With All Boldness

Mark Dunagan
12/04/16 - Sunday Morning

With all Boldness

The book of Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-2). This volume of scripture records the establishment of the church (Acts 2:47) and the spread of the gospel through the apostles and others from Jerusalem to every aspect of the Roman Empire (Acts 1:8). The book also records how Satan attempted to destroy the church by using problems (Acts 6:1) and sins from within (Acts 5:1ff) and persecution from without. In this lesson I want to examine how the church responded to the persecution from without, so that we can learn how to respond to persecution in a way that honors God.

They Had All the Facts on Their Side

The opponents of the gospel over the centuries have attempted to convince themselves and others that Christianity is based on a myth – that it does not rest on any factual evidence. Yet in the book of Acts God's people are reminded that all the facts are on our side.

• Jesus really did work miracles that even His enemies could not deny: Acts 2:22
• The miracles the apostles performed also could not be denied: Acts 4:14-16
• The miracles were incredibly public: Acts 5:12
• There were actual eyewitnesses who saw Him after He was raised from the dead: Acts 4:20; 5:30-32
• The evidence for God is overwhelming: Romans 1:20; Acts 17:24ff
• The evidence from the Old Testament that Jesus is the Messiah is overwhelming: Acts 17:2-3
• The power of the gospel to change lives is equally undeniable: Acts 18:8

As I read the book of Acts I never find the opponents of the gospel attempting to refute what the apostles were teaching. I find the apostles being ridiculed or threatened (Acts 17:32; 17:5), but I never find a reasoned and factual response refuting the gospel message. The apostles put it best when they responded to the Jewish authorities, "…we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well" (Acts 4:9). That is, "are you really going to attempt to condemn us for healing a man?" "What kind of law puts people in jail for healing the sick?" If you really think about it, opposition to Jesus is ridiculous; it is madness. What kind of law or government would be so foolish as to persecute people who were in actuality their best citizens? Are you really going to run off people who manifest the Fruits of the Spirit – those who, by their Leader, were told to be good citizens?  (Romans 13; 1 Peter 2:13).

Increased Boldness

It would have been tempting to withdraw, hide, and stop speaking the truth when not only threatened with punishment, but actually punished (Acts 5:40). Later Peter would warn all Christians about the danger of being intimidated into silence or inactivity (1 Peter 3:14). I find that the early church did something very smart after encountering initial persecution – they immediately gathered together with other believers (Acts 4:23) and prayed for further boldness (Acts 4:29). They realized that being bold on one occasion (4:19) was no guarantee that they would be bold in the future. We too need to continually seek God and seek the strength He supplies.

The Unlearned and Uneducated

Note how God's truth immediately turned unlearned and uneducated men into quite intelligent and reasonable men (Acts 4:13). The text says that the Jewish leaders, at this point, took note of the fact that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Being with Jesus is an education in itself. 

Increased Unity

The church will scatter (Acts 8:4), but it will not scatter due to division or sinful attitudes among the members. I find that persecution only created a very united church. Note that right after Peter and John are threatened, we have the account of the congregation being of "one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32). Persecution brings together the truth lovers, the people who are following Jesus for all the right reasons. It also makes false doctrine a little less attractive, because if I am going to lay down my life for something, I want to ensure I am laying down my life for the truth.

Increased Growth

Even after two rounds of persecution (Acts 4 and 5), we find that the church is continuing to grow:

• "And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly being added to their number" (Acts 5:14).
• "The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7).

How comforting that instead of worrying about a possible coming persecution and the affect it would have on the church, for when the church was persecuted it actually grew. I have lived long enough to see churches wane in our society, and it wasn't because of persecution, rather it was due to ease, comfort and varied addictive, worldly distractions. 

An Awareness: God is In Control

Although the church was being threatened there was an awareness that God was in control, in fact, even this persecution had been predicted by God long ago. Nothing that had happened to Jesus was an accident, but rather was the fulfillment of prophecy and the accomplishment of God's eternal plan:

• "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontus Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur" (Acts 4:27-28).
• "This man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23).
• "But all the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled" (Acts 3:18).
• "And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days" (Acts 3:24).

We learn here that when the church is persecuted it is never to be taken as evidence that God is non-existent or weak, but rather it is proof that Jesus was right, for such persecution had been frequently predicted by both Jesus and His apostles (Matthew 5:10-12; Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12).

Distance but Respect

Following the well publicized deaths of Ananias and Sapphira the text says, "But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem" (Acts 5:13). Another side benefit of persecution is that it kept away from the church all the curiosity seekers or people who were merely looking for the next new thing or fad (Ephesians 4:14). Here is an ideal for which any congregation must strive. Although we may not to be converting everyone, let us act in such a way that people who still disagree with our message have a hard time not respecting our lifestyle and values. The church was persecuted and very unpopular, but many people really respected these Christians. The true church is always going to be a body of people who potential converts deeply ponder the cost before they commit to aligning themselves (Luke 14:26ff), for there are no illusions about the commitment demanded by the Lord. Those who see the Light know this commitment to be well worth any cost for the vast and eternal blessings it brings.

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net