FENCE STRADDLING
Acts 5:34-40
The book of Acts is not a dull book to say the least. Something seems
to be happening in every verse. This early church energized by the
Holy Spirit finds itself in head itself in facing trouble from the
inside of the church at the beginning of Acts 5. In verse 17 the
church is facing trouble from the outside of the church.
When we come to verse 34 we find trouble from the fence (trouble in
disguise).
Gamaliel, a learned and famous teacher of the law stands up and begins
to speak. He cautions the council to be wise and cites two cases on
record and he then advises the council to spend judgement.
There was a time when I was impressed with Gamaliel. There was a
time when I thought he made a great speech. What he said seemed sober,
sane, sound and sensible. However, the closer I look at his speech,
the less I am impressed with it.
Gamaliel was an appeaser and compromiser. Gamaliel sits on the fence.
The worst enemies of the church are not the opposeres of the church
but the appeasers and compromises.
Gamaliel council is often preferred above Paul today. If Paul clearly
condemns something, his word is pushed aside in favor of Gamaliel’s
council. However, Paul is not alone in this. Gamaliel is even wiser
than the Lord Jesus Christ in the estimation of some. Where Christ
says, "Beware of false prophets," Gamaliel says, "Leave them be; just
watch and wait. Say nothing and do nothing. And if they survive and
flourish, they will prove to be from God."
Who, then, was this man Gamaliel? Was he a good and faithful wise
man? Did he speak from God? Is his celebrated counsel as wonderful as
many seem to think?
Gamaliel was a leading Pharisee, a doctor of the law, and a member of
the Jewish Sanhedrin, who possessed great influence between A.D. 20
and 58. He believed firmly that God’s favor was secured by virtue of
being born a Jew, and by meticulous obedience to the ceremonial law.
As a leading Pharisee, he would have been swamped by
self-righteousness and vehemently hostile to salvation by grace
through faith.
He was well aware of the teaching of John the Baptist, that Christ
was the Lamb of God, appointed to take away the sin of the world. He
was also very familiar with the teaching of Christ, that the law could
not save the soul, and that individuals must repent and be born again
by the power of God. These teachings he rejected. Indeed, he rejected
the idea that Jesus Christ was any more than a man.
"Leave them alone, and let us see what will happen. Don’t get
involved," he suggested.
Now if, Gamaliel’s council is accepted, men must punish nobody, and
all crime must go uncorrected.
Gamaliel’s "do-nothing" counsel would certainly bring to an end all
law enforcement, if adopted by any State. However, God repeatedly
commands in His Word that right conduct should be approved and
wrongdoing should be restrained. The Sanhedrin had a duty to establish
the truth (using the Scriptures) and act accordingly.
If the apostles were teaching correctly, they should been supported
and encouraged. If they were teaching falsehood, they should have been
excluded from the Temple, and the people warned.
Gamaliel and the council should have sided either for or against the
apostles. Gamaliel’s counsel was a total renouncing of
responsibility. He said, in effect, "Time will tell. In the meantime,
it does not matter whom they mislead."
Gamaliel’s counsel was not due to his being a foolish man, for he was
a renowned scholar and thinker. His reasoning was the product of his
fear. He was afraid of the reaction of the crowds in Jerusalem.
The other members of the Jewish Council imagined that they possessed
the social standing and moral authority to get away with whatever
their murderous instincts dictated. Gamaliel knew better, realizing
that the death of the apostles could put the Council itself at risk.
So he warned, "Take heed to yourselves what you intend to do."
Self-preservation and self-interest was the motive behind Gamaliel’s
original counsel
Let us look closer at the statements of this compromiser and notice
three mistakes he made.
I. He asserted a foolish comparison
Gamaliel compares Jesus to a couple of wannabes. Gamaliel, to support
his plea to do nothing, mentioned the cases of two rebel leaders who
had been killed (apparently by the Roman authorities), with the result
their their influence soon declining. The obvious implication was that
Jesus of Nazareth had also been put to death by the Romans, and his
following would doubtless die out in the same way.
