(Acts 17:1–15)

Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and coming upon the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”

And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.

Many of them therefore believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there likewise, agitating and stirring up the crowds. And then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there.

The world is not now as it was when God created it. The Fall of man, and God’s resultant curse on the earth and its environment, toppled it from its spiritual axis. Fallen man is now trapped in an evil world system that is hostile to God. Ours is truly a world turned upside down.

However, the universe will not remain that way forever. Ultimately, the Lord of glory will return (Rev. 19:11–21), take back the earth (Rev. 5), and establish His sovereign rule over all of it (Ps. 2:6–8). The curse will be lifted, and the earth will be restored to something of its original character.

That does not mean God is standing idly by until then. Throughout redemptive history He has sent His messengers to proclaim the light of His truth to the lost, sin-darkened world. Such people upset the system and disturb the comfort of sinners, thus incurring their wrath.

They turn things right side up from God’s perspective, but upside down from the world’s.

It takes courage to turn the world upside down.

Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.

One of the most inspiring examples of courage in the history of the church was the martyrdom of Polycarp, who was burned at the stake for his faith. The aged Polycarp had been arrested by the Roman authorities and brought to the arena for execution in front of the cheering crowd. The proconsul pressed him hard and said, “Swear, and I will release you. Revile Christ.” Polycarp replied, “Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never did me wrong; and how can I now blaspheme my King that has saved me.” (Cited in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, chapter 15.)

You can expect from me everything save fear or recantation. I shall not flee, much less recant. I will go to Worms if there were as many devils there as there are tiles on the roofs of the houses.—Martin Luther

Courage is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.—Anonymous

Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, … And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. (17:1–2a, 10)

No one will ever influence the world for Christ who lacks courage; courageous people make a difference. The prospect of trials and persecution did not deter Paul from carrying out his ministry.

Addressing the elders of the church at Ephesus, he summed up his attitude:
Behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. (Acts 20:22–24)

The incidents at Thessalonica and Berea display Paul’s remarkable courage.

The late Martin Niemöller was one of Hitler’s prized prisoners. The famous German minister vigorously resisted tyranny. He was imprisoned for seven-and-a-half years at a camp where 238,756 persons were put to death. Yet he carried on a daring ministry at Dachau.

Pastor Niemöller was more than a former prisoner of war. He was a living testimony to truth. To talk with Niemöller was to visit a man who looked death in the face day after day and knew the power of the resurrected Christ. His remarkable life reassures us of the triumph of truth.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy had left Philippi in the wake of the riot provoked by Paul’s healing of a demon-possessed slave girl (16:16–40

Leaving Philippi, the missionaries traveled southwest along the Egnatian Way, through Amphipolis and Apollonia, and finally to Thessalonica. It is difficult to imagine that Paul and

Silas, weakened by their beating at Philippi, could have walked nearly one hundred miles in three days.
Thessalonica was the capital and most important city of Macedonia, having an estimated population of 200,000.

Paul and Barnabas went to Lystra, where Paul very nearly lost his life (Acts 14:19). In spite of all that, and his recent persecution in Philippi at the hands of Gentiles, Paul did not hesitate to courageously enter the synagogue at Thessalonica.

In spite of what had happened he had to go the Jewish synagogue because he had to buck the existing religious system—he had to bring those Jews to a knowledge of Christ. I think of John Bunyon. John Bunyon bucked the religious establishment. John Bunyon was in England and the religious establishment was the Church of England and he wasn’t real happy with the Church of England. So, he decided, “I’ll operate outside the Church of England, and I’ll just preach Jesus Christ, and teach Christ.” And so, he started preaching all over everywhere, and they said, “You better shut up or we’ll put you in jail. You can’t preach outside an organized church.

Courage is built on faith—trusting God. David also knew the importance of that truth. Often troubled and pursued by his enemies, he nevertheless repeatedly proclaimed his absolute trust in God. In Psalm 27 he said:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? 1–3
Faced with a difficult trial, David declared there was no unconfessed sin in his life. On that basis, he asked God to deliver him. He knew that attempting to fight a spiritual battle with gaping holes in his breastplate of righteousness was foolish.

It takes courage and content, the right message to turn the world upside down.

