Whatever Works [A]

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Transcript:

Well, turn with me please to Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 5. You know, I mentioned to you last week, laid out about three goals that any church should pursue. The things that God left the church here to do, the things that God left the church here to work toward, those being Christ-centered worship, Christ-centered preaching, and Christ-centered discipleship.

And talked about how our church needs to refocus and get serious about our efforts to do those things. Not that we haven’t done those things in the past, but I shared with you my feeling that sometimes I drift from Sunday to Sunday by accident. And that when things happen here, sometimes they happen, well, they always happen because God was at work, but they don’t always happen because we were at work.

They happen because God had some grace toward us and allowed us to see somebody saved or to see somebody baptized or see somebody taught something. And it’s not always because we were working and being diligent. And I shared with you, you know, we may have questions about how specifically we’re going to do these things.

And I mentioned Wednesday night that some people had already asked me, how can I do this in what I’m doing? How can I refocus and work in these ways in the ministry that I have? And I said, I don’t have the answers for you.

And if this sounds like the article I put in your handout bulletin this morning, you’re right. I talked about this in the handout. I don’t have specific answers for you yet.

But I told you last week that we were going to pray about it and that we were going to talk to people at our sister churches and find out what they were doing that was working. And I still maintain that that’s important to do. See how they’re reaching people.

See how they’re discipling people, these sorts of things. See what they’re doing that’s working. But even as I said that, I thought at the time, I need to be careful in the way that I come across about that because just because something appears to work does not necessarily mean that God is in it that God’s in it for us, that that’s God’s will for us, just because something seems to be working.

See, there’s an entire school of thought called pragmatism that says whatever works is the right thing to do. And when I say we’re going to see what is working for other people, even at that point, just because it’s working for them, whatever they’re doing, we still have to see, is that what God wants us to do? We have to first see, is that in accordance with God’s Word?

There’s a lot of churches, you know, we would like to see this place packed out on a Sunday. We would like to see people coming through the doors and hearing the message. And I’m here to tell you there are all kinds of things that we could do that would work to that end, aren’t there?

There are all kinds of things that we could do. We could give free pony rides for the kids up and down the aisles. And that would bring some kids in probably.

Not probably the best route for us to go though. We could show clips of R-rated movies as part of the sermon. And there are churches that do that.

Show them as sermon illustrations. And we could do all sorts of things. And it would work.

It would bring people in, but it’s not necessarily God’s will for us. Because we’ve got to make sure that the things we do are in accordance with God’s will. We’ve got to make sure that the things we do are in accordance with God’s word.

And if they’re not, it can’t possibly be God’s will and He can’t possibly be in it. And yet there’s the school of thought, even among Christians, that says whatever works is what’s right. And that’s going to bring us to our passage this morning.

One of the most twisted, misused passages of Scripture is located here in Acts chapter 5, where people like to take it out of context to support the idea that, hey, if it works, God’s in it. And we’re going to examine it this morning and tonight and see why that’s not necessarily the case and see what is the lesson that God intends us to take out of Acts chapter 5. We’re going to start in verse 17 and go through the end of the chapter.

It says, Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors and brought them forth and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning and taught.

But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came and found them not in the prison, they returned and told, saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety. and the keeper standing without before the doors, but when we had opened, we found no man within.

So what’s happened at this point is that the apostles, as they did every day, they went forth preaching in the name of Jesus Christ. Not just that he was a nice guy, they went and preached to the Jews that the man that they had just crucified was actually God in the flesh. That the man that they had waited, the Messiah that they had waited for thousands of years, they had taken, and according to Peter’s words in Acts chapter 2, they had taken by wicked hands and crucified and slain. And they preached much to the irritation of the Sadducees who didn’t believe in angels or the resurrection or much of anything supernatural. They preached that Jesus had risen again from the dead, that He had been raised on the third day, and that He now sat at the right hand of God the Father.

And that by His sacrifice, they could have forgiveness of sins. And they preached this new doctrine, and it made the religious leaders angry, just as it did when Jesus taught in His day. It made the religious leaders angry.

And so what they did was they came along and they threw the apostles into prison. And it’s no surprise that they would do so. I mean, Jesus told us that if they hated me first, they’ll hate you too.

It should be no surprise to us in our day when people hate us for our stand for the gospel, for our stand on any of the truths of God’s word. When people hate us, Jesus warned us. He said, they hated me and they’re going to hate you too.

That’s not a direct quote. That’s essentially what he told us. And so they threw them into prison.

But while they were in prison, God intervened and the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and told them, go and preach. Go and do what God has told you to do. And so they left the prison and they went on to the temple early in the morning.

They didn’t wait around all day. They went as early as they could and went to the temple when the people would get there and began to preach again because that’s what God had told them to do. And the religious leaders came back.

They had thrown them in prison overnight. They went back to get them so that they could go and take them to their little kangaroo court and put them on trial. Religious leaders came and they found nobody in the prison. When they got to the prison, I mean, there was no sign of a break-in or a break-out.