He compared Jesus of Nazareth with just another man - Theudas and
Judas. He is talking about two revolutionists. He is comparing the
ministry of Christ with two rebels. Jesus is like another Jewish
rebel. Jesus is not just an another man. Jesus is not on a list to
compare with anyone else. You cannot put Jesus Christ on a list with
anyone else. No one else had a virgin birth. No one else lived a
virtuous life - without sin. Who else can say this? His vicarious
death was unique. He died for the sins of the world. His victorious
resurrection from the dead. Has anybody else done this? Jesus arose
from the dead and is still living. What about his visible accession to
Heaven? There is no one else like Jesus.
You cannot compare Jesus with any other man.
A. Jesus is the INCARNATE one
B. Jesus is the INFINITE one
A preacher one Sunday was standing outside after church waiting for
his family when he thought he would have some fun with one of the
children. Wanting to find out just how much the lad had been learning
in Sunday School, the pastor asked, "Son, if you can tell me one thing
that Jesus can do, I will give you an apple."
The lad looked at the preacher and replied, "Preacher, if you can
tell me one that Jesus can’t do, I will give you a whole truckload of
apples."
1. Infinite In His Duration
He has neither beginning of days nor end of
existence. He is from everlasting to everlasting!
2. Infinite In His Dwelling
He is omnipresent! He is everywhere!
3. Infinite In His Dominance
He is omnipotent!
4. Infinite In His Discernment
He is omniscient. He has perfect
knowledge, and therefore He has no need to learn. He knows what would
have happened if something had happened that did not happened.
C. Jesus is the INDISPENSABLE
one.
No one goes to heaven without Jesus.
Without Him
nothing can be done about salvation, but with Him nothing more need be
done.
D. Jesus is the INCOMPARABLE one
1. Greater priest
than Aaron - Hebrews 7:23-28 "Heb 7:23 And they truly were many
priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of
death: But this man, because he ontinueth ever, hath an unchangeable
priesthood." Hebrews 10:11,12 "And every
priest standeth ..."
2. Greater potentate than David - "King of kings and Lord of
lords" 3. Greater preacher than John the
Baptist - "There standeth one among you, who ye know not; He it is,
who coming after me is preferred before me, whose sho latchet I am not
worthy to unloose." 4. Greater philosopher than Solomon
- Matthew 12:42 "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment
with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the
uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and,
behold, a greater than Solomon is here."
5. Greater prophet than Elijah
E. Jesus Is the Immutable one (He Can’t Be Changed) Malachi
3:6 " For I am the LORD, I change not
II. He advocated some foolish counsel
"Let us measure this
movement by the success that attends it." However, he failed to
note the fall of the false may not take place for many centuries. Has
Islam fallen yet, or Rome, or Hinduism? By Gamaliel’s test, perhaps we
should conclude that these movements are of God.
Gamaliel forgot that God does not judge the false immediately. Some
false institutions will last until Christ destroys them at His Coming.
The counsel of Gamaliel
is true only when set in the context of eternity, and the final
judgment.
According to Gamaliel’s council,
Noah was a failure, but it is evident that God considered him a
success because he is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as a hero of the faith.
If something is not of God it must fail was the
council of Gamaliel. This idea does not take into consideration the
power and presence of the devil. Just because something is big does
not mean that God is blessing it. You cannot adopt the world’s
philosophy on successes to gauge the things that be of God. Oftentimes
it is the minority who is right. In essence
Gamaliel was saying that the determining factor of whether something
is of God is seen in the success that attends it. If it succeeds,
then it is of God, but if not then it isn’t of God.
If success
crowns an endeavor or a movement, then we know it is right was
Gamaliel’s council. A course of action or concept is not to be
judged right if it brings good results, and wrong if it doesn’t seem.
