A lesson by Pastor John Skaggs

Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

P.O. Box 1447, Claypool, AZ 85532

520-425-8345 or 520-402-9134

Web Page: www.oocities.org/heartland/plains/3364

Email: pastorjohn@gila.net

Date: 03-19-00

Sermon Number: Acts #12

Text: 6:8-7:60

In the first seven verses of Acts chapter six we find the church choosing the first Deacons by the Apostles request. They needed help running the new church particularly in the area of ministry to the poor and infirm. The Deacons would see to it that all in the church had sufficient food and shelter. Seven men were found and ordained to the office of Deacon. All, no doubt, did their job well but some became vibrant, powerful, ministers of God’s word. The man brought to our attention this morning is Stephen, one of the first seven Deacons who was a gifted, fearless, teacher of truth.

(Acts 6:8-15 NASB) "And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. {9} But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. {10} AND YET THEY WERE UNABLE TO COPE WITH THE WISDOM AND THE SPIRIT WITH WHICH HE WAS SPEAKING. {11} Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God". {12} And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council. (the same sort of counsel that had condemned Christ to death) {13} And they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man incessantly speaks against this holy place, and the Law; {14} for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us." {15} And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel".

Stephen was a man full of grace and power. Verse five of this chapter describes him as "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit". In other words, Stephen was totally controlled by faith, the Holy Spirit, grace, and power. To be full of faith is to trust God; to be filled with the Spirit is to obey His will. These two truths are captured in the familiar hymn titled, "Trust and Obey". The chorus reads like this;

Trust and obey

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey.

To trust in God is to be full of faith. To obey God is to walk by the Spirit or be filled with the Holy Spirit. Both of these were true of Stephen. In addition, the scriptures tell us, he was full of grace. That is, he was given the grace, or strength, to maintain his spiritual integrity in the face of intense persecution. Persecution that eventually led to his death by stoning. Finally, Stephen was full of power. This was the result of his being filled with the Spirit. It was by this power that he performed great wonders and signs among the people. But we must also observe that this power was kin to that of the Apostles and was, therefore, unique to the day and circumstances. In the New Testament only the Apostles, Stephen, Philip, (Acts 8:6–7), and Barnabas (15:12), performed miracles. Search the scriptures and you will come to no other conclusion. The day of miracles was temporary, confined to only a few men, and had to do with the establishment of the new church.

Stephen was one whom God used to display His power and proclaim His truth. He was such a gifted man in the area of knowledge, wisdom, and teaching ability, the Jewish officials could not compete with him in a debate.

(Acts 6:9-10 NASB) "But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued (debated) with Stephen. {10} And yet they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking".

John Macarthur in his commentary on this text explains. "The Freedmen were the descendants of Jewish slaves captured by Pompey in 63 b.c. and taken to Rome. They were later granted their freedom and formed a Jewish community there. Cyrenians and Alexandrians were from two of the major cities of North Africa, Cyrene (Home of the Simon who carried Jesus’ cross [Luke 23:26], and Alexandria. Both cities had large Jewish populations. Cilicia and Asia were Roman provinces in Asia Minor. Since Paul’s hometown of Tarsus was located in Cilicia (Acts 21:39; 22:3), he likely attended their synagogue in Jerusalem. That he was present for the events surrounding Stephen’s trial and execution is evident from 7:58 and 8:1. It is possible that, as a student of the great Rabban Gamaliel, he even participated in the debate with Stephen". Whether Paul was present for this debate or not can’t determined, one thing however is clear, the collective wisdom and skill of the men from the Synagogue could not respond to Stephen’s arguments. Jesus had promised that just such a thing would happen in this very kind of situation. (Luke 21:14-15 NASB) "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; {15} for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute". Stephen spoke with such clarity and truth that his opponents could not answer him honestly. So, they made up lies about him and persuaded men to swear to them as truth.

(Acts 6:11-15 NASB) "Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God". {12} And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and dragged him away, and brought him before the Council. {13} And they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man incessantly speaks against this holy place, (the temple) and the Law; {14} for we have heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to us." {15} And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council SAW HIS FACE LIKE THE FACE OF AN ANGEL". This visible manifestation of God’s presence and approval of Stephen should have been enough to silence these evil men and secure Stephen’s release, but it was not.

(Acts 7:1-3 NASB) And the high priest said, "Are these things so?" (Are these accusations true?) {2} And he said, "Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, {3} and said to him, 'DEPART FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.'

With the words of 7:1-16 Stephen answers the most serious charge first, the accusation of blasphemy against God. He establishes his strong faith in and reverence for the God of Israel. He shows that the Old Covenant is not just tossed aside but is fulfilled in Christianity and that this is God’s will. Lets look at what he had to say.

