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Originally Posted by Sam
Acts chapter 18 tells about how the Apostle Paul came to Ephesus around October AD 53. He first found some Baptists and told them about Jesus. They responded by believing and getting baptized in Jesus name. Then Paul laid his hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost Baptism manifested by prophecy and speaking with tongues. He went into the synagogue and preached for about three months. He then used a school to hold meetings and was there about two years. Lives were changed. In the autumn of AD 55 he sent two workers into Macedonia but remained in Ephesus for a while. The silversmith's union which had been making money off selling idols became alarmed when so many turned from idols to Jesus and their business dropped off dramatically. They held a huge rally in the theater. I don't know how many were there but I've read that the theater could hold 30,000 people. For a couple of hours they cried out "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." Finally the town clerk got them quieted down enough to speak to them. He told them that they could get in trouble for rioting and that they could take legal action if they wanted to. He reminded them that Paul and his team "were neither robbers of churches nor blasphemers of their goddess." For two years Paul had preached, people had been converted, the idol business had dropped off, and Paul had done it without "blaspheming" their goddess. Maybe we could learn something from this.
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And....they almost lost their lives. If you think you will never get someone mad or offend someone by doing the will of God, then you haven't done very much. You can wrap it up in candy, but at some point folks are going to be offended or get mad...not necessarily at you, not because you packaged it in obscene language, but because you spoke the truth even with love.