“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,” (Acts 17:6) The Apostles Paul and Silas had a reputation that traveled before them. They were accused of turning the world ‘upside down.’ Their message was not one springing from their own thoughts or philosophy; instead, it had been given to Paul by the Lord Himself and confirmed by the other Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem.
What was so dangerous about the message from this carpenter’s son from Galilee? Why did its message create such a commotion and cause the sensibilities of the world to run hot with angry passion? Why were these men, who were sent out like “sheep among wolves,” such a threat to those in authority?
The message of New Testament Christianity is like a clear stream flowing into a muddy creek. Eventually, the dirt and trash of the muddy creek begins to clear up after the force of the clear stream continues to contradict and expose its contamination. Likewise, when we faithfully live and proclaim the truth of the Gospel, the ways of the world are shown to be the foolish trappings of satan.
In fact, from God’s viewpoint, the world was already upside down. All the church was doing was trying to bring it back to ‘right side up.’ Therefore, the Gospel turns an upside-down world upside-down, which makes it right side up! The Scriptures teach us a better way to be human and the only way to live as children of God.
I know a young man who did a social experiment for a university project—he walked through Walmart backward. He received hateful looks and vulgar insults. He was mocked and called a fool. He remained nice and polite, but those who walked forward were obnoxious and rude. Likewise, you and I walk backward according to the spirit of this age. We call homosexuality a moral perversion. We warn the transexuals of the mental dysphoria they are living in, and we refuse to participate in their delusional view of life. To them, we walk backwards. But in God’s eyes, we are walking forward and they are walking backward.
Like the early church, we may face cruel mocking and isolation. We may be branded as antiquated and ignorant followers of the Bible. The Lord sees their mockery and He will have the final say on the day He judges the living and the dead.
To this god-hating generation, we may appear to be walking backward, and to the Christ-denying branches of liberal theology, we may look backward. But to God, walking backward to before those walking backward is walking forward with Christ. By all means… Let’s Keep Walking Backwards!
