IBS Acts 5:29 (2-18-14)

Inductive Bible Study Method for Acts 5:29 (2-18-14)

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.””

In this section, the apostles had just been freed from prison by an angel. This angel commanded them to go into the temple to teach even though they were thrown in prison for doing just that. They obeyed and were found in the temples, teaching, the next day. The apostles were brought before the council and asked “Didn’t we just tell you to stop teaching in the name of Jesus?” 

This is when Peter spoke up and told the council that their duty was to obey God, not men. He then told them about his God, the true God - the God who gave His Son to be murdered on a tree so that people could be set free, the God who forgives sins, the God who gave the Holy Spirit as a helper to those who obey Him. After this, the council plotted to kill them because of the apostle’s accusations.

God tells us to respect authority in Romans 13:1 - “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” God is in control of who is placed in authority, and He knows everything that happens. The only time we are not to obey the government is when they are telling us to do/not do something contrary to what God says.

This took great faith for the apostles to deny the authorities. They did not hang their heads in shame when being rebuked, rather they blatantly and boldly proclaimed the Name of Christ, even though they knew there would be consequences. Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We should be getting our strength from Christ and fully relying on Him. Our choice is either to conform to the world, or obey when the Holy Spirit prompts us to do or not do something.

Romans 12:2 says “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” When we are seeking God, letting His Holy Spirit lead us, deriving our strength from Christ and continually being transformed by the renewing of our minds - we will have the discernment to know when we should obey men and when we should obey God. 

While I was at home, a lot of people told me that I had the right to be angry at my life situation and I accepted that and believed it. I see now that Jesus doesn’t want me to be angry, He forgave my sins and now I should forgive other’s sins. My application is to go against what the world tells me and to obey what God tells me. I refuse to believe that I have the right to be angry, and choose to give up my anger and let the Holy Spirit give me peace.