Today's Passage - Acts 4:13-20

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River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 4:13-20 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked... Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Peter declared here that there is no other name by which men may be saved. Jesus is indeed our precious Savior. Firstly, Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty of sin on our behalf. Through Him, we can receive the pardon from sin. Pardon and forgiveness are not the same thing. Forgiveness is forgetting the sin the other person committed. Pardon has a deeper meaning than that. It means wiping away every trace of evidence of that person's sin. In other words, there is no longer any evidence of sin in our lives. Jesus has borne it all. He took the penalty of sin on our behalf and pardoned us of our sins. We are as clean as a white sheet of paper before God. Praise the Lord! The early church is a strong and courageous church. They were bold in being a witness for God. This boldness did not come from their natural personality, and was not from their education. Verse 13 states that the rulers, elders and teachers of the law realized that they were unschooled, ordinary man. They were shocked that these men would have so much courage, to speak the truth in court.    The early church members were made up of people who seemed like ignorant man. However, they displayed great courage. Where did this courage come from? I believe that this comes from a heart that fears the Lord. As such, Peter and John mentioned in verse 19, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God." In other words, when a person chooses to listen to God and to revere Him, he will find courage to fight the persecution by the authorities. The early church has this reverent fear of God which gave them incredible strength and courage. Do we have the same courage in the church today, to be a witness for God?   Sometimes when pastors preach the gospel, the non-Christians do not treasure what they say, because they think that the pastors are doing this because it is their job. However, when other believers who are not employed by the church share the gospel with non-Christians, it gets their attention. The non-Christians are amazed at how these believers could be a testimony to God and live out the power of God in their day-to-day lives. I know that the Christians in North America are very capable and I know they can be effective witnesses for the Lord in preaching the gospel. We pray that the Lord will raise us up to be a vessel testifying for Him! Pray with Pastor Tong Lord, we thank you for giving us the early church as an example for us. Pray that you will grant us courage to stand up for you in our daily lives. By the grace that you poured down upon us, let us be a testimony of your glory. Help us and use us. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! River of Life Christian Church | office@rolcc.net | ROLCC Website

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