Page 143 - Biblical Backgrounds

“While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and
brought him to the place of judgment. “This man,” they charged,

“is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the

law.”Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you
Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or
serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But
since it involves questions about words and names and your own
law, settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such

things.” So he drove them off. Then the crowd there turned on
Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no
concern whatever. (NIV)”

The stones above are archaeological evidence of Gallio as proconsul. If the texts are correct, he was only
Proconsul for approximately 2-3 months. 190 The texts on the stones include the statement “my friend
and proconsul L. Iunius Gallio.”

191 The Corinthian court Paul was brought to was called the Bema seat. This was
the less formal law court in which the public could bring cases before public
officials. There was a more formal one as well. The Bema seat was a judgment
seat where discipline and rewards would be given out. Paul was brought before
it and tells us that Jesus will evaluate believers before His Bema seat as well.
This judgment is not a formal trial in which we may be sent to Hell for failure (1
Corinthians 3:10-15). Rather, it is an evaluation of our faithfulness where we will
be disciplined or rewarded. Had Gallio listened, Paul would have given an
account, and then Gallio would have made a ruling. We are told we will give an
account, and Jesus will make a ruling. Our goal is to hear “Well done, my good
and faithful servant, enter into your reward.”

Religion:

The concept of religion in the Hellenistic world differed in multiple respects from what we have today.
NT Wright explains four differences. First, the Hellenists were primarily concerned with the gods to
receive blessings in this life rather than the next. This is different from Christianity but is similar in
motivations to why many seek God’s favor now (or the witch doctor in Africa). They want God to bless
them now and keep them from harm. Second, the focus of Hellenist “religion” was on ritual practice
rather than carefully delineated doctrine. Wright explains that the goal of prayers, sacrifices, and other
rituals was to endear the worshipper to the deity to gain favor. Third, Wright reminds us that the
concept of secularism, the separation of politics and religion, that the West holds today, is a new view.
In the Hellenistic world, the state and the religion were often one. The imperial cult, for instance, was a
method of political power to ascertain who was a loyal subject and who was not. Fourth, we do notice
many deities were present in the Hellenistic world that Paul visited. This does not mean that these cults
were tolerant of one another. As we have seen in other sections, the Jews wanted to kill Paul for

190 Todd Bolen, BiblePlaces.com. https://www.bibleplaces.com/acts18/.
191 The Bema Seat at Corinth. http://www.corinth-museum.gr/en/archaeological-site/bema-of-saint-paul/.

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