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Well, you can turn with me and 
your Bibles to the book of Acts. We're in Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter 5, our focus this 
morning will be verses 12 to 16, but I want to begin reading 
in verse 12 and to the end of the chapter just to set the larger 
context before us and to see what Luke is recording concerning 
the church. Beginning in Acts chapter 5 at 
verse 12, And through the hands of the apostles many signs and 
wonders were done among the people, and they were all with one accord 
in Solomon's porch. Yet none of the rest dared join 
them, but the people esteem them highly. And believers were increasingly 
added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that 
they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on 
beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by 
might fall on some of them. Also, a multitude gathered from 
the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those 
who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. 
Then the high priest rose up and all those who were with him, 
which is the sect of the Sadducees, and they were filled with indignation 
and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. 
But at night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors 
and brought them out and said, Go stand in the temple and speak 
to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard 
that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. 
But the high priest and those with him came and called the 
council together with all the elders of the children of Israel 
and sent to the prison to have them brought. When the officers 
came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and 
reported, saying, indeed, we found the prison shut securely 
and the guards standing outside before the doors. But when we 
opened them, we found no one inside. Now, when the high priest, 
the captain of the temple, and the chief priest heard these 
things, they wondered what the outcome would be. So one came 
and told them, saying, look, the men whom you put in prison 
are standing in the temple and teaching the people. And the 
captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, 
for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when 
they had brought them, they set them before the council. And 
the high priest asked them, saying, Did we not strictly command you 
not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem 
with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood on 
us. But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to 
obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised 
up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him, God has 
exalted to his right hand to be prince and savior, to give 
repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses 
to these things. And so also is the Holy Spirit 
whom God has given to those who obey him. When they heard this, 
they were furious and plotted to kill them. Then one in the 
council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of 
the law, held in respect by all the people, and commanded them 
to put the apostles outside for a little while. And he said to 
them, men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend 
to do regarding these men. For some time ago, Thutis rose 
up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about 400, joined 
him. He was slain, and all who obeyed 
him were scattered and came to nothing. After this man, Judas 
of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away many 
people after him. He also perished, and all who 
obeyed him were dispersed. 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.' 
And they agreed with him. And when they had called for 
the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should 
not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. So they departed 
from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted 
worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple 
and in every house they did not cease teaching and preaching 
Jesus as the Christ. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for the written word, and we pray now 
for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We thank you, God, that 
you've not left us as orphans in the world, but you gave us 
another one just like the Lord Christ in the person and in the 
work of the Holy Spirit. We thank you that you've not 
left us without your word. God, we know your word is a most 
blessed truth, and we ask that your spirit would guide us now 
as we consider this section of Holy Scripture. May Christ be 
magnified, and may he be glorified in our midst. May He be believed 
on by those who are dead in their trespasses and sins. May Your 
grace come upon sinners today, in this place and throughout 
the earth, so that men, women, boys and girls may call upon 
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do forgive us now for our sins 
and our transgressions. Cleanse us in that precious fount 
that is open for sin and uncleanness. And we pray this in Jesus' holy 
name. Amen. Well, we see a lot of similarities 
here to what we've already seen in the book of Acts. There is 
a miracle brought out in Acts chapter 3, and on the heels of 
that, the apostles Peter and John are arrested. They are then 
summoned to stand before the Sanhedrin and give a defense 
of their ministry. Well, the same sort of thing 
happens here in chapter 5, verses 12 to 16. We see the presence 
of signs and wonders, the work and the ministry of the Holy 
Spirit. On the heels of that, the high priest rises up, the 
Sadducees along with him, and they want to not only arrest 
Peter and John, but all of the apostles. So they do that. So 
there are similarities, but there's also differences in terms of 
increased or escalated persecution against the Church of Jesus Christ. 
In chapter 4, they simply threaten them to no longer preach in the 
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in chapter 5, they actually 
mete out physical punishment. They actually scourge the apostles. So we see this escalation of 
persecution occurring in the context of the Church. And I 
think this section that I've read breaks down into those two 
categories. First, in verses 12 to 16, which 
we'll take up this morning, the continuing growth of the church. And then in verses 17 on, we 
see the continuing persecution. of the church. But as I said, 
we'll just take up verses 12 to 16 this morning. We'll look 
at the continuing growth of the church under a few considerations. 
First, the presence of signs and wonders in verse 12, and 
then secondly, the continuing growth of the church in verses 
13 to 16. Now note this presence of signs 
and wonders in verse 12. It says, "...and through the 
hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the 
people." That's similar to what we see in Acts 2 at verse 43. It's through the apostles. They're 
the agents, they're the human instruments by which God the 
Lord brings this power to bear upon sinners. It's not that the 
apostles in and of themselves have any strength or any excellency 
or any ability. It's not as if Paul or Peter 
or James or John, not Paul obviously at this particular point in redemptive 
history, it's not like they went to school and learned how to, 
you know, sort of perform the whammy on those who are not doing 
well. They were the human instruments, 
they were the agency by which God wrought out these signs and 
wonders. That's emphasized in chapter 
2 at verse 43. We see it manifested in chapter 
3 verses 1 to 10. Peter says, I don't have silver, 
I don't have gold, but what I have I give to you. In the name of 
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. We need to appreciate 
the conspicuousness of the agency of the apostles in terms of these 
signs and wonders. Matthew Poole says, by the apostles' 
ministry, though they were holy and excellent men, they were 
but instruments. The power they acted by was God's, 
which also they had prayed for and acknowledged. Go back to 
chapter 4 at verse 30. Well, Acts chapter 4, beginning 
in verse 9, they are praying to the Lord God after Peter and 
John had been arrested and had stood before the council. They 
gather together now as the church and they pray. And in verse 29, 
they say, now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to your 
servants that with all boldness, they may speak your word. They 
don't say, stop them from threatening. They don't say that. They don't 
say, silence the Sanhedrin. Though that's a legit prayer. 
