Acts 7:39-60

 Acts 7:39-60 

Jesus is the ultimate point of division. That moment of the division may be postponed or delayed, but it will ultimately come. Jesus himself said. “… I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Mt 10:34. The murder of Stephen is just such a moment. Before this moment, the rift was there; the fault line was obvious. But at this moment the division erupted in the rage and fury of the mob.

So what was the point of conflict? It was Jesus himself! Stephen recounts the history of Israel and shows how since the time of Moses, Israel had constantly turned away from God's purpose. Stephen explains that God's purpose was to bring the Messiah, that is, Jesus. And true to their family heritage, the Jews of Jesus's day rejected Him. Their fundamental problem was their sin-filled life and heritage, or, as Stephen put it, “stiff neck and uncircumcised hearts and ears.”.

Nothing infuriates a highly hypocritical religious person more than to show them and to tell them that their religion is a fake. The very thing on which the Jews base their religion and pious reputation was Moses and keeping the law he delivered. When they were told that the whole point of the work of Moses, the law, and all the prophets was Jesus and that they betrayed and murdered Him, it was the final straw. The division was complete; the sword came out.

The greatest resistance to the advancement of the Gospel today is not the world, the flesh, or the devil. Those are enemies of our own discipleship and personal holiness. The place where the gospel gets bogged down today is the church. Focused on our own agendas, power plays, politics, and intrigues, the church neither makes disciples nor allows members to make disciples or even supports those who are making disciples. Having become set in its stagnant ways of the local congregational life, the church is emotionally more like the Jews than Stephen. It is a constant and desperate fight to resist the drift into the institutionalism and power structures, the things that actually become a resistance to the work of Christ. But it is a fight we must constantly wage.

"Lord, help me keep the main thing the main thing in my life in the church. AMEN"

Acts 7:1-38

 Acts 7:1-38

One gets the idea that Stephen had a different perspective on God's direction for our lives than many contemporary church leaders. Today we are told that God primarily wants us to be happy, and healthy, and wealthy, and blessed, and highly favored. Some teach God has provided a formal formula by which we can increase the abundance of what we want. Passages of scripture to prove this understanding are quoted, taken out of context, and distorted beyond recognition. Stephen was apparently unaware of this approach to the Christian life or to the treatment of scripture.

As we read through Stephens retelling of Jewish history, we do not see a list of ever-increasing prosperity, peace, and affluence. We see that the critical moments that were often gut-wrenching and heart-challenging moments of difficulty. Abraham, for all his wealth, owned no real estate, “not even a foot of ground.” If we read this passage with candor, we see a story of hardship, slavery, famine, infanticide, murder, and rejection. Hardly is this a prosperity plan, and it is nothing near the American dream of having more for ourselves. 

The reason that Stephens's portrayal of the history of God's interaction with man is so different from what we see in ‘the name it claim it’ preachers today is the focus. Stephen is building a case that will ultimately focus on Christ and His death on the cross. This focus is a universe away from a focus on getting us what we want. Any teaching that doesn't ultimately bring us to the cross is a misguided teaching. The message of the cross for us is not personal peace and affluence but rather to come to the dying Lord and join Him in His death.

 "Lord, help my focus always be on the Cross and the salvation it brings.  AMEN"