Acts 4:14-22

All right, very good. Please take your copy of God's Word out and turn to the book of Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Our text for today will be Acts chapter 4, verses 14 through 22.

Acts 4:14–22

But before we read the text and get into it, I'd like to begin by reminding you where we are in our text and what we have considered together in the past weeks.

If you have been here, if you have not been here, I hope this will serve you well by catching you up to where we are in our text as well.

Beginning three weeks ago on Easter Sunday, we started into chapter 3 and we saw the healing of a lame beggar.

This figure at the temple that sat always at the beautiful gate and Peter and John going up at the hour of prayer.

It must be three o'clock in the afternoon to pray, encounter this man, and he's miraculously healed.

And in so doing, God orchestrates the setting of a stage for Peter's second sermon.

So we look also at the beginning of Peter's second sermon in which he exalts Jesus as the Christ by speaking of him with five different titles.

And those titles are, and you can look there at the beginning of chapter 3 and spot these, God's servant, Jesus, which means salvation comes from the Lord.

Peter refers to him as the holy and righteous one, the author of life and the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one.

So he exalts Jesus Christ in his preaching.

Secondly, he indicts his listeners, this crowd that has gathered because of the healing of this lame man.

He indicts them.

He points out their guilt, beginning in verse 13 of chapter 3 and then 14 and 15.

See the phrases, you delivered, you denied, you killed.

And he's addressing specifically their misconception about who Jesus is.

The following week, we concluded our study of Peter's second sermon.

So this is two weeks ago now.

And we saw the conclusion of his outline.

So first, he exalts Jesus Christ.

Second, he indicts his listeners.

And third, he calls his listeners to repentance.

Verse 19 of chapter 3, repent, therefore, and turn again.

And he speaks of the restoration that accompanies repentance.

If you are a disciple of Christ, then you are commanded, not merely suggested, but you are commanded to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

None of us are outside of this.

This isn't just a sermon to observe for pastors only.

But all of us as disciples of Christ are commanded to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And we should follow this very same outline with some consideration to our particular listeners and those listeners' particular context.

For example, the gospel, if we're to present it in its entirety, and I'm saying this to you because I think many people believe they're presenting the gospel to their friends and their co-workers.

But what they're really doing is they're having a spiritual conversation.

They're not actually presenting the gospel.

They're not giving all of the information necessary for someone to come to believing faith in Christ.

And in its simplest form, and there's much to be said about this, needs to be God, man, Christ, repentance.

You heard me say to the kids this morning, ask your parents about God and ask your parents about yourself.

That conversation rightly leads us to speaking of Christ.

And as these little ones grow older, they need to be called to repent.

Well, that's what Peter's doing here.

He's using that format, God, man, Christ, repentance.

But he's being sensitive to the listener's context.

This is a Jewish audience.

They believed in the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God that had created the world.

They believed that He was holy and that He had a holy standard for them to live by.

They were aware of the law and they were also aware of their transgression of that law.

They knew that they needed a sacrifice for that.

And so Peter's able to come in the midst of that understanding of God and man and speak of Christ and then call them to repentance.

So being sensitive to that, you can see God, man, Christ, repentance, even in his outline.

And as he exalts Jesus, indicts the listeners, calls them guilty and calls them to repentance.

Now, last week, we began to study chapter 4, verses 1 through 31.

So it's kind of our larger, broader text over these past two weeks and now into next week as well.

And in that, at the beginning of it, we observe the arrest of Peter and John as a result of their preaching,

their overnight imprisonment, and the beginning of their trial before the Sanhedrin.

In verses 8 through 12 of chapter 4, we read and considered Peter's third sermon where he follows the exact same outline.

So this is number three, one on the day of Pentecost, second following the healing of the lame man,

and now the next day, his third sermon as recorded in the book of Acts.

Again, exaltation of Jesus Christ, the indictment of his listeners, now the Sanhedrin, the religious rulers, the court of Israel,

and then calling those listeners to repentance.

And, last week, I spoke to you of the normalcy of Christian persecution.

The normalcy of it.

Christian persecution should not be a foreign concept to us.

Christian persecution should not be a foreign concept to us.

Persecution has been and still is the norm for the Christian church in the world.

Always has been and still is.

Broadly speaking, we looked at the statistics.

More Christians are suffering for the sake of the gospel in the world right now than are not.

But, the fact that this is not the case for the American church is not a factor of our political environment.

It is not a factor of our political environment that we don't suffer in that way,

that we're not persecuted because of the gospel.

Let me show you a bit more what I mean.

The persecution, hear this carefully,

The persecution of the citizens of God's kingdom always accompanies the coming of God's kingdom.

They're carried along together.

It's not optional.

Let this sink.

2 Timothy 3.12

I read this to you last week.

You need to hear these words and they need to resonate.