We can go to the Psalms, the Psalms of David. We can pray 
the imprecatory Psalms against the enemies of God. That is consistent 
and that is legitimate. But in this instance, they do 
not pray that they stop being threatened. They do not pray 
for a life of ease and comfort. They do not pray that they'll 
be able to wander around unmolested through the empire preaching 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. They don't pray that. They pray 
that in the midst of the threats, in the midst of the pressure, 
in the midst of the hardships and the trials and the difficulties, 
God fill us with boldness so that we may preach the word of 
the cross. not remove the threats, but rather 
in the midst of the threats, empower and embolden us so that 
we may preach the gospel. And then in verse 30, notice 
what they ask, by stretching out your hand to heal and that 
signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy 
servant Jesus. So going back to 512, their prayer 
has been answered. Verse 12, and through the hands 
of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people. 
And then notice it goes on to say, and they were all with one 
accord in Solomon's porch. Again, a couple of things that 
we see mark the early church. They were all with one accord 
in Solomon's porch. Solomon's porch was a particularly 
popular place for the disciples to meet and gather, but they 
were assembled. In other words, the people of 
God got together for the worship of God. One of the things that 
Pastor Porter mentioned in the comments on the scripture reading 
was the sort of setting apart the first day of the week as 
the day that the church comes together to worship. That is 
primary. That's what we've been called 
to do as God's people. Yes, we're supposed to be faithful 
husbands, faithful wives, faithful parents, faithful children in 
the context of our families and homes. We're supposed to be hard 
workers when we show up at work tomorrow morning. We're supposed 
to be good citizens of this civil polity. But the people of God 
have been saved to be the worshipers of God. We have been called out 
of darkness into marvelous light to proclaim His Excellencies, 
to open our hymn books, to open our Psalters, and to sing praises 
to God. We have been called to meet with 
one another, to gather together for the worship of the Father 
through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. and they 
do this with one accord. There is unity that marks the 
people of God. They're not all going a thousand 
different directions. They are unified in this desire 
to bring glory to God Most High. Now note, we see the continuing 
growth of the church in verses 13 to 16. We're going to spend 
our time here this morning. I want to look at three sub points 
here. First, the hesitation of some. Second, the addition of 
others. And third, the manifestation 
of the Holy Spirit in verses 15 and 16. There's a bit of a 
tension between verses 13 and 14. I think it's pretty obvious. 
I think it's pretty evident. I don't think it should be difficult 
to convince you of that tension, at least as we look at the surface 
of the text. Notice in verse 13, yet none 
of the rest dared join them. And then in verse 14, we read, 
and believers were increasingly added to the Lord. So on the 
one hand, none of the rest dared join them. And on the other hand, 
we have all these believers increasingly added to the Lord. Now the ambiguity 
of the various terms used has spawned no little discussion 
on who's actually involved in this not coming, these that are 
joining. I think the most simple reading 
of the text is this. There were many who had witnessed 
what was happening in the church and it scared them. What specifically? Acts 5, 1-11. I didn't start 
the reading in Acts 5, 1 simply for time. I didn't want to keep 
you here till, you know, 2 in the afternoon. Actually, I wouldn't 
mind that, but I think you'd all have a bit of a struggle 
with that. But remember Acts 5, 1-11. What happens? Ananias 
and Sapphira lie to God Almighty. And what does God Almighty do? 
He kills them. So, you can imagine now, as the 
outsiders get wind of this, as they perhaps not only witnessed 
it, but have heard about it, it doesn't take much of a stretch 
to consider the thought process of a first century unbeliever 
living in Jerusalem at this particular time. Hey, did you hear about 
that new group of people? They call themselves the Church 
of Jesus Christ. Yes, I've heard about them. And 
their God kills hypocritical liars. No, thank you. I'm not 
going to show up there on Sunday. You get that, right? The fear 
of God chased people away. It should chase people away, 
namely unbelievers. Unbelievers don't love God. Unbelievers 
don't honor God. Unbelievers don't revere God. 
Unbelievers don't fear God. In fact, as Paul rehearses the 
problem of man in Romans chapter 3, he ends on that note. There 
is no fear of God before their eyes. And so as word got out, 
persons began to understand that if you go in amongst those people, 
and you call yourself one of those people, and then you lie 
to their God, their God may just kill you. I think that's probably 
what's happening in verse 13. Yet, none of the rest dared join 
them, but I think the same group is still here in verse 13, but 
the people esteem them highly. I may not want to go join there, 
but I understand what's happening there. You see, they were able 
to disagree and yet appreciate that there was a work of God 
in play. And so on the one hand, there 
were many who had heard what was happening in terms of the 
God of heaven and earth with reference to those who would 
fake being adherents of the God of heaven and earth. So God kills 
those hypocritical liars. And so the verse 13 persons are 
those who are not totally committed. There are those kinds of people 
that want nothing to do with that kind of God. In fact, this 
probably describes a whole host of people that populate Canada 
and America. We want enough God to make our 
lives a little bit better. We want enough God to make our 
lives a little bit more manageable. We want enough God to make our 
existence a bit more palpable. Unfortunately, there are preachers 
that cater to that mindset. But they don't want, or a lot 
of people don't want the kind of God that demands absolute 
allegiance. They don't want a Matthew 6.33 
God, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 
and then these things will be added to you. No, they want the 
things, and they want God as the means by which they achieve 
the things. You see, I think verse 13 probably 
describes a whole host of people that we bump elbows with on a 
daily basis who, if they actually witnessed a display of God's 
judgment, would want nothing to do with church. Does that 
make sense? Is everybody with me? Everybody 
looks a bit weary this morning. I don't want you to be weary. 
