Sharing the gospel of Christ with the world is not just a good idea, it is a God-directed commission for believers. In other words, the people who are called according to the name of Christ—the Church—are instructed by the Lord to take his message of hope and salvation into all the world (Mat 28:19-20). According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit is sent at Pentecost to empower the Church’s commission and the Book of Acts chronicles the expansion of God’s Kingdom through the Apostles. It begins with Peter sharing faith in Christ with a Jewish audience and then moves through him to share the Gospel message with Gentiles. Paul carries the Good News further, because it is the goal of Christ’s passion to save “everyone” from sin (Mark 16:15).
In the midst of proclaiming the Gospel and sharing the Acts of the Apostles, we meet Stephen—“a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5). Stephen has been “performing amazing miracles and signs” among the Greek-speaking people in the Church (Acts 6:8). Therefore, this amazing man of God meets tremendous opposition from Jewish religious leaders who truly hate him and have chosen to set up false testimonies against him in order to kill him.
In our passage today, we find Stephen’s last time to witness for Christ and it’s before this unjust religious council. He shares the truth about Jesus being the Messiah and how the Savior has changed his life. Stephen never disrespects the Jewish forefathers and prophets of old, the Law, or the work of the Temple. Instead, Stephen boldly shares his faith in Christ and confronts the sin of the leaders before him who prefer to honor a dead religion for salvation instead of running to the Living Lord of all creation who came to save them—the Promise of Messiah the forefathers actually believed. This moment with Stephen is a crossroad for these leaders; God wants them to know and be loved by Christ.
The Spirit uses the words of Stephen to convict the religious leaders; however, that conviction is turned into violence against Stephen rather than help the leaders run to the Savior. Religion can create self-righteous people who desire to silence what they do not want to hear. Remember, the Truth convicts, as well as affirms. As a result, Stephen becomes the first martyr of the Gospel and all he does to warrant this death is speak the truth.
When we are confronted by the Spirit with our sin [lack of trust and reliance on God/unbelief] how do we react? Do we bow humbly to allow Jesus to do what he knows is God’s best for us by leading us toward the truth? Or, do we defend ourselves, lash out at others, and try to silence the internal war building in our souls? Christ offers an unsettling path toward peace with God. Conviction is a gift from God; we must receive and empower the work of the Spirit. Otherwise, we too, will resist the Holy Spirit.
Acts 7:44-53 NLT
44 “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle [tent of witness] with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses. 45 Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.
46 “David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who actually built it. 48 However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,
49
‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?’
asks the Lord.
‘Could you build me such a resting place?
50
Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’[Is 66:1-2]
51 “You stubborn people! You are heathen [uncircumcised] at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! 52 Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. 53 You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”
Prayer: Lord, sometimes the Spirit pierces our souls with a Truth that can be hard to hear, but we ask for the strength to receive it. We desire to work with you in salvation and the renewing of our souls in the Truth. We need to hear it, so please continue what you have started in Messiah. We love you and trust you; yet, we pray for the power to believe for more opportunities to learn, grow, and witness to your passion for saving the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.