August 15th, 2021
Acts 5:33-42
“Fearless”
Call to Worship: Selected verses from Psalm 115
Aux. text: Isaiah 40:10-31
Service Orientation: Understand and believing the sovereignty, promises and love of God makes one secure, confident, unstoppable, invincible and fearless.
Bible Memory Verse for the Week: God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? — Numbers 23:19
Background Information:
• John tells us in his Gospel that the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead because they feared he would cause them to lose what they had at the hands of the Romans.
• The night Jesus was betrayed and into the next day when Jesus was crucified, the apostles were not to be found because of their fear.
• Jesus was sentenced to death by the Sanhedrin even though He was an innocent man and the Messiah of God.
• The death and resurrection of Jesus, along with the giving of the Holy Spirt, empowered the Apostles to become fearless, confident, unflappable, unstoppable.
• Just a short time after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, the apostles have been preaching about Jesus in the temple courts and doing mighty miracles so that even those who were sick could fall under the shadow of Peter and be healed.
• The Sanhedrin was not only upset that Peter had publically said that they had killed the Messiah (Acts 2:22-36; 3:11-26) but that Peter had said to their faces while in session that they killed the Messiah whom God has raised from the dead (Acts 4:1-12).
• Luke tells us in Acts 4:13, “When the Sanhedrin saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
• Over and over again (Acts 4:18; 5:17, 28, 40) the religious leaders told the apostles not to teach in Jesus’ name. But, the apostles repeatedly told the Sanhedrin they must do what God has told them to do and not what the Sanhedrin tells them to do.
• (v. 33) The Sadducean leaders of the Sanhedrin were so enraged at this defiance of their orders that they considered sentencing the apostles to death (by stoning, presumably). But they could take no such action without the support of the Pharisaic members of the court. The Pharisees were in the minority, but they commanded much more public respect than did the Sadducees, so much so that the Sadducean members of the court found it impolitic to oppose the Pharisees’ demands. This was particularly important in a case like the present, in which the defendants enjoyed the people’s goodwill. (F. F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the NT: Acts, 114)
• (vss. 33-34) The manner in which Peter, as the mouthpiece of the apostles, repeated in the presence of the Sanhedrin the offense for which they had been arrested, exasperated the leading Sadducees beyond measure, and came near turning the court into a mob. (J. W. McGarvey, New Commentary on Acts of Apostles, 96)
• (v. 34) Much can be said about this man {Gamaliel}, but suffice it to say that he was among the best of the Pharisees and a man of moderation. He was the grandson of the famous Rabbi Hillel and was so highly thought of that The Mishnah says of him, “Since Rabban Gamaliel the elder died there has been no more reverence for the law; and purity and abstinence died out at the same time.” (Herbert Danby, trans., The Mishnah, Sotah 9:15) (R Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Acts, 90)
• (v. 34) “A Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law.” Gamaliel was born into a family of teachers of the Mosaic law. He was the son of Rabbi Simeon and a grandson of the influential Rabbi Hillel, who had founded a school for the Pharisees. Gamaliel became a leader in that school, which was known for a more liberal trend than its rival, the school of Rabbi Shammai. Gamaliel was a tolerant and cautious man who also served in the Sanhedrin as one of its learned members. Paul was one of his students, for when Paul identified himself he said that he was educated and trained in the law by Gamaliel (22:3). (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Acts, 209)
• (v. 34) The Sadducees were the wealthy collaborationists, who were ever seeking to preserve their own prestige; but the Pharisees had no political ambitions. Their name literally means “The Separated Ones,” and they had separated themselves from ordinary life in order to devote themselves to the keeping of the law in its every small detail. There were never more than about six thousand of them all told, and the austerity of their lives made them highly respected. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 49)
• (v. 37) During the reign of Emperor Augustus, a census was conducted at least twice: once in 6 B.C. (Lk 2:2) and again in A.D. 6. Since conducting a census involved not only counting the population but also paying property taxes to the Roman government, the Jewish population resented the people who conducted the census. In A.D. 6, riots broke out in protest of Roman taxation. Judas, a native of Gamala in Gaulanitis (the Golan Heights), rebelled, caused “the people to revolt,” and mustered the support of the Jewish people. But Judas was killed when Roman forces squashed his revolt and scattered his followers. A result of Judas’ rebellion was the rise of the Zealot party, to which one of the twelve disciples, Simon the Zealot, belonged (Mt 10:4). (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Acts, 211)
• (vss 38-39) With his counsel of indecision Gamaliel made clear that he had not heeded the call to repentance and faith either. To suspend judgment concerning Jesus of Nazareth is to reject him. “Wait and see” is not good advice when the day of grace has arrived. The gospel will not stay indefinitely while people postpone coming to a conclusion about its claims. (Richard D. Balge, The People’s Bible: Acts, 65-6)
• (v. 39) Here is disbelief professing to be “honest doubt.” Gamaliel professes not to have materials for judging. “If–if”; was it a time for “ifs”? What was the Sanhedrin there for, but to try precisely such cases as these?
