ACTS | Freedom in Christ | Acts 5:12-42

Our text this morning comes from Acts chapter five. We're going to look at verses 12 through the end of the chapter as we are making our way through the book of Acts. That is The Continuing Acts of Jesus Christ, and by the power of His Spirit, through His Apostles. Before we read the text, let's go to the Lord again in prayer. We have just confessed in the Nicene Creed we believe in the Holy Spirit, and we are completely, utterly dependent now upon the Holy Spirit. And we need the Holy Spirit to open up our eyes and our hearts this we are here in vain, wasting our time. So let's pray that the Spirit will work through the Word. Let's pray our Heavenly Father. We thank you again that you are not silent.

We know that the heavens are declaring your glory.

We look above the stars, the skies, the plants, the creatures of the Earth, are declaring your power, your sovereignty, your provision, your creativity.

But Lord, even as we look around this world, we also see great destruction and great evil in the world. We even wrestle with our own sin, and might even come to despair. And Lord, you speak also through Your Word, that we might know salvation, that we might know liberty, that we might know freedom in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we might know that all of our sins have been washed away by his precious blood, and that we can come now into your presence and worship You and praise You and thank You, Lord, I pray that as we come to your word, that you will unstop our deaf ears, that we will hear of our great sin, but of our greater savior. Lord, would you soften our hard hearts to receive your word as food, as the words of life.

Lord, be merciful to your people. We pray now in Jesus's name, Amen.

People of God, hear God's word for us from Acts chapter five, beginning in verse 12, reading to the end of the chapter. Now many signs and wonders were regularly done by the people, by the hands of the apostles. Among the people, by by the hands of the apostles, and they were all together in Solomon's portico.

None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem, and more than ever, believers were added to the Lord multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed, but the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is the party of the Sadducees, and filled with jealousy, they arrested the apostles and put them in public in the public prison.

But during the night, an angel the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

Now, when the high priest came and those who were with him, they called together the council and all the Senate of the people of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison. So they returned and reported. We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside. Now, when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told them, Look, the men who you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.

Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, not but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council and the high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly charged you not to teach in this name. Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

But Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men.

The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him at His right hand as leader and Savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things. And so it is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.

And when they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days, theaters rose up claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about 400 joined them. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing after him.

Judas, the Galilean, rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.

So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan, for if this plan, or this undertaking, is of man, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God. So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

And every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ, He who has ears, let him hear the Word of God. Please be seated.

The Lord is risen.

That's a good response, and you know that to be the truth. And as we have come to the book of Acts, that has been the case, that the Lord is indeed risen and ascended. But he hasn't left his church by itself. He is still reigning. He is still ruling over his people.

He has given the church His Spirit, which continues to save sinners and people are being added to the church daily.

And we have seen so far in the book of Acts, the power of Christ from His throne, through the power of his Spirit, through the apostles, that crippled man, who was crippled from birth is now walking and leaping and praising God, pointing to the reality of the spiritual, spiritual nature of our hearts, being crippled in sin, yet being set free in the Lord Jesus Christ, but also looking forward to the day to come, the kingdom to come, that Christ will one day, usher in full where there is no more death, there are more no there's no more sickness, and there's no more tears. And we have these tastes of the the kingdom breaking in into this world. We also have looked at the fruit of the spirit that's being worked in the church. Last week, we looked at the their unity and their love for one another, that the peace of the Brotherhood in the church, their generosity, their their charity towards one another, recognizing the things of this world are perishing. If we believe that Christ is risen and that we too will rise with him, what good is the things of this world? Let us give them away. If there's someone in need, let us give it away. My treasure is not in this world.

It is above and so they are freely giving. They're loving, they're serving one another, but we also, as recall from last week, we also see God purifying his church and disciplining his church and striking a godly fear into his people that we don't come to church flippantly, lest we perish, we don't enter into God's presence as if he were like us. We have to remember that he is holy, he is without sin, and He is to be revered, he is to be worshiped, he is to be praised and adored.

And we see people repenting of their sin, believing and people are being added to the church.

Jesus's Kingdom is advancing here now. Christ's kingdom is advancing, and nothing can stop it. Nothing will stop it.

