Saturday, July 7,
2012, 5:20 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “Abide with Me” going through my mind.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Acts 5:17-42 (NIV 1984):
Then the high priest
and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were
filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public
jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and
brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the
people the full message of this new
life.”
At daybreak they
entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the
people.
When the high priest
and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin —the full
assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. But on
arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back
and reported, “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at
the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” On hearing this
report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled,
wondering what would come of this.
Then someone came and
said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching
the people.” At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the
apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would
stone them.
Having brought the apostles,
they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.
“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have
filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of
this man’s blood.”
Peter and the other
apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers
raised Jesus from the dead —whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God
exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance
and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is
the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
When they heard this,
they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named
Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in
the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then
he addressed them: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to
these men… Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone!
Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.
But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only
find yourselves fighting against God.”
His speech persuaded
them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them
not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
The apostles left the
Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace
for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they
never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
My Understanding: The
apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. More and more people came
to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives. People brought
their sick and those tormented by evil spirits to the apostles, and all of them
were healed of their afflictions. Members of the party of the Sadducees were
jealous of the apostles, so they arrested them and put them in public jail. Jealousy,
in this context, means: “feeling bitter and unhappy because of another's
advantages, possessions, or luck; feeling suspicious about a rival's or
competitor's influence, especially in regard to a loved one” (Encarta). The
religious leaders had been so jealous of Jesus Christ that they sent him to the
cross to be killed. Now they were jealous of his followers, too, because of the
influence they, in the power of the Holy Spirit, had among the people.
Yet, God is in control! Amen! He sent an angel to open the
doors of the jail and to bring the apostles out. And, he sent them to stand in
the temple courts and to tell the people the “full message of this new life.”
There was no holding back; no shrinking back due to persecution. They were to
keep doing what they had been doing despite orders to the contrary. There was
no compromising of the gospel message, either. They were to tell the “full
message.”
No Compromises
Many of today’s churches and church leaders are compromising
with the world. They have toned down the message of the gospel in order to make
it more acceptable to the world; more palatable to their listeners, in order to
not offend people with the gospel, so that more people will want to come to
church. Many church services and activities, including small group “Bible
studies,” have also compromised with the world in order to draw in more people,
and to attract the world to the church. Yet, the gospel (the full message) is
an offense to those who are perishing in their sins, the Bible says. We are not
supposed to attract the world to the church. We are supposed to share the whole
truth of the gospel so that the Holy Spirit of God can pierce through people’s
hearts, convict them of sin, and so that people will come humbly before the Throne
of Grace and find mercy.
The “full message” says that we are lost in our sins without
Christ and we are bound for eternity in hell. Jesus Christ paid the price for
our sins through his death on a cross so we could be free from the penalty of
sin, free from the control of sin over our daily lives, and so we could be free
to walk in the Spirit of God, in daily surrender and obedience to Christ and to
God’s will for our lives. We come to Christ through repentance (turning away
from sin) and through being transformed in heart and mind via the power of the
Holy Spirit in regenerating our hearts and minds (new birth). Jesus said that
if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself and take up his cross
daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. He said if we choose to hold on
to our fleshly way of living, we will lose our lives for eternity, but if we
choose to lose our lives of sin, we will gain eternal life with God. The “full
message” says that if we say we have fellowship with God and yet we continue
(persist) to walk (lifestyle) in darkness (sin), we lie and do not live by the
truth. The way we know we have come to know Christ is that we obey his
commands. Repentance (turning away from sin) and obedience to Christ and his
commands are necessary for salvation, and together they comprise what it means
to truly believe in Jesus Christ.
This Man’s Blood
In the morning, the apostles were at the temple courts
preaching the “full message” of the gospel. The religious leaders assembled the
Sanhedrin, but did not find the apostles in jail. Someone said, “Look! The men
you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” So, the
apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin for questioning. “We gave you strict
orders not to teach in this name,” the high priest said. “Yet you have filled
Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s
blood.”
You know, this is what we are all supposed to be doing. This
is what Jesus commanded us: “Go, and make disciples.” “Teach them to obey
everything I have commanded…” “You will be witnesses.” This is not optional. If
everyone around you was dying of a massive flu epidemic, and you had just been
given the antidote, and you knew there was an ample supply of this antidote for
everyone else, would you keep that a secret? Would you just enjoy the fact that
you had been given life, but yet watch everyone else die, knowing you could do
something to save them?
