Will We Obey God?

“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Ac 5:29 AV)

Every believer will be faced with this same test.  Peter and others were brought before the authorities and were told to stop preaching Jesus Christ.  The verse above is his response.  And, praise the LORD that he meant it.  The body of Christ today owes its existence to brave men of faith and integrity who acted on their conscience rather than the fear that might have been there from the threats they received.  Praise the LORD they knew it was better to obey God than to obey men.  As I wrote before, this test is not unique to the first generation of preachers.  This has been going on ever since men had authority over one another.  This is not unique to the church or the church age.  From the time Cain killed Abel, the people of that Wicked One have been trying to silence the people of God.  It doesn’t matter whether it is work, school, or our country.  The world will not tolerate the preaching of Jesus Christ.  When the test comes, and it will, we will have a choice to make.

These times of testing are what God uses to grow our integrity and faith.  If we were never tested, we would never grow.  These times of testing come early and often.  They also grow in scope.  When we start out, it might be a family thing that interrupts our obedience to Christ.  A family gathering or obligation is scheduled at the same time the LORD requires your presence elsewhere.  It’s not that the family didn’t know.  They knew you were obligated but felt their demand was greater than God’s.  Would obey God rather than man?  Then comes an employer who wants you to compromise your beliefs for the sake of the company.  This happens all the time.  What will we do?  Will we tell our boss his request will go unmet because God comes first?  What about society?  We have seen this in the news quite a bit in the last few years.  Those who hate God require the people of  God to accommodate their sins.  When we refuse, they take us to court.  Then comes the government.  This is where we are headed.  It has already started.  Several years ago, they required the suspension of all public meetings that didn’t meet their approval.  Churches were among those that didn’t.  Many of us felt the times demanded it and live-streamed through streaming services.  Never again.  We are commanded to assemble.  God knows what He is doing.  It is appointed unto men once to die.  God controls that timing and not nature or man.  The government will begin to tell us who we can and cannot admit to membership.  Our doctrinal statement or church constitution will hold no water. The day is coming soon when the church cannot decide for itself church practice or polity.  What will we do then?

I fear for the church of the future.  Integrity and faith are not grown like they used to be.  We are becoming too soft.  We are allowing the narcissistic nature of our culture to permeate the church.  Our preaching, teaching, and ministry are saint-centered rather than God-centered.  Comfort and peace are our sermons.  We are not raising a generation of men and women who will withstand the fiery darts of the devil.  The shield of faith has cracks in it and the word of God, which is the sword of the LORD, is carried about as though it has chinks, cracks, or structural compromise.  And we have done this to ourselves.  The world, the devil, and the flesh may attack, but it is the saint who has laid down the whole armor of God.  The time is coming and already is here, when the people of God must decide whose side they are on.  It frightens me to consider how many preachers might end up incarcerated for preaching the truth and the churches do nothing.  What will we do?  When Satan comes knocking at the front door, what will we do?  Will we obey God rather than man?