Defending the Good News
- Date: Sunday, December 4, 2011
- Speaker: Jason Smith
- Series: Acts: The Church Sent, Scattered, and Scorned
- Scripture: Acts 4:1–4:31
- Tags: Jesus, persecution, evangelism
Acts is the only eye-witness original source document for what happened within the early Church. People love to comment on what they think Christianity is and how it looks without ever going to the original source. Whenever we attempt to discern the truth about a particular person or historical event, we need to go after the original historical document and this is exactly what Acts gives us. This then teaches us who we are as the church and as individuals and how the model of the early life of the church becomes our goal as we live out the same faith in our day. Thus far in this great book we have seen the first sermon, the first worship service, the first collective gathering from various nations, and this is the first persecution that breaks out. This is the first place we see the world react with hostility and hatred toward the early Church. How does the church respond? How would you respond? Join with me in Acts 4:1-4, 1And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. At this point, Luke tells us that the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came and arrested Peter and John and put them into custody overnight because they were Annoyed by the Gospel. They were angry because Peter and John were telling everybody that Jesus was alive and that they could rise from the dead too if they believed in Jesus. In fact verse 4 says that the number of the disciples increased to 5,000—that's what can happen after two sermons when the power of the Holy Spirit is poured out in fullness. In these opening two verses, we learn two very important truths for the Christ follower: First, The gospel either makes CONVERTS or ENEMIES. Peter pushed the universality of Jesus from the no-count town of Nazareth as far as it could be pushed. Jesus is absolutely unique. He is absolutely supreme among all the gods and lords of the world religions. Knowing him and believing on his name is absolutely necessary for salvation. For since the cross and resurrection there is no other way to God and to heaven. Second, PERSECUTION is INEVITABLE for the follower of Christ. These are frightening yet very important truths for us to consider as we desire to love our community and seek its welfare even though we know we'll be misunderstood, taken advantage of, and even hated. 2 Timothy 3:12 tells us: "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." People do not hate you for being good alone. It is a life in Jesus Christ. It's a life that is devoted to Christ which will become offensive to others. If you're sure that God loves you because of Christ, and you know you know God and that you're secure in Him, someone will hate you. Somebody somewhere is going to hate that. If nobody is coming after you, if nobody is persecuting you, you're being a coward. You're not letting others know you're a Christian. This doesn't mean we bring on persecution because we're arrogant jerks. This is not persecution; this is just a proper response to people who are religious jerks. We're talking about the kind of persecution that comes from sharing the good news and loving Christ enough to show that it not only makes a difference in your life, but that it can change everyone else's life around you. Jesus calls us blessed if we face this persecution with faith in Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” If you live as Christ lived, you'll be persecuted in some form or another. If you're never persecuted, you're being a coward. But when you are persecuted, if you know that you're only saved by what Christ did and not what you do, that you're sinful and needed a savior, you'll love them like Abel instead of hate them like Cain. When you understand unbelief in this way, you'll be gentle because you'll realize that it isn't just intellectual. They are confused, they are offended, they are hurt, and they are anxious because their life-system is being shown for what it is: inadequate. This will remind you of Christ and His tenderness. It will remind you that when Christ was ridiculed and reviled, He didn't pay back His enemies. Instead, what did Jesus say upon the cross? Father, forgive them for they do not know what they're doing. You can be like Christ and like Stephen because you realize that Christ's prayer was not in general, it was for you. You didn't know what you were doing and His prayer was answered because your Father forgave you. The Big Idea: God is calling us to BE BOLD! Every Christian knows it was our sin which put Christ upon the Cross and it should cause us to live with boldness and humility to a world that will probably not understand. How did the early Christians act when persecuted? They loved God and considered it a joy to be persecuted for Christ's sake.
So, How did the disciples Stand Firm Under Fire? In our remaining verses today, Acts 4:5-31, we discover three keys to standing firm in our faith in the midst of persecution as we defend the good news of Jesus Christ. First, we must PREPARE to give an ANSWER. Let’s pick up with verse 5, 5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" The next morning the rulers and elders and scribes gather and interrogate Peter and John. In verse 7 we see their question, which reveals the heart of their angst, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" The Question: By what POWER? The religious leaders are concerned about this enormous challenge to their authority. Here is the group of men proclaiming the sovereignty of a man (Jesus) that the religious leaders rejected and put to death. If the people keep listening to this, the leaders’ power is over. So they attack Peter’s right to be publically teaching the people and challenging their authority as the gatekeepers of religious conversation. Peter responds shrewdly and boldly. Look at verses 8-12, 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, He begins by focusing on the healing of the crippled man. The very fact and presence of the healed man, of course is evidence that some kind of enormous power and authority was present in them. In essence, Peter was saying, “well, we obviously do have power to do what we are doing, so it’s just a matter of determining its source.” Peter provides the source here in verse 10, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. Ultimately, Peter’s answer is that their power is The Answer: By the NAME of JESUS! Again, this is hard to refute, Jesus had been doing these same kind of completely authenticated miracles all over Palestine. Peter goes on to tell them that since Jesus is still healing (as He used to), that means He is not dead. Peter concludes his answer by going on the attack, 11This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Peter quickly says that this one man’s physical cure through Christ is a picture of the salvation from sin offered to all through Christ. We all have a cornerstone in our lives. All of us have a center which is our life-system we have built to make sense of our lives and the world around us. It's a bottom line, a center; it is something from which we make our ultimate value. It becomes the basis for our security, our meaning in life, our value, and our wisdom to inform our lives. Your cornerstone (the thing which you build your life upon) could be your education, your morality, your family, your possessions, your accomplishments, your career, or a variety of other things. This thing becomes the bottom line, the center of your life and guides your identity and what you do. It is your security and your confidence. For the religious leaders, their cornerstone was their authority, but Peter is trying to help them to see that if you cornerstone is anything other than Jesus Christ, you are without hope and with God.
