“‘I [Gamaliel] advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.’ His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 5:38–42, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “Leave these men alone! Let them go!” This will not always be the case. The time is coming, probably soon, when followers of Jesus Christ will once again be subject to flogging, or worse. In some countries, worse is already here for believers.
Our persecutors may or may not feel like they are fighting against God, if they even believe in God. They may even feel like they are doing God a favor, at least God as they perceive Him to be. But the real question is whether or not we will see it as being “counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name,” and whether or not it will cause us to stop “proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.“
My Advice – If we don’t even do it now (proclaim the good news), when there is no real persecution, what makes us think we will be able to do it when there is real persecution? Let’s do it now and never stop.
