Give to God That Which Is God’s

God is the absolute authority in the universe, but he has appointed delegated authorities to rule on his behalf on the earth. Such authorities include the government, the family and the church, and we must render obedience to them as unto God.

There are times, however, when these authorities–we call them Caesars–decide that they, not God, wield absolute authority, and they begin to demand absolute obedience from those under them. When this happens, the church of Jesus Christ has an obligation to say “No.” We are obliged to render absolute obedience only to the absolute authority, the triune God–the Father, Son and Holy Spirit–and to do his will as revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures, which we confess to be the only inerrant, infallible, absolute truth.

Throughout the history of the world we have found many Caesars acting as gods and demanding absolute allegiance from those under them. This passage from the book of Acts tells us what the church should do when the delegated authority of the state becomes so demonized and irresponsible that it thinks its authority is absolute.

A Miraculous Healing

In Acts 3 and 4 we find the account of a miracle. A forty-year-old congenital cripple was instantaneously and completely healed by the apostles Peter and John in the name of Jesus Christ. No one could deny this miracle, for this man, known to all the people of Jerusalem, began to walk, leap and praise God in the sight of all who were gathered in the temple courts.

The Israel Supreme Court of seventy-one educated, powerful, cultured men–most, if not all, of whom were hostile to Jesus–convened to investigate the healing of this crippled man. After much investigation, they could not deny that a miracle had occurred. Acts 4:14 tells us that the Sanhedrin could find nothing to say about this miracle because the man who had been healed was standing before them along with Peter and John. These intelligent, educated people had all the skills and tools of investigation available to them and could find nothing to contradict the reality of this miracle.

Acts 4:21 tells us “all the people were praising God for what had happened.” In other words, everyone recognized that God had done a miracle, and in verses 16 and 22 Luke says it was an outstanding miracle. Now, if you are a person who does not believe that miracles can happen, you will not believe the Bible on this issue. But this text clearly tells us that a miracle did happen. Although the members of the Sanhedrin were opposed to Jesus, after careful investigation they had no choice but to admit that the crippled man had been miraculously healed, not by fraud, magic, or the power of Beelzebub, but by God.

We want to examine three points from this passage. First, we want to look at the trial of the apostles; second, the threat of the Sanhedrin; and third, the trusting refusal of the apostles.

The Trial of the Apostles

After the crippled man was healed, the apostles were arrested and jailed overnight. The next day they were brought out to stand trial before the Sanhedrin, and the question was put to them, “By what power or what name did you do this?” (Acts 4:7) Their answer was very simple. Peter told the Sanhedrin this act of kindness was done “by the name of the Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.” This miracle of healing was performed by the power and name of the risen Christ.

This remarkable miracle was based on another, more stupendous miracle that God had performed through the operation of his incomparable power. What was it? The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Jesus of Nazareth is Christ the Messiah. He is Lord, he is God, and he alone is Savior. So Peter told the Sanhedrin that the cripple was healed by the power and authority of Jesus of Nazareth, who rose from the dead and was now reigning as the supreme Ruler of the universe.

Appeal Made and Rejected

After Peter answered the question of the Sanhedrin, he made an appeal to these great rulers. In Acts 4:12 we read, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Peter was informing these leaders that Jesus not only heals people physically but he will save them from their sins.

Peter was saying to the Sanhedrin, “You who are sitting in judgment of me, the apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, for an act of kindness done in his name–do you know that you are sinners, all seventy-one of you, and under God’s wrath? Therefore, I will take this opportunity to appeal to you to repent and submit to Jesus of Nazareth. Why? He is not only capable of healing one physically, but he is capable of performing the greater miracle of saving you from your sins. In fact, he alone can save sinners. He alone is the Savior of the world, who saves Jews and Gentiles alike who will repent and believe in him. This remarkable miracle of physical healing is designed to point you to the unique ability of the risen Christ to forgive sin and grant you all salvation. Won’t you repent and submit to Jesus Christ of Nazareth that you may be saved?”