They need to bounce around inside of your head.

Paul, at the end of his life, he had suffered much.

He had certainly been persecuted.

He would be finally martyred not long after the writing of this second letter to Timothy 3.12.

And he said,

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Stages book.

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

All will be persecuted.

Don't let American religious freedom numb you to this reality.

Now, many places in the world and throughout history, what was experienced as persecution was persecution of the body.

That's not a present reality where we live today.

And I'm not suggesting that it should be.

Please don't seek to go out and be beat up for your faith.

It may happen.

It's very possible.

Certainly, we don't receive systematic persecution.

Right.

The state is not persecuting Christians, throwing us in prison for the preaching of the gospel.

But there is and there should exist amongst us a persecution of the ego.

If you preach the good news of Jesus Christ boldly, you might lose your reputation, your status, your position, your job.

People might think that you're strange or narrow minded or judgmental.

They might label you unloving.

A difficult one for many of us.

People may just not like you.

I like to be liked by people, but they may not like me if I begin to exalt Christ and indict them for their sin against a holy God and call them to repentance.

It's the ultimately loving thing I can do for them, but they may not appreciate it.

So it's the it's the ego that has the potential of being assaulted here in the U.S.

If we're to boldly declare the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some have suggested that the fear of persecution against the ego is a more stifling tool of the devil because it is not so clear an injustice as an assault against the body.

So catch what I'm saying.

I think I'm tracking with this idea that it's it's more stifling because an injustice against the body.

So let's say a man rushed the stage right now because I'm declaring the good news of Jesus Christ in my preaching and just clocked me in the face.

I believe I would tend to go, well, hey, suffering for righteousness sake.

Right.

How clear the injustice is on his part to attack me physically for simply declaring the truth as I understand it.

But it seems that it's subliminally restrictive when I'm afraid that that guy just might not like me.

He might cross his arms and walk out of here and never return.

He might speak poorly of me in the community and I entertain this thought in the back of my head and it could.

It has the potential to cause me to shrink back when I should push forward.

I will say to you honestly, in the times that I have shrunk back, when I should have pressed forward, when I haven't been bold as I should have been.

My concern was that I would get lumped in with other Christians.

It seems to me often that Christians that make the popular media are crazy.

And so often I go, that's not me.

Like, oh, please don't associate me with that guy or that lady.

I don't want to be associated with them.

I don't want to be seen as weird like them.

So I think I'm tracking on this idea that possibly this is the case.

But all the same, persecution of one kind or another should be the normative experience of the Christian life.

Should be normative, beloved.

Should be coming together on Sunday, having experienced the hostility of the world throughout the week.

That's why this should be such a refreshing time to be together because we look around at each other and we go, we're not crazy.

Everyone in this room believes what I believe.

And this is so charging.

We sing songs about it.

We hear the preaching of it.

And we go back out into our week ready once again to bear reproach for the sake of the gospel.

I'll give you just a quick example.

And this is kind of off the wall, but I thought of it this morning while we were singing.

So if you track with me.

Normally, day to day, I normally wear a pair of like trail running shoes and a little bit of the soles coming off of one of them.

It's a piece I can just glue back on really easily, but I just haven't done it yet.

And it's been doing that for about two weeks.

So it's a little flat.

So you catch them.

If you can catch it, it's coming from forward.

So when I shuffle my foot on the ground, it catches and does a little like boop with my foot.

Picturing that in your mind.

So I started walking different.

And this morning, I realized I'm not wearing those shoes, but I was also picking that foot up a little bit higher.

As I walked, I was doing a little more like lifting, not shuffling my feet, as I often do.

Because I had adjusted to a new norm.

And the problem is that we have a culture in our churches where we don't boldly proclaim the gospel everywhere we go.

And so therefore, we don't bear the reproach of Christ.

And it's normative.

It's normal that we don't do these things.

Rather than it being abnormal that we don't do these things.

That you come amongst a group of believers and you go, really?

All of you this week suffering for the sake of the gospel?

What's wrong with me?

And we're silent about it.

Right?

We don't go, look what the scripture has to say about this.

We very conveniently take 2 Timothy 3.12 and we go, well, maybe someday.

Could possibly be a thing that would happen.

We should be willing to do it.

He gives us no space for that type of interpretation, beloved.

If you don't like what I'm saying, your problem is with him.

Paul, the spirit of God that inspired him to say, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

The kingdom of God comes about accompanied by persecution.

And because it should be a reality, we begin to prepare for it.

It is my hope.

It is my prayer that we leave here today ready to go out and boldly proclaim the gospel and that you will be persecuted for that.

I hope it would be wonderful if each and every one of you, every single person you encountered, was favorable to the message of the gospel.

Already found in Christ or saying, tell me more.

I've been waiting my whole life to meet a person that would preach this good news to me.

