Beauty in A Hostile World

English

Beauty in a Hostile World

ACTS 6:8-7:60

How could something as tragic be the stoning of Stephen seem also to be beautiful? Did you see anything of beauty in the tragic Scripture reading from Acts 6-7 today? The story is of a young man – one viewed as a present and future leader of the church – being martyred because of his faith in Jesus. In the midst of it, look at the language used to describe Stephen -- like "grace and power", "wisdom the Spirit gave", "a face like the face of an angel", "full of the Holy Spirit", and "Lord, do not hold this sin against them". Stephen was bold and spoke his convictions but he did not take up the bitterness and anger of his opponents. He refused to adopt their embittered and destructive ways. I read this and think, "Lord, this is the way I want to be when things in my world are going wrong." Where do we find this kind of strength with grace?

I believe the answer to this is found in what we experience this weekend among some of our younger people being baptized, i.e., Stephen had been baptized in the name of Jesus. Stephen no longer lived for himself but the one who had given his life to save Stephen and had defeated sin and death by his resurrection. Stephen had discovered the key to living a life of beauty in the midst of a hostile world in the same way the Apostle Paul – a man who stood by and approved of Stephen's martyrdom (7:1) – had found it. Paul would later write this in Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. What does Stephen teach us about living a life wholly given to Jesus Christ?

#1: We find true life though obeying God – even if no one else does.

The joy, wisdom and graciousness we see in Stephen comes not from him getting what he wants or from him winning a verbal debate but simply from him obeying the Lord. Acts is the story of people obeying Jesus: from Jesus' command to be witnesses about him in Acts 1, to the world's edict not to speak Jesus' name in Acts 4-5, to the insistence by the early Christians that they had to obey God rather than man in 5:29, and now in Acts 7 to the hostility and martyrdom this obedience to God inevitably led to.

Are you surprised about how quickly this opposition to Christians happened in Jerusalem? Theirs was a culture that had been rooted in a commitment to the God of the Bible. When we read about the authorities producing false witnesses in 6:13, their enraged gnashing of the teeth in 7:54, and their covering the ears and screaming so they would not hear another viewpoint, we immediately recognize that this is not how God had taught his people to react in the Old Testament. The church people might have thought, "This sort of anti-church activity might happen in Rome or Athens or even among the Samaritans but never among us!" But it did happen there – and the disciples did not seem to be surprised about it.

What Stephen did in the midst of hostility was to obey Jesus. Objectively and courageously, he obeyed Jesus. In the midst of a hostile world that was seeking to keep him from obeying God, Stephen found his life through obedience to God. He obeyed God rather than his own natural desires – which surely would have been desires to be just as irrational and furious as the authorities were. Or, he might have waved a fist and asked God, "Why are you letting this happen to your people? You must not really be God!"

He obeyed God above obeying the edicts of those in authority – even though, in general, Christians always were the best of citizens. When there was a direct contradiction in God commanding one thing and the authorities commanding another, he obeyed God.

So, this week in our nation, your senior pastor believes the Supreme Court made some decisions that are not consistent with biblical teaching. I know some are here who disagree with me about that – so I ask you not to put your fingers in your ears and scream loudly like the authorities did in Acts 7:57 when Stephen expressed his convictions. We will need to study Scripture and learn with one another when something as big happens in our world as happened this past week in the Supreme Court decision about marriage.

If we will learn from people like Stephen then we must always begin where he began. We must ask what God's Word teaches. If what God calls for differs from what the world calls for, then we have a big decision to make: whom will we obey? What does God teach about moral sexual conduct and about marriage? If you disagree with me about my conviction that sexual conduct is supposed to be between a man and a woman in the context of a marriage, then I say, "Let's open the Bible and look objectively at what it teaches. You have heard me say it often, i.e., in church we have to be able to engage in intellectual hospitality. We must start with Scripture and be good listeners. Let's listen to the varying viewpoints God has given us. We cannot honor God by sticking our fingers in our ears and shouting "lalala." like the authorities did in Acts 7.

But, if we find that we are asked to do things God commands us not to do as was the case for the believers in Acts, then what how do we conduct ourselves? Let me seek to provide some basic guidelines:

· Remember that all authorities that exist have been created by God – and created for a reason according to Rom 13. Under one of the most anti-Christian governments in the world (that of Nero which killed Paul), Paul said that God has appointed the one in authority for your good (Rom 13:4). Bottom line: No governmental system is worse than anarchy and no government exists outside God's sovereignty. Even bad governments restrain some of the evil that unbridled individualism and self-determination would result in.

· The "fall to" position of all Christians is and always has been that we will be good citizens in our nation – praying for our leaders, working and serving for the good, and -- when it's possible as it is here in the USA -- even participating in government. Here at LAC, when we dedicate children, we pledge this: We promise to work to make society a better place for the children to live in. I believe that means in part that we in our nation should work to install the best possible government leaders within the laws that have been established.

· In our fallen world, sometimes a government established for our good by God misuses or abuses its authority to the extent that it issues edicts directly contradicting God's commands. In those situations, we will have to make a decision, i.e., will we obey God rather than man? It will be kingdoms in conflict.

· God's authority trumps all other authorities – including our own desire to rule our own lives. We must obey God rather than people. We must resist mandates that command or compel evil, and I believe we should work nonviolently within the laws of the land to change a government that permits evil.

