The Decision

Acts 19:23-27

“23 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. 24 A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. 25 These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, “Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. 26 You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”

Several times a year, the Ephesians hosted month-long celebrations in honor of their fertility goddess, Artemis.  There was music, theater, banquets, athletic contests, and even death matches. These festivals attracted many visitors, and, of course, huge sums of money.  The temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Demetrius was a silversmith who had a very lucrative business making silver shrines of Artemis for people to buy for their own personal use.  He and others who made money from the Artemis trade felt threatened by Paul’s preaching against false gods because their business and the very belief in the goddess that brought them their business was threatened by Paul’s message of the one true God.

The good news of Christ strikes at the very heart of worldly concerns forcing us

 to make a decision between the gospel and the world, between the one true God or the false gods of our own making.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)