What the Bible says about sin and forgiveness, from Acts chapter 3 & 4, paraphrased by John E, with science and culture extensions.
John E comment before the Acts account. The Bible, more than most old manuscripts, holds true between its parts. The reliability of the Bible was assailed in the time of skepticism, 1768 Reimarus, 1835 Strauss, 1901 Wrede, 1990 Episcopalian Bishop Spong, who wanted to eliminate theism in churches.
There are many great themes in the million words of the Bible:
the faith of the patriarchs,
the rebellions through most of the Old Testament,
the occasional obedience of a king,
animal sacrifice as a constant through the Tent of Meeting to Herod's great Second Temple,
Paul's letters meshing Messiah with the valid strains of Jewish practice.
Acts chapters 3 and 4 record incidents leading up to the great persecution of the new Christians by the old guard of Jews. Read this for a snapshot of faith and good will in the face of persecutors.
A life-long crippled man was every day outside the Jerusalem Temple, begging for money. He was well known to everyone, as were numerous other beggars. (The crippled man couldn't go into the Temple, that was forbidden by one of the laws of purity given to Moses.)
Sometime after the Spirit had been given to the believers at Jerusalem, which was at Pentecost, Peter and John walked by the man and heard his plea. Peter didn't have money, but the Spirit prompted Peter to say, "I do have something else I can give you. By the power of Jesus Messiah from Nazareth--stand up and walk!”
Peter was bold, not cautious, and he didn't ask the man if he felt healed. Peter had assurance from the Spirit that the man was healed. He lifted the man's right hand, the hand of honor, and pulled him up. The man's "feet and legs became strong."
If a modern doctor had been present, the doctor would have said, "This is impossible. This man had never walked. One minute ago, his muscles were atrophied, and he has never practiced walking or balancing, his brain hasn't been trained. He should not be walking, much less leaping! At the least, he would have to learn to walk just like a one-year-old has to learn. But brain plasticity declines after childhood, and just for that reason we expect this man would never be able to learn to walk. From my medical experience, this is impossible."
The healed man was suddenly qualified to enter the Court of Men, a place he had never been to. Though he was dressed as a beggar, he was not inhibited. He jumped and praised God as he accompanied Peter and John. Numerous men in the Temple recognized him, confirmed their recognition by seeing his tattered clothing, and, with excitement, marveled at the healing. Men were running to him, caught up in the thrill.
Consider why this event was thrilling. Just two months before this event, and well within the memory of many of the people, Jesus had done miracles of healing and miracles to confirm his supernatural nature, all to further the faith that people could have in Jesus, that he was Messiah. The hard-nosed unbelief of the ruling council and the party of the Sadducees, who taught against resurrection from the dead, had been focused on Jesus and turned the people against Jesus, forcing the Roman governor, Pilate, to aquiesce to the wish of the ruling council, that Jesus must die. In light of this recent, deadly political conflict, a resumption of public miracles was a sensation.
When Peter saw this, he said to the people, “My Jewish brothers, why are you surprised at this? You are looking at us as if it was our power that made this man walk. Do you think this was done because we are good? 13 No, God did this!
Our God is the God of Father Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, our esteemed forefathers. He is the God of all our fathers. Now in our lifetimes, God gave glory to Jesus, his servant and only son. But you handed him over to be killed.
Do I need to remind you of what happened? Though Governor Pilate decided to let him go free, you went along with the demand of the ruling council. You told Pilate you did not want him. 14 Jesus was holy and good, but you said you did not want him, and you were threatening to riot. 15 And so you killed the one who gives life!
But God raised him from death. We are witnesses of this—-we saw it with our own eyes, and many in this city saw the miracles on the day of Jesus' crucifixion, and felt the earthquake. Some of you even saw the saints, risen from their graves, testifying about the identity of Jesus.
16 “This very day, before your eyes, this crippled man was healed because we trusted in Jesus. It was Jesus’ power that made him well. You can see this man, and you know him. He was made completely well because of faith in Jesus. You all saw it happen!
