Acts: The Sovereignty of God

“In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will” (Ephesians 1:11)

I want to take you on a ride through history, but first, grab your Bible and read Acts 8:1-8. This is just after the death of Stephen, the Church’s first martyr (7:54-60). It begins the fulfillment of Jesus’ proclamation in Acts 1:8: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In 332 BC, the nation of Israel, along with much of the known world was conquered by Alexander the Great, a Greek warrior and king. Alexander’s conquests were not meant for destruction, but rather for assimilation into the Greek empire. All nations were educated in the Greek language for unification. Alexander ordered the ancient Hebrew Scriptures to be translated into Greek, a work that was accomplished in 70 days.

In 63 BC, the Roman Empire took Israel from the Greeks. Though known for their cruelty and harsh rule, they also established strong infrastructure wherever they went to enable swift transport for their military. Roads were laid by the Romans throughout the European and Asian continents.

Now, come back to the point of our key passage in Acts 8.  After the stoning of Stephen persecution drove Jesus’ followers from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and all throughout the region. As they went, they traveled along those Roman-built roads and shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the unified Greek language. The story of God’s mercy, grace, and love could be read and taught – and understood – everywhere because the language was the same wherever they went.

While all these events seemed to be unconnected, harsh circumstances, it’s clear that the God of heaven and earth was “working all things together” for the spread of the Gospel. Now, don’t you think this same sovereign God is able to manage the circumstances of your life? He is at work “perfecting that which concerns you” (Psalm 138:8). I’m clinging to this promise with all my heart right now. He’s got the whole world in His hands – and that includes you. Stand still, Beloved, and watch Him make a way as only He can.

Cheap Grace

I’ve just started reading the biography of Deitrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, writer, martyr, and sold-out Christ-follower during the rise of Nazism. He was also a fierce opponent of “cheap grace.”  He wrote the classic “The Cost of Discipleship” in which he stated, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” Cheap grace has choked the life out of the modern church.

Cheap grace winks at sin. It accepts the sinful nature as “just who I am” and refuses to fight those ungodly passions. We are far too complacent with sin. I’m not talking about the church’s willingness to tolerate and celebrate sin. I am speaking of you and me and our individual pet sins. David said, “I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me” (Ps 51:3). Maybe it’s always before us because we are holding on to it.

How far are you willing to go to rid yourself of sin? Jesus said, “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away” (Mat 18:8, 9). Wow – that’s pretty extreme! And that’s how seriously we need to take our sins.  Could He have meant this literally? Maybe. But let’s take it down a notch just in case. What are you continually dabbling in that stirs up your sin nature? T.V. shows and movies? Books and magazines? Websites? Relationships? Alcohol? Recreational drugs? Gossip? Anger? Sexual immorality? Idolatry? Ad infinitum. What sin do you “cherish in your heart” (Ps 66:18). Are you willing to cut it off for the sake of Christ?

Jesus paid the highest price to set you free from sin and its power over you. You and I cheapen His sacrifice when we refuse to let sin go.  Jesus added, “It is better for you to enter [eternal] life maimed or crippled or without an eye than to enter hell with all your parts intact” (Mat 18:8,9 – very paraphrased). Which says that those who chose sin have rejected Jesus. The end result is hell.

Beloved, what are you willing to do to honor this costly gift of grace? Or said another way, which do you love more? Christ or your sin?

Acts: Stephen, the First Martyr of the Church

I want to be like Stephen. Stephen was a disciple of the Lord in the first-century church. He was one of seven men chosen as the church’s first deacons. His story starts in Acts 6 and runs through chapter 7. You will be blessed if you read these two chapters.

I want to be like Stephen whom the Bible says was full of faith and the Holy Spirit (v. 5), God’s grace and power (v. 8 ), and wisdom (v. 10) And it showed. It showed in his service to the church as he ministered to the widows in need. It showed as he “did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people” (v. 8 ). And it showed in the way he faced opposition. Some unbelieving Jews dragged him before the Sanhedrin and charged him with blasphemy. Standing before his accusers, Stephen had an other-worldly expression about him. “His face was like the face of an angel” (v. 15)

I want to be like Stephen because he was full of holy boldness. He did not cower or shrink back nor did he try to defend himself against the false accusations. He told the story of Israel, a stiff-necked people who had rebelled against God for generations. The same people who rejected God in the flesh (Acts. 7:1-53). You’re probably not surprised to learn that Stephen infuriated the religious leaders, even though he simply told them the truth. He was dragged out of the city and stoned to death (v. 57).