· When we do obey God instead of what the authorities demand, we must be clear that there is a direct and undeniable contradiction between God's commands and the world's.

· Before acting in opposition to the world's laws, we must utilize every resource, every rational argument, and every appeal about why we must obey God and not obey the world's mandate. What the apostles did in Acts 5-7 was a last resort.

· We must be willing to accept the consequences of our choice to obey God – while remaining a witness to Jesus and remaining true to our convictions. Stephen's choice: Disobey God and go free or obey God and be stoned. He chose to obey God. If Christians disobey the authorities, unless we can flee from the government, we should accept that government's punishment for our actions. If we must face martyrdom, then we must reflect God's ways in the midst of the martyrdom.

When we do, we will see the glory of God – the reality of God as Stephen did in 7:55-56: 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. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

So, simply stated, in the context of decisions made about marriage in our nation, I will keep teaching what I find Bible teaching about what it means to live in obedience to God's morality. I'll call us to practice marriage as I think the Bible teaches us. And, while I do, I'll keep praying for our nation's leaders. I'll keep paying taxes as both Jesus and Paul taught me to. I will not be surprised when things don't go the way I think they should. And, I won't cut you off if you say, "Pastor, I think you have read those texts wrong." I'll seek to learn together with you about how to live for God in this world. Let's keep seeking to learn together about what God expects of us. That means we must live in Christ-centered community together and seek truth together. Maybe the world will see how we go about this and say, "That's good. We'd better re-think what we're requiring." Or, maybe, what happened with Stephen will eventually happen to us. Whatever we do, let us find our lives through obedience to God.

#2. We find guidance for how to live with courage and grace when our single desire is to obey God – especially in difficult times.

Sometimes people tell me their faith sometimes seems irrelevant and theoretical – especially in good times. The decisions we have to make in good times often are about two good options, like, "Would God have me invest in stocks or in bonds today?" I'm not saying we shouldn't seek God's wisdom in those kinds of times. I'm just saying that when we are faced with potential hostility, we seek more fully and intensely both what God would have us to do and how he would have us to do it. We study the Bible more carefully. We might even go to church more often and pray the pastor will talk about the things that we're facing. My point is this: Difficulty can make us more attentive to God.

If the early church had continued to grow as it had been doing and to always find favor with everyone, we would never have the evidence we need about how to live in the kinds of times Christians have faced under communism or under some Middle Eastern governments. I believe that we will probably have increasingly challenging decisions to make about how we will live in our own country too in the future. When we seek God's Word and when we learn to pray together as a church family, we will find that God will guide us. When our ultimate desire is to do whatever God asks of us, then we will not have to live in uncertainty.

In Acts 6-7 what guided Stephen? Stephen knew that he had to give witness to Jesus in spite of the opposition. He knew that to honor God he should trust God without anxiety when others were getting out of control. He knew even that he had to forgive those who intentionally wronged him. That's what Jesus had done on the cross. Stephen's prayer while he was being stoned is recorded in v. 60: Stephen fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

As Christian brothers and sisters have affirmed to me again and again over the years: We discover the guidance and wisdom of God's Word most clearly when we obey him in the face of hostility.

#3: We experience God's presence and peace when we obey him in the midst of opposition.

Sociologists tell us that one of the things every culture has to do is to explain suffering and death to its people. Buddhism has taught its adherents to ignore pain and suffering in order to come to a
"post-gained no knowledge" (as they call it), i.e., a resignation that comes from realizing that none of it really matters. Hinduism has taught a world of life, death and rebirth in an unending cycle governed by Karma. But, most are agreed that the dominant values of our Western culture -- materialism and individualism -- offer virtually nothing to help people come to grips with suffering and death. If I live for myself, then if a decision isn't to my liking, I can only be anxious, frustrated or in despair. If I live for material gain, then when that material is eroding or lost, I am lost.

Brothers and sisters, Stephen shows us what we possess in Christ even when everything in our own culture seems to be against us. We have the eternal God who knows us, loves us, and promises to work all things together for good. We simply must learn to obey him – and to trust him.

Notice that when Stephen had a vision of God in v. 56, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Usually, Jesus is pictured as seated before God with his work completed. But, in the midst of Stephen's struggle, Jesus is active and at work. Stephen knew that even his impending physical death is a part of what Jesus is doing. The result? He is able to speak wisdom when others are engaged in foolishness. Stephen is able to be gracious when others are irrationally furious. He is able to be at pray when others are closing their ears and yelling at the top of their voices. Stephen is able to forgive when others are seeking to destroy.

What we see in Stephen is that he is reflecting the ways of Jesus to his world. Jesus, the only one without sin, was accused unjustly and yet "he opened not his mouth." When he was condemned without evidence, he prayed, "Father, forgive them." When he was asked to bear the punishment for your sins and mine, he absorbed our sin and offered us back a new life.

The Apostle Peter learned from both Jesus and from young Stephen. I end with his words to them and to us: If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps... When the authorities hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to his Father who judges justly (from 1 Peter 2:20-24).

I submit this to you: Stephen's life was so beautiful because he looked so much like Jesus – standing for what is right, offering wisdom when people only wanted emotion and compliance, offering not condemnation but forgiveness, and insisting on talking about Jesus when the world wanted nothing about Jesus to be said.

Lord, teach us how to live even in the face of opposition that we too may reflect Jesus to our world.

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor