Who do we Obey?
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Who do we Obey?
Who do we Obey?
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. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “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. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But 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, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And 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. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
What is the Gospel??? Is it found here in this text?
The Gospel comes from the greek word EUANGELION. The Prefix EU means Good it is where we get words like euphoric and eulogy… euphoric meaning good feeling or to feel good and eulogy to mean a good word, being something we share at a funeral to be good words about someone recently deceased. So EU means good...
Angelion means message and we gets words like Angels from it which are messengers.
So put together Eu-Angelion means Good message or Good news.
The Gospel is therefore Good news. But not just any old Good news, it is the Good news that God sent his son Jesus to live a sinless life, and die a substitutionary death, and rise from the dead so that sinners that repent of sin and trust in Jesus will be forgiven and have eternal life.
The Gospel is not something that we do, but it is something that God did for us. Yet we are commanded to preach the Gospel… Which simply means we carry the message and we verbally tell others about this good news where ever we go.
So, how do we see this in the text today? This is the question I was asking myself as I was studying to prepare this sermon. This and what road here leads back to Jesus?
We do not explicitly see this good news here… we saw it in the passage before this one but not here. SO how will I preach this today in an effort to preach the whole counsel of God to the church for the maturing of their faith in Jesus?
Well, we see a prohibition of the Gospel by those in authority and we see a Christ followers response to it. That will carry with it a lot of imperatives. An imperative is something that we should do, in this case based off of what we see prescribed in scripture.
This is not to be confused with Indicatives… Indicatives are things God has done. The Gospel is an Indicative that carries with it a weight which requires a response in the form of an Imperative, or something that we will do.
let me give you an example here...
“Having been set free from sin, [you] have become slaves of righteousness (indicatives) . . . [therefore] now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification (imperative). []
“Having been set free from sin, [you] have become slaves of righteousness (indicatives) . . . [therefore] now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification (imperative). []
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (indicative), therefore, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (imperative). [, ]
OR how about this one...
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (indicative), therefore, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (imperative). [, ]
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (indicative), therefore, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (imperative). [, ]
So this is like saying, because of what God has done in you through the Gospel, become who you are in Christ and live differently.
This is “How” the Gospel works in our life. But if we get this wrong we will be preaching moralism and works based religion that is dead and void of the Holy Spirits power. If you are leaving church hearing, you are not this_______, or you should do this_______, therefore, do or be this________. Then you will feel as though you are not a good Christian and you can’t do this Christianity thing. That is not the Gospel. The Gospel isn’t, You are doing it wrong, Here is what the Bible says, Now do it right....
The Gospel is this… You are doing it wrong because you cannot do it right, here is what the Bible says, One did it right for you… Now live your life in response to him by drawing close to him and learning to do it right, without fear when you fail because he did it right for you. Your strength for living differently comes from a relationship you have with the God who did a work for you that you couldn’t do for yourself.
then you will feel as though you are not a good Christian
“imperatives (your works) divorced from indicatives (God’s work in you) become impossibilities” (to quote Tullian Tchividjian). Or another way that Tullian puts it: “
“Gospel obligations must be based on Gospel declarations.” Tullian Tchividjian
“Gospel obligations must be based on Gospel declarations.” Tullian Tchividjian
Our works are based off of God’s finished work that is being declared.
I’m saying all this in an effort to keep us from hearing what we should do, in a way that makes us either proud and boastful because we are DOING something right, or makes us feel like bad christians because we are not doing something right.
Now I hope you are tracking with me, but you may be confused how all this relates to the text that we have before us today...
Let me show you how it is there and what it means for us. Let’s look at the text
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.
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. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
It says that they recognized that they had been with Jesus… This should not be turned into a text about how others will know you are a Good Christian if you spend lots of time with Jesus. Why? Because this is a historical narrative, meaning it is talking about real people that this really happened to, so if we are to make an application, then it should be based off of the facts. In this case, these people actually saw and heard Jesus, so what they recognize is not equal to what people in the world will see in us when we spend a lot of time with Jesus through his word.... here is what I mean.
Maybe, like me you have heard this preached in a way that says, they knew that these ordinary fishermen were uneducated yet had taken notice that they were with Jesus… “Do people notice that you have been with Jesus?”
I would submit to you that the sadducees questioning Peter and John are recognizing something they have seen before...