But if you're propagating the gospel widely, I'm also confident that that will not be the case.

Right?

Will be persecuted.

To some people, they will want to shut you down as quickly as they can.

They don't want to hear it.

So we began to consider in these first one through thirty one, seven ways to honor God in the midst of persecution.

I promise I'm going to get to our text through this long introduction.

Seven ways to honor God in the midst of persecution.

Or if you prefer, seven ways to handle persecution.

We looked at the first three last week.

The first one was to be expendable.

Right?

And this is implied in the text.

Look at verse four of chapter four.

It's implied, but I believe it's there.

I don't think I'm taking liberty with the text at all.

Verse four.

After their arrest, Luke records the arrest and imprisonment.

But many of those who had heard the word believed.

And the number of the men came to about five thousand.

Right?

I talked a little bit last week about the varying ways we could count the number of the church in that day.

But it's a massive, massive number.

Be expendable.

Hold your life loosely for the sake of others.

Don't be so concerned about the way people view you because they're dying.

Be willing to be ridiculed for the sake of others.

Consider this.

If you're in Christ, it's possible that you picked up a copy of God's word and you read the scripture for yourself.

You read the gospel in the scripture.

But more likely, someone shared the gospel with you.

Someone taught you the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And by the inworking of the spirit and God's grace, you responded in faith.

Someone was willing to bear the reproach of Christ for you.

They were willing to do so.

Fortunately, you responded favorably.

You didn't take him out back and beat him up.

But you were not likely the only person that that good news was preached to.

The person that taught you the gospel was likely teaching other people the gospel as well.

And that person probably met with opposition to the message of Christ.

Someone was willing to bear reproach for you.

Hold loosely to your life.

Be expendable.

Secondly, we looked at being filled with the spirit.

We see that in verse 8, that Peter was filled with the spirit.

And I certainly can't talk about this at length.

Many Sundays.

We ask that question, what does it mean to be filled with the spirit?

And I've been saying to you and establishing for you that it is not this extra spiritual experience.

It's not this second normative Christian experience where you reach a whole new plateau and plane.

It's not a thing that's meant to be sought in the midst of a service by a certain set of incantations or meditation.

It's not nearly that complex.

If you're in Christ, you have been baptized in the spirit.

One time thing.

Being in Christ, you have the spirit of God.

And you can be filled with him or not.

It's a matter of walking in obedience or not.

If you want to hear more about this, Acts 2, 1 through 12, the second sermon, you can find it online.

I talk about it a bit more.

But just quickly, in order for you to study this yourself, I want you to look in Ephesians 5, Colossians 3, Romans 8.

Feel free to talk to me about it more as well.

But be filled with the spirit.

Have the word of God saturate you deeply.

Ephesians 5, Colossians 3, these parallel passages.

And have it come out of you.

Have it so worked into you that it comes out of you.

Romans 8.

Set your mind on the things of the spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

Thirdly, be bold.

Be bold.

What a great deal of boldness on Peter's part in front of these men.

This is a big deal.

Again, God orchestrating the miracle itself to bring them to being able to preach in front of this great crowd at the temple.

And now the Sanhedrin.

Now these religious elite, this ruling party, right?

In cahoots with the Romans.

And they're sitting in front of this group, 71, 70 men plus the high priest.

No way they could have called this audience together on their own, right?

This was a work of God.

And here, Peter, the one we read this morning, denying Christ three times before his crucifixion.

Now, having seen the resurrected Christ, is bold.

Man, this was a group to stand in front of.

It would have been frightening to be standing in front of these men.

The closest equivalent I can draw to it is maybe a joint session of Congress and the Supreme Court.

And then we'll just toss the president in the mix, all sitting in a big half circle asking you questions.

Right?

And you're meant to respond.

And boy, does he respond with great boldness.

Verse 11, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

And he's citing from Psalm 118, 22, which says the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Peter does not remove the offense of the gospel.

In fear, he doesn't shrink back.

He presses forward.

He speaks the truth.

He boldly indicts them.

He's saying to them, you are fulfilling Psalm 118, 22.

You, you're the builders.

You've rejected the cornerstone on which the whole temple of God is built.

He presses forward instead of shrinking back.

He goes on to say, verse 12, there is salvation in no one else.

Now, remember, these men are saying to him, they're concerned about the teaching of Jesus.

These men were integral to the crucifixion of Christ.

These men hated Jesus.

And he says, there is salvation in no one else.

For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

If you don't hang all of your hope of salvation in the personal work of Jesus Christ, you will be destroyed.

And opponents to this will say, how very narrow.

Why couldn't God make many, many ways?

But the question we should be asking is, why did God make a way at all?

Praise God forevermore than he made a way.

And he made a specific way.

And it's in faith in the personal work of Jesus Christ.

So those were last weeks.

