Acts 19:8-10
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

In this passage, Paul has visited Ephesus and is doing missionary work there, preaching about Jesus and sharing the various truths of the gospel with the Ephesians. Here, we see that a few people become resistant to Paul’s message and disparage it. Yet, rather than sit there and verbally duke it out with the few resisters, Paul simply leaves them, and takes his discussion elsewhere (namely, the “lecture hall of Tyrannus,” who was likely a philosopher or teacher of rhetoric of the day).

This does not mean that Paul was angrily giving up on these people, nor that they “won” the debate somehow. Instead, Paul knew that any angry argument with these resistant people would only obscure the message for others, and would degrade the quality of his witness. There was no point to argue with people who were only interested in shouting him down.

But notice that Paul doesn’t leave Ephesus entirely. He still has daily discussions with people who are interested, and the discussions seem to be open to anyone and everyone. He is preaching to both Jews and Greeks (both people of Abrahamic descent and people of other ancestry); he is presumably speaking to anyone who is interested in learning the gospel, and no one is left out. And Paul stays in this same location two years more doing this, so that everyone hears at least something about the gospel, and those who are interested can come and find out more if they wish.

To me, Paul’s open sharing of the gospel, staying away from conflict and instead inviting peaceful discussion, is what we as Christians should aspire toward. Too many times, modern Christians make headlines because they act too confrontational and angry, and in fact that is the way many nonbelievers see Christianity–as an angry, self-righteous faith, quick to judge and even quicker to condemn. Just as indignant confrontation would have only muddled Paul’s message in Ephesus, such negative communication can only damage us modern Christians and keep others from ever wanting to hear our own stories of how God has worked in our lives.

Any time we talk about Jesus with someone, we should make it as serene as possible, being willing to share our own experience and answer any questions the other person/people may have. Not everyone will want to hear our message, and that’s okay; they can make the choice for themselves, just as we did. Accepting and respecting their choice, whether it’s to listen or to walk away, is part of our job as witnesses for Christ. And, just as Paul did, we can continue to share our testimony and our understanding of the gospel elsewhere if need be.