A Gospel Impact (Part 2)

In my last post I talked about how the early church filled Jerusalem with their teaching. They faithfully and fearlessly proclaimed Christ. They were opposed by the official religious leaders, but they could not stop talking about what they had heard and seen.

Eventually, the religious leaders couldn't take it any longer and they began to persecute the believers, beginning with the martyrdom of Stephen. This led to all of the believers, except the apostles, fleeing from the city of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1).

Now think about this for a minute. These people had to leave their homes, their jobs, and possibly their families. They were runninng for their lives. Being a Christian had become a very dangerous proposition. These people were making a legitimate sacrifice for the Lord.

You would think they would have found a nice quiet, safe place to regroup and rethink their ministry strategy. You could easily imagine that many of these believers would have second thoughts. Maybe they should just keep their religion to themselves. What would you do in their situation?

Well, we are told what these believers did. "Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word (Acts 8:4)." The scattering caused by the persecution just led to the gospel being brought to new places because these believers remained faithful and fearless. Eventually, some of these believers made their way to Antioch "preaching the Lord Jesus (Acts 11:20)." The Lord blessed the faithful ministry of these believers. "And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord (Acts 11:21)."

What an amazing encouragement this is to us today. I am sure that no one reading this blog is being persecuted like the early church was. No one reading this is having their life threatened simply because they are a believer. But, many of us will be scattering around the country this summer - on vacations. Will we be faithful to preach the Lord Jesus or will we take a vacation from being a Christian?

Let's be faithful and fearless and watch the hand of the Lord work as we proclaim the Lord Jesus in whatever context we have opportunity. Today we scatter about through easy transportation opportunities, but we also have accessible communication possibilities. Maybe it is time for you to make a phone call or write an e-mail and tell someone what you have heard and seen.