They got to the prison, they found the guards still standing guard. As far as we can tell from this, the guards didn’t even know the men were missing. Now, how God accomplished this, I have no idea other than the fact that He’s God and He can do what He wants to do.

But as far as the manner in which He did it, I have no clue. But the guards were just out there standing guard like nothing had happened. And they get there and they find the doors still locked and the place shut up tight.

And yet there’s no apostle in there to be found. They said, what in the world is going on? In verse 24, now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this could grow.

It’s not that they didn’t believe it, but they couldn’t believe it. You understand the difference there? There is a difference there.

They had no reason to doubt the testimony of these men who’d gone back and found the prison empty. They had no reason to doubt that it was exactly like they said it was, that the place was locked up tight like Fort Knox, and yet nobody inside. They had no reason to doubt their testimony, and yet, I can’t believe it, it does not make sense.

It doesn’t make sense unless you believe God was involved and intervened. And they doubted of them where unto this would grow. And you know they had to be thinking, great, we’ve lost some more of them.

Because the religious leaders, you know what they did when the testimony came back from the guards that the stone was rolled away and the seal was broken and the tomb was empty, that Jesus was gone, they tried to keep it quiet. We don’t see in the gospel accounts anywhere where they doubted it or argued about it. They just tried to keep it quiet.

And you know they’re probably thinking, great. We go into some place, again, that’s supposed to be secure and we’ve lost more of them. And so there was doubt within themselves whereunto this would grow.

This could get out of hand. this story could grow and they could have a real problem on their hands. Verse 25, Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.

So they didn’t just disappear, they got out. We don’t know how, or they didn’t know how, but they got out and they went to the temple and they’re standing there preaching. And the religious leaders, I’m sure, are thinking, Great, it’s just what we put them in prison for.

They get out and they go right back to doing it. They’re in the temple and they’re teaching the people. And then went the captain with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people lest they should have been stoned.

Now I don’t think that means that the vast majority of the people of Jerusalem agreed with the apostles, but they undoubtedly had seen or heard the miracles that they’d done. They’d seen them firsthand or they’d heard about them. They wanted to hear what they were teaching.

They wanted to know what they had a following. Much like Jesus had a following during His time. He could draw huge crowds of people.

But a lot of times they were there for the meal or they were there for the miracles. They weren’t necessarily followers, but they wanted to see the spectacle that was going on. And these people had heard and seen the miracles, and they wanted to hear the teaching.

And so they had a following in Jerusalem to the extent that the leaders had to come and says they couldn’t take them by force. They couldn’t just come and slap the cuffs on them. Not that they had those in that time, but they couldn’t just come and arrest them and haul them off because the people would have gone nuts.

They had to come and talk them and say, come with us. And the apostles, I’m certain, knew what was going to happen, but they went with them anyway, and they went to their trial. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council, and the high priest asked them, saying, Did we not straightly command you that you should not teach in this name? And behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.

In other words, we have told you and told you and told you that you were not supposed to go and preach in Jesus’ name. Haven’t we? And everybody there knew full well they had.

It’s a rhetorical question, but it’s like when you ask your children, how many times have I told you not to run out in the street? Well, no, you don’t want to. If they answer you, you’re probably going to smack them because it’s a sarcastic answer.

974 times, Mom, not what you want to hear. We all know they’ve been told not to run out in the street. Haven’t we told you that you’re not supposed to teach in Jesus’ name?

And yet, here you go, you’ve filled Jerusalem, not just you’ve taught a little bit here. You have filled the city of Jerusalem with this doctrine. Everybody is talking about Jesus Christ, and you intend to bring this man’s blood on us.

Folks, that’s exactly what they needed was the blood of Jesus on them. But they had talked about, if you read back and refer back to the message that Peter preached that I’ve talked about in Acts chapter 2 at the day of Pentecost, he talked about them having crucified Jesus, talked about them being guilty, not only guilty of the sins that put him there in the first place, but guilty of actually seeing this thing through and making sure he was crucified. And when he says, you want to bring this man’s blood on us, you’re trying to make it out that we killed an innocent man.

You’re trying to make us guilty of his blood. Well, yeah, Peter and John didn’t have to make them guilty of anything. They already were.

And if they admitted and the people admitted that Jesus was who he claimed he was, then yeah, they were guilty of the blood of an innocent man. In verse 29, one of my favorite verses of all of Scripture, and yet also, it’s not the one we’re really talking about today, but another of the most misinterpreted verses. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

The God of our fathers, he preaches again. Peter never missed an opportunity. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom he slew and hanged on a tree.

Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things. And so also is the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him.

And when they heard that, they were cut to the heart. And we saw that in Acts chapter 2 also. They were pricked in their hearts.

It convicted them. It got them right here. And yet not so much that they responded in the right way to that conviction.

They were cut to the heart and took counsel to slay them. Sometimes people respond to conviction by doing the right thing and trusting in Christ and dealing with their sins before God. And sometimes people deal with conviction by acting out in completely the opposite way.