I want you to see what's happening here. So the ones who did not 
join them, John Calvin made this observation with reference to 
Ananias and Sapphira. The punishment of Ananias and 
his wife did not a little terrify the wicked and keep them from 
breaking in unadvisedly into the company of those men where 
God had showed himself so sharp a judge. You see, I mean, on 
the one hand, at least they are counting the cost. Isn't that 
what Jesus calls men to do in Luke 14? No military commander 
goes out with his contingency of troops without first assessing 
what the enemy commander has. Nobody starts to build a house 
unless they first make sure they have all the materials. I think 
I've shared with you, there was a time I preached in a small 
town in northern Idaho called McCall. And there's this resort 
that was built there in McCall, or just on the outskirts of McCall, 
Idaho, that they never finished. I mean, it's mostly done. You've got all these beautiful 
structures. It kind of looks like a Whistler village up there. But it didn't get completed. 
And, you know, you'd go up there and you look around and on the 
one hand it looks beautiful and it's kind of neat that it's there, 
but on the other hand you just think, what ignorance! What folly! These guys didn't count the cost. 
They didn't think how much it would cost to rent cranes and 
buy materials and do the hard work of actually putting this 
together. Well, Jesus calls you to that. You need to count the 
cost. If your desire is a God who simply 
adds to your already almost complete life, then Christianity is not 
for you. But if your desire is salvation 
by grace, through faith, from sin, from damnation, and from 
the fury and wrath of God Most High, may I tell you that Jesus 
Christ is your answer. Christ alone is the one in whom 
alone there is forgiveness and a righteousness that avails with 
God. You need to count the cost. You need to consider, do I want 
to come into a place where God kills hypocritical liars? You 
see, I believe that true believers want to be in a place where God 
kills hypocritical liars. And that's what verse 14 highlights. 
Notice, it says, and believers were increasingly added to the 
Lord. It's not they want to be there 
because they might see God kill a hypocritical liar, just so 
you know that that's not what I mean. My point is, is that 
those who love and fear God trust God. and they know that God has 
all things under control, and that if God does break out in 
judgment against Ananias and Sapphira, that is the exact response 
that is most appropriate for the situation. See, the true 
believer who fears God fears God as God. He doesn't try to 
qualify. He doesn't try to defend. He 
doesn't try to explain. He doesn't say, well, you know, 
that happened in the early church, but such things don't happen 
today. Oh, they most certainly can happen today. Read the life 
and ministry of Ralph Barnard. That man went around preaching 
and saw some amazing judgments of God fleshed out on people. But back to our text, verse 14, 
believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both 
men and women. It's a beautiful thing. The point 
seems to be, this is F.F. Bruce, that the death of Ananias 
and Sapphira scared off all but the totally committed. And note 
that the totally committed here are described in a way that has 
been used in many instances before with reference to the adherence 
of Christianity. They're those who believe. Again, 
Luke holds out to us the way of salvation. The Bible is everywhere 
clear with reference to how is it that we are numbered among 
the totally committed? Is it something I have to do? 
Is it something I have to work up? Is it something I have to 
conjure? No, you need to believe the gospel. Believe God's gospel. Believe the truth as it is in 
Jesus. His life, His death, His resurrection, all those who believe 
in Him will have everlasting life. See, the emphasis is that 
the apostles were preaching Christ and the resurrection from the 
dead, and sinners, by God's grace, were believing that gospel, and 
they were added to the church. The church was multiplying, the 
church was growing, not through the gun, not through military 
power, not through the ability to coerce poor saps at Solomon's 
porch. But it was through the power 
of God. And the text indicates that. They were added to the 
Lord. Who added them to the Lord? It 
wasn't the apostles. It wasn't they themselves. It 
was God Most High who adds them to the Lord. It's God Most High 
in His sovereignty who has purpose to save a great multitude that 
no man can number. That God who sent His Son in 
the fullness of the time. That Son who lived and died and 
rose again. That Son who now reigns enthroned 
at the right hand of the majesty of God on high. That Father adds 
to the Son. See, the emphasis in our text 
is not upon the ingenuity of the church. The emphasis in the 
text is upon the power of God. See, brethren, if we'll ever 
make any strides in our church, if we'll ever go forward in our 
church, If we'll ever know something of the love that marked the early 
church, the unity that was palpable amongst the people in the early 
church, if we'll know anything of the fear of God in the midst 
of the church, we are beholden to God. We are dependent upon 
God. That's why very often I encourage 
you on a Sunday morning, pray for the power of the Holy Spirit 
to be here. If we're gathering together devoid 
of the Spirit, we may be filling an obligation, or fulfilling 
an obligation, or checking off a mark somewhere, or a box somewhere, 
but are we going to know the presence and the power of God 
that manifests itself not only in the sanctification and edification 
of God's people, but in the salvation of sinners? What better way to 
prove Calvinism than to see God saved, right? What better way 
to demonstrate what we call Reformed theology than in some dead sinner 
coming to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Brethren, do 
you pray for that on a Sunday morning? Do you pray that hymn 
that we sang, the third one, right before the preaching of 
the Word? I mean, that language almost 
sounds charismatic, Pastor Butler. We got to be careful of that. 
Yeah, the Puritans prayed, baptized the nations. The Puritans were 
all over that reality that apart from God, we can do nothing. 
You see, the people outside the church feared the church because 
God was in the church. the people that were believing 
the gospel, they increased, they multiplied, they were being added 
to the Lord by the power of God Almighty, just as Jesus himself 
had promised in Matthew 16. You know, this church growth 
motif or this emphasis on building churches, if we do it irrespective 
of Jesus, we're on a fool's errand. I mean, isn't Matthew 16 clear? 