I want to be like Stephen because Jesus was pleased with him. As he faced his “punishment,” he was given a glimpse of the Lord in all His glory. Christ stood to receive His into the fullness of His Kingdom (vv. 55-58).

I want to be like Stephen because, even in his death, he was a man of godly influence. Standing among the crowd, “giving approval to his death,” was a young man named Saul (8:1). We’ll encounter him again as Paul – the persecutor of the Christian church who became her first missionary and writer of much of the New Testament.

I want to be like Stephen who was the first martyr for the Christian faith. To the church, he died a hero. To the world, he died a fool. But to the Lord Jesus Christ, he died a good and faithful servant. And that’s all I want to be.

Do You Love God?

My best friend turned me on to the stories of the martyrs of Christendom.  Martyrs are people who suffered persecution, and often death, for their faith in Jesus Christ. The first martyr was a man named Stephen, We’ll learn more about him on Monday. He died with the gospel on His lips and his eyes on Jesus (Acts 7:56). The history of the church is replete with men and women that “did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11). People like Perpetua and Felicity, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Bishop Ridley and Bishop Latimer, Martin Luther, and on and on and on even to the present day. Tertullian wrote, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.”

But what enabled them to stand under such extreme abuse and the threat of death? And why did some give in to the demands and recant their testimony? What made the difference? We get a clue in the verse from Revelation above. And we find more in the book of James – who by the way was Jesus’ half-brother and was only converted after the resurrection (Acts 1:14). James wrote, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (Ja 1:12). What makes someone die for their faith? They loved God.

Consider Jesus’ words in John, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (15:13). The Lord was talking about the love of one Christian for another, but could it not also apply to the Christian’s love for God? If we count God as even a friend, but more than a friend, as our Creator and Father and Redeemer, should we not also be willing to lay down our life for Him? Did He not do the same for us? How, then, should we love God? “. . . with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). With your thoughts, desires, actions, emotions, intentions, affections, obedience, and yes, your physical body – which may even mean death rather than denying your Beloved.

God has already expressed His love for you and me at the cross. Men and women throughout history have returned His love with their own lives. I’ll leave you today with the question all believers must answer: Do you love God?

Acts: Proclaim the Gospel

In our last Acts lesson, we left the apostles in jail for ministering and preaching in Jesus’ name. At least that was the “party line.” But the real reason was “jealousy” (v. 17). The apostles had become very popular and the religious authorities felt threatened. This would be a good place to stop and read today’s text: Acts 5:17-42.

During the night an angel “opened the doors of the jail and brought them out” and told them to keep proclaiming the gospel. They were back in the temple courts at the first light of day (vs. 19-21). When the Sanhedrin met to question them, they were shocked to find the jail empty and the men “standing in the temple courts teaching the people” (v. 25). They were again brought before the Jewish leadership, albeit more gently out of fear of the people.

The Sanhedrin reminded them of their orders to refrain from teaching in the name of Jesus but Peter boldly declared “We must obey God rather than men.” (v. 29). He pointed the finger directly at the Jewish council as the perpetrators of Jesus’ murder and proclaimed the Lord’s resurrection and exaltation to the right hand of the Father. They were naturally furious and wanted them executed. But one Pharisee – Gamaliel – wisely advised caution saying “If [this] is from God you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (v. 39).

The culture today, particularly where I live in the U.S., is turning decidedly away from God. The message of the Bible is not welcome and is considered “hate speech.” How the gospel can be called hateful is beyond me – it is the greatest show of divine love in human history. The gospel declares the mercy of God towards sinful creatures who are rightly condemned for their corrupt state.

The apostles refused to back down, even after they were flogged. They “rejoiced because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” (v. 41). They “never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ” (v. 42). So must we. The gospel is God’s message and it is unstoppable. It will offend some, but it will also save some. Maybe someone you love. Never stop declaring the good news of Jesus Christ. Eternity is at stake. Beloved, tell somebody about Jesus today.

A Sinner Like Me

Have you ever sinned? Sure you have and so have I. We all sin because we are sinners by nature. And yes, Christians can and do sin. John said, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we claim we have not sinned we make Him out to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives” (1 Jn 1: 8, 10). John wrote this message to the church in Ephesus – his “dear children” (2:1). Believers, just like you and me.