They had had the works of Christ; miracles which they had investigated and could not disprove; a life which was its own witness; prophecies fulfilled; His own presence before their bar; the Resurrection and the Pentecost.
I am not saying whether these facts were enough to have convinced them, nor even whether the alleged miracles were true. All that I am concerned with is that, so far as we know, neither Gamaliel nor any of his tribe had even made the slightest attempt to inquire into them, but had, without examination, complacently treated them as lies. All that body of evidence had been absolutely ignored. And now he is, with his “ifs,” posing as very calm and dispassionate. (Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: Acts, 199-200)
• (vss. 41-42) The apostles paid no more attention to the repeated ban on speaking in Jesus’ name than they had done the first time. Both in the temple court and in various homes they continued to bear witness to Jesus, the Messiah of Israel. (F. F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the NT: Acts, 117)
The question to be answered is . . . What happened that gave the apostles such unrelenting courage, strength and confidence in the face of brutal persecution?
Answer: They believed what Jesus had been telling them all along.
Jesus promised His disciples three things: that they would be completely fearless, totally happy, and in constant trouble.
What does it mean to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for Christ’s sake? Simply put, it means to be persecuted for being like the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Jesus said that those who are persecuted for being like him will be happy. And what is more, those who are like him will always be persecuted. (James Montgomery Boice, The Sermon on the Mount, 52)
Abel was persecuted by his brother Cain. Moses received grievous persecution. Look at the way in which David was persecuted by Saul, and at the terrible persecution that Elijah and Jeremiah had to endure. Do you remember the story of Daniel, and how he was persecuted? These are some of the most outstanding righteous men of the OT, and every one of them verifies the biblical teaching. They were persecuted, not because they were difficult, or overzealous, but simply because they were righteous. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 115)
The Word for the Day is . . . Fearless
What made the apostles fearless with unrelenting courage, strength and confidence?
I. They believed what Gamaliel understood about God’s sovereignty. (Gn 50:20; Nm 23:19-20; 2 Chr 20:6; Job 9:12; 23:13; Ps 115:3; 135:5-6; Isa 14:23-27; 43:13; 46:10-11; Jer 49:19; 50:44; Dn 4:35; Rom 8:28, 31, 37; 9:19; 11:29; 1 Thess 5:24)
He is sovereign in all he does, and he is faithful. He keeps his word. And also because he foresees or, which is a better way of saying it, determines all contingencies. We are not like that. We make promises and then are unable to keep them, because things happen that we could not foresee or because we change. But God does not change, and nothing surprises him. His purposes at the end are exactly what they were at the beginning. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1387)
God’s promises are certain and they are punctual. They will be fulfilled in exactly the way and at exactly the time that the Lord has determined and declared. Others cannot thwart God’s promises, and He Himself will not break them. In every form and to every degree, His Word is immutable. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16, 130)
The concept of “fighting against God” would be frightening for a devout Jew, so Gamaliel’s logic prevailed. Gamaliel spoke these words probably not because he was a church sympathizer nor a secret follower of Christ but rather because he had confidence in the sovereign operation of God in the affairs of people. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Acts, 90)
The issue on which the story turns is made very clear by Luke. The phrase “the teaching of the apostles” recurs in one or other form almost like a refrain through the story (vv. 21, 26, 28, 42). No human power can stop this proclamation of the Good News to the people. (Jerome Crowe, C.P., The Acts, 34)
The world is not the standard for any Christian doctrine, including eschatology. If God has promised to accomplish something, He will accomplish it, regardless of whether or not world conditions appear to be favorable to such fulfillment. (Keith A. Mathison, Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope, 202)
Perhaps many postmillennialists have been as guilty as others in basing their eschatology on current events or the state of the world. But for any Christian to do so undermines the principle of sola Scriptura. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, not newspapers, are our doctrinal authority. (Keith A. Mathison, Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope, 203)
