Stephen and Paul were recorded using some strong choice words for their audiences. Should we follow their example and use more severe language to reach our hearers?
This will always be a tension, especially for gospel-minded Christians. We understand, as Paul made so clear in 1 Corinthians 1, that there is an essential offense to the gospel. We certainly see that offense responded to in the book of Acts: think of Paul preaching the gospel at Ephesus—what happens? A riot breaks out. Paul knew persecution, he knew beatings.
But Paul never sought to be offensive. Even Stephen in his martyrdom did not seek to be offensive, he meant to be clear— I would suggest that a moment in which one is about to suffer death for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ is probably the greatest moment of theological clarification any disciple of Christ will ever know.
In both of these examples we do not see any intention on the part of those early Christian to be offensive, but the full willingness to bear the offense of the cross.
Every Christian needs to pray this way: “Lord, never let me run from the offense of the cross but preserve me and prevent me from being an offense to the cross.”
In the book of Acts we have a singular example of the Apostle Paul at times running right into controversy and at other times being lowered out of the city in a basket from a wall. You look at that and wonder how this one man gave us both of these examples?
Well, here’s the issue: Paul never fled from preaching the gospel. Paul never picked a fight with the authorities—that would be a misreading of the book of Acts. But Paul also never let any authority shut down the preaching of the gospel. As he will write later in one of his letters, “You can put me in jail, I’m going to preach the gospel. You can set me free, I’m going to preach the gospel.”
Lord, never let me run from the offense of the cross but preserve me and prevent me from being an offense to the cross
So what we learn from the early church, but specifically from Paul, is that we are never to antagonise the authorities. In fact, the New Testament teaches that we are to be at peace with all men (as far as it is within our power). Romans 12 v 18.
We also know that Paul was not afraid to face the full opposition of the Roman Empire. And let’s understand what we’re talking about here. This was an opposition that Paul knew would very likely lead to his death. By the end of the book of Acts we see that Paul is in prison — but even there he’s preaching the gospel unhindered, until that moment when we know he actually was martyred for the Christian faith.
We can stand firm, but we’re not to be antagonistic and we’re not to let antagonistic authorities ever shut down the preaching of the word of God, the testimony to the gospel of Christ.
Albert Mohler is the author of Acts 1-12 For You, an expository guide which takes in the ascension of Jesus, the coming of the Spirit, the birth of the church, the start of persecution, the conversion of Saul, and the divine call to world-wide evangelism. There is no more thrilling part of the Bible than the book of Acts, and no better guide to it than Albert Mohler.
R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is the President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Time.com called him the "reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S." A prolific author and council member of The Gospel Coalition, he is married to Mary and they have two adult children.
