Claude T. Stauffer :: The Spirit Empowers with Boldness – Acts 4

The Spirit of Acts

The Spirit Empowers with Boldness – Acts 4

Our objective in our study of the Book of Acts is:

The Spirit of God using the word of God to make people of God and change the people of God into Spirit-empowered, effective, edifying, disciples of Jesus Christ.

In Acts 3 we saw how when the Spirit acts there is power to heal and the power to heal comes through the faith that Jesus provides people to either heal or be healed (Acts 3:16). We saw that the Bible shows us that it is not always God’s will to heal, but that whether or not He chooses to heal, His grace is always sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). We also saw toward the end of Acts 3 that the purpose of healing is to open a door to ministry, to present the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:11-26). Now in Acts 4 we will see the reaction of some of the religious leaders to the miracle God has wrought in their community. Do you think they will be happy? Do you think they will be amazed and glorify God? Do you think they will be happy for the forty-year-old man who was lame from birth who was miraculously healed? No, they will be “greatly disturbed” that the apostles are preaching Jesus to the people (Acts 4:2). They were concerned that the gospel would spread and infringe on their orb of influence (Acts 4:17). What can we learn from the reaction of the religious opponents of the gospel and from the way the apostles and believers responded to the efforts to squash the ministry? What we will see is a major change in the disciples contrasted with how they reacted to opposition in the gospels. In the gospels the disciples of Jesus fled and cowered before opposition, in Acts the disciples stand boldly in the power of the Spirit before their opposition.

The Spirit Empowers with Boldness

What should our response be when confronted by opposition? Should we cower and give in? Should we walk away? Or should we be bold and seize the day? Acts chapter 4 shows us the Holy Spirit empowers us to be bold in the face of opposition. Holy boldness in the power of the Spirit is one of the reasons the church was birthed and grew to maturity. Holy boldness is something sorely lacking in the church of our day. Maybe that’s an indication that much of the church is lacking the Spirit. If we are going to use Acts as our model for the church, then we need to be empowered with the Holy Spirit to act boldly in the Lord.

The Need For Boldness

As we study this chapter we will see that sometimes when the Spirit acts it provokes, to opposition, those who oppose the gospel and God. On some occasions, the Spirit leads in a way that there is no opposition; He leads to a door flung open to receive the gospel. Such was the case with the meeting between Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10. But more often than not, the work of the Spirit is opposed and as we see here in Acts 4 that opposition is frequently by those who are religious. It is in the face of opposition that boldness is needed to stay the course courageously in the Spirit.

A Bold Confrontation with Religion

• Acts 4:1-4 – ¹ “Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, ² being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”

When the Spirit Acts it Provokes the Religious.

As Peter shared the gospel he was opposed by a religious group consisting of, “the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees” (Acts 4:1). These were very religious people. Why did they oppose what the Spirit had done through Peter and John? Why is it that religious people are often the ones who oppose the work of God? To begin to understand the answer to these questions we first need to look more closely at this group of religious people.

Sadducees

This group was apparently made up primarily of those who were Sadduceeic in theology. Who were the Sadducees and what did they believe? The Sadducees were the materialist faction of the religious leaders of that day. They denied the supernatural and especially the possibility of the resurrection, in particular, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Sadducees also denied the validity of the tradition of the elders of Israel, which was the oral and written commentary on the Pentateuch (i.e., the first five books of the Bible). This put them in direct opposition to the Pharisees who held the oral and written commentary traditions in almost as high esteem as the Pentateuch itself. The Sadducees held that only the written law of the Pentateuch was valid and binding on people. One commentator adds:

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or the immortality of the soul, since these doctrines are not mentioned in the Law of Moses. Neither did they believe in rewards nor punishments handed out after death, as in the doctrines of heaven and hell. Acts 23:8 indicates that they did not believe in angels or spirits, either. They believed in free will — that people are responsible for their own prosperity or misfortune. They interpreted the law literally and tended to support strict justice as opposed to mercy towards the offender.”⁴⁹

Given this background, you can see why they would have been “greatly disturbed” by the preaching of the apostles that Jesus had risen from the dead. Someone has quipped that the Sadducees were a sad lot because they didn’t believe in the resurrection and were sad-you-see. That is lighthearted but profoundly true.

Religion

In our study we will define “religion,” or those who are “religious” as those who primarily focus on the work of people rather than the work of God, those who concern themselves with what “I” do instead of what God has done in Christ as revealed by the Holy Spirit. The religious person is concerned with their works more than the grace of God. Their mindset is doing rather than receiving and that mindset often blinds them to the work of God, as we will see.

Those who are stuck in the rut of religion are concerned with perpetuating their own self-made religious institutions. In religion, works are emphasized and religious leaders, like Pharisees and Sadducees who have worked hard to attain their position, status, and in the place of prominence in their institution, fear when God works in a way that is not in line with their tradition or system. Heaven forbid if someone like the disciples comes along teaching and preaching Jesus and being used by God to lead thousands to salvation through faith in Christ. You see religious leaders have a priority of perpetuating their system because they are secure in it and they don’t want to relinquish the control they have as self-established authorities on God and His works.

When we use the word “religion” here, we are not using it generically to refer to things pertaining to spirituality and God or gods; we are using it to refer more particularly to a focus, a way of thinking, and a way of approaching God or spiritual things. The objective of God is to bring humanity into a spiritual relationship with Himself (Revelation 3:20). The way God goes about bringing people into a relationship with Himself is not religious in the sense that it does not focus on what people have to do, it focuses on what people cannot do and what God has done for us in Christ that we could not do for ourselves. God’s focus is on grace not works, (though works or spiritual fruitfulness are a result of God’s grace working in the believer (John 15:1-17; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:13). When we look at the revelation of God in His word, we see a distinction made between religion and relationship. This distinction is important to see because the religious often oppose those who hold to a relationship with God.

Seven Marks of Religion – Religion Versus Relationship

Jesus’ primary opponents during His earthly ministry were those who were religious (see Matthew 23). Religion is man’s attempt to reach God. In religion, the focus is on what “I” must do to be saved from sin or attain to a better afterlife. Since all fall short of God’s glory and no person in and of themselves can measure up to God’s righteous requirements of justice (John 16:8-9; Romans 3:23; Titus 3:5), religion is doomed to failure and leads only to frustration and futility in discovering who God is and finding peace with God.

When the focus is religiously brought on human beings rather than God, it results in things counterproductive to coming to a saving knowledge of God. There are seven things which result from and are characteristic of the religious experience. These seven marks of religion are given below.

First, religion is ceremonial. A Ceremony is a rite whereby a certain planned practice is carried out in an orderly fashion to illustrate a higher spiritual truth. A Ceremony in and of itself can serve a purpose. Ceremonies such as those at weddings and funerals can bring order in times of great emotion and help to funnel emotion in a constructive way. Baptism is designed to illustrate the death to the old sinful way of life and resurrection to new life in Christ (see Romans 6). Ceremonies can provide a living illustration of higher truths. Ceremonies can be helpful and good when they illustrate a real work that has taken place in the heart of the participants. A Ceremony can be good when those performing and participating in it have their hearts engaged in it as well. But when a ceremony becomes dead and lifeless, it becomes offensive to God.

Read what God says about lifeless, Spiritless, ceremony:

• Isaiah 1:13 –
  “Bring no more futile sacrifices;
  Incense is an abomination to Me.
  The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—
  I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.”
• Mark 7:4-6 – ⁴ “When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches. ⁵ Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” ⁶ He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
  
  ‘This people honors Me with their lips,
  But their heart is far from Me.”

Ceremonies become counterproductive to the work of the Spirit when they are viewed magically. What do I mean by this? Magic is like a trick. You make a certain sleight of hand, and you give the appearance of something being true when it is not. Magic gives the impression something occurs that really doesn’t occur. Some magicians can give the impression that they make elephants or airplanes or ocean liners disappear before the eyes of the audience. A ceremony becomes magical when it gives the impression that something has happened in the individual when it in reality has not happened. Sometimes a ceremony is viewed as a mechanical or magical instrument that secures the work of God in a person. The idea in such cases is, “If I just perform this ritual or ceremony, I’ve done my part and satisfied the requirements of God and, therefore, I’m okay and righteous with God.”

An example of this would be baptism. Baptism as a ceremony, is supposed to be an outward sign of an actual real inner work in the participant. Baptism is a sign or illustration of salvation, but a person can be baptized and not saved from their sin. Salvation is a matter of the heart and unless the heart has been washed by the blood of the Lamb through faith in Christ, it remains sinful and at odds with God (Romans 10:8-10; Titus 3:2-5; 1 John 1:9). Because salvation is a matter of the heart, the mind or reason must also be engaged in the salvation work of God in the person. This calls into question the idea of infant baptism. An infant is not old enough or developed enough to reasonably receive Jesus as their Savior (I believe infants are covered by the grace of God in Christ and should they die in infancy they are heaven-bound – 1 John 2:1-2). Yet in certain religious practices, infant baptism is done as a means to assure the salvation of the child. Such a practice totally disavows the need for the ceremonial sign being an outward expression of an inward real work in the individual. This becomes counterproductive when the infant grows to adulthood and has a false sense of security before God due to their infant baptism. I contend and believe the Bible supports the fact that no individual is saved from his or her sin until they give their heart to Jesus by God’s grace through faith in Christ. No ceremony or ritual can save a person apart from the real presence of a willful decision to receive Jesus as his or her Savior by grace through faith in Him.

The early church faced such a problem when the gospel was winning Gentile converts. Jews who had accepted Jesus as Savior believed the new Gentile believers needed to follow their Jewish ceremonies of circumcision. We will touch on this situation a bit now and in greater detail in Acts 15. But in Acts 15, the situation is described in the following way:

• Acts 15:5-10 – ⁵ “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to commandthem to keep the law of Moses.” ⁶ Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. ⁷ And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ “So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, ⁹ “and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ “Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

You see here, the early apostles acknowledged that the keeping of the ceremonial law was futile and not to be imposed on the Gentiles. The more important issue was that the heart of a person was given to God. Ceremonialism in the early church was a problem and further addressed by Paul in his letter to the Colossians when he said:

• Colossians 2:20-22 – ²⁰ “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— ²¹ “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” ²² which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?”

Religious people like ceremonies because it is something for them to do. They often believe that if they go through the motions of a certain ceremony, their responsibilities to God are fulfilled and they can get on with their life. But a ceremony is only as valid and useful as the life reality it portrays. The main point to be made here is that ceremonies cannot save a person or even make a person more acceptable to God. Ceremonies are only useful in that they illustrate a present state of the heart in the one performing or participating in the ceremony.

Second, religion often leads to false professions. Because religion focuses on the works of people, it often leads to a false profession, a profession that is based on false assumptions (e.g., “If I go to church God will let me into heaven”; “If I do good deeds and am more good than bad, God will let me into heaven”) or a sense of being okay before God when one is really not. This is a natural outgrowth of the first characteristic, ceremonialism. The only way to be saved from sin and receive eternal life is to come to God on His terms (e.g., John 14:6; Acts 4:12). History is filled with those who committed heinous crimes in the name of Jesus and the reason for this is that they went through the ceremonies of the church apart from giving their hearts to Christ by faith. As long as the focus is on what work must be done to earn salvation, a person’s profession will be based on a faulty assumption that salvation is by works instead of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:1-9). The Bible speaks clearly on this, stating that a profession separate from an actual heart and life-changing condition wrought by God in the person is unacceptable to God. It’s easy to talk a good talk religiously, but has the Spirit worked in you so that you can walk a real walk? Read what some of the following verses say about this:

• Psalm 78:36 – “Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
  And they lied to Him with their tongue;”
• Proverbs 26:23 – “Fervent lips with a wicked heart
  Are like earthenware covered with silver dross.”
• Ezekiel 33:31-33 – ³¹ “So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. ³² “Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them. ³³ “And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
• Matthew 7:21-23 – ²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Notice where Jesus puts the focus in this last passage from Matthew 7; He puts it on knowing Him (see 2 Timothy 1:12). A person can be very religious and do many ceremonial and religious things, but if they have not been spiritually reborn into a saving relationship with Jesus, they are eternally lost (Romans 8:9).

Third, religion is legalistic. Legalism depends on following a certain set of rules, of dos and don’ts, in order to be found acceptable before God. Legalism is a burdensome way of life because it requires people to do in their own strength what they do not have the capacity to do. It also leads to missing the substance of God’s message. Legalism stays on the surface and does not see the substance of God’s truth. This is illustrated in an incident in the ministry of Jesus when He healed on the Sabbath and the reaction of the religious leaders to that healing. In Mark, it states:

• Mark 3:1-6 – ¹ “And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ² So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. ³ And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” ⁴ Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.”

Because of their legalistic perspective, they missed entirely the revelation of God in His Son Jesus Christ. You see, for a legalist, following the letter of the law takes priority over everything else; compassion, love, the truth of what God is trying to reveal, everything. The legalism of religion blinds people to the spiritual truth of God.

A religious legalist usually focuses on external things to determine their right standing before God. Some legalistic people view the manner of dress, the manner of speech, going to or not going to movies, using makeup, wearing ties, sleeve length, collar height, hair-dos, and a host of other superficial things to determine their spirituality. All of these things have a grain of truth, but miss the substance of the Spirit.

We need to understand that the Law of God is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:7-12, 14). But the purpose of the Law of God is to expose the sinfulness of humanity and lead them to Christ as the only way of salvation from sin (Galatians 3:10-13; 1 Timothy 1:8-11). God’s law was never meant to save us from sin, but to expose our sinfulness and therefore our need of a Savior, Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul put legalism in perspective when he was inspired to write:

• Galatians 3:1-5 – ¹ “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? ² This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? ⁴ Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

Legalism is abusing the Law of God and using it for a purpose never intended by God. The way of truth is the way of a relationship with God in the Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ, not just keeping a set of rules.

Fourth, religion leads to pride. When the focus is on what “I” must do to be right with God, when “I” am able to attain some success, “I” take pride in that. When the focus is on “me” and what “I” can do, it puffs “me” up in pride. In Isaiah, it describes such pride. Those who rely on their religious pursuits before God dismissed and turned a blind eye to their real transgressions because they became too proud to admit them. God states through Isaiah:

• Isaiah 58:1-2 –
  ¹ “Cry aloud, spare not;
  Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
  Tell My people their transgression,
  And the house of Jacob their sins.
  ² Yet they seek Me daily,
  And delight to know My ways,
  As a nation that did righteousness,
  And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
  They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
  They take delight in approaching God.”
• Isaiah 65:2, 5 –
  ² “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
  Who walk in a way that is not good,
  According to their own thoughts;…
  ⁵ Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
  Do not come near me,
  For I am holier than you!’
  These are smoke in My nostrils,
  A fire that burns all the day.”

Jeremiah conveyed much the same idea when God through him said:

• Jeremiah 2:35 –
  “Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
  Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
  Behold, I will plead My case against you
  Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’”

In the New Testament when Jesus teaches the disciples the right way to pray, He refers to and warns the disciples against the religious pride of the religious leaders of His day saying:

• Matthew 6:5 – “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”

Pride is a very counterproductive thing because God hates it. In fact, the Bible says God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5-6). Religious pride therefore is very counterproductive to the work of the Spirit. Jesus expressed this in the following way:

• Luke 18:9-14 – ¹ “Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘ God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² ‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘ God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴ “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

From ceremonialism, to false professions, to legalism, to religious pride, they are all linked in a spiritually blinding downward spiral, which leads to our next characteristic, hypocrisy.

Fifth, religion leads to hypocrisy. It is a natural progression from legalism and religious pride to hypocrisy, because when one is faced with the inevitable failure to keep the law (Romans 3), a choice must be made. Either one must admit their sin, or cover it up, and those with religious pride tend to cover up their sin. Hypocrisy is giving a false impression, presenting oneself in an unreal or false way. Hypocrisy gives an outward appearance that contradicts the inner reality in a person (this is why ceremonialism and hypocrisy often go hand in hand).

Hypocrisy is clearly attributed to the religious in the Bible. One only has to look at the 23rd chapter of Matthew to see the indictment of Jesus of the religious leaders as hypocrites. Jesus said:

• Matthew 23:13-15, 23-33 – ¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. ¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.… ²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. ²⁴ “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! ²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. ²⁶ “Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. ²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. ²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ “and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. ³³ “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”

A hypocrite says one thing and does another. A hypocrite presents a façade to make an impression that is not valid or true about themselves. A hypocrite is a person who lives a lie, one who has not been set free by the truth of Jesus (John 8:31-32).

God denounces hypocrisy not only because He is the God of truth (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 31:5; Isaiah 65:16) and is against all deceptive lying ways of life, but also because those who represent God hypocritically cause the unsaved to blaspheme against God because of the association of God with the hypocrites. Later in the New Testament, Paul is inspired to write:

• Romans 2:17-24 – ¹⁷ “Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, ¹⁸ and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹ and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. ²¹ You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? ²² You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? ²⁴ For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.”