“I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal 3:6). “God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent” (Num 23:19). God’s gifts to Israel, and God’s calling of Israel, cannot be taken back or changed, or God would cease to be true to His own perfect nature. The fact that Israel may not enjoy her gifts, or live up to her privileges as an elect nation, does not affect this fact one bit. God will be consistent with Himself and true to His Word no matter what men may do. “Shall their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?” (Rom 3:3, literal translation). (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 133)
He spoke as a Pharisee, for the Pharisees held that God needed no help from men in the execution of His plans. Since it was his belief that anything God didn’t establish could not survive, he means to ask the council to refrain from taking any action at all. (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Acts, 102)
When we talk about God’s irrevocable covenant, as we have been doing here, and God’s irrevocable call, which we will do in our next study, we are speaking about God’s immutability. Immutability means that God does not change, and because he does not change he can be counted on. (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 3, 1389)
The apostles rejoiced “because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (Acts 5:41). Peter saw trials as a means of grace to prove the genuineness of faith and to increase its purity (1 Pt 1:6ff.). And in the OT the fiery furnace became the place where the divine Presence, even in a visible emissary, was made manifest to three Hebrew young men (Dn 3:24f.). However, in the passage before us only one reason is given to prompt Jesus’ disciples to rejoice under persecution, and that reason is sufficient: their reward is great in heaven. Jesus’ disciples, then, must determine their values from the perspective of eternity (a theme Jesus expands in Mt 6:19-21, 33), convinced that their “light and momentary troubles are achieving for [them] an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor 4:17). (D. A. Carson, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, 30)
Similar sentiments to Gamaliel’s were expressed in the dictum of a second-century rabbi, Yohanan the sandal-maker. “Every assembly which is in the name of heaven will finally be established, but that which is not in the name of heaven will finally not be established.” (J. A. Findlay, The Acts of the Apostles, 85)
II. They believed what Jesus taught about persecution. (Mt 5:10-12; 10:16-28; Mk 8:35; 13:9-13; Lk 6:22-23; 21:12-19; Jn 3:19-20; 15:20; 2 Cor 6:4-10; 12:10; 2 Tim 2:9-12; 3:12; Heb 10:34; Jam 4:4; 1 Pt 1:6-9, 4:12-19)
They were honored to be dishonored for his name. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 202)
They were ready to die for this name. They would sooner die than deny it. Death was nothing when this name was involved. That is what makes you a Christian. Not that you just decide to go into Christianity because you think that perhaps it will help you somehow or another. No, no; it is everything to you. You glory in “his name” in every respect. There is nothing you would not do for it, even to the extent of laying down your life. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 203)
When the apostles are flogged, they leave the Sanhedrin rejoicing. The followers of Jesus look at life from a divine perspective and say that suffering for Jesus is an honor. (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Acts, 214)
The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it. — George Orwell
Jesus Christ was against the world, for the world. And if you and I are for the world, if we are loving it fearlessly, we will be controversial. And if you are not controversial you are not loving the world as He did. A Christianity that is not continually in a head on collision with the fashionable and with the cultural trends is not worth its salt. Jesus says, “The world can’t hate you”. He says to His brothers. “But, it has to hate Me.” And if it has to hate Him it has to hate anybody who claims to have anything to do with Him.(Tim Keller; Christ and the World)
Persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value-systems. — William Barclay
Nothing exposes the counterfeit faster than the authentic. When true righteousness appeared in the person of Jesus, the false righteousness of the Pharisees was exposed for what it was, and they hated it. — R. C. Sproul
The way of the world is to praise dead saints, and persecute living ones. —Nathaniel Howe
When Jesus came into the world, he exposed the evil in the world simply by being righteous, and the world hated him for it. Before he came, people could get away with hypocrisy, lying, dishonesty, and pride, because others acted the same way. But when Jesus came, those dark vices were exposed for what they are, just as light always illuminates the darkness. If a Christian lives like Jesus Christ, he or she will be persecuted. (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol. 1, 76-7)
