The Caldwell Commentaries Podcast

In this lesson, we are brought back to the issue of whether it is right to obey God when His commandments come into direct conflict with those of men in authority over believers.  Peter and John had asked this question as they stood in trial before the High Court Council of Israel, but it had not been answered.  However, the Lord Himself answered the question through the series of events that followed their release!  When the men, with the other Apostles, returned to "preaching Jesus," all twelve were arrested for their disobedience.  But a God-sent angel released them from prison, and they immediately returned to "preaching Jesus" - plus performing all manner of mighty miracles in His name.   The Lord was providing the answer to the question of obeying Him over men when their commandments contradict!  He also gave a direct answer through the mouth of Peter, who spoke on behalf of all the Apostles, when he said (again standing in trial before the Council), "We ought to obey God rather then men" (5:29).

The high priest and others went into a rage and wanted to slay all twelve men!  God intervened by providentially using one of their own members, Gamaliel.  His words spared the men from being killed, although they were each severely beaten.  What the Council members saw after the men were flogged absolutely amazed them!  The men were beaming with joy!  They were thrilled to have been "rewarded" for knowing (in a small way) the fellowship of Christ's sufferings!  They were "Happy to Suffer for Jesus"!

Find out what the Apostles did right after they were beaten and then released!  It is such a strong testimony to us today!

Satan's use of persecution in the arrest of Peter and James by the High Court of Israel had not worked to silence either the Apostles or the Church!  The threats of the religious rulers only succeeded in empowering and emboldening all the early believers even more than before they were persecuted!  Thus, the Evil One tried-on another disguise.  He went from being the roaring lion to the deceiving serpent when he attempted to destroy the unity of purity of the Church from with (the sin of Ananias and Sapphira - see previous lesson).

However, the persecution of the Church by Satan was mightily used by the Lord for her overall good; she was now in possession of great power, great grace, and great fear [of Him] (Acts 4:33, 5:5, 11).  The great fear of the Lord, due to the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, caused the Early Church to be even more effective for Christ!  The result was that multitudes both of men and women were being added to the Lord!  In other words, there was an "Evangelism Explosion"!

In this lesson, all the Apostles are arrested for disobeying the Council's threat not to preach Jesus!  They are liberated from prison by an angel.  What did they do upon being so miraculously released?  Did they run for cover in the Upper Room?  No!  They went straight back to the Temple where they were arrested, and stood up and preached Jesus!

A very, very interesting lesson!  This is the first recorded serious intrusion of "Sin from Within" the Church!  Learn why this lesson is really "the tale of two men, Barnabas and Ananias"?

What did the married couple of this account do to cause both their lives to be taken by God Himself?  Were they saved (true believers) or unsaved?  How do Ananias and Sapphira compare with Adam and Eve?

Peter's word to Ananias of Acts 5:4a repudiate those who claim the Early Church was practicing communism (no private property; an enforcement of communal property)!  Find out how!

In this important lesson on Acts 4:23-33, we learn, by example, how a Spirit-filled Church responds to persecution!  In the previous lesson, we had an example of how Spirit-filled individual Christians respond to opponents of the Gospel.  Now, we are given the example on how the entire body of believers corporately should respond to the persecution of those in the Body of Christ, which is a threat on all of them.

What is our response to the pressures being increasingly brought on Christians in our world (and nation) today?  Do we magnify the power of the Lord in our responses or do we magnify the enemy?  Are we filled with anxiety and fear and anger and resentment?  If so, we are magnifying evil men way out of proportion to the power and authority and sovereignty of our Almighty God!

While Peter (accompanied by John and the healed lame man) was still in the midst of his powerful second sermon (Acts 3:12-26), he was interrupted by the sudden appearance of "the priests . . . the captain of the Temple [guard] . . . and the Sadducees" (4:1).  They came to arrest both Peter and John (likely also the former lame man).  These enemies of Christ were not only furious that His followers were preaching His resurrection, but doing so in broad daylight in the Temple!  Interestingly, in Acts, it is primarily the Sadducees who take the lead in persecuting the Church.  This is because their erroneous theology taught there is no resurrection of the dead!

In this lesson (Acts 4:1-22), we not only discuss the interruption of Peter's sermon (the arrest), but the interrogation he and John faced the next morning before the Sanhedrin Council, the inspiration of Peter's remarkable speech in answer to that interrogation, the immense impression his speech made on the Council, and then their intention to silence them with threats to never speak or teach in the name of Jesus again!

The response of the two Apostles to the threat of those in authority over them to never preach of Jesus was fantastic!!  They would obey the Higher Authority, God!  Anti-Christian governments and powerful institutions are increasingly trying to stop the spread of the Gospel message of Christ Jesus - we need to follow the example of Peter and John!