“Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” (Acts 5:20)
At the start of Acts 5, Luke related the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira. This couple apparently thought they could gain status and honor by appearing to make a great donation to the Church. They sinned not because they held back some of the money but because they lied to the Holy Spirit. They gave to exalt themselves rather than glorify the name of the Lord. Therefore the Lord punished them quite severely. Because of this miraculous judgment some of the Jews were afraid to associate with the apostles, yet many more joined with them because they were attracted by the realization that the Lord was truly with them. His presence was demonstrated by all the miracles that the apostles performed in Jesus’ Name. These authenticated the power and authority of the apostles and demonstrated the love of God for a helpless and oppressed people.
Since the apostles were attacking the kingdom of Satan, he provoked his followers, in this case the hypocritical religious leaders of the Jews, to persecute them. Despite this, the apostles continued to boldly proclaim the gospel for they knew the Lord was with them in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
The faithfulness of the apostles to their call is an example for us to follow. We too are undergoing persecution from the servants of Satan, those enslaved to idols and false religions to be sure but those who come as angels of light disguised as benevolent leaders and politicians as well as famous, wealthy, and powerful people who control or influence the media and our various social and cultural systems. As servants of Satan they claim promote immorality and pluralism under the label of tolerance.
This persecution we are enduring is growing in intensity as many seek to silence the gospel. Our persecution is not quite as serious as the persecution our brethren in Africa and Asia are enduring. There many of our brethren there are being martyred for the faith. We must pray that the Lord would protect and encourage them with the assurance that He is with them, as He is with us. He will never forsake us even in the darkest of times, so we can boldly proclaim the Word of God, the gospel of the love of Jesus Christ just as the apostles did.