There's no doubt about it. Paul was a provocative figure in the New Testament. Wherever he went, arguments erupted in synagogues, riots started, and he occasionally got stoned for blasphemy.
None of this was wrong for Paul to do. Many think that just by being provocative, one is against the Spirit of Christ, who was always gentle and kind. Wrong. He knew when to flip tables in the temple, and double down on criticism of religious leaders when they pushed back against Him.
But in Acts 19 we see a different and important side of Saul of Tarsus. Two things stand out.
One, he wanted to go into a theater of rioting angry Artemis worshipers and persuade them of the Gospel. But his friends convince him against it. There are times to hold back, when the audience is so ragingly against you, that it would be no use. Paul accepts this, and lets others speak for him.
Two, when the town clerk addresses the angry crowd, he says Paul and his group are not blasphemers against Artemis (19:38). Now, he may have been partially ignorant. I'm sure Paul asserted at some point that Artemis was not a real goddess. But the point is that Paul was not KNOWN for blaspheming Artemis. He provoked by declaring a new God, calling for allegiance to Him, and let people figure out that this meant they shouldn't buy Artemis statues anymore (19:26-27).
There is a time to punch holes in the inconsistent worldview of the ungodly, as Van Tilian apologists love to do. But Paul doesn't seem to have been emphasizing that, in Ephesus.
Showing people how wrong they are isn't always the best way to provoke them to consider the Gospel. Sometimes simply proclaiming the truth of Jesus, and letting them sort it out over time is better.
Now, I know I'm overdoing this a bit, given verses 26-27. Demetrius accuses Paul of saying their idols are nothing, that gods made with hands are useless. My point is, if Paul had been provoking like this in spades as the hallmark of his ministry, the town clerk would probably have known.
Does Paul make the same point against idols on Mars Hill (Acts 17)? Yes, he does. But he first credits them for being religious, and after says God will overlook this ignorance, before coming to the climax of the resurrection of Jesus.
People today in the West don't have idols of gold and silver, usually. But they do idolize their body, identity, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. It's right to critique these things, and point out they are worshiping the wrong thing. But a Christian should keep his main rhetorical focus on Christ Jesus as risen Lord and true Savior.
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