“And
he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do
regarding these men. For some
time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four
hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and
came to nothing. After this man,
Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people
after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and
let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to
nothing; but if it is of God,
you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.” –
Acts 5:35-39
There’s an old saying that dates back to the 14th
century that we’ve shortened over the years.
It is “the proof is in the pudding”.
Originally, the saying was more to the tune of the proof of a pudding is
in its eating. It means that the only
way to know if something is good or is successful is for it to be tried.
For me, that’s one of the most overwhelming evidences of
Christianity. It has survived
persecution, martyrdom, the dark ages, and still survives today. There is no business that has been managed by
man to have every survived this long.
There is no government that has survived this long. It has outlasted entire civilizations. And even today, it is the foundation of the lives
of many. The same is true of God’s
word. The Bible has survived even in
nations where it was made illegal to have one.
In Acts 5 Peter and John are thrown into prison for teaching
the gospel of Jesus Christ. But in the
middle of the night, an Angel opens the doors and instructs them to “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of
this life.” The Angel refers to
the gospel as ‘this life’, which is the eternal life afforded by the death and resurrection
of Christ to those that believe in Him.
He instructed them to go to the temple, where people were already gathered
trying to worship God in their own way under the laws of Moses.
When the religious leaders of the council
called for them to be retrieved from the prison, they found the doors of the
prison locked, but Peter and John were not there. When they found they were in the temple
teaching, once again, salvation through Christ, they were outraged!
There was a man there that on day within the
council who was a Pharisee, one who prided himself in being a devoutly
religious man. His name was Gamaliel,
and God’s word says he was “a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people". His advice to the High Priest and Sadducees
was basically, ‘the proof is in the pudding’.
He referred to Theudas who had
also come against the religious council with new teaching “claiming to be
somebody”, and had many followers. But when he died, all who followed him were dispersed,
and no one cared to mention his name again.
There was another even after Theudas called Judas of Galilee who also
rose up and many people followed him.
But when he died his cause died with him.
Gamaliel’s advice was to just wait and see
what would happen being certain that this newfound movement called Christianity
would die with the disciples. He said “for
if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but
if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight
against God.”
And here I rest my case for the cause of Christianity. It has yet to be overthrown, and it will not
be overthrown. Persecution of Christians
will continue, and martyrdom may even take my life. But I am certain that God will endure all our
evil.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands
forever.” – Isaiah 40:8
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