We're caught up now.

This week, I'm just going to address one additional point from the seven.

Because the structure of the text lends itself to that.

And you've all been so very gracious.

As I've been taking huge bites out of these narratives.

And we have a members meeting following the service.

So we're just going to add one.

So in the seven ways to honor God in the midst of persecution,

the one we'll add today is number four.

Be obedient.

Be obedient.

Okay.

My text for this morning is verse 14 to 22.

But I would like to begin reading in verse one.

So Acts four.

One through 22.

And as they were speaking to the people,

the priest and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them

greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people

and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day,

for it was already evening.

But many of those who had heard the word believed,

and the number of the men came to about 5,000.

On the next day,

their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem

with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander,

all who were of the high priestly family.

And when they had set them in the midst,

they inquired,

by what power or by what name do you do this?

Then Peter,

filled with the Holy Spirit,

said to them,

rulers of the people and elders,

if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man,

by what means this man has been healed?

Let 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.

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you,

the builders,

which has become the cornerstone.

And there is salvation in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven

given among men by which we must be saved.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John

and perceived that they were uneducated,

common men,

they were astonished,

and they recognized they had been with Jesus.

But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them,

they had nothing to say in opposition.

But when they had commanded them to leave the council,

they conferred with one another,

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.

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.

So they called them and charged them not to speak

or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

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.

For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

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.

For the man on whom the sign of healing was performed

was more than forty years old.

Beloved, this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and our good.

And we would all do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

All right, beginning in verse 14.

Now, remembering that they're before the Sanhedrin,

these 71 men,

this highly intimidating situation.

Recognize that's where they are

and that it was customary

to assess claims of miracles.

If miracles occurred in this day,

it was normative that the Sanhedrin

would call together

the people who were supposedly responsible for it

and assess the claim of it.

They knew that God was a miracle-working God.

And if someone was to come and perform a miracle,

it was possible

that they were sent on behalf of God,

that they were a prophet of God.

This is likely the reason that the man was with them.

You see that in verse 14.

But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them,

he didn't wander his own way into this meeting.

He was brought in

and he was there with them to be assessed.

But remember,

this is not ultimately

why Peter and John are on trial.

So this is the normative thing that would be going on.

Like, miracles have been performed.

People are saying there's a miracle that's happened.

And we need to get together.

We need to gather everyone together.

The Sanhedrin, we need to gather together.

And we need to check this out

to see if it's a true claim or not.

And we know that's not the primary reason.

Back in the beginning of chapter 4.

Remember, they were annoyed.

They were greatly annoyed with them.

And they seized them.

And they arrested them.

They were annoyed with them for three reasons.

They were teaching.

It's not a thing that common men did.

In verse 13, we saw that they were uneducated,

common men.

They weren't trained in their rabbinical schools.

And they didn't have these clout

of a professional theologian.

They were amazed by Jesus as well

when He came into synagogues

and into the temple.

And He spoke as one with authority.

That's what they're referencing.

One who had been granted authority to.

Rather than just speaking what God had said

in His Word.

They were teaching.

Second part of verse 2

because they were teaching the people.

They were teaching about Jesus.

They were proclaiming in Jesus.

This one that they had put to death.

That they had deemed a false prophet

and killed.

And they were teaching about resurrection.

The Sanhedrin was made up

primarily,

not in entirety,

but primarily

of Sadducees.

And Sadducees were a sect of Judaism

that did not believe

in the resurrection from the dead.

I didn't think that was a possible thing.

So, they're teaching.

They're teaching about Jesus.

And they're teaching about resurrection.

That Jesus Himself was raised

from the dead.

So, they're greatly annoyed with this.

They're greatly annoyed.

But they have nothing to say

in opposition.

Here's the man standing before them.

We find out at the end of our text,

verse 22,

that this man had been crippled

for 40 years.

From birth for 40 years,

he was a figure at the temple.

Always was at the beautiful gate.

They themselves would have seen them.

So, here he is standing with them

and they're seeing.

They're saying,

yes, that's the guy.

And they've healed him.

And they're saying to us

that they healed him

in the name of Jesus Christ.

So, they have nothing to say.

So, what do they do?

They, in verse 15 and on into 16,

they took a recess.

They sent him out

and took a recess.

They conferred amongst each other

to figure out what in the world

they should do.

Verse 16,

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.

It's evident to everyone.

Many thousands

had witnessed the man healed.

We see that there

at the many who believed

at the preaching of Peter.

Many thousands

had witnessed the man healed

and the news of his healing

had spread.

All the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

the city was abuzz

with this miracle.

miracle.

They couldn't deny it.

There were too many witnesses.

It's not that they didn't

want to deny it.

They would have gladly

just dismissed it.

They would have gladly

just said,

this didn't happen at all.

This affirms the case

against us.

