THE CALL TO CONFRONTATION
Acts 13:9-10 (ESV) 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
Paul was not kind and friendly to Elymas, rather he rebuked him harshly. If you’re like me, my first reaction is to accuse Paul of being too harsh, falling short in displaying the kindness and loving nature of our heavenly Father to the lost; but based on what followed we would be out of sync with God, who blinded a man obviously under demonic influence and actively hindering the work of gospel. Part of preaching the gospel is to confront people in their sin. As Evangelist Ken Freeman says, “We must get them lost before we can get them saved.” Though this is not a license to go around being rude and harsh to unbelievers, we must remember that our presentation of the gospel must be Spirit-led, allowing ourselves to be in the mood the Spirit is in for each situation.
There is this idea that we have to have “relational equity” with a person before we confront them in their sin. Generally, I would agree with this, but not absolutely; for it does not look like Paul had any relational equity with Elymas before this harsh encounter. There is a time for kindness, patience, and gentleness as we interact with unbelievers; however, there is also a time to engage with strength and power, taking authority over the evil one. Relational equity goes a long way in softening the blow of a confrontation and opening the door for truth, but we will most certainly find ourselves in a confrontation with evil where building that equity it is not possible. Are we discerning enough to know when someone is operating under demonic influence, and do we have the confidence and power to confront them? How do we balance Jesus' command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt 5:44) with what Paul displayed here? The only answer is that we learn to be led by the Spirit for each circumstance. The result for Paul was positive, as the proconsul, the actual object of his evangelism, saw the confrontation with evil and believed as a result (v.12). As the days grow more evil, I’m afraid we may be in for more of these types of encounters. Are we equipped to confront this kind of evil? Even more probing, are we willing?