So what do we do when we sin? If you’re like me, you beat yourself up about it. Maybe you are the one who tries to hide it. You might even deny what you did was wrong.  Or you may follow Adam and Eve’s example and try to shift the blame to someone else. The Old Testament prophet Micah had the right idea about how to handle sin.

Micah prophesied prior to Israel’s fall to Assyria and Jerusalem to the Babylonians. God’s people had abandoned Him and His Laws and were rebelling to His face. They were on the cusp of God’s righteous judgment and wrath. Micah wrote as if speaking for God’s people during their coming captivity.

He declared, “Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light” (Mic 7:8). The enemy nations gloated over their downfall. But God would not forget His mercy and lovingkindness. Micah said, “Because I have sinned against Him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath . . .” Their well-deserved punishment would be severe, but not final. “. . . until He pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness” (v. 9). He would not abandon His people to the consequences of their sin. He would redeem and restore them.

Go back to the question I posed at the beginning: “Have you ever sinned?” John said, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Micah said God pardons sin and forgives transgressions because He delights to show mercy (7:18). Beloved, you can’t save yourself from the darkness. But God can. Cry out to Him now from the pit of your sin. It will be His delight to rescue and redeem you.

Acts: Signs and Wonders

Larry Dossey, M.D. wrote a book entitled Be Careful What You Pray For: You Just Might Get It. I’ve not read the book and this is not an endorsement, I just think the title is really cool. The apostles could have contributed to his book. Grab your Bible and read Acts 5:12-18. This section describes the healing and miraculous ministry of Jesus’ disciples. But to get the full context of this passage, you have to go back to chapter 4.

After the Sanhedrin disciplined Peter and John for preaching and healing in the name of Jesus, the church joined together in prayer. Not for protection but for boldness to speak Jesus’ words and that God would “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Your Holy servant Jesus” (4:30). And God answered their prayers.

“The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people” (v. 12). Just as they had asked. And just as the Lord Jesus had done. The gospel of John calls Jesus’ miracles “signs” that pointed to His divine nature as the Son of God. The miracles the apostles performed were signs that confirmed their message about Jesus. Healing miracles abounded wherever the apostles went. People lined the streets with their sick folks in hopes of healing just from Peter’s shadow passing over them. Luke never confirmed that any “shadow healings” took place, but it does show the respect and wonder with which they were regarded. All around the Judean territory word spread and the sick and demon-possessed were brought before them. Luke said “. . . and all of them were healed” (v. 16). Imagine how the world would react today to that kind of ministry.

But it wasn’t only the people who took notice of these miracles – the religious leaders become aware of what was taking place too. And they weren’t impressed. They were jealous (v. 17). And enraged. The apostles disregarded their orders and continued to declare the name of Jesus. Worst of all, their popularity was growing. They were arrested and thrown into the public jail.

The apostles prayed for boldness and miraculous power. God granted their prayer. Great and wondrous things happened. So did awful things. So, were these “unintended consequences” of their prayer? There’s no such thing in God’s kingdom.

Stay tuned. God’s not done with them. Or you, Beloved.

Shaken and Stirred

When I read about the first church and those who fled Jerusalem under persecution for the gospel (Acts 8:1-3) and the martyrs who died with the name of Jesus on their lips, and I think about the Christians in the east who are still tortured and killed for their faith in Christ, I am ashamed. Oswald Chambers rightly said, “Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.” Beware of the Lazy-Boy faith of the Western church today. The true Christian life is not safe.

If every day as a Christian is an easy-breezy-peazy day, then we are in trouble. Following Jesus is not intended to be some blissful nirvana. It’s a climb, a race, a battle, a challenge.  It’s a step-by-step, day-by-day, prayer-by-prayer trek over desert sand and rocky mountains and treacherous trails through hostile territory.  That’s the life the Apostles experienced.  That’s the life the martyrs endured.  Their faith was tried and tested in the fires, and it came forth as gold.  The Christians with the strongest, deepest faith are the ones who defy opposition, persecution, threats, and even death for the name of Jesus.  The most dangerous state for a Christian is when all is right in their little world. 