We could just deny it,

but we can't.

Because if we do,

we'll lose power.

Everyone will think

we're crazy.

The Sadducees also

could not deny

the resurrection.

We're going to see this

throughout the book of Acts

when the apostles

stand in these councils

before the Sadducees.

They would have loved

to have denied

the resurrection

to present the proof

that the resurrection

had not happened.

But they don't.

They never do.

They never bring it up

because they couldn't.

It was impossible

for them to do so.

This is a bit of a side note,

but a commentary

on this text

by F.F. Bruce,

who was a 20th century

Scottish Bible scholar

I commend to you.

He wrote,

it is particularly striking

that neither on this

nor on any other

subsequent occasion

did the Sanhedrin

take any serious action

to disprove

the apostles'

central affirmation,

the resurrection

of Jesus.

Had it seemed possible

to refute them

on this point,

how readily

would the Sanhedrin

have seized the opportunity?

Had they succeeded,

how quickly and completely

the new movement

would have collapsed?

So they can't.

They can't go after that.

They're not even here

able to go after

the fact that a miracle

had been performed.

And Peter is saying

it happened in the name

of Christ.

And so,

what do they do?

Verse 17

into 18.

But in order that it

may spread

no further

among the people.

Let's restrict it

to Jerusalem,

the city of Jerusalem.

Let's squelch

the rumor

that someone

was healed

by the power

of Christ.

Let us warn them

to speak no more

to anyone

in this name.

So they did.

They called them in,

charged them not

to speak or teach

at all

in the name

of Jesus.

These men

were not concerned

with the truth.

What opportunity

they had

before them

to witness

their miracle

working God

performing a miracle

in their midst.

even being offered

the opportunity

to repent.

Chapter 4,

verse 12.

To turn from their sin

and turn back to God.

But they were not

concerned with the truth.

They were concerned

with their power

and the holding of it.

They were wealthy men

because of the positions

that they held.

If the people

were convinced

that Jesus was the Messiah,

the Sanhedrin

would certainly

have been held

culpable

for his death.

He just wanted it

dismissed,

swept under

the rug.

The sooner the movement

could die,

the better for them.

So they command them,

don't speak anymore

in this name.

I think it's of

interesting note

at this point

to see.

We're going to see

again in the book

of Acts,

again and again

and again.

The apostles

had to be commanded

to stop speaking

of Jesus.

Jesus.

And today we have

to command people

to speak of Jesus.

They were so enthralled

with who he was

to them.

They loved him

so immensely

that they wouldn't

shut up.

At the threat

of their life,

they would not

be quiet.

And we see some

of that in the

response,

verse 19 and 20.

Peter and John

answered them.

So Peter's preached

this sermon before,

but now Peter

and John,

and I don't want

you to picture this

as like the creepy

talking at the exact

same time,

but I think what Luke's

trying to communicate

is that they were

unified in their

obstinance.

They were both

equally bold.

One of them spoke up,

we're not sure which,

likely Peter.

Peter talked all the time.

They said,

whether it is right

in the sight of God

to listen to you

rather than to God,

you must judge.

He's saying to them,

you guys decide,

should we listen to you

or should we listen

to God?

I love what John

MacArthur said of this

position that he puts

them in by saying this.

He says,

by such an appeal

to the divine judge,

the apostles impaled

the Sanhedrin

on the horns

of a dilemma.

He sets them up

for failure.

Either they have

to deny God

or they have

to deny themselves

as proper judges

over Israel.

Peter and John

spoke on behalf

of God

in Jesus Christ.

They put the Sanhedrin

in a position

to worship

their own power

or the God

of all power.

And sadly,

the Sanhedrin

chose the former.

verse 20,

for we cannot

but speak

of what we have

seen

and heard.

So compelling

and so moving

to them.

The good news

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ

and the effect

that it had had

on them.

They couldn't help

but speak

about it.

And here they stand,

verse 19 and 20,

boldly before

their government.

These men

had Christ

put to death.

Little help

from the Romans,

of course.

But had Christ

put to death

and here they stand

in defiance

of their government.

Now a note on that.

We're told in the scripture

to obey our government.

Are we not?

Peter himself

writes in 1 Peter 2,

13-17.

I'll shorten it

for the sake of time.

Through 15.

Be subject

for the Lord's sake

to every human institution,

whether it be

to the emperor

as supreme

or to governors

as sent by him

to punish

those who do evil

and to praise

those who do good.

14.

13 and 14.

Be subject

for the Lord

to every human institution,

whether it be

to the emperor

as supreme

or to governors

as sent by him

to punish

those who do evil

and to praise

those who do good.

Paul wrote

something similar.

Romans 13-1.

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.

So we're told

the scripture

to obey the government

but

not at the cost

of disobeying God.

