Many have sought to silence the gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout history, from the religious leaders to Roman emperors, many have tried to keep the disciples of Jesus Christ quiet. . There are many reasons why the gospel has enemies. Satan wishes for men to remain blind (2 Cor 4:4) and not see the light of the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many men and women who rail against the gospel are tools of the enemy (2 Tim 2:26). Many have made a considerable amount of money writing best-selling books that seek to discredit God and Jesus. Finally and the most telling reason is that men and women shy away from the gospel because it is antithetical to the accepted worldview. The gospel reminds us that we are sinner saved by grace and not the masters of our own fate. It reminds us that we are broken and only Jesus can fix us. I say to all who seek to silence the gospel of Jesus Christ, fat chance!
One story in particular comes to mind in the bible. That is the story in Acts 5 when the apostles were on trial for a second time regarding preaching Jesus in the temple. The first time (Acts 4:1-22), Peter and John were apprehended and brought to trial because of the furor over the healing of the lame beggar at the Beautiful gate. There was so much fuss over this man that the religious leaders began to get nervous. Therefore, they imprisoned them briefly, tried them (I know that is backward-- whatever happened to due process?) but they eventually had to let them go- only with a stern warning.
In the second instance, the entire cohort of apostles were arrested (Acts 5:17-19) but God sent an angel to free them during the night. That angel also emboldened the apostles by giving them instructions to "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life." How awesome is God? Can you imagine going to prison for something that you did not do and an angel coming in and opening the doors to let you out? God's word cannot be contained! The bible says that God's word cannot return to Him void but will accomplish that which it was set forth to do (Is 55:11). The book of Acts is really the chronology of the birth of the church and documents the seminal moments in Christian history. the Gospel of Jesus Christ was going forth and men and women were being saved by the thousands! There was nothing that could stop this.
It is interesting that in the second trial, a leader of the Pharisees, Gamaliel, stood up and asked them council to send the apostles outside. His remarks were as follows in Acts 5:38,39 "So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or undertaking is of man, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God."
Gamaliel was well respected, he had a higher pedigree that the rest of the council, he was a doctor of the Law and they listened to him. He used two historical figures as a reference for his argument. Theudas, a messianic imposter who led a revolt against Rome (There is some debate here. It is possible that there are two men with this name, one who lived and revolted around 40 AD and the man who is mentioned in Acts 5). Gamaliel also referenced Judas of Galilee who was referred to by Josephus as the "Terror or Rome". There is much historical documentation on Judas of Galilee.
Their movements resembled the movement of Jesus in three ways: 1. They all had followers 2. They were both martyred and 3. Their followers all dispersed after their deaths. This is where the comparisons end! There is one other thing said of them; both of their movements "came to nothing".
Because of the comparison of these men we can draw a clear distinction regarding Jesus and the gospel. The only thing that Jesus has in common with these men is that He was killed as, what the Jews considered, an enemy of the state. We know that His death was necessary to atone for our sins but we can also look at it historically. Because the leader of Christianity is Jesus Christ himself, there is NO chance that the gospel will ever be silenced! Fat chance! There are three reasons why the gospel will never be silenced- especially when compared to other movements:
1. Although the apostles were scattered after the crucifixion, it did not diminish the fire of the Christian movement. Gamaliel made mention of the fact that once the Theudas and Judas of Galilee were killed, their followers were scattered. This is parallel to what happened with the followers of Jesus but the disciples of Christ were scattered for a different reason. They were scattered to increase the impact and the spread of the message of the gospel! Jesus says in Acts 1:8 "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even to the ends of the earth." The scattering did not stop the movement of the gospel but it had the opposite effect...it proliferated the gospel!
2. Jesus was not an impostor "claiming to be someone". Galamiel says in verse 36 that Theudas was "claiming to be someone". Jesus claimed to be many things: the Way, the Truth, The Life, The Bread of Life, The Good Shepherd, the Light of the world...and HE IS ALL OF THESE THINGS! He was validated by the Father when He was resurrected. It validated His identity as the Messiah and it fulfilled the prophecies about Him. His claims were not bogus, they were legitimate and those who crucified Him knew it!
3. The originator of the gospel message is the Eternal God Himself. The gospel message cannot be snuffed out because Jesus lives by the power of an indestructible life! He is the One who John called the Word and He was with God in the beginning. Peter's sermon reminded the Council that they were indeed fighting against God!
Acts 5:30-32 " The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him"
Peter says that Jesus is the One whom God raised up. The rejected stone has become the Chief cornerstone. He says that Jesus IS (present tense) exalted and is now at the right hand of God holding two titles: A. Prince (Greek, Archegos) which indicates that Jesus is the pioneer of a movement. That movement is Christianity itself. He is the chief leader of believers and we are constantly being conformed to His image. B. Savior (Greek, Sotera) which indicates, together with Prince, that Jesus is the pioneer of Christianity, the originator of the movement that we follow and is the savior who is able to deliver us from sin!
