Preach the Gospel

“Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel,” (Acts 14:1-7). 

Scriptures often have a unique ability to jump out of the page. Many times this even happens in what many would consider a boring part of scripture. One may be reading through the Bible and come across a passage that may be difficult to pay attention to but there is one phrase or verse that sticks out. 

The last verse of this passage is just that. “There they continued to preach the gospel.” 

There was a great divide in beliefs in the city of Iconium, in the midst of this divide, a plan was being constructed to mistreat and stone the Christians. 

A common issue that has been seen throughout the ages is people who are simply too afraid to follow Christ because of persecution. In fact, John wrote that “many even of the authorities believed in HIm, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue,” (John 12:42). 

One piece of information that is not sugar coated in the Bible is the fact that in order to follow Christ, one may endure suffering and persecution. Well, the Christians in Iconium found this out very well. There were people threatening to stone the Christians for their teachings and their beliefs. However, one remarkable aspect of this all is that while they fled to escape from this treatment, they did not cease from preaching the gospel. 

Regardless of the situation the world may be in, if one is to follow Christ they must never back down from their teaching. For many this has even meant death. Jesus said, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life,” (Revelation 2:10). 

Continue to Preach The Gospel This Week!