Believers are ambassadors of God and often the unsaved form their opinions of God from what they see in believers (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Hypocrites give the impression that God is false, a liar, not truly able to do in people what He in His word claims to be able to do. Therefore, hypocrites present a watered down and false version of Christianity and God’s people.

It’s interesting to note here that Paul goes on in the Romans 2 passage to contrast such religious hypocrisy with heart circumcision or giving one’s heart to God saying:

• Romans 2:28-29 – ²⁸ “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹  but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”

THE BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM WITH A RELIGIOUS PURSUIT OF GOD IS THAT IT ONLY SCRATCHES THE SURFACE OF THE DEEPER SIN PROBLEM OF HUMANITY. GOD SAVES PEOPLE BY GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM; GOD CHANGES THE HEART OF THE SINNER WHO COMES TO HIM REPENTANTLY BY FAITH IN CHRIST. ONCE THAT HEART IS CHANGED, HE BRINGS US INTO A LOVING RELATIONSHIP WITH HIMSELF. It’s as though the Lord is saying:

• Proverbs 23:26 – “My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.”
• Ezekiel 36:25-27 – ²⁵ “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

God wants our hearts. Salvation is in the heart as Paul was inspired to write:

• Romans 10:8-10 – ⁸ “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Like the qualification given to the Ethiopian Eunuch by Philip:

• Acts 8:36-38 – ³⁶ “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” ³⁷ Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” ³⁸ So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.”

God doesn’t want our facades or hypocritical deceptions or rationalizations of sin, He wants our hearts. Religion doesn’t break the stone-cold sinful hearts of men; it only makes them harder to break. God wants our hearts and He will give us a new heart if we come to Him through faith in Jesus His Son.

Sixth, religion is judgmental. Because religion focuses on the works of people, those who are able to succeed in some way tend to look down on those who do not. In other words, the religious are judgmental. This is the criticism the apostle Paul made against the religious Jews of his day saying:

• Romans 2:1-3 – ¹ “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ² But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. ³ And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?”

Those who are religious tend to be hyper critical of others, while excusing their own sinful ways. The religious person is frustrated in their religious pursuits. They are doomed to fail in trying to legalistically keep the law or rules they set. Therefore, they have to deal with the resulting guilt and contradiction in life. How do they do this? They live by comparing themselves with others in a favorable light. They excuse their own sin and seek to feel better about themselves by finding someone else worse than themselves. But that is simply foolish. Even Charles Manson or Jeffrey Dahmer can look at Hitler and say, “Well, I’m bad, but at least I didn’t kill millions!” And Hitler can look at Stalin and say, “Well, I was bad and killed millions, but not as many millions as Stalin!” Religion leads to judgmentalism, harsh judgmentalism and it is a fruitless dead-end way of looking at life. Judgmentalism quenches the work of the Spirit in bitter comparisons and divisiveness (Ephesians 4:25-32). The religious deflect their inner reality of spiritual bankruptcy by judging others and that stifles the work of the Spirit in them.

Seventh, religion leads to selfishness. Those who are religious focus on self. They take care of their own little pile of dos and don’ts and ignore the needs of others. Religion creates a situation where the religious person does their “duty,” they do just enough to alleviate their responsibility and then go on their way. If they go to church on Christmas and Easter and maybe make a donation here and there, they’ve done their duty and turn a blind eye to everything else. James and John pointed out the need for action rooted in the heart and love of God when they said:

• James 2:15-16 – ¹⁵ “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”
• 1 John 3:17 – “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

Sometimes religion can lead to good works, social efforts to help the poor or needy on the way to fulfilling their works-righteousness goals. Such efforts are often motivated by guilt or obligation rather than the love of God (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). But religion can also serve to hinder ministry when it is used to limit one’s responsibility to the needy around them. This is what the above verses state.

Christianity is Not Religious

Christianity is not religious. Religion is people working their way to heaven. Christianity is God reaching down through Christ to lift people up to heaven (Romans 5:8; Titus 3:4-6). That is the good news of the gospel and message of the Holy Spirit. Religion focuses on people’s imperfect efforts and, therefore, is doomed to frustrate and fail. Christianity is based on the perfect work of Jesus Christ and therefore will never fail (2 Corinthians 5:21). Religion is based on laws. Christianity is based on grace (Acts 15:11; Romans 5:15-20; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Ephesians 1:7). Religion produces guilt and enslavement (Romans 7; Galatians 3:1-13). Christianity produces peace with God, spiritual growth, fruit, and freedom (Romans 5:1; 6:15-23; Colossians 2:6-10; 2 Timothy 2:1; 2 Peter 3:18). The foundation of religion is human work and its command is, “do!” The foundation of Christianity is the work of the God–man Jesus who says, “done!” (Genesis 15:6; John 19:30; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:5). Religion is inadequate; the relationship with God of Christianity is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Religion helps a person to know a lot about a manmade church or group; Christianity helps you to know the Person and work of God (Matthew 16:18; 2 Timothy 1:12).

How Can I Get Rid of This Guilt and the Sense That God is Far Away From Me That Religion often Produces or Ingrains in People?

Maybe you’ve been going to church all your life and all that has resulted is that you feel guilty and that God is distant and unknown. Perhaps you’ve gone to church trying to seek God, but He seems even more distant and your eternal destiny seems even more insecure and uncertain. This is not God’s will for you! You can know God personally and know you are going to heaven when you die. Paul said:

• 2 Timothy 1:12 – “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”

Paul said he knew “whom” he believes in; he didn’t merely say he knew what he believes in. A lot of people know what they believe, (e.g., Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, et.al) but unless you can say “I know whom I have believed in” you are being cheated from receiving the greatest treasure, a personal, eternal-saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Can I Know God For Sure? – Assurance of Salvation

Can a person “know” God and know Him with certainty? YES! You can know God personally and have an assurance or certainty of your eternal destiny. The Bible answers us very clearly, a person can come to know God as we saw through the example of Paul who said he knew and knows who he believes in (2 Timothy 1:12 above). You can know and experience a saving relationship with God and you can be certain of where you stand with God. In religious circles the idea that a person can actually know God personally or have a relationship with God is anathema. Let me explain.

Religion Keeps People Distant From God

Religion keeps people away from God. Religion puts a lot of steps between people and gaining access to God and the more steps there are, the more hoops there are for people to jump through to get to God, the further away He seems. Religious ceremonialism, false professions, legalism, pride, hypocrisy, judgmentalism and selfishness all serve to separate not connect people with God. In religion, God is portrayed as distant, only contactable through privileged intermediaries such as priests or “saints” through whom a person must go to get to God. But nowhere in the Bible is such a grandchild-like distant situation proclaimed. God in His word tells us that we are either “children of God” or we are not. Nowhere are we instructed to go to God through anyone other than through Jesus Christ.

Access to God in Christ. The Bible states we have access to God through Jesus Christ and Him alone by the Spirit:

• Romans 5:1-2 – ¹ “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
• Ephesians 2:18 – “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”
• Ephesians 3:8-12 – ⁸ “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; ¹⁰to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ¹¹ according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
• Hebrews 4:14-16 – ¹⁴ “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

These verses show us that God wants us to come close to Him and has provided a way for us to come close to Him through Jesus His Son.

But why would religion keep us away from God? Religion depends on human works and focuses attention on people. Those in religious authority have a vested interest in actually keeping people away from God. If religious leaders can put themselves between God and people in a way that makes them indispensable to gain access to God, then they are in a place of authority. In effect, they can say, “Come to God through me, do what I say, or else, or else you won’t be allowed to come to God at all!” Such a situation robs people of the presence of God and is counterproductive to the work of the Spirit.

Paul warned the Colossians about human-centric worldviews and the traditions of men saying:

• Colossians 2:6-10 – ⁶ “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, ⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. ⁸ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

Paul also warned against the futility of religious efforts saying:

• Colossians 2:16-23 – ¹⁶ So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. ¹⁸ Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. ²⁰ Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— ²¹ “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” ²² which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? ²³ These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Religion is like an addictive drug for many. Once injected with the pursuit of God religiously, one is drawn ever deeper in dependence by way of guilt and fear of not being right with God. Religion drives a person to seek the approval of men in religious authority rather than approval from God as He has revealed Himself in His word. Don’t be cheated by religion and those who would hinder your access to God through Christ. Such hindrances are the work of wolves in sheep’s clothing (see Matthew 7).

