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Acts 4:13-22
Introduction
A. There is growing opposition between followers of Christ and those who think He is irrelevant.
1. Opposition to biblical Christian morality is growing because of its pro-life, pro- traditional heterosexual marriage, and pro-God stance in all matters related to beginning, during, and end-of-life issues.
2. Proclamation of the Christian gospel and the expression of God's truth on the matters just mentioned is necessary with a view toward redeeming men and restraining evil in our times.
B. There is a biblical example of a line being drawn between man's authority and which is to have precedence over the other.
1. The miracle of healing that prompted the conflict, Acts 3:1-8.
(Acts 3:1-8 NIV) One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon. {2} Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. {3} When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. {4} Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" {5} So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. {6} Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." {7} Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. {8} He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
2. The response to Peter's ensuing sermon, Acts 4:4.
(Acts 4:4 NIV) But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
3. The interrogation by the Sanhedrin concerning the healing and sermon, Acts 4:5-7.
(Acts 4:5-7 NIV) The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. {6} Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. {7} They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"
4. The answer given by Peter, Acts 4:8-12
(Acts 4:8-12 NIV) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! {9} If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, {10} then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. {11} He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' {12} Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
5. The conference held among the members of the Sanhedrin, Acts 4:13-17
(Acts 4:13-17 NIV) When they 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. {14} But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. {15} So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. {16} "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. {17} But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."
6. The stand taken by Peter and John, Acts 4:19-20
(Acts 4:19-20 NIV) But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. {20} For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
Peter and John could no more be silent about what Jesus had done for them and the world than David when He praised God for delivering Him.
(Psa 30:11-12 NIV) You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, {12} that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
Nothing in Scripture better expresses the compulsion of one who has felt in the deepest recesses of their heart the deliverance and redemption of the Lord so much that they cannot help but proclaim it to the world!
7. The resulting frustration of the Sanhedrin because they were afraid to deny the miracle or prevail over the praise of the people, Acts 4:21-22
(Acts 4:21-22 NIV) After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. {22} For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
There are some good reasons why this event was able to "play out" the way it did. One of the reasons is that . . .
I. Ordinary People Were Willing to Exercise Extraordinary Faith and Courage in a God Who Wants to Make Himself Known—He Will Not Be Silenced.
(Luke 19:38-40 NIV) "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" {39} Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" {40} "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
Those who would seek to silence Christians should acquaint themselves with these words from Christ. Hopefully, Christians will continue to find the courage and faith to speak the gospel in Jesus' Name and the stones will not be called on to speak the praises of God.
Bruce Goettsche in his sermon, "When Push Comes to Shove" reminds us that "God makes a habit of using unschooled, ordinary men and women.":
· Abraham worshipped many gods before He met the Lord God Almighty
· Moses who killed a man and admitted he wasn't a good speaker
· Rahab made her living on the streets
· Esther was a small town Jewish girl who won a beauty pageant.
· David was a man everyone (including Samuel) figured could not have been God's choice as the next King because of his age and size.
· Amos was a simple shepherd
· Mary was a an ordinary teenager with an extraordinary heart
· The disciples were a rag-tag group of men who came from various walks of life
These were all ordinary people, some with even questionable backgrounds, many from humble vocations and means, none perfect, but all who became convinced that God's glory was worth proclaiming and defending. "If God can use these people," Goettsche says, "He can use you." It is not what you were that makes the difference, it's what you are willing to become and do for God's sake that makes all the difference. But you must have a passion for God's message to be proclaimed at any personal cost or sacrifice. You must be ready to do it NOW!
II. God's People Were Not Willing to be Intimidated to Silence
A. Observe the Reason for the Order of Silence, Acts 4:14-17.
(Acts 4:14-17 NIV) But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. {15} So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. {16} "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. {17} But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."
Undoubtedly these men had personally heard Peter's sermon or had been made aware of it. There were undeniable facts in the message that only the most blind could not see. How calloused they must have been to have witnessed the miracles of Jesus, heard His gracious gospel, known the truth of the empty tomb, were aware of all of His post resurrection appearances, and seen the continuation of His power through His disciples, and then still reject Him and then try to silence His followers. Some people will not give up their power or position for anything. They will pay the price in eternity.
B. Observe the Reality of the Present and Future Conflict that Will Continue
I refer again to Bruce Goettsche who warns us what to expect from a government that might become anti-Christian.
1. They will pass laws that restrict religious expression (the use of force)
2. They will attack us personally (if you can't attack the facts, attack the person).
3. They will misrepresent us.
a. Christians hate Mormons, Muslims, Pregnant Women and homosexuals;
b. Christians are militant Republicans.
c. Christians want to force everyone to believe as they do.
