Objective: To consider the nature of the opposition the Church faces, internally and externally and how it should be faced.

1. Internal Opposition to the Work of God

1.1 The Generosity of Believers Examined 4:32-37

1.2. The Deception of Satan Exposed 5:1-11
1.2.1 The Sin of Ananias and Sapphire 5:1-2
1.2.1.1 They were consumed with Pride and Envy
1.2.1.2 They were energised by Satan 5:3
1.2.1.3 They had Lied Against God 5:4
1.2.2 The Courage of Peter 5:3-4
1.2.3 The Judgement of God 5:5-10
1.2.4 The Impact on the People 5:11

1.3 The Ministry of the Apostles Explained 5:12-16
1.3.1 The Unique Power of God
1.3.2 The Abiding Purpose of God
1.3.2.1 Credentials as the Son of God
1.3.2.2 Compassion for human need
1.3.2.3 Communicate spiritual truth
1.3.3 The Unfolding Pattern of God
1.3.3.1 Credentials 5:12 New power
1.3.3.2 Compassion 5:15-16 New bodies
1.3.3.3 Communication 5:14, 20 New life

2. External Opposition to the Work of God

2.1 The Council: Attacking the Truth Acts 5:17-28
2.1.1 Disobedience 5:28
2.1.2 Heresy 5:28
2.1.3 Jealousy 5:17
2.1.4 Guilt 5:28

2.2 The Apostles: Affirming the Truth Acts 5:29-33
2.2.1 The Apostles would not change their Methods 5:19-20
2.2.2 The Apostles did not change their Message 5:30-32

2.3 Gamaliel: Avoiding the Truth 5:34-39
2.3.1 Scepticism 5:36-37
2.3.2 Cynicism
2.3.3 Pragmatism 5:38-39
2.3.4 Agnosticism 5:38-39

2.4 The Church: Announcing the Truth Acts 5:40-42
2.4.1 How: "Rejoicing in suffering" 5:41
2.4.2 What: "Teaching and Preaching" 5:42
2.4.3 When: Daily = spontaneous taking opportunities
2.4.4 Where: In the Temple & from house to house

Our chapter in this seminar may be divided into two. Internal and external opposition to the church. Remember there were no chapter divisions in the original. There is therefore continuity between chapters 4-5.

1. Internal Opposition to the Work of God
Before we look at the story of Ananias and Sapphira, lets just note the context. Read 4:32-37

1.1 The Generosity of Believers Examined 4:32-37
From time to time, when there was a need in the fellowship, the Holy Spirit directed someone to meet it. What they did was purely voluntary and was motivated by love. Its at this point Luke includes the example of Barnabas. He was a generous giver and a good illustration of what Luke was explaining. Further more Barnabas was going to become a crucial influence in the future ministry of Paul and Mark in the months and years to come.

But there is another reason what Luke links these two stories together, the one of Barnabas, and the other of Ananias and Sapphire, for remember there were no chapter divisions in his mind when he wrote this.

Until this point Satan had failed completely in his attempt to silence the witness of the Church. His approach had been to attack the Church from the outside, hoping that arrest and threats would frighten and silence the leaders. Clearly he failed. The arrest of Peter and John had had no effect what so ever, just the reverse, the Church kept on growing.

Satan would not give up, he merely changed his tactics. Instead of attacking the Church from outside he tried from the inside, using people that were part of the fellowship.

Luke places these two episodes together perhaps to show that the generosity of Barnabas was counterfeited by Satan. Perhaps his noble act filled Ananias and his wife with envy, so that they attempted to impress the Church by their giving aswell. Little did they realize how expensive it was going to be. The Generosity of Believers Examined,

1.2. The Deception of Satan Exposed 5:1-11

1.2.1 The Sin of Ananias and Sapphire 5:1-2
They had sold a piece of property. It was theirs. They did not have to sell it. They kept some of the proceeds, and gave some to the Church. They didn't have to give anything, they didn't have to give it all. That was not their sin.

1.2.1.1 They were consumed with Pride and Envy
George MacDonald the spiritual father of C.S. Lewis once said,

"Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be what one is not." Jesus called it hypocricy, deliberate deception, trying to make people think we are more spiritual than we are. Why was their sin so serious ?