17 “My brothers, I know that what you did to Jesus was done because you did not understand what you were doing. And your leaders did not understand any more than you did. 18 But God said these things would happen.
Through the prophets he said that his Messiah would suffer and die. The writings of the prophets, hundreds of years ago, say this. I have told you how God made this happen. 19 Now is the time for you to change your hearts and lives. Come back to God, and he will forgive your sins. 20 Then the Lord will give you times of spiritual rest. He will send you Jesus, the one he chose to be the Messiah.
21 “But Jesus must stay in heaven until a time when all things will be made right again. God told about this time when he spoke long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will give you a prophet. That prophet will come from among your own people. He will be like me. You must obey everything he tells you. 23 And anyone who refuses to obey that prophet will die, separated from God’s people.’ [Indeed, everyone will die. By your individual choice, you place yourself among those with God, or those who are separated for eternity.]
24 “Samuel, and all the other prophets who spoke for God after Samuel, said that this time would come. 25 And what those prophets talked about is for now and for you, their descendants. You have received the covenant that God made with your fathers. God said to your father Abraham [a multicultural oath], ‘Every nation on earth will be blessed through your descendants.’ 26 Now God has sent his servant and son Jesus. He sent him to you first. He sent him to bless you by causing each of you to turn away from your evil ways.” [But understand that Jesus' forgiveness saves you, it isn't by any amount of good that you can do.]
Chapter 4
4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, some Jewish leaders came up to them. There were some priests, the captain of the soldiers that guarded the Temple, and some Sadducees. 2 They, too, marveled that the beggar was healed. But they were outraged because of what Peter and John were teaching the people. By telling people about Jesus, the disciples were teaching that people will rise from death, thus undermining the status of the leaders, [who were materialists]. 3 The Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John and put them in jail. It was already night, and judgment was not done at night, so they kept them in jail until the next day. 4 But many of the people who heard the disciples believed what they said. There were now about 5000 men among the believers, plus the women and children.
5 The next day the Jewish rulers, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander were there. Everyone from the high priest’s family was there. 7 They made Peter and John stand before all the people. They asked them over and over, “How did you make this crippled man well? What power did you use? By whose authority did you do this?” (They had to admit that the man had been healed, it was no use denying that.)
8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and you older leaders, 9 are you questioning us today about what we did to help this crippled man? Are you asking us what made him well?
10 We want all of you and all the people of Israel to know that this man was made well by the power of Jesus, our Messiah from Nazareth. [Through the hardness of your hearts,] you nailed Jesus to a cross, but God raised him from death. This man was crippled, but he is now well. He is able to stand here before you because of the power of Jesus!
11 Jesus is ‘the stone that you builders thought was not important. But this stone has become the cornerstone.’ [Psalm 118:22-23]
12 Jesus is the only one who can save people. [And supernatural healing that you saw yesterday only comes from Jesus.] His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save anyone. We must be saved through him!” [Anyone else claiming to give salvation is a fraud.]
13 The Jewish leaders understood that these well-known disciples of Jesus, Peter and John, had no special training or education. But they also saw that Peter and John were not afraid to speak, and would keep on speaking. So the leaders were amazed. 14 There was the formerly crippled man standing beside the disciples, healed. They could say nothing against the disciples, nor dispute what they said.
15 In frustration, the leaders dismissed Peter, John, and the beggar from the council meeting. Then the leaders talked to each other about what they should do. 16 “What shall we do with these men? Everyone in Jerusalem now knows about the miracle they did as a sign from God. It’s too obvious. We can’t say it didn’t happen. But we must make them afraid to talk to anyone again using that name, otherwise this problem will spread further among the people, beyond the thousands that have been infected.”
18 So the Jewish leaders called Peter and John in again. They told them not to say anything or to teach anything in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John, speaking with assurance from the Spirit, answered them, “What do you think is right? What would God want? Should we obey you or God? 20 We cannot be quiet. We must tell people about what we have seen and heard.”
