To Speak or Not to Speak

 

Scripture: Acts 4:18-22 (NIV)

¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! ²⁰ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹ After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. ²² For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Devotion:

            In today’s scripture, the disciples have just healed a man who could not stand on his feet since birth. He was reduced to begging for alms. Today, he was at the temple as people entered for a time of prayer. Peter and John were coming for prayer and noticed the man and felt the Spirit’s urging to heal the man. All the crowds saw what had happened. Peter and John began preaching to the crowd about the power of Jesus, who had healed this man.

            This upset the authorities. They tried their best to silence the preaching, eventually calling Peter and John before the High Council of Jewish Authorities, and they were admonished to speak in the name of Jesus no more. However, Peter and John were bold and told the authorities and teachers they would not stop preaching in the name and power of Jesus. This infuriated the officials, but they could do nothing because the crowd was behind Peter and John.

            Christians today find themselves in similar situations. The world tells us that speaking in favor of Biblical views of sexual orientation and gender identity, or abortion is forbidden speech. Not by force of law. (yet) but by social isolation and shunning, as our leaders seek to control speech in a way that is not allowed under the First Amendment to the Constitution and the laws of nature’s God. I propose that we follow John and Peter’s example and speak our convictions on all these issues and more.

            While Christians can no longer boast significant cultural influence, perhaps that is our fault. When the sexual revolution started in the 1960s, the church stayed silent or even approved of this movement. As a church, we lost our moral authority at that time. We have tried repeatedly to regain our voice in culture without effect.

            However, we are at another crucial decision point in 2024. The LGBTQIA+ lobby is close to succeeding in a hostile takeover of our nation. If they are successful, this nation will no longer be livable for Bible-believing Christians, observant Jews, or even religious Muslims. Our speech will be so controlled it will make what happened to John and Peter look like total freedom. Anyone who speaks a word of opposition to this compelled speech will face imprisonment and a fine.

            We must wake up and speak up against these cultural forces as a church. Remembering that we are at war not with mere people but with powers and principalities (See Ephesians 6:10-20) that are very powerful. However, speak up about these abominations. We proclaim Christ and His healing power to our world, desperate for truth. God willing, it is not too late already!