Assurance of Salvation Through Faith in Jesus

When someone comes up to you and asks, “If you were to die, would you go to heaven?” You won’t have to respond with uncertainty like, “I think so,” or “I hope so,” you can say, “Yes, if I were to die in the next moment, I would go directly to be with Jesus.” There is an available assurance of one’s relationship with God by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said:

• John 5:24 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”

Notice here that Jesus tells us that the person who “believes in Him has everlasting life.” The grammatical form of the word “has” (Present/Active/Indicative) in this verse carries with it the meaning of a present-now work of God in the person believing. John was inspired by the Spirit to tell us more about this in a latter epistle saying:

• 1 John 3:24 – “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
• 1 John 5:13 – “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

When a person is born again (John 3) the Spirit comes to reside within them and gives them an assurance of their eternal life and relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. God has given us His word, the Bible, so that we can “know” and know now, that we have eternal life. This is something that religion does not offer. Religion holds a saving carrot perpetually out in front of a person just beyond their reach. The relationship we can have with God through faith in Christ, as taught by Christianity in the Bible, is offered to us by God freely by His grace as a gift (John 1:12).

Now I ask, what would you rather have, a religious journey of doubt and guilt and an uncertain future, or the assurance, peace and fulfillment now of an eternal relationship with God in Christ? That is the choice between religion and the relationship offered by the gospel of Christ in true Christianity. The choice is yours.

When the Spirit Acts, Opposition Becomes an Opportunity to Boldly Share Christ

• Acts 4:5-11 – ⁵ “And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, ⁶ as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. ⁷ And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” ⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹ “If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰ “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹ “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’”

Have you ever had a day when, no matter what you tried to do right, it just turned out wrong? Well, I imagine Peter and John may have been feeling this way here. They had been used by God to heal a man who had been lame from birth for forty years. What could possibly be wrong with that? What could the opposition or anyone possibly find wrong with that? But the religious leaders did find something wrong with that; they were envious, as we see in various parts of Acts. What was wrong with what Peter and John had done according to the religious leaders? Well, it wasn’t so much what they did as who did it. You see, the religious leaders knew that if such a miraculous deed went unchecked, people would turn to the apostles with the power of the Spirit and away from them, their influence would wane, and they couldn’t have that. That is the sad state that religion leads to.

Now notice, Peter and John didn’t go looking to pick a fight, but the fight came to them (Acts 4:5-7). Religious people are concerned with authority, their authority and any threats that would water down their authority (Acts 4:7). Peter didn’t respond in his flesh as he had done in the past, he didn’t run sacred either (Matthew 26:69-75), he responded in the power of the Spirit (Acts 4:8). And because Peter relies on the Spirit, he responds with power. It’s interesting that before Pentecost Peter, during the critical trial of Jesus, remained on the outside of the Sanhedrin meeting, now he, in the Spirit, is right in the middle of it standing tall for Jesus. Before Pentecost, Peter was fearful and stood outside of the ring of battle (Matthew 26:57-58). Now he willingly faced the opposition and boldly goes right into their midst, that’s the empowerment of the Spirit!

Also notice here, Peter didn’t allow the situation to degenerate into something personal between him and the religious leaders, he used the opposition as an opportunity to point people to Jesus and His exclusive way of salvation (Acts 4:8-12).

Lastly, notice the nature of Peter’s sharing. Each time he shares in the Spirit, he mentions the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 4:2, 10). The resurrection is central to the gospel message, and it should remain central in our sharing as well.

When The Spirit Acts, The Message is Clear, Concise and Concrete

Acts 4:12 – “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Peter is speaking under the powerful anointing of the Spirit (Acts 4:8). The message of the Spirit to the opposition through Peter is clear and unmistakable, concise not complicated, and concrete not abstract. These words in this verse are among the most important in all of Scripture. There were times during Jesus’ times of teaching the apostles when He said, “Let these words sink down into your ears” (Luke 9:44).⁵⁰ These words are especially important in our time, given the prevailing philosophy of so much of the world. The prevailing move and philosophy of the world is one of tolerance. The world would have us believe it doesn’t matter what we believe as long as we believe. It doesn’t matter if you believe God is One (i.e., monotheism) or there are many gods (i.e., polytheism). It doesn’t matter if you believe everything is God (i.e., pantheism). It doesn’t even matter if you believe there is a God or gods (i.e., atheism), you can believe in “faith.” Even though these various views of the universe conflict and contradict each other and can’t all be true, it doesn’t matter to the world as long as we all live in peace and tolerance. But there are absolutes. Without absolutes and truth, chaos would result. If you accept that a green traffic light means “go” and a red traffic light means “stop,” that drivers need to stay on their half of the road and obey the posted speed limits, but the fellow coming at you believes green lights mean “stop,” and red lights mean “go,” that it doesn’t matter what side of the road you drive on and that posted speed limits are optionally observed, well, the roads then become unsafe and a crack up is inevitable. That crack up can lead to death. The same is true of our spiritual destiny. You can believe sincerely in a religious belief but, if it is a false belief, on Judgment Day when you stand before God, you will be lost!

This prevailing worldview has crept into the church and Scriptures are being ignored so as not to offend anyone. It doesn’t matter that the Bible calls homosexuality a sin; some churches endorse homosexual marriages and this lifestyle as a viable and acceptable alternative to God’s ordained heterosexuality (Romans 1; 1 Corinthians 6:9). It doesn’t matter that God says life begins at conception in the womb (Job 31:15; Jeremiah 1:5) and that a mother should protect not destroy her child (1 Timothy 2:15), many in the church view abortion as a right of the mother and acceptable. But worse than these sinful trends and practices is that, in some portions of the church, the idea that Jesus is not the only way to salvation is not only entertained by the church but endorsed and proclaimed.

Mike Gendron in his “Proclaiming the Gospel” newsletter (July/August 2001 – Vol. 10 No.4 issue) notes the following in an article on the teaching of Roman Catholicism:

The Vatican Information Service (VIS) reported what the Pope had to say about the Seeds of Truth in Non-Christian Religions:

“The Holy Father explained the Holy Spirit is mysteriously present in the heart of every person. Through the practice of what is good in their own religious traditions, and following the dictates of their consciences, members of other religions positively respond to God’s invitation and receive salvation in Jesus Christ, even through they may not recognize Him as their Savior.” (VIS 9/9/98)

But doesn’t the Bible say that all fall short of the glory of God all have sinned? (See Romans 3:23 and the entire context of Romans 3). Doesn’t the Bible say we can’t be saved by good works? (See Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). What about this, is Jesus the only way or not? It sounds like doubletalk. Acts 4:12 contains words we should pause at and let “sink down” into our hearts and minds. Our eternal destiny hangs on this verse. And we need to understand what is being said here because certainty of this verse leads to a Holy-Spirit-empowered boldness.

“Nor is there salvation in”

Why is this verse so important? Because our salvation turns and depends on the truth inspired in this verse. Humanity is lost in sin and needs to be saved from that sin if they are to avoid the fires of hell and spend an eternity in the holy loving presence of Almighty God. The wages of sin is death, eternal death and darkness (Romans 6:23). Peter is inspired here to speak boldly to his religious opponents about their salvation. Religious pursuits and good works cannot save a person from sin. Peter is going to seize the opportunity presented here to share the good news of how a person cannot only be saved from sin, but liberated from the bondage of trying to be saved by religious good works.

“any other”

Who is the “other” Peter is referring to in this verse? The context of Peter’s words tells us it is Jesus. In Acts 4:10, Peter says:

• Acts 4:10 – “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.”

Jesus is the focus of this verse and Jesus is the center of salvation. What does this verse tell us about salvation and Jesus?

“for there is no other name under heaven”

There is no other name “under heaven”, which means no named person outside of heaven other than this particular named Person Jesus, is able to save you from your sin. If we look at the many religious people of history, many of them good people, many also bad, we see that there is one common thread in all of them; they are all dead! Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius, and a myriad of others around which religions of various sorts have risen up, all these figures are dead and buried. There have also been many gods created by people. There are pantheists who believe all is God. There are polytheists who believe in many gods. There are monotheists, like Muslims, who believe Allah is the one true God, but he is really rooted in the history of the god of the moon. All these fall dreadfully short of dealing with sin and saving from sin. “There is no other name under heaven” that can save us. Only Jesus is true and only Jesus can save you from your sin.

