The Church: A Sanctuary for Refugees

Lessons from Acts 5:12-16 on Bold Faith in a Broken World

By Nathan Hargrave

In the aftermath of persecution and threats, the early church faced a critical moment. The religious authorities had arrested Peter and John, warning them to cease teaching in the name of Jesus. Yet rather than retreating into safety, the apostles and early believers responded with a prayer that would define their ministry: "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus" (Acts 4:29-30).

Acts 5:12-16 reveals how God answered that prayer in remarkable ways, providing us with a powerful picture of what the church is called to be in our broken world today.

The Context of Courage

The passage opens with a striking scene: "Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed."

This wasn't just any location—Solomon's Portico was the very place where Peter and John had previously healed the lame man and where they had been arrested by the religious authorities. Of all the places to return to, why would they choose the site of their persecution? The answer reveals the heart of biblical evangelism: they went where the people were.

A World Enslaved

To understand the significance of the early church's actions, we must first grasp the spiritual reality they confronted—the same reality we face today. We live in a world wrecked by a cruel slave master known as sin, ruled by Satan, the prince of this age. Humanity, enslaved to sin, obeys its rule and suffers under its deception and consequences: sickness, infirmity, loss, and death. Even worse than physical ailments is the spiritual reality of enmity with God.

For those who have been purchased from the wrath of God by the blood of Christ and transferred from the domain of darkness into His marvelous light, this world presents a unique challenge. We are temporarily left here in the midst of present darkness, experiencing the same ailments as the lost world, yet knowing they are temporary. Even death has lost its sting, becoming not a coffin entrapping you into eternal torment, but a doorway into eternal glory.

Through the lens of eternity and gospel perspective, we can see afflictions like sickness and loss differently than the world does. To the world, suffering appears meaningless. They are citizens of a war-torn land, seeking sanctuary anywhere they can find it. They are refugees, plagued and ruled by that cruel warlord, sin. Paradoxically, they still love and obey their master while hating the consequences of doing so.

This is where the church comes in. The primary reason we are left here is to be a city of light upon a hill, to be the salt that preserves and delays the stench of rot brought by spiritual death. The early church provides a beautiful picture of this calling being lived out with power and compassion.

Four Observations

1. The Saints Who Are Fearlessly Going to the People

The apostles chose to return to Solomon's Portico—the exact location of their previous arrest and threats. This wasn't coincidental but strategic. They went where the people were, and not just any people, but those who were already seeking spiritual things by coming to the temple. This provided the perfect opportunity to point them toward the only true spiritual reality.

The text tells us about signs and wonders being performed by the apostles, but these miracles were never ends in themselves. Like Peter's response after healing the lame man in Acts 3:12, these miraculous works served as confirmation of power and authority to preach Christ. The apostles used every miracle as a platform for gospel proclamation.

In doing so, they directly opposed the religious leaders and placed targets on their backs. They could have chosen what some might call "lifestyle evangelism"—flying under the radar, building relationships slowly, waiting for the "right" opportunities. Instead, they chose the harder path, fearlessly going to the people despite knowing the cost.

This fearless approach echoes the apostle Paul's later testimony to the Thessalonians: "But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict" (1 Thessalonians 2:2). The apostles understood both the danger and the nature of God. They knew that all these people suffering under the weight of sin must be told of deliverance through Christ, at all costs.

Some might argue that the apostles had special grace unavailable to ordinary believers today. While they did have unique apostolic gifts, these served as examples of how to live the Christian life, continuing the pattern exemplified by Jesus in His earthly ministry. There remains a world full of lost, broken, and dying souls suffering under the reign of a cruel slave master, and the saints have the words of life—the gospel of grace—which is their only hope.

2. The Saints Who Are Fearfully Staying Away from the People

The text mentions that "none of the rest dared join them," creating some interpretive questions about who "the rest" refers to. While some scholars suggest this refers to unbelievers staying away, the context seems to point toward other believers who were too fearful to join the apostles in their public ministry.

This fear was understandable. These believers were very aware that Peter and John had been arrested and warned. The threat of further persecution was real, as evidenced by the fact that immediately following this passage, Acts 5:18 records that "they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison." Additionally, Acts 5:11 tells us that "great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things" following God's judgment on Ananias and Sapphira.

These circumstances would naturally shake people and leave them disoriented. Many probably had seemingly good excuses for avoiding public ministry: "I don't have that gifting," "Only the apostles can heal," "They're the professionals who should be evangelizing." However, this attitude contradicted the example Jesus set during His earthly ministry.

When Jesus ministered, His disciples participated not just as support but as those being discipled, growing and learning how to teach, evangelize, and minister. True discipleship involves ministering alongside Jesus, learning from Him. This is how the apostles knew what to do when Jesus was no longer physically present.

