1 Thessalonians 2:2
“As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak the gospel of God to you.”
There were those in Philippi that opposed Paul and his team. They were so strong in their opposition that they were shameful and caused suffering. I understand that people have causes and they put effort into them. However, this is in opposition to God.
Many would like to think that they are on the side of the angels. Often times we can’t know which side is the Lord’s. We can only know this by His Word.
Jesus’s last words were to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). We can feel fairly confident that God is ok with sharing His message. I would agree that some share it from a motive other than love. 1 Corinthians 13:1 says that it can sound like “a noisy gong”. The wonderful message is tainted by compulsion, selfishness, etcetera. There also might be times that may be inappropriate. Sometimes our actions are not smart. 1 Peter 4:15 says that we shouldn’t suffer as a wrongdoer. Suffering can be brought on by our wrong choices.
We can assume that Paul shared the gospel at opportune times and from good motives. Yet, even then some fiercely opposed him. It’s curious that these didn’t appear to fear God. The thought “could I be opposing God” didn’t seem to be a factor. Gamaliel, a jewish leader at Paul’s time, warned against this in Acts 5:39.
Some in the Book of Acts opposed Paul for financial reasons. Demetrius was such a man. In Acts 19:27, he met with other idol makers to warn them about how Paul’s message was hurting their business. Because of this, they formed a riot. It was so intense that Paul had to escape.
Most don’t suffer like this, but live peaceful lives (Romans 12:18). Yet, we shouldn’t be surprised when we do encounter resistance.
Lord, thank You for the peace You give. Help us to live and speak confidently for You. Give us the strength to bear any resistance we may encounter.