My mother used to say when somebody was acting, When one of my friends was acting wrong, when they were being mean, or they were treating people bad for no reason, she’d say, oh, it’s probably conviction. Didn’t know what that meant for the longest time. But the more I’ve seen that, you know, sometimes people get under conviction.

They get pricked in the heart, and they act out in just the wrong way. That’s exactly what these people did. Then stood there up one in the council.

This is where we get into the Scripture that’s so often twisted for this idea that, hey, if it works, God’s in it. Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel. You’ll remember him later on from being the one that Paul studied under.

Gamaliel, a Pharisee. A Pharisee, Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space. Gamaliel was one of these people that when he spoke, people listened.

People heard, people wanted to hear what Gamaliel had to say because he was a man of reputation. He was strict in his adherence to the law. We know that because he was a Pharisee.

He was a leader among the Pharisees. He was a doctor of the law, which means he was a learned man. He had studied God’s law and knew it inside and out.

And he’s one that the people looked up to and respected. And he says, let’s put the apostles out. That means, can y’all go wait in the hallway for a few minutes while the grown-ups talk?

Put the apostles forth a little space. And then, because he didn’t want the apostles to hear what he was about to say next, if he’d said what he said next, they would have thought, man, in his mindset, they’re going to think we can get away with whatever we want now. So he has them put out and he tells the Sanhedrin, You men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do as touching these men.

Give serious consideration to what you intend to do about these guys. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves, who was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered and brought to naught. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him, he also perished, and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

So Gamaliel gives them the examples of two men who, around the time of Jesus’ birth, he says, the taxing. These men had risen up. We assume as political revolutionaries, these guys who people flocked to because, hey, they might be the Messiah.

They’ve come to set up God’s kingdom. They’ve come to kick the Romans out. They’ve come to do this.

They were people that other people followed. And he said, you know, they rose up and they had all these people behind them, and yet they were killed. All the people were killed or scattered, and they came to nothing.

All these people tried to raise up, and God wasn’t in it, and it came to nothing. And he’s right there. God wasn’t in it because neither of these men were the Messiah, and it came to nothing.

Verse 38, And now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let them alone. For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught. He tells them to leave them alone.

Now, Gamaliel is right in one thing that he says, don’t kill these men. When we say, let them alone, we’re not talking about if we were to say, leave somebody alone today, don’t argue with them, don’t debate them. Folks, we are called to confront false teaching.

We are called to stand for the truth of God’s word. We’re still not called to kill those who disagree with us. That’s where we stand apart from, well, some other religions.

I’ll let you draw whatever inferences you may there. He says, let them alone. In other words, don’t kill these men.

But then he says, if it be the work of men, if this is man’s work, it will come to naught or nothing. But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it. He’s right there again.

If God’s in it, you can’t stop it, lest happily you be found even to fight against God. And to him they agreed, and when they had called the apostles and beaten them, so they said, okay, we won’t kill them, we’ll leave them alone. They called them back in, beat them a little bit, just so they got the message, and commanded them that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.

And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. I love that. Beat them real good for good measure and said, go, but you’re free to go, but don’t talk anymore about Jesus.

And so what they do, they left out there and every chance they got, they talked about Jesus. I love that. Folks, a lot of people take Gamaliel’s statement as what they ought to learn out of this passage.

when really, as we’re going to talk about tonight, we don’t need to learn from Gamaliel in this passage. We need to learn from Peter and the other apostles. But people look at this and say, yeah, it’s in the Bible, Gamaliel said, that if it’s the work of men, it’ll come to nothing.

If it’s God’s work, you can’t overthrow it. And that’s true. You can’t overthrow God’s work.

You can’t stop God’s work. It may appear at times like people serving God have been unsuccessful, but in the great scheme of things, when all is said and done, when all the accounts are settled for eternity, God will have His way. God is sovereign.

And God does have a sovereign will that you can’t stop. But in this, they forget about the things we talked about in our series on God’s will, the permissive will, where sometimes God doesn’t decree it. He just says, because you have free will, there’s a choice to be made here.

And you can go this way, but only because I said you could. But there’s also the perfect will, the other choice that said that this is what I desire you to do. But because I have given you free will, because I’ve allowed you to make choices, Here’s what I want you to do, and here’s as far as you can go the other direction.

And I believe we serve a God who is so sovereign that He can sovereignly decide to give us free will, and our choices don’t threaten His sovereignty a bit because He’s still ultimately in charge. But this idea that they take from the passage, hey, it’s in the Bible. It says it right there that if it works, God’s in it.

Folks, that’s not what the Bible teaches. I believe that the Bible is entirely true, as I’m sure the majority of you do too as well. The Bible is entirely true.

And you know what? it entirely, truthfully, and correctly records Gamaliel’s statement. But that doesn’t mean Gamaliel was right in what he said.

Any more than it was right when Nebuchadnezzar spoke. Any more than it was right when the pagan kings that harassed Israel all throughout the Old Testament would tell their people to attack Israel, would tell their people to serve pagan gods. When Jezebel would speak and make commands to the people.

Just because the Bible faithfully records it and accurately records it doesn’t mean that what they said was biblical teaching.

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