In many ways, the church in Corinth had similar characteristics to the church today in western culture. They had differing opinions about life and faith. Those opinions would occasionally devolve into petty and unrighteous actions used to prove a point or hold onto control of the people. When the truth about Jesus was expressed during Paul’s visit to Corinth, it created discord. It was in one such instance that the Jews opposed Paul’s message to such a degree that Paul performed a gesture of dismissal, he shook the dust from his robe and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads – I am innocent” (Acts 18:6). In other words, if you are unwilling to hear the truth, the consequence of your disbelief is upon you, not me. 

One night shortly after that encounter and as emotions were rising in the city, the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and said, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!” (8:9). Paul remained in Corinth for a year and a half amidst the division and discord, continuing to preach and teach never allowing threats to silence his voice. 

During Paul’s stay in Corinth, the religious leaders accused him of dividing the Jewish community. Paul was brought before the Roman governor who, after hearing the claims of the Jews against Paul, refused to judge the case. The Jews, thirsting for blood, started beating Sosthenes the leader of the local synagogue in the courtroom right in front of the governor. 

We need to be careful about the content of the message we speak. At its core, it must be about Jesus and Him alone. There can be attachments to the message that are used for illustrative purposes to bring clarity to the points we make, but without Jesus at the core of our message, we will become just another noisy opinion in a sea of opinions demanding the kind of change that will never really change the human heart. What caused Paul and the disciple’s pain and suffering was their teaching about Jesus, not their opinions.

In this emotional and at times violent season in the history of our nation, let the accusations against us be because we preached Jesus, not issues or opinions. If speaking His name and how His love is to be applied to the issues of our culture puts any of us in a place of physical and relational jeopardy, remember the words Jesus spoke to Paul, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!” At some point, we may need to shake off the dust of dismissal and move on to a different audience only after having said what the Lord asked us to say without fear or compromise.