Four responses to the good news
Reading: Acts 5: 12 to 42
In case you have not heard, London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. How do you react to this news? Some people are delighted (if English!), some are depressed (if French!), some could not care less (if Swiss??!). It's a matter of opinion: no moral right or wrong answer. But this morning I want us to consider another much, much more important event.
This morning I want to ask how you have reacted to the greatest event in history: the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This event happened 2,000 years ago. The Lord Jesus won the greatest and most lasting of victories over sin and death. This event has changed and continues to change more lives than any other event in history. It changed my life! The question is: How has it affected you? Are you delighted? Does it make you depressed…or are you indifferent?
In our reading we learnt of four different reactions to the news that Jesus Christ died and rose again: the Apostles were proclaiming the glorious good news and challenging men and women to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord. (Acts 4:12). Some were too frightened to believe, some—the religious leaders—were angry. They arrested the apostles and put them in prison. Some wanted to wait and see. But others believed and joined the disciples. Sadly three of the reactions would lead to despair. The fourth leads to joy. Where are you this morning? What is your reaction to the news that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead?Let us look at them in turn and learn from them.
1) The uncommitted
Please read Acts 5: 12-16. These people were truly amazed at what they saw and heard. They “esteemed highly” the apostles. They could see that they were genuine. Something rang true about the way they acted. They practiced what they preached. Their lives had been transformed. These unlearned fishermen were bold and fearless in their witness. These people’s hearts were touched by all this. They were drawn to join the Christians. But they did not become disciples of Jesus. In fact it says that they “dared not” join them (v13). Why was that? They felt drawn to the Gospel but they still felt a stronger draw to the world. These people saw the great power of God, saw the dramatic effect it had on people’s lives and they were sore afraid.
Jesus met a rich man who had a similar problem (Luke 18: 18-23). He was drawn to Jesus and his teaching. He asked: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus' reply was too much for him “Go sell all you have, give to the poor and come follow me”. We read that he went away sorrowful, because he loved his riches. I can remember having similar thoughts before I was saved. I felt drawn to Christianity. I was impressed! But it seemed I had to give up too much. I “dared” not join my Christian friends. Too much would have to change: What I did in my spare time, how I spent my money, who my friends were. I would be labelled a “Bible basher” part of the “God squad”.
Have you such fears today? Yes, you come to Church (and that as a big step!) but none of your friends know that. You can see the claims of Christ. You know you are a sinner, you know you need a saviour, you know that you need to repent and believe...but at what cost! My dear friend, do you realise the cost of NOT being saved? It is far greater than the cost of being saved! Let me illustrate: You take your car for a service. At lunchtime the garage phone up. “I have some bad news sir. You need new brakes.” “What is the cost?” you ask. “ 2,000 CHF ”, he replies! 2,000 CHF! But can you afford NOT to have the brakes fixed? Of course you cannot. The consequences of the brakes failing are far worse that the consequences of a bill for 2,000CHF!
Stop and think. What happens if you die in your sins, unsaved? Where then do you go? Where will you spend eternity? The answer is, in hell. How often in hell will you regret not bowing the knee to Christ! How often will you say to yourself in hell “How foolish I have been. Salvation was offered to me, I was so close, but I walked away from it!” Dare you not repent? Dare you not believe on the Lord Jesus? Come to the Saviour now!
2) The sceptics
Next we have the Sadducees. They were part of the religious establishment. In fact they were very religious, but it was religion on their own terms. They, in particular, denied the miraculous could happen. They denied any idea of a resurrection (Acts 23:8). Along came these fishermen will some ridiculous story that Jesus had risen from the dead. They were indignant or full of jealousy. Did these disciples of a man from Nazareth think they could prove them wrong? So they had the disciples arrested. In the night a miracle occurred and the apostles were released. The next morning they went straight to the temple and started preaching the Good News again. The Sadducees, never learning, had the apostles arrested again and brought before them. Please see Acts 5: 27-28. Peter’s response was bold and to the point: “We ought to obey God rather than man.”
Peter’s words make the Sadducees furious: They felt they had to silence these men! (Acts 5:33)
Today many are following in the tradition of the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection and the miraculous. They deny that God made the world in 6 days; they scoff at the miracles of Jesus and explain them away; they say much of the Bible is a collection of myths and legends. Such people can sometimes become indignant and even angry when Christians affirm these truths. These modern day Sadducees often teach that we should be tolerant of other faiths and other religions, but they are often intolerant of anyone who claims to take the Bible literally.
Does uncompromising message of the Bible rankle with you? Do you secretly look down on those who accept the Genesis account of creation, the parting the Red Sea, the miracles of Elijah and the resurrection of Jesus? I wonder if deep down you are quite a sceptic. You have heard the gospel many times and it is beginning to annoy you. In fact you have nearly walked out on several occasions. Yet you are still here, listening to my voice (or reading these words). Why? Can it be that there is another voice, another thought…maybe it is all true! Maybe there is a fight, a tug of war going on in your mind.
The anger the Sadducees felt, the anger you feel is actually partly due to a nagging thought: you may be wrong. My friend let me tell you. The Bible is true. God did make the world in 6 days. Why not? If he is all powerful he can do it. There is no proven scientific evidence to disprove that he did. Man is not descended from apes (you never really believed that, did you?). The macro evolution from amoeba to man never happened. Did you see this week that scientists have been amazed to discover a so-called prehistoric tree still alive today unchanged for “millions” of years. It does not surprise us!
Jesus did rise from the dead. The evidence is compelling. He was seen alive by hundreds to witnesses. The Roman authorities guarded the tomb to prevent the body being stolen, yet it was gone. Thousands upon thousands can testify that they believe Jesus is alive today. Listen to your conscience. Listen to your heart. It is true. Come into the light my friend. Give up the struggle. Accept the truth. Christianity is a religion based on 100% truth.
