But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins."
Acts 5:30-31
The first thing this little passage from Acts teaches us is how dangerous it is to quote scripture out of context! How many times have we heard radio and TV preachers thunder: "The BIBLE says….." and then go on to make their point? Should obeying the law of God encourage us to not pay our taxes? How about an eye for an eye or stoning adulterers, or blaming the Jewish people for Christ's crucifixion? Taken in context, however, these verses are an inspired response by Peter to the high priest who had forbidden the apostles to preach the risen Christ to the people and had only been guilty of being anti-establishment and full of enthusiasm at having been miraculously freed from prison. Taking the passage by itself, however, does cause us to think. It justifies those who worked against Nazi and Soviet dictators and who fight the evil regimes of our own time. It may even confirm a conscientious objector who refuses to go to war. This passage shows that we have to study the WHOLE Word of God in order to realize His Will for us so that we can share the wild joy of the apostles over the risen Christ.
Michael Ryan