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
I’ve heard the sermons that make this about how people will take notice of you IF you are spending time with Jesus… And while it is a good thing for sure and something we would want every Christian to do, spend time with Jesus be in his word and spend time in prayer… This verse does not show us how to have success based on what we are doing right.
These guys remember that Jesus seemed to have no formal education and yet yet he amazed people with how he handled scripture. Jesus proclaimed a message to them that he was sent by God and that anyone who speaks as one sent is true if they seek the glory of him who sent them...
So what encouragement do we get from this?
It was true for Jesus as the messiah and now it is surely ringing in the ears of these guys as they look at Peter and John speak with boldness.
Let’s not forget that in verse 8 it says that peter is filled with the Holy Spirit as he spoke, and so their boldness is not something they are practiced in, yet it is because God is in them and with them. And to make it more interesting they are standing next to a guy that has never been able to walk.
This is all too familiar for these religious leaders when thinking abut all they went through with Jesus and how difficult it was for them to get rid of him. Now they have his followers in front of them, what are they going to do?
15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “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. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”
acts4
After hearing what Peter said about Jesus being the only name by which we are saved, these guys seem completely indifferent to it. The message of the Gospel is lost on these guys. The good news that God sent Jesus to forgive them of their sins means nothing to them apparently.
People either curse Jesus, Ignore Jesus or Adore Jesus. Countless millions of people curse the name of Jesus and oppose the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are demonically inspired to fight with Christians and be at odds with God. Then there are those who ignore Jesus… These are those people who believe that Jesus never really existed or that he was just a good teacher of morals… nothing to see here why pay any attention to him.
But for us who adore Jesus we know that he is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. We have a message that is good news and needs to be told to all.
These sadducees are not too worried about that message, because they don’t believe in Jesus, instead they want to silence the messengers. And this is a pattern that we see till this day.
The world is not concerned with the Message, but is trying to shut down the Messengers
The world is not concerned with the Message, but is trying to shut down the Messengers
Whether the preached Gospel is validated by miracles or if the ones who carry the Message of the Gospel are the walking miracles themselves, the world doesn’t care about the message, but focuses on trying to shut down the messengers. It was what they were trying to do, and it is what people now try to do.
They were more concerned that what they viewed as a false message didn’t spread, that they tried to shut the mouths of the messengers.
There is no recourse for them but to deal harshly with the messengers because they can’t argue with what they are witnessing. They can clearly see a miracle yet are blind to the message.
18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
Now these men are the authority in the temple, and in the land under the roman governors. They had the right to authorize people to teach and the right to arrest people who they didn’t authorize.
Since they couldn’t deny the miracle, they give a charge to these men not to speak or teach AT ALL in Jesus Name. This means that they were commanded not to speak or teach by these men.
What would they do? The bible is clear that we are to respect the authority that is over us in this world. What would we do?
How should a christian deal with a request like this? What if your government told you that you cannot speak in Jesus name to anyone? What if your rights are taken away? What about Christians in parts of the world where they can be killed for preaching Jesus?
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
romans13.1-
Paul is clear in this passage in romans 13 about the authority in our governments being established by God. Are we to think that the religious authorities are less important to these guys?
If Paul taught that the Romans who were occupying their land were to be respected in every way, then how much more would you think that their own Jewish brothers who were in positions of authority should be respected?
Well that’s fine for Paul but this is Peter we are talking about… well I wonder what Peter would say about it since he was the one living through this… Does he have any advice for Christians who live under authorities in this world?
13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
1peter2.
Sounds like Peter agrees with Paul here.
We clearly have Gospel obligations as believers to live in this world and represent our God in a way that respects the authorities over us, since our God is sovereignly in control anyways.
(This is recorded in scripture for us to see how civil disobedience can be done properly and if necessary.)
back to the text...
Let’s see what Peter and John’s response is to these rulers...
acts4.
19 But 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, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
Peter and John appeal to a higher court, one that they know these religious men cannot argue with.
Yet, they nicely and politely tell them that they cannot abide by their ruling. They will not Obey them.
There is no sign of a struggle or an explosive argument with yelling… Just a simple reply. One that shows an indicative that informs and imperative, or to borrow easier language from earlier...
We see and Gospel obligation because of a Gospel Declaration.
We cannot but speak (Gospel obligation)… Because of what we have seen and heard (Gospel declaration).
We cannot but speak (Gospel obligation)… Because of what we have seen and heard (Gospel declaration).