As we move on in the passage, we discover that to stand firm under fire we have to PERSEVERE in sharing the TRUTH. So far, Peter has stood his ground, but the disciples faith is about to be tested even more. Look again at verses 13-21, 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. The religious leaders were offended not only by the gospel, but by the fact that it was being taught by people who didn’t have the right credentials. After Peter’s response, they were shaken because these men had knowledge beyond their education or standing in society. They had been changed by being in the presence of Jesus. Peter and John have this confidence because they have received their position with God and their position in His service by grace. They were speechless, because they didn’t understand the gospel, that one’s past record (which is full of selfishness, pride, and sin) is never pristine and that anyone can be saved and chosen and gift by God for service. This blew their minds. So, they call a huddle to figure out their next move, 15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16saying, "What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name." 18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Again, not understanding the gospel and what happens to someone who has come into contact with Jesus Christ through the gospel, the religious leaders suggest that the disciples just stop sharing the good news. They couldn’t refute the power of Jesus in healing the man, but they thought they could just shut up the church from spreading the news. Look at Peter and John’s response, 19But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." Peter and John respectfully, but boldly said “are you kidding me?” The religious leaders could put them in jail and take away everything they have on earth, but they were going to persevere in sharing the truth. Why? Because they have seen it and heard it! How could they do anything else? Here is a key truth for each of us today: We defend the good news not out of DUTY or DRUDGERY, but because we have SEEN and HEARD. What else can we do? 21And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. The religious leaders in their frustration and confusion in the face of the boldness and courage of the disciples simply let them go with a verbal warning to not do it again.
So how does the church respond? The third and most important thing they do to stand firm under fire is that They begin to PRAY for courage to SPEAK all the more. Look at their response in verses 23-31, 23When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, In the midst of their persecution, they do not simply ask for boldness, they actually remind themselves of why they have nothing to fear by reflecting on the attribute of God most opposed to fear, His Sovereignty that is displayed through His goodness and grace. The Sanhedrin might threaten them and warn them, and even try to silence the preaching of the Gospel, but their authority was subject to a higher authority, and the edicts of men can never overturn the decrees of God. They begin to pray by recognizing the power of God. They continue to pray in verse 25, 25who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, "'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'— 27for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. God had already told them and us in Psalm 2 that the world would oppose Christ: nations raging, people plotting, kings standing and rulers assembling against the Lord's anointed. They acknowledge that He is the God of history, who caused even His enemies (Herod and Pilate, Gentiles and Jews), united in a conspiracy against Jesus to do what His "hand and plan" determined would happen. This was how the Church understood their God. It's only after they have their vision of God clear in their minds that they begin to give God their petitions to Him in verse 29, 29And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." Notice that their prayer wasn't a prayer that the religious leaders threats would fail, or that God would protect them, it was only that God would consider them, or would keep them in His mind. This is amazing because they're not asking for safety and peace. They are asking for boldness. Look at the result of this kind of prayer in verse 31, 31And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. God granted their petition. He showed up and breathed into the church life-giving confidence and joy. If the church is going to be effective, we need continual, repeated “Pentecosts”, in which we seek God’s presence corporately and find it new every day. In light of the disciples’ prayer, here is a little acronym that will help guide your prayer for your life and for the life of the church each day: PRAISE God for what He has done. REPENT of any sin in your life. ASK for help to fulfill your calling. YIELD to God the results.
The Big Idea: God is calling us to BE BOLD! We are His church sent into the world with the good news of Jesus Christ to share with everyone that we see. Will we melt under the heat that comes from those who reject the gospel? Or, will we stand firm knowing Whose we are and what He has promised to all those who are called by His name? Next time you feel the flames licking at your heals, turn to God and call down heaven, that He would be glorify Jesus Christ in and through you as you strive to passionately serve in good deeds and share the good news.