Who builds the church? Is it gifted orators? Is it handsome 
pastors? Because we're dead in the water 
if Cam and I are the hope here. It's Christ who promised, I will 
build my church. This is a very churchly text 
for a very churchly day, because about 501 years ago, a monk by 
the name of Martin Luther pounded 95 feces on a castle door at 
Wittenberg, and thus officially began, at least from our vantage 
point, the Protestant Reformation. Brethren, if the church is to 
go forward, if the church is to model what we find here in 
the book of Acts, it's not going to be the wisdom, the ingenuity, 
and the power of pastors. It's not the wisdom and the ingenuity 
and the power of people. It's the power of Jesus Christ, 
who has purposed and promised, I will build my church and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It is a beautiful 
text displaying for us what Jesus promised in Matthew chapter 16. 
And then notice on the heels of that, we see this manifestation 
of the Spirit in a very powerful way in verses 15 to 16. So that 
they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on 
beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by 
might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from 
the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those 
who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed." 
So we see the effect of this movement of God the Spirit within 
the confines of Jerusalem. Verse 15. And then we see how 
that sort of permeates and affects those cities and towns surrounding 
Jerusalem in verse 16. So you have the immediate impact 
of verse 15, and then you have this extended impact in verse 
16. Again, as the power of the Holy 
Spirit goes forth, as the power of the gospel is going forth, 
as people are believing the truth as it is in Jesus, we see God 
manifest in the midst of his people. Now, verse 15 is an interesting 
verse. so that they brought the sick 
out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches that 
at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some 
of them." Now, we note... Several things about this, and 
we're going to spend some time here, because I suspect that 
we have brothers and sisters in what may be called Pentecostal 
or Charismatic churches who would say to us Reformed that verse 
15 sure looks more like what their churches are doing than 
what our church is doing. Everybody get that? The pomp 
and the show and the majesty of verse 15? That's carried on 
today in the charismatic movement. That's championed today among 
those churches that are called Pentecostal. I want to try to 
get that out of our heads. If you didn't have it there and 
I put it there, it should be easy. But if you have that mindset, 
you were brought up in the charismatic or Pentecostal, or you sort of 
discourse with anybody from that kind of a background, I mean, 
verse 15 sounds like a Benny Hinn show, doesn't it? Sorry, 
a Benny Hinn conference. Sounds like, you know, something 
you might witness. You see the videos on YouTube 
where they're, you know, everybody's falling down. They're slain in 
the spirit. You know, in Acts chapter 19, 
there were these handkerchiefs that were employed. Persons thought 
that if they had these handkerchiefs, that they would somehow be healed. 
But it is intriguing in Acts 19.11, prior to that reference 
to what I might call the holy handkerchief in verse 12, 19.11 
says God worked many unusual things through the hands of Paul. 
Now, that's one translation the New King James gives it. The 
ESV has extraordinary. Again, both the same. Extraordinary 
means out of the ordinary, just like unusual. God worked unusual 
things. Now, I'm just going to tell you 
something. It seems to me that our modern charismatic and Pentecostal 
brethren want to normalize the unusual. They want to normalize 
the extraordinary, and in many respects, they tend to marginalize 
the normal, which I think is to completely misread the book 
of Acts. So let's look at what's happening 
here. Notice the similarity with our Lord's ministry. They brought 
the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches. 
That happened in Jesus' ministry, didn't it? People came because 
they had heard that Jesus was able to heal. Jesus was this 
man who had power, not only in his teaching that we see in Matthew 
5-7, but also in his acting, or in his deeds, or in the things 
that he could do. So persons heard this and they 
thought, we'll bring our sick so that they can come near to 
Jesus and be healed. So we see that similarity here. 
The apostles had that as well, and that was given to the apostles 
specifically in Matthew chapter 10 at verses 1 to 4. Remember, Jesus hand-chose 12 
particular individuals and he conferred upon them specific 
authority, authority that would mirror his, authority that would 
be like his. Authority that rested in not 
only preaching, but in healing. And so this is all very consistent 
with what we ought to expect. Now, there's no instruction on 
this shadow of Peter. To make this sort of a proof 
text or the handkerchiefs of Acts 19, 12 some sort of proof 
text to legitimize the kinds of nonsense that go on among 
some of the professing people of God is a stretch. There's 
no instruction that the Apostle said, OK, just get within shot 
of the shadow, and you'll be. That's not in the text. There's 
no divine sanction. There's no divine instruction. 
There's no sort of exhortation, seek the shadow of Peter. We're 
not told that. We're not told anything concerning 
the efficacy of the shadow of Peter. In fact, in verse 16, 
it says, and all were healed. Are we supposed to assume that 
all got in contact with the shadow? No, the shadow or the lack of 
shadow wasn't the means by which people were healed. So again, 
I'm just introducing some things for us to think about with reference 
to the modern Charismatic and Pentecostal movement and some 
of the things that go on. Somebody at some point has got 
to ask the question, is this really what the Book of Acts 
authorizes? Is this really what you've been 
led to believe is expected in the churches of Jesus Christ 
today? Is this really an expression of a God-ordained worship service? I mean, one only needs to read. I mean, spend a little time on 
YouTube. It's probably easier for most to spend a little time 
on YouTube and look up, you know, interesting charismatic and Pentecostal 
church services. That'll be an eye-opener for 
those of you brought up in a Reformed church. You'll be like, wow, 
this actually happens? I mean, we've had cause to consider 
certain persons and things that go on that are just incredible. But read within the history of 
the church and you'll see there was, you know, holy barking and 
some churches gathered together, revivals, holy barking. This 
was in the 1800s, so there really is nothing new under the sun 
in terms of the manifestation of this. But does verse 15 authorize 
the sorts of things that are going on? I think at least verse 
15 tells us something about the faith of those who were responding. It wasn't magic and it wasn't 
superstition, but rather it did display a degree of faith on 
the part of the persons that were seeking out the apostles. 