Even though he was on trial, Peter began to witness to the glorious gospel to these people. Surely this was a demonstration of the great mercy and compassion of God! But what was the Sanhedrin’s response? They rejected God’s gracious offer of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Were the members of the Sanhedrin doing anything unusual as they rejected the gospel? No. People have been rejecting Christ for centuries. Instead of crying out, “What must we do to be saved?” many wise, intelligent, educated, mighty, cultured, sophisticated people have despised the gospel and refused to acknowledge, submit to and trust in their Messiah.

The Boldness of the Apostles

The Sanhedrin had admitted that a remarkable miracle had taken place, and they agreed that it was done in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. But when they looked at the apostles, Peter and John, and saw how boldly they spoke before the Sanhedrin, I am sure they were asking themselves, “Who are these people, that they could be so confident?” The members of the Sanhedrin knew the apostles were not rich or famous. They knew they had not attended the rabbinical schools of Hillel or Shammai, nor were they taught by Gamaliel, the famous scholar in Jerusalem, himself a member of the Sanhedrin and the famed teacher of the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus.

The apostles were uneducated, unlettered men. They did not have “Doctor of Rabbinical Studies” after their names. By human standards they were common, ordinary people–not wise, not influential, and not of noble birth. Foolish, weak, lonely, and despised, they were the zeros of the world. Not only were they fishermen but they were Galileans, which meant they were despised by the cultured people of Jerusalem. They were like their master, Jesus of Nazareth, who was also from Galilee and who also lacked professional education, as we read in John 7:15.

Yet these were chosen by God and appointed by him to be the apostles of Jesus Christ. They were personally trained by the Lord Jesus Christ, who has become for us, Paul says, “wisdom from God.” Acts 4:13 tells us, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realize that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished.”

The apostle Peter had not always been so bold. We know that the night before Jesus was crucified Peter denied him before a slave girl. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ changed all that. As eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Christ, the apostles were given many infallible proofs and were enabled to speak of the Lord Jesus Christ with increasing confidence. Additionally, they were recently baptized in the Holy Spirit and clothed with power by the ascended Christ. Peter himself had received another fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit to deal with this present crisis, as we read in Acts 4:8.

Thus, even though the apostles were unschooled, ordinary men, they were bold and unafraid as they stood before the Sanhedrin. What Jesus had promised in Luke 21:15 and Matthew 10:19 had come true, and their Lord gave them words and wisdom that the Sanhedrin was totally incapable of resisting or contradicting. They were fearless, confident, and articulate–totally in charge of the situation.

The seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin were amazed at the courage of the apostles. Then it dawned on them: These men had been with Jesus. They remembered how Jesus also spoke with authority, even though he was unschooled and unlettered. Additionally, they remembered how Jesus performed miracles. Jesus was the reason for their courage.

The Failure of the Sanhedrin

In his commentary on the book of Acts, F. F. Bruce says that the most remarkable thing for us to notice in this passage is that these scholars, these mighty people, these enemies of the gospel, these despisers of the Messiah, completely failed to contradict the main thrust of Peter’s defense. In Acts 4:10 Peter declared, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.” The main thrust of Peter’s defense–the resurrection of Christ–could not be contradicted because it is a fact. Jesus is alive and Jesus is Lord.

Even though the Sanhedrin did not and could not refute the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they still refused to submit to him. God had visited them in Jesus Christ, but they rejected him, and Jesus Christ himself had prophesied this rejection of God’s gracious visitation in Luke 19:43-44: “The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

This prophecy was fulfilled in 67-70 A.D., and the ears of everyone who heard of it tingled at what the Sovereign God did to his stubborn and rebellious people. But we must keep in mind that the men of the Sanhedrin were no different than people of today. Even though we continue to declare the gospel today, demanding that people repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, most of the people to whom we speak will not submit to him.

