Responding to the unbelieving world
by Pastor Steve Liersch
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And he [Gallio] drove them from the tribunal. And they [Jewish leaders] all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this (Acts 18:16,17).
Read Acts 18:12–28
As I write this, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place. A big furore has erupted over a tableau consisting of drag queen artistes, including a child, which sparked outrage on social media and garnered backlash from political and religious leaders from many parts of the world.
How would you respond? It is easy to see how the unbelieving world around us can shrug their shoulders and move on and say, ‘What’s all the fuss about?’ And if today’s reading from Acts 18 is any indication, nothing has changed in around 2000 years. Gallio turned a blind eye to matters that he referred to as ‘a matter of questions about words and names and your own law’ and followed that up with, ‘See to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things’ (verse 15).
What I learned from that is he couldn’t have cared less about matters of theology because it wasn’t his area of expertise, interest or jurisdiction. He then handballed it back to the Jews, who tried another angle – to beat up Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue – but still no reaction from Gallio (verse 17).
As God’s family and ambassadors here on earth, Christians are constantly being watched as to how we respond to challenges to our faith, how the world portrays Jesus, and how the interpretation of Scripture by ungodly influences is responded to. We will do well to speak up and ensure our voice of discontent is heard so that we are credible and consistent with identifying offence and speaking up for our Lord and Saviour.
However, I couldn’t help but think of two things: Jesus strangely said things like, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Matthew 5:44). But then Jesus raised the bar to an unbelievably high level by staying silent as he was spat on, beaten, subjected to ridicule, tortured and finally hung on a cross. He then did what only the divine human could do and said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’ (Luke 23:34).
Think of a time that you spoke up for Jesus. What happened, and how did you feel?
Lord Jesus, we know the enemy and the world delights in you being ridiculed and mocked. Help us speak up for you and, at the same time, pray for those who are your enemies. Amen.
Pastor Steve Liersch and his wife are almost empty nesters as their three adult children explore the world with work. They live in the southern coastal suburbs of Perth near Rockingham. Steve enjoys gardening, watching sports – especially Port Power and cricket – playing sudoku and catching up with friends. Sharing God’s love with others is still ranked as his top thing to do.
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