You see this with Jesus in his ministry. Remember the centurion 
said, you don't even need to come under my roof, but only 
speak the word and you'll heal my servant. Or that woman that 
just wanted to get at the hem of his garment. I don't think 
we're supposed to read that and think magic. We're supposed to 
read that and think faith. This woman understood that if 
she got near to the perimeter of Jesus, that Jesus' power would 
bring healing. I think that's how verse 15 ought 
to be understood. These sick, these persons bringing 
their sick, had faith in the apostolic ministry. They had 
faith in the apostolic word. They had faith in these men, 
not as men, but as representatives of the name of Jesus Christ. 
So that was the emphasis in chapters 3 and 4. I don't have silver 
and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of 
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Remember when the 
Sanhedrin arrests them and pulls them before the council, they 
say, tell us by what authority and in what name you are doing 
this. So people in verse 15 are hearing 
that these disciples or these apostles are representatives 
of the name of Jesus, and so they are drawn to them. Now the 
fact that all were healed, again in verse 16, indicates the power 
of Christ extended beyond Peter's shadow. And in terms of Peter's 
shadow, it's an amazing thing that that even has to be sort 
of the focal point of a sermon. And it's not. But I do want to 
clarify, because we find ourselves in a milieu, a religious landscape, 
that is populated with a lot of strange ideas. Again, verse 
15 sounds more like a modern Pentecostal or charismatic worship 
service than it does the Reformed. I mean, you guys come in here, 
and it looks like you're about to die. You know, you open up your hymn 
book, you open up your psalter, and you sing your particular 
things. And then the guy goes up there, and he preaches for 
two hours. Just kidding. And it just looks like it's miserable, 
whereas within the charismatic, we're happy and joyful, and we've 
got the joy of the Spirit. Again, I like to think that one 
can have the joy of the Spirit while they're sitting quietly. 
He is, after all, the Holy Spirit. God is about decency and orderliness. Why do we associate the presence 
and the power of the Holy Spirit with frenzy rather than with 
sobriety? Why is that? Do you wanna know 
why I suspect? You might not like this, you 
may get triggered, you might get offended, but I think we 
have far more in common with Baal worship than we do with 
the worship of Yahweh today. Baal was about glands, baby. Baal was about thrills. Baal 
was about emotional charge. Baal was about all the things 
that please a man or a woman. Not Yahweh. Yahweh specifically 
forbids them to make images. Why? Because you saw no form. In other words, you don't try 
to picture, you don't try to depict, you don't try to encapsulate 
the God of heaven and earth. The God of heaven and earth has 
spoken, and you as recipients and adherers obey. It's that 
simple. It is that simple. So let's continue 
with our survey here. Listen to John Gill about the 
shadow of Peter. He says, Who these were that 
fancied there was such a virtue in Peter's shadow, and whether 
they were cured by it is not certain. However, it is a vain 
thing in the papists to conclude from hence the primacy of Peter, 
the worshiping of images, and that the Pope is Peter's shadow 
and has his power. John Calvin made a similar sort 
of application with reference to the Pope of Rome. The papists 
abuse this text, not only to the end, they may command feigned 
miracles, which they say are done at the graves of martyrs, 
but also that they may boast of their relics. Why, say they, 
shall not the grave, or garment, or the touching of the bones 
of Peter have power to heal, as well as his shadow had this 
power? That's much of what Roman Catholicism 
does. Apparently, when I was a kid, 
they taught us that in that altar that was on the center point 
in the Roman Catholic Church, and I use that term very broadly. 
I don't mean church as the people of God, but the Roman Catholic 
institution, I would imagine those who were brought up that 
way heard the same sorts of things. There was an altar in the center, 
not a pulpit. There was an altar. Central to 
Roman Catholic worship is not the proclamation of the truth. 
It is the abomination of the mass. Well, as a young papist, 
I was told that in any Catholic altar, there were within that 
altar certain relics or images or stuff. You might get the bones 
of a saint. You might get the bones of a 
particularly noteworthy person in the history of the church. 
And they sort of build it right into that, because there's efficacy 
there. John Calvin goes on to suggest 
or say, rather, with reference to their miracles, for this is 
the end of their miracles to lead away the world from Christ 
unto saints. I think that's a good observation. 
So there's an anti-Roman Catholic way that we ought to learn or 
understand verse 15. But as I said, there is a anti-Pentecostal 
or charismatic way. Now, I don't put the charismatics 
and the Pentecostals in the same boat. At least ideally, Pentecostals 
and Charismatics affirm justification by faith. They're supposed to 
believe the gospel in order for salvation. They're supposed to 
believe the truth in order for the forgiveness of sins and the 
reception of the righteousness of Christ, imputed to us and 
received by faith alone. Don't put them in the same category, 
but I do want to deal with a few things that perhaps may confuse 
people in terms of verse 15 being a better description of a modern 
Pentecostal church versus a description of a modern Reformed church. 
Now, the Reformed do not deny the presence of signs and wonders. The reformed, and we might call 
them, if you're familiar with the language, a cessationist 
or a non-continuationist, I guess is the new language in vogue. 
No reformed person believes the existence of signs and wonders. 
It's right there, isn't it? You all see that in verse 12. 
