“16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, ‘These men, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation, are the slaves of the Most High God.’ 18 And she did this for many days.

But Paul was greatly aggravated and turning to the spirit, said, ;I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!’ And it came out right away.

19 When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, ‘These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21 and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.’

22 Then the mob joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded. 24 Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.”

Acts 16:16-24

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This isn’t an uncommon reaction to the truth. When told or shown that what they are doing is wrong, people tend to lash out and get angry. They see the sharing of the truth/Gospel as a personal assault. And so they lash out, they get aggressive. This is the way that sin presses back against the truth, and we’ve seen it over and over again. Just like a child who doesn’t want to hear something will cover their ears and start to yell, these people cover their hearts and do whatever is necessary to stop the truth from taking purchase. People who are invested in their sins are not interested in changing while they feel like things are going ‘well.’ And so it is no surprise when they press ack against us as we share the Gospel. 

They’ll call us names, try to defame us, insult and slander us and do whatever they can to rally like minded people to their cause to make a bigger noise, a large enough commotion that we would be over powered and forced into submission. That tactic hasn’t changed. It was happening before Paul & company experienced it here in Philippi and it is still happening today. We see it in the news today as Christians are fought against, defamed, shouted at and ridiculed. The tactics are the same and the reasons behind them are the same. So, don’t be surprised when people lash out and fight back against you when you share the gospel with them. Some soil is hardpacked and cannot receive seed. Calloused to thier own depravity, rationalizing their own behavior, they refuse to listen, refuse to hear. 

As we GoLove people in Jesus Name, sharing the truth of the Gospel, we are going to experiece a variety of responses. Some will be like these people in Phillippi, some will receive it joyfully. However it happens, we must remember that the aggression and the joy have nothing to do with us, and everything to do with the Gospel message. If they reject it, they are not rejecting us but Him who sent us. If they receive it gladly, they are not accepting something that we came up with or can take credit for, but they are receiving Christ because of His efforts for them. It’s all about Him, and not about us, and so we endure a great many things for His sake andin His Name. Paul and Silas saw this reaction as a victory, hauled off to jail and beaten without a trial, they had spoken nothing but the truth and been faithful to Christ abive all. And because their faith endured, they rejoiced. Pray for that same endurance in the truth for yourself today. Pray that God would grow you in your faithfulness, no matter what the response to your efforts may be…