1.2.1.2 They were energised by Satan 5:3
Satan is a liar and he lied through this couple. They were so consumed with envy that they allowed Satan to control their actions. They were consumed with pride. They were energised by Satan,

1.2.1.3 They had Lied Against God 5:4
That was what had made their sin so serious. Its clear that their sin was premeditated, deliberate, intentional and planned. Ananias means "God is gracious", but he learned that God is also holy; and Sapphira means "beautiful", but her heart was ugly with sin. Its easy to condemn them for their dishonesty, but we need to examine our lives to see if our profession is backed up by our practice. The Sin of Ananias and Sapphire? Consumed by pride and envy, energised by Satan and lying against God.

1.2.2 The Courage of Peter 5:3-4
It took great courage by Peter to confront this couple with their duplicity. He clearly received this information from the Lord, but he still stepped out and acted. Peter was not responsible for their deaths.

He simply unmasked their sham, uncovered their hypocrisy and laid bare their deception. If you look at 4:29-30 you will see that earlier in response to persecution the church had prayed for courage to do God's will. This is how God answered that request. Its always hard to speak the truth in love, but discipline is essential if there is to be health and growth. The Sin of Ananias The Courage of Peter.

1.2.3 The Judgement of God 5:5-10
This is clearly stated in verses 5-6 and 9-10. What is described here is not a case of Church discipline. Rather it is an example of God's personal judgement. God loves His Church and His jealous for her purity.

It has been purchased by the blood of His Son, and has been built to glorify Him. They had presumed to test God 5:9. It is a fearful thing to do.

They were actually defying God, daring Him to act, and He acted with swiftness and finality. Recently a newspaper reporter phoned me up to ask what I thought about Salman Rushdie's book, "The Satanic Verses". Should it have been banned ? What did I think of the attempt to broaden the blasphemy laws? I said that it was a waste of time. I said rather provocatively that I didn't think we needed blasphemy laws, sure we need laws to protect people and especially children from harmful sources, but God doesn't need protecting. He can take care of Himself. Hebrews 10:30-31 says "It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God". Had they repented, this would not have happened. It seems from verse 7 that Peter gave Sapphire the chance to confess, but they had agreed to lie and so she kept to her story. God had to judge them, in fact God was judging Satan through them.

1.2.4 The Impact on the People 5:11
The result was a wave of godly fear that swept over the church and spilled out on all who heard the story. Quite an event in the early life of the Church. So far we've seen the, the Generosity of Believers Expressed 4:32-37 The Deception of Satan Exposed 5:1-11

1.3 The Ministry of the Apostles Explained 5:12-16
Briefly I want us to put the death of Ananias and Sapphire into the context of what God was doing through the Apostles. Read 5:12-16.

1.3.1 The Unique Power of God
Clearly, God gave the apostles power to perform great miracles.
This was in fulfilment of Jesus promise in John 14:13, to them that they would do "greater works" even that Jesus had performed, in answer to believing prayer. With the exception of Stephen and Philip, men on whom the apostles had laid hands and delegated a share in their ministry, the term "signs and wonders" found in 2:43, 4:33, and in today's passage 5:12, is used exclusively of the ministry of the apostles. Read 5:16. Note Luke says "all were healed" There were no failures. No one was sent away for lack of faith. Now I pray for, and believe the Lord can and does perform miracles today, but I do not see this as either a continuation of or repetition of the demonstration of that power through the Apostles. How else can we explain the difference between then and now. I do not believe the apostles had more faith than our generation. I believe Peter was as surprised as anyone when Ananias dropped dead! Paul is very clear in Romans 15:18 and 2 Corinthians 12:12, that their ministry was unique. The apostles were a unique select band of believers who had been eye witnesses of the resurrection. God was saying through them that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah the Saviour of the world. The death of Ananias and Sapphire was an example of God's special judgement, in the same way that the miracles of healing were. By the time the writer to the Hebrews put pen to paper the term is used in the past tense in 2:4, as of an earlier age. The Power of God is unchanging, but not His purposes.

1.3.2 The Abiding Purpose of God
As you read the scriptures through from Genesis to Revelation a pattern emerges. We find no miracles performed in Genesis, but at the beginning of the age of the law, Moses performed great signs and wonders. Elijah and Elisha were miracle workers at the beginning of the great era of the prophets. There followed several hundred years of silence with no miraculous signs. With the coming of Jesus and the Apostles God was opening a new door of revelation, and the signs were a confirmation of it.

Its as if the Lord were saying "Follow these leaders, I have sent them to show you the way. I am revealing myself through them and their writings, so pay attention." This was God's way of authenticating their ministry. Jesus had three purposes in mind when he performed miracles.

1.3.2.1 Credentials as the Son of God
1.3.2.2 Compassion for human need
1.3.3.3 Communicate spiritual truth

For example, when he fed the 5000, the miracle met their physical need, revealed Him as the Son of God, and gave Him the opportunity to preach a sermon about the true bread of life.

1.3.3 The Unfolding Pattern of God
We see that same pattern unfolding here in the Book of Acts in a powerful way.

1.3.3.1 Credentials 5:12 New power
1.3.3.2 Compassion 5:15-16 New bodies
1.3.3.3 Communication 5:14, 20 New life

What of the pattern for us then? We believe in a God of miracles, a supernatural God. Why ? Because He has revealed Himself in and through them. Its through the completed Word of God from which we have learnt about the Lord Jesus Christ, and how the Apostles founded the Church.

We build on that foundation testing what we learn from our teachers not by their miracles but by their message and their morality. We do not need a regular repetition of what happened to Ananias and Sapphire to convince us we cannot play with God.

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (James 4:6-7)

It is because God is unchanging that this particular miracle is a solemn warning that God is not mocked, and that he desires truth in the inward man. Its also a sober lesson in the deception of Satan and how we must expose his counterfeiting schemes. Most of all its a challenging story of honesty and generosity. It is no coincidence that when Ananias and Sapphire had been removed that God's blessing came down upon His people. May God continue to bless us in like measure.

Lets now take a look at the second half of chapter 5. If 5:1-16 dealt with internal tensions, 5:17-42 explores the external tensions.

2. External Opposition to the Work of God
After Pentecost, the message of the bodily physical resurrection of Jesus Christ spread rapidly in Jerusalem as Spirit empowered witnesses shared the Gospel. Signs and wonders accompanied the preaching of the word, and no one could deny that God was at work in a new way among His ancient people. But as we saw in chapter 4, not everybody was happy with the success of the church. The "religious establishment" that had opposed the ministry of Jesus and had crucified Him were now not surprisingly going for his followers too. Jesus had promised his disciples in John 15:20.

"If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. They will put you out of the synagogues, yes the time is coming when who ever kills you will think He is serving God." The new wine could not be put into the old wineskins.

The English reformer Hugh Latimer, before he himself was martyred by people who thought they were serving God said this, "Whenever you see persecution, there is more than a probability that truth is on the persecuted side." Lets see how true that was in these next few verses. In this account there are four different responses to God's truth. The Council, the Apostles, Gamaliel, and the Church. Lets look at them one at a time.

2.1 The Council: Attacking the Truth Acts 5:17-28
Read 5:17-18, 27-28 The High priest and his associates had four reasons for arresting the apostles and putting them on trial. Two official reasons, and two genuine reasons.

2.1.1 Disobedience 5:28
Peter and John had disobeyed their religious leaders. They had been banned from every Synagogue pulpit in Israel.

2.1.2 Heresy 5:28
It was heresy to teach a physical resurrection from the dead. The Sadducees were 1st Century liberals. They denied the resurrection. These were the official reasons. The real reasons are hidden, but they are there in the text.

2.1.3 Jealousy 5:17
What really irritated the liberals and the traditionalists was the way the Church was growing at their expense. People were defecting. The Synagogues were emptying. These Messianic Believers, like "Jews for Jesus" today were coming in and spoiling everything.

Its a lesson in how envy can so easily be hidden under the disguise of "defending the faith". Envy at another church or denomination's success or failure is a matter for prayer but not pride, for joy not jealousy.

2.1.4 Guilt 5:28
They were annoyed because the apostles made them feel guilty. Why? Because they were guilty. So guilty they wouldn't even use Jesus name. "This man's blood". They had crucified Christ thinking that would put a stop to the nonsense. Just the reverse. How could they destroy someone with the power over life and death. They had opposed the truth, and by now they had a shrewd idea it was all rebounding on them.

