A Pharisee Named Gamaliel
Bro Whitney Belbin

Acts 5:34
"Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;"

Acts 5:35
"And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men."

Acts 5:36
"For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

Acts 5:37
"After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed."

Acts 5:38
"And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:"

Acts 5:39
"But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."

Here we see a man, a Pharisee no less, a teacher of the law. Belonging to the sect that Jesus Himself called hypocrites showing much more wisdom in his thinking then even some of the so-called Christians of our Age. He shows this wisdom in his knowledge that if a work is not of God then that work will not stand. He even goes as far as to show this by example:

Acts 5:38-39
"And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."

Thank God He even uses non-believers as examples for us!

It is not our place to be judging who is and who is not doing Gods work.

We are not called to be judges. We are called to be saints.

Praise God.

Lets look over at an example in which even the disciples themselves needed correcting by our Lord concerning this very matter:

Mark 9:38
"And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us."

Mark 9:39
"But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me."

Mark 9:40
"For he that is not against us is on our part."

Matthew 12:30
"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."

The Lord knows who is His. The Lord knows who is and who is not doing His work and will deal with them accordingly.

But the Lord does not want us ignorant either; the Lord does not want us following every spirit that happens to wonder down our path. We are told to try the spirits. That is investigate or check out what is being taught or spoken. 1 John 4:1 says "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

We should all know that we are to compare things spiritual against scripture, 1 Corinthians 2:13 states "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual"

If any mans teaching is not in line with the Holy Word of God that teaching is false. The word of God itself states that over in the book of 2 Peter chapters 1 verse 20 "Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation."

Scripture teachings must line up fully with all other scripture.

If there is something being preached, something being taught that does not align with the holy word of God then that mans teaching is false. That teaching may lead you down the wrong road. The Bible says we are to compare spiritual things with spiritual. That is not just a good suggestion or a wonderful truth taught in the Bible but a clear warning!

Matthew 7:15
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

A prophet is not just someone who told of coming events as in the Old Testament but rather anyone who is or claims to be a spokesman for God. There are many false prophets today as there were in the time of Christ and before and this we should be aware of.

How can we as Christians know the scriptures?

Study.

In the book of 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 15 the word says "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

I have to admit to you all here now; I have been lacking in this very thing. When I was asked to give a sermon the first time I was out of the practice of study. Don't get me wrong I was reading but I was not studying. The Bible is an amazing book. The words never change but the Holy Spirit through study reveals truths we may miss otherwise.

We may not all agree on every teaching and there are some things being taught that just don't matter. If the scriptures do not tell us specifically how to do certain thing or not to do a certain thing a certain way than I believe it is a matter of conscience that we do or do not do it. We can see this in the book of Acts chapter 14.

We are not here to debate; we are not here to argue if there are six or seven distinct dispensations (the way that God dealt with men during certain time periods in the Bible). We are not here to worry about the actual length of a cubit, the monetary amount of a shekel or the true location of Eden.

Jesus did not come to start a political revolution. He did not call us to fight the government or our leaders but to pray for them. In my own opinion, we are not called to boycott Disney, or to march around abortion clinics. We are called to pray. We are called to contend for the faith. We are called to watch. We are called to keep lost souls out of Hell!

With that last statement there should be no disagreement. We are here to do the will of our Father just as Jesus Christ our perfect example:

Look over at John chapter 4 verse 34 "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

Just as Jesus was called to finish His perfect work, that being the perfect sacrifice for sinful mans redemption, we too are called to finish the work that we have laid before us.

Just as the disciples in Mark chapter 16 verse 15 "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

We too are commanded to preach the gospel unto every creature. That is not to say we have to stand up before thousands, or hundreds, or even tens of people. Start where you live, tell your neighbors, tell your friends. If you are shy pass out tracts, but let the truth be known.

We as a people are the church, the called out ones of God. We should stop all petty squabbling and get about the Fathers business; we should put behind the things that are not needed to bring the lost ones to Christ or for edification or the sanctification of the saints and get busy for the greater good. And that being the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But we must agree on the basic teachings of Christ,

That He is who he said he is:

1 John 4:15
"Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God."

John 10:30
" I and my Father are one."

That He came to die for the sins of the World

John 1:29
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

John 12:27
"Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour."

That He rose again:

Mark 16:6

"And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

Matthew 28:7
"And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you."

That He alone is the only way of salvation:

Acts 4:12
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

On these things there should be no disagreement. On these things we should not waver. We must stand fast and not move to the right side or the left side on the basics principles of Christianity. We can not water it down or get away from the truth.

There is only one truth!!!

And we must tell it with unity

I have had the unsaved ask, "Well how do I know what to believe, how do I know what the Bible teaches?"

My friend the first thing you must do is come to Christ, the Bible is clear on that point also.

1 Corinthians 2:14 states "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

If you are not saved, in your natural or unregenerate state you will never come to the full understanding of the word. You are as a blind man. But Praise God He can give you light, He wants to give you the sight you need.

We read in the word of God

Isaiah 42:16
"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."

Mark 10:49
"And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee."

My Friend, If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior you have read all there is that is needed to do so right now.

You have heard that He is the Son of God and God Himself, You have heard that He died on the cross for your sins, and that he has risen again. All you have to do is accept the gift of eternal life, just pray to God and admit you're a sinner and ask forgiveness in Jesus name. Ask Jesus into your heart.

He alone is the only means of salvation.

Friend won't you accept Christ? Jesus wants to open your spiritual eyes; He is calling you now. Wont you answer?

You may not have another time. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 2 says "For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

Today is all you have. You may not have tomorrow. Wont you do it now?

If you DO understand, if you DO see, take note of the following verse and ask yourself is it worth your sin remaining. Is it worth spending an eternity in hell because you just chose not to accept Jesus Christ as your savior?

John 9:41
"Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth."

There is only one truth

He alone is the only means of salvation

Today is MAY BE all you have. You may not have tomorrow

Think about it.

For the saved here for the redeemed I say once again. We as a people are the church, the called out ones of God. We should stop all petty squabbling and get about the Fathers business; we should put behind the things that are not needed to bring the lost ones to Christ or for edification or the sanctification of the saints and getbusy for the greater good. And that being the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you are not sure of your salvation, or have never heard of or accepted the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ and would like to know for sure that your sins can be forgiven please read "Gods Simple Plan Of Salvation" through the link on the home page or e-mail me. I would be glad to help.