The Church: We Must - Acts 5:12-32

Risen Church NC

As Acts continues, the Disciples continue to prove how serious they took the Words of Jesus, and how crucial they believed their obedience was to the Church's expansion. They also trusted Jesus' assertion that true joy was locked behind total surrender to God's Kingdom. In Acts 5, we witness Peter and his companions risk everything to preach the Gospel and once again they are put on trial. The authorities were as amazed as they were insulted. How and why would anyone be so bold and brave, knowing their lives were at stake? Peter's testimony is even more astounding this time, as he gives perhaps his most famous response, "We must obey God rather than men." Here Peter underscores his drive as a Christian. More important than obeying his or anyone else's will, is surrendering to God's. We all have our "musts", things that take priority in our lives. Where does God and His Kingdom rank on that list? Only when we see our place in Christ as our most defining and most fulfilling, will we see our obedience as our most important.