Acts 19:23-41 | Living for Christ in a Confused WorldSample

Another Way

A confused world doesn’t really know what to do with Jesus.

NT Wright notes an irony building through Acts that’s worth quoting here:

“In Philippi, Paul ruins the business of the slave-owners, and he’s then accused of being a Judean and inculcating anti-Roman customs…. In Athens, he’s importing foreign divinities. In Corinth, he’s teaching un-Judean worship, and so ought not to be given the official Roman permission. In Ephesus, he’s undermining the trade in idols, as you’d expect from a Judean. All in all, it’s as though everybody is looking at Paul’s gospel ministry and seeing something they don’t like. The truth is in there somewhere, and people don’t want it” (NT Wright, “The Challenge of Acts,” p. 96).

Just like in Paul’s day, people try to pigeonhole Jesus into their pre-formed categories. Is he a Republican or Democrat? (Or whatever political party in whatever country around the globe.) Is he a capitalist or a communist? Pro-war or a pacifist? Pro-Israel or pro-Palestine? Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, or non-denominational? Pro-institutional authority or a rebel?

What we see repeatedly with Jesus and his gospel is that he does not conform to the categories of our own making. Jesus has his own way. To some degree, we all want to conform Jesus to our image. But Jesus wants to conform us to his.

Living for Christ in a confused world means resisting the pull to conform to pre-set patterns of thought, culture, or politics the world offers. Instead, it’s revolving our lives around Jesus’s life, and our thinking around his thinking. It will make you different. It will, at times, put you at odds with prevailing culture. Many times, people will not understand you or know what to do with you. It may lead to ostracization or even persecution. As NT Wright concludes: “No wonder Paul ended up with riots, beatings, accusations and goodness knows what else…. That’s what you get for preaching the grace of God through the crucified and risen Messiah.”

In a world filled with confusion, living for Christ will inevitably bring highs and lows. It will disrupt the status quo in the presence of the world’s idols and counterfeits. People may be confused as to what exactly to make of you. It will stir something in your heart for them. Living for Christ brings clarity and salvation to a world that is often looking for truth and meaning in all the wrong places.

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