May 10, 2018 - Acts 5
Peter replied:
"We must obey God rather than human beings! ... We are witnesses of
Jesus..." Acts 5:29, 32
It's our duty &
calling to obey Jesus, no matter what others say or do to forbid it.
These days, the pressure is against talking about Jesus in
any public context. How can one man’s
story have such great opposition? A
business friend tells me there is constant pressure against showing any
religious affiliation at his job. There
is such a stigma about it, that even wearing a cross or WWJD bracelet is
considered offensive. Talking about
personal beliefs is okay as long as they are not Christian. So he tries his best to be cautious about it
and demonstrate his beliefs in action without bringing up God or Jesus.
City Council prayers have been attacked over the past
several years when using the name Jesus in the prayers. Mind you, this wasn’t prayers to convert
followers, they were prayers for protection & blessing on our city. Only recently did that stipulation get
changed after a Supreme Court ruling that it was okay to use the name Jesus in
our prayers.
Several churches have been sued to change their position on
supporting same-sex marriages in their facilities. Other businesses have been sued or publicly
attacked for trying to practice their Christian beliefs in the operation of
their companies. We see more daily
ridicule of the commands of Jesus in our media and government. Certainly, this is an era of great unrest for
the practice of Christian faith – even though it is not being forced on
people. A believer is considered bigoted
and narrow-minded. So what’s a believer
to do?
Peter faced a great crisis when called out by the Jewish
leaders. He was being threatened and
risking his life. To continue to preach
Jesus would be paramount to terrorism or acts of treason. But Peter had a much different answer than
when he denied Jesus the first go-round.
Instead, Peter stood and made a claim that was both respectful and
Christ-honoring: “Judge for yourselves
if we should obey God or men.” His
proposal wouldn’t win him converts or favors, but it did make clear the
position Peter was choosing and why.
Peter wasn’t trying to offend people.
He wasn’t being bigoted or narrow-minded. He wasn’t in opposition to the country or its
leadership. Peter was simply trying to
be obedient to God. If that cost Peter
his job, his welfare, his life, then God would decide that. But disobedience to God in order to make men
happy was not an option.
That’s a simple practice for us these days as well. We’re not called to be rebellious or obstinate. We’re not even supposed to act more righteous
or prophetic. All we are called to do is
be obedient to Jesus in every given situation.
If Jesus wants us to speak, we speak.
If Jesus wants us to be silent, we will be silent. If His commands break the laws, then we
reluctantly and with all humility obey Jesus and plead our case before
men. But obedience to an eternal God is
far more important than being politically correct for men.
Don’t seek to find ways to oppose leadership. Be cooperative as often as you can (Romans
13), but never at the cost of disobeying God.
Trust Jesus by obeying anyways.
And just like Peter, you might discover a great impact on souls and a
miraculous rescue from God.
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