Thought of the Day 11.20.08

In Acts 5, Gamaliel warns the Jewish Council not to oppose the apostles. If the project is from God, they won’t be able to stop it, and if it isn’t from God, it will fail on its own anyway. He advocates a sort of pacifism toward perceived heresy, but is this God’s advice?

We needn’t wonder, for the Bible also tells about the great Tower at Babel, a project which would have succeeded if God hadn’t thwarted it Himself, and of course the New Testament was written during the glory days of the pagan Roman Empire. In contrast, we have the numerous failures of God’s messengers throughout history.

You see, Gamaliel made a category mistake. Though it’s true that God’s plans succeed and all others fail, this is true only ultimately and in the end. In the meantime, many godly things die, and many ungodly things thrive. That’s why neither success nor failure is a reliable indicator of God’s Will.

Gamaliel was a man who rejected God’s Son, not a man who speaks God’s wisdom to us.