We must be prepared for that reaction in people we know with whom we talk about Jesus. For the Gospel not only implies, it insists that no one is righteous, that all are guilty before God, and need His forgiveness in Jesus. Whether people respond or not, they are never unaffected by the Gospel, nor are our relationships with them. Jealousy and guilt, the real reasons why the apostles were arrested, the real reasons why the true church is opposed and criticised today. Notice the response of the apostles to their arrest. They did not resist arrest, nor did they organise a petition or public protest. They quietly went along with the temple guard, prepared to spend the night in the town gaol. But the Lord had other ideas. Read 5:19-20

Its rather funny that in their attempts to put a stop to the miracles, they actually multiplied the miracles. The very ones who denied the existence of angels had to account for this miraculous event. What a contrast between the apostles and the members of the Council. The Council were educated, ordained, and approved, yet they were powerless. The apostles on the other hand were ordinary laymen, unschooled, yet God's power was at work in their lives. The council were desperately trying to protect themselves and their dead traditions, while the apostles were risking their lives to share the living Word of God. The Council attacking the truth.

2.2 The Apostles: Affirming the Truth Acts 5:29-33

Notice first,

2.2.1 The Apostles would not change their Methods 5:19-20
Having escaped, instead of acting more prudently to avoid a repetition, they went straight back to work, knowing re-arrest was inevitable. They were obedient, and that took courage, the courage of their convictions to go back to the temple and teach the people about Jesus.

2.2.2 The Apostles did not change their Message 5:30-32
Peter boldly reiterates the facts of the last few weeks, and pulls no punches in directing the blame for Jesus death at his accusers. They were all eyewitnesses of what had happened. That is all God expects of us, to tell the truth of what we have understood and experienced of Jesus. Peter called for national as well as personal repentance. Its clear the Council contained a few red faces that day. Reread 5:33

The apostles changed neither their methods, nor their message. And neither must we. We've seen the Council attacking the truth, the apostles affirming the truth.

2.3 Gamaliel: Avoiding the Truth 5:34-39
Gamaliel was a scholar highly esteemed by the people, a bit of a liberal theologically, and a diplomat ecclesiastically. He had taught Paul all he knew about the law, and when he died, his epitaph read "When Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, the glory of the law ceased and purity and abstinence died."

Sounds like he wrote it himself.... His observation in verses 38-39 are usually seen in a rather positive light. Was he another secret disciple like Nicodemus and Joseph ? I don't think so. Gamaliel's counsel was unwise and dangerous, but God used it to save the apostles from death. Four things give Gamaliel away.

2.3.1 Scepticism 5:36-37
In spite of his cool logic rather than the overheated emotions of his contemporaries, his scepticism is shown by the way he lumps Jesus with two other rebels, Theudas and Judas of Galilee. This shows that he had already dismissed the evidence about Jesus. His scepticism led him to advise a "patient wait and see approach". He wanted to hedge his bets. He was a sceptic as so often scholars become.

2.3.2 Cynicism
To Gamaliel Jesus was just another misguided zealous Jew trying to set the nation free from Rome. Gamaliel was saying "History always repeats itself"

Give these misguided Galillean fishermen enough time and they too will disband, and go back to their boats. But it was Gamaliel who was misguided. The other two leaders were dead and buried and their followers disillusioned and dispersed. Not so Jesus or his disciples. Gamaliel was sceptical and cynical.

2.3.3 Pragmatism 5:38-39
Gamaliel had the mistaken theological view that if something was not of God it must fail. Now we know that is true in eternity but not in time. Such a simplistic pragmatic approach fails to take account of our sinful nature or the presence of Satan. Mark Twain once said, that "A lie runs round the world while truth is still putting on her shoes." Success is no test of truth, in spite of what the pragmatists say. There is great danger in becoming drunk with success. False cults often grow faster than God's Church. Its just that they have a high fall out rate, and disappear without trace on a regular basis while the true Church grows quietly and unspectacularly. Our world is a battle field on which truth and error are in mortal combat, and often it looks as if truth is on the scaffold while wrong sits arrogantly on the throne. How long should the Council wait and see if this movement would survive before placing their bets? Gamaliel's 'wisdom' was actually very foolish. He was a sceptic, a cynic and a pragmatist with it. But most serious of all,

2.3.4 Agnosticism 5:38-39
He encouraged neutrality when the Council was facing a life and death issue that demanded decision. "Wait and see" agnosticism while the world perishes, and when the evidence for the claims of Christ are there staring you in the face is not neutrality. While counselling "lets wait and see" he was actually voting "no". Gamaliel had refused to face the evidence, and so he lost an opportunity for salvation, because he turned the meeting into a petty discussion about Jewish insurrectionists. We must face the fact too that when our friends or neighbours say "thank you for the invitation, I'll think about it" they're actually continuing to say no. Jesus made it abundantly clear that it is impossible to remain neutral about Him and His message.