The result of the apostles' faithfulness was that "the people held them in high esteem." While the religious leaders and powers hated them—just as they had hated Christ—the people, those refugees grasping for hope, could see that the apostles were doing good. This reflects Peter's later instruction: "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:12).

3. The Saints Who Are Found Among the People

The apostles' willingness to risk their lives wasn't motivated by mere philanthropy, but by the knowledge that there were those from every tribe, nation, and tongue among the people whom God intended to save. They weren't healing and performing miracles primarily as humanitarian efforts but were doing what Jesus came to do: seeking and saving the lost.

Despite the fear of other believers and the opposition of religious authorities, the text records that "more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women." The NIV translation captures this beautifully: "Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number."

This "nevertheless" is crucial. The kingdom mission was not hindered by human fear. Christ uses any and every means to find His lost sheep. However, this truth must never become an excuse for spiritual complacency. Some fall into what theologians call "hyper-Calvinism"—a heretical distortion that uses God's sovereignty as justification for inaction in evangelism.

True biblical understanding of God's sovereignty actually gives courage for evangelism, just as it did for the apostles. All modern missions movements were started by Calvinists who understood that while God does the saving, He uses the means of proclamation. We are absolutely responsible to be salt and light, to go to the people, and biblical theology provides the courage to do so.

4. The Saints Should Be a Refuge for the People

The passage concludes with a remarkable scene: "So that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed."

This scene reflects Jesus' earthly ministry as recorded in Luke 6:17-19. As Charles Spurgeon aptly observed, "The church is not a club for the elite—it is a refuge for sinners." While we gather on the Lord's Day for equipping, we're called to go out into the dark world as a refuge for those seeking hope.

When we go to the people today, they should be able to see a difference in us. While we no longer perform apostolic signs and wonders (as Paul clarifies in 2 Corinthians 12:12 that these were "signs of a true apostle"), what we do is equally miraculous. We bring the good news of Jesus Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit to awaken dead souls.

Should we use benevolent deeds, caring for the poor, and meeting physical needs as means of showing the gospel? Absolutely. The question is whether we're bold like the apostles, going to the people no matter the cost and trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit, or whether we're like the other saints who dared not join them, keeping our distance and assuming God will send someone else.

The Call to Courage

The watching world doesn't need a cautious or lazy church. It needs a courageous, faithful refuge. Churches must fight against the natural tendency toward comfort and safety, recognizing that such an approach ultimately fails to serve those most desperately in need of hope.

The call is to be a city on a hill, going to the people with compassion and grace, having great sympathy for their plight because we ourselves were once in the darkness. We were once without hope, but Christ came to us. Now, as His body, we are called to go to others.

This requires trusting God to make us visible, loving the broken boldly, and welcoming the wounded in the public sphere. It means viewing every person we encounter as a potential refugee from the kingdom of darkness, desperately in need of the sanctuary that only the gospel can provide.

Living as Light in the Darkness

The early church's example challenges modern believers to examine our approach to mission and ministry. Are we characterized by the fearless boldness of the apostles, or by the hesitant fear of those who "dared not join them"? Do we see the world as it truly is—a place full of refugees from a spiritual war zone—or have we become comfortable in our Christian bubbles?

The gospel calls us to something greater than safety and comfort. It calls us to be salt and light, to be a refuge for those fleeing the tyranny of sin and death. This doesn't mean we act recklessly or without wisdom, but it does mean we prioritize the desperate spiritual needs of those around us over our own comfort and security.

In our contemporary context, this might mean engaging in difficult conversations about faith, serving in challenging environments, or simply being willing to let our light shine in places where it might attract opposition. It means seeing every interaction as an opportunity to point others toward the only true sanctuary available to spiritual refugees.

The early church's example reminds us that when we live this way—boldly, compassionately, and authentically—people take notice. Just as the apostles were "held in high esteem" by the people even while being persecuted by the authorities, genuine Christian love and service create a attractive witness that draws those seeking hope.

Conclusion: The Continuing Mission

The church's calling hasn't changed since those early days in Solomon's Portico. We are still called to be a sanctuary for refugees, a beacon of hope in a dark world, a place where the broken can find healing and the lost can find salvation. The stakes remain just as high, and the need just as desperate.

The question is whether we will respond with the same courage and compassion that characterized the early church. Will we go to the people, risking comfort and safety for the sake of the gospel? Will we trust in God's power to work through us, even when the odds seem stacked against us?

The world is watching, waiting to see if the church will be what it claims to be—a refuge for those fleeing the darkness, a sanctuary for spiritual refugees seeking hope, healing, and home. May we be found faithful to that calling, following in the footsteps of those early believers who changed the world by fearlessly proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, no matter the cost.