Sermon 6

How To Handle Persecution

Acts 4:1-31

Throughout church history, Christians have face persecution.

During the Roman persecutions of the first three centuries, for example, Christians were thrown to wild animals, crucified, turned into human torches, and tortured in all the cruel ways men could devise. Uncounted thousands of Christians were martyred.

Far from destroying the church, however, persecution merely served to purify and strengthen it. Just as trials mature an individual believer, persecution matures a church. "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church" (Tertullian).

We sometimes say that we are being persecuted- but the persecution of modern times and western civilization is rarely to never physical threats. We may be verbally harassed at work, at school, at home (by a parent or partner), we may be rejected, threatening our need to feel acceptance and achieve status, but this is the extent of the "persecution" that we face. Perhaps Satan need not do more than just apply a little pressure to cause us to compromise our faith.

In our study of Acts, we have arrived at the moment of initial opposition against the church. It didn't take long for those same Jewish leaders who executed Jesus to persecute the church. Persecutions are recorded in Acts 4, 5, 7, 8 and 12.

That persecution may come should be no surprise to Christians. See John 15:18-20; 16:2; II Timothy 3:12; I Peter 2:21. Acts 4:1-31 records the first outbreak of persecution against the church. There are some very practical things that we can learn from this text about How To Handle Persecution. Let's make our way quickly through this passage.

The Public Questioning, 4:1-14.

When the lame beggar was healed, it attracted a lot of attention. As a result, three particular groups were "grieved" (worried) - the priests, the captain of the Temple and the Saducees. The priests would have been those conducting the evening sacrifice (24 courses / allotted week of ministry eagerly anticipated). They would have been upset at the disturbance caused by Peter and John. The captain of the Temple was the chief of the temple police force. The temple grounds were policed by Jews not Romans and this guy was in charge of these Levites. He ranked second only to the High Priest in authority. The Saducees were a sect of the Jews, generally wealthy and influential, the liberals of their day rejecting supernatural ideas like angels and resurrection from the dead. Caiaphas, the high priest, was himself a Saducee. Peter and John were preaching through Jesus the resurrection of the dead. The disturbance that they were said to have caused and the doctrine that they taught was enough to get them hauled off to jail for the night (too late for trial before the Sanhedrin). Imprisoning the apostles did not nullify the effect of their preaching. 5000 men believed. As here, throughout history, persecution actually led to the expansion and growth of the church. This is the last mention of a specific number in Acts. I suppose that the growth happened too fast to keep an accurate count (see 5:14; 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20; 28:31).

The next day the high priest and his relatives, gathered in Jerusalem, and held an arraignment of Peter and John and wondered out loud who authorized and empowered them to perform the miracle. Peter gave all to the credit to Jesus, reminding them that they were being held for a good deed (v. 9). Not only was the deed good, it was undeniable (vs. 14, 16). The rulers were apparently stunned that such uneducated men, lacking credentials and official sanction could be so bold and articulate (v. 13).

The Private Consultation, 4:15-17.

Privately they discussed what had taken place and decided that even though they could not undo what taken place, they could keep it from spreading by commanding the men to cease and desist from preaching in the name of Jesus.

The Public Confrontation, 4:18-22.

The decision was announced - no more speaking in the name of Jesus. But the men answered, "If obeying God means disobeying you and has consequences, you'll have to decide. But we have to tell what we have seen and heard." The public and undeniable nature of this miracle made it impossible for the Jewish leaders to punish them without losing face with the populace. They could only threaten them.

The Praying Congregation, 4:23-31.

The prayer was not for relief from the persecution but for strength to endure the persecution, boldness to continue, and God's power to be displayed.

Principles From This Passage To Help You Handle Persecution.

1. Be submissive to those in authority. Peter and John did not resist arrest. They understood that God controlled their circumstances.

2. Be filled with the Spirit, v. 8; 31. (Luke 12:11-12).

3. Seize every opportunity for witnessing aggressively. Submission is not cowardice. They were not frightened to silence or compromise but presented Christ as the stone which the builders rejected, the chief corner stone, even in court.

4. Be obedient to God at all costs. Isn't it ironic that the early believers had to be commanded to be quiet while modern day believers have to be begged to speak. They determined that if obeying God made them criminals then they would just be criminals

5. Be committed to the church. It is noteworthy that the first thing these men did after being released was to go to the assembly of believers. Opposition should drive us closer together, enrich our mutual dependence and strengthen our unity.

6. Rest in the sovereignty of God. God had actually predicted this would happen. Having done their worst, the Jewish leaders had merely succeeded in fulfilling God's eternal plan.

7. Pray for greater boldness. See Ephesians 6:18-19; Philippians 1:12-14.