He here in our text, people are continuing to be added to the church. People are continuing to be set free from their sin, set free from greed, set freed from discontentment, set free from fleshly desires and the love of this world and the lies of Satan. Set.

Free from the fear of man, even in the face of great persecution. I think as we look at this text, there's a lot in here, but a few things that I want us to consider, and it's going to be a little bit back and forth. It's not maybe as clear as I'd like to say. My other sermons are clear, but maybe they're not as clear either, but sometimes I have three points.

But here we what I want us to see is you're going to see people who are being set free in the Lord Jesus Christ, and what that freedom of Christ looks like to walk in, and what the Christian life looks like in that freedom. But in contrast, you're going to also see a lot of examples in this text of people who are still enslaved.

They're enslaved to fear of man.

They're still enslaved by their sin. And so it's going to be a little bit of a back and forth between those two contrasts about being enslaved to sin and fear, but also what it means to be set free from sin and to live freely before the face of God alone, and to fear him and to fear him alone.

So first we see this freedom in verse 12, many signs and wonders were regularly being done by the people among the people, by the hands of the apostles.

Now, the signs and wonders that are here given by the apostles, if you remember, these are all confirmations of the words that they proclaimed and the power of the resurrection they preached.

Remember, that's why Jesus did miracles too. Jesus didn't just do miracles because he was on a humanitarian mission. People would have loved Jesus if he just stayed around and created a hospital. And you just come Jesus, just people come by, touch his robe, healed. That's great. No, Jesus performed miracles because it was a testimony of the words that he spoke.

That there's a day of judgment to come, and that you in your sins, you will perish, but your only hope is to repent and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.

That's what Jesus proclaimed, and that's why he was put to death, because he is the God man who came to redeem men, but people hate God. Remember Psalm two, and Peter's quoted this now a few times for us, if there's one thing that the world will come together and agree upon and unity for it's hatred for God.

And now the apostles, though, are continuing the mission of Christ, and the spirit is giving them power of these different miracles to affirm their words that they are proclaiming about Christ and also pointing to the power of the resurrection that they preached.

And the miracles are pointing us again beyond this world to the world to come. And also the last week, the miracle of judgment, reminding us that there is a day of judgment to come here. Also, we're told that some are even hoping that the shadow of Peter might come upon them. This is very similar to that woman who goes and touches Jesus's robe, hoping that she'll be healed from the flow of blood. And again, that the apostles are mimicking this, not mimicking, but the mission of Jesus, and the work of Jesus is continuing, and that's seen here in the work of the apostles, even the people having little faith, but faith enough to know that it is God alone who has to heal, even if I could just get in the shadow of Peter.

And the gospel starting to go for further out now of Jerusalem, it's being spread into the other towns the surrounding areas. And verse 14 and more than ever, believers were added to the Lord multitudes of both men and women. The Lord is adding to his church. He is delivering people from the domain of darkness and transferring them to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And that's really what we see in those first few verses there, that the power of Christ, who is still at work, Christ is still at work, and he is setting people free. Remember, the physical affirmatives are all pointing to the spiritual realities, and he is setting people free, giving them true life and faith.

But there's also enslavement here in this text, there are people who are still waiting on the sidelines. They have admiration, but they.

Not yet set free. Verse 13, none of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

They admire, but they're not ready to devote themselves to Christ. And maybe you've experienced that.

Maybe you have friends like that, or colleagues like that, who will say, You know what?

Really, you know what you what you do. I you know that's good for the kids. You know, we should do that for our kids, and they might even encourage you in your faith, but they aren't putting that their faith in Christ, and that's kind of what we see here, that there's still a little bit they're not ready yet, and maybe because they they admire the boldness of the apostles and the Christians, but they're not yet ready to maybe face the persecution that is starting to surround them.

They're not ready to be ridiculed. They're not ready for their lives to be threatened. I admire the people that are, but I'm just we're not ready yet for that. I think also, there's some who just have this paralyzing terror.

Last week, in the text, God, in His holiness and purity, put to death Ananias and Ananias and Sapphira.

But rather than being driven to the mercy of God, which has been preached, they're just in in terror, they're in fear, and they stay away in last week's text too, we remember that there was great grace but also great fear in the people of God, and we've looked how both of those things actually go well together, that if you have fear without grace, it produces despair. And that might be happening to some of the people here. They just they're afraid. I don't want to approach God. I don't want to get and go into His presence.

