A Steadfast Profession
5/7/25 Bible Thought (Acts 4)
What would it take for you to give up on Jesus?
In Acts, we see the same Peter who once denied Christ before a servant girl changed. A man forgiven by Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit would no longer be quick to deny his Lord. Instead, we will see that he faces hardships on behalf of Christ and remains steadfast.
In Acts 4, for the first time the apostles are under fire for their faith in Christ. The man who was healed at the Beautiful Gate in the previous chapter was over 40 years old and his healing was obvious and undeniable.
For the religious elites who had utterly rejected the Messiah this was a problem. There was a message going around concerning Jesus that came with the authority to work miracles. This was the same Jesus they’d denied, and now there was a miracle that no one could deny standing before their faces.
As they call the apostles before them, they essentially ask them to explain themselves and this is where it gets really good.
Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, stands before them to give a defense and points to Jesus. He says,
“let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12).
A former denier, Peter now gives a wonderful defense before the religious elites—the same crew that pushed for Jesus’ crucifixion at the hands of Pontius Pilate. Peter points out that the credit for the miracle was all due to Jesus Christ, that He was the prophesied cornerstone (see Ps. 118:22) and that He alone is the way to be saved. This was a bold message to those who thought they were right with God!
The apostles are then threatened and sent away (Acts 4:17-18). Their response? They will listen to God, not men (Acts 4:19) and upon their release they prayed for further boldness to speak the good news of Christ amidst these threats! (Acts 4:29).
The disciples who formerly abandoned and denied Jesus, now professed their faith in Him before the very ones who had Him crucified. They experienced legitimate threats, but they wouldn’t back down, for they could only speak about what they’d seen and heard (Acts 4:20). They knew Jesus had been raised from the dead. They had seen Him, walked with Him, spent time with Him, ate with Him over a period of 40 days.
There would be no denying it: Jesus Christ, though crucified, was now alive and He alone is the way of salvation. They knew this truth from experience and so they wouldn’t back down. Truly, the church’s existence in the world today is the result of faithful believers for centuries who likewise wouldn’t back down when threatened.
What would it take for us to give up, back down, or betray Christ? Will we be faithful like believers from centuries past? We have the same Lord, the same salvation, the same Spirit, the same message—but will we have the same steadfastness?
I pray God gives us the resolve to stand for Him and the exclusivity of the gospel, no matter what threats come our way.
I love it Josiah. One of my favorite verses comes out of this story.
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
Acts 4:13 ESV
Gives me such hope. Uneducated common men…… Only God man!
I often think about the first-century Christians, mothers and fathers included, who went willingly into the coliseum to die for their faith.
It can only be a response to the truth that left no room for compromise. And a love so deep it undid them.