He that is not with me is against me" said Jesus. If Gamaliel was really afraid of fighting against God as he claimed, why did he not honestly investigate the evidence, diligently search the scriptures, listen to the eye witnesses, and ask God for wisdom. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. Why not? because he was a sceptic, a cynic, a pragmatist and an agnostic. We've seen the Council attacking the truth, the Apostles affirming the truth, Gamaliel avoiding the truth.

2.4 The Church: Announcing the Truth Acts 5:40-42
The Council were divided. Some wanted to execute the apostles. The secret believers obviously wanted them set free. Gamaliel's speech sounded reasonable as all good liberal rationalists appear, so what should they do? Compromise. They beat up the Apostles, threatened them again to shut up and keep quiet, as if it would work, and released them. Read 5:41-42 Lets briefly note the hall marks of an effective church.

2.4.1 How: "Rejoicing in suffering" 5:41
2.4.2 What: "Teaching and Preaching" 5:42

Something I have never seen in all my travels in Eastern Europe is a Church Bookstall. We have them in the UK. Christians I have met in Eastern Europe would not think twice about buying and reading what ever they could get their hands on to help them grow and share their faith.

2.4.3 When: Daily" = spontaneous taking opportunities when came
2.4.4 Where: "Temple" = where the seekers met. "House to House" = where the Christians lived. The Church announcing the truth in spite of the opposition. In the Temple and house to house. In his clever little book "The Gospel Blimp" the late Joe Bayly wrote, "Jesus Christ didn't commit the Gospel to an advertising agency; He commissioned disciples." That Commission still stands.

And the seven lessons for Christian workers?

1. Whenever God is truly working, the Devil will also be at work. 5:17-18.
2. It is always safe to trust God when we are doing his will. 5:18-19.
3. We may still believe in and rejoice at the ministry of Angels. 5:19-21.
4. We ought always to obey God rather than men. 5:29.
5. God gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. 5:32.
6. To be effective we must work in partnership with the Holy Spirit 5:32
7. When God initiates a work, He will prosper and complete it. It cannot be overthrown. 5:38-39.

Dr Samuel Chadwick once said,

The presence of the Holy Spirit is vital and central to the work of the Church. Nothing else prevails. Apart from Him wisdom becomes folly and strength weakness. Scholarship is blind to spiritual truth till He reveals. Worship is idolatry till He inspires. Preaching is powerless if it be not in the demonstration of His power. Prayer is vain unless He energises. Human resources of learning and organisation, wealth and enthusiasm, reform and philanthropy are worse than useless if there is not Holy Spirit in them.

This seminar draws on material from Warren Wersbie, Be Daring - The Acts of the Apostles, John Stott, The Message of Acts; the Holman Bible Dictionary, the Nelson Bible Dictionary, Unger's Bible Dictionary, the IVP Bible Dictionary and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.

IBS Seminar 6: Discussion Questions
Acts 5: Honesty and Generosity, Opposition and Obedience

(or Seven Lessons for Christian Workers)

Objective: To consider the nature of the opposition the Church faces, internally and externally and how it should be faced.

Open

1. Do you ever remember being bullied at school? What did you learn from the experience?

Dig

2. What was the sin Ananias and Sapphira committed? (5:3-4)

3. What were the consequences?

4. What do we tend to hold back from the Lord?

5. What can we do to trust God to take care of us?

6. What made the Jewish elders furious? (5:29-32)

7. How would the Apostle's teaching make the religious leaders guilty of Jesus' blood?

8. What does the Apostle's answer in 5:29 say about God'sd authority in the believers life?

9. Why did Gamaliel's speech calm the leaders when Peter's inflamed them?

Reflect

10. What is the ultimate authority in your life? When does this create problems for you?

11. What kind of disgrace have you suffered because you follow Jesus?

12. From what jail does the angel of the Lord need to free you so that you can proclaim Christ?

Appendix: Gamaliel and the Toronto Blessing

In their reaction to the so-called "Toronto blessing" many pastors and other Christian leaders seem to be following the example of Gamaliel in Acts 5:33-40. The impression given is that this is a position of wise Christian maturity. But is it? Let's consider the incident in Acts 5:29-40.

