“This man is persuading people to worship God.”

Acts 18:12-16, But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” And he drove them from the tribunal.

Paul was actually defended by the governing authorities in this case, but more importantly he was operating under the prophecy received from the Lord, that he had many people in Corinth. And that gave him the boldness to continue, despite serious challenges like this. His approach in a city filled with all sorts of degrading behavior was to preach the gospel and plant churches. It seems today that people would rather have some sort of demonstration protesting degrading behavior, getting their “fifteen minutes of fame,” than to stay the course, preach the gospel and plant churches!

We want to keep the main thing the main thing, preaching the Gospel both in and out of season, forsaking not the assembling of ourselves together, recognizing that the time is short.

ESV Lectionary