That is why the gospel will never be silenced! The leader of the gospel, the originator of the gospel is not a fly by night revolutionary...He is God Himself! Jesus is the originator of what we now call Christianity. He is the paver of what was historically called "the Way". We follow that Way and we are His witnesses in the world. We are the ones who are charged with making disciples, witnessing to those who do not know Jesus and carrying the gospel message everywhere that we go! Fat chance to those who want us to be quiet. Fat chance to those who charge a tax or evict those in Iraq who serve the living God. Fat chance to the atheists who spend so much time trying to disprove the One who does not have to prove anything! Fat chance to every demonic force that seeks to silence what Jesus has set in motion! IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! Grace and peace to you all.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Follow Me
The Bible is God's progressive revelation of Himself to mankind. The reason that the Bible is such an important book is because God shows His attributes, His character, His love and His wisdom throughout. Anyone who reads the Bible understands at least two things: 1. We can never fully understand everything in it and 2. The more we read it, the more we learn about who God actually is. One of the themes that has become apparent to me in my studies is the theme of God's redemptive purpose continually being played out in historical context.
If we begin with Adam and Eve, they were in Eden and had complete freedom. They also had a relationship with God that was quite amiable. When they sinned, this relationship and the fellowship that went along with it was fractured. They were removed from Eden and cherubim and a flaming sword which moved in all directions was placed at the gate to guard it and to keep them from coming back (Genesis 3:24). It is from this point that we see the redemptive interaction between God and man begin to take place.
We can see it with Abraham (Genesis 11). He was led away from Ur and into Canaan. The same Canaan that the next great leader, Moses would begin to lead Abraham's descendants into. Seeing this and hearing God's promise "I will give this land to your offspring" paints a beautiful picture and creates an analogy that we can draw from. God bringing the Israelites into Canaan is His way of saying, I will bring my people home.
When the Exodus occurred, Moses led the people and God led Moses. God used a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day to lead His people where He would have them to go. He was leading them out of the darkness of slavery into the light of His goodness and blessings. Again we see God leading from a bad situation into a better situation. We see the same thing with Joshua, who was commissioned to lead the people into the Promised Land when Moses was not allowed to because of his disobedience (See Numbers 20:12)
One thing we can see from the time in the wilderness to the time that the Israelites actually spent in Canaan, they were never satisfied. Therefore, the need for a more permanent solution was evident. Not only was God's solution permanent, it IS eternal. What the first Adam seemingly ruined the Second Adam, Jesus Christ rectified. Jesus is the permanent redemptive solution and it is His blood that reconciles sinners back to God. Jesus promised eternal life to all who believe in Him. If we look at this promise through the lens of history, we see that Jesus is the bridge back to Eden. He is the one who can quench the flaming sword and give us entrance into the paradise that God intended for us from the beginning. In John 14:3, Jesus says "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Jesus also says in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." Jesus is our Redeemer, Deliverer and the Prince (Author) of Life!
Can you see the parallel? Can you see Jesus as the "Prince" or leader who is guiding his followers through this dark world back to the place where God initially intended for us to be? The redemption and reconciliation came through His blood and we are now able to enter paradise! Jesus is saying to those who are still longing for Egypt, FOLLOW ME! If you are reading this and you are not saved, Jesus Christ wants to lead you out of darkness. He wants to save your soul. All He asks is that we follow Him.
If we begin with Adam and Eve, they were in Eden and had complete freedom. They also had a relationship with God that was quite amiable. When they sinned, this relationship and the fellowship that went along with it was fractured. They were removed from Eden and cherubim and a flaming sword which moved in all directions was placed at the gate to guard it and to keep them from coming back (Genesis 3:24). It is from this point that we see the redemptive interaction between God and man begin to take place.
We can see it with Abraham (Genesis 11). He was led away from Ur and into Canaan. The same Canaan that the next great leader, Moses would begin to lead Abraham's descendants into. Seeing this and hearing God's promise "I will give this land to your offspring" paints a beautiful picture and creates an analogy that we can draw from. God bringing the Israelites into Canaan is His way of saying, I will bring my people home.
When the Exodus occurred, Moses led the people and God led Moses. God used a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day to lead His people where He would have them to go. He was leading them out of the darkness of slavery into the light of His goodness and blessings. Again we see God leading from a bad situation into a better situation. We see the same thing with Joshua, who was commissioned to lead the people into the Promised Land when Moses was not allowed to because of his disobedience (See Numbers 20:12)
One thing we can see from the time in the wilderness to the time that the Israelites actually spent in Canaan, they were never satisfied. Therefore, the need for a more permanent solution was evident. Not only was God's solution permanent, it IS eternal. What the first Adam seemingly ruined the Second Adam, Jesus Christ rectified. Jesus is the permanent redemptive solution and it is His blood that reconciles sinners back to God. Jesus promised eternal life to all who believe in Him. If we look at this promise through the lens of history, we see that Jesus is the bridge back to Eden. He is the one who can quench the flaming sword and give us entrance into the paradise that God intended for us from the beginning. In John 14:3, Jesus says "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Jesus also says in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." Jesus is our Redeemer, Deliverer and the Prince (Author) of Life!
Can you see the parallel? Can you see Jesus as the "Prince" or leader who is guiding his followers through this dark world back to the place where God initially intended for us to be? The redemption and reconciliation came through His blood and we are now able to enter paradise! Jesus is saying to those who are still longing for Egypt, FOLLOW ME! If you are reading this and you are not saved, Jesus Christ wants to lead you out of darkness. He wants to save your soul. All He asks is that we follow Him.
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