You see it in verses 15 and 16. There are signs and there are 
wonders. There are amazing things going 
on. The Reformed, however, questions the modern application of such 
things in churches today. Because the Reformed understand, 
or are supposed to understand, one of the primary reasons behind 
signs and wonders. Now, do you want to guess what 
that primary reason behind signs and wonders are, or is? It wasn't 
to dazzle the crowds. It wasn't to heal people, though 
it did. I know that sounds odd. It was 
to manifest that the person through which the sign and wonder came 
was a spokesman for God. In other words, if you look at 
the Bible, it's a big book, but when you ask the Bible, are you 
filled with miracles? There's a lot of years in between 
times where there's not miracles. I suggest that miracles came 
with Moses. Miracles continued with the prophets. Miracles come to fruition in 
the life and ministry of Jesus, and they're there as well with 
the apostles. Why? Because God's speaking through 
Moses, God's speaking through the prophets, God's speaking 
through Jesus, and God's speaking through the apostles. The signs 
and wonders accompanied the preaching of God's word to highlight that 
that word was in fact God's word. So the Reformed say, now that 
the Word is completed, now that the canon is closed, we shouldn't 
look for those accompanying signs and wonders. Again, the argument 
isn't that God can't do those things. The argument isn't that 
God can't heal. The argument isn't, don't ever 
pray for healing because God won't do that. No. But are we 
supposed to expect a context and an environment where these 
things are normal after the Word of God is completed? No. That's 
the Reformed argument, as simply as I can make it. And if you 
say, well, Butler, that's just your spin. I'm going to go to 
a passage that perhaps some don't even expect or don't even believe 
should be in the Bible, but it is there and it's for us. Listen 
to Mark 16, 20. And they, the apostles, went 
out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and 
confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Isn't that 
a theology of or explanation to the presence of signs and 
wonders? We ask the scriptures, why are there these signs and 
wonders in connection with Moses, the prophets, Jesus, and the 
apostles? The answer must be to confirm 
the word, right? Makes sense, I think. As well, 
Reformed people see God's power in verse 14, just like they see 
God's power in verse 15. Let me try to explain what I 
mean. When the Lord God Most High, 
through an apostle, has a demon expelled from a person that manifests 
God's power. We'd all say yea and amen. But 
so does believers were increasingly added to the Lord. Because if 
a dead sinner believes the gospel, that is a power from without. In other words, God raised that 
man from the dead. So while we might question the 
presence of the healings and the exorcisms in connection with 
the gospel ministry today, we affirm that the gospel ministry 
today is a magnification of the power of God. That any dead sinner 
ever goes to heaven shows his power, doesn't it? Yes, is the 
answer. You can all nod at that point. 
And in terms of Charismatic and Pentecostal, I think there's 
some things that they need to wrestle with. They need to wrestle 
with Daniel's 70 weeks. You can turn to Daniel chapter 
9. If any of you know anything about Daniel's 70 weeks, you're 
saying they're not the only ones that need to wrestle with it. 
But one thing in particular. Daniel announces the 70 weeks, 
which I take as a reference to the time of Messiah, the time 
of Jesus, His first coming, not His second coming, His first 
coming. And in the first coming of Jesus, 
He will do all the things that are specified here in verse 24. 
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your 
holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make 
reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness. 
Notice, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most 
holy. Jesus did all those things. Jesus 
did all those things in that first coming. He sealed up vision 
and prophecy. How? Through his designated representatives 
named the apostles. As they went about and taught 
and preached the word of God, they did signs and wonders. And 
when they finished their ministry and they wrote their memoirs, 
as the fathers called them, there were no longer these things that 
were expected to confirm the word of God. There is a specific 
statement in Scripture speaking of cessationism. The specific 
function of signs and wonders in connection with the Word. 
Mark chapter 16, verse 20. That has to be reckoned with. 
If you ask the Charismatic or Pentecostal, why does God heal 
people? Again, it is right to say because 
God loves people and He doesn't want them to be demon-possessed. 
God is good. I don't want to make sure everybody 
understands that I understand that. The primary focus in terms 
of the signs and wonders given to us in Scripture are to authenticate 
the men of God that they speak the Word of God. That's the emphasis, 
and the charismatic has to wrestle with that. Thirdly, the absence 
of apostles in the modern church. Now it's become in vogue to interpret 
scripture today in a way that's all about me. I don't mean me, 
Jim Butler. I mean me, whoever the reader 
is. We insert ourselves into texts. We put ourselves into 
passages. We read Matthew chapter 10, verses 
one to four, and we see that Jesus specifically chose 12 people, 
and we add ourselves. Or we hopefully don't, but Benny 
Hinn does. Or some of these other people 
do. That's arrogance. Does everybody get that? It's 
arrogant to say that I have apostolic authority when Jesus didn't give 
me apostolic authority. And not only do we have the appointment 
of the apostles in Matthew chapter 10, we have criteria specified 
for the replacement of Judas in Acts 1, 21, and 22. In other 
words, it wasn't just the most charismatic happy fellow, no 
pun intended there, that could be another apostle, but it was 
somebody who had been with the other apostles, that had witnessed 
the resurrection of Jesus. No living person today can qualify 
as an apostle. So if the emphasis in the book 
of Acts is on the agency of the apostles through which the signs 
and wonders are done, why do we expect those signs and wonders 
today? Again, God can do signs, God can do wonders, God can heal 
people, God can't. That's not the argument. The 
argument is, should the church expect those manifestations of 
the Spirit when the church has the written word of God? I'd 
say the answer is absolutely positively no. Can God do signs 
and wonders? Absolutely. Are we to expect 
him to do signs and wonders the way he does here? No. He's given 
us the written word. That's our sign. That's our wonder. And on a real practical note, 
and people who have been here for any amount of time know this, 
as I've said it before, it's always shocked me that people 
who get new revelation from the Lord are sometimes people who 
haven't read the 66 books of the Bible. You really expect me to believe 
that God gave you a word and you can't give me the basic, 
basic description of what's happening in Hosea? You can't tell me who 
Amos was? Why would God give you more when 
you haven't availed yourself to what there is? It just makes 
no sense on a practical level. And dare I say it? It sounds 
proud. You say, Butler, I'm proud. I'm not going to lie to you. 