Have we been given mercy just so we can continue to live
selfish lives? No! When we come to Christ, we choose to leave our selfish lives
behind us, and we choose now to be the Lord’s servants in doing what he wants
(desires) of us. This is what we are supposed to do. We are not here on this
earth to live for ourselves or for others; to please ourselves or others, but
to live for God and to please him in all we do and say. And, we are here to
love others by giving them the “antidote” so that they don’t die in their sins.
And, that means telling them the “full message” and not a watered down
gospel-lite that does not make them “guilty of this man’s blood.” We are all
guilty, because truly it was our sin that sent Jesus Christ to the cross. The
full message brings conviction, which leads to repentance and to true faith in
Jesus Christ, and it probably will get us hated and persecuted, yet it is worth
it all if it brings true life to others.
We Must
The apostles, again, responded: “We must obey God rather
than men!” “Must” means: a necessity; obligation; duty; requirement; or being
compelled to. Their love for Jesus Christ; their desire to obey him in all
things; their love for others and their desire to see all people come to
salvation and eternal life with God; their faith in Jesus Christ; and the
compassion, love, mercy, forgiveness, gentleness and kindness of God – Father,
Son and Holy Spirit – within them compelled them, obligated them, and made it
necessary (essential) for them to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to obey
their Lord in all things, and especially over men. And, this should be true of
each one of us, too. If it isn’t, why isn’t it? What are we holding on to? Why
are we holding back? Do we fear men more? Do we desire the acceptance and
approval of men more than we do the acceptance and approval of God? - Or more
than the salvation of other human lives? We, also, “must” obey God rather than
men.
The apostles then preached the gospel to the members of the
Sanhedrin. The religious leaders were furious, because, once again, the
apostles were trying to make them guilty of Jesus’ blood, yet they were also
demonstrating that Jesus Christ was indeed the promised Messiah, God in the
flesh, their Lord and Savior who gives repentance and forgiveness of sins to
them, if they will receive it. Notice it says he gives “repentance.” It is not
difficult to repent of our sins, and it is not a work of the flesh, as some
would have you believe, because Jesus gives us repentance as a gift. True faith
in Christ is a gift of God, and repentance and obedience are necessary
components of that faith, which are also gifts from God. We are given the
ability to repent of sin and to believe and to obey because of Jesus Christ and
what he did for us, and because of the working and power of the Holy Spirit of
God within us transforming our hearts and minds to make us more like Jesus. So,
when the apostles said that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Christ,
this is not work-based salvation. This is salvation by faith, a faith that
proves itself genuine through repentance and obedience, both of which are gifts
and workings of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives.
Never Stop!
The members of the Sanhedrin were furious with the apostles.
They wanted to put them to death. A Pharisee came to their defense and reasoned
with the Sanhedrin. He advised them to leave the men alone and to let them go,
for if their purpose or activity was of God, they would only find themselves
fighting against God. That is so true! The Bible talks much on this subject. If
we are truly following Jesus Christ and others oppose us for following Christ,
in reality they are, in fact, fighting against and opposing God himself and his
work. So, we must be so careful that we don’t quickly judge others just because
their methods or words might not fit within our culture or comfort zone. We
must weigh carefully their words against the word of God to see if they add up.
Yet, we must be so careful not to judge by human standards or the standards of
this world or even of our own culture, but to judge righteously as God judges,
so that we are not opposing God in what we do and say.
Again the apostles were ordered not to speak in the name of
Jesus Christ, and then they were let go. They left the Sanhedrin rejoicing and
praising God because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the
name of Christ. Wow! What an awesome example to us for how we should all
respond to persecution. Day after day, in the temple courts, and from house to
house, they NEVER STOPPED teaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus
Christ. Amen! Awesome! May we be like this! May we never give way to
persecution, rejection, unjust suffering, or human rebuke. And, may we always
keep on keeping on in sharing the truth of the word of Christ and of his gospel
to all who will listen.
Abide With Me /
Henry F. Lyte / William H. Monk
Abide with me; fast
falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens;
Lord with me abide.
When other helpers
fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless,
O abide with me.
Swift to its close
ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim;
its glories pass away;
Change and decay in
all around I see;
O Thou who changest
not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence
every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can
foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my
guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and
sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with
Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight,
and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s
sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if
Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross
before my closing eyes;
Shine through the
gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning
breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O
Lord, abide with me.
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