Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled, and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13
A young man who lived in a small town told of how his parents were very careful about who he was spending his time with. Before he was allowed to go out in the evenings, his father always asked him where he was going, and who he was going with. There were certain people in that town who his father insisted that he was not to be keeping company with. But the young man often violated his father’s decree, and would be in the company of those prohibited persons, confident that his father would never know. To his surprise, his father would challenge him the next day, saying that he knew that he had been hanging out with people he was not supposed to be seeing. When he asked his father how he knew, his father told him, ‘People always talk and act like the people they spend time with, and you are talking and acting like the people I told you not to be with’. The words of that wise father are worth our heeding today.
How did the high priest and his buddies know that Peter and John had been with Jesus? By the way they talked and acted. Those Jewish leaders had encountered Jesus and had been embarrassed by Him. Now they were being embarrassed by His disciples, who were talking and acting just like their Master. This was a wonderful commendation for these disciples, a commendation that all of us as Christians should aspire to. Make no mistake, those around us today can tell whether we have been spending time with Jesus. And they can tell when we aren’t. A young Christian who I was with one time used an expression that was highly inappropriate for any Christian to use. When I rebuked him, he apologised, saying, ‘I forgot who I was with’. There were three things wrong with that. First, he should not have used that expression regardless of who he was with. Second, he should not be in the company of anyone with whom that expression would be acceptable. Third, if he had been spending more time in the presence of the Lord Jesus and His people, he would never have learned that expression.
A valuable exercise for us sometime is to watch and listen to people around us to see if we can tell whether they are Christians. We might be surprised. In a restaurant, watch to see who bows a head to give thanks for food. On a work site, listen to who breaks into a Gospel chorus. On a crowded street, notice who carries a Bible (not cult literature but a real Bible). There are ways to tell real Christians, because they will talk and act like the One Who they serve. But too many Christians don’t spend enough time in prayer or in reading their Bibles or in fellowship with the Lord’s people. So they talk and act more like the world than their Lord.
We cannot hide what we are. Whether we are spiritual Christians or worldly Christians, those around us will know. -Jim MacIntosh