The Faith of Stephen

April 29, 2007

Bro. Mark Braune

 

Good morning brothers and sisters. For the last few days we’ve been reading “The Acts of the Apostles”. In chapters 6 and 7 we read of the accusations levied against Stephen and his response. His adversaries were Jews, but they were Hellenist Jews - Jews of the dispersion. These Jews seem to have been more zealous for their religion than the native Jews. Perhaps this was because it was through great difficulty that they retained the practice and profession of the Jewish laws and customs in the country where they lived. They went through a lot of trouble to maintain their attendance at Jerusalem, and this probably made them very passionate Judaisers, more so than many of those who did not have to go through so much work to practice their religion.

 

However, Stephen’s accusers were not able to resist the wisdom and spirit by which he spoke, so they resorted to bribery and trickery to ensnare him. They “set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against [the] holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us” (Acts 6:13-14). They had him brought before the council of the high priest where these false witnesses brought their accusations of blasphemy against him.

 

The blasphemy of which he was accused was against the temple and against the law. Stephen begins his reply with a history of the nation of Israel, of which his audience, being the sticklers for the law that they were, was certainly quite familiar. Upon a casual reading of this chapter, one might think his response is at best a nice history lesson, and at worst a long ramble - an attempt, perhaps, at buying him a little more time. However, what Stephen says is very pertinent to the matter at hand. He shows them that Yahweh did not have his heart set as much on the temple and the law as they themselves did. He tells of the history of the nation of Israel, starting with God calling Abraham out of Mesopotamia, their captivity in Egypt, the exodus and wondering in the wilderness, how their fathers rejected the “living oracles” that Moses received on Mt. Sinai and turned to idol worship. And when he gets to the establishment of the law and the building of the temple, against which he is accused of blasphemy, he abruptly stops. His point is that all these great men of old, who these Jews undoubtedly counted as their fathers, did not always have the law or the temple.

 

He does somewhat address the charge of blasphemy against the holy place. He was accused for saying that Christ would destroy the temple. But so what if he did say that? He points out that there was not a fixed place of worship until Solomon build the temple. All the patriarchs acceptably worshipped Yahweh for many generations before the temple even existed. The same would hold true for the law. Besides that, he points out, “the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, ‘Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?’” (Acts 7:48-50). What a wonderful point, that is, unfortunately, lost on Stephen’s audience.

 

However, our focus this morning is not directly aimed at the message that Stephen delivered, even though there is certainly a lesson to be learned in it. Our focus this morning is on faith. Not only the faith that Stephen displayed in standing up in front of his accusers and professing the truth to a mob that had surely convicted him before he ever spoke a word, but also the faith displayed by the subjects of his speech.

 

We read in this chapter of the great faith that Abraham must have had to leave his homeland upon the commandment of God. We also read of the account of Moses. Turning to the 11^th chapter of Hebrews, we read that:

 

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians attempting to do were drowned. (Heb 11:24-29)

 

We have abundant examples of faith exhibited throughout the Scriptures by the men and women of God. By faith: Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, Sarah delivered a child when she was past age, Abraham offered up Isaac, Isaac blessed Jacob. And Jeremiah's work should surely be counted to faith. The list goes on and on.

 

However, we also find recorded in Scripture cases of a lack of faith and the consequences thereof.

 

A few weeks ago, as we were reading the Book of Numbers, we read of the turning back of the Children of Israel at the borders of Canaan when they were two years in the wilderness. Despite all the signs that they had been shown that God truly was leading them, they still lacked the faith that they could conquer the inhabitants of the land. Immediately, as during other tumultuous times, their thoughts turned back to Egypt. They were sentenced to wandering in the wilderness for another 38 years when they could have possessed the land at that time (Num 13-14).

 

This same lack of faith exhibited throughout the history of Israel led to the setting up of the Romans over them. When Christ arrived on the scene, there remained only a small remnant who were even looking for him and who knew the times in which they lived. This sounds like most of the world today.