We see that Peter and John tell them that they will not stop preaching the Gospel because they have experienced the Gospel. While this is a historical event and not a prescriptive passage of Gospel imperatives, it is a beautiful picture of what happens when we behold the glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ.
When Peter and John said they couldn’t help but speak of what the have seen and heard, he was telling them that the resurrected Christ has been seen and heard from by them. He is talking about all the moments that changed their lives so dramatically… From the first call he recieved while he was fishing to the miracles and messages delivered to countless thousands of Jewish people by Jesus himself. No doubt he is remembering Jesus’ most famous sermons and parables, and those people that he miraculously healed. He thinks about the raging sea that was calmed by his masters words and the time he was transfigured on the mountain before them. He thinks of Jesus’ betrayal and wrongful punishment unto death. He remembers how the darkest of days were in an instant turned into the brightest of hopes when they saw and beheld the resurrected Savior of the world. His mind surges with memories of just a few weeks beforehand when Christ gave them the command to not leave the city of Jerusalem but to wait until they received the promise of the Father… And no doubt Peter remembers the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fills them in the most outrageous spectacle they have ever seen.
Peter… this Peter had at one moment rejected and renounced his union with Jesus at his trial. Yet by the Pure Grace of God, soon after was re-instated by the resurrected Christ. Peter was a changed man because of encountering the Christ and Savior of the world… Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And because he was so profoundly changed, they cannot but speak of what they have seen and heard.
So, Peter and John tell them that they will not stop preaching the Gospel because they have experienced the Gospel.
Brothers and Sisters, have you experienced the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Have you seen and heard things of the Glory of God because the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes to see Jesus and your ears to hear the message of the Gospel? If so, can we not but speak of it?!
Please understand that this is a mandate for Christian everywhere.
We see this in scripture as a directive from Jesus himself.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Sure we can make an argument that this was spoken to specific people, yet it is recorded in scripture for all of us to hear and obey as well. The Apostles cannot preach this Gospel to the whole of Creation and to the ends of the earth… it is the mission of the Church to proclaim the Gospel faithfully to all who will hear. It is still the mandate of the church to this day.
As the Church Gathers it worships God by Singing, giving, serving, preaching and breaking bread. The Church is instituted by God to make disciples of all nations and to teach all that Christ commanded, overseeing the sacraments of Baptism and Communion. The Church Gathered Worships god and Loves one another.
This is recorded in scripture for us to see how civil disobedience is done properly.
Yet the Church scattered… When we are not all here together. When we are out in the world working and shopping and living amongst many who do not know of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are commanded to Preach the Gospel to them. We do not need to have all the answers to life but we do have a witness.
We have a command from God to preach the Gospel and we do this not because we need to, or that is how we know we are good christians, but because we have partaken of this glorious Gospel ourselves and we are changed by it.
So, by the Grace of God and the Help of the Spirit we will be able to say the same thing they said… We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard!
How will these religious authorities respond to them?
acts4.
21 And 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. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
They further threatened them, but they could not hold them.
I would submit to you, that they could not hold the Apostles because Peter and John did not allow the sadducees actions, to betray the witness of Christ inside of them. What do I mean by that.
Imagine if they would have been indignant with these guys and started yelling at them, “Just try and stop us, You can’t tell us what to do… I know my rights”
This story would’ve ended differently because they would’ve been thrown back into prison out of fear that they were starting a revolt. But rather, demonstrating the Fruit of the Spirit, which is an exercise in self control… they point us to Christ.
How? How does their response point us to Christ?
This is recorded in scripture for us to see how civil disobedience is done properly.
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1peter2.
When Jesus Christ was standing before these men who thought they were in the authority, he showed them respect, and allowed them to do to him what God had already determined he would use for his own Glory.
And this seems like an odd way to wrap this up but the idea of civil disobedience and being wrongfully accused is something that Christ went through and suffered to the point of death, and Peter even tells us that his behavior here is meant to be an example to us, one that we are to follow.
I know I know I know… preaching Jesus as our example can be dangerous because it can cause people become legalists and religious proud sinners that miss the Gospel altogether, yet if we are rooted in Christ we will follow his example and be humbled by it.
Take the idea of civil disobedience. Peter and John do that here, and it is something that we see all through scripture. Remember the Hebrews Midwives… They acted in civil disobedience to Pharoah saved many babies… What about in Daniel, when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow down and worship false gods… And God delivered them from the fiery furnace.
We have examples of civil disobedience, when man must not listen to its governing rulers. And we have had some pretty distorted views in modern times on this as well...
