Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

22 - Gamaliel

It wasn’t just what he said, it was who said it. Very few of the dignitaries in that room could have stopped that lynch-mob. It took a special voice, at the right time, and a lot of courage to stand and rebuke the elders of Israel. God elevates His people to positions of leadership so He can speak through us at critical moments. There are times when even one voice speaking clearly, forcefully, respectfully, will turn the tide of a decision. In fact, looking back in history, most great decisions came because one person, or only a few, took a stand for what was right, and then persevered in that stand. In hindsight, these people are heroes, but at the time they often suffered under enormous pressure to conform, and when they didn’t they were mocked, threatened and even killed. Undoubtedly most of those brave souls questioned themselves, wondering how they ended up so out of step with everyone else. Often their selfless service took place out of sight, behind closed doors, one-on-one, and came as a passionate appeal to principle. Those about to open a door that would usher in trouble were confronted with truth and a deceptive spell was broken. And sometimes that brave, lonely person was the leader, the final decision-maker, who had to take a hard unpopular stand trusting that God would intervene and defend him or her.

 

Our lesson today looks at just such a person. A man named Gamaliel whose faithfulness to the Word had elevated him to high position, and who, on this day, within a window of a few seconds of time, had to decide whether or not to risk it all by rebuking the entire Sanhedrin and eldership of Israel. He’s a man to whom we owe a great debt of thanks, and who models for us the godly courage each of us will need when our moment comes.

21 - Power in Community

What an amazing level of power we are seeing at work here. Luke does say that it was “at the hands of the apostles” that these miracles were done, which seems to mean that most believers weren’t yet functioning at this high level. Even among the apostles, Peter seems to be exceptional (v15). If we remember that he was the disciple who had the courage to try and fail and give wrong answers, we shouldn’t be surprised that he’s now the one who can most authentically do what Jesus did. Yet, this level of power wasn’t just an apostolic gift, they were able to teach others and pass this ministry on to another generation who functioned just as powerfully as they did. Stephen (Ac 6:8) and Philip, the evangelist (Ac 6:5; 8:4-8, 13), are examples of this.

 

Is it realistic for us to expect to have such power today? Well, we already do, it’s just not as widespread or consistent. We’re seeing miracles now on a level with those we see there, but we still see far too many go away unhealed. In many cases, there is partial relief, in others there begins a gradual improvement. So, it’s not that we have today none of the Spirit’s power, it’s that we don’t have enough, often enough.

20 - Ananias and Sapphira

What we’re seeing in this remarkable event is God disciplining His church. He’s revealing His standard of holiness and showing us the danger of hypocrisy. What may seem to us to be a small, insignificant sin, a lie told about an amount of money being given as a gift, we discover was viewed by God as an alarming spiritual danger which had to be removed immediately. Clearly, in His mind, there was no room in the church for this level of hypocrisy, for hearts that only pretended to love Him, for people willing to lie to the Holy Spirit.

 

In this dramatic encounter God reveals the need for church discipline. He shows us what to discipline, and that discipline ought to be done quickly, which, of course, doesn’t mean hypocrites must die. This particular couple’s death was a divine act which God, in His infinite wisdom, chose to perform in order to protect this young church, and to teach succeeding generations a lesson that wouldn’t be forgotten.

19 - The Price of a Soul

How many people would become Christians today if being baptized meant the government would seize their bank account, their spouse would be free to divorce them and take all the assets, if they were a student they would be removed from school, if employed they might be fired with no legal rights to protect them, their parents might not speak to them again, declaring them “dead,” and the community in which they lived would bar them from its gatherings? The fact is, such a price would be too high for many to be willing to pay. Even if they felt in their heart the gospel was true, the terror they would feel at the possibility of this kind of abandonment would prevent many from ever publicly confessing Jesus. Yes, of course, He said we must be willing to die for Him, but for someone considering following Him, the fear of such a backlash would be a real barrier.

 

I believe that a similar situation faced the Jerusalem church. To be baptized in the name of Jesus was a dangerous thing to do. A person could be left suddenly destitute, and many were. But impelled by the love in their hearts, and led by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, these early believers immediately rallied to take care of those who had been abandoned for their faith. And I believe the numerical explosion of the church in that hostile environment was directly related to their spontaneous generosity. The question facing us today, as we consider their example is this: Will we respond with the same depth of love and wisdom to remove the barriers our culture places in front of those who are considering following Jesus Christ?

18 - Godly Disobedience

Sometimes human leaders tell us to do things God has told us not to do, or they tell us to stop doing things God has told us we must do. And then they force us to choose whether we will obey them or God. By nature, Christians prefer to be peaceful and obey civil and religious authorities, and the Bible tells us that under normal circumstances that’s the way we should live (Ro 13:1-7). But there may be times when the spiritual health of a leader declines or the mood of a culture or society darkens to the point that open hostility arises toward the God of the Bible. His moral standards and His claim to be our rightful ruler and judge always has, and will until this age ends, offend unbelievers. What seems so right to us can really make people angry, and sometimes that anger erupts into persecution. When that happens, believers become openly criticized and watched. Unreasonable demands are placed on them, and they’re forced to choose who they will obey.

This is exactly the situation confronting our forefathers and mothers in this passage in the Book of Acts. They were being forced to choose who they would obey, and threatened with severe punishment if they chose to obey God. So their response provides a very important model for us, because not only did the threats directed at them fail to stop them from proclaiming Christ, but God Himself responded in a dramatic way, that showed how pleased He was with them. Clearly, there are times when believers must engage in godly disobedience to human authority.

17 - Answering Our Accusers

Jesus warned us that following Him would get us in trouble, and He didn’t promise that He would always get us out. But He did promise He would be with us in that moment, and would speak through us. He said when we stand before our accusers He would empower us and make us witnesses for Him. And this is exactly what we see happening here with Peter and John. Basically, they’re in trouble, standing in front of Israel’s highest court, for doing what Jesus did.

