Following Jesus means loving people — but does loving people sometimes require us to confront what is wrong?

In this sermon from Durango Vineyard Church, DJ continues through Acts 13 as Paul and Barnabas begin carrying the gospel beyond the familiar world of the early church. Almost immediately, they encounter opposition. Paul responds boldly, confronting both a spiritual advisor attempting to turn a Roman official away from the faith and religious leaders whose jealousy puts them in opposition to what God is doing.

But DJ challenges us to look beyond Paul's boldness to a much harder question: How can we know when confrontation is actually from God — and when we're simply fighting our own battles?

In a culture that can swing between avoiding confrontation altogether and celebrating people who loudly attack anyone who disagrees with them, Acts offers another way. Christians aren't called to confront in order to win, gain power, protect themselves from suffering or prove they're right. We're called to stand against the things Jesus would stand against — for the sake of truth, freedom and life.

Drawing from Paul, Jesus and the costly example of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, DJ invites us to examine what we tolerate, where we remain silent and what God may be asking us to confront. Because sometimes following Jesus means stepping directly into opposition — but our purpose must always be the same as His.