Jeremiah was repeatedly subjected to ill treatment (see Jer 12; 20; 26; 36; 37; 39; 43). If tradition can be trusted, he was finally stoned to death by the people who had forced him to go down to Egypt with them. Ezekiel fared little better (see Ez 2:6; 20:49; 33:31, 32). Amos was told to flee away and deliver his prophecies elsewhere (Amos 7:10-13). The labors of Zechariah were not appreciated according to their true worth (Zech 11:12). Such rejection of the prophets was the rule, not the exception. This follows not only from the words of Jesus here in 5:12 but also from his words as reported by Mt 23:31, 27; Lk 6:23; 11:49-51; 13:33, 34; Jn 12:36-43 (cf. Isa 53:1). (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Matthew, 281)
They wanted to kill the apostles at once, but Gamaliel advised them to be careful, and apparently he persuaded them. They decided they would not put the apostles to death. Yet even then they only half-listened to him. They did not kill them, but they beat them–and they had not more reason for beating them than they had for killing them. But this, again, is a manifestation of utter irrationality. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 175)
Iron, when heated in the flames and pounded, becomes a fine sword. Wise men and saints are tested by abuse. (Nichiren Daishonin; Leadership, October 16, 2001, 20)
III. They appropriately applied the “Good News” of the Gospel.
Obedient to the command of the Lord to tell the people the full message of salvation (v. 29), they disregard the command of the Sanhedrin. In fact, they return to the same place where the captain of the temple arrested them. They teach in the temple courts, presumably Solomon’s Colonnade, and do so in the knowledge that the high priest is unable to stop them. (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Acts, 215)
The apostles who proclaim Christ’s gospel can say: “To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life” (2 Cor 2:16, NIV). When the Jews at Pentecost come to Peter after his sermon, they are cut to the heart and repentant (2:37). When the Sadducees in the Sanhedrin hear the words of Peter, they are cut to the heart not because of repentance, but anger. (Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Acts, 209)
Poor Gamaliel! He never looked at the gospel message personally. If he had, he would not have just given his great advice. Do you know what he would have done? He would have said to the Sanhedrin, “We are all sinners. We are relying on the law. We think we can put ourselves right with God. I’ve been wrong; you are all wrong; these men are right.” He would have risked death in order to say that.
The Gospel does not want our opinions; it does not want our judgments. It calls for our obedience to God who sent His only Son to be our Savior. It calls us to repent and believe this message. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 196)
We are shown here very plainly and clearly that the Gospel always produces a result. The NT gives us a very honest picture of the church and of the reactions to her preaching. We are not presented with a picture of universal success. Quite the reverse! This is proof to me that it is a divinely inspired account, not a worked-up version of events. Of course, we always try to produce a good balance sheet. We always make out that we have good results. But the NT tells us the bad results as well as the good. Nothing is concealed. It is the truth of God. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 170)
At least one of Luke’s purposes for including this incident was probably to inform readers of the sad but consistent path the Jewish leadership had taken (and the nation with them) in the total rejection of Jesus as Messiah. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Acts, 92)
He speaks as if the alternative was that either this “counsel and work” was “of man” or “of God.” But he would have been nearer the truth if he had stated the antithesis–God or devil; a glorious truth or a hell-born lie. If Christ’s work was not a revelation from above, it was certainly an emanation from beneath. (Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: Acts, 200)
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a Great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit on Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (C. S. Lewis; Mere Christianity, 55-6)
“He that is not with Me is against Me.” Neutrality is opposition. Not to gather with Him is to scatter. Not to choose Him is to reject Him. (Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: Acts, 202)
The apostles taught from house to house. Home Bible studies are not new. As the believers needed to grow in their new faith, home Bible studies met their needs while introducing new people to the Christian faith. During later times of persecution, meeting in homes became the primary method of passing on Bible knowledge. Christians throughout the world still use this approach when under persecution. Meet regularly in a small group with other believers. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Acts, 93)
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION QUESTION: What is keeping you from believing the Gospel?
