number of people believed. Such manner of speaking is to speak plainly and to the point. While one doesn’t have to be mean spirited, one does have to teach in words easily understandable.
The unfortunate thing about such speaking is that many people still refuse to accept it. It is often not that they didn’t understand, but that understanding what was said they reject it. So it was with many of the people. Thus the city was divided.
What were they divided over? The message of the Gospel. Is Jesus the promised Christ? Did God raise Him from the dead? Can he provide us with forgiveness of sins? Is He the king of kings? Is he the Lord of lords with all authority in heaven and earth? While many believed, many did not. Even with God confirming the word (here, testifying to the word of His grace vs. 3) by performing signs and wonders by the hands of these preachers, YET the unbelievers were unconvinced.
These unbelievers were not unreligious! The Jewish unbelievers had heard this message while they were in the synagogue worshiping God. Throughout the first century Roman world, most of the gentiles were also ‘religious’, or as Paul said later, ‘very religious’ (cp. Acts 17:22). The problem is that being religious is not the same as trusting in Jesus.
The response of these unbelievers to such plain preaching was persecution. The unbelieving Jews stirred up the minds of the people and embittered them against the brethren. The Jews and the Gentiles joined forces in trying to stop the preaching of this message.
It is interesting to see the reaction of these preachers: “THEREFORE they spent a long time speaking boldly” (vs. 3). “They continued to preach the gospel” (vs. 7).
- God’s people are to hold forth the word unto the world.
- Some will believe, some will not.
- Some unbelievers will be offended by the message and exert pressure to stop it from being preached.
- Those who believe this message and are baptized in His name will be saved.
What is your response to this message? Hugh DeLong