So if any government

in the world

or if our government

speaks in direct opposition

to the command of God,

we're freed from obeying

that command

in order to obey

the command of God.

And we see them doing that.

This wonderful example

of that here.

Standing up to the Sanhedrin's

command to no longer speak

in the name of Christ.

For we cannot but speak

of what we have seen

and heard.

And the last part of the text,

they further threatened them.

They're bold in this proclamation.

They threatened them

a little bit more.

Probably with the threat

of imprisonment

and possible death.

Let them go.

You'll find no way

to punish them

because of the people.

Because they're afraid

of what the people

are going to say about them.

They're afraid of losing power

in the eyes of the people.

Because they were all

praising God

for what had happened

for the man on whom

the sign of healing

was performed

was more than 40 years old.

It was a very significant miracle.

It was a massive, massive miracle.

From birth,

he couldn't walk.

Now he can.

This old man

has been sitting,

excuse me if you're over 40.

It's a very significant miracle

is the point.

You've been crippled

for a very long,

long time.

So the exhortation

is to be obedient.

Let me add to that.

Be obedient at all costs.

So here they are,

Peter and John

in unison saying,

we know what you're telling us to do

but we must obey God.

We must speak

of what we have seen

and what we have heard.

We must tell people

of the only way

to salvation.

The cost is too high.

The war is too precious.

We must speak

in the name of Christ.

Be obedient at all costs.

And what does that obedience

look like in this context?

It's boldness

in the face of persecution.

That's the way

in which they were obedient.

That's the way

they're going to continue

being obedient.

In the rest of our text

through verse 31

next week,

we're going to see them

pray for even more boldness.

Thank God for their boldness

and they're going to pray

for even more boldness.

So obedience at all cost

is boldness

in the face

both in the midst of

and in the threat of

persecution.

So I want us to see

two things quickly

kind of in summary.

First,

the command of boldness

in the face of persecution.

This is obedience.

The command of boldness

in the face of persecution

and the example of boldness

in the face of persecution.

The command of boldness

in the face of persecution.

We are,

beloved Christians,

disciples of Jesus Christ,

to live and serve

the lost world

just as our Lord did.

That is the point,

the ultimate point

of what we're doing

together today.

The exaltation of Jesus Christ,

the glory of God

in the salvation

of His people.

That's the work

that we're about.

We gather today

not to feel good

about ourselves.

We didn't gather today

to meet with friends.

So I sure hope not.

We gather today

to worship the Lord,

to be equipped,

to be sent back out

to the world.

We're gathered to go.

Gathered to go.

Gathered to go.

We shouldn't neglect gathering,

but we also shouldn't neglect

the going.

We're to live and serve

the lost world

just as our Lord did.

Mark 10, 45,

Jesus says,

For even the Son of Man

came not to be served,

but to serve

and to give His life

as a ransom from me.

That's why Jesus came

to the earth,

to ransom the church

to the glory of God.

In 1 Timothy 1, 15,

Paul states,

Jesus Christ came into the world

to save sinners.

In John 20, 21,

Jesus says,

As the Father has sent me

into the world

to be a ransom for many,

to save sinners,

even so,

I am sending you.

The book of Acts

is about that.

Jesus Christ exalted

at the right hand of the Father

sending the Spirit of God

to His people

so that He's multiplied

across the planet.

Hands and feet,

moving,

mouthpieces,

preaching

the good news of Jesus Christ.

He has multiplied Himself.

He does that

even in our suffering.

As the Father has sent me,

even so,

I am sending you.

You're familiar with Matthew 28,

18-20?

Jesus issues the marching orders

to the apostles

and the church.

This is for each one of us,

beloved.

All authority in heaven and earth

has been given to me.

Go, therefore,

and make disciples

of all nations,

baptizing them

in the name of the Father

and of the Son

and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe

all that I have commanded you,

and behold,

I am with you always

to the end of the age.

This command for us to go

is sandwiched on either side

by Christ's authority

and His presence,

power and presence

on either side of us

to go and carry

the good news

to all nations,

raising up disciples.

I hate that I have to say

disciples of Jesus Christ

make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Duh.

But that doesn't seem to be the case.

This is to be the activity

of all of us.

The primary task

of the disciple of Jesus Christ

is to propagate

the gospel of Jesus Christ

far and wide

in order to make disciples.

Do you share Paul's sentiment

that he expresses

in 1 Corinthians 9.16?

Do you share this?

For if I preach the gospel,

that gives me no ground

for boasting,

for necessity is laid upon me.

Woe to me

if I do not preach

the gospel.

This weekend

at the biblical counseling

and discipleship training

that a number of us

from our church

participated in.

It's a wonderful thing.

I'm going to encourage you

to go to it next year.

One of the speakers

said multiple times

that a common question

he asks

counselees,

those he's counseling,

and I really love this,

would you rather

glorify God

than breathe?