I'm just going to die like Ananias and Sapphire. I'm greedy. I've lied, and that's all that Ananias and Sapphira did. They just told a little lie. They just kept someone in and God put them to death. I dare not know. I don't want to be a part of that group.

But also remembering what was being preached is not just the justice of God, but the mercy of God, the grace of God, but grace without fear produces just presumption and entitlement. Let us continue to sin that grace might abound. Let's do what we can do whatever we want. In Christ, right? He's just forgiven it all we we're free to do whatever we want. There's no law that we're held to anymore.

Well, that's not right, either we the grace and fear come together and that produces all holiness.

It's the cross where we look again, where we see that grace and justice of God meet.

It's a reminder again to us that God is holy, but also merciful.

And as we are coming this morning, even as we're sitting here, we are coming to serve the King of kings who rules over our breath, even our last breath, our last heartbeat. And we need to be wise, and we need to be warned, as Psalm two reminds us, lest we perish. But blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

But the fear continues, not only in the people, but also now the high priest. He rises up along with his bullies. They're like the mob, the Sadducees, and that's really what they were in the first century. And they're filled with jealousy. They're not filled with the Spirit as others were, but filled with jealousy. And they're afraid.

They're afraid of losing control. They want to control the people, and they don't like people being drawn to Jesus.

They want men to praise them, and now these men are praising Jesus, and so they're enslaved to the fear of man, and men aren't praising them. So they get very jealous, and they want to put an end to it also. Verse 18, they arrest the apostles and put them in public prison. But verse 19, as soon as they are in prison, during the night, an angel the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out.

Angels are really good at opening things, right? Tombs, prisons, they're just you can't these angels. You can't keep them out. Paul and Silas, you will find later they experience a similar Prison Break, but they stay. So why does Peter and the other apostles leave? Because God tells them, through this messenger, the angel, verse 20, go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of life. And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

We've talked about how Jesus has all authority, All authority, All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus, and Jesus has given authority to different institutions here, like the family, the church and the state, and sometimes those authorities over.

Step their boundaries and even abuse their authority, and that's happening here in our text. We also see that in other places in Scripture too, like when Pharaoh declares that all the male children who are born be destroyed, and the the midwives were told they don't do it because they don't, they fear God, actually more than they fear Pharaoh, when Daniel is told to not pray anymore.

He continues to pray to God because he fears God rather than man. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are told to bow down and worship the idol of Nebuchadnezzar, they don't do it because they fear God rather than man.

Now this jailbreak is not only a physical break, physical jailbreak, but also, again, pointing to that spiritual reality that God is setting people free from the fear of man, setting people free from sin, and they aren't. Aren't set free to then escape and then the high they actually go right back and preach to the place that they had got arrested. And with even with more boldness, and God sets them free to speak the words of this life. It says, and what are the words of this life? Well, I think that goes back to what we read in Ephesians, chapter two or earlier in the service, and you were dead and the trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were, by nature, children of wrath, like the rest of mankind, that is the death.

But what's the life? But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us with him in the heavenly places, in Christ, Jesus, this is what we're to proclaim, this life.

We're to proclaim Christ.

So they enter the temple and they're preaching the life that is Christ.

And then someone came and told them, the Sadducees and the council, look these men who you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people, and the captain and the officers went through to get them, and when they bring them, they set them before the council, and now the apostles are before the high priest to be questioned. I think it's very interesting that the first question is, is is not, how'd you get out? There's no discussion about that.

There's no discussion about this angel breaking them out, or even how they got out of a prison that was locked up and had guards around it. They are so mad, they don't actually care about that. They're so jealous that they they just begin to get right into it. We told you we strictly charged you not to teach in this name. Yet here you are, and you filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Essentially, they're saying we told you, we warned you not to do this, and here you are doing it again, and also what you intend to bring that man, Jesus's blood, upon us. And there's some conviction of sin that they Peter has proclaimed to them. They're not ready to receive it. They're still pushing it off. We're not going to we're not going to receive that. And then there's a sermon.

