There’s a lot of buzz right now around potential revival or at least rising interest in the Bible and Christian faith. Let’s pray that’s true. But for many of us, the world remains no less antagonistic toward the gospel. So what does a bold and effective witness for Christ in that environment look like?
We see a surprising answer to that question in the story of the gospel’s first entry into Europe, as Paul takes the gospel to Philippi in Acts 16.
In Philippi, Paul met three people whom he brings to faith in Christ — people who resemble the three kinds of people we meet in our cities today: Lydia, the slave girl, and the Philippian jailor.
1. Lydia: The Seeker (Acts 16:14)
The first is Lydia, who I call the seeker. Luke, the author of Acts, writes, “One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14, ESV). Lydia was basically a successful businesswoman on a work trip. She was put together. Professional. Religious, but she had never met Jesus personally.
How does Lydia become a Christian? Essentially, Paul engages her in an evangelistic Bible study. And Luke records that as she listened, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (v. 14, emphasis mine). That phrase, “pay attention,” is the same Greek word used for addiction to alcohol. There was something about Paul’s message that stirred her deep in her soul.
I heard a story from Easter this year that felt like a Lydia moment. The day before Easter, our college ministry had scattered thousands of Easter eggs all over the campus of N.C. State. Inside each one was a candy and an inviter card for our Easter services. It took hours and hours of work. And, it turned out, it was a complete waste of time, because the grounds crew at the university almost immediately picked them all up.
All of them … except for one. A single plastic egg had fallen into a little divot near a sprinkler head. On Easter morning, one of these sprinklers turned on, shooting the egg into the air and into the chest of a student walking by. She opened the egg, decided she might as well try out church, and came. And wouldn’t you know it, she gave her life to Jesus that morning.
For most people, God getting their attention won’t be that dramatic. But Lydia represents that person who is open to coming to our Bible studies and our evangelistic events — and through those events, God gets their attention.
2. The Slave Girl: The Captive (Acts 16:16)
The second person is a young slave girl who I call the captive. She’s the opposite of Lydia. She’s not put together and professional. She’s a literal slave. And Luke even says she has a demon (Acts 16:16).
So how does this slave girl come to Christ? Not through one of Paul’s Bible studies. She couldn’t have come to one of those even if she wanted to. She was a captive. And so God used Paul to bring her to faith through an act of deliverance. He got involved in her life and helped her find freedom in Jesus.
3. The Philippian Jailor: The Cynic (Acts 16:23–34)
The third person to come to Christ was the jailor (Acts 16:23-34), who I call the cynic. Why? Because jailors in those days were usually retired Roman generals who were given by Caesar a jail to run in their retirement as a reward for their years of service. They were part of the ruling class, battle-scarred and war-weary.
They were usually pretty cynical. They’d seen it all; they’d traveled the world; they’d stood before Caesar. Rome had all kinds of religions represented in it; they’d seen them all and concluded they were all basically the same. So how does this cynical jailor come to faith in Jesus?
Acts 16:24 says Paul was put into stocks in this jailor’s dungeon. Don’t think of those cute wooden contraptions in Williamsburg, where you and your sister got your picture taken. Think of metal clasps around your wrists, dangling you off the ground with only your toes barely touching the floor. This was cruel and painful treatment.
And yet, Luke records, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25, ESV). Instead of being bitter, or laying there complaining like I would have done, they’re singing with happy hearts. The prisoners and the jailor sat there listening, wondering, How can they have such joy?
Then God sends an earthquake, knocking their chains off and opening the prison doors. This was bad news for the jailor, because in those days, any prison guard who lost his prisoners — for any reason — had to pay with his life. So he decides to end his own life (16:27).
Except that Paul sees what’s going on and says, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here” (16:28). In other words, the jail broke, but Paul didn’t.
Imagine that! Here stands Paul, who has been wrongfully imprisoned and tortured, and on his right hand is freedom — God-provided freedom. And on his left, this jailor, who had probably been the one to beat him the night before. And Paul turns his back on his freedom to go back in for the jailor, because he knew that God hadn’t sent him to Philippi just to get out of prison; he sent him there to go after the souls of people like that jailor.
Three Different People, One Beautiful Truth
We have three very different people in three very different circumstances. But all three become part of the first church in Europe. So what does that show us about engaging our culture today?
The Siddur, the official Jewish prayer book used by men around the time of Paul, tells us that each morning a Jewish man would say a very specific prayer: “Thank you God that I am not a woman, a slave, or a Gentile.” Do you think it’s any coincidence that the first three people saved in Philippi are a woman, a slave, and a Gentile? I certainly don’t.
Anywhere the gospel is truly preached, it unites people that society otherwise separates, because it identifies in us a common problem — sin — and presents to us a common solution — Jesus. The gravitas and urgency around our unity in that message should transcend a lot of things that would otherwise divide us.
