Acts of the Apostles: Official Opposition

Bible Text: Acts 4: 1-31 | Preacher: Pastor Mark Verbruggen | Series: The Acts of the Apostles | In Acts 3:6 the apostle Peter says to a man who had never walked before, “In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, walk.” With these simple words, not only did the man begin to walk, he also
started “jumping and praising” God. As the people looked on with wonder and amazement over
what had just happened, Peter delivered a Christ-centered, God-glorifying sermon in order to
explain it all. Acts 3 began with a miracle which was then followed by a sermon. Today we read
about the consequences of all this in Acts 4.
Where Christ is proclaimed and the Kingdom of God is revealed, you can be sure opposition to
that Word and proclamation will also arise. Love, grace, and truth are not the natural
disposition of humanity no matter what secular humanists want us to believe. By nature, the
world is not bent towards grace and truth and they are outright hostile to the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Peter and John will come to learn this truth. In Acts 4:12 Peter concludes his message to
the Temple authorities saying, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Once these words are spoken, they
become the life and cause of the “Official Opposition”.