“27. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, 28. Saying, Did not we straightly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. 29. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”
The disciples had been locked in prison because of their boldness in telling others about Jesus Christ. In the same chapter of scripture the Bible tells us that an angel had unlocked the prison doors and commanded them to go speak in the temple. In this passage of scripture we can see how the disciples responded as they were questioned by the high priest, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Its unfortunate that many believers take this passage of scripture out of context. In Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” When God gives us direction in the Bible we must follow the commands of God rather than man. It is the will of God for everyone to be saved, we must not allow man to stop us from God’s command in preaching the gospel. The devil is at work and his desire is to keep everyone from heaven. We must tell others about Jesus Christ! So, where do people take this out of context? There was a hunter one time that was new into hunting, he decided to squeeze the release on a small buck. After retrieving the deer he decided to allow the land owner to tag the buck he killed so he could continue hunting. After confronting the hunter about his actions he quickly responded along the lines of God giving us the animals and there are times in the Bible when you don’t have to follow the law. He was very unlearned and ignorant to the Word of God. There have been many others that convince themselves that there is nothing wrong with bagging or tagging multiple animals that they don’t have tags for. If you put a tag on your buddies deer or turkey, that means you willingly put incorrect information on your game tag. The Bible still calls that lying, “thou shalt not bear false witness.” There is never a time that God leads you to break game laws. Read Romans chapter 13, God gives us very clear instruction to abide by the laws of the land; Vs 2 “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” So when is it ok to break the law? When we look at the Bible the only exception we can find is for the will of God. What is the will of God? John 6:40 says its “to believe on the Son.” Peter had an exception in breaking the law, he was following the command of God in spreading the gospel. Don’t forget that hell is forever. If your a believer, don’t be a bad testimony when your chasing a wild animal! James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
Memory Verse Week 2/26/18
Acts 5:29
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”
