A Wise Decision

Acts 5:38-39 Therefore, 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. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

These two verses, put in context, relate back to when the Pharisees bring Peter and the apostles before the Sanhedrin, which was the supreme court of ancient Israel. This passage is from a man named Gamaliel, a member of the Sanhedrin.

These verses spoke directly to me as I was reading today. What an awesome image we get from this one man. Gamaliel seemed to have some sort of understanding about humanity vs. divine intervention. He knew that if these men were to go around sharing this false message that they created in their own minds, it would eventually fail and become nothing but mere words spoken. On the contrary, he was also aware that if this message was from God, if what these apostles were doing was divinely ordained by the Lord God Himself, then the Sanhedrin persecution of the apostles would do nothing. Gamaliel knew something that the rest of the Sanhedrin did not, he knew how to be patient. He wanted a sign before condemning the apostles, but he knew that they would not be able to do a single thing about it because the apostles would either destroy themselves or succeed no matter how much persecution came their way.

How true is this! We see that the latter part of Gamaliel's statement is what actually happened! These pharisees, the Jewish leaders, ended up killing off the apostles, including Peter. But, dare I ask, what did that end up doing? Nothing. The persecution of the apostles, and Christian leaders since, has done nothing to stop the message of Jesus Christ from being spread throughout the entire world.

Do you know why this is?

Because those fighting against the true followers and ambassadors of Jesus Christ are really fighting against God Himself, just as Gamaliel said.

No matter which way you look at it, this is exactly what Gamaliel stated. He wanted to warn his colleagues that, before they decide to do something rash, they need to think of what they are doing and realize that fighting God is only going to end in their own destruction. How futile it would be to fight with the God of Creation.

As a member of the family of God, as a beloved Child of Jesus Christ, I will stand firm knowing that the Lord Himself is before me and, ultimately, is the one who is continually preaching the message of the gospel through me.

Matthew 28:18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (emphasis added)

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."