How To Respond When We are Severely Threatened and Commanded to Stop Preaching the Gospel of Christ? (PART 1)

Beloved, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said that “REPENTANCE and REMISSION OF SINS should be preached in His NAME to ALL NATIONS” (see Luke 24:47). Then He commanded that we (His disciples) are the ones to preach it (see Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus also wanted us to preach the gospel, not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, just like the apostle Paul did (see 1 Corinthians 2:4-5), so that the faith of our hearers should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. This is also why Jesus commanded that every believer waits and be baptized in the Holy Spirit and thus receive power before we go out into the world as witnesses to Him (see Luke 24:49, with Acts 1:8). Beloved, the gospel of Christ was never meant to be preached with words only, but with power. Paul, in writing to the Corinthian Church, said that “the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power” (see 1 Corinthians 4:20). Then in his letter to the church of God in Thessalonica, he said, "For our gospel DID NOT come to you IN WORD ONLY, BUT ALSO IN POWER, and IN THE Holy Spirit and in MUCH ASSURANCE, as you know WHAT KIND OF MEN WE WERE among you for your sake." (1 Thessalonians 1:5 NKJV). Paul was not the only apostle of Christ who preached the gospel in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. All the early apostles did.

In the Acts of the Apostles we see evidence of the gospel of Christ being preached in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. We also see the evidence that when the gospel of Christ is preached in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, it triggers persecution and severe threats against the preaching of the gospel. It seems that our adversary (the devil) does not mind people preaching the gospel, as long as they preach it WITHOUT THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER. The devil does not mind an empty gospel, he doesn’t mind when a church has religious zeal and a form of godliness but denies the power thereof. Indeed it is the manifested power in the gospel that the devil is afraid of and thus hates, not the intellectual or philosophical preaching of it. Hence, those of us who are willing to lay hold on the power in the gospel and to preach it, not only in word but in power, should expect opposition from the devil and his minions or human proxies, we should expect threats, we should expect laws carefully crafted by government and religious authorities to try to stop the preaching of the true gospel of Christ, indeed we should expect arrests and imprisonments, especially in these last days. The focus of our discussion today is on how we are to respond to the persecution and the threats from government/religious authorities and other opposing groups against the preaching of the gospel in these last days. We will draw our inspiration from Acts chapters 3 through 5, which narrate the story of the healing of the lame man at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, the gospel crusade that was triggered by the healing, and the ensuing persecution and threats against the preaching of the gospel that the apostles received from the governing/religious authorities.

Now, when Peter and John healed the lame man (in the Name of Jesus) at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, they did not stop at the healing, the healing provided an opportunity for them to preach Jesus Christ (in whose name the healing was wrought), calling on the people to repent and be converted for the remission of sins in the Name of Jesus (see Acts 3:17-26). And the Bible says that “MANY OF THOSE WHO HEARD THE WORD BELIEVED; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.” (see Acts 4:4 NKJV). However, not everybody who heard the Word believed. In fact, this has always been the case since the beginning of the world: whenever the gospel is preached, there are some who believe the Word and others who don’t. The Bible says of the children of Israel in the wilderness that the gospel that was preached to them did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. (see Hebrews 4:2). Among those also who DID NOT BELIEVE the Word that Peter and John preached in the temple were the Sadducees, the priests, and the captain of the temple; these men spurned the gospel, they didn’t even allow Peter and John to finish speaking, but came up to them while they were still speaking, and arrested them, for they were greatly disturbed that Peter and John preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. (see Acts 4:1-3). Obviously, the reason these men were greatly disturbed is because they felt Peter and John were destroying their theology or their doctrine, for “the Sadducees say there is no resurrection from the dead, and that there are neither angels nor spirits” (see Acts 23:8; with Mark 12:18; Matthew 22:23). Indeed it is sad that these men preferred to hold on to their man-made doctrines and traditions rather than accept the truth of God’s Word which was being proclaimed to them by these great apostles of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that they arrested Peter and John and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening (see Acts 4:3). And so Peter and John spent the night in custody; they were kept in custody till the next day (see Acts 4:5). Their only offense was that they had preached in the Name of Jesus Christ, and they had done a good deed to a helpless man (see Acts 4:9). Beloved, what are you willing to suffer for the Name of Christ? Peter and John spent the night in custody, suffering shame for the Name of Christ, suffering for doing a good deed to a helpless man.