But if you don’t, I have a warning for you. If you reject the teaching of the Bible and deny its truth your dispute is not with me or the Christians here but with God. It is to God that you will have to answer. Repent of your rebellion before it is too late!
3) The undecided
Now the so-called voice of reason is heard. Gamaliel stands up (Acts 5: 34-40). Gamaliel was a most famous Jew. He founded a dynasty of teachers and a school for rabbis that would last for centuries. He was balanced in his views. “Be careful.” he says. “If this is not of God it will fizzle out, but if it IS of God you will not be able to stop it!” Now there is some truth in what he says, but some truth is very dangerous. We want the whole truth! Gamaliel’s appeal was not an appeal to the truth, but an appeal to indecision. He could not make up his mind! He wanted more evidence, another sign. The witness of the apostles was not enough. “Wait and see” was his motto.
Many today follow his advice without realising it, as they look at Christianity. They carefully weigh up all the facts, they stop and consider for a long time, but they do not commit themselves. They say “I want some more evidence”, “I want more time to think about it”, “If it is true God will show me in some way”. You might think that Gamaliel loved sitting in his garden...on the fence, but actually Gamaliel had already made up his mind: He had decided that Jesus was not the Messiah (otherwise he would have believed in him!). He was not actually on the fence: he was still in Satan’s kingdom. Lost and heading for a lost eternity.
Many today may say they are undecided about Christianity. Is that you? Beware, all the time you are undecided you are not safe. You are not saved. You are not right with God. You are not heading for heaven. If you are undecided then you are still on the wrong side.
Think back to Singapore and the Olympic bids. Great crowds of people waited for the result. There were people from the UK, from France, from the USA and from Russia. Why had they travelled all that way? Because they were neutral and did not care who won? No! Because they wanted their city and their country to win! There were no neutrals there! In Christianity there are no neutral observers. You are on one side or the other. You are at this moment either lost or saved.
Still, maybe you are thinking like Gamaliel: Acts 5: 38-39. “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.” But what has history shown? Has the Christian faith been overthrown and come to nothing? What has happened to those who fight against God? 2,000 years later how well known is the Lord Jesus Christ on this planet? What more evidence do you need? Thousands upon thousands of lives have been transformed! The Bible is the world’s best selling book! Jesus Christ worshipped in every country of the world!
Gamaliel was right in one point: It is foolish to fight against God. Are you fighting against God? Are you resisting his truth? It is decision time. Come down from on the fence. Nail your colours to the mast. Believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved.
4) The believers (Acts 5: 14 & 40-42)
Finally we have our fourth group of people. They were those who had believed the apostles' message. They had repented of their sins and trusted in the Lord Jesus. Their lives had been turned up side down. Now they could not stop meeting with other believers, praising God and learning from his word. Nothing would stop them from talking about Jesus. Even a beating! What are the great evidences that a person is saved?
You obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29)
That’s what Peter said and that’s what he did. Jesus has said “Go into all the world with the gospel” and that’s what they did. What God said, they did. They were men and women of the word.
Nothing was too much to do for their Saviour
Peter and the apostles counted it as an honour to suffer shame for the Lord Jesus who had died to save them. A public beating was quite a humiliation for a Jew! Yet they willingly endured such a trial. Why? Because whatever they endured was nothing compared to what Jesus had endured to save them from their sins.
You couldn’t keep them away from church!
The early Christians loved to attend prayer meetings. They loved to meet for praise and worship. They loved to talk about the Lord and serve him. They loved to proclaim the name of Jesus to everyone they met. Do you call yourself a Christian this morning? How do you measure up against these evidences? Do you obey God rather than man? Man says: Treat Sundays like any other day: Go shopping, do academic studies, watch television all day. God says: “This is my day; you shall do no work; it is set apart for God; it is day of rest and gladness”. How do you treat God’s day? What will you be doing this afternoon?
Is nothing too much for you to do for your Saviour? Have you nailed your colours to the mast at work? Do your friends know you are a believer? What sacrifices have you made for the Lord, in time and money for example? Do you ensure that nothing keeps you away from Church meetings for worship and prayer? We organise our life so that we rarely miss a meal don’t we? Yet how often do we miss a meal with the Lord? Have we organised our life around the Lord and his service? Let me ask you again: Have you attended a prayer meeting this week?
The early disciples met daily. This church only meets twice weekly...once on Fridays and once or twice on Sundays….but is that even that too much for us who call ourselves Christians? Why, my dear friend? What is more important in your life? Yes some of you have young children, yes some have to work, yes some are too old or infirm, but for the rest of us, what excuse can we give our Lord? Do we say we have too much work; we are too tired, or too busy? Are these good enough reasons? Imagine if decide that we are only going to feed your pet cat or dog once a week rather than twice a day. What will happen? It will starve and die. Now apply this spiritually. What happens if you only feed yourself occasionally? At best you will be weak, at worst you will fade away.
Our Lord has loved us.
Our Lord died for us.
Our Lord longs to teach us.
Our Lord longs to bless us and help us through life.
Our Lord loves to hear us worshipping together. May we be like the early Christian who loved to meet daily.
May that be our heart’s desire.
I began by asking: “What is your reaction to the greatest event in history—the death and resurrection of Jesus? And I close by asking the same question again. What IS your reaction? You cannot afford to ignore this question. Your eternal destiny rests on how you react. Do not be like the uncommitted, the sceptic or the undecided. Believe on the Lord will all your heart and you will find a joy and happiness the world cannot give nor take away.
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Thank you for reading this message. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible, copyright Thomas Nelson Inc.