Worship Point:
Worship, evangelism, peace, security, confidence, courage, hope, compassion and joy are all things that will come quite naturally to the one who believes the promises of God that find their “yes” in Jesus (Jn 10:10; 2 Cor 1:20).
There should be no theology without doxology. There is something fundamentally flawed about a purely academic interest in God. God is not an appropriate object for cool, critical, detached, scientific observation and evaluation. No, the true knowledge of God will always lead us to worship, as it did Paul. Our place is on our faces before him in adoration. (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 312)
We have now reached the close of the first persecution, and it is plainly to be seen that it resulted in a complete triumph for the apostles. When the people saw them go away from the whipping-post, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer thus for the name of their Master, they were amazed; for the like of this had never before been seen on earth. And when they saw that the preaching continued without intermission in defiance of all threats and all punishment, the hearts of all the nobler men and women, of all who could admire moral heroism, were irresistibly drawn toward the Christ whose love thus ennobled his followers. (J. W. McGarvey, New Commentary on Acts of Apostles, 102)
The great medieval theologian, Thomas Aquinas, spent several years of his adult life writing Summa Theologica, his great masterpiece of Catholic theology. One day, while Aquinas was writing on the doctrine of the Incarnation, his servant entered the room and discovered him lying prostrate on the floor amidst his books and papers. Thinking that some illness or injury had befallen his master, the servant rushed to Aquinas’ side, only to discover that he was engrossed in prayer and adoration of God. When the servant asked for an explanation from his master, Aquinas replied, “There are moments when one must cease his theological speculations and fall on his face in worship.” (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 188-9)
Gospel Application:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. — Romans 1:16
To be Christian, ultimately, is to be like Christ; and one can never be like Christ without being entirely changed. We must get rid of the old nature that hates Christ and hates righteousness; we need a new nature that will love these things and love Him and thus become like Him. If you try to imitate Christ the world will praise you; if you become Christlike it will hate you. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 118)
The apostles had been arrested. But what had they done? What they had actually done was heal a man who had been born lame. Everybody knew this poor fellow. He was forty years old. For years and years he had been carried to the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and the members of the Sanhedrin had passed him when they went into the temple to offer their prayers. And now there he was, standing solidly on his feet before them, praising God, able to walk and leap. Concrete evidence! These apostles had done that. And yet the Sanhedrin wanted to kill them. Was this reasonable? (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 175)
Spiritual Challenge:
Search your life. Seek God in prayer and meditation. Discover what is in your heart and/or mind that is preventing you from living a Spirit filled life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23)
Perhaps the secret of their ability to rejoice is to be found in the consideration that Christ showed confidence in their steadfastness by allowing them to be tested in this way, and they were glad of the opportunity to prove that his confidence was not misplaced. (J. W. McGarvey, New Commentary on Acts of Apostles, 101)
Why does the world reject this message? That is the great question, and by showing us the depths of human sin, this incident helps us come to an answer. . . . . That is the tragedy, especially, of twentieth century. We have believed that we have the knowledge to put things right. But look at our world! It is deteriorating rapidly, openly, before our eyes. When will we realize the nature of the problem? When will we realize that the real problem is the depths of sin in the human heart? (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 171)
It is claimed that people who are Christians have committed intellectual suicide and allowed themselves to go soft in the head. Unbelievers, on the other hand, are controlled by their brains. There’s no emotion, just understanding and thought! So let us examine the members of the Sanhedrin in the light of that contention.