Now you may be thinking, “Wait a minute, why would Peter have said this? Certainly, the Jews to whom Peter was speaking weren’t seeking salvation in a foreign god.” True, but they were seeking salvation in someone other than Jesus. The religious Jews to whom Peter was speaking were relying on their religious works to get them approved by God and into heaven. In other words, the “other” they were depending on for salvation was themselves. There is no way “me,” “myself,” or “I” can do anything to save “me,” “myself,” or “I.” This is clearly taught in the Bible (Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:10-13; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; James 2:10). There is no other name that we can put our faith in that will save us other than the name of Jesus.

“given among men”

The “name” represents and refers to One who was “given among men.” The name of Jesus is not a magical name. It is the name of the One who came in the likeness of man to pay a debt He did not owe for a sinful people who owed a debt they could not pay. The name of “Jesus” isn’t just a noun, it points to the loving servant-hearted Savior Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the perfect God–Man (Mark 10:45; John 1:1-5, 14-18; Philippians 2:5-11). You see Adam was created perfect but chose to rebel against God and sin. Sin entered the world as a result and spread to all humankind. The only way this sinful state could be reversed is by another Perfect Man, a blemishless, sinless, spotless sacrifice lamb of a Man to come and pay the wages of that sin on the cross and meet the just requirements of God’s holy Law sufficiently. That is why Jesus was “given among men” (see Romans 5).

“by which we must be saved.”

That Jesus is the only, exclusive and solitary way to be saved from sin and receive eternal life is not merely the opinion of this pastor, or Billy Graham, or Chuck Smith, or John MacArthur, or any other Christian, it is the statement of God’s inspired and inerrant revelation of the Bible. And that salvation is only in Jesus is emphasized by the Spirit through Peter here in the word “must.” This word is translated from the Greek term dei which means, “it is…necessary (as binding)…must (needs),…”⁵¹ The grammatical form of “must” indicates that this is a constantly and ongoing truth (Present/ – / Indicative). The same word was used by Jesus to declare He must go to the cross (Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22; Luke 24:7). Just as certainly and absolutely as Jesus had to go to the cross, we must come to Him to be saved. There is just no way of getting around it. The only way you can be saved from your sins and from hell and receive eternal life in the presence of the holy, ever-faithful, loving God is through Jesus Christ. There are no alternatives. If you want to be saved, Jesus is a must for you; you have to come to terms with Him. Where do you stand with Jesus? Have you bought into the lie that Jesus is not the only way? Have you bought into a false gospel (see Galatians 1:6-7)? Jesus is the only way to be saved. But why? Why is Jesus the only way?

Why did God make one exclusive way to be saved and not make many ways?

First, God ordained the exclusive nature of salvation in Jesus to avoid any possibility of mistake. You see the Bible uses an animal to characterize believers. If you were going to be characterized by an animal, what animal would you like to be characterized by? A lion, which is royal and the king of the jungle? A bear that is strong and brave yet cuddly? A gorilla that is powerful and yet familial? A fox that is smart? An owl that is wise? A snake that is sneaky? What animal would you choose? What animal do you think God chose to characterize His people? The Bible tells us God chose sheep to characterize believers. Why sheep? Well, they are defenseless and dependent entirely upon their Shepherd. We can understand that. But sheep, sorry to say, are also among the stupidest animals in nature. They will focus on what they are grazing on so intently that they will walk right off a cliff if the shepherd doesn’t watch them (see Psalm 23; Psalm 100:3; John 10). Sheep will wander into danger mindlessly. Sheep are just not too sharp intellectually. I don’t believe this comparison is by chance. I believe God chose this comparison to convey our dullness to us. When God made salvation exclusively in Christ, He did so to make it simple and to eliminate the possibility of mistakes as much as possible. A person doesn’t have to be a theologian to be saved. God has not asked us to solve some enigma or pass through a labyrinth of complex philosophical doors to be saved. We don’t have to journey a long winding path through dangerous territory to be saved. All that is required to be saved is faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:36; John 5:24; Acts 2:37-38; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:8-10).

What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? Believing in Jesus for salvation means having a steadfast trust and life-reliance on Jesus. Believing in Jesus means believing His words (Matthew 24:35; John 3:18; John 5:24; John 6:36; John 12:48; Acts 16:31), believing in His work of salvation on the cross as a substitute for you (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45) and believing He is worthy of your, and all, worship (Revelation 5:12). Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! It’s as simple as that; God couldn’t have made the way of salvation any simpler. But although salvation is simple, it is profound.

Secondly, God ordained salvation exclusively in His Son to exalt His Son Jesus. By making Jesus the only way to salvation, the Father exalts the Son and puts the focus on Him. Every knee will bow before Jesus who determines our eternal destiny. Paul was inspired to write this when he said:

• Philippians 2:5-11 – ⁵ “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus, God’s equal (Philippians 2:6), humbled Himself and took the form of a human bondservant with no reputation (Philippians 2:7). He humbled Himself to the point of giving His life on the cross (Philippians 2:8), and because Jesus did that, God has exalted Him and every knee will bow to Jesus and confess that He is Lord and this will bring great glory to God the Father. Jesus is the only way, because all humanity must come to see what Jesus has done and exalt Him for it and bring glory to God for His great plan of holy love (Romans 5:8).

Thirdly, God ordained salvation exclusively through Jesus because Jesus is the only way salvation could be achieved. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, He asked the Father three times to remove the cup or find another way for Him to secure salvation for the world. Each time the Father’s response was a silent affirmation that the cross was the only way (Matthew 26:36-46). If there had been a possible alternative, the Father certainly would have revealed it in Gethsemane. But there is no other way to be saved other than through Jesus. A perfect man sinned and opened the floodgates of sin to the inherent bloodstream of all humanity; it took the perfect God–Man to reverse that curse of sin by paying the debt of death sin wrought (Romans 5).

Acts 4:12 is not the only verse in Scripture which tells us Jesus is the only way to be saved. Other such verses include Jesus’ own statements as well as the statements of other inspired writers in the New Testament. Such verses are:

• John 3:36 – “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
• John 8:24 – “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
• John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
• John 10:1-13 – ¹ “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ² “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶ Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. ⁷ Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸ “All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹ “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² “But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³ “The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.”
• 1 Corinthians 3:11 – “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
• 1 Timothy 2:5-6 – ⁵ “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,”
• 1 John 5:11-12 – ¹¹ “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Everlasting life comes only through Jesus. If you don’t believe in Jesus you will die in your sins and spend eternity in the fires of hell. Jesus is the way the truth and the life, the only way to the Father in heaven. He is Shepherd of the sheep, “the door.” He is the only foundation that can bear the weight of salvation. He is the only Mediator between God and humanity. Jesus is the only One in Whom life, eternal life, can be found and received. These are only a few of the many verses we could go to support the exclusive nature of salvation in Christ. One commentator explained the exclusiveness of God’s salvation in Jesus this way:

God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 29). Jesus eventually died in our place in order that we could enjoy again a right relationship with God. The Bible says, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” and “he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:19, 21 KJV). Jesus has paved the way! God has done it all, and our responsibility is to accept that fact. We can do nothing to add to the work of Jesus; it has all been done for us.

If mankind could have reached God any other way, then Jesus would not have had to die. His death illustrates the fact that there is no other way. Therefore, no other religion or religious leader can bring someone to the knowledge of the one true God. But the death of Jesus is not the end of the story. Let us illustrate why we prefer Jesus over other religious leaders. Suppose a group of us are taking a hike in a very dense forest. As we get deeper into the forest, we become lost. Realizing that taking the wrong path now might mean we will lose our lives, we begin to be afraid. However, we soon notice that ahead in the distance where the trail splits, there are two human forms at the fork in the road. Running up to these people, we notice that one has on a park ranger uniform, and he is standing there perfectly healthy and alive, while the other person is laying face down, dead. Now which of these two are we going to ask about the way out? Obviously, the one who is living. When it comes to eternal matters, we are going to ask the one who is alive the way out of the predicament. This is not Mohammed, not Confucius, but Jesus Christ. Jesus is unique. He came back from the dead. This demonstrates He is the one whom He claimed to be (Romans 1:4), the unique Son of God and the only way by which a person can have a personal relationship with the true and living God.⁵²

Jesus is the only way to be saved from our sins. When the Spirit acts, the message is clear and unmistakable, concise not complicated, and concrete not abstract. The message of the Spirit is clear so we can understand it. The message of the Spirit is concise and not complicated so that all can understand and, whosoever will, can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. And the message of the Spirit is concrete, not abstract, it calls for a decision that is definite not ambiguous. Jesus is the only way to eternal life. What are you going to do with Jesus? Are you going to accept Him or reject Him? Indecision is a decision, you either choose Him or you reject Him. Now is the day of your salvation. Choose Christ and live eternally with Him! Choose Jesus and be forgiven of your sins, filled with the Holy Spirit, given eternal life and experience change for the better; like never before. It’s really not that much of a choice; you’d be a fool not to choose to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Give Christ your heart and live!

