We can't keep quiet

We can’t keep quiet!

Acts 4:18-20 MSG [18-20] They called them back and warned them that they were on no account ever again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John spoke right back, "Whether it's right in God's eyes to listen to you rather than to God, you decide. As for us, there's no question---we can't keep quiet about what we've seen and heard."

Peter and John found themselves called before the religious authorities because of a miracle they performed in the name of Jesus. What should have been a cause for great rejoicing had become instead, an offence to these ‘religious’ men.  

They had been entrusted by God to guard His Word, His Temple and His mission.

What had started as a holy charge fulfilled by courageous and faithful men (Moses, Aaron, David, etc) had become positions of power and self aggrandisement.   God no longer really featured in their decisions or life.

They still has all the outward forms of religion, but there was no reality there. It all looked magnificent to the outsider, but in God’s eyes it stank like rotten meat, which is what the sacrifices had become.   All that mattered now was preserving their own positions of power and prestige.

How contemporary this all looks and feels!  It is no wonder that the average person wants nothing to do with God as represented by organised religion.

They can, quite rightly, see the hypocrisy and abhorrent behaviour of some religious people, particularly those who purport to represent God in leadership positions.

I share the disgust that so many feel, as I am sure many of you readers do as well. Our media are filed day by day with accounts of the most horrific of behaviours by clergy and others who purport to act in the name of God. How can you not be disgusted!

Yet for all this horror, that is not the worst of it.

In absolute terms, the affront to the name, honour, and glory of the holy God is dragged trough the mud.

He who created all things is cast aside as being of no consequence to the beginning, ongoing and future life of each individual and the cosmos at large.  

He who gave His only Son to die for us and who rose from the dead as the first fruits of all who become part of His new creation, is treated as a joke, and His enemies exalted.

The main question I have is “why are you waiting, Lord?” Then I remember that His delay is a sign of His mercy so that many others will become part of the new creation.

And still those who carry His name, “go to church”, and live self indulgent lives, are offended by those who take Jesus seriously and act in obedience to ALL that He has commanded.

All the time people in other cultures suffer torture and loss of life for standing up for Him. AND THE CHURCH IS SILENT BUT COMFORTABLE.

Acts 4:18-20 MSG [18-20] They called them back and warned them that they were on no account ever again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John spoke right back, "Whether it's right in God's eyes to listen to you rather than to God, you decide. As for us, there's no question---we can't keep quiet about what we've seen and heard."

Rise up all you Peters and Johns and refuse to keep quiet.