From TeachingtheWord's Bible Knowledgebase Scripture and the Church Suppressing the Truth in Unrighteousness by Dr. Paul M. Elliott Part 2 of a series. Read part 1. In our day, as in Acts chapter four, unholy alliances including selfdescribed Evangelicals can form quickly to suppress the name and truth of Christ. In the first article of this series we began to examine a monumental event, very early in the history of the New Testament church, with strong parallels in our time the formation of an unholy alliance of reputed religious conservatives, liberals, and civil government to suppress the truth of Jesus Christ. A Quickly-Formed Alliance In Acts chapter three, after the risen Christ's power was demonstrated in the healing of a man lame from birth, Peter proclaimed the person and work of Jesus, and God's holy claims upon mankind. In the opening verses of the next chapter, we find that an ad hoc alliance quickly formed to suppress the truth. The apostles Peter and John were immediately imprisoned. And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at 1
Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, 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 stands here before you whole. This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but 2
speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:4-20) The Powerful Name That Offends The name of Jesus is a central focus of the history of the early church recorded for us in the book of Acts. Variations of the phrase "the name of Jesus" "the name of the Lord" "this name" and so on appear as the central theme of the Christian message over thirty-five times in twenty-eight chapters. It is the name of Jesus that offends the unbelieving in all times and all places. Because it wants to remove the offense from the name of Christ and the cross of Christ in order to be acceptable to the world, much of the postmodern church of our day is willing to join in unholy alliances to suppress the name of Jesus, or to name a counterfeit "Jesus" in His place who will not offend anyone. Recently the county council of the area in which our offices are located was in the national news because members of the council who are Evangelical Christians were opening their meetings with prayer in Jesus' name. 1 There is now a federal court injunction against the practice. Let me say that I am no advocate of such "civic prayers." I do not oppose them, as many do, because of some false theory of a supposed separation between religion and the state, but rather for this reason: On the vast majority of occasions, these prayers involve the offering up of vain words by unregenerated people to a holy God who is offended by their sin and their refusal to bow the knee to the authentic Christ who will judge the world. They are among the number at the Last Judgment who will say, "Lord, Lord, did we not do great works in Your name?" but to whom Jesus will say, "I never knew you, depart from Me..." and they will be cast into Hell 3
(Matthew 7:23). But my point in mentioning this news story is that it demonstrates, once again, that it is the name of Jesus that offends the ungodly. An "Evangelical" Opposed to the Name of Jesus Our local county council subsequently voted to stop praying in the name of Jesus, and to comply with a federal court order which says that only nebulous "courtapproved words" referring to "deity" may be used in public prayers. The irony is that the man who is leading the fight against these civic prayers in Jesus' name claims to be an Evangelical and says, "I pray to Jesus every day." But he believes that Jesus' name must be excluded from public prayer because such prayer must be "offensive to no one." So he enthusiastically joins the advocates of "freedom from religion" such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Citizens United for Separation of Church and State in an unholy alliance against the name of the very God he claims to worship. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools... (Romans 1:18-22) 4
Next: The Members of the Unholy Alliance in Acts References: 1. "Carroll County Commissioner Defies Judge's Order Against Sectarian Prayer," Washington Post, March 28, 2014, as viewed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/carroll-county-commissioner-defies-judges-orderagainst-sectarian-prayer/2014/03/28/910f22d8-b6b4-11e3-a7c6-70cf2db17781_story.html sac0118 Copyright 1998-2014 TeachingtheWord Ministriesmmmmmwww.teachingtheword.org All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in its entirety only, for non-commercial purposes, provided that this copyright notice is included. We also suggest that you include a direct hyperlink to this article for the convenience of your readers. 5