Courage must be coupled with the proper content if a believer is to shake the world. To boldly proclaim error, as the cults do, causes even greater harm. Proclaiming the truth with great boldness, as Paul did, cannot help but change the world.

The truth can not be burned, beheaded or crucified. A lie on the throne is a lie still, and truth in a dungeon is still truth; and the lie on the throne is on the way to defeat, and the truth in the dungeon is on the way to victory.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Truth vs. consistency. “Don’t be ‘consistent,’—but be simply TRUE. The longer I live, the more I am satisfied of two things: first, that the truest lives are those that are cut rose-diamond fashion, with many facets answering to the many-planed aspects of the world about them; secondly, that society is always trying in some way or other to grind us down to a single flat surface. It is hard work to resist this grinding-down action.”—O. W. Holmes.

Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that unless we love the truth, we cannot know it. BLAISE PASCAL

Os Guinness: “Where modernization was a manifesto of human self-confidence is self-congratulation, postmodernism is a confession of modesty, if not despair. There is no truth; only truths. There is no grand reason; only reasons.… There is no grand narrative of human progress; only countless stories of where people and their culture are now …”

To sum up, “the truth is that there is no truth.”

Some Christians believe it is all-important not to offend nonbelievers. Accordingly, they focus their gospel presentations only on what Christ has to offer the sinner to improve his life in time and eternity. To declare to the non-Christian that his sinful life is an offense to a holy God and call him to mourn and repent is considered poor marketing technique.

The true gospel must offend the nonbeliever by confronting him with his sin and judgment. Romans 9:33 says, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
Sinners are a constant offense to God ( Ps. 7:11); they need to know that.

The foundation of Paul’s apologetic method was not the emptiness of human wisdom, or the extrabiblical traditions so revered by the Jews. Instead, Paul reasoned with them from the Old Testament Scriptures. He proved his case from the very source the Jews revered, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead.

Most people who reject the gospel have little knowledge of the Scriptures

Believers must be committed to practicing the truths they learn. James charged Christians to “prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).

it’s so important for Christians to know the Word of God, so they can give an answer to people.

He reasoned with them, that implies the mind and not the emotions. You know, you always hear about emotionalism, emotional response.

Courage must be coupled with the proper content if a believer is to shake the world. To have the right message, but not the boldness to proclaim it, renders it useless.

Paul confronted the Jews of Thessalonica, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying,

It takes courage, and the right message to see people converted.

And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.… Many of them therefore believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. (17:4, 12)

Acts 4:12And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.

America’s first missionary, Adoniram Judson, labored for seven years in Burma before seeing his first convert.

Paul’s presentation of the gospel was so compelling that some of the Thessalonian Jews, though resistant, were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas. The Thessalonians were not as open to the truth as the Bereans, yet Paul’s convincing exposition of the Old Testament, coupled with the work of the Holy Spirit led to their response.

The Thessalonian church was a spiritually reproducing church. Two of its members, Aristarchus and Secundus, joined Paul in his evangelistic work (Acts 20:4). Paul commended all the church members in 1 Thessalonians 1:8, because “the word of the Lord [had] sounded forth from [them], not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place [their] faith toward God [had] gone forth.” The Thessalonians used their strategic location on the Egnatian Way to spread the gospel far beyond their own city.

Conversions always bring conflict.

But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and coming upon the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And they stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. (17:5–9, 13–15)

Those who courageously proclaim the right message and win converts will face conflict.

Success will be accompanied by opposition. The unbelieving Jews at Thessalonica were enraged by the success of the gospel. They “loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

The Jewish leaders by declaring that Jason has welcomed them, they accused him of harboring criminals. To acknowledge any other king but Caesar was one of the most serious crimes in the Roman Empire. It was for allegedly claiming to be a rival earthly ruler to Caesar that the Romans crucified Jesus (cf. John 19:12). Failure to worship Caesar surely led to Paul’s execution.

G. Campbell Morgan, The measure of our triumph in work for God is always the measure of our travail. No propagative work is done save at cost; and every genuine triumph of the Cross brings after it the travail of some new affliction, and some new sorrow. So we share the travail that makes the Kingdom come.