Would you rather

glorify God

than breathe?

Because of what

he's done for you,

the way in which

he's expressed

is great love

for us.

Is that so precious

to you?

Christ must be

magnified in my life.

I'd rather do that

than breathe.

In John 15.8,

Jesus states,

By this is my Father

glorified,

that you bear

much fruit,

and so prove to be

my disciples.

And he says

in John 14.15,

If you love me,

you will keep

my commandments.

Now, beloved,

it's the normative

response.

It's the thing

that should be

happening.

We properly

treasure the gospel

as we should.

Really understand

our sin.

Really get

our depravity.

What we've been

saved from.

Eternal damnation.

Eternal separation

from him.

But because of what

Christ did on our behalf,

we can have life

and life everlasting.

Love Christ

for that.

He should be

most pleasurable

for us.

We'll keep

his commandments.

But one follows

the other.

In front of your

bulletin,

you can see

just two quotes

I'll read.

Love is not

just a sentiment.

This is Martin Lloyd-Jones.

Love is not

just a sentiment.

Love is a great

controlling passion

and it always

expresses itself

in terms

of obedience.

He's speaking

of our love of God

here.

It's of no value

if I just tell my wife

Sam, I love you,

and I do nothing

to actually show her

and express to her

my love of her.

The same is true

of God.

You cannot just

say it.

There has to be

some outflow

of that.

Who we are in Christ

produces this love

and produces

the work

we're meant to be

about.

Quote by Augustine

is a typo.

There should be

an E at the end

of his name.

Augustine,

if you prefer.

Wicked men

obey from fear.

Good men

from love.

Good men

from love.

So we have a

command to boldness

in the face

of persecution.

Don't think

yourself exempt

from this.

It's for your

good.

Then we have

the example

of boldness

in the face

of persecution.

1 Peter 2

21.

Peter writes,

For to this

you have been

called,

because Christ

also suffered

for you.

He's talking

about suffering.

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.

Jesus Christ

is the great

example for us

of boldness

in the face

of persecution.

Turn with me

if you will

please in your

copy of God's

word to Matthew

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26.

Amen.

I had every

intention of

this being

a short

sermon.

Hang with

me.

Matthew 26

beginning

in verse

36.

It's a picture

of Jesus

in the garden

of Gethsemane

before the

eve of his

crucifixion.

It's the night

before.

Most of you

are probably

familiar with

the story.

Think about

him as an

example of

boldness in

the face

of persecution.

Find

yourself in

the garden

in this

place.

Verse 36

and Jesus

went with

them to a

place called

Gethsemane.

He said to

his disciples,

sit here while

I go over

there and

pray.

And taking

with him

Peter and

the two

sons of

Zebedee,

he began

to be

sorrowful

and troubled.

He's

anticipating

what's

coming the

next day.

Then he

said to

them,

my soul

is very

sorrowful,

even to

death,

remain here

and watch

with me.

And going

a little

farther,

he fell

on his

face and

prayed,

saying,

my

father,

if it

be

possible,

let

this

cup

pass

from

me.

Nevertheless,

not as

I will,

but as

you will.

He's

saying,

if it's at

all possible,

if there's

any other

way for

this to

be

accomplished,

this is

the way

we know

that this

had to

happen in

this way.

Jesus

himself

said,

if I

can avoid

the

persecution,

can we

do this

another way?

Is there

any other

way to

do it?

But I

prefer what

you will.

verse 40,

and he

came to

the

disciples

and he

found them

sleeping

and he

said to

Peter,

so could

you not

watch with

me one

hour?

Watch and

pray that

you may

not enter

into temptation.

The spirit

indeed is

willing,

but the

flesh is

weak.

Again,

for the

second time,

he went

away and

prayed,

my father,

if this

cannot pass

unless I

drink it,

we understand

that to be

the wrath

of God,

your will

be done.

If this

cannot pass

unless I

drink it,

your will

be done.

And again,

he came and

found them

sleeping,

for their

eyes were

heavy.

So leaving

them again,

he doesn't

even wake

them up

that time,

so leaving

them again,

he went

away and

prayed for

the third

time,

saying the

same words

again.

So three

times he

said,

is there

any other

way for

this to

happen?

I would

prefer to

avoid the

persecution,

but your

will be

done.

Then he

came to

the disciples

and said

to them,

sleep and

take your

rest later

on.

See,

the hour is

at hand,

and the

Son of

Man is

betrayed

into the

hands of

sinners.

Rise,

let us

be going.

See,

my betrayer

is at

hand.

So we

ask that

the Lord

would take

the persecution

from him.

He doesn't

do so,

and he

boldly

faces it.

The will

of God,

that the

people of

God are

persecuted

for the

sake of

the

gospel.

Jesus is

our great

example in

this.