(Acts 7:2-16 NASB) And he said, "Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory (He begins by giving all credit for what he is about to say to the Sovereign God of Glory. He continues by recounting Israel’s origin and history as his persecutors would have known it. In this way he identifies with them and shows his reverence for the scriptures. He continues.) The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, {3} and said to him, 'DEPART FROM YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.' {4} "Then he departed (proving himself to be a man of faith) from the land of the Chaldeans, and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, God removed him into this country (Israel) in which you are now living. {5} "And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground; and yet, even when he had no child, He (The God of Glory) promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS OFFSPRING AFTER HIM. {6} "But God spoke to this effect, that his OFFSPRING WOULD BE ALIENS IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND THAT THEY WOULD BE ENSLAVED AND MISTREATED FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. (This was indeed the case. Israel, the offspring of Abraham and of Isaac, was enslaved by Egypt.) {7} "'AND WHATEVER NATION TO WHICH THEY SHALL BE IN BONDAGE I MYSELF WILL JUDGE,' said God, 'AND AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE.' (Israel) {8} "And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs".

Far from denouncing God or speaking in a blasphemous way of Him Stephen presents God as the Author and Originator of Israel’s very existence. His purpose in reciting Israel’s history is to show that Christ and the Christian, faith which he had been preaching, was the perfect fulfillment of the Old Testament. He traces the line of God’s sovereign will from Abraham through Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, to David and then to our Lord—"the Righteous One" (v. 52).

The twelve patriarchs he mentions in the last part of verse eight bring us up to the time of Joseph. Joseph, in a very real sense, was Israel’s physical redeemer, a type of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The point Stephen wants to make is that the twelve patriarchs, revered so by the men to whom he speaks, rejected Joseph just as Stephen’s contemporaries had rejected Christ. However, that rejection did not thwart God’s plan to save the nation from starvation, indeed, it was part of God’s plan to preserve them. The same was, of course, true of the rejection of Christ. In their killing of the Savior they facilitated the redemption of all God’s lost sheep. Now, as then, the raging hatred of man served the redemptive purposes of the Sovereign and Glorious God. The story of Joseph is familiar to all of us.

{9} "And the patriarchs (the eventual heads of the twelve tribes of Israel) became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. And yet God was with him, {10} and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his household. {11} "Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it; and our fathers could find no food. ("Our fathers" refers to Joseph’s father, and his twelve sons with all their offspring, all of which made up the nation Israel.) {12} "But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. {13} "And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family was disclosed to Pharaoh. {14} "And Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. {15} "And Jacob went down to Egypt and there passed away, he and our fathers. (So we see that God was working all things together for the good of those He loved and had chosen for His own. We see again that the sin of man brings glory to God and does His remnant good when God determines it should be so.) {16} "And from there they were removed to Shechem, and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem". Stephen was no blasphemer, he loved and honored the God of Israel.

Now, to defend himself against the accusation of having spoken against Moses and the Law he speaks of Moses. Remember, to the Jew, Moses and the Law are one and the same thing. As we read take note again of the Sovereign hand of God in Israel’s history.

(Acts 7:17-37 NASB) "But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, {18} until THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT JOSEPH. {19} "It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race, and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive. {20} "And it was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God; and he was nurtured three months in his father's home. {21} "And after he had been exposed, Pharaoh's daughter took him away, and nurtured him as her own son. {22} "And Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds. {23} "But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. {24} "And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. (he killed him) {25} "And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand. (Israel has never recognized or honored the prophets God sent them. Yet Moses was God’s man. He also was a type of Christ. He was sent to redeem Israel from bondage in Egypt from which they were helpless to redeem themselves.) {26} "And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?' {27} "But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, 'WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND JUDGE OVER US? {28} 'YOU DO NOT MEAN TO KILL ME AS YOU KILLED THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY, DO YOU?' {29} "And at this remark MOSES FLED, AND BECAME AN ALIEN IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN, where he became the father of two sons. {30} "And after forty years had passed, AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF MOUNT Sinai, IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING THORN BUSH. {31} "And when Moses saw it, he began to marvel at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: {32} 'I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB.' And Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. {33} "BUT THE LORD SAID TO HIM, 'TAKE OFF THE SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE ON WHICH YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND. {34} 'I HAVE CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE IN EGYPT, AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANS, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM; COME NOW, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT.' {35} "This Moses whom they disowned, saying, 'WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE?' is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. {36} "This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. {37} "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'GOD SHALL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN.'

This Prophet, who would be in some way like Moses, was of course, Jesus. As I said earlier Stephen is moving steadily toward a declaration of exactly what these men do not want to hear. That Jesus is the Messiah, the one toward whom Israel’s history has been moving since the beginning. As the text continues Stephen denies his opposition to the law. At the same time he shows Israel’s rejection of both Moses and the Law of God. This declaration could not have pleased the officials before whom he stood.