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honoured by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

There are two fundamental reasons why we do not believe Gamaliel is a model of godly wisdom, and why, on the contrary, we believe his guidance to the Sanhedrin was inspired by Satan, just as Peter's words once were (Matt. 16:23). This is seen in what he told the Sanhedrin to do with the Apostles and to believe about the Gospel.

1. What they should do

What did Gamaliel tell his fellow Pharisees to do? "I advise you: Leave these men alone!" (Acts 5:38). In its immediate context Gamaliel was counselling caution, which seems wise because he recognised that the Apostles might be divinely inspired. However, this apparent wisdom is deceptive. Would the Holy Spirit ever inspire someone to "leave the Apostles alone"? No, He convicts people of sin, righteous and judgement as He points people to Jesus. He challenges people to follow Jesus. He commands people to repent and believe the Gospel proclaimed by the Apostles.

Gamaliel had sufficient knowledge of the Scriptures which speak of Jesus. Surely he had personal knowledge of Jesus' life, teaching and miracles. He participated in the decision to crucify Christ. And he had just heard the testimony of an undeniable miracle and the Gospel proclaimed by the Apostles, men he knew were simple fishermen, yet powerfully anointed by God's Spirit. Gamaliel already had at hand all the evidence necessary to wholeheartedly believe the Gospel and become a follower of Messiah Jesus, but he refused. Therefore the position he took and advocated was not neutral, nor wise.

This becomes patently obvious by the way they treated the Apostles. "His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go" (Acts 5:40). Yes, they did let the Apostles go, but they had them flogged (for a crime?) and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus (because they recognised the Apostles believed Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of God).

Would the Holy Spirit forbid the Apostles from speaking in the name of Jesus? Their actions demonstrated that the Sanhedrin, and Gamaliel in particular, were inspired not by the Holy Spirit but Satan, just as Jesus Himself had told them earlier (John 8:37-44). Their actions therefore are not a model of godly wisdom, but of spiritual rebellion.

2. What they should believe

Gamaliel told the Jewish leaders, "I advise you: Leave these men alone!" (Acts 5:38). He gave this advice on the basis of previous encounters with Messianic cults. His deduction from what happened to Theudas and Judas appears to demonstrate great wisdom. He said, "For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God" (Acts 5:38-39).

But was this really wise reasoning? He concludes that a genuine work of God will succeed, but a religion of human origin will fail. But surely Gamaliel's logic is seriously flawed because he allows for only two possible sources or explanations for these religious movements: human or divine. But there is a third source to which he is blind, precisely because it had inspired him to make this very deduction. The Scriptures warn of a demonic or Satanic origin to much religious belief and even miraculous phenomena.

Using Gamaliel's logic we would have to conclude that religions such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and modern cults such as Mormonism, Bahai and the Jehovah Witnesses are all inspired from God because they have not "failed". Communist persecution of Jehovah Witnesses and Islamic intolerance of the Bahai faith has not crushed them. Indeed many cults are growing at frightening rates. According to Newsweek there are now over 600 cults in Britain alone, well over 350 of which actively proselytise.

The criterion for determining the spiritual authenticity and divine inspiration of a movement is not therefore whether it fades of the scene or survives over time but how its claims match up to the revealed Word of God. Does the movement's teaching and spiritual experiences pass the truth test? It is biblical truth, not experience, which must be the criterion for discerning a work of God.

Gamaliel then is not a model of godly wisdom which Christians should emulate. Rather he was a "politically and ecclesiastically correct" religious leader who sat on the fence because, unlike the Apostles, he was unwilling to repent and believe the Gospel and stand boldly for the truth--whatever the cost. His counsel, both in what he advised the Sanhedrin to do and believe, was inspired by Satan. As in the case of Job, God in his mercy and sovereign purposes would not allow the Apostles to suffer martyrdom on this occasion because their mission was not yet finished. And so they continued to teach and proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 5:41-42).

Now unlike the Apostles and the gospel they preached, the Toronto movement does not have overwhelming evidence to lead us to believe that it is a work of the Spirit of God. On the contrary, there is strong evidence that the movement, like Gamaliel's advise, is ultimately inspired by Satan.