When we become believers and begin to live out our faith to the point that we make a difference in other people’s lives, we become part of a great spiritual war. Those who are looking for the true God, like us, but those who aren’t, don’t. I mean they really don’t, and some, particularly those with a lot to lose, can get very hostile. And it’s not that they don’t understand what we’re saying or have doubts that’s what’s happening is real, it’s because we’ve become a threat to their way of life. They like what they have and they’re not going to let anyone, even God, take it away without a fight. And that’s where you come in. You’re the one who’s bringing God into their world. You’re the one disturbing their peace of mind. So, you’re the one who must be silenced. The promise we’re seeing today is that God won’t let that happen. When you need Him, He’ll fill you with the Holy Spirit and give you the words to speak.

16 - Decisions of the Heart

A startling reality confronts us in this passage. We see two wildly different responses to the same event. On the one hand, there are hundreds, possibly over a thousand people, who repent and believe, and on the other hand, there is a much smaller group who seem to feel no inclination whatsoever to repent and believe, but instead actively work to find a way to stop others from doing so. Both groups saw the same miracle and heard the same message. Why, then, were there such different reactions? If they had only heard the preaching of a message, we might explain it by saying they doubted because they had no way of testing it. But it wasn’t just a message, it was a message confirmed by an absolutely stunning miracle, that not even those in the small group could deny. You would think that anyone confronted by such an amazing display of power would be forced to listen with an open mind. But the smaller group of people doesn’t seem affected by the miracle at all. They’re alarmed, they see the situation as a crisis needing damage control, but there’s no trace of self-doubt. So this passage provides a case-study on the inner workings of the human heart. It makes us look deep inside and ask why do some people say “yes” to God while others refuse to even see or hear His call.

15 - The Gift of Guilt

When I meet an unbeliever, I need to watch and listen in order to discern what kind of unbeliever that person is. Is this someone who has simply never heard? Is this someone who has heard but didn’t understand? Is this someone who has been taught a very distorted picture of Jesus Christ? In other words, is the “Jesus” they are rejecting the real one? Or is this someone who does know the truth but has simply chosen the world instead, or is so invested in the world (riches, pleasure, power) that they are willing to silence the voice of the Holy Spirit?

We tend to make blanket assumptions about huge groups of people. We level harsh judgments and write them off as “lost,” but the truth is each person is different. Yes, some are defiant and have rejected the true God, but others are genuinely ignorant. They don’t know what’s true, and may even have done horrible things thinking they were serving God.

The Bible says only God knows the human heart (1Sa 16:7). And today, as we listen to Peter appeal to a crowd gathered in the temple, we’ll hear him boldly confront them with their sin, but we’ll also hear him compassionately tell them he believes their hearts are still soft because they did what they did…in ignorance.

14 - Anatomy of a Healing

Healing is an emotionally-charged topic. There are people who believe healing is for today and those who don’t. There are people who have been healed and those who haven’t. There are people whom God has used to heal others, and those who’ve tried and “failed.” There are even people who’ve walked away from God because they sought healing for a loved one, but that person died. So, by just mentioning the topic, all sorts of emotions and memories come to mind.

I’ve been asking God to teach me to pray for healing ever since my aunt died when I was 13 years old. And I’ve learned some things over the years, but as time passes it seems the main lesson I’ve learned is how much I still don’t know. But I refuse to stop learning. I refuse to let the disappointments cause me to withdraw. I refuse to stop praying for the sick. I refuse to stop believing that God heals. Don’t get me wrong, I have been privileged to participate in many amazing healings. Some people say, “I’ve never seen a real miracle with my own eyes,” but I’ve seen many. I could spend hours telling story after story that are phenomenal. I mean ones that time and medical evidence have proved out. So it’s not that I doubt that God has the power. The real question for me is why some and not others. And I’m not comfortable with the answer that says God just doesn’t choose to heal some. Yes, I know there’s a time for everyone to die, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that some of those we’ve “lost” had arrived at their “time.”

Luke actually takes two chapters (Ac 3, 4) to discuss this one remarkable healing and the effect it had on the city. And he gives such detail, and quotes Peter so precisely, that he presents us with a case-study on healing. Profound insights are given about how the apostles approached healing, and even what took place inside the lame man himself. So let’s be open to learn. Let’s watch Peter model healing and then listen as he explains what happened.

13 - The Meaning of Baptism

We’re often told a person will be saved if they pray the sinners prayer. But that’s not true. Reciting a short prayer won’t save anybody. We’re often told if we raise our hands to receive Jesus we’ll be saved. But that’s not true either. And a lot of people have been misled into thinking they’ve done what it takes. The problem is that reciting a prayer or raising my hand can be done without really understanding what God requires of me. When I pray, I may not understand what I’m saying because words mean different things to different people. I can tell God I’m a sinner without knowing what a sinner is. Or tell Him I repent without a clue of what I just said I would do. And this type of shallow, uninformed invitation to follow Christ may be one reason so many people who say they’re Christians don’t act like it. Some hearts don’t seem to have changed. A person can become religious, but not more loving, self-controlled, forgiving, honest or pure than they were before. The only difference is, now they assume they’ll go to heaven.

Something is wrong with this picture. Something must be missing. As we look back at the early church we see people who became amazingly different. When they got saved their hearts changed. They lived lives that were a great witness. They were respected and admired, even by people who didn’t agree with them. Not that they became perfect, but they did become much more Christ–like. I believe a large part of the reason that their lives changed so dramatically was because they understood the cost of following Jesus before they were saved, and I believe water baptism played a big part in this. When they were baptized there was no mistaking what they were saying to God.