When the Spirit Acts There Is An Undeniable Anointing

• Acts 4:13-22 – ¹³ “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ “But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” ¹⁸ And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰ “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” ²¹ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. ²² For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.”

The religious leaders knew that Peter and John didn’t have any formal religious training like they did (thank God !). To the religious leaders these two apostles were “uneducated” (Greek agammatoi – unlettered, illiterate, unlearned) and “untrained” (Greek idiotai – laymen, amateur, untrained, unskilled in speaking, an inquirer). These religious leaders looked down on the Apostles. But, while Peter and John had no formal religious training like these religious leaders, they had been with Jesus. You can go to seminary and learn a lot, but unless you have been with Jesus and the Spirit has been teaching you (John 14:26; 15:26), your training is in vain (Acts 4:13).

Notice also from this passage that when the Spirit acts, the evidence of His work is undeniable (Acts 4:14). There was no denying the evidence of His work; there was a man who had been lame all his life standing right there for all to see. Even the religious leaders had to admit that. When the Spirit works, He works in a way that is undeniable.

When the Spirit acts He confounds religious opposition (Acts 4:15-17). These religious leaders were really in a fix weren’t they? They just didn’t know what to do, how to work around or refute the work of the Spirit done through these untrained men who had only been with Jesus. The best they could do was to dismiss them with a threat. It’s amazing that it doesn’t seem that they ever really considered the reality of the work of God in their midst. Their religion blinded them to the clear and present manifestation of the God of the universe. That is chilling!

When the Spirit acts, you cannot stop Him or the disciples He works through (Acts 4:18-20). These disciples were pumped up in the Spirit. There wasn’t anything that was going to stop them now, not even the entire body of the learned religious leaders of their city. The Spirit had made God so powerful and real to them. Is God that real to you? Are you unstoppable in the Spirit or do you give up at every obstacle?

When the Spirit acts, He brings glory to God (Acts 4:21-22). The result of all of this was that God was glorified. That is the test of whether or not a work is of the Spirit, does it bring glory to God? If a person is focused upon or exalted in the place of God, then you know that the work is probably fake, and definitely not of God. Who is exalted by the ministry you are involved in? Who gets the credit and praise, you or the Lord?

Three Misconceptions of the Religious Against Those Who Have a Relationship with Jesus

There were three misconceptions of the religious leaders towards Peter and John and these misconceptions are more broadly true of the religious against those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ in the Spirit.

First, the religious had the misconception of the apostles as uneducated and untrained men. The apostles perhaps did not go to the same schools as the religious leaders did, but they were not uneducated and untrained. The apostles had spent three years with the Author and Finisher of their faith, Jesus. Of Jesus, the Bible says:

• Hebrews 12:1-2 – ¹ “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

What better Teacher could anyone have than the Originator, the Author, and the One who wrote the Book? The apostles knew how privileged they were to be discipled by Jesus. On one occasion, Jesus asked if they wanted to leave Him like some of the other disciples were doing. The account shows how the disciples felt about Jesus:

• John 6:66-68 – ⁶⁶ “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. ⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” ⁶⁸ But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Peter and John had been taught by the One with the “words of life.”

When some disciples ran into Jesus after he had risen from the dead and Jesus spoke with them about all that had happened the Bible states:

• Luke 24:25-32 – ²⁵ “Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. ²⁸ Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. ²⁹ But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. ³⁰ Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³² And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

I wonder how many times the hearts of disciples are burned with the holy teaching of Jesus. Peter and John’s hearts were burning with the teaching of Jesus as relayed to their remembrance by the Spirit. The pastor or minister today who goes to the Lord in study and preparation is hopefully having his heart burned with the teaching of Jesus in the Spirit. The best education and training is to be with Jesus. And when you study His word prayerfully in the Spirit, it is Jesus who becomes your Teacher. Study is good. Bible college and seminary can be worthwhile, but nothing can replace the Teacher and His word. In many Bible colleges and seminaries today, disciples are being taught alternatives to God’s word, supplements to it as though God’s word were not enough. This runs contrary to what God has said in His word. God in the Bible tells us:

• 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – ¹⁶ “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
• 2 Peter 1:2-4 – ² “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

If God calls you to more formal education, keep things in proper perspective. Sometimes it is necessary to know the poison in order to prescribe an antidote. But never neglect the word of God, no matter what. Understand that alternatives to God’s way as revealed in His word are bankrupt and bogus. Every time God’s word has been challenged by alternatives, the alternatives have fallen by the wayside; they’ve fallen splat and flat against the bulwarks of God’s word. Look at everything through the lens of God’s word, and you will always have a balanced and proper perspective on reality. Turn from God’s word and you will be lost in darkness. Let the Lord Jesus be your Teacher first and foremost.

Second, the religious had the misconception that the apostles “had been” with Jesus. The misconception here is that the relationship between the apostles and Jesus was past tense. But in truth, the relationship between Jesus and the apostles was a PRESENT TENSE, NOW! These apostles were not standing alone before the Sanhedrin; Jesus was right there with them and Jesus is always there by the Spirit for the disciple especially when they are under fire from the opposition. Jesus’ name is “Immanuel”, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus promised to be with us always when He said:

• Matthew 10:19-20 – ¹⁹ “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ²⁰ “for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”
• Matthew 18:20 – “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
• Matthew 28:19-20 – ¹⁹ “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Later on in the Book of Acts, Paul is in the city of Corinth surrounded by vile and sinful people and evidently a bit fearful. Jesus speaks to him and says:

• Acts 18:9-10 – ⁹ “Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ¹⁰ “for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”

Just as Jesus was with the apostles and disciples of Acts, He is with us today. God’s word says so:

• Hebrews 13:5b–6 – ^5b “…For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we may boldly say:/
  
  “The Lord is my helper;
  I will not fear.
  What can man do to me?”

It is a great misconception for the religious to think that the relationship of Jesus with disciples is past tense. The relationship of Jesus with His disciples is PRESENT TENSE. Jesus is with us now and forever! Amen!

Third, the religious had the misconception that threats could stop the ministry of the Spirit through the apostles. You can’t stop the work of the Spirit being done through a disciple by threatening them with physical violence or death. Death is a blessing for the disciple, not a curse. Death only brings the disciple closer to home.

Furthermore, Jesus said in this regard:

• Matthew 10:28 – “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

The opponents of the gospel may be able to make the temporary life of the disciple a living hell, but that is nothing in comparison to the eternal hell that awaits the one who rejects Jesus Christ.

Lastly, when your life has been so magnificently changed by the Spirit and you know with all certainty the truth of Christ and His word, that is something you just can’t shut up inside. When you have a real living relationship with God in Christ by the Spirit, you can’t hog it to yourself; it just naturally overflows out of you. This is why the apostles said:

• Acts 4:19-20 – ¹⁹ “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰ “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

And this is why they said again later to their opposition:

• Acts 5:27-32 – ²⁷ “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, ²⁸ saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” ²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. ³⁰ “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. ³¹ “Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Religion can be stopped when a building is torn down or destroyed, when a government imposes sanctions against it or some other outside force persecutes it. But when you have a relationship with Jesus in the Spirit, a real relationship with God, nothing can stop you from sharing it. The world and any opposition can take everything away from the one who has a relationship with Jesus, they can even cut the physical heart out of the disciple, but they can’t cut out the soul and heart of the spiritual person they are.

Someone has said, when the emperor Valens threatened Eusebius with confiscation of all his goods, torture, banishment, or even death, the courageous Christian replied, “He needs not fear confiscation, who has nothing to lose; nor banishment, to whom heaven is his country; nor torments, when his body can be destroyed at one blow; nor death, which is the only way to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow.” That is the Spirit-filled heart that cannot be stopped.

When the Spirit Acts, He Moves Disciples to Pray for Boldness and He Refreshes Them Spiritually

• Acts 4:23-31 – ²³ “And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴ So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵ “who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
  
  ‘Why did the nations rage,
  And the people plot vain things?
  ²⁶ The kings of the earth took their stand,
  And the rulers were gathered together
  Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
  
  27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ²⁸ “to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. ²⁹ “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, ³⁰ “by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” ³¹ And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

As soon as Peter and John were let go, they returned to their fellow believers and shared all that had happened between them and the closed-door session with the religious leaders (Acts 4:23). It must have been encouraging to know that even the religious leaders with all their higher education and resources could not contradict the work of the Spirit. This was reason for much praise and prayer to the Lord (Acts 4:23-24).

