What will people around you say?

Yesterday, I preached out of Acts 5. In this text, one particular verse struck me as amazing. It relates to the impact the Christians in Jerusalem had on their city during the early days of Christendom. It made me wonder, “What will people around you, me, or us say?”

Here is the verse (with an additional verse for context):

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” (Acts 5:27-28)

Did you catch that? When Peter and the other Apostles had been strictly forbidden to preach the name of Jesus to anyone in Jerusalem, they are charged with filling Jerusalem with their teaching.

They are told to not share Jesus with the world around them – an unbiblical command which Peter broke.

What comes next? The high priest says that the whole city is filled with their teaching.

What do the people around you say?

The early apostles were forbidden to teach about Jesus. Yet, their city was filled with the doctrine. How about you? For almost 100% of my readers in the United States, they are not forbidden to tell anyone about Jesus. In certain workplaces, the HR department may have legislated to not talk about religion at work; however, those same individuals can talk about Jesus outside work. For the rest of us, we can talk about Him, share the truth, and invite others to follow Him anytime we wish.

Yet, do we?

Would anyone ever blame us for the whole city being filled with the doctrine of Jesus Christ?

Or, is it possible, although we every opportunity to legally share the story and message of Jesus Christ in and around our communities in the United States, that we fail to share the message of Jesus?

As you begin your new work week, would you take a moment and challenge yourself with this question? Would anyone around you ever accuse you of filling a conversation, a room, a workplace, an organization, or a city with the story of Jesus Christ?

Will you accept this challenge? What will people around you say this week?

Image Credit Joel Muniz