There's a sermon in verses 29 through 32 and I'm going to just read those verses again. Listen closely. But Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him at His right hand as leader and Savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. Does that message sound familiar?

It should. We're only in chapter five of the book of Acts, and this is the third sermon Peter has preached to these exact people, the same people, and he's given almost the same sermon the third time to the same people again and again.

It isn't okay now. Now for the third sermon. You know, I've focused on on Christ the first and second, but for the third sermon, let's just talk about anger management, because you guys need it. Let's talk about how we can just overcome jealousy, because you guys seem to be wrestling.

With that, let's just talk about some some moralistic therapeutic ways that will give you a better night's sleep.

Peter doesn't do that at all.

No, he says what you need to hear again and again and again and again.

Is Christ.

And every sermon that you hear, in every sermon by the grace of God that I preach, the focus, the center must always be Christ, crucified for sinners like you and me. It's another sermon that Peter Peter preaches about the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the exaltation of the Lord Jesus, Christ.

We need it again and again and again, and even as we work through Acts, it's not going to change. You're going to hear more sermons and more sermons about Christ, because that is the life, that is what we need.

And if you don't hear Christ preached in a sermon, then I have failed. It is a failure of a sermon. But also just notice the three things in this sermon that are also presented that I also hope that you hear in every sermon that you from this pulpit, that you hear of guilt.

He again goes, you killed Jesus by hanging Him on on a tree.

They physically did it, but you and I too are guilty of the blood of Christ because of our sin. It is our sin that has hung Jesus on the cross. There was no other way for us to be saved except by the cross of Christ.

If there was any other way, Christ would not have to go to the cross. But because there is no other life, there is no other way, our sins are what put Christ on the cross, we too are guilty of the blood of Christ, our fear of man, our greed, our jealousy, our wanting the things of this world, us listening to the lies of Satan, our fleshly desires. We are guilty. We are guilty, and we deserve judgment.

But not only guilt, we also see grace. Even in here, God has exalted Him and extends forgiveness of sins to you, repent and believe. Peter's preaching this message to them for the third time, people who keep putting him in prison, who keep putting him in prison, yet he extends grace, believe that your sins might be forgiven.

I think it's an amazing thing when Jesus is commissioning His apostles to preach the gospel, he says, beginning in Jerusalem, and if I'm Jesus, remember that's the last place that I will want the good news to be preached. They deserve the judgment of God. It is the most wicked of places to put the Son of Man, the Son of God, on the cross and die, but yet Jesus says that's where you're going to start.

And here Peter is giving the message to the people that are most opposed to the gospel. It's the religious leaders, and Peter is proclaiming Christ to them again and again and again.

Believe this is what you need.

This is what you need. This is what you need. Christ the forgiveness of sins, his blood spilled for you, but also then gratitude that they might be set free to obey God. Now, rather than men, I'm going to I'm going to obey.

I'm going to be witnesses of this Christ, and that's what we see just in those little few verses, the guilt, the grace and the gratitude. And again, that's what we need in each of our sermons as well.

And when they heard this, they are enraged. They will remain in their slavery, and they wanted to kill them.

And Jesus had warned them, the apostles of this in John chapter 15, Jesus says, If the world hates you, know that if 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 world is not our friend.

John 15 · chapter mention

Most people don't want to hear this message and the message that Peter preached.

You know, I think Christ is mostly tolerated as long as it's just seen as your own personal conviction or personal view, as long as you don't try to push it on anyone else you.

But if you remember, Peter has just boldly proclaimed, and we must too, that there is no salvation, no salvation in anyone else and under any other name, that men will be saved except the Lord Jesus Christ, and brothers and sisters, we must be bold to that message, and the world will hate us for it that it is Christ alone, but that is the only hope in Christ alone.

And then Gamaliel stands up to address the council, and he's a Pharisee. He's a leader of the Sanhedrin. This is Paul's teacher, who's Saul at the time, but trained Saul is maybe even with Gamaliel at this time, most likely he is in Jerusalem when all of this is happening.

And he essentially says, Gamaliel says in verses 35 to 39 don't get too excited. Don't get too worked up about what's going on here. We've seen this before.