However, biblical Christians cannot be characterized as any of these things. They welcome honest dialogue with those who disagree with them and only want the opportunity to present their case and not be told to "Shut up!" It should come as no surprise that Conservative Christians are most likely to belong to parties that most closely agree with their theological views on "right-to-life," "traditional marriage," "human sexuality," etc.
4. They will magnify our failures.
Because Christians are human, they will fail. But we need to understand that those failures will be placed under the greatest scrutiny for the greatest possible exposure. This is at the same time a humanistic and Satanic ploy to prove that even Christians do not take the gospel seriously and would rather live in the world of the non-religious where there are fewer constraints to human pleasure. All the more reason for Christian to maintain holiness for the sake of not bringing reproach upon Christ's name and His gospel of redemption from sin.
The Lord speaks to us the same words to us today as He spoke to Paul.
(Acts 18:9 NIV) One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.
III. God's People Must Be Prepared to Disobey the Authorities When God's Will Is at Variance with Man's
Let us remind ourselves of Peter and John's reply to the Sanhedrin not to speak of Christ any longer:
(Acts 4:19b NIV) "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. {20} For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."
It is interesting how the Greek phrases Acts 4:20. It seems odd that we find the need to prayer for the power to speak to others about Jesus when in Acts 4:20 Peter and John say that they are powerless (Gk. οὐ δυνάμεθα = "lack the power within themselves") to cease from speaking about Christ. They are inwardly compelled to proclaim the gospel.
One who truly appreciates the power, effects, deliverance, and eternal life that comes to one who has accepted Jesus as Messiah (Christ) does not have to muster up courage to speak about Him but rather feels they must. How could anyone withhold such a message from anyone?
Goettsche relates a story from James Boice's book, Two World, and . . . "tells of a time when Martin Niemoeller was arrested for continuing to preach the truth of the gospel in Nazi Germany. Another minister came to visit him in jail and told Niemoeller that he could be released from jail if he would just refrain from speaking on certain topics. "So, why are you in jail?" he concluded.
"Why aren't you in jail?" Niemoller replied.
Goettsche gives some examples where a Christian might be called upon to disobey authority in order to be true to his/her responsibility to speak for Christ.
- If your employer instructs you to do something illegal or immoral you should refuse
- If a medical facility insists that you participate in euthanasia, genocide or an abortion procedure. You must refuse.
- If the government tells you that cannot mention your Christianity in school, or your job, you must continue to honor the Lord in the school, or your place of employment. When the opportunity is there you must continue to share the gospel.
- If a law said we must not worship we would still need to find places to gather to exalt the name of our Lord as He commanded.
- If it was declared a crime to say that homosexuality, abortion, pornography, prejudice, adultery or any other such thing was sin, we could not keep quiet.
- If it was a law that said we could not say another religion was wrong, we would have to disobey the law. You cannot proclaim the truth without saying those who disagree with that truth are wrong. [Ward – I would add that when we do this we had better be prepared to support the claim in a reasonable and loving manner.]
Final Cautions – (Goettsche)
1. Whenever we feel we need to disobey the authorities we must always remember that our disobedience must be based on the clear teaching of scripture and not on some distortion of the text.
We may disobey ONLY when the law of men conflicts with the law of God. We must be sure that there is a conflict.
2. Our civil disobedience must not be done in a way that breaks other laws of God.
It is right to speak out against abortion but wrong to bomb clinics or to assault those going into the clinics. It is okay to speak against corrupt rulers but wrong to try to assassinate them. It is appropriate to resist an unjust authority but it is wrong to attack them personally. The principle is clear: we must be Christian in our behavior even while we stand against an unjust or sinful command.
3. Third, we must be consistent in our stand.
If we are going to stand for the gospel we must stand for it consistently. We can't say one kind of sin is OK (because we like it, it benefits us, we don't want to rock the boat) but another is not. If we are going to stand on the truth of Scripture we must be willing to stand on the truth of Scripture in every case.
4. When we resist authority we must be willing to accept the consequences.
You might lose your job, you might be thrown in jail, or you might be ostracized. If these are the consequences that come from doing what is right--so be it. The Lord can and will take care of his own. Peter and John knew they could be thrown back in jail. They knew that there was a risk that they could be executed just like Jesus. But they stood on the firm belief that we must obey God rather than men. We must take a similar stand.
From time to time you read the story of a lawyer who is sent to jail for "contempt of court" because they are unwilling to violate the lawyer-client relationship. They know they will be sent to jail. However, they believe the lawyer-client privilege is essential to the justice system. They determine to stand on principle and face whatever consequences they must. We, as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, need to be this committed to the Word of God.
