What Shall We Do?

And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God. Acts 5:38-39

They say opposites attract. That was definitely the case with my husband and me. His strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa.

Of course that means we often have opposite reactions to things. Whereas he might get excited about an idea and want to forge ahead, I’m more likely to sift through the pros and cons and point out the possible problems.

The gospels and the book of Acts are full of examples of people’s reactions to Jesus and his teaching, and those reactions often contrasted dramatically too. When Jesus’s teachings became controversial, some people stopped following him, but when Jesus asked the twelve if they would also go away, Peter answered, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” (John 6:68).

Basically with Jesus there are two opposite choices. Take him or leave him.

In Acts 2 Peter again proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, now risen from the dead. Among those present were some of the same religious leaders who had been behind the mock trial and the crucifixion of Jesus. Peter didn’t hold back. He boldly said, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ,” (Acts 2:36).

How did they react? “When they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said …’Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” (v. 27). Peter told them to repent and be baptized, and that day over 3,000 people became Christians, even before the term had been coined.

But a few days later, when Peter preached basically the same message after healing a lame man (Acts 3), he and John were arrested and brought the next day before the council which included the very high priest who had overseen Jesus’s trial and condemnation. After Peter gave his testimony, he and John were sent out, and those of the council “conferred among themselves, saying, ‘What shall we do to these men?’” (4:16).

What shall we do? It was almost the same question asked in chapter 2, but this time it meant, “What are we gonna do to get rid of these guys?”

Some Pharisees spent just as much time and energy trying to get rid of the apostles as they had spent getting rid of Jesus. Eventually most of the apostles died as martyrs, yet the church still spread and continues to this day. Those unbelievers were “fighting against God,” as Gamaliel put it in Acts 5:39, and that is always ultimately a losing proposition.

But many people who reject Jesus do not spend any time or energy attacking him, his followers, or his teachings. They simply go their own way. Nevertheless, they too are fighting against God.

In college, I had a friend named Erica. She was not a believer, but, like Gamaliel, she thought it was enough just to leave Jesus and his followers alone. One time she brought up Mark 9:40 where Jesus said, “he who is not against us is on our side.” But the context there speaks of people who are doing good in Jesus’s name, not people who are simply indifferent to Christ.

In one conversation I pushed Erica to answer the question: if she were wrong, what would happen when she dies? She tried to avoid it but finally blurted out, a bit miffed (I can hardly blame her), “I guess I would go to hell!”

Perhaps I shouldn’t have pushed her like that. But there’s no middle ground with Jesus. You can take him, or you can leave him. But it doesn’t end there. When you fight against God, it isn’t like fighting with your spouse over a difference of opinion. When you fight against God, you’re wrong. And your eternal soul is at stake.

When it comes to Jesus, what shall we do? We can follow him or fight against him. There is no middle ground.

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

Dear Heavenly Father, we pray today for those who have thus far rejected Jesus. Please soften their hearts and open their eyes to Your saving truth, and give us wisdom to know how to reach them. Forgive us for the times we have fought against you by seeking our own will. Remind us that You expect and deserve our full commitment. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins