Where the gospel goes forth, there will be resistance. If believers back down, others will not hear and believe.
I was at an outreach recently and someone came up and complained. It shook the heart of some and they wanted to withdraw. The desire to please others is in us all.
Then there’s the woman I know who was sharing the gospel on a place. Someone tried to stop them but she decided it was too important. She continued on.
I think of these stories when I read about the Roman proconsul, an important man of influence. What would have happened if Paul would have backed off?
The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
It’s often about power and influence. This seemed to be the problem of Elymas. He didn’t want someone intruding on his turf – the proconsul. But Paul finally had enough.
In great boldness Paul prayed for Elymas to be blinded and he was. It wasn’t going to be forever but “for a time” so that both he and the proconsul could see the power of God.
Thankfully Paul did not back down because the proconsul believed.
It’s an example for us all. The gospel is too important to let others stop its forward motion.