Think about this statement: “A Church of Impact Faces Danger.” First, there are churches of great “impact” and churches of little “impact.” But this statement implies something more significant… the greater the impact the greater the danger. The greater the impact, the greater the resistance and opposition.
Take some time and read Acts. You will notice there is one issue that incited danger more than any other issue. Can you guess what it is? You know the early Church was “so nice” people hated them. The early church was “so loving and tolerant” people wanted to kill them. The early church was “so holy, moral, and pure” people wanted to eradicate them from the face of the earth. The early church built so many habitat-for-humanity houses, dug so many wells, was so-environmentally conscious, was so pro-life, pro-family, pro-gentile, pro-women, pro-freedom, anti-sword, anti-big Roman Gov’t… they just had to be stopped!
The Resurrection Message was Dangerous
No! The one issue that incited more danger than any other was Christ’s resurrection. That’s it, nothing else even comes close. Think about it. The first disciples huddled in the upper room, praying fervently. What was on their mind? We’re they concerned about bringing Financial Peace to the world? We’re they wondering how to tell the world they’d each lost 20lbs on the Daniel plan? We’re they rehearsing their stories about how they’d become better men since Jesus came into their life?
Again, No! The Apostles were deciding who to appoint in the place of Judas, as one of the Twelve. Who had been with them from the very beginning, from the ministry of John the Baptist all the way to the time Jesus was taken up into the clouds? Who experienced the beginning/middle/end of Jesus’ earthly ministry? Who sat at Jesus’ feet as they had? Who saw him crucified and buried? Who saw Jesus after his resurrection? Who saw Jesus ascend into heaven? Who would be willing to stand with them unto death, before the jury of world, testifying to Jesus’ resurrection?
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 the apostle Paul writes, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to the Peter, and then to the Twelve…”
In 1 Corinthians 15:17, 19 Paul goes so far as to say, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. . . if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” That right there is the crux of the issue. When we de-resurrect Jesus, what’s the point of Christianity? When we de-resurrect Jesus, what more is there, than preaching how people should just live their best life now? The message of the cross, the message of the resurrection, is what incites the danger. In the early Church Christ’s resurrection was of first importance, but in the modern church it’s one of the first doctrines that gets chucked out the door.
In Acts 2, Peter and the Eleven are in Jerusalem, standing before their Jewish brethren. What do you suppose they talk about? They confront the fellow Jews with the truth of the resurrection! They explain how Jesus was accredited by God to them by the miracles, wonders and signs. They’d seen Jesus for themselves, they were fully aware of everything God did through Jesus. But with the help of wicked men, they put Jesus to death, nailing him to the cross. But God raised Jesus from the dead, freeing him from the agony of the cross. It was impossible for death to keeps hold of Jesus! They explained how even King David spoke about the resurrection of Jesus—the anointed one would not be abandoned in the grave, nor would his body see decay!
Peter explains further: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. He’s been exalted to the right hand of God. He’s received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, which he poured out on all who believe. Let all of Israel be assured of this one truth: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified both Lord and Christ! Resurrection, resurrection, resurrection.
The Resurrection Affirms God Exists
What’s so dangerous about this message of the resurrection? First, the Resurrection affirms God exists. Now back in the first century, you’d be hard pressed to find a Jewish person who didn’t believe God. Likewise in Greek culture, people accepted the notion of a “First Cause.” Was everything set in motion by a God? Was it set in motion by gods?
Nowadays the doctrine of naturalism is drilled into our brains from grade school, through elementary school, through High School, through College, into graduate and post-graduate education. Naturalism is this notion that nothing exists outside the natural world. The only thing that is real is what you can see, hear, taste, touch, smell, experience, or scientifically verify. We’re told that one of the greatest and most harmful delusions a person can have is belief in God.
Now keep in mind, there isn’t any danger believing in a generic God. You can believe in God so long as he remains a harmless philosophical idea, or thought, or construct. It’s okay to think of God as Mother Nature, or Cosmic Energy, or Love. Just don’t let me him be real, or personal, or intelligent, or a Creator…
The Resurrection Affirms God Acts/Intervenes
The resurrection presupposes God exists. But second, it affirms God intervenes. Again, the Jewish people had no trouble believing in a God who intervenes. They believed God supernaturally created the world, created every living thing, created Adam and Eve. They believed God saved Noah and his family while destroying the earth with water. They believed God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They believed God raised Moses to save his people, worked sign/miracles to deliver his people from Pharaoh, parted the Red Sea, revealed his Law on Mount Sinai, raised up Judges, Kings, and Prophets, sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, and the whole nine yards!