After grapes are crushed to extract the juice it is placed in containers and allowed to ferment.  During fermentation, the dregs, or sediment, settle at the bottom of the container.  After forty days the wine is “shaken up” – poured into another container to allow the dregs to be removed.  If the dregs remain, the wine becomes too sweet and thick and it is spoiled. The Lord spoke of Israel’s enemy, “Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another.  So she tastes as she did and her aroma is unchanged” (Jer. 48:11).  Moab had been largely at peace, and their turmoil-free life had made them spoiled.  The Lord said the same of Jerusalem, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs . . . (Zephaniah 1:12)”

Beloved, has your life – and your faith – been shaken lately?  Mine has. James says, “Count it all Joy . . .” (James 1:2).  God is sifting out the dregs, the dangerously sweet stuff that spoils you.  He is making your life an offering worthy of Christ.  Is it hard?  You bet.  Is it painful?  Without a doubt.  Is it worth it?  Just ask the saints who endured.  They’re the ones singing songs of Joy and praise around the throne.

Acts: I Cannot Tell a Lie

What sets the church apart from every other organization? Consider all the benevolent organizations in the world that are dedicated to good causes. What makes the church different?  I see two things in today’s Scripture – grab your Bible and read Acts 4:32-5:11. Luke wrote, “All the believers were one in heart and mind” (Acts 4:32). Unity is the first point that stood out. Their focus was caring for one another and proclaiming the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (v. 32-33). The first is at the heart of today’s Scripture lesson, but the second, declaring the gospel, was – and still is – the mission of the church and we’ll see that as we continue through Acts and into the history of the church.

The first believers were selfless and “shared everything they had” so that “there were no needy persons among them” (vs. 32, 34).  We’ve been through some very tough times financially, but God put us on someone’s heart and they met our needs with gracious plenty. I am forever grateful for their compassion and the Lord’s provision.

Not only did the believers share out of their own supply, but they often sold property and brought the money to the church for distribution. And this brings us to another distinguishing mark of the church: integrity. A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some property and brought some of the money to the apostles as an offering. But he told them it was the full amount. The Lord was not pleased – not because of the sum of money given, but because of the lie. Peter told Ananias that the money was his to do with as he chose. He would not have been at fault for bringing a portion of the money – if he had been honest about it. Peter said, “You have lied to the Holy Spirit . . . you have not lied to men but to God (v. 3, 4).” His wife confirmed the same lie. Both Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for their deception.

That seems pretty extreme, but we have to understand that dishonesty is an ugly stain on the church. It harms the reputation and the mission of the Body of Christ. When a person is known for deceitfulness, we disregard everything they say. When a representative of the church is dishonest, even their testimony about Christ is in doubt.  Simply put, nobody trusts a liar, even when they are speaking the truth. When a church member is untrustworthy in their business or their marriage or their relationships, nothing they say is worth believing.

The Bible is clear: “God does not lie” (Nu 23:19; Titus 1:2; Heb 6:18). Nor should we. For the sake of Christ and the gospel, we must be people of integrity. Beloved, you were made in the image of God – speak in His image too.

The Battle is On!

Lately, the Lord keeps taking me to battle stories in the Bible, where Israel is overwhelmed and threatened in the face of a powerful enemy. Today I’m in 2 Chronicles 20 and the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites are coming against Judah (the southern half of the Kingdom of Israel). The king, Jehoshaphat, did two things right: he proclaimed a fast for all the people in his territory (v. 3) and he prayed (vs. 5-12) It’s an awesome prayer and you really should read it. The king declared the sovereignty, power, and might of the Lord God and reminded Him of His promise to hear His people and save them. Only then did he point to the enemy and their threats. And he said, “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.” And here’s the part I am holding onto with all my strength: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (v. 12).

I heard a preacher once say, “You are either in the middle of a spiritual battle, coming out of a spiritual battle, or are about to go into a spiritual battle,” and he was dead on. As I said before, spiritual battles are part of the Christian life as long as satan roams the earth. And we may be outmatched but God is not. Listen to the word of the Lord through His prophet: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (v. 15). And there’s more: “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you . . . Do not be afraid: do not be discouraged . . . the Lord will be with you” (v. 17).

The next morning the king told the people, “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld;” (v.20). Then he ordered the oddest battle plan: “Sing to the Lord and praise Him for the splendor of His holiness” (v. 21). As they sang His praises “the Lord set ambushes” against their enemy and they turned and destroyed one another” (v. 23).

God still fights for His people. And He hasn’t lost a single battle yet. Yours won’t be the first. Trust in the name of the Lord your God Beloved and get ready to shout for Joy when He brings the victory!