The Threat of the Sanhedrin

The second point we want to examine in this study is the threat of the Sanhedrin. Instead of surrendering to their Messiah who had been raised recently from the dead and who had performed this remarkable healing miracle as acknowledged by them, the Sanhedrin began to make plans to deal with Jesus’ apostles.

In Acts 4:15-16 we read that the Sanhedrin ordered the apostles to go out while they began their deliberations. They asked the question, “Ti poiēsōmen tois anthrōpois toutois–What shall we do with these men?” In Acts 2:37 we find the same phrase, “What shall we do?” There it was uttered by the people who had been convicted by the gospel as preached by Peter. The people were cut to the heart and cried out, “Ti poiēsōmen–What should we do?” and the answer was given, “Repent and be baptized.”

“What shall we do to these men?” the rebels of the Sanhedrin were asking. Oh, how I wish I could have answered them. I would have told them, “Repent, Sanhedrin! Submit to the Lord Jesus Christ, your Messiah, who was raised from the dead and who just performed this miracle. Don’t you see the healed man standing in your midst? Through this healing God has demonstrated that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. Don’t you want to trust in him and be saved?”

Let me tell you something about the nature of unbelief. Whether people are lettered or ignorant, powerful or weak, rich or poor, if God does not grant them repentance, they will continually deliberate or ask themselves, “What shall we do?” but they will not be saved.

Unlike the members of the crowd on the day of Pentecost, the members of the Sanhedrin were not convicted in their hearts because the Holy Spirit did not grant them the gift of repentance. Their hearts were as hard as those of Pharaoh, so instead of repenting and trusting in Jesus Christ, they began to think of ways to use their naked power against the apostles. Closing their eyes and ears to the facts of Christ’s resurrection, Christ’s lordship, and Christ’s ministry of saving sinners, they became resolute in their opposition to Jesus of Nazareth, his apostles, and his gospel. They decided they would rather maintain their arrangement with Rome, which allowed them to live in peace and affluence, than rock the boat by trusting in Christ. Let there be peace, they thought, no matter what.

The Verdict of the Sanhedrin

After much deliberation, the Sanhedrin came to a verdict, which we find in Acts 4:18. This august body called the apostles in and commanded them “not to speak or at all in the name of Jesus.” Stop speaking about Christ, they told the apostles, or else.

We must note here that the Sanhedrin had to threaten these apostles to try to make them stop speaking about Jesus Christ, but today no one has to threaten us. Seduced by the world, by pleasure, by material possessions, many of us have already been silenced in our witness of Christ, to our shame, and no government action is necessary. But these apostles were boldly speaking and teaching about Jesus Christ, so the authorities commanded them to stop. That is what we call abuse of authority. It is pretending that a God-delegated authority has absolute power when it does not.

We see this type of abuse of authority throughout the world today. Many governments and rulers pretend that they, not God, are the absolute authority, and that God is under them, when, in truth, God is over them and all governments are under God. The Sanhedrin was God’s delegated authority, designed to be responsible and accountable to God, and the members of the Sanhedrin should have understood that the scope of their authority was limited. Here we see the Sanhedrin becoming demonic in its refusal to acknowledge and submit to the ultimate authority of the triune God.

Abuse of Delegated Authority

Such abuse of delegated authority was not unusual, even during the time of Jesus. As we read in John 19, Jesus encountered it when he was brought before Pilate, a nobody who represented Caesar. In verse 10 we read, “‘Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said. ‘Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?'” Such speech demonstrates abuse of authority. Pilate was saying that the state has ultimate authority and that God must be under the state. Pilate was abusing authority just as Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, and many others throughout the history of the world did.

Jesus corrected Pilate and in verse 11 we read, “Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you.'” In other words, Jesus was saying, “Pilate, you must realize that your power is delegated power. It is granted to you through Caesar by God, and you and Caesar are to function as God’s servants.” The state is the servant of God as we read also in Romans 13:4, 6.