Politically Opposed Disciples
Consider the makeup of Jesus’s band of twelve disciples. Matthew described himself as a “tax collector” and labelled another, Simon, as a Zealot (Matthew 10:3–4). This meant that they were divided on the most pressing political issue of the day. Given that Matthew assigned no other labels to anyone else in his list, that means these were rather defining issues for them! One of them thought Rome should be submitted to and cooperated with; the other thought cooperation with Rome was a compromise of God’s covenant and that guerilla warfare was the response of the faithful servant of God. And yet, Jesus called them both to be his disciples.
Ultimately, Jesus’s kingdom teaching would undermine and transform the approaches of both. You could argue about which one had to change more — but it’s hard to imagine a priori conformity on this political issue was a prerequisite, given that they both chose to become Jesus’s disciples. Had Jesus led with one, he would not have brought in the other.
Now, let me be clear, because it might be easy to miss or to twist what I’m saying: I’m not saying we ever back down from speaking out on controversial truths for fear of driving people away. It is our calling to teach the whole counsel of God, and that includes rebuking the works of darkness, calling out wickedness by name. If we don’t do that, we aren’t being faithful witnesses in our generation.
Nor am I trying to equivocate and say the right and left are equally bad. I’m not. I’m just saying we have to take a page from Jesus and think about what we lead with as we call people to follow Christ.
Withhold Opinions and Stay on Mission
And in case you think I am making too much out of this example of Jesus’s apostles, let me give you one more example:
In Luke 12, Jesus was asked by the younger of two brothers to adjudicate on his behalf, speaking into a particularly relevant issue in first-century Palestine: The older brother was using his position and existing laws to cheat the younger brother out of his rightful inheritance (Luke 12:13). This younger brother had a legitimate social justice complaint!
And yet, instead of giving a specific — you might even say political — answer to this problem, Jesus withheld his opinion. Instead he said, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” (v. 14). He then preached a sermon on greed, warning both brothers (and the listening crowd) about the idolatry of money. We ask, Why not give his opinion on this case? Did he not care? Was he not up to the task?
The great Welsh preacher, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, said it wasn’t because Jesus didn’t care, or even that he felt unqualified to give an answer. Had Jesus weighed in on this one, two things likely would have happened. First, he would have cut off from his influence anyone in Israel who agreed with the older brother. Second, the next day he likely would have had a line a mile long of people wanting him to weigh in on their justice issues, which would have kept him from his primary mission — preaching the gospel and making disciples. So, he sat this one out so he could stay on mission.
The same ought to be true for those of us who are in leadership in the church. I’ll say unashamedly: There are a lot of things I have convictions about — and even feel passionate about — that I don’t mix with the message of our church.
I have a pastor friend who says, “I’ve decided that people need to know where their pastor stands — on everything. From now on, there’s nothing I’ll say around the firepit that I won’t also say from the pulpit. Anything less is inauthentic.” I told him, “There are all kinds of things I’ll say around the fire pit that I won’t say from the pulpit. Because the pulpit is reserved for ‘Thus says the Lord,’ not ‘Thus thinketh J.D.’”
There simply isn’t a verse in my Bible that spells out the ideal marginal tax rate, or the right number of immigrants to let into our country, or the best perspective nationalized health care. We need to apply our Christian wisdom to these areas, but we simply cannot speak to these issues as if God has given one obvious and direct word on them. He hasn’t. And so, we don’t.
As I often tell our church, I might be wrong about taxation or global warming, but I’m not wrong about the gospel — and I refuse to let my opinions on the former keep people from hearing me on the latter.
One Name Above All
The Apostle Peter got it right: “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). There are many causes for Christians to engage in. Good causes, necessary causes. But there is only one cause, one name, that leads to salvation. We must keep that name above all.
Tired of being a pawn in the culture war? Feeling squeezed between political and theological extremes? In Everyday Revolutionary: How to Transcend the Culture War and Transform the World, you can discover biblical insights for witnessing well in our polarized, post-Christian world.
In this fraught cultural moment, you can be an everyday revolutionary who stands up for the truth of the gospel. After all, the God who shuts the mouths of lions placed you in this time for a reason. You might just decide you wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Plus, join Pastor J.D. Greear for a Bible study — with streaming video — to explore how Daniel’s story and Peter’s example help you live as a Christian today.
J.D. Greear is the pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, where he has led the congregation from 300 members to over 12,000. He is leading the Summit in a vision to plant one thousand new churches by the year 2050.Pastor J.D. has authored many books, including Everyday Revolutionary (2025), Essential Christianity (2023), and What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (2020). He also hosts and co-hosts multiple podcasts, includingSummit Lifewith J.D. Greear.Pastor J.D. completed his Ph.D. in Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Pastor J.D. and his wife Veronica are raising four awesome kids: Kharis, Alethia, Ryah, and Adon.
