Cheap Christianity

Everything 99 cents

Everything looks like the real thing, but it is not

It is a cheap knock off

We continue the story of Acts through Chapter 5

Ritter told us the story of Church as it began to grow, but he also warned us not to fall into the trap of doing things for ourselves or doing stuff just to receive self glory, as Ananias and Sapharia.

From the inception of the church, God demanded the church to represent him in a right manner

God would not let anything derail this new work he was doing through the birth of the church

Verse 11 states, “great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. the events of Ananias and Sapphira,

The disciples continued their ministry throughout Jerusalem

As I look at this passage, two things jumped out at me when we I looked at this passage:

Cheap Christianity will not survive

Mission of God cannot be stopped

VERSES 12-16

The Disciples enter into the temple once again, in the same place where the lame man was healed

There ministry, empowered by the Holy Spirit, continued and began to grow.

The disciples remained faithful to their calling and continued to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit

They opened up their lives and were being used by God to help birth the church

Reminds me of the story in Luke when Christ tells of the parable of the Ten Minas

The Disciples continued in their ministry and people were hearing the word and they remained in one accord

But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however the people held them in high esteem

There were those who stood off in the distance who were afraid to come forward.

This verse points back to verse 11

The gospel demands that we make a commitment to following Christ

It is counting the cost, a cost that puts Christ first in our lives, a cost that might cost us everything in this life

our career, our reputation, friendships, acceptance, and in some cases our very lives

It reminds me of the parable of the rich ruler in Luke 18

The power of the gospel will change our lives

The gospel does not just free us from the power of sin,

IT doesn’t just provide forgiveness of sin,

The gospel changes and conforms our lives into the image of Christ

IT is restoring us, redeeming us through the power of Christ to live in way that reflects Christ in our lives

Colossians 3:1–11 ESV

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

The gospel of Christ changes us, and that change demands a commitment to keeping Christ Lord of our lives

Many years ago came cross a book by AW. Pink on the transformational work of the Word of God in our lives, listen to what he says concerning making Christ Lord of our Lives

“When Christ is supreme in the heart, joy fills it. When He is Lord of every desire, the Source of every motive, the Subjugator of every lust, then will joy fill the heart and praise ascend from the lips. The possession of this involves taking up the cross every hour of the day; God has so ordered it that we cannot have the one without the other. Self-sacrifice, the cutting off of a right hand, the plucking out of a right eye, are the avenues through which the Spirit enters the soul, bringing with Him the joys of God’s approving smile and the assurance of His love and abiding presence. Much also depends upon the spirit in which we enter the world each day. If we expect people to pet and pamper us, disappointment will make us fretful. If we desire our pride to be ministered to, we are dejected when it is not. The secret of happiness is forgetting self and seeking to minister to the happiness of others. "It is more blessed to give than to receive," so it is a happier thing to minister to others than to be ministered to.”

I am tired of cheap Christianity

Christianity that accepts the forgiveness of sin, but with no desire to allow the work of the gospel in their lives and be transformed by it.

I am tired of cheap Christianity, that focuses on the benefits of Christ love, but doesn't call a person to see that it was their sins that placed Christ on the cross

As the disciples continued to preach and do miraculous ministry, there were those who found themselves afraid of coming forward, being seen with this new movement.

They wanted to experience the miracolous healings, but did not want to be counted among those who truly followed Christ

But there were others who came to Christ and who counted the cost

And noticed what happened in their lives, they were immediately change and began to reach out to others so they might experience the life changing work of God in their lives.

VERSES 17-42 The mission of God cannot be stopped

We discover immediately the heart of the issue in this passage

The Jewish leadership were filled with jealousy over the success of the message of Christ

As the ruling religious leadership in the area, Christianity began to spread like wild fire, and their control over the people and their ability to move with ease within the Roman Empire was threatened

They were loosing control and they were threatened by this new movement

They attempted to squash this movement once before through the imprisonment of Peter and John, but it had the opposite effect.

They were increasingly becoming more bold in their proclamation of the gospel.

Their concern of their own wellbeing was no longer an issue

They could not but help proclaim the goodness of God to all who they came into contact with.

So the Sadducees had them arrested and placed them in a public prision

A Prison where everyone would see them, and know they were awaiting trial

Their attempt to humiliate them and to degrade their message would only backfire on them

In the midst of persecution, God will take care of us

As we take stand for the God and the gospel of Jesus Christ, God provides for us in a way, a way that is supernatural

Many times I have found myself in some precarious situations, situations where I could have easily endured physical persacution or even death, but in the midst of it, Christ sustained me and gave me the boldness to stand for him

He gave me a peace that passed all understanding, and allowed me to stand in the power of his Spirit and proclaim his truth to another.

GOd did the same for the disciples here

God sends a messenger to his faithful with a mission

Vs. 20 tells us, they were to go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of life, or the literally to preach the complete message concerning the word of life.

This was not a time to back down, this was a time to push forward

Grant Biography on History Channel

The battle of Shiloh.

THe confederate army had made a suprise attack, and grant looked like he was about to be defeated, but the next morning he made a counter attack and won the battle of Shiloh, a decisve battle during the civil war.

In the same way, the disciples backs were against the wall, but God had a plan and God counter attack and the gospel went forth. and lives were changed

VERSES 21b-33

THe encounter with the Sadducees

We must obey God rather than man

When is civil disobedience mandated

We are encourage by both Paul and Peter to obey those God has placed over us, specifically governing officials.

They were appointed by God

We are therefore called to obey

But we are to obey God rather than man, when it comes to the point of where they say we cannot worship Christ

Daniel and the lions den, fire

Peter was commanded by God to proclaim this message and he and the disciples were going to continue doing so

Notice Peter continues to proclaim the message even to the Sadducees

Verses 34-42

The Sanhedrin wanted them to be executed by a Roman type of execution.

But Gamaliel a pharisee of the minority party, stood up and became an advocate for them.

He was not an advocate for the gospel or the church

But he understood that their deaths might just cause their message to spread even further

But God can and will use those outside of the faith to further his cause.

Remember Balaam’s donkey back in Numbers 22.

READ 33-38

OR you might be fighting against God

That is the wrong side of the fence you don't want to be on.

VERSE 40-42

Rejoicing in the victories of God

They new the battle belonged to the Lord, and they were on the winning side

People ask, I cant believe they rejoiced for being beat.

But if you have ever been a part of a team where you suffered injury, but won the event, you rejoice, because through the pain and the suffering, once the victory has been accomplished, the reward is sweeter than the pain we experienced to get there.

The monetary suffering fades to the background and we rejoice in the goodness of God

Cheap Christianity will not survive, I have seen it over and over again, but Christianity that is fully realized and lived out, is one where the gospel of Christ cannot be stopped, where the love of God conquers the hearts of people and changes lives.