“We ought to obey God rather than men.” — Acts 5:29
Four points, worked through in order, on a subject that is easy to agree with and hard to do.
1. Know what is right
You cannot stand on a conviction you have never examined. Psalm 119:105 — thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The lamp only shows the next step, which is usually all you need and rarely as much as you want.
The point pressed here was about the source. Not the crowd, not the general mood of things. The Word.
2. Have the courage to stand
Joshua 1:9 — be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid. The class was honest about the cost: rejection, criticism, friendships that cool off. Courage does not come from being sure it will go well. It comes from knowing who is with you while it goes badly.
Sometimes you will stand by yourself. That is not the same as standing alone.
3. Do not compromise
Daniel 3:16–18. Three men decline to bow, and the furnace is not a metaphor — it is right there, heated, in front of them. What they say is that their God is able to deliver them, and if not, they still will not bow. The conviction did not depend on the rescue.
The class named the ordinary version of this: trading what you believe for acceptance, a little at a time, usually without a furnace anywhere in sight.
4. Stand with love and wisdom
Ephesians 4:15 — speaking the truth in love. Being right is not a licence to be unkind. The class was direct about that: standing for what is right gives nobody permission to mistreat anybody, and truth delivered without love mostly just makes people defend themselves.
The closing image was a lighthouse. It does not chase the ship or argue with the weather. It holds its position and keeps its light on, and that turns out to be the whole job.
Wednesday, September 2, 2026 · Acts 5:29, Psalm 119:105, Joshua 1:9, Daniel 3:16–18, Ephesians 4:15
Leave a Reply