Focus on Reproduction, Mentor's Guide, MG12

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F O C U S O N R E P R O D U C T I O N

We Must Obey God Rather Than Men

Devotion

Acts 5.27-32 - And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, [28] saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalemwith your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” [29] But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. [30] The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. [31] God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. [32] And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” By whose authority do we have any right to talk to those who do not believe in the “outlandish” claims of Jesus of Nazareth? In a day of political correctness and at a time when religious intolerance is producing horrific acts of violence and terrorism, shouldn’t all decent people sort of “simmer down,” so to speak, and let everyone merely believe what they believe, without our interference or judgment? Is the time of sharing your faith for the purpose of persuading others to follow your view outmoded, outdated, and simply wrong? The example of the Apostles is instructive for all men and women called to represent the interests and reputation of our risen Lord before others. In the face of horrible opposition and the threat of severe bodily harm if they continued to share the good news of Christ and his Kingdom, the Apostles remained unmoved. Peter and the Apostles are clear in the face of intimidation and threat: “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” “We must obey God, rather than men.” The Great Commission of our Lord, while given to the excited company of witnesses who heard the risen Lord’s command to go into all the world and preach the Good News, is a generational command. Until the appearing of our Lord, every Christian generation goes forth into its own Jerusalems, Judeas, and Samarias with the Gospel of the Kingdom. All of us are responsible to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Nothing can detract us or intimidate us, for the very same Jesus of Nazareth crucified in Jerusalem so many centuries ago has been exalted. “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” Exalted at the right hand

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