Jesus spoke about this issue of authority also in Matthew 22. In Matthew 22:17 the Pharisees asked him, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” In verse 21 Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s,” which is the tax money, “and to God what is God’s,” which is the absolute worship and obedience we owe to God alone.

I recently read an article wherein this biblical understanding of authority was mentioned as part of the coronation ceremony for English monarchs. “At the coronation of an English monarch, he is given a sword. Elizabeth II took it last, and as she held it before the altar, she heard these words: ‘Receive this kingly Sword, brought now from the altar of God and delivered to you by us, the Bishops and servants of God, though unworthy. With this Sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy Church of God, help and defend widows and orphans, restore the things that are gone to decay, maintain the things that are restored, punish and reform what is amiss, and confirm what is in good order; that doing these things you may be glorious in all virtue; and so faithfully serve our Lord.'” (Wall Street Journal, “Statesmanship and Its Betrayal,” Mark Helprin, Thursday, July 2, 1998).

In his commentary on Acts 4:13-22, Simon J. Kistemaker describes what Christians should do in a democracy: “In a democracy, Christians must publicly object to laws that force them to be disobedient to God. They can take a number of actions: they can protest by writing members of the legislature, advertise to arouse public awareness, organize opposition, vote against unacceptable proposals, vote elected government officials out of office, and seek to fill these offices by electing Christian legislators. Wherever possible, Christians should resort to moral persuasion and passive resistance but not to force. They should refrain from taking the law into the their own hands. Instead they should use the legal means available to change the system that opposes God’s law. As they seek to obey that higher law, Christians must be prepared to pay the price of persecution. As they pay the price, they should remember Jesus’ encouraging word: ‘Rejoice and be glad, because your reward in heaven is great’ (Matt. 5:12)” from New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles by Simon J. Kistemaker (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990; third printing, 1995) 163.

Abuse of delegated authority is not new or unusual. Nebuchadnezzar abused the authority God gave him. After he made a tall golden statue, he demanded that all people worship the statue at specific times. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to comply with the king’s command because that would have gone contrary to the command of the Sovereign God of the universe, the God of Israel, to worship him alone. As a result of their civil disobedience, they were thrown into a burning fiery furnace.

We find another abuse of authority in Daniel 6. Rulers of the Medes and Persians created another law which said that for thirty days people should only pray to King Darius. After hearing the decree, Daniel went home and prayed as usual to his God, the God of Israel. As a result of his prayer to God, Daniel was thrown in a den of lions. Such are the things that happen to believers when delegated authorities become demonic.

The Trusting Response of Refusal

The third point we want to examine is the trusting response of the apostles. The Sanhedrin wanted to silence the apostles, so they summoned them and told them, in essence, “Don’t speak or teach the gospel to anyone. If you do, we will arrest you, put you in jail, interrogate you, mock you, flog you and kill you.”

This was quite a threat, but the apostles trusted in their Lord. They refused to obey this command because the Lord Jesus Christ had commanded them to preach, as we read in Matthew 28:19-20, “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 in Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In Acts 10:42 Peter spoke of this commission to preach the gospel. Of the Lord Jesus Christ, Peter said, “He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.” The Sanhedrin commanded the apostles not to speak, but here Peter used the same Greek word to speak of God’s command to preach and testify.

In Acts 26:15-16 we find Paul being commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the gospel. In the account of his conversion on the road to Damascus Paul said, “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.'” Like Peter, Paul was also appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the gospel–exactly opposite of what the state was asking him to do.

Commands in Conflict

When the commands of the state conflict with the commands of God, what principle should we follow? We should obey God, the absolute Sovereign of the universe, rather than men, who are demonized. In Acts 4:19 Peter told the Sanhedrin, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.” In other words, “Members of the Sanhedrin, you decide whom we should obey–God or man.” When a delegated authority becomes demonic, whether a pastor, a father, or the state, and demands obedience to itself in contradiction to the command to obey the absolute authority of our triune God whose will is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, we must follow the three Hebrew children, Daniel, the apostles, and all the martyrs of the church and trustingly refuse to obey whatever the authority is asking us to do. We must obey God rather than men.