Guys leave it alone and let God dictate the outcome. Now he gets some things right and he gets some things wrong. Evil doesn't always come to an end right away. In this world, God does not always calls good to overcome evil in every occasion and a particular timeline how we would like to and we see false religions who seem to have some legs to it, like Islam that it's, you know, a period of time. It doesn't look like it's ending anytime soon. So his counsel isn't exactly right there, but the thing he does absolutely get right is that you can't overthrow God's plans.

That's, again, that's Psalm two.

Christ sits on the throne. He's not going to be removed now, eventually all evil will come to an end, and all false religions, their mass will eventually be removed. But that might not be today. Hopefully it's today and Christ comes, but we can't overthrow God's plans. Now, they take Emilio's counsel, and not because, I think they feel like there's a lot of wisdom in it. I think they take his counsel because they're just afraid of the people. These aren't men who are free and living before the face of God alone. They're afraid. They're fickle. They change their mind. They're fearful how people will react.

Remember that they don't they take the apostles quietly because they're afraid that they're going to get stoned because the crowd is actually liking what the apostles are saying at the time. Now, again, that will change shortly. But there these are people that are just driven by public opinion.

These are great politicians.

Okay, alright, let's, let's do that then. And that's what's happening, Camellia, okay, I think you're probably right. We want to, we want to, don't want to lose our job, so let's do that. And so they, they do that.

And then verse 40, we also know that they're not convicted by God, because it's not like they just repent and let them go.

They whip them, they beat them, and they warn them again not to speak in the name of Jesus.

Verse 40, they charge them again to not speak in the name of Jesus, and they're flogged, being whipped. The apostles are having their skin ripped away from their back. And this is a way of discipline that sometimes could kill people. And they're essentially saying, Take that, let that be a reminder to you of our strength, of our power, of our might. If you speak in that name again, and then in verse 41 says, Then they left the presence of the council questioning their life choices, not sure what we should do now.

Should we continue?

Let's it say they are rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name and every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that Christ is Jesus. They are rejoicing. They aren't afraid to suffer.

They're not even afraid to suffer death. They weren't silenced.

They are free in Christ.

Don't we want that kind of boldness? Don't we want that kind of freedom in this world, to not be afraid of man, but to just live our face, our lives before the face of God, and to know that if my father's face is shining upon me, that is all I need, and doesn't matter if they take my life, if they beat me, because I believe in the resurrection of the dead, What can man do but take our body?

But Christ, God can take our souls as well.

One example I'll end with on October 16, 1555, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were burned at the stake in Oxford, England because they.

Refused to renounce their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and recant. And they didn't turn back to Roman Catholicism, which was England, was under the reign of Queen Mary the first, as you might know her as Bloody Mary.

And as they were being tied to the stake, Ridley prayed fervently and encouraged the people even around to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. And just before the flames were lit, Latimer turned to Ridley and cried out with joy, and he said, Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall, this day, light such a candle, by God's grace in England, as I trust, shall never be put out.

And despite the pain that awaited them, they were rejoicing in the midst of their suffering, rejoicing not because they were about to escape death, but because they were glorifying God even in their death.

Are we prepared?

Are we prepared for that suffering? Suffering scares me.

I don't know if I'm prepared if I'm honest, and I think that's as a church and maybe even an individually, let us go to the Lord and ask and confess Lord, I don't know if I'm ready. I don't I fear. I'm too much afraid. But let us confess our sins and the comforts of this world and be ready to give our lives for the sake of Christ, who is the life that we too might have life and share that life. But let us lift our eyes heavenward in such a way that we are set free from the fear of pain and suffering and discomforts, free from the lies of Satan, free from the desires of this world, free from the lusts of our flesh, that we might look above and see God's smiling face upon us, and that is all that we need. Let's pray for that now, Father, we do pray that you would set us free, free us from our sins. And Lord, I confess I am so often afraid of suffering, of fear of death, even itself.

But Lord, we pray that you will give us freedom in the Lord Jesus, Christ. You will give us a boldness, help us to not only be people who are confessing and professing truth with our mouth, but Lord that these truths that Christ is Risen would sink deep down into our hearts, that it would affect the way that we live, that it would affect the way that we speak, that Christ is risen and so will we to know that he is our rock and that we are safe within Christ, Lord, I pray you will strengthen us, empower us by your Spirit, set us free. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.