But try to hide it a little better than that. The Lord spoke to 
me. Well, can you give me the gist 
of the book of Deuteronomy? I don't know never read Deuteronomy 
never read Ezekiel never read I'm not saying you've mastered 
those books and can preach them, but there are people out there 
Oh, the Lord spoke to me and the Lord told me the Lord this 
the Lord that have you read, you know Do you know who Hezekiah 
was? Oh, no, I don't know who Hezekiah 
was it's just falling and then in terms of the normalization 
of the unusual or the extraordinary. Go to Acts 19, verse 11. Go to Acts 19, verse 11. And we're winding this up. We 
really aren't going two hours. Notice in Acts 19 verse 11, now 
God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul so that even 
handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the 
sick and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out 
of them. Do you see what Luke's saying? 
This is unusual. This is extraordinary. This isn't normal. This isn't 
show up, sing a few hymns, preach the word, go home. This is unusual 
stuff. So it seems to me the Charismatic 
and the Pentecostal want to normalize the unusual and extraordinary. And as I said earlier, they oftentimes 
marginalize the normal. I was in one such meeting before, 
and a man who was talking about a healing ministry that had happened 
in some foreign setting, basically looked in our direction and said, 
when these people come to these places, they don't want doctrine, 
they want a healing. Wow. That's pretty incredible 
for somebody to say in light of a finished canon, because 
where does Paul emphasize the church is to find its life? Sound doctrine. That's why I 
suggest they want to normalize the extraordinary, and they oftentimes 
marginalize the normal. I've also said this to you, my 
beloved brethren, most of us are normal. regular, ordinary 
slobs trying to do what we're supposed to do in a manner that 
is consistent with God's Word. Most of us won't be John Calvin. 
Most of us won't be C.H. Spurgeon. Most of us won't be 
Amy Carmichael. Most of us will never make some 
lasting mark upon the kingdom. We're called to be faithful. We're called to be normal. We're not snowflakes. We're not 
delicate. We're not wonderful individuals. 
We're people saved by grace that are supposed to show up here, 
sing praises to God, try and love each other during the week, 
and be faithful in all walks of life. The normal and the ordinary 
are perfectly acceptable for the people of God. This always 
longing for more, this always craving for something more, I 
submit is more akin to Baalism than it is to the worship of 
Yahweh. And then finally, last sort of 
point before we leave, our charismatic and Pentecostal friends. The 
failure to distinguish between the descriptive and the prescriptive. I've said that in the book of 
Acts. Not everything described by Luke is prescribed for the 
church. Because persons were trying to 
position themselves so that the shadow of Peter might fall on 
them, that doesn't prescribe how churches should function. 
We don't have a wing so that the shadow might pass by. We 
don't do that. It's sort of like 2 Kings. Some 
of you all use Robert Murray McShane's reading calendar, and 
you've been in 2 Kings, and you've read the life and ministry of 
Elisha. Maybe not all of it yet, but 
you have been reading. I don't think any of you in chapter 
2, or the day of chapter 2, said, I need to put salt in my water 
to purify it. I don't think any of you at dinner 
time that night thought there was death in the pot, so you 
put flour in it. And I doubt that any of you lost 
an axe head sometime since you've read, and you threw a stick into 
the pond so that the axe head would float out. I don't think 
that happens. And yet we get to Acts 5.15, 
and all of a sudden we got to seek a shadow? Brethren, some 
things are described for us, things that happened in redemptive 
history, that are not necessarily prescribed in terms of duties 
and responsibilities and things we're supposed to pursue. The 
descriptive that is prescriptive is in Acts 2. They continued 
steadfastly in the Apostles' Doctrine, fellowship, breaking 
of bread, and prayers. That's the normal and the ordinary. 
Embrace it, do it, and never ever stop. And then finally, 
we notice that everybody from outside of Jerusalem came because 
the church and her influence was growing. John Gill comments 
on verse 16, none went without a cure which served greatly to 
confirm the gospel preached by the apostles and to irritate 
and provoke their enemies as appears by what follows. You see, that's happening. Not 
only the preaching of the Word, it's these accompanying signs 
and wonders. Remember, there's a power play 
sort of behind the scenes. The Sanhedrin is threatened, 
like they were with Jesus. Jesus was a menace to the Sanhedrin's 
power, because everybody wanted to hear Jesus. Everybody wanted 
to listen to Jesus. Throw into the mix that Jesus 
actually had the power to heal people. He was a man that could 
command crowds and he could keep crowds. And the Sanhedrin saw 
that as a threat to their power. Well, the same thing is happening 
with the apostles. The apostles are preaching the 
truth as it is in Jesus. They have these accompanying 
signs and wonders. The Sanhedrin is smart enough 
to read the writing on the wall. And they realize that if we don't 
silence these apostles, this movement is going to overtake 
us. That's why Gamaliel says, leave them alone. It's a fool's 
errand for you to try and silence them. They should have listened 
to Gamaliel because they don't stop trying to persecute the 
people of God Almighty. See, it's a power play. They 
are threatened, and they want to silence the apostles for their 
having done what they've done. In terms of some concluding thoughts, 
first, the faithfulness of the church militant. We've been looking 
at this as we move through this book, and we will continue to 
do so. We see it fleshed out in further 
ways in this section. First, we see the presence and 
the power of the Holy Spirit. Again, the Holy Spirit's evidence 
and manifestation or presence isn't simply seen by those seeking 
the shadow of Peter. The Spirit's influence is here 
when you leave and you're more conformed to the image of Christ. 
That's not Cam's power. It's not my power. If anybody's 
going to be more like Jesus, that's divine power. We shouldn't 
underestimate that or devalue that. It just seems like such 
an offense. Oh, the only way we know the 
Spirit's been at work is if somebody who is sick is healed. What about 
somebody that was sick with sin who stopped? Did anyone get porn 
tonight because of the Spirit's work in their hearts? Do we give 
God glory for that? They don't go out and abuse people 
this week. They don't steal from their employer. 
Does God get glory for that? Is that a manifestation of the 
power of the Holy Spirit? I say, yea and amen. And the 
Spirit is at work in this church, in this early church setting. 
