My Weblog: The Gospel Preacher.

In Acts 19:28, it is written, " 28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the E-phe´-sians. "  We read, in Acts 26:5, that religion is a way of life or manner of living.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, for in John 14:6, it is written, " 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am ^athe way, ^bthe truth, and ^cthe life: ^dno man cometh unto the Father, ^ebut by me. "  The phrase " ^cthe life," here, has a cross-reference to John 11:25, which reads as follows, namely: " 25 Jesus said unto her, I am ^athe resurrection, and the life: ^bhe that believeth in me, though he ¹were ^cdead, yet shall he live. "  Furthermore, in Romans 6:3, 4, it is written, " 3 ¹Know ye not, that ^aso many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ ^bwere baptized into his death?  4 Therefore we are ^aburied with him by baptism into death: that ^blike¹ as Christ was raised up from the dead by ^cthe glory of the Father, ^deven so we also should walk in newness of life. "  This means that Jesus is the way in which we should walk after having been Scripturally baptized.  Thus, to practice false religion is to live in a manner that is contrary to Christ.  This sinful world ( see Matthew 10:24, 25; John 15:19; Acts 3:14; and 1 Corinthians 11:1, for example ) is full of people practicing false religion, that is, they are living the way they want to live, rather than living for Christ ( see 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15, for example ).  As human beings, we have a tendency to become angry when we are rebuked, for example, for our sins.  Stephen preached the gospel message to the council, and he was stoned to death ( see Acts 6:9-7:60, for example ).

There are times when the hearts of sinners are pricked, as a result of the gospel being preached, and they obey Christ ( see John 3:36, for example ).  In Acts 2:36-38, it is written ( please read all of this chapter to get the immediate context ), " 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.  37 Now when they heard this, ^athey were ¹pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  38 Then Peter said unto them, ^aRepent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the ¹remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost " ( Emphasis mine, R.E.W. ).  The Parable of the Soils is found in Matthew 13:1-23, for example.  In verse three, it is written, " 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, ^aBehold, a sower went forth to sow. "  In verses eighteen and nineteen, it is written, " 18 ^aHear ye therefore the parable of the sower.  19 When any one heareth the word ^aof the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and ¹catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.  This is he which received seed by the way side. "  The rioters in Ephesus were those who received seed by the way side.  There are few in this world who will be saved.  In Matthew 7:13, 14, it is written, " 13 ^aEnter ye in at the ¹strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 ¹because strait is the gate, and ²narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it " ( Emphasis mine, R.E.W. ).  NOTE: The picture, located at the upper, left corner of this paragraph, was downloaded from the " bing.com " web page.¹ 🕮

1.  https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=W1Xr3Npb&id=43E581C69B8EF3EE56DE8F4F5C6A0F9967149F30&thid=OIP.W1Xr3Npbdx17bvSMM0O_ZAHaFj &mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.freebibleimages.org%2fstories%2fFB_YO_Paul_Ephesus%2foverview-images%2f001-yo-paul-ephesus.jpg%3f1538662894&cdnurl=https%3a%2 f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.5b55ebdcda5b771d7b6ef48c3343bf64%3frik%3dMJ8UZ5kPalxPjw%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=768&expw=1024&q=free+maps+of+e phesus.&simid=608030265701849992&FORM=IRPRST&ck=E584C6EE798D27C1DB6D9D3B1044CC17&selectedIndex=112&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0.