Sermon Cloud

Acts 7:1-60: "And the high priest said, ‘Are these things so?' 2 And Stephen said: ‘Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, "Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you." 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect--that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 "But I will judge the nation that they serve," said God, "and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place." 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. 9 And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. 23 When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, "Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?" 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, "Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?" 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 "I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob." And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, "Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt." 35 This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, "Who made you a ruler and a judge?"--this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, "God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers." 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, "Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: "Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon." 44 Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David,  46  who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49 "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50 Did not my hand make all these things?" 51 You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.' 54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed 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, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.' 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep."

INTRODUCTION

What's the Bible all about?  The Bible is the Gospel on mission to the world (Luke 24:44-49).

STUDY

Two lines:

 

1) The history of salvation for those who trust in Him (grace)

2) The history of rebellion for those who trusted in themselves (works)

The Sanhedrin, which meant "sitting together," was a group of leaders (71) who were made up of Sadducees, Pharisees, and Scribes along with the High Priest ruling over the council.  This was the Supreme Court for the Jews and was the place in which judgment would be made of blasphemers who spoke against the Law and the Temple.  

The charge against Stephen was that he was guilty of speaking against that which they held in highest regard (the Law and the Temple).  

Abraham- an everlasting covenant (7:2-8)

God was the one who appeared, spoke, sent, and promised.  God was the one who initiated and kept the covenant, God was the one who was going to bless the world through His Son (Abraham's seed).

God of Promise, not work

Joseph- grace vs. jealousy (7:9-16)

God was gracious and provided relief, safety, and a home in Egypt though they rejected and despised the son whom God had chosen.  God took the rejection and betrayal of Joseph and turned it into a blessing.

Moses- freedom vs. slavery and unbelief (7:17-43)

By the time Israel had grown from 75 to a nation, they were enslaved and captive to the ruler of the world at the time.  God raised up a deliverer, Moses, to act on God's behalf and rescue His people.

Everyone is a slave.  Whatever we live for has control over us. We do not control ourselves. The things we live for enslave us with guilt (if we fail to attain them) or anger (if someone blocks them from us) or fear (if they are threatened) or drivenness (since we must have them) or despair (if we ever lose them completely). This means, then...

 

a. Even the most irreligious people are really worshipping something. Whatever thing or things from which we choose to derive our value become the ultimate meaning in our live-thus it serves as a ‘god' and gives us a sense of worth or `righteousness' even if we don't think in those terms.

b. Even the most religious people are not really worshipping God. Religious people may look to God as Helper, Teacher, and Example, but it is their moral performance, which is serving as their Savior. They are just as guilty and self-hating if they fail it, just as angry and resentful if someone blocks it, just as fearful and anxious if something threatens it, just as driven "to be good".

So both religious and irreligious people are avoiding God as Savior and Lord, but in different ways. Both are seeking to keep control of their own lives by looking to something besides God as their salvation.

We have to live for something, and something will control us. What will we do then? There is only one Master, however, who can forgive (none of the rest ever will), and who will last (none of the rest ever can). Neither failure on our part nor the circumstances of life can separate us from Him. Thus only in service to Him will we find freedom. To find Him we must admit:

The Tabernacle and Temple - true spirituality vs. formalism (7:44-50)

The Law - purpose and fulfillment vs. legalism (7:51-53)

3 Ways of living

It's normal for us to say that there are two ways of living, there is God's way and there is man's way.  Yet when we come to a text like this and like the Sermon on the mount, what is being contrasted is not those who claim to know God and those who are atheists, rather it is those who claim they know God by grace and those who claim they know God by what they do.

In other words, there are three ways of living.  There is living as if God doesn't exist or matter.  There is living as if God does exist and matter and we have to obey Him to be accepted.  Lastly, there is living as if God exists, matters, and we know Him not by our righteousness and work but by what He's done.  

These last two are not just different forms of the same religion, they are entirely different religions.  You can have two people sitting next to one another this morning with entirely different motivational structures and views of God.  These two forms of belief in God produce two completely different kinds of lives.  

The greatest difficulty in preaching is not necessarily making a case to the unbeliever that God exists, but making a case to the believer that they are not saved by the keeping of the law, the level of the spiritual performance, the amount of work they perform, but solely on the basis of what someone has done for them, Jesus Christ the Righteous One who lived the life they should have lived and died the death they should have died, for them.  

It isn't as simple as God's way vs. man's way.  It's more complex than that.  It's grace vs. works.  It's irreligion, religion, and the Gospel way.  

Religion says, "Obey God and I'll be accepted."

Irreligion says, "I don't have to obey anything or anyone."

The Gospel says, "I'm accepted in Jesus Christ, therefore I obey."

Why do we have to speak of three instead of two?  Because religion is the default mode of the human heart.  We naturally are religious because we want to maintain control of our lives and act as our own savior.  The way to be in control is to think and act as if you've earned your salvation.  It's so much the default mode of the human heart that everyone does it whether they think they're religious or not, they just do it without using the same terminology.  We try to justify ourselves through using our achievement, or our tolerance of others, or our living by the golden rule.  

Christians, even though we are saved by grace, continually go back to this default mode and this is what causes our problems.  

Both Christians and non-Christians, when we hear the term "God's way" immediately think of religion.  If we tell others to give their life to Jesus, almost without exception those who hear us will assume that we're inviting them into a moralistic grid for living.  They assume we're saying, "now be a good person."  Even if we're careful about what we're saying, people assume this because we've been trained for so long that to know Jesus or to be Christian means that we have to "do."  Unless we are week after week pounding into our hearts and minds that to know Jesus means that it is "done," we'll just slip right back into old patterns.  That's why the Gospel needs to be preached to us first so that when we speak it to others we're not operating from a place of works rather than grace.  

Verses 52-53: "Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."

 

1- ‘Stiff-necked people'- Lack of repentance

Often what we need is not a change in the amount of repentance but the depth and kind of repentance.  You have to "repent", but the repentance that receives Christ is not so much being sorry for specific sins. It is not less than that, but it is much more. Saving repentance is admitting that your main sin is your efforts of self-salvation, at trying to be your own savior. Don't just repent of sins, but of the self-righteousness under all you do, bad and good. Repent not just for doing wrong, but even for the reason you did right, not just for law-breaking but also for law-relying. Admit that the reason you did right was so you could put God in your debt, to have some say in what kind of life you deserve; to keep control of your life.

2- ‘Uncircumcised in the hearts and ears'- Outward reformation vs. inward transformation

3- ‘Resist the Holy Spirit'- Seared conscience through legalism

4- Rejection of ‘the Righteous One'- Desire to be our own messiah

5- A refusal to ‘obey' the ‘law that was put into effect'- In trying to keep the law on our own we break it

Jesus stands to receive Stephen as his priest and will sit in judgment of those who refused His grace.  The Sanhedrin sat now in judgment of Stephen but will be judged by the One whom they rejected.