Now I think I shall be able to prove to you without much difficulty that unbelief, far from being based on the intellect, is nothing but sheer irrationality, that it is utterly unreasonable, with nothing to be said in its defense. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 173)
We are being told that we no longer need God and the supernatural, that everything can be put right by acts of Parliament. My dear friends, the whole trouble is that people no longer think. They are repeating the clichés of the comedians and the clever newspaper columnists–the sneers, innuendoes, and insinuations. Think for yourself, acquaint yourself with the facts, and I think you will soon find that unbelief is not based on reason. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 175)
The apostles are “filled with the Holy Spirit,” their opponents “filled with jealousy.” (Jerome Crowe, C.P., The Acts, 35)
People living in the dark want everybody to be in the dark. People who deny the Light are threatened by people who have seen the Light. (Steve Brown message entitled “Kingdoms in Conflict” from Matthew 2)
Gamaliel presented some sound advice about reacting to religious movements. Unless disciples in these groups endorse obviously dangerous doctrines or practices, often it is wiser to be tolerant rather than repressive. Sometimes only time will tell if they are merely the work of humans or if God is trying to say something through them. The next time a group promotes differing religious ideas, consider Gamaliel’s advice just in case you “find yourself fighting against God.” (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Acts, 90)
Spiritual Challenge Questions:
A- Is there some secret “sin”, affection or idol that is keeping you from enjoying the Spirit filled, fearless, abundant, life Jesus wants to give all those who follow Him?
B- Is there some person who is a “stumbling block” to your whole-heartedly following Jesus?
C- What aspect of God’s character, nature and promises do you find most difficult to truly believe in? Why?
So What?: Jesus came, lived and died so you might enjoy a fearless life in all of its abundance. But that cannot happen as long as money, power, reputation, sex, self and any other idol is your primary concern or affection.
A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing. — Martin Luther.
We should not be surprised if anti-Christian hostility increases, but rather be surprised if it does not. We need to remember the complementary woe which Luke records: “Woe to you, when all men speak well of you.” (Lk 6:26). Universal popularity was as much the lot of the false prophets as persecution was of the true. (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Gospel of Matthew, 53)
The most appalling and terrible aspect of unbelief is that it is based upon a hatred of God. There are many statements to that effect in the NT. “The carnal [natural] mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Rom 8:7). “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 179)
They only saw what they wanted to see. “All seems yellow to the jaundiced eye” [Alexander Pope], and when you are filled with bitter hatred against something, you see no good in it at all and do not even see the facts that are staring you in the face. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 186)
Quotes to Note:
Both things are true, that no endeavor of men can destroy that which is of God; and that that which is of men is not so strong that it can stand. But he gathereth amiss hence, that men must sit still and say nothing in the mean season. We must rather mark what God commanded us to do, and he will have us to restrain wickedness. To this end hath he appointed magistrates, and armed them with the sword; to this end hath he set elders over his Church, to bring the froward in order, and that they may not suffer sin licentiously to rage without punishment. Therefore it is gathered amiss that we must refrain from punishing, because God is sufficient of himself to take away evils. (John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles, 222)
God used Gamaliel, a Pharisee and respected member of the Jewish community, to help free the apostles. This has always been a fascinating strategy of God. He often has used the most unlikely sources to help his people or to get his message across. For Joseph, he used Pharaoh; with Nehemiah, he used Artaxerxes; with Daniel, God used Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius; for the Jews to return to their homeland, he used Cyrus of Persia. Prv 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases (NIV). Elsewhere, the OT records God using rebels, adulterers, thieves, and even a donkey to get his message across. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Acts, 91)
Gamaliel and Peter represent two contrasting temperaments. Peter is hotheaded, ready to plunge into action, impatient with the cool philosophy of thought, blind to everything except the gospel. Gamaliel, on the other hand, is restrained, moderate, slow to act, circumspect, balancing one view against another, seeing all sides of the question, tolerant, fair, honest. The truth is that we need both temperaments in a world like ours. The Peters get things done, while the Gamaliels see to it that certain things are not done. The Peters are the leaders of great movements, while the Gamaliels pave the way for the greater ones to travel.
Within the individual there is room for both accents. Wise is the man who understands himself well enough to know whether he is a Peter or a Gamaliel, and then is humble enough to make friends with his opposite. (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible: Vol. IX, 87)
If you doubt, you are bound to go further, and either reach belief or rejection. Doubt is not the permanent condition for a man. The central truth of Christianity is either to be received or rejected. (Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: Acts, 200)
There are so many people today who would reject the whole of Christianity, even though they know nothing at all about it. Stop them sometimes and ask. The next time someone comes to you and says, “There’s nothing in it, a lot of rubbish, all played out,” ask, “Well now, would you tell me exactly what Christianity is?” And you will find your questioner has not the faintest idea and has never read the Bible and knows nothing of church history. Now that is unintelligent and irrational. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Victorious Christianity, 186)