Sword & Trowel 2016: Issue 1
cannot be overthrown. But he failed to note that the fall of the false may not take place for many centuries. Has Islam fallen yet, or Rome, or Hinduism? By Gamaliel’s test, per- haps we should conclude that these movements are of God. But Gamaliel forgot that God does not judge the false immediately. Some false institu- tions will last until Christ destroys them at his coming.
True only at final judgement
The counsel of Gamaliel is true only when set in the context of eter- nity and the final judgement. In the meantime we have a duty to exercise discernment by the clear guidance of the Word. To substitute the ‘do- nothing’ counsel of Gamaliel for discernment leads to one of two con- sequences, as we have noted. Either we fail to support something which is right, or we say and do nothing about something which is harmful and dishonouring to God. Gamaliel’s counsel is always foolish, selfish, and hideously costly to the cause of Christ.
In the event, by doing nothing Ga- maliel fought against God, because he failed to believe and support God’s cause. He also failed to act when the apostles were flogged and charged not to speak in the name of the Lord.
Gamaliel’s counsel of indecision was not due to his being a foolish man, for he was a renowned scholar and thinker. His reasoning was the product of unbelief and of fear. He was afraid of the reaction of the crowds in Jerusalem. The other members of that hastily
convened Jewish Council imagined that they possessed the social stand- ing and moral authority to get away with whatever their murderous instincts dictated. Gamaliel knew better, realising that the death of the apostles could put the Council itself at risk. So he warned, ‘Take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do.’ The Temple police sent to arrest the apostles had not dared to use violence – ‘for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned’ (verse 26). Even many unsaved peo- ple sympathised with the apostles on account of their power to heal. History repeats itself. Just as self-
preservation and self-interest was the motive behind Gamaliel’s original counsel, so it is often the reason for its use today. Years ago the ‘Toronto blessing’ would arrive in a town where a weak and indecisive pastor led a fellowship of the Lord’s people. ‘If I oppose this,’ he would reason, ‘I may lose members in my church. Worse, the advocates of this new phenomenon may push me aside. On the other hand, if I encourage this new phenomenon too openly and too early, I will certainly meet with disap- proval from my members.’
A Pharisee to the rescue
How will this unprotecting pastor handle such a dilemma? He will not find a text presenting the words of Christ, or of any apostle to justify an ambivalent, compromising, equivocal position. But, fortunately for the un- worthy pastor, the words of a proud, self-righteous, unconverted Pharisee will come to his rescue. The coun- sel of Gamaliel is available for any
Beware of the Counsel of Gamaliel! page 39
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