Acts 4:1-22 An Informed Conscience
Good morning! Today we are going to take a look at Peter's third sermon in Acts 4:1-22, page 911 in the pew Bibles, and examine what Peter said there that day to the council and, more importantly what Peter was actually saying when he said those things.
I hope that will make sense later.
Before we get too far, let’s pray.
Last week we looked at the account of Peter and John healing a lame beggar at the gate of the Temple. This account that we are going to look at this morning obviously takes place right after that.
As we read through this text I want to remind you to listen to not only what Peter said, but what he is saying.
Don't just consider the words he is speaking but consider the statement he is making.
Again, like last time, because of the length of our text we are going to look at it one piece at a time instead of reading it all at once.
1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
A couple of things to note at this point...
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead and Peter and John were proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. That is one of the reasons why they were annoyed.
The priests were mostly Sadducees and beyond the theological issue of the resurrection from the dead they also liked to be the ones that everybody listened to, they liked to be the authority. These two apostles were undermining their teaching and shaking up the status quo and that is the other reason why they were annoyed.
So since these guys were the ones in power here at the Temple and the captain of the Temple guard was in charge of keeping order at the Temple they had Peter and John arrested and held overnight since it was too late in the day for a proper trial.
Notice also that the number of men came to about five thousand. This is not the total number of believers at this point, they were only counting the men, just like in the feeding of the five thousand, there were actually a lot more. In just a matter of weeks the church had exploded from only 120 to well over five thousand!
One of the constant themes throughout the Book of Acts is the persistence of the gospel despite opposition. No force on earth could stop the advance of God's kingdom. Two of the leading Apostles were arrested and bound but the gospel could not and cannot be bound!
Pasquier Quesnell wrote, “The truth may be oppressed, but it cannot be suppressed. Men may bind the preacher, but the Word cannot be bound.”
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
The next day Peter and John were examined by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court. Did you recognize any of those names?
Some of the men who were sitting on this council were the same men that examined Jesus at His trial!
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you 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 is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
So Peter tells them, "You wanna know how this guy got healed, I'll tell you how he got healed. He didn't get healed by us but by the power of Jesus who, by the way, you guys crucified! But God raised Him from the dead. Not only that but Jesus has been made the cornerstone and there is no other way to be saved except through Him!"
This exclusive claim, that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus, is what sets Christianity apart from the rest of the world’s religions, they simply can’t “coexist.”
Paul would build on this Cornerstone idea, pardon the pun, in Ephesians 2:18-22.
18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Peter would write about this idea later in his first letter, 1 Peter 2:4-8.
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
That was exactly what was happening to the council right in front of them as they preached this word.
I love this next line...
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Oh for that to be said of us! That is my life's ambition!
That guy may be just a regular guy but man, you can tell he knows Jesus!
Peter and John has not gone to school for theology, they weren’t trained rabbis, they were tradesmen, fishermen, but the Spirit spoke through them just the same.
14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
This council, just as they had with Jesus, wanted all of this nonsense to stop. They wanted this movement to stop, they just wanted things to go back to the way they were before everything got all stirred up, before this Jesus ruined everything. They wanted nothing more than for these guys to take their message and go away, to crawl into a hole somewhere and never come out. Just shut up and go back to fishing.
And this raises the question of what is called, “civil disobedience.”
19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
Those in authority commanded them to stop, but Jesus had commanded them to go, to be His witnesses, to preach the gospel.
It would have been easier for them to stop but it would not have been right.
Now we could easily stop our study right there. We have examined what Peter said in its context and history, his words and their meanings. But if we stop there after examining just what Peter said, we would miss out on what Peter was saying.
What Peter said was, Jesus of Nazareth, whom you guys crucified, healed this man. He is the stone that you builders rejected and has become the Cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, Jesus is the only way anyone can be saved.
That is what Peter said. But that's not all he was saying.
Peter was saying, by his actions, that doing what is right is better than doing what is popular or safe.
Doing what is right is better than just doing what you know will make, or keep, people happy, or has no negative consequences.
Peter knew and displayed that doing what was right was what was best.
By his actions and example we can hear him speak and hear the Lord speak through him. It's a pattern that Jesus and His Apostles follow to a tee and most often to their deaths. Doing what is right is better than doing what is popular or safe.
