In chapter 6 the church was growing, and so was its charity to the needy, which—human nature being what it is—doesn’t go as well as expected. The question that needs to be asked often, what is the primary role of the Church? What happens when the church fails or just loses it biblical focus?
The Grecian Jews were from outside Judea, and Greek was their vernacular—i.e., everyday language, just like German Jews before WWII spoke German as their vernacular, and American Jews speak English. They were not totally embraced by the Hebraic Jews—those native to Jerusalem and Judea.
The twelve included Matthias (Acts 1:26), since Paul still wasn’t an apostle. Waiting on tables is a worthwhile ministry for the Church, but the primary purpose of the apostles and the Church is prayer and ministry of the Word. If it fails in doing so, it fails as the Church. Certain mainline denominations have embraced today's cultural norms even when contrary to the Word of God.
Nicolas, from Antioch in Syria (v.5), was just one of a number of converts from other regions of the Roman Empire. He was selected to serve as one of the first seven deacons. As God’s Word spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied, which posed a threat to the Sanhedrin’s authority, especially with a large number of temple priests converting (v.7). The Sanhedrin couldn’t accuse or prosecute all of the priests without raising suspicion with the people, who may in turn question the judgment of the Sanhedrin themselves. Then and now, those in power will do anything to retain power. We have even seen it within our own federal government.
Map shows the location of Antioch in Syria (red arrow) where Nicolas was from. Syria was annexed to Rome by Pompey in 64 B.C. Antioch was the capital of the Roman province of Syria. All of Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, and the Middle East were then situated in the eastern region of the Roman Empire, where Greek was the principal spoken language because of Alexander the Great who conquered the region in 334-333 B.C. The New Testament was written in Greek, a language most of the people within that region, and even Rome itself, understood. Just as today, English is understood across most of the western world. Do you see God’s sovereignty in all of this? How He preordained a common language to spread the Church and share the written Word.
Those first century Christians shared the Gospel with family and friends, and three centuries later, the entire Roman Empire was officially proclaimed as Christian. But there's a downside, both as a church and as a nation—addressed in Adrian Rogers’ message at the end of this lesson—definitely worth your time.
Those from Cilicia were Jews or proselytes (Gentile converts to Judaism) who may have been former Roman slaves that were set free—as implied in their synagogue title. Or from a place called "Libertina“ (Latin for freedom), a town of the Roman province of Byzacena in North Africa, not far from ancient Carthage; all of whom were members of the “Synagogue of the Freedmen”.
Members of this synagogue were devout Jews, adhering to Jewish law and tradition. They opposed Stephen professing Jesus as Messiah and Savior, which they considered heretical. All religious organizations, right or wrong, will always defend their teachings.
The same could be said of the 16th century Christian Church (Roman Catholic Church) when Martin Luther proclaimed, from the Book of Romans, that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and nothing could be added to it for salvation. The Church leaders, at that time, were selling indulgences to set people free from Purgatory, which Luther proclaimed as contrary to the Word of God, which led to his trial and excommunication, which then led to the Protestant Reformation.
Rom 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
As the Church grew, its influence spread far and wide. Over time there were four major theological centers, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch and Rome, each with a bishop residing over it. Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 381 AD. Perhaps a future study in Heritage lounge or the blog, depending on feedback.
Constantine the Great, was Rome’s first Christian emperor from 306 to 337 AD. He legalized Christianity. But Theodosius decreed it as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD. Was it good? No! Remember Ananias and Sapphira in chapter 5? Why did their sin cause the Holy Spirit to strike them dead? Lying to the Holy Spirit would have opened to door for Satan’s lies and deceit to enter the infant Church. By legalizing Christianity, it decreed everyone as a Christian—opening that same door, since not all were born-again Christians—therefore, not Christian at all.
The Emperor’s intentions were good, but there was a cost. When the emperor declared Christianity as the official religion of Rome, many officials and even pagan priests jockeyed for position and power under the guise of being Christian. Pagan temples and priests were then incorporated into the Christian Church. When the Church embraces the culture, it ceases to be the Church.
Pictures show the library of ancient Alexandria, Egypt, which was the principal city of the Hellenistic Greek-speaking Jews—who used the Septuagint, O.T. Bible. The Septuagint (also known as the LXX) is a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Koine Greek. The name Septuagint comes from the Latin word for “seventy.” The tradition is that 70 (or 72) Jewish scholars were the translators behind the Septuagint, which was translated in the third and second centuries BC in Alexandria. Latin was the official language of Rome, but Greek was the common language within the Roman Empire, the Septuagint was popular among Jews living under Roman rule. Many of the early Christians didn’t know Hebrew, and embraced this popular Greek translation. Septuagint was used by the Christian church as its Old Testament for over 1,500 years (future study?).
When you want to accuse someone of something, lying becomes an effective means of doing so. They even produced liars to condemn Stephen (v.13). Even in today’s culture, the principal weapon to accuse someone of something, are lies. The key accusation today is labeling someone a racist. In v.11, their hatred of Christ was set in concrete. Nothing could persuade them otherwise. Their hearts were hardened, encased in pride and hatred.
The lies continued. Even Stephen’s radiant face, being compared to that of an angel did not dissuade them or mitigate their hatred.
There will be a day of judgment for those members of the Sanhedrin and the liars that testified against Stephen.
Stephen and the early church were powerful in prayer and deed. The Holy Spirit gave power to their prayers, spreading Christianity to far and wide. Are our prayers, today, just as powerful? Can they be?
When the church embraces the culture, it is no longer the church, and as such, its prayers lose their relevance.
The role of the Church isn’t to condone and embrace sin, but to share the Gospel of saving grace with a fallen world. God’s Words and biblical morality do not change. Pastor Adrian Rogers’ sermon: “Wake Up” at the end of this lesson addresses when the church loses its standing with God and embraces the culture.
Heb 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.
Sinners’ hearts remains hardened even when the evidence says otherwise, unless the Holy Spirit changes their heart.
Pastor Adrian Rogers’ 32-minute message to the church and those in the pews: “Wake Up”.
https://youtu.be/k-SWj3-JoK4
(copy and paste into your web browser)
Pray for our Nation, its elected officials that they may be awakened by the Holy Spirit to do what’s right for the Nation, its people, and it’s roll in the world. Pray for our Pastor, his family, and our church.
Hope to see you there.
End of
The Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 5