1. Rooted in heresy
The evidence that the Toronto movement is rooted in the heretical teaching of the "word-faith", "health, wealth and prosperity" movement of the USA--especially the "ministries" of Rodney Howard-Browne and Benny Hinn--is indisputable. For the link between the Toronto Movement and Hinn and Howard-Browne see Alpha Magazine (July 1994, p. 26-27, 46) and Charisma Magazine (June 1994, p. 52). For the heretical nature of word-faith teachers like Hinn and Howard-Browne see Hank Hanegraaff's Christianity in Crisis (Harvest House, 1993).

2. Twisting Scripture
Furthermore, the Toronto movement is being defended by pastors who are twisting Scripture to do so. The following are only a few of the many incredible examples that could be cited.¹ Acts 3:19 is almost universally used to say that the Toronto movement is about weary Christians being refreshed, but the verse in context refers to the conversion of the Jews. Acts 4:31 is used to justify the uncontrollable shaking that people experience, but the verse says the place was shaken, not the people. Matt. 28:4 is similarly used, but the guards at Jesus' tomb trembled from fear of the angels, not from a touch of the Holy Spirit on their lives. Acts 2:12-13 is used to justify the slurred speech, uncoordinated movements and unstable walking of people under the "blessing" of the Holy Spirit. But the charge of drunkenness in Acts 2 is made by mocking critics and there is no biblical evidence that the disciples ever displayed any of the symptoms of drunkenness, except the uninhibited, bold, sobering proclamation of what was on their minds: the gospel and the praises of God--in perfectly coherent languages! The disciples here experienced the same unjustified criticism that was leveled at Jesus, their Lord (Matt. 11:18-19), who surely never spoke with slurred speech, walked in a staggering manner or rolled on the floor laughing!!

"The hand of the Lord" coming upon Ezekiel is used to justify the fact that people in the movement are falling to the floor under the weight of God's hand. However, not one reference to the phrase in Ezekiel describes him falling or kneeling as a result of "the hand of the Lord." Similarly, John 18:6 is used to justify the "falling under the anointing," but the soldiers who were coming to arrest Jesus "drew back and fell to the ground" briefly in fear of Him, not because they came under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Mark 9:20 is also used to justify the falling, but the verse says that the demons threw the boy to the ground, not the blessing of the Holy Spirit! Verses like Heb. 1:9, Ps. 16:1, Is. 61:3 and I Pet. 1:8 are used to justify the uncontrollable laughing, but these verses are talking about joy and say absolutely nothing about laughing (and joy and laughing most often do not go together). We could go on and on. Such appalling Scripture-twisting is not the mark of the work of the Holy Spirit (who inspired the Scriptures), but is certainly a mark of the work of Satan, .just as he did in his conversations with Eve in the garden of Eden and with Jesus in the wilderness temptation.

3. Distorting history
In addition to twisting Scripture, there is also clear evidence that the defenders of the movement are distorting Church history by citing Jonathan Edwards in relation to the 18th century New England revival. See Terry's paper on Edwards.

4. Wrong authority
The Toronto movement is fostering and perpetuating a paradigm shift of titanic consequences: the shift from the authority of the objective written Word of God to the authority of subjective experience (feelings and bizarre phenomena) and extra-biblical "revelations" (ie. "prophecies" and "words of knowledge," which are really just another kind of subjective experience), which produce distorted interpretations of the Scriptures. And the movement is propagating biblically erroneous doctrines about how and when the Holy Spirit comes into and works in a person's life.

Conclusion
All this leads to the conclusion that the Toronto movement is not a blessing, but a cancerous curse on the Church. The few Christians who are truly being helped (not just having a feeling of being blessed) are examples of God's gracious work inspite of the movement, not because of it. This movement will not lead individuals or churches into biblical maturity, but ultimately away from it, and will open them to greater deception in the future.

Pastors who are outside the movement sitting back to "wait and see" what will become of the Toronto movement before they teach on it are by their silence condoning the movement and leaving their congregations in confusion. Therefore, we call on pastors not to follow Gamaliel by sitting on the fence but to do some more study so that they can join us in exposing the movement for the counterfeit that it is and use the situation to teach and train their people better to discern truth and error and to call them to deeper, more radical, Spirit-empowered obedience to Scripture.

May God help us, pastors and lay people, to diligently study, boldly proclaim, tenaciously defend and radically live the truth of the gospel in this day of an ever increasing number of counterfeit spiritual movements.