And the way and the means by which we'll know the Spirit's 
at work in our gathering together is if, one, we obey what God 
says. You know, that doesn't seem to be any more of the issue. 
How do we know that worship was good? Because I felt it. No, 
because God commanded it and we obeyed Him. We obeyed God. That's a good thing. People who 
obey God do so because of God. As well, sinners are saved, saints 
are sanctified. Secondly, the unified gathering 
for worship. They were all with one accord 
in Solomon's porch. Again, I don't think this means 
they were cookie cutters. I don't think they means, you know, they 
all wore uniforms. They all had name tags. They 
all looked, you know, that's not what it means. But it means 
they loved each other. They wanted to be with each other. 
It wasn't an aversion to the body of Christ. They didn't look 
for reasons to stay at home in bed on a Sunday morning. Anyway, 
you know, no, they wanted to be with the people of God as 
well. The presence of the fear of God. 
Verse 13. I think that's evidence that 
the Spirit is at work when people actually are afraid. Again, the 
two types of fear the Bible envisions. One is hiding under the piano 
fear and the other is revering and honoring and glorifying God 
fear. Dare I say it, a little bit of hiding under the piano 
fear is consistent as well in that other type of fear. So we're 
dealing with God Almighty who killed Ananias and Sapphira because 
they lied to the Holy Spirit. Let's not forget that. Let's 
let that shape us and frame us and fit us for service to God. You mean God kills hypocritical 
liars? Yes, God kills hypocritical liars. That gives all of us some duties 
for this afternoon. We need to go home and confess, 
forsake, and repent of our hypocritical lying. so that God doesn't kill 
us and we can show back up tonight and worship and serve Him. The 
recognition by others of the validity of the church, 13b. 13b. I don't think that the world 
should fawn all over the church. I don't think the church should 
have favor in the eyes of the world, but I do think that if 
the church does what the church does, then the world will at 
least think, we don't want to mess with that. We don't want 
to mess with that. Probably the thrust of the, they 
were esteemed highly. We don't want to, we don't want 
to get involved with what they got going on there. When the 
church laughs, or rather when the world laughs at the church, 
when the world sees the church just like the world, when the 
world sees the church with no manifest power or evidence of 
the Spirit of God, That's not good. It should be such that 
the world sees and fears. And then the multiplication of 
believers through the preaching of the gospel. Verse 14. So those are some of the traits 
or fruits, rather, of the faithfulness of the church militant. In terms 
of the presence of the signs and wonders, it authenticated 
the word of the apostles, it demonstrated the power of God, 
and it did manifest the goodness of God. I don't want that to 
be lost, because in Acts 5, 1 to 11, God sent down power, but 
it was in terms of killing Ananias and Sapphira. So now he goes 
back to, or resumes, that pattern of signs and wonders that are 
remedial, that are redemptive, that are beneficial, that are 
healing in terms of the application of such things. John Calvin said, 
He returns to miracles of another sort, which are more proper to 
the gospel, to wit, whereby Christ doth not only declare His power, 
but also His goodness, to the end that He may allure men unto 
Himself with the sweetness of His grace. Calvin said elsewhere, 
Miracles must never be separated from the Word. So you might understand 
it this way. Miracles don't make Christians. Miracles don't change the heart. If you doubt what I'm saying, 
read Matthew 11, 20 to 24. Jesus upbraided the cities of 
His day because they saw His mighty miracles and they did 
not repent. So the miracles don't make believers, 
but the miracles advertise the God who saves sinners. That's what I think Calvin means. 
It allures them. It shows them. It displays that 
goodness and that kindness and that mercy of God, such that 
if he's healing, such that if there's exercising of demons, 
such that there's putting back together broken bodies, this 
God is to be trusted in terms of salvation for another life. That is one of the reasons for 
the signs and the wonders. Well, I hope that all of us will 
be encouraged with this sort of understanding of Acts chapter 
5, that we'll be spared from the Roman Catholic abuse in terms 
of the primacy of Peter, but we'll also be spared from the 
Pentecostal and charismatic abuse of seeking shadows when we have 
the written word of the living God. I do want to close with 
this final emphasis. The way of salvation for anyone 
here this morning that is not saved is verse 14. They who believed. It's about belief in the gospel. 
You will never go to heaven because you're good. You will never go 
to heaven because you're accomplished. You'll never go to heaven because 
you didn't murder, or you didn't commit adultery, or you didn't 
embezzle from your employer. You will never go to heaven based 
on what you did or didn't do, because at the very essence of 
your core, you're a sinner before God. No matter how many good 
things you've done, no matter how many bad things you've avoided, 
you're a sinner. You're an Adam. All we like sheep 
have gone astray. The only way of salvation is 
through faith in Jesus Christ. We preach this, or try to, every 
single week. You're not saved by works. You're 
not saved by merit. You're not saved by reform. You're 
not saved by changing your mind in terms of church policy. You're 
saved by looking to another. You're saved by looking at Christ. You're saved by looking to Him 
who lived and died and who was raised the third day. It's in 
Him alone that there is forgiveness. It's in Him alone that there 
is a righteousness given that avails with the Father for the 
everlasting benefit of your soul. So come, believe. You may not 
completely and fully understand everything about verse 15. You 
may not completely and fully understand anything about verses 
12 to 16. But this much I want to leave you with. Jesus Christ 
is a real Savior for real sinners. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for your Word. We thank you for your grace and 
your mercy. We thank you for your power, 
displayed in verse 15 and 16, and many people being healed 
physically and having demons cast out. We see that power displayed 
in our day through the preaching of the Word, attended by the 
Holy Spirit, to the saving of sinners and the sanctifying of 
saints. And we give praise and glory and adoration unto you, 
our great God. And we pray that you would go 
with us now, that you would watch over us, help us to have a good 
Lord's Day. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.