June 26, 2023 | Be On Mission
Paul Stays in Corinth a Year and a Half
Scripture: Acts 18:7-17(NIV)
7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. 13 “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”
14 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. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” 16 So he drove them off. 17 Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.
Devotional
As we have seen, Corinth was a corrupt, sex-saturated city. Rather than deterring Paul, it made him want to stay all the more to introduce them to the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ. So he moved in, living there for a year and a half. In order to impact the culture, not only did Paul need a team, he also needed time. Most good things don’t happen alone, nor do they happen overnight.
And it was working. Both Jews and Gentiles were coming to Christ. Paul baptized them in the faith. Over the next eighteen months, many more undoubtedly became believers. Even the Jewish synagogue leader, Crispus, believed in Jesus! Understandably, Crispus was replaced by a new synagogue leader named Sosthenes.
But not everybody was happy. The pressure didn’t come from the pagan, corrupt Greeks. Rather it came from the devout, law abiding Jews. The Greeks probably didn’t care. They still had Aphrodite, the goddess of sexuality to keep them occupied. But the Jews were forbidden to partake in sexual immorality. All they had was the Jewish law. And Paul’s message of grace by faith in Jesus threatened their identity and future. They wanted him silenced or jailed or expelled. Anything was better than letting him convince their Jewish friends that Jesus is the Messiah of God!
Funny thing about an open society. It brings a plentitude of cultural corruptions through false ideologies. But it also offers abundant opportunities to share the truth of the gospel. In our current contexts, it’s easy to shake our heads and wag our fingers at the social evils being promoted. But let’s not miss the freedom we have to speak our minds, tell the truth, and win others to Jesus!
Think about where you live, work, learn, and play. How can you build relationships with people in your neighborhood, at your workplace, in your school, and at your places of social enjoyment? Name a person or two from each arena of your life. Pray for them, and pray that you would have the opportunity to introduce them to Christ.
Poem
Many Are My People
Don’t be afraid when sharing truth
Many are my people
Keep speaking, silence fear’s excuse
Many are my people
I walk with you
Full guarded, you
No harm will ever find you
Many are my people