The Bible says, “And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them (that is, Peter and John) in the midst, they asked, “BY WHAT POWER or BY WHAT NAME have you done this?” Then Peter, FILLED WITH THE Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for A GOOD DEED DONE to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that BY THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, BY HIM THIS MAN STANDS HERE BEFORE YOU WHOLE. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:5‭-‬12 NKJV, brackets and emphasis mine). Oh, the boldness of Peter! Thank God for the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that “Peter, FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT” answered the rulers and elders this way (see Acts 4:8). It was the Holy Spirit who gave Peter the utterance when he spoke these words. The Lord Jesus promised all His disciples, saying, “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for IT IS NOT YOU WHO SPEAK, but the Spirit of your Father who SPEAKS IN YOU.” (Matthew‬ ‭10:19-20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). This promise was fulfilled in Peter and John in this story. When  you are also filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will give you the utterance to speak. Indeed when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will speak with BOLDNESS, and people will SEE that boldness. The people SAW the BOLDNESS of Peter and John, and perceiving that Peter and John were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled and attributed their boldness to the fact that they had been with Jesus (see Acts 4:13). And how right they were! As believers, the Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of POWER, and of love, and of a sound mind (see 2 Timothy 1:7). The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of POWER, He is a Spirit of BOLDNESS. And He makes us bold and powerful witnesses to Jesus Christ.

When Peter spoke boldly about Jesus in response to the Council (that is, the gathering of the rulers of the people and elders of Israel), they could not dispute Peter’s claims about Jesus because they could see the man who had been healed (BY THE NAME OF JESUS) standing with them (see Acts 4:14). The proof was infallible and irrefutable, and so the gospel could not be denied. This is also why God wants us to always preach the gospel in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. The Lord wants to work with us and confirm His Word with signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit (see Mark 16:20). We just have to be filled with His Spirit, and yield to Him. You need the POWER of the Holy Spirit to be an effective witness to Jesus. The Holy Spirit will give you miracles, signs and wonders as evidence of the truth of the gospel of Christ, so that people cannot deny it. Indeed the Council couldn’t challenge the fact that a NOTABLE MIRACLE had been done in the Name of Jesus through Peter and John, for it was EVIDENT to all who dwelt in Jerusalem, and they couldn’t deny it (see Acts 4:16). Therefore, the Council set a goal to STOP what later came to be known as CHRISTIANITY FROM SPREADING FURTHER AMONG THE PEOPLE (see Acts 4:17). And the STRATEGY that they employed in their effort to achieve this goal was SEVERE THREATS against the apostles to stop them from speaking to anyone in the name of Jesus. The Bible says, “So they called them and COMMANDED THEM NOT TO SPEAK AT ALL NOR TEACH IN THE NAME OF JESUS.” (Acts‬ ‭4:18‬ ‭NKJV). Beloved, the goal and strategy of the enemy has not changed. The devil (through his human proxies) today still has the same goal of stopping true Christianity from spreading further among the people, and he uses the same strategy of severe threats against the preachers of the gospel, and antagonistic laws designed to stop us.

Thus the Council commanded Peter and John to not SPEAK at all nor TEACH in the Name of Jesus (see Acts 4:18). They passed a strict law against preaching the gospel of Christ among the people. But what was the response of the apostles? Did they budge? Did they say, “Oh God, as You can see, the new law of the land is that we are not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus, so we are not going to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus?” A thousand times No! Rather, “Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”” (see Acts‬ ‭4:19-20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Peter and John were basically saying to the Council, “You judge for yourself whether it is right IN THE SIGHT OF GOD (not in your own sight, but in the sight of God) to listen to you (mere men) more than to God (who has commanded us to preach and teach in the Name of Jesus.” And so, here we learn from Peter and John that one important way to respond to the severe threats and laws made by human authorities and institutions against the preaching of the gospel is to simply OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN. This was what Peter and John intended to do, and so they continued their response to the Council by basically saying, “If we are ever going to open our mouth to speak again, we cannot but speak the things which we have SEEN and HEARD, and of course, the things which we have seen and heard concern the Word of Life, which we preach” (see Acts 4:20, with 1 John 1:1-3; 2 Peter 1:16-18).

Not quite unexpectedly, this response from Peter and John was greeted with MORE THREATS from the Council, after which they released them, finding no way of punishing them because of the people, since they ALL glorified God for the miracle that had been done (see Acts 4:21). For the man who was healed was over 40 years old, and he had been lame from birth. (see Acts 4:22). Beloved, the miracles God performs by our hands should always bring glory to God, they should cause people to glorify God, and not us. Christ must be at the center of all we do; He must be  lifted by our witness, yes, Christ must be exalted and glorified by our works.