When the Spirit acts, He helps believers to focus on God, not their enemies (Acts 4:25-26). The prayer offered up by the disciples exalts God for His power and authority. The focus is on God, His sovereign control of the entire situation, just as He had brought to pass the in the redemptive work of Jesus. They knew it was God who had done the miracle; He was and is always in control.

When the Spirit acts, He moves people to understand that God is in control (Acts 4:27-28). Look at the prayer of these disciples. They say in part concerning the things that happen in life that they are, “to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done” (Acts 4:28). In other words, nothing that happened to Jesus or that happens to anyone else surprises or catches God off guard. God knows what is going to happen before it happens and nothing happens that God does not allow to happen (see Job 1, Job 2). God has a plan, and He is going to fulfill it just as He did with Jesus. That is comforting to know, because we also know that God will use whatever circumstances come up for His glory when we surrender to Him in those situations (Romans 8:28).

When the Spirit acts, He moves people to pray and as they pray He refreshes them with new power to minister (Acts 4:31). Remember, these are the same disciples who had been baptized with the Holy Spirit in chapter 2. As we said in our introductory teaching, a person receives the Spirit into their heart at conversion, they are then empowered for ministry by the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and as we see here, experience an ongoing refreshing of power from the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 5:18).

Boldness

Lastly, when the Spirit acts, He moves disciples to pray to God for boldness (Acts 4:29-30). What is “boldness”? The word “boldness” is translated from the Greek term, parrhesia which means, “all out-spokenness,…frankness, bluntness, publicity;…bold (× –ly, –ness, –ness of speech), confidence, × freely, × openly, × plainly (–ness).”⁵³ They spoke in no formal academic style, with no reservation or politeness. They simply spoke the truth openly, confidently, boldly.

To be bold here means to speak confidently with the assurance that you are in the right and that you are properly in line with God. To speak boldly means you are confident in the truth you are speaking, certain that it is in fact the truth of God. To speak boldly means to speak freely and openly with no fear of consequence from the one to whom you are speaking. To speak boldly is to speak clearly and plainly not in a way that bends the truth to political correctness or to compromise in order to avoid consequence from the ones you are speaking to. In essence, to speak boldly means to SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE, love for God (loving Him and wanting to represent Him truthfully to others) and love for the lost (loving them enough to share the truth with them about eternity).

Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

• Ephesians 4:11-15 – ¹¹ “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ”

This truly is a good description of being bold in the Spirit. It involves being equipped, built up, mature spiritually, informed with the knowledge of Jesus, knowing Jesus in the Spirit, stable not shaken with every wind of doctrine or tricks of false teachers and charlatans, it is speaking the truth in love. Boldness is not speaking the truth brashly or harshly; it is speaking the truth in the love of the Spirit. It is the Spirit who works such boldness in and through us.

How Can We Become Bold in the Spirit?

How can we be bold in the Spirit? There are a number of things the Bible says about holy boldness.

First, the Bible says those who are righteous and unstained by sin are “bold as a lion”:

• Proverbs 28:1 –
  “The wicked flee when no one pursues,
  But the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Nothing will snuff out boldness faster than unconfessed sin in your life. Unconfessed sin or living a dual life (i.e., living like a saint on Sunday and like Satan throughout the week) makes us double-minded, guilt-ridden, embarrassed, depressed and saps us of any boldness we might have. But when, by faith, you confess your sins and receive God’s forgiveness, the Spirit is again able to embolden you (1 John 1:9). The only way we can be unstained by sin is through faith in Jesus.

Second, when we declare our dependence on God in prayer and give him our life and circumstances, the Spirit emboldens us. Paul wrote:

• Ephesians 6:17-20 – ¹⁷ “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Boldness is not brashness and that is all you will be if you seek to be bold in your own strength, in your flesh. We need to seek God’s boldness in prayer so that He will guide us when to boldly speak the truth in love.

Third, boldness is a gift from Jesus and a product of our relationship with Him. This is what Paul tells us when he is inspired to write:

• Ephesians 3:11-12 – ¹¹ “according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
• Philippians 1:19-21 – ¹⁹ “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Boldness comes when, by the Spirit, we give ourselves entirely to Jesus. Boldness, in essence, is the product of coming to the realization that, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Boldness is the product of a close Spirit-filled relationship with Jesus. The closer we come to Jesus, the bolder we will be for Him. In Hebrews it states:

• Hebrews 4:14-16 – ¹⁴ “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Through Jesus, we can come boldly or confidently before God for grace to help us in times of need, and if we can come boldly before God and receive His grace, we can then go boldly before people to share that race and truth.

Fourth, boldness is inflamed by the testimony we receive when in fellowship with others who are bold for the Lord. BOLDNESS IN THE LORD IS CONTAGIOUS. When we hear of the boldness in the Spirit of others, it moves us to seek the same kind of boldness in our lives. Paul said this very thing when he wrote:

• Philippians 1:12-14 – ¹² “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; ¹⁴ and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

The boldness and courage in the Spirit of Paul inspired boldness and courage in those around him. This is the work of fellowship. In Hebrews it states:

• Hebrews 10:24-25 – ²⁴ “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Fellowship is where our boldness in the Spirit is stirred up by the Spirit through those fellowshipping. If you want to be bold, hang out with bold believers. When you boldly rely on Jesus in the Spirit and speak the truth in love and then share that with your brothers and sisters in Christ, it encourages them and the Spirit uses it to inspire boldness in them as well. Boldness shared ignites boldness in others.

Fifth, boldness is the product of God’s love in us. The apostle John said:

• 1 John 4:17-19 – ¹⁷ “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.”

The apostle is speaking of confidence on the Day of Judgment before God, but if we are settled and safe before God, confident that we are right with Him through His Son, that confidence results in a holy boldness here and now. How is this connection made? Through the perfect or mature love of God in us. God loved us before we ever loved Him (1 John 4:19; Romans 5:8). And because we have experienced the love of God in us by the Spirit (Romans 5:5), that love compels us to speak the truth in love boldly. Paul put it like this:

• 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – ¹⁴ “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

Why do we fear and cower before others when the opportunity to minister arises? Is it not because we fear what they might think about us, or how they might react against us? In reality, does not such a reaction of fear stem from a love of self that is greater than our love for God? The only way to break out of that rut is to surrender to Jesus in the Spirit, is to seek Him in prayer and ask Him to reveal His love to us and fill us with His brand of love that is selfless and completely given over to God. Only when we experience the love of God in the Spirit can we expect to speak the truth of God in love boldly. This is the work of the Spirit in us, and we need to seek it. Such a work of the Spirit is a product of God’s grace. Interestingly, the final words in this chapter in Acts contain the words, “And great grace was upon them all.”

When the Spirit Acts, Great Grace is on Disciples

• Acts 4:32-37 – ³² “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. ³³ And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. ³⁴ Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, ³⁵ and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. ³⁶ And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, ³⁷ having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

“Cheap Grace.” During World War II very few pastors stood against the genocide of the Jews by Nazi Germany. One who did was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was a pastor, theologian, protector of the weak and persecuted, and a martyr. He was asked at one point how Hitler and the Nazis could rise to power in what had been viewed as a “Christian” nation. He said it was the teaching of “cheap grace” in churches that weakened the Body of Christ to the extent that it had no power or discernment to oppose the devilish darkness of Hitler and Nazism.

Bonhoeffer defined “cheap grace” as follows:

“Cheap grace” is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, and grace without Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, that sounds a lot like what is being taught in too many churches today. Instead we ought to be teaching and living out God’s “great grace.” What is “great grace”? Let’s see.

When the Spirit acts, great grace on believers is the result (Acts 4:33). These disciples were depending on the grace of God. They knew that whatever they had was from God and for His use, so they had no difficulty sharing their possessions with those in need. This is not communism; it is the Spirit acting in disciples to help those in need. It was natural to be giving in light of the way God had so graciously given to all of them.

“Great Grace”

The word “great” in the New Testament is translated from the Greek term megas which means, “big… exceedingly, great (–est), high, large, loud, mighty,…strong,…”⁵⁴ The word “grace” here is translated from the Greek term charis which means, “graciousness (as gratifying),…the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life;…acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace (–ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank (–s, worthy).” ⁵⁵ Grace is God’s favor without any regard to the worth or merit in the one on whom He is bestowing grace. Grace is a primary attribute of God. His love and mercy and forgiveness and all His benefits are all products of His grace (cf. Exodus 34:6).

