In The Temple and In Every House

In The Temple and In Every House

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Acts 5:42

The Apostles could not manage to stay out of trouble with the religious authorities. From the day of Pentecost onward, they were men on fire. The message upon their lips was the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. The context of our text, for the next several days, is that the Apostles had once again received threats and, beyond that, beatings from the religious rulers. So far from silencing them, or even intimidating them in any way, our text declares, ‘And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.’ As we begin our consideration of this text, let us consider these words, ‘And daily in the temple and in every house.’ Here we see that Christ was their primary subject everywhere they went. The temple was the place of public worship. It was the place where the learned met; where matters of theological importance held sway. Would they dare speak of Christ there? Would they fly in the face of thousands of years of tradition? Would they speak for someone who all the important folk were steadfastly against? Yes, Yes, they would. For Christ was worthy. Moreover, they also spoke of Christ, ‘in every house.’ Their speaking of Christ was not just for public display. They would not merely make a show of Him for others to see, and then go about their private business making no further mention of Him. No, their Christ was Christ to them both in public and in private. Every venue was appropriate to make much of Christ.  We find it so with us, when Christ has so thoroughly gripped our souls, we find that every place, both public and private, is an appropriate place for us to make much of Him.

Oh, Gracious and Loving Christ, we praise You that You give us grace, everyday in public and in private, to make much of You. We thank You that You have shown Yourself to us and given us such a worthy Subject.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning