One of the hottest topics in the media right now is what place religion has in society.  Conservatives are being accused of trying to create a theocracy and liberals are being accused of suppressing Christianity.  This conflict is not that old.  For centuries, religion in America was synonymous with Christianity, and so it was generally held in honor among all people.  But since the 1960s, Christianity has been openly attacked on several fronts, being labeled as racist, sexist, anti-woman, anti-freedom and any number of other inflammatory names.

          Traditionally the church has accepted this as part its task of being like Christ.  Lately, the church has stopped turning the other cheek and has begun to turn on its opponents.  This, of course, has only increased public debate.  Now that some segments of the church have said they're not going to take it any more, the debate is centering on what place religion has anywhere in society.  Some think it belongs inside church walls and nowhere else.  Let religion guide you, but keep it to yourself!  Debate inside the church rages as to how the church should address societal problems.  There's a lot of confusion out there!

          The church has always struggled with how to address society, beginning at its inception.  The book of Acts is filled with examples of society trying to silence the early church.  First century believers were excited.  They wanted to tell others about Jesus.  They wanted to fulfill Christ's command to make disciples.  So it's not surprising they were met by those who wanted them to be quiet.

          Let's look at what Paul did in Acts 17.  First, we see he went to the synagogue to preach about Christ.  He did his work in church.  He began witnessing inside the walls of the religious buildings, but he didn't keep it there.  His sermons were not mild and sensitive.  Paul accused the people of putting Christ on the cross.  He condemned their sin and told them how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophesies.  He argued against those who said you had to become a Jew before you could be a Christian, and he warned the wayward about their wrongful life styles.  There is nothing subtle about Paul's sermons.  They always told the truth about Jesus Christ.

          On several occasions this resulted in a riot for the Lord.  The early Christians had enemies, both inside and outside the church.  The most effective weapon they had was the legal system, so they dragged Christians into court and accused them of various things, with facts slanted to fit their case.  In Acts 17 Paul and Silas were able to lead many to the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.  Their success angered some people, so they engaged a mob and started riot.  Today we just put things on the internet or call up CNN and start a riot in the press.

          What can we learn from Paul and Silas in Thessalonica?  What can the church learn about how to witness to the world?

          First, the church needs courage.  It's easy to run away from its task, it's easy to rationalize that since some might be offended, we'd best hush up.  Maybe try to pray them into heaven, but we mustn't make them uncomfortable.  But sin needs to be confronted.  Paul and Silas were courageous about their faith, and the church today needs more people like them.

          Second, the church needs a clear message.  We ever must keep the Gospel of Jesus Christ central to all we say and do.  At times the church must address social needs, especially when society strays far away from the truths of God.  But our main purpose is sharing the Gospel, for it motivates people and saves them from hell and eternal separation from God.  We can tell about Jesus and let the Holy Spirit do His work.  But be sure to tell them!  We must tell the clear message of God's love and forgiveness, and not ignore our duty to do it.

          Thirdly, this story tells us the church needs to go where the people respond.  In Thessalonica the Gospel was met with cynicism and imagined offense, so Paul and Silas went some place else.  They left town and went to Berea.  If the Gospel is met with resistance, it's all right to go elsewhere.  If the message is met with hard heads, find other heads.  The text says the Bereans listened.  They even checked the Bible to make sure what they heard was true.  But if Berea hadn't worked out, they'd have gone elsewhere.  The church must go where people respond.

          Christ died for our sins and this fact changes people.  His resurrection gives us hope to live on and hope to die for.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. (John 14:6)

          In 1932 a young Chicago musician named Tom had to travel to St. Louis for a church revival.  He hated to leave because his young wife was nearly ready to deliver their first child.  He kissed her goodbye and left town in their old Model A.  The next night, as Tom was being applauded wildly by the crowd, he was handed a telegram.  "Your wife just died," it said.  People all around him stood and clapped, but he could hardly keep from crying out in shock.

          When he went back home he learned he had a baby son, but that same night his baby son died, and Tom's world fell apart completely.  For days he closeted himself away from the world, angry at God, angry at himself for leaving his family, and lost in grief.  An old friend invited him to visit a neighborhood music school, and there he sat down at a piano and began to play a new melody, over and over again.  Then the words also fell into place.  This is what Tom wrote:  "Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.  Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light, Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home."

          Young Tom later wrote, "The Lord gave me those words and melody.  He also healed my spirit.  I learned that when we are in our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this is when He is closest, and when we are most open to His restoring power.  And so I go on living for God," he said, "willingly and joyfully, until that day comes when He will take me and gently lead me home."  That young pianist was Tommy Dorsey, one of the finest musicians of the big band era, and a dedicated Christian man who saw hope in the midst of his darkest loss.

          You and I don't always know where the Gospel will take root, nor whom it will change.  Nor do we know when we will be brought face to face with tragedy or death.  It's then the Gospel holds us up.  It's in tragedy that the message of Jesus Christ gives us hope and strength to go on.  And that's why we need to share it.  There's a whole world of people out there who have no hope and little strength.  They need what we have to share.  And we need to pass it on.

          And what if what we say offends someone?  We need to say it anyway.  We don't tell others how to live their lives.  We just tell them what Christ has done for us.  "Always be ready to share the hope you have, but do it gently." (1 Peter 5:15)   That's what St. Peter once wrote, and his words still hold true today.

          We need not start a riot for the Lord, but if someone is unhappy with what we say, what is worse?  Saying something that might help and risking their wrath, or saying nothing?  Just as the church needs courage, so we need courage.  Just as the church needs a clear message, so we need a clear message.  Just as the church should go where people listen, so we can go where people will listen.

          For you and I are the church.  The church is not a faceless, nameless entity.  It is people committed to Jesus.  The church is not headquartered in a marble building, it is in our hearts, founded on Jesus Christ and led by the Holy Spirit.  May God help us share the message, even if it means starting a riot for the Lord.  amen

Copyright © 2005 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.