 

The Children of Israel’s lack of faith eventually led to the destruction of Jerusalem (and the temple) and the dispersal of the Jews throughout the world. This opened the door to the grafting in of the Gentiles, which we each realize as an opportunity for our own salvation. But, as we read in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, if the Jews, being God’s chosen people, can be cut off due to unbelief, we too, having once put on Christ, can also be cut off if we endure not until the end.

 

Even though we are not of the world, we must live in the world. Just as the Children of Israel’s thoughts continually turned towards the fish and the cucumbers and the garlic and all of the flesh-pleasing things they once possessed in Egypt, we each are susceptible to the pleasant things of this world that are so gratifying to the flesh. So, how do we fight against becoming entangled in the snares and pitfalls of the world that surrounds us? One thing we must do is continually turn our hearts and minds toward the things of God. We know this is important, but we must, in our daily battle against our sinful nature, also turn away from the things that are not of God.

 

It is easy to see what happens if we fail to do this. We probably each had a best friend when we were children. Maybe they lived next door or we went to school with them. We thought we’d be best friends forever. But we know how that goes. Over the years, we each go our separate ways and we see our friend less and less, until eventually we don’t see them at all. If we bump into them years later, we realize that we don’t even know them anymore. The same thing happens if we neglect the truth. Without continually bringing to remembrance the things of God, these things will move from the front of our mind to the back. Then eventually, if we continue neglecting the Lord’s work, they will just cease to exist in our hearts and minds, only to be replaced by whatever vanity has taken their place.

 

This idea leads to the main purpose of our meeting together each week: to speak to each other on the things of the truth, to receive exhortation, to study and meditate upon the Scripture, and most importantly to bring into memory the sacrifice of Christ. Upon the institution of this memorial of which we are about to partake, we were told to examine ourselves. If we find that our faith is sure, and if we feel that our lives would garner Christ’s approval, then we truly have nothing to fear. To be Christ-like, we must be holy, we must be “set apart”, separated from the evil world. So, not only must we hold to a doctrine that is different than all of the pagan customs so dearly revered by Christendom, we must conduct ourselves in a different way than the immoral world that surrounds us.

 

That’s not to say that we can attain salvation through works - that we can somehow save ourselves by merely being good people. We know this is not the case. Paul tells us, in his epistle to the Ephesians, that we are saved by grace through faith, but not of ourselves. It is by the grace of God that we, being such weak and sinful creatures, can even think about entering into the kingdom.

 

Earlier, we touched on the account in Numbers chapters 13 and 14. When the twelve spies returned to the Israelites and reported that the land was “an exceeding good land”, but that the inhabitants were too mighty for the Israelites to overcome, they displayed a lack of faith. They had been given an abundance of signs that God was with them, leading them, but despite all these signs and wonders, they still hesitated. And from a purely human standpoint, they were right. They, by themselves, could not have overcome the Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, and Canaanites. These nations indeed were mightier than the Israelites (Deut 7:1). But God would not have let that happen. Maybe some natural disaster would have overcome the inhabitants of the land. Or maybe something else would have happened. We can’t say for sure how the Israelites would have conquered the inhabitants and possessed the land; all we can say is that they certainly would have. By the act of going in to posses the land, they would have displayed their faith in God, and would have attained the promise.

 

But they doubted. Most assuredly this doubt stemmed from a fear of the inhabitants of the land. But faith, even a little faith, can destroy fear. When given the choice between the fear of God and the fear of man, the wise choice is a fear of the Lord, which Solomon says is the beginning of knowledge.

 

One Bible verse that I think we should each have deeply impressed in the forefront of our mind is 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13. In it we read that God “will not suffer [us] to be tempted above that [we] are able”. If we think a trial that stands before us is too hard to bear, look at what Stephen endured. Or look to Christ, who we are told was made perfect through suffering.

 

It is during this present time of probation that we are building our character and shaping our moral fiber. It is what we do during this probationary period that will form the individual that will stand before Christ at the judgment seat. If we are persistently occupied with the Lord’s work, then our minds will be full of the divine thoughts, ideas, principles, and cares that are laid out in the Scripture. Only then will our hearts and minds be made ready for that day of Christ’s return so fast approaching.