(Acts 7:38-60 NASB) "This is the one, (he speaks of Moses), who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles (the Ten Commandments) to pass on to you. (Here Stephen acknowledges that Moses was given the Law by God for the people of Israel. However, he moves on to remind his audience of the fact that Israel opposed both Moses and the Law. Stephen was not opposed to Moses or the Law, but those before whom he stood were.) {39} "And our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, {40} SAYING TO AARON, 'MAKE FOR US GODS WHO WILL GO BEFORE US; FOR THIS MOSES WHO LED US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT-- WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.' {41} "And at that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. {42} "But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'IT WAS NOT TO ME THAT YOU OFFERED VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, WAS IT, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL"? With these words Stephen answers the accusation that he had spoken against both Moses and the Law. This was not true although Israel had a history of opposing both Moses and the Law.

Next he answers the accusation that he spoke against the Temple. To this point he has reminded his persecutors of the perpetual rebellion of Israel against God, Moses, the Law, and now of the temple itself.

{43} 'YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OF THE GOD ROMPHA, THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP THEM. I ALSO WILL REMOVE YOU BEYOND BABYLON.' (Amos 5:26) {44} "Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. {45} "And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. {46} "And David found favor in God's sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. {47} "But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. (The following statement is Stephen’s main point.) {48} "However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: {49} 'HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?' says the Lord; 'OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE? {50} 'WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?' In essence Stephen declares, "The physical temple is neither here nor there, for God does not live in the temple".

The Sanhedrin had to be red faced angry at this point. Where was he going with all this? What point did he intended to make. The point was simple, and direct, they were just like their fathers in the days of Joseph, Moses, and David, they were rebels and enemies of God. Hear the word of the Lord as it fell from Stephen’s lips.

{51} "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. (They were stiff-necked, or obstinate, just like their forefathers. (Ex. 32:9; 33:5). The terms describe a person who defiantly refuses to bow before the Lord. Because they prided themselves on their physical circumcision Stephen’s description of them as uncircumcised in heart and ears was especially offensive. According to Stephen they were as unclean before God as uncircumcised Gentiles. They were without God and without hope in the world. He continues with his accusation.) {52} "Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? (none) And they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, (He speaks of the promised Messiah, Jesus the Christ.) whose betrayers and murderers YOU HAVE NOW BECOME; {53} you who received the law as ordained by angels, and YET DID NOT KEEP IT". (These self-righteous, proud, religious leaders of Israel would not allow any man to speak to them in this way.) {54} Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. {55} But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; {56} and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (With this statement he rubs salt in the wound. He declares that the Man they had put to death was not dead at all. He was the "Son of Man", the Messiah, the Savior. He had risen and was right now standing at the right hand of God in Heaven. This was simply too much! They would take no more!){57} But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears, and they rushed upon him with one impulse. {58} And when they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. (This man would one day become the Apostle Paul. But right now he is in full agreement with the murder of this great Deacon.) {59} And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" {60} And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" And having said this, he fell asleep".

The men who made up this Jewish court had heard the truth on more than one occasion. Most, if not all, had heard Jesus’ teaching and witnessed His miracles. They had no doubt heard the preaching of the apostles and seen the miracles they performed. Yet they had rejected Christ and all truth pertaining to Him. Because of this continual rejection, Stephen did not plead with them to repent rather he just exposed their guilt. He identified them as blasphemers against the Holy God of Israel. It is no surprise that they were filled with rage. They gnashed their teeth that day, and appropriately so for Jesus repeatedly described hell as a place where there is gnashing of teeth.

The suffering of hell will include endless anger and frustration toward God for consigning one to that place of torment. The gnashing of teeth does not from pain but from anger. The contrast between Stephen and his tormentors is great. Stephen though dying a horrible death is calm and filled with peace. By faith and perhaps a vision he sees the Savior for whom he is now dying standing to receive him into heaven. Stephen, even at this last moment of his life is not thinking of himself. He asks the Messiah who awaits him to forgiven these sinful men. HE prayed for their salvation. He was not interested in vengeance. His only desire was to know that another handful of his sinful countrymen would be saved from the consequences of their unbelief. We know of only one who was saved for certain, that is the Apostle Paul. The Lord received Stephens spirit and he fell asleep. This crime had done him no harm. This death, this violent, terrible death had ushered Stephen into the presence of His Savior and God. Where will your death take you?

The answer to this question is simple. I you die without trusting in Jesus as your Lord and Savior you will enter into eternal torment with the Devil and his angels. In that place there will be no rest or peace but only weeping, and gnashing of teeth. However, if you will but trust, believe in, come to, receive Jesus as your Savior He will stand to greet you when you die. You will spend eternity praising and worshipping the God who saved you simply because He loved you with and everlasting love. Which will it be? Where will death take you?