Tody experience, emotion, fashion, and popular opinion are often more
authoritative than the Bible in determining what many Christians
believe.
The only way to judge something accurately is by comparing
it with Scripture. Let the SCRIPTURES be the standard for truth and
not SUCCESS. What is the measure of truth? God has given us a
standard by which we can measure truth, and it is the Word of God.
A Little boy ran home and told his mother
that he had made 100 at school. "Tell me about. " he said.
He replied
happily. "Well, I made a 50 in English, a 30 in math, and a 20 in
science, and that makes 100." It is so important
that we use the right standard so we can measure things correctly.
The rule
that Gamaliel offers of whatever succeeds is of God; whatever fails
is not of God is an invalid principle in a fallen world. Whatever
works is true and right, we think is nothing but Gamaliel’s counsel.
Results do not determine meaning, truth, and value. As
Christians, we are called to trust what the Bible says and leave the
results with Him. Success is
no test of truth, despite was others may say. False cults often grow
faster than the church. If success were the guide to truth, then the
church must be wrong and the cults right. If success were a test of
truth, how long do you have to wait in order to see if something is
successful or not? No matter how you look at it, Gamaliel’s advice was
foolish.
III. He assumed a foolish conclusion
"Refrain from these men, and
let them alone"
You cannot play hands off with the cause of Christ. You cannot
suspend judgment and no nothing. Your are either a Christian or you
are not. You are either gong to heaven or going to hell. There is no
neutrality when it comes to Christ.
Matthew 12:30 "He that is not with me is
against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."
THERE IS NO NEUTRALITY IN THE CAUSE OF CHRIST.
IT IS AN EITHER / OR.
John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Gamaliel wants to do nothing. Too many
people do that today. However, if you do not accept Jesus Christ as
Saviour you will die and go to Hell. You can only say "Yes" or "No" to
Jesus. There is no neutrality.
Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
This is the age of fence straddles, but it is not possible in the
cause of Christ. NEUTRALITY IS OPPOSITION.
I
want people to know where I stand.
There was once a man who walked to
church every Sunday and a stranger asked him, "Why do you to church?
You can’t hear the sermon."
"No," signed the deaf man, "But I can let my neighbors
know whose side I am on."
The devil never had a greater ally than this modern atmosphere in
which everything is good and nothing is bad, and where black and white
are smeared into grey. The truth is you are either
saved or lost; going to heaven or going to hell; condemned or not
condemned, for Christ or against Christ; love the church for which
Christ died or hate the church for which Christ died; helping the
cause of Christ or hindering the cause of Christ. There is no neutral
ground.
Jesus is standing in Pilate’s hall,
Friendless, forsaken, betrayed by all;
Hearken! what meaneth the sudden call?
What will you do with Jesus?
What will you do with Jesus?
Neutral you cannot be;
Some day your heart will be asking,
"What will He do with me?
Conclusion
It is time
we stop straddling the fence. If you straddle the fence; in the end
you will lose. A
hunter who had his gun aimed at a large bear was ready to pull the
trigger. Just then the bear spoke in a soft, soothing voice saying,
"Isn’t it better to talk than to shoot? Why don’t we negotiate the
matter? What is it you want?" The
hunter lowered his rifle and answered, "I would like a fur coat.
"That’s good," said the bear.
"I think that’s something we can talk
about. All I want is a full stomach; maybe we can reach a compromise."
So they sat down to talk it over. A little while
later the bear walked away alone. The negotiations had been
successful--the bear had a full stomach, and the hunter had a fur
coat!
If you continue to
live a life of straddling the fence, it will one day be a life of
regrets. How
thankful I am that on one pupil of Gamaliel did not follow his steps
and heed his advice! That pupil was the apostle Paul. Paul started out
as an opposer but never disgraced our Lord as an appeaser or a
compromiser. You could always tell on his side he was on.
