Feb 13 - Ignore Them and Maybe They'll Go Away

Read Acts 5:33-42

Context: The apostles were being persecuted because the Sadducees were jealous. They were jailed, but God intervened and an angel opened the doors of the jail. They continued to preach and teach despite grave warnings. They insisted that they must obey God rather than men.

Text:
33When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
40His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. (NIV)[a]
Footnotes:
Acts 5:42 Or Messiah
taken from www.biblegateway.com

My favorite part of this text is verse 39: "But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." It's been a little longer than 2000 years...I don't think it's going away!

The last verse, however, is very convicting. While I may be doing some things that could be counted as teaching, most of the time it is to folks who already believe. I think I am so concerned that I might turn someone off completely that I hesitate to bring Jesus up. I know that I put off accepting Christ for several years because some who were adamant about telling others about Christ behaved in ways that were very inconsistent with what they professed. I know that I don't live up to my definition of Christian standards...and I'd hate to cause someone to walk away from Jesus because of what they saw in me.

While that may be a good justification, I wonder how many people don't move any closer to Jesus because I haven't given them the good news?