“Great grace” is an abundance of, an exceedingly great, large and mighty amount of God’s bounty and blessing. These believers were so blessed by the grace of God and recognized all they had was provided by God that they didn’t fear losing the stuff of life. They knew that God has a never-ending amount of whatever they needed. They knew God was all too willing to pour out whatever they needed when they needed it. Therefore, sharing with others, in love, freely, seemed, in the Spirit, to be the natural thing to do. And that is what we see happening here. Have you experienced God’s “great grace”? Have others through you experienced God’s “great grace”?

Great grace produces great unity among believers. The unity of believers in “heart” and “soul” (or mind) is evidence of the effect of God’s great grace on these believers (Act 4:32). Unity does not come naturally to people, but where people have a deep and abiding awareness of God’s gracious provision, they humbly unite under the banner of God’s gospel love in Christ.

Great grace produces great power in believers. The product of this great grace was the “great power” given by the Spirit (Acts 1:8) to witness to the resurrection of Jesus (Act 4:33). The resurrection of Jesus is the central theme of the gospel. The resurrection is central because it is God’s stamp of approval on the atoning, substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for the sins of humanity. The cross and resurrection are the pinnacles of provision of God’s great grace.

Great grace produces great giving towards other believers. The depth to which these believers had experienced the grace of God is demonstrated by their actions. A house or a plot of land is about the most valuable material thing a person can own, whether it is inherited or worked for. And yet houses and land are exactly what people were giving up to see that no one in the fellowship of believers here had outstanding needs that were unmet (Acts 4:34-35). To sell and give up your rights to something as valuable as a house, or plot of land, was no small thing (Acts 4:37). Joses, or Barnabus was a particular example of such giving in response to God’s grace. Notice Barnabus’ name means, “Son of Encouragement.” Barnabus must have especially experienced God’s grace and been an instrument of it to others in a way that encouraged and helped (Acts 4:35-37). The Spirit had really gotten a hold of the hearts of these people and they were moved to act in a gracious way to others. They, in effect, received “grace for grace” (John 1:16).

God’s Grace Provides All Things for All Things

The Bible says that all good things come from God. James writes:

• Psalm 145:16 –
  “You open Your hand
  And satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
• James 1:17 – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Look at your life, all the good things you have, your relationships, your material blessings, your spiritual blessings, look at it all and understand that every good thing you have comes from God for no other reason than His great grace. That should leave us speechless before God adoring Him in the Spirit.

But not only that, even those things we look at as being bad, God can turn out for good, by His grace, if we let Him. In Romans it states:

• Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (For an example see the life of Joseph – Genesis 50:20).

By God’s great grace He oversees us like a loving heavenly Father and He cares for our every need. And this is so even before we accept salvation through faith in His Son by His grace. In Romans it states:

• Romans 2:4 – “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

God blesses and pours out good things even on sinners to get their attention and hopefully lead them to repentance. This is not a trick by God or to benefit God, it is to benefit the sinner. We profit in salvation. We do not do God a favor by accepting His salvation – He does us a favor by offering it to us freely by His great grace.

Read what Paul was inspired to write to Titus about the grace of God:

• Titus 2:11-15 – ¹¹ “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying un godliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and Godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. ¹⁵ Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.”
• Titus 3:4-7 – ⁴ “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, ⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

All that God does, He does for us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and He does it by grace, without regard to our merit or worthiness. If we look in the Book of Acts, we see the great grace of God providing an abundance of blessing. None of what we see happening in Acts or anywhere in Scripture is because someone is good or worthy, it is all because of God’s great grace! We need to understand that God loves us and blesses us, not because we are good, but because he is gracious and great!

In the Book of Acts alone we have seen the gracious provision of God in the fulfilling of His Promise to empower believers with baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, 8; Acts 2:1-4). We have seen how, by God’s grace, He brings believers together in prayer and unity (Acts 1:14, 24; Acts 2:1, 42; Acts 3:1; Acts 4:31). We have seen God’s great grace provide the disciples with an abundant and powerful knowledge of His holy word and the Spirit-empowered ability to use it in ministry (Acts 2:14-39). We have seen God’s grace establish the church on the four pillars of the teaching of the word of God, fellowship, worship and prayer (Acts 2:42). We have seen the grace of God provide the conversion of thousands (Acts 2:41, 47). We have seen God’s great grace provide the apostles and disciples with boldness in ministry (Acts 4:31). We have seen God greatly and graciously heal people (Acts 3:1-10). And we have seen God’s great grace sustain disciples when they are persecuted and imprisoned (Acts 4:1-22). All of that in just the first 4 chapters of the Book of Acts and all of that provided by the great grace of God, not because anyone was good or great in and of themselves. God is great. God does great things. All the great things God does are done by His great grace towards us.

God’s Great Graciousness – The Giving Nature of God

God loves to give. The Bible is filled with the giving of God. Grace is a way of describing the giving nature of God. Grace is entirely from God. There is nothing in us that warrants or deserves God’s grace. Grace proceeds from God’s good nature. We have already considered the mention of God’s grace in the epistle to the Romans (Romans 2:4; Romans 5:12-20) and we will consider God’s grace again in this epistle (Romans 11:16). When we look at the Bible we see that God’s grace is “great,” God’s grace is “sufficient,” God’s grace “saved,” us, and God’s grace is “exceedingly abundant” toward us. These characteristics of God’s grace are seen in the following verses:

• 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
• Ephesians 2:4-5 – ⁴ “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”
• 1 Timothy 1:12-16 – ¹² “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, ¹³ although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ¹⁶ However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”

This last portion of Scripture above, 1 Timothy 1:14, really captures the nature and essence of God’s great grace. God’s great grace is always “exceedingly abundant.” We can’t overestimate God’s great grace. This is clearly seen in a two-word phrase used by Paul in Romans 5. In this chapter of Romans we see the repeated use of the phrase, “much more,” and really that two-word phrase defines God’s great grace perfectly. Paul writes:

• Romans 5:9-10 – ⁹ “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. ¹⁰ For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
• Romans 5:15-17 – ¹⁵ “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. ¹⁶ And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)”
• Romans 5:20-21 – ²⁰ “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, ²¹ so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

You see, no matter how great you comprehend God’s great grace to be, it will always be “much more” than you estimate it to be. God’s grace is always “much more” than we expect or can ever comprehend.

The Supreme Evidence of God’s Grace

The giving of Jesus for the redemption of humanity is the supreme evidence of God’s great grace and commitment of God. In Romans we read:

• Romans 8:31-32 – ³¹ “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Jesus is the ultimate and undeniable evidence of the extent to which God’s grace goes. God, by grace, spares nothing to bring us into a saving relationship with Himself. No wonder the early church was on fire for the Lord as the Spirit brought this great grace to their hearts and minds. That grace was something they all just had to share in the power of the Spirit.

Conclusion

Therefore, by God’s great grace, let us go out and boldly proclaim JESUS!

So what’s it going to be, “cheap grace,” or God’s “great grace”? I choose God’s “great grace”! How about you?

In Acts 4 we have seen the holy boldness of those empowered by the Holy Spirit. This same power and boldness is available to the disciple of today. This boldness is a gift of God’s grace and the product of realizing God’s great grace toward us.

When the Spirit acts in our lives, we can expect opposition from those who have settled for a religious pursuit of God. But when we are opposed, we can also expect the Spirit to give us courage and boldness rooted in our relationship with Jesus through the Spirit. The Spirit will confound the adversaries of God. God is in control. When the Spirit acts, He brings a continual refreshing of His power to minister too. When the Spirit acts in all these areas, He is evidencing the great grace of God. That is what made the early believers so effective and unstoppable and that is what we prayerfully seek for the Spirit to do in us now as well. May the Spirit bring it to pass in and through us. Amen.

49 Ronald F. Youngblook, general editor; F.F. Bruce, and R.K. Harrison, consulting editors, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary: An authoritative one-volume reference work on the Bible with full color illustrations [computer file], electronic edition of the revised edition of Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, © 1995.

50The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson

51 James Strong, New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1996.

52 Josh McDowell Answers to Tough Questions: Skeptics Ask About The Christian Faith [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1993 by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart.

53 James Strong, New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1996.

54James Strong, New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1996.

55 James Strong, New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, © 1996.