Hebrews 12,

1 and 2.

Therefore,

since we

are surrounded

by so

great a

cloud of

witnesses,

let us

also lay

aside every

weight and

sin which

clings so

closely,

and let us

run with

endurance the

race that

is set

before us.

This is

what I've

been talking

about.

This is

the race

set before

us,

this battle

that we're

in to

preach the

good news

to the

whole world.

Looking to

Jesus,

the founder

and perfecter

of our

faith,

who for

the joy

that was

set before

him,

endured the

cross,

despising the

shame,

and is

seated at

the right

hand of

the throne

of God.

So we see

Jesus looks

to the joy

that is

before him

and the

exaltation

of his

person at

the right

hand of

God in

order to

endure the

suffering that

will come.

He has an

eternal

mindset.

He has a

concern for

the will of

God and the

glory of

God.

And so he

suffers well.

He's obedient

at all

cost.

Jesus is

certainly the

greatest and

highest example

of this.

There are

lesser examples.

I want you to

be encouraged by

these things.

They can be of

massive encouragement

to us.

To know about

the persecution

that happens in

the world around

us makes me

being called

weird so

inconsequential.

people.

You familiar

with Voice of

the Martyrs?

You can

subscribe to

this for free.

This is a

cool organization.

Persecution.com

They'll send you a

deal like this.

I think it's

monthly that it

comes.

They tend to

stack up on my

desk and I

read them and

then go back.

I don't even

know where we're

at in the

April.

Monthly.

These will

come to you.

Great resources.

Great videos.

Pray for these

people.

I can guarantee

you they're

praying for us.

They pity us

for not

getting to

experience the

reproach of

Christ the

way they do.

Pray for

them.

Be encouraged

by them.

Another resource

I want to

commend to you

is Fox's

Book of

Martyrs.

Thumb through

these pages

and then try

to put American

Christianity in

the context of

the history of

the church.

Something's

really wrong

with us in

that way.

I want to

read one to

you quickly.

There were

ten systematic

persecutions

by the Roman

Empire.

This one

happens in

the seventh

systematic

persecution.

It's under

the emperor

Decius

and in

Asia under

the governor

Optimus.

It's

80-249-251.

This took

place.

Short little

account.

Two quick

paragraphs.

A weak

Christian

Nicomachus

was brought

before Optimus

and ordered

to sacrifice

to the

pagan idols.

Nicomachus

replied,

I cannot

pay the

respect to

devils that

is due

only to

the

Almighty.

It's a good

start, right?

He was

immediately

placed on

the rack

and after

enduring his

torments for

only a short

time,

recanted his

faith in

Christ.

As soon as

he was freed

from the

rack,

he was seized

with a great

agony and

fell to the

ground and

died.

Okay, so

there's the

weak Christian

Nicomachus.

seeing what

seemed to be

a terrible

judgment,

Denisa,

a 16-year-old

girl who

was among

the observers

exclaimed,

are young

people in the

room?

Are you

hearing?

Denisa,

a 16-year-old

girl,

yells out,

Oh,

unhappy

wretch,

why would

you buy

a moment's

ease at

the expense

of a

miserable

eternity?

When

Optimus

heard this,

he called

her to

himself,

and when

Denisa

confessed that

she was a

Christian,

he had her

beheaded.

Are you

more like

Nicomachus

or Denisa?

Christian,

we are to

be obedient

no matter

the cost.

The companion

to the coming

of the kingdom

of God is

Christian

persecution.

The kingdom

of God

will come

with or

without you.

I pray that

you would

choose to

be a

minister of

reconciliation

and not

sit idly

by on

the sidelines.

Your

momentary

comfort is

not worth

trading for

the

astounding

joy you

can have

in Christ

even now

in the

midst of

such

suffering.

Remember

what Jesus

said in

John 15,

If the

world hates

you,

know that

it has

hated me

before it

hated you.

If you

were of

the world,

the world

would love

you as

its own.

But because

you were

not of

the world,

but I

chose you

out of

the world,

therefore

the world

hates you.

Remember

the word

that I

said to

you,

a servant

is not

greater

than his

master.

If they

persecuted

me,

they will

also

persecute

you.

If they

kept

my word,

they will

also keep

yours.

do

not

continue

to go

on from

this

day

willing

to be

complacent

and

comfortable.

Be

bold

for the

sake of

others,

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ,

the glory

of his

name,

and be

prepared.

You

will

be

persecuted.

If you

have not

placed

believing

faith

in

Jesus

Christ,

this

is

not

a

good

evangelistic

sermon.

you

need to

know,

though,

that there

are

people

in

this

room

that

are

willing

to

risk

everything.

And I

mean that.

I know

people in

this

room

who are

willing

to

risk

everything,

their

lives,

the

lives

of

their

families,

so that

you

would