Now, after Peter and John were released from the custody of the Council, having been threatened severely and commanded to neither speak nor teach in the Name of Jesus, the Bible says that “they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them” (Acts‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Let us pay careful attention to what follows next, because it will teach us another valuable lesson about how we are also to respond to severe threats and antagonistic laws against the preaching of the gospel. The Bible says that when the brethren heard from Peter and John about the severe threats against them by the Council, and learned that the Council had commanded them to STOP preaching or teaching to anyone in the Name of Jesus, they (the brethren) also set a goal and devised a strategy: the goal was to PREACH and TEACH the gospel WITH ALL BOLDNESS, and the strategy was to PRAY. (see Acts 4:24-31). And so they raised their voice to God in prayer, they PRAYED LOUDLY (see Acts 4:24); indeed this was no time for silence. For the apostles knew that they were at war, and they also knew that they were not warring against men, they were not wrestling against flesh and blood, “but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (see Ephesians‬ ‭6:12‬). Hence they did not war according to the flesh, they understood that the weapons of their warfare are not carnal. Therefore, they employed a spiritual strategy: the strategy of PRAYER. And they prayed LOUDLY. You see, some people criticize loud prayers, because they don’t understand that although it is not the loudness of the prayer that brings the answer, there are times and situations in which we can’t help but pray LOUDLY. And this was exactly one of such times and situations where the disciples couldn’t help but pray loudly. The disciples did not only pray loudly but they also prayed IN AGREEMENT or WITH ONE ACCORD. (see Acts 4:24). Jesus had promised His disciples that “if two of you AGREE on earth CONCERNING ANYTHING THAT THEY ASK, IT WILL BE DONE FOR THEM by My Father in heaven.” (Matthew‬ ‭18:19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Therefore, the disciples AGREED concerning what to ask for in prayer. Then they asked. They said, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all BOLDNESS they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to HEAL, and that SIGNS and WONDERS may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” (Acts‬ ‭4:29-30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

Beloved, if the events surrounding the healing of the lame man at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful hadn’t taught the disciples anything else, it had taught them that miracles performed in the Name of Jesus bring BOLDNESS  to them for the preaching of the gospel of Christ. And so, in their prayer of agreement, they asked the Lord to look on the threats of the Council (and because of those threats) grant to them that WITH ALL BOLDNESS they may SPEAK GOD’s Word; they added that they CAN SPEAK WITH ALL BOLDNESS if God will give them MORE  HEALINGS, and SIGNS AND WONDERS, if God will stretch forth His hand to HEAL and that SIGNS AND WONDERS may be done IN THE NAME OF JESUS, in the Name that the Council had forbidden them from speaking and teaching in. (see Acts 4:29-30). Oh, what noble request these disciples made in their prayer! They asked for more healings, signs and wonders to be done in the Name of Jesus, so as to give them BOLDNESS to preach and teach the Word of God. They asked for notable healings and miracles to be performed in the Name of Jesus, such that they can’t be denied, just like before. The disciples basically believed that more miracles performed in the Name of Jesus will give them more boldness to preach in the Name of Jesus. And they were right. Thus God answered their prayer. The Bible says, “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with BOLDNESS.” (Acts‬ ‭4:31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬).

Truly, God answers prayers. God’s response to the disciples’ prayer was awesome: He empowered or emboldened the disciples by the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of power, the Spirit of prophecy) to do that which the enemy had severely threatened them and commanded them not to do, as the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit, and they SPOKE the Word of God with BOLDNESS. The Bible says (as a result of the prayer) that the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and they did it with GREAT POWER. (see Acts 4:33). And GREAT GRACE was upon them all. (see Acts 4:33). Oh, thank God for answered prayers! What could we do without the grace of God? “And through the hands of the apostles MANY SIGNS and WONDERS WERE DONE among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.” (Acts‬ ‭5:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). “And BELIEVERS were increasingly ADDED to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and THEY WERE ALL HEALED.” (‭Acts‬ ‭5:14-16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Indeed this was a great period of progress for the disciples and for the gospel. But did it stop the Rulers of the people and elders of Israel (or the Council) from coming after the apostles again? We will discuss this and more in the next post (or Part 2 of this series). Please return to this Page in two days to read the conclusion of this topic. And may you stand steadfast in the faith and rejoice always when you suffer shame for Jesus’ Name. Amen. #SpiritLife #UnveilingMysteries #shareTheWord #FollowThisBlog