Stand for the Gospel

Standing For the Gospel

Acts 4:1-22

*We are now a few weeks into this series in Acts called SENT.  I don’t know about you, but this stuff is exciting to me.  It’s exciting to talk about mobilizing the church, reaching the lost and dying world with the good news of Jesus HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE and EVERYONE.  It’s exciting to hear about the miraculous power of God and the amazing moments in which He disrupts the flow and natural order of this world and interjects His power in a miraculous sign.  But living a life “on mission” doesn’t come without a cost.

• Standing firm for the Gospel might lead to persecution.

• (v1-4)  “And as they were speaking to the people, the priests 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 five thousand.”

• Are we willing to be a church that lives against the grain?

• Standing firm for the Gospel might lead to interrogation.

• (v5-7)  “On the next day the rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and 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 did you do this?’”

• “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

1. 1. 1. They knew what Peter preached the day before:  (3:16 “And his name–by faith in his name–has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.”)
   2. “By what power” (Authority)
   3. “By what name” (Jurisdiction)

• Standing firm for the Gospel might lead to opportunity.

• (v8-12)  “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.’”

• Peter uses his hearing as a stage to proclaim the gospel:

• Why aren’t we comfortable giving this answer?

• (1)  We don’t give God enough credit.

• (2)  We are afraid that we won’t know what to say when the opportunity comes so we avoid it.

• (Luke 21:12-15)  “12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.”

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. This was an act performed on Peter, not a continuous state.

• In the very moment, the HS FILLED Peter and gave him the words to speak.

1. 2. “… when we read the speech of Peter, we must remember to whom it was spoken, and when we do remember that it becomes one of the world’s great demonstrations of courage. It was spoken to an audience of the wealthiest, the most intellectual and the most powerful in the land, and yet Peter, the Galilaean [sic] fisherman, stands before them rather as their judge than as their victim. But further, this was the very court which had condemned Jesus to death. Peter knew it, and he knew that at this moment he was taking his life in his hands.”

• Standing for the Gospel might lead to silencing.

• (v13-17)  “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.  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.”

1. 1. 1. 1. So they call for a break in the trial and talk with each other to figure out what they’re going to do.  They knew that the entire city was aware of this man being healed so in order to stop the news from spreading, they decided to warn them not to speak anymore about Jesus.

• “And they recognized that they had been with Jesus”

• Standing for the Gospel might lead to confrontation.

• (v18-20)  “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.”

• The only time the Scripture gives us permission to disobey the government is when obeying the government would cause us to disobey God.

• Standing for the Gospel might lead to worship.

• (v21-22)  “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 this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

*Closing Takeaway:

*Are you standing firm for the Gospel?  When opportunities to share the Gospel come up, are you engaging or distancing?  God will provide the opportunity, words to speak and ears to hear, but we have to be willing.  

*If you are standing firm for the Gospel, are you prepared for persecution?  Are you prepared for adversity?  Are you prepared for the questions and concerns that will come?

*But, you can take heart.  When the moment comes, the Lord will give you the words to speak and He will change hearts for his glory.