Build a faith so strong not even corrupt authorities can crush it.
Acts 4:12-21 (NIV)
CONTEXT: Peter & John announced healing in the name of Jesus to a man born crippled. Afterwards, Peter preached a sermon that the Holy Spirit used to convert thousands who joined the church, which has gotten big enough to once again be seen as a threat by the Jewish establishment. We're joining the story just as Peter finishes his statement before the authorities:
"12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
13 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. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 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.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 29: The Marks of the True Church
The true church can be recognized
if it has the following marks:
The church engages in the pure preaching
of the gospel;
it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments
as Christ instituted them;
it practices church discipline
for correcting faults.
As for the false church,
it assigns more authority to itself and its ordinances
than to the Word of God;
it does not want to subject itself
to the yoke of Christ;
it does not administer the sacraments
as Christ commanded in his Word;
it rather adds to them or subtracts from them
as it pleases;
it bases itself on men,
more than on Jesus Christ;
it persecutes those
who live holy lives according to the Word of God
and who rebuke it for its faults, greed, and idolatry.
These two churches
are easy to recognize
and thus to distinguish
from each other.
Summary
Peter masterfully presents the heart of Christianity to the Jewish authorities in a way that's both brilliantly simple - "Salvation is found in no one else [Christ]" - and yet amazingly complex and comprehensive: "There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." In other words, you can research, study, and investigate every other religious claim and you will find no other means of salvation than faith in Jesus Christ.
This was a huge mic-drop moment for Peter. Those trying to drop the authoritative hammer on him sat there in stunned silence, bested by "unschooled, ordinary men." Further proof stood right there next to Peter, the man who everybody knew as being a crippled beggar, now standing on his newly healed ankles. You can imagine how big his eyes were at this point.
This should have been a moment of great rejoicing in Jerusalem! The Messiah who was dead a few months ago now majestically offers salvation in His Name! Like the man, Israel now had the newfound opportunity to walk, not on physically healed ankles, but in the spiritual healing of grace and forgiveness.
But once again, the Jewish establishment squandered the opportunity given to them. Rather than humbling themselves before Christ, they rise up "to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people" by handing down draconian orders and threats. Worldly power proved too attractive for them to let go of.
Dig Deeper
I would love to have seen the look on Peter's face when he was commanded "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus." Did he laugh at the incredulous stupidity of their pronouncement, or did his eyes burn with righteous indignation? Either way Peter and John stood firm. There was absolutely no way they'd obey these clowns when they'd been ordained by God Himself to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
God's orders really weren't compulsory, as if Peter & John were unwilling coconspiritors. Peter said "we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” When's the last time your faith has made you feel that way?
The Church has always faced existential threats from authorities seeking to crush it ever since the time it first organized, so it shouldn't surprise you to see the same thing happening in our own day and age. The true Church remains under attack by governments, academia, social and even other religious institutions all seeking "to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people."
But fear not. As you are fed each week with the true preaching of the Word and the sacraments as Christ commanded, and protected by solid church discipline, you'll be able to confidently reply with Peter and John, "Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to men, or to him?"
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who continually protects His Church from those who seek to crush it;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for a faith so deep that "you cannot help speaking about what you have seen and heard!"
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 John 3
