BJ McConnell
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Sept 28, 2019 2:32:20 GMT -5
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Post by BJ McConnell on Jan 15, 2020 3:28:04 GMT -5
The Book of Acts Chapters 4-6 Read It OnlineThe Five Thousand, Prison, and Stephen is Chosen This study is now closed.
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BJ McConnell
Forum Owner
Sept 28, 2019 2:32:20 GMT -5
Posts: 246 Amens: 13
Favorite Verse: 2 Cor 5:17
Bible Study Member?: Yes
Born Again Christian?: Yes
User Offline
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Post by BJ McConnell on Jan 31, 2020 10:42:25 GMT -5
So our readings this week start in chapter four of Acts, and the first verse begins with "and" so we know we need to back up a little to find out what's happening beforehand. When we go back we see that Peter and John had just come upon the lame man outside the temple and the man was healed by God at Peter's command. So when the crowds gather around Peter takes the opportunity to preach the gospel, while also explaining that they were responsible for the death of the Messiah, Jesus.
Now, as we move back to the first verse of our readings we see that the Sadducees have Peter and John taken away and then the next day question them and command them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Excitedly, even with the interference of the Sadducees, the scriptures say that five thousand people were saved as a result of Peter's preaching. At one point, Peter tells the Sadducees that his responsibility is to obey God rather than man, virtually telling them that he is going to continue speaking of the gospel regardless of what they say. This is a great example to us that we can incorporate into our own daily lives. We know that the scriptures teach us that as believers we are to obey the laws of the land (see Romans 13:1-7). However, just as Peter explains to the Sadducees, when the laws of the land conflict with the command of God we are to do as God says, not what man tells us.
So how do we apply this teaching? Let's say your spouse is unfaithful... please don't stone them, because as Paul tells us again and again, we are no longer under the law of the Old Testament, but rather we are under grace so breaking the law and stoning your spouse is not obeying God rather than man, it's just committing murder. Common sense, right? It needs to be plain English what God is commanding us in the scripture before we go breaking any laws. For example, during the tribulation there is going to be a one world government that is going to make it law that citizens worship the anti-Christ. Any believer during that time should definitely disobey the law of the land because God has made it perfectly clear in the Bible that we are not to worship anyone but Him. But what we can't do is pull a David Koresh and twist the scriptures to line up with what we want them to say as an excuse to break the law.
Later in chapter 5 we read that Peter and John are put in jail for disobeying the Sadducees. This is a good moment to keep in mind. When we resolve ourselves to obey God rather than man's laws we can expect to pay an earthly consequence for breaking the law of the land even if it is because we are obeying God. This lines up perfectly with what Jesus told us when He said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
On the other hand, in chapter five, as Peter and John are in jail, the scriptures tell us that an angel of the Lord appeared and opened the door letting them out and telling them to go speak again in the temple. So what I take from this is that while there are earthly consequences for breaking the laws of the land because the law contradicts what God tells us to do, if our cause is righteous, we can expect the Lord to deliver us from those earthly consequences.
There was one more thing that I noted during the reading that I'd like to share. In all of chapter four, there are two separate times that Peter stands in the temple proclaiming the gospel to the Jews. The first time, God saw fit to make a statement that most people probably skip right over thinking nothing of it, but today it jumped out at me.
When the scripture tells us Peter is beginning to speak to the people, it makes the point of telling us Peter is filled with the Holy Ghost (see Acts 4:8). So why would it tell us that when we already know they were filled with the Holy Ghost at Pentecost? The fact that it does causes me to think we need to pay close attention to that statement. What I've found is that Peter is fulfilling a prophecy made by Jesus that can be found in Matthew's gospel:
The final part of our readings this week tells us how disputes were beginning to materialize in the assemblies of believers and so at that time the apostles decide to appoint Stephen and a number of others over such matters so that the apostles could focus their energies on teaching and preaching the gospel as well as prayer. Chapter six is basically used as a way to introduce us to Stephen because next week in our study of chapter seven we are going to see him making a very significant speech and learn of his fate as a result.
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