Daily Devotional 01-13-26

How Did Christianity Turn the World Upside Down?

The claim that Christianity was turning the world upside down was originally made by Christianity’s enemies, not its friends. In Acts 17:6–7, we hear that a mob of Hellenistic Jews set the city of Thessalonica in an uproar, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also . . . acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” It is certainly true that the early Christians confessed Kyrios Christos (“Christ is Lord”) over against the claims of the Roman Empire that Kyrios Caesar (“Caesar is Lord”), but they did not set out to launch a political revolution. Far from trying to overthrow Caesar, the Apostles taught the early Christians to pray “for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:2). In every case of turmoil recorded in the book of Acts in the towns where Paul was planting churches, it was caused by his opponents and not by the Christians. Christianity was not a revolutionary movement in that sense.

Moreover, it was not Christianity that was turning the world upside down, but rather God, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We call the second book that Luke wrote The Acts of the Apostles, but it would be more accurate to call it The Acts of the Risen Jesus Through the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:1–2). It is, after all, focused more on the work of the Spirit bringing the gospel to the nations than on the Apostles themselves, some of whom are barely mentioned on its pages. Moreover, there have been plenty of other times in church history when preachers have faithfully proclaimed the same truths the Apostles did without seeing anything like the same results. As a result, people sometimes try to re-create the form of the early church, as if doing so will automatically grant them the same outcomes. But God is sovereign not only over the dramatic growth of the church but also during those times when it seems to be stagnating or even shrinking. It is God who turns the world upside down through the gospel, whenever and wherever He pleases.

The good news for us is that the Spirit of the risen Christ is still sovereignly at work through His church, turning the world upside down one sinner at a time.

At the same time, we have to acknowledge that God did something rather remarkable in the growth of the early church as described in the book of Acts. In the space of half a century, Christianity grew from being a marginal Jewish sect into a religion with devotees around the entirety of the then-known world. How was that possible? The answer lies in the fundamental difference between Christianity and every other religion. Most religions offer a kind of wisdom or spiritual enlightenment that enables a person to live well, however that may be defined. They provide spiritual coaching that promises to help good people achieve a better life, either now or in eternity. Christianity, however, offers a message of hope that is rooted and grounded in what God has already done in Jesus Christ, not on what we must do for ourselves.

In his message to the Thessalonians, which stirred up such turmoil, Paul explained that “it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead,” and said, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ” (Acts 17:3). For Paul, the death of Christ was not simply a demonstration of love in its purest form (although it includes that). Rather, it was the necessary atonement offered by God so that sinful human beings could be made right with Him, not through their personal reformation but through the righteousness of another that is imputed to them. This offering was itself vindicated by Christ’s resurrection from the dead, whereby God acknowledged the full payment for the sins of all of God’s people. It is this consistent message of salvation through faith alone, in Christ alone, that Paul and the other Apostles preached wherever they went (see Eph 2:8–10; 1 John 1:9; 2:2; 1 Peter 1:3–5). Even though the Apostles knew that this message of a crucified Messiah would be offensive to both Jewish and Greek audiences, they continued to preach Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23–25), confident that the Spirit of God would use that preaching to bring men and women to faith in Him from every tribe, nation, and language group.

The good news for us is that the Spirit of the risen Christ is still sovereignly at work through His church, turning the world upside down one sinner at a time. In some places that work may be dramatic, recalling His work of the first century. In others, Christians may find themselves in a “day of small things” (Zech. 4:10). The Spirit is still at work in those times and places too (Zech. 4:6), and we are to be faithful to our callings even when the harvest seems meager. God will bring in His whole harvest in due season, on the day when He will shake the heavens and the earth and truly turn everything upside down (Hag. 2:6), creating a new world for His saints to inhabit with Him forever.

From: https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/turn-world-upside-down