The world has
drastically changed as we knew it. Our way of life has been altered due to the
many guidelines, emergency orders and precautions of COVID-19. These rulings
and recommendations have been challenging to us, as a church, and will continue
for some time to come. We all have an opinion on the matter. Not all are happy
about it.
I have even come across a few ministries and churches during the COVID-19 “shutdowns” that have made declarations using the Scripture passage of Acts 5:29, as their defense in resisting State and Federal guidelines. They made their stance and moved forward with “business as usual.” However, for most situations, many took the precautions and tailored their ministries in a safe and effective manner.
I am not saying that any one particular decision or situation is “right” or “wrong.” The point of this presentation is to simply examine this passage, Acts 5:29, that says “Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’”
This statement was in response to verse 28 when Peter and the other Apostles were not only jailed but given strict warnings never to teach in the name of Jesus again. They had been warned previously to “cease and desist,” but despite the command, they still went out and taught people about Jesus. There were no laws being broken that would warrant the order other than the fact that the religious leaders were personally incensed by what they were saying and teaching.
What is really going on here? First, the High Priest retorts to Peter, saying “we gave you strict orders!” In other words, “we warned you never to speak of Jesus and you are still doing it!” The Priest was referring back to Acts 4:18, when Peter and John were given this severe warning the first time.
What was the motive behind such a threat? The answer is in Acts 4:17 when the truth “slipped out” when they proclaimed “But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
The religious leaders were desperate to stop this “Jesus movement” or the spread of the teachings of Jesus Christ. They thought the death of Jesus on the cross was the end of it all. They were slowly realizing that the death of Jesus ended nothing.
The religious leaders had hoped that their severe warnings and threats would be adequate to suppress this “Jesus movement” amongst the people once and for all. The fear of the Jewish leaders losing their control over the people was increasing. They were desperate to end this rebellion at any cost.
History has taught us that authoritarian governments must rule by force by invoking fear into the lives of their people. But….but, when their “subjects” refuse to cower in fear, it is time for the rulers themselves to begin to worry. Unfortunately, the more they worry the more they must invoke even more fear back onto the people to “get them back in line” and obey or face harsh punishment.
The Apostles were not giving in and were strong, bold, and willing to stand for their beliefs and faith in Jesus Christ. We see in Acts 5:33 that this stance infuriated the religious leaders to such a degree that they “wanted to put them to death.”
Peter and John (and all the other Apostles) had not broken any laws and were bearing fruit in their ministry. They were motivated and inspired that what they were teaching was leading people to give their lives to Jesus. Again, the emphasis was that they were not breaking any laws or doing anything illegal. The religious leaders had no legal basis to go on which meant this issue was more personal than lawful.
Here is where it gets ugly. The Jewish Council didn’t particularly like the fact that their fellow Jews were leaving Judaism and converting to Christianity. In not so flattering words, they were “losing customers.” They were losing their ability to control all the people all the time. They didn’t take too kindly to the fact of losing their influence.
So, they needed a plan! However, even their best attempts at “damage control” were failing. They were losing and they were enraged with hatred at losing their people to “this Jesus.” Again….killing him….that is, having Jesus executed, did not work like they had hoped nor did it put an end to the spread of his teachings and message.
The best idea they could come up with was to try and scare them into silence. Fear is one of the easiest ways to control the masses. They manipulated the law and used their positions, authority, and status to “do their dirty work” for them in order to justify and satisfy the personal vendettas they had with the Apostles.
The fact is clear that those who stand with God and for God will meet challenges and dilemmas towards matters of faith in both civic and religious communities. Presidents, Governors, Mayors, Bishops, Superintendents and Pastors will always be challenged with making the right decisions that are in the best interest of all.
Sometimes those hard decisions have adverse effects on some who will have to adjust and make sacrifices due to unexpected hardships. There may also be times when the church is targeted and becomes challenged to either silence her message and tone down the word of God. Pastors may even be told what subject matter they aren’t allowed to preach against while churches receive mandates by law to accept certain societal norms into their business and ministry practices. We will be challenged.
However, when the line is genuinely drawn in the sand and we are truly confronted with “obeying God rather than man,” we must first be absolutely certain and positively sure that we are really obeying God when we act in ways that are contrary to our civil and church authorities.
We must never, ever, confuse own positions or opinions with “spiritual direction” or as “a word” from God. If we are going to take a stand for God, we need to be very certain that we are grounded in our faith, living in obedience, and truly in an intimate relationship with God ready and willing to stand for Him and with Him.
And, if you choose to invoke Acts 5:29, make sure to consider that there is oftentimes a price to be paid for taking your stand. In this case the apostles were threatened with death and were nearly flogged to death before being released.
Please note that their obedience to God did not protect them from harm. It actually caused them physical imprisonment, bodily harm and suffering. Despite all they endured, they were able to rejoice for having been counted worthy to suffer for Christ (Acts 5:41). Discernment and truth will always win. Nothing will stop God from victory in the wars and battles that are against Him (not us, personally).
It’s about God and not about us. We need to make sure that if we suffer for the cause of Christ it is because of Christ and not because we made an independent, foolish, and hasty mistake because we were “triggered” by the shut-downs, rules, and mandates that limit our mobility and tells us to wear a mask and social distance at church.
The time is probably coming, and we need to decide now what we will be willing to stand for when the things of God are challenged and even ruled against. What will we be willing to stand for, be prosecuted for and even die for when they come for us for no other reason than for being a Christian?
But, until that day comes when they try to stop us, silence our message of Jesus, and attempt to take away our means and ability to present the gospel, may we be busy preparing ourselves to be bold and ready “to obey God rather than humans.”