But here again is where we find ourselves at odds in the world. The world might tolerate a belief in God, so long as you don’t allow God to supernaturally intervene in time, space, and history. You can believe in God, so long as you don’t let him answer prayers, move mountains, heal the sick, or work miracles, or resurrect, or intervene in any way. Everything has, and indeed must have, a naturalistic cause/explanation… even if science isn’t advanced enough to explain it.
The Resurrection Affirms Jesus "Is" God
But third, the resurrection affirms Jesus is God. Acts 2:37, “Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus who you crucified both Lord and Christ.” This was the message that most incited Jews. It’s one thing to infer that God exists, or that the God supernaturally intervenes in time, space, history, etc. But it’s quite another to declare Jesus the Son of God by virtue of his resurrection. Yet this is precisely what Peter and the Eleven claim… it’s also what Jesus himself claimed!
In Acts 3 Peter/John heal a crippled beggar. As people marvel at the miracle, they explain how the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (of the Bible) glorified his servant Jesus. And what did the Jews do? They handed Jesus over to be killed. They disowned Jesus, the Holy and Righteous One, before Pilate! Peter says, “You guys killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this!” Over and again, the Apostles would insist Jesus was the Son of God by virtue of his resurrection.
The Resurrection Affirms We Are Accountable.
But fourth, resurrection affirms We’re Accountable. With the resurrection, the Apostles declared every man morally guilty, and morally responsible. In Acts 2:35 they quote David in Psalm 110:1, and point out that not only is Christ reigning at the right hand of God in Glory, but that he is about to make a footstool out of his enemies. In Acts 2:38 they insist that in light of the resurrection, people everywhere repent and be baptized, for the forgiveness of sin, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:40 Peter warns and pleads with the Jewish people, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” In Acts 3:19 Peter says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord…” In Acts 3:20 Peter even speaks Christ returning to restore all things. In Acts 3:26 Peter says, “God sent his servant to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
It’s in Acts 4 that things really come to a head. The religious authorities are “greatly disturbed” because Peter and John were “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead!” Not only were the declaring that Jesus was the raised from the grave, now they proclaiming that through faith in Jesus, we too have hope of resurrection.
This is a fifth and important point about the resurrection. It affirms there is Everlasting Life (HOPE) through faith in Jesus! The authorities absolutely could not refute the Apostles claims, nor the implications of Jesus’ resurrection. Their only recourse was to warn the apostles to “shut up” about the resurrection!
But you can see, Peter and John refused to shut up about the resurrection. In Acts 4:19 they tell the authorities, “judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey man rather God!” And in Acts 4:20 they say, “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard!”
How the Danger Escalates
You should consider how the danger escalates. (1) In Acts 2:13, the Apostles are made fun of, they’re ridiculed, for their belief in the resurrection. Why should we expect anything less than ridicule, for our Christian faith?
(2) In Acts 4, the Apostles are reprimanded and warned not to speak about Christ. Their told not to so much as speak the name of Jesus. This past week I was stunned to hear of a network bleeping out the word “Jesus” as a guest spoke, as if Jesus were some cuss word. They bleep out the name of Jesus, but never that which is vulgar or defiles.
(3) In Acts 5, the Apostles are arrested and put in jail, their flogged, and warned again. I read where a pastor in the UK was arrested for disorderly conduct. He was standing on a street corner, proclaiming the way of Christ, and some people took offense at him. It’s breathtaking to watch how the levers of power, the courts, and laws, litigation… are used to silence believers.
(4) In Acts 6, Stephen is seized. In Acts 7 he is dragged before human court, to give a defense of his believe in the resurrection. By the end of that chapter Stephen has incited the fury of God’s enemies… their gnashing their teeth at Stephen, their screaming and yelling, they rush at him and drag him out to the edge of town, where they stone him. In Acts 8:1 we read how “a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles scattered…”
Friends, the resurrection with all its implications, is the tip of the spear. The resurrection is what’s first and what’s most important.
Keeping the Resurrection Central
I want to leave you with the words of Gamaliel, a teacher of the law. In Acts 5, when the Apostles were arrested, Gamaliel stands up and gives a speaks. He says, “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.”
It’s 2017. Men have been trying for thousands of years to silence the gospel, and the gospel has only spread, and gained strength. If you take anything from Acts, a lesson from Gamaliel. If this thing is truly of God, nobody will be able to stop it, they’ll only find themselves fighting against God. We need not ever be discouraged in the face of danger. We should only be concerned to keep on faithfully proclaiming our hope. No matter the ridicule, the threats, the abuse, the danger, even death… Christ promises to be with us always to the very end of the age.