Acts 19:23-41

The following is strictly my opinion.  I believe I have based my opinion on sound reason, but you will need to be your own judge.

The riot at Ephesus found its origin in emotion, not reason.  Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen were angry, and soon their shouting had the whole city in an uproar.  They did not have a legitimate grievance against anybody, if they had they would have went to the law for justice.  They did not, because they did not want justice, they wanted violence and punishment.  They wanted to intimidate and harass the Christians.  Christians, we need to be careful whenever the leaders of an event focuses strictly on emotions with no application of reason and thought.

In the assembly that arose out of the uproar, there was no unity.  Some were shouting one thing and some another.  Many did not even know why they were there.  When Alexander motioned for silence, so he could speak, the crowd shouted continuously for two hours.  There was nothing but chaos and confusion.  Christians, chaos and confusion is not pleasing to God and it should never be a hallmark of our gatherings.  I am not saying that a worship service must have everything preplanned, but it cannot have the characteristics of a riot and be pleasing to God.

The city clerk had to calm the crowd to prevent them from doing anything rash.  In a riot, being a part of the crowd can cause people to lose their inhibitions, and they will do things they would not do on their own.  The people in a mob have a sense that they are in it together.  God wants Christians to share the unity of family, not that found in mobs.  Christ did not die to offer mob salvation; His death and resurrection gives each of us an individual choice.

Christian fellowship can be emotional but that emotion must not overpower individual responsibility.  We need more than the guidance of the crowd.  We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit.