Proclaim God's Truth Boldly

“The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, ‘Get rid of him!’” - Acts 21:33-36

As we serve the Lord, we are often misunderstood. When Paul entered into Jerusalem he did so with Gentile companions that he had brought to Christ. Wrong reporting and gossip began and soon blossomed into accusations that Paul was bringing Gentiles into the holy place of the temple—accusations that were not true. This rumor led to an emotional upheaval with the Jews demanding Paul’s death.

Paul’s heart was in the right place. He was trying to reach the Gentiles with the gospel while not offending the Jews. However, just as in the case of Christ, we can often be misunderstood in the ministry. Paul’s answer to this conflict was to boldly proclaim the gospel. Like Paul, we need to understand that the world will misunderstand us; that their hearts and minds are sometimes blinded to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4), but our mandate to share the good news remains the same. We need to love them as Jesus loves them. When misunderstood, we need to find common ground, as Paul did, and show people the love of Christ by sharing Jesus and His Word—even in the face of mistreatment.