Chapter 7 is the first Christian martyr. Would you die for your faith? How many Christians ever have to face that decision during the course of their life? Many have, even in today’s world, and died for their faith. We are blessed in America that we don’t have to face that decision. But we can live for our faith!
(Note: our study of Acts began on 3/21. You can access it by clicking on that date on the Blog Archive in the upper right hand corner of the page)
Even if you studied Acts before, why study Acts again? Each section of the Bible provides a different aspect of God’s Word as noted by Pastor Alistair Begg. It's always worth your time. If you studied Acts before and you believe there’s nothing else to learn, you didn’t study it sufficiently…because there is always more to learn.
Much of what happens in Chapter 7 takes place at the temple mount. The image notes the Western Wall, a.k.a. Wailing Wall, which is a place of prayer today for Jews from around the world. “Royal Stoa” situated along the southern wall, is a covered walkway where people gathered. Much of the apostles preaching took place there.
You may want to read the first fifty verses on your own—v.1 is noted on the slide. The overview on the next few slides will give you insight into the first 50 verses, which cover Israel's history, without far too many additional slides being added. It picks up where chap. 6 left off, with Stephen before the Sanhedrin Council.
Stephen, begins with Abraham; their 400 years of captivity in Egypt, and that God sent Moses to lead them out of bondage. And yet, they remained a stiff-necked people that turned from God. Without faith in God that generation wandered in the desert for 40 years, and Joshua led a new generation into the promised.
This slide highlights the first 50 verses. Of course, God’s true Tabernacle (v.44-50) is Jesus Christ, which the Sanhedrin rejected, heaping guilt on themselves and the Jewish people. They too will stand on trial before the Jesus they rejected.
Rev 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.... 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13....each person was judged according to what he had done.
The Sanhedrin rejected God’s true Tabernacle, Jesus Christ, and retained the stone temple, which Rome destroyed in 70 AD. Not only was the Jerusalem temple destroyed, but the Jewish people, including the Sanhedrin, were scattered, with many being sold into slavery.
We can be certain the Sanhedrin Council were very much aware of their history, and it hit a sensitive cord with them. Do you want to see outrage—tell a group of high-ranking officials that they’re wrong, that the very premise of what their organization was founded on, they themselves violated—be it religion or politics.
Stephen calls them out for “resisting the Holy Spirit”. In the hardness of their hearts, they covered their ears at everything he said. Their very actions blasphemed against the Spirit of God, which as stated by Jesus in Mark 3:29 is an unpardonable sin.
Mark 3:29 "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
Stephen’s accusations angered them (v.54). In denying Stephen’s words about Jesus, they were resisting the Holy Spirit (v.51). Rather than repent—or even pondering it—they lashed out at Stephen. Satan was active on planet earth from the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, at the crucifixion of Christ, and at that very moment in stirring up sinful man against the things of God. Their verdict was based on lies. Satan was a liar from the beginning and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
There were both temporal and eternal consequences in resisting the Holy Spirit. We see such a warning in Zechariah 7:11-14 (this and next slide). Every word came true about 40 years later when Rome destroyed Jerusalem, and the Jews were scattered across the Roman world, and into slavery.
Their scattering as a people, wasn’t just a one-time occurrence, as noted on the map. Did God know they would reject Jesus as Messiah? Of course. Even though God knows our sins, past, present and future, there are still consequences for sin. The Jews were even scattered centuries later at many other places, such as Czarist Russia and Nazi Germany.
We can assume that the Council heard, or heard of, Peter’s preaching and of his miracle cures (prior chapters), and yet, in a similar manner, Stephen was rejected by that same religious Council, whose hearts were hateful at anything that threatened their authority, power and prestige. How could they possibly justify themselves if they acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah?
Consequently, their anger overflowed into pure rage, in their hearts they knew the truth but out of pride, they rejected it. In v.60 Stephen asked the Lord not to hold their sin against them. He fell asleep, meaning he died. We know of one whose sin was not held against him—Saul of Tarsus, a participant (Acts 8:1), who not only accepted Christ as Messiah and Savior, but dedicated his life to telling others.
Our life and time has been predetermined by God, even before the foundation of the world was laid. He has been merciful to us to be born in the U.S.A. in the 20th century. There are Christians still being stoned to death in certain Islamic countries. Hold them up in your prayers.
Christians, like Stephen, are still facing persecution for their faith, even death across the world. Nevertheless, the rewards God has planned, far outweigh the cost of standing firm in the faith that Jesus is the Messiah, not just for the Jews but also for the Gentiles.
Has the modern church lost its interest in praying in the Spirit? We can pray in the Spirit, asking the Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf as a church and as a people—as the Body of Christ.
Why did they stone Stephen? Because he told the truth that contradicted their lies.
Pastor Adrian Rogers 37-minute sermon: Four Lies That Ruined the World
https://youtu.be/-O3rQ9LdCe4
(copy and paste into your web browser)
Our study of Acts began on March 21, 2021. Click on the
Blog Archive in the upper right hand corner on that date (03/21-03/28).
Hope to see you there.
