Job #1
There is no doubt the devil loves to distract the church. One of the most effective tools in Satan’s work against the advancement of the Gospel message is to get us focused on something other than sharing the good news with others.
When the apostles were arrested in the Temple (Acts 5:12–32), it followed a daily routine of being in Solomon’s Colonnade teaching the people. The focal point of their message was Jesus and the resurrection. God had been blessing their labors by adding to the church, through the preaching of the Word. As the Word increased, so did the church.
The arrest of Peter and John by the Sanhedrin came with a warning not to preach (4:18). They told the supreme court of Israel that they would continue to obey God and preach Christ. It is noteworthy in the book of Acts that the early church’s primary concern was to go the place of worship and proclaim Jesus the Nazarene.
In our day, there is no end to alternative gospels: prosperity, social, culturally relevant, political, liberation, woke, etc. It is crucial for Christians to remember the work of the early church was missional. We cannot deny the reality of community life forming for the growing church at Jerusalem (Acts 2:42–47; 4:32–35), but their primary labors were prayer and the ministry of the Word.
None of the established parties in Israel fully embraced the Nazarenes, but there were individuals from the groups that realigned with these Jewish believers in Jesus. The threat to the religious authorities was real. In threatening punishment for the apostles, the antithetical message condemning the Sanhedrin remained clear. They had killed the Messiah. Still, God continued to demonstrate His approval of the apostles and their message by providing signs, miracles, and wonders.
The second arrest in the growing resistance against these followers of Jesus found all of the apostles in public jail (5:18). Supernatural liberation came from the Angel of the Lord, who freed the apostles on the night before their trial. He gave them instructions to return to the Temple and to preach the whole message of this Life (5:20). In obedience, the apostles were again defying the religious leaders. To preach or not to preach was “the” question.
There is no resistance when the church feeds the poor, offers medical care, drills wells, or any number of other humanitarian activities. Trouble from the adversary is linked directly to the Gospel ministry. When the evangel is put forth, there is going to be trouble.
Binding the Word of God is the evil work done when distractions fail to entice believers away from their primary task. When the church persists in Job #1, the devil schemes to take out the preachers.
The apostle Paul offers the challenge and the inspiration, “…I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal, but the Word of God is not imprisoned (2 Tim 2:9).” In chains or released, our job is to preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2). May we pray for boldness, and then may we be bold in proclaiming Christ (Acts 4:31; 2 Cor 11:21; Eph 6:20; Phil 1:14; Col 1:28; 1 Thess 2:2).
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
June 2, 2021