21-22 The Jewish leaders could not find a way to punish the disciples, because all the people were praising God for what had been done. This miracle was a sign from God. The man who was healed was more than 40 years old. So the Jewish leaders warned the disciples again and let them go free.
23 Peter and John left the meeting of Jewish leaders and went to their own group, telling everything that the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders had said to them. 24 When the believers heard this, they didn't applaud Peter and John. They recognized the power of the Spirit, and they all prayed to God with one purpose. “Master, you are the one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in the world. 25 Our ancestor David was your servant. With the help of the Holy Spirit he wrote these words:
‘Why are the nations shouting? Why are the people planning such useless things? 26 ‘The kings of the earth prepare themselves to fight, and the rulers all come together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’
27 That’s what has now happened when Herod, Governor Pilate, the other nations, and the people of Israel all came together against Jesus here in Jerusalem. He is your holy Servant, the one you made to be the Messiah.
28 These people who came together against Jesus made your plan happen. It was done in our own time because of your power and your will. [We are seeing how the prophets were correct in predicting Messiah.]
29 And now, Lord, listen to what they are saying. They are trying to make us afraid. But we are your servants. Help us to say what you want us to say without fear. 30 Help us to be brave by showing us your power. Make sick people well. Cause miraculous signs and wonders to happen by the authority of Jesus, your holy servant.”
31 After the believers prayed, the place where they were meeting shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak God’s message without fear.
33 With great power the disciples were making it known to everyone that the Lord Jesus was raised from death.
In Chapter 5,
The high priest questioned them. 28 He said, “We told you never again to teach using that name. But look at what you have done! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you are trying to blame us for his death.”
29 Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God, not you! 30 You killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross. But God, the same God of our fathers, raised Jesus up from death. 31 Jesus is the very one who God honored by giving him a place at his right side. He made him our Leader and Savior. God did this to give all the people of Israel the opportunity to change and turn to God to have their sins forgiven. 32 We saw all these things happen, and we can say that they are true. The Holy Spirit also shows that these things are true. God has given this Spirit to all those who obey him.”
33 When the council members heard this, they became very angry. They began to plan a way to kill the apostles.
34 But one member of the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, stood up. He was a teacher of the law, and all the people respected him. He told the men to make the apostles leave the meeting for a few minutes. 35 Then he said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful of what you are planning to do to these men. 36 Remember when Theudas appeared? He said he was an important man, and about 400 men joined him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were scattered and ran away. They were not able to do anything.
37 Later, during the time of the census, a man named Judas came from Galilee. Many people joined his group, but he was also killed, and all his followers were scattered.
38 [Brothers, you have a proper respect for one who is old. Now do what I tell you is best.] Stay away from these men. Leave them alone. If their plan is something they thought up, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even be fighting against God himself!”
The Jewish leaders agreed with what Gamaliel said. 40 They called the apostles in again. They beat them and told them not to speak anymore using the name of Jesus. Then they let them go free. 41 The apostles left the council meeting. Despite their wounds, they were happy because they were given the honor of suffering dishonor for Jesus. 42 The apostles did not stop teaching the people. They continued to tell the Good News-—that Jesus is the Messiah. They did this every day in the Temple area and in people’s homes.
The group of followers in Jerusalem became larger and larger. Even a big group of Jewish priests came over, believing and obeying.
But there were foreign Jews from the Synagogue of Free Men, as it was called, from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They started arguing with Stephen. They conspired to lie about Stephen and accuse him of crimes. Rioters stoned Stephen. Many followers of Jesus fled Jerusalem to avoid persecution, for the persecutors proliferated among the ruling Jews. But the followers of Jesus attracted new believers in the places they fled to, so that the number of believers continued to increase.
Make your choice, follow the skeptics or join the rational people who agree that humans are inherently sinful, goodness is not the solution, but Jesus' forgiveness, received through faith, is the solution to sin.