Peter sought a better reward than peace and safety, he sought a reward in God's eternal kingdom that is better than all the peace and safety and success and wealth this world could ever offer.
The Lord made it clear what He wanted Peter and John and all of His disciples across all time to do, to be His witnesses, to make disciples, no matter the cost, because our reward for faithfulness in God's kingdom will be better than anything this whole world can offer.
All of us need to follow Peter’s example and make our decisions on the basis of “Is it right?” not “Is it popular?” or “Is it safe?”
At the same time, we must be sure that we have the clear teaching of the Word of God on our side before we take a stand. Standing up for what we think is right and actually being right can be two very different things.
Peter knew what the Lord had commanded the believers to do, it’s recorded in Acts 1:8, and that is to be witnesses of Jesus, and he was going to obey Jesus at any cost.
R.C. Sproul wrote in his book Following Christ, “The Christian life is lived by principles, principles drawn from the character of God as revealed in sacred Scripture. It is good for us to study these principles. But we fight a battle on two fronts. First, we must discern what is good, that is, we must know the right thing to do. Second, we must muster the moral courage to do the good.”
Warren Wiersbe said, “When a person’s total life is under the direction of a godly conscience, then it's easier to have confidence in their unpopular decisions.”
So how does one develop a godly conscience? There are four keys to doing this:
The first key is knowing God’s Word.
Go back to that quote from RC Sproul, “The Christian life is lived by principles, principles drawn from the character of God as revealed in sacred Scripture.”
All of Scripture reveals aspects of God’s character, who He is has been displayed by what He has said and what He has done. He has shown His hatred of sin, His compassion for the helpless, and His love for His creation.
When we learn about God’s character as revealed in Scripture we can learn to shape our character according to His model, according to the principles that He has displayed. We can allow the Holy Spirit to inform us and direct us through God’s Word.
The second key is prayer.
When we pray we can, with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace. When we pray, we can pour out our hearts to God and allow Him to pour His heart into us.
Prayer is not just spilling our wish list out to God but we must also listen to His voice, the goal is not just to cry on His shoulder, although that is good, but to truly commune with Him and enjoy His presence.
When we get to know God this way we can get a better feeling for what He wants and what would please Him.
If you have to lock yourself in a closet to get time and space to be alone with God, by all means do it! All of the information about prayer and all the prayer strategies and books on prayer in the world won’t do any good unless we actually pray!
The third key to developing a godly conscience is through wise and godly counsel. That is, finding a godly person, or people, that have more experience than you and picking their brains about life and living for Jesus.
If you are a farmer and you’re looking for advice on farming you don’t go and ask a dentist, you ask a farmer!
Likewise, if you are looking for advice on living wisely, living according to the principles of Christ, you don’t go to some health and wealth TV preacher or TikTokker, Oprah or Dr. Phil, you have to seek out godly men or women that have navigated through those waters before and can point you back to God’s Word and what it says about what you’re dealing with.
Find a godly mentor and allow yourself to be sharpened by them just like iron sharpens iron.
Finally, the fourth key is that developing a godly conscience takes practice.
We are not what we once were, nor are we yet what we will be, we are all in process. Having a godly conscience means allowing Jesus to direct your decision making. We have to allow Him to do it, and do it again and do it again!
Remember what Sproul said? “First, we must discern what is good, that is, we must know the right thing to do. Second, we must muster the moral courage to do the good.” Practice, practice, practice!
As we develop a godly conscience, one that is informed and directed by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word and prayer and godly counsel and practice we will be able to take stands for what is right even when it’s unpopular and unsafe.
Consider the words of Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, when he stood before the Diet of Worms in 1521 for proclaiming salvation by faith alone in Christ alone.
“Unless I am overpowered and convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures, or by other public, distinct, and obvious arguments and reasons, and unless I am thus fully satisfied respecting the passages of Scripture which I have hitherto adduced, insomuch that my conscience is taken captive by the word of God, I neither can nor will retract anything, well knowing that it is neither safe nor advisable to do anything in opposition to the conscience. Here I stand. cannot do otherwise. God help me! Amen.”
Amen.
