Taking the Religious Elite to Task (Part 3)

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Acts 7:37-60

 

Acts 7:59-60

And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

(NKJV)

 

Stephen’s history lesson to the council has the purpose of showing these Jewish religious leaders that Jesus is the Messiah. Like anyone exposed to the Gospel, they must choose to either accept or reject it. These religious leaders choose to reject the message and determine to kill the messenger, believing the message will stop, but the message will go on in an even greater manner through young Saul. Truly, the gates of hell, or unsound doctrines of religious leaders, cannot stop the spread of the Gospel.

 

Stephen continues his history lesson, telling them that Moses told them that God would raise up a prophet like himself from the brethren and that they are to listen to Him (Acts 7:37). This prophet is the one that accompanied the angel on Mount Sinai, giving the law to Moses that the fathers of the Children of Israel rejected, turning their hearts back to Egypt (Acts 7:38-39). They turned back to Egypt by asking Aaron to make a golden calf to worship, offering sacrifices to an idol (Acts 7:40-41; Exodus 32:1, 23). God then gave them up to worship the host of heaven as foretold in Amos 5:25-27 (Acts 7:42-43).

 

The Lord then instructed Moses to make a tabernacle of witness in the wilderness according to a pattern given by God (Acts 7:44). This was the tabernacle they took across the Jordan with Joshua and used to worship God until the time of David, with Solomon building a house in which God could dwell (Acts 7:45-47). However, the Most High does not live in temples made by men, as told by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 66:1-2 (Acts 7:48-50).

 

Stephen’s history lesson now becomes personal, directed at his accusers, reminding them that they, like their forefathers, are resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). Stephen then asks his accusers which of the prophets, who foretold the coming of the Just One, their fathers did not persecute, having now become betrayers and murderers of the Just One (Acts 7:52-53). When they heard these things from Stephen, they gnashed at him with their teeth, but Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:54-55). He then told his accusers he saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56).

 

The crowd then ran at Stephen, casting him out of the city to stone him, with them laying their cloaks at the feet of young Saul (Acts 7:57-58). As they stoned Stephen, he called upon God to receive his spirit (Acts 7:59). Stephen then knelt and cried out with a loud voice, asking the Lord not to charge them with this sin, then Stephen fell asleep (Acts 7:60).

 

The Church is growing and presents a greater threat than Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders. Rather than calling in one of the Apostles again, which did not work, they have called in Stephen, believing he may be weak since he is not an apostle. However, they are unable to break Stephen, and after he accuses them of murdering the Lord, they stone him, making Stephen the first one martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. They believe that the death of Stephen will prevent anyone else from daring to speak of Jesus, but they did not consider young Saul. Empowered by seeing what happened to Stephen, Saul, a Pharisee, began persecuting Christians by entering their houses and dragging them off (Acts 8:1-7). Later, Saul went to the high priest and received letters to go to Damascus and round up Christians (Acts 9:1-2). Saul, who will become known as Paul, will go from the Church’s greatest persecutor to its greatest missionary.

 

The situation for the Church today is not different in many parts of the world. In many places in the world today, it is illegal to be a Christian with a penalty of death, so many are still like Stephen and martyred for their faith. There is another threat to the Church today, something the Apostle Paul warned Timothy about in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, the teaching of unsound doctrine. Church history has demonstrated that the Church thrives when threatened with death, but cannot endure false doctrine. In the Church today, we observe the false doctrines of

 

·         The health and wealth gospel – Those spreading this doctrine often use 3 John 1:2 and interpret it to mean anyone not prospering or in good health lacks faith in Jesus. They interpret prosperity as having all the money and possessions they want and never being sick. However, Jesus said that in this world we will experience trouble, which can manifest itself in a lack of money or possessions and illness (John 16:33). The problem with this doctrine is that when one does not prosper or is sick, they may feel like they have no faith and that God has rejected them.

·         Works-based legalism – Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that our salvation is not based upon our works, with Isaiah reminding us that our good works of righteousness are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

·         Cheap Grace – However, some take the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9 to the point of excusing a continued life of sin, believing this serves to make God’s grace abound. This doctrine is nothing new and was later condemned by Paul (Romans 6:1-4).

 

Sound doctrine is following what is taught throughout scripture, not just cherry-picking passages, as is done in promoting unsound doctrine. Those tasked with detecting counterfeit currency do not spend time studying different counterfeit currencies but learn to recognize real currency. To avoid unsound doctrine, one must be like the Bereans who daily studied the word of God to know the truth which sets us free (Acts 17:10-11; John 8:31-32).

 

If you are reading this and have never prayed to receive forgiveness of your sins and make Jesus the Lord of your life, I encourage you to do so now by praying with me.

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9). I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

This prayer is not some magical prayer, but must be a genuine expression of your heart. If that is why you prayed, rest assured, your sins are completely forgiven, and you have eternal life. I now encourage you to let someone know of your decision. I also urge you to find a church of truth, teaching from the Bible that is empowered by the Holy Spirit, so you can grow in your faith. May God convict, challenge, and bless everyone reading this post.