People who work for the government and claim Christ and yet cause big problems in political ways actually don’t best represent the Gospel to our nation full of lost people.
The lady with the marriage licenses...
and 1 peter are just 2 biblical texts that tell us that we are follow the laws of the land we live in and abide by them. How can we determine the rights we have as a citizen and make a difference between that and the obligations we have as Christians in this world?
I would say this… The Bible gives a clear basis for civil disobedience… The Bible tells us who we Obey...
“If the State commands what God forbids, or if the State forbids what God commands then we Obey God and civil disobedience is the Christians duty.” Tim Keller
Christians are not to undermine or show disrespect for the authority of a government that seems foolish and supports behavior disobedient to God.
Rather Christians should disobey their government when it REQUIRES them to disobey God.
We are all grieved by what this world supports but we cannot cause civil disobedience until they try to require us to affirm what is disobedient to God.
And if we are to see what the Apostles did and what they taught in following the example of Christ, we will do it in a manner that is humble yet Bold.
And if this is our heart then we should see what the Apostles saw in … that is wasn’t really about them, it was about God. Did you notice how this part of the story ends?
acts4.
21 And 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.
God was glorified!
Peter and John did not set out that day to see a healing happen, to cause a ruckus in the temple, or even to hold and evangelistic crusade in the temple courts that would see thousands of Jews receive Christ.
They were Going to pray because they were living a life that glorifies God! And God was glorified in them, when they were going to prayer, when they stopped to pray for a lame beggar, when they stood and preached the Gospel to a captive audience, when they were in jail the night before the trial and while they stood and spoke to the sanhedrin.
And God was glorified when their response was one that declared they would be in civil disobedience to the governing powers over them, because they needed to OBEY GOD and not stop preaching the Gospel. They had an Obligation to preach Christ because of the Gospel Alive within them and so God was Glorified in them.
They knew who they had to Obey. Not because they needed to earn something from God but because they have received from God already.
Likewise, we need to see the preaching of the Gospel as an obligation that we have because we are able behold the Glory of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. We do not do this because we are looking to cause a public outrage or to be seen by anyone including God as something more than we are, yet we do this because of who we are in Christ, then God is glorified.
Our Gospel obligations based on Gospel declarations bring God Glory and that is the chief end of Man!
Our Gospel obligations based on Gospel declarations bring God Glory and that is the chief end of Man!
So today if you are hearing this and you are not sure about who this Jesus is… First we want you to know he is alive. That while he really lived and taught humanity about God, he declared that he himself was one with the Father and that his job was to seek and to save the lost. Are you Lost today? Are you broken and without hope in a state of disrepair and despair??? Jesus Christ is the name above all other names and is the only name by which you can be saved. It doesn’t matter what you have done, It only matters what he has already done for you. He has died on the cross to shed his blood for your sins to be forgiven. and he didn’t stay dead, but the Father resurrected him and he is alive and will one day return for his people. Until then we declare his great love for those he is saving and that we should repent of sin and walk in faith toward him.
And today if you are in the family of God and you are hearing this, then be encouraged that even if this world pushes you to not preach the Gospel, that you should Obey God instead of man. That because of all that God has DONE for you in Christ, you can be bold and not help but speaking of what you have seen and heard! That the Obligations of the Gospel, meaning what you do to preach Christ in this world, is based on the declaration of that Gospel, that Jesus came to seek and save the lost and you have been forgiven by his work alone!
Let’s pray!
3 questions for us to consider in our groups this week...
Question 1 - What is the Gospel… What does it declare?
Question 1 - What is the Gospel… What does it declare?
before we can talk about our response to it we need to know what it is and what it says. There are many ways to see the Gospel and to know the Gospel. But can we help each other know how to explain it in simple ways? do we know how to handle good news? can we all simply share with each other how we would explain the Gospel?
Question 2 - What is our obligations to the Gospel...
Question 2 - What is our obligations to the Gospel...
Peter and John said they cannot but speak about what they have seen and heard. We have Imperatives all through scripture that inform us of our response and our obligation to the Gospel. Do you know what they are? Do you feel that we have any Obligations to the Gospel that we have received?
Question 3 - Is it ever ok to act in civil disobedience?
Question 3 - Is it ever ok to act in civil disobedience?
What is the dividing line we see in Scripture? What should be our posture if we need to act on this? Do you think we will ever need to act on this?