Seventh Day Baptist
Christian Education Council
PO BOX 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
—Acts 22:1-5
by: Dorothy Noel.
Here Paul spoke to a crowd attempting to kill him. The first thing he did in defense of himself was relate to them. This was a crowd of Jews, so he spoke in their language and of shared life experiences. He identified with the people and spoke at their level. He started speaking about the time before his conversion experience since that was where these Jews were right then. He did not blame the crowd for misunderstanding him, or become angry for their treatment. Instead, he said, “Yeah, I get it. I used to be just like you.” As we teach and preach the gospel, how can we relate to where our listeners are right at that moment?