In modern times the governments of many countries have become demonic and have attempted to shut up the ministers of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In many places there may be so-called churches authorized by these demonic authorities, but the minister will only be allowed to preach what the government allows. Many times these ministers are not allowed to preach the absolute authority of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ or to demand that all people should submit to Jesus Christ.

We find glimpses of this abuse of authority even in the United States where the authorities are determined to eliminate the influence of the true gospel from the marketplace of ideas. In the modern agora, everything is acceptable except the gospel. In the educational system, everything is allowed except the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In our media every kind of filth can be paraded, but the righteousness of the gospel is forbidden. The demonization of delegated authority is as real here as it is in many other countries. And this abuse of delegated authority does not just include the authority of the state; it can include that of the church as well. Whether it is because of a preference to dead orthodoxy or dead liberalism, the church itself will sometimes persecute the true church that really preaches the gospel, as we see in the cases of Athanasius and Martin Luther.

Keep on Speaking

What should we do when delegated authorities become abusive? Should we settle for peace and affluence? Should we surrender our mandate to evangelize for thirty pieces of silver or for a little fame? I don’t know about you, but I want to say with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” I hope that when the rubber touches the road, we would obey God rather than man! I hope that we will be willing to suffer the consequences of obeying God, finding great joy in the knowledge that our reward is great in heaven.

Why must we not be silent? Because through the foolishness of the gospel God saves his elect, both Jews and Gentiles, throughout the world. The gospel is the gospel of God, the gospel of Christ, the gospel of grace, the gospel of salvation, the gospel of glory. It is the only thing that brings life and immortality to light.

What is this wonderful gospel? It is that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification. Why must we not stop speaking? Because, as Paul says, the gospel is the dunamiV tou Qeou, the power of God, the prescription of God, unto salvation to everyone who believes–to the Jew, first , and then to the Greeks (Rom. 1:16). So in 1 Corinthians 9:16 Paul says, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” He put himself under a curse if he didn’t speak of Jesus Christ. And in 2 Corinthians 5:14 Paul says “for Christ’s love compels me,” meaning the love of Christ impelled and pushed him to speak the gospel with such power that he could not stop it.

Jeremiah experienced this inner compulsion to speak for God. In Jeremiah 20 the prophet declares that he was tempted to stop speaking for God. But in verse 9 he said, “But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak anymore in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in it; indeed, I cannot.” Has the gospel gripped you like that? Try as he might, Jeremiah could not keep silent.

In Jeremiah 1:17-19 God told Jeremiah, “‘Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land–against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.” Do you want to know why we cannot keep silent about the gospel? Because Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you.” The baptism in the Holy Spirit makes us confident, bold, and courageous to articulate with clarity the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why do we need to keep speaking? Read what the Lord of the church said to the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-10: “These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty–yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

We are called to witness to Christ. Now, the word “witness” is martur which means “to witness” but it also means to be martyred. Didn’t Jesus say, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”? What about the modern preaching about health and wealth? It is a deception and has nothing to do with the gospel.

May God help us not to be silenced by the seduction of Satan or by fear of persecution by Satan. May we be impelled by the love of Christ and declare the gospel with total conviction, knowing that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. May we pay heed to the great commission of Jesus our Lord and proclaim that “Jesus saves, Jesus alone saves, Jesus saves sinners, Jesus saves only sinners, and Jesus saves sinners now.”

If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, I ask you: Are you going to take the position of the Sanhedrin and close your eyes and your ears to the gospel, or will you cry out, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”? Let me tell you, just like he healed this crippled man, Jesus Christ will save you you instantly, publicly and completely. He will forgive all your sins, give you the gift of his perfect righteousness, and introduce you to his heavenly Father, that you may call him, “Abba, Father.” My prayer is that you will trust in Christ alone today for your salvation. Amen.