No One Dared Join

Introduction

Tesla’s Cybertruck “shatterproof” windows being destroyed by a steel ball twice

Tonight’s passage seems like bad PR for God in the 21st C

Read Acts 5:1-11

Explanation

You can’t have the goodness of God without the justice of God. (v. 1-11)

Another way of saying you can’t have Jesus as Savior but not as Lord.

This is in line with how Jesus treated hypocritical religious leaders.

Unrepentant sin rarely is judged as immediately, but it is judged eventually.

We want God to show grace to us and justice to others, not justice to us and grace to others.

Responses to Jeffrey Dahmer’s conversion

Our struggle with seeing God’s grace and truth simultaneously + the solution is not less of one or the other but more of both

When I recognize that my wickedness is darker than I want to admit, and God’s grace greater than I can imagine, I’m motivated to repent when I fall.

The early Christians were too radical to for others to join. (v. 12-13)

For many, the cost of discipleship was too great to pay.

[Henry] walking away when we finally got to the fork in the road

It can be tempting today to lower the standard of discipleship to make following Jesus easier…

Forest Avenue lowering standards to get more students

pride flags out front (progressive), watered down preaching (contemporary), greedy/hateful/gossiping as long as no sex/drugs/rock-n-roll (traditional)

…but in the end, it doesn’t lead to lasting growth.

The early Christians were too enticing to others to stay away. (v. 14-16)

For many, the change among disciples was too great to ignore.

Life change in Dale in HS

Fair or not, our lives are often the receipts people check to determine the validity of our message.

What about when we want to be different but feel like we’re not growing?

Convo with friend recently — zoom out, and big picture you will grow if you keep focusing on Jesus

You can’t focus on Jesus if you don’t turn to him first

Read 2 Cor. 3:15b-4:1