Courage part 4

 January 21, 2021

 

  In Acts 4:13-21, Peter and John find themselves standing before the Sanhedrin - the leading religious leaders of the day.  As I mentioned yesterday, they are told to stop speaking publically about Jesus.  Their response?  It was courageous.  "We cannot stop telling people about Jesus" (verse 20).  And later they say, "We must obey God rather than any human authority" (Acts 5:29).

Peter and John did not wield a sword against these religious leaders - they had no stones, no sling.  Instead, they faced their giant with courage and faith.

Like our world today, the leaders of Israel simply did not want to hear the name of Jesus mentioned out in the public.  The only difference is that in Peter and John's day, it was organized religion that was attempting to silence their testimony about Jesus.

I'm curious; do Christians face this same kind of pressure from religious leaders?  Is organized religion trying to silence born again Christians from proclaiming Christ?

 

I am reminded of those who suffered persecution or those who were martyred during the reformation.  They were looking to transform the Catholic faith but faced all sorts of dangers and difficulties because of what they said or did.  Like Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego, the leaders of the Protestant Reformation were unwilling to conform; to just simply follow the crowd.

I wonder if organized religion is doing the same thing to Christians’ today?

It is certainly old news that our country and our leaders are seeking to changes the long-held beliefs of Christianity.  Marriage is being redefined, gender identity is being questioned, and the sanctity of human life is being tossed aside.  But is organized religion attempting to do the same thing?  Are the leaders of Christian denominations telling believers to “stop proclaiming your understanding of Jesus”?  I’m sorry to report this but indeed, there are.  The teachings of some major Christian denominations align with the current thoughts and opinions of the world.

Here's when things get kind of tricky for me.  As one of our presidents used to say quite frequently, I don’t want to end up on the wrong side of history.  I want to make sure that I am standing firm in areas I should not change all while being sensitive to the Holy Spirit whose role is to convict me to change.  And at times I just can’t tell if the Holy Spirit is trying to speak to me through these religious leaders or if what they are saying is just nonsense. 

How do I – we – determine if our steadfastness aligns with God’s will, or if He is truly leading the church through another reformation.

 

We’ll explore that idea tomorrow.

 

I’m Pastor Greg, and this is Transforming the World.