While Paul labored in Ephesus, some tradesmen caused a riot in the city. They opposed Paul and the gospel because their livelihood was threatened as fewer people bought the idols they crafted. But they stirred up a mob by appealing to the city’s long devotion to the goddess Artemis. When a town clerk finally calmed the people down, he said, “…who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to…do nothing rash.”[1] The clerk claimed some things to be undeniable. Those things were, in fact, false.
Sometimes we hear such claims. Christians are often mocked for not accepting “undeniable things” concerning science, history, philosophy, and so on. But like the Ephesians, many today accept falsehoods as undeniable facts. Don’t trust in man’s understanding—trust in God’s revealed Word.
[1] Acts 19:35-36