It's All Good in God. (Romans 8:28)

It's All Good in God.

(Rom. 8:28)

The NASB gives us a better translation of Romans 8:28; “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”. The world has a saying, “it's all good”, but that statement is false because it most certainly not all good. The gist of that worldly statement means if it works for you whether it is done by good or bad means, moral or immoral behavior, just as long as you get what you want then the end justifies the means. This is not so for the child of God, as we serve God, as we live for God then God causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him. This verse is a beautiful and wondrous promise from our Father God. Now it doesn't mean we will never have problems, trials, temptations, or persecution. Just like the country song says, He never “promised you a rose garden”. God does promise for those that are His own that we have a blessed assurance of being eternally secure in His salvation and in our lives He will work out the situations in our lives to His glory and our best. Today's sermon is “ It's all good in God”.

I. The Assurance (“And we know...”).

In those first three words of this promise, we see that we have an assurance, a certainty, and a sureness that we can know the wonderful security found in our Savior. Our salvation in Christ is sure and secure. Christian, our lives are in the hands of Almighty God and it will be divinely used by God to bring God glory and if it brings about God's glory then it will work out to our ultimate blessing. But the greater meaning of that we can know is that when we have been saved by faith in Christ, is that He has completely and eternally saved us. The Bible teaches us that our eternal, sovereign God alone saves us, that He alone is responsible for our salvation and it has nothing to do with any effort of our own. We cannot save ourselves. If our salvation had to do with our effort to save us then we would fail. But because eternal God alone is responsible for saving us through Christ, then God's salvation can never fail and we are eternally secure in His salvation. We cannot save ourselves and therefore we couldn't keep ourselves saved only God can do that. I remember that at one time, I believed that I was in a cooperative effort to keep myself saved and it brought about a great burden and grief to my Christian walk. I was always consumed by the effort to try and not sin enough to make me lost again, always consumed with fear that every bad thought or every little sin would condemn me once again to Hell. But when I began reading verse and passages that reminded me that salvation is solely the work of God through Christ then I was given that blessed assurance and that deep fear left my life. When I read in scripture that Jesus promised me in John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand”, nothing can take me out of the hand of my Savior and my God. And then I read in Rom. 8:1 that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” and in Rom. 8:35-39 that there is absolutely no one and nothing in this world that can separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, that there is no fear of ever being separated from salvation in Christ and the Holy Spirit through the holy Word of God illuminated that truth to me and set me free from the bondage of religion. To “know” this certainty reveals that whatever I face in my life here on earth, I will face it in His hands. So today friends, whatever is going on in your life, be it heartache or stress or sickness or death or disappointment or trials or temptations or the devil or just life in general, I want you to grab a hold of this truth that whatever may be coming at you must not only face you but it must also face the God that is holding you in His hand. That's the truth that we must know and this is what brings you assurance to face the day and the day after that. You may not be able to face the problem but God is not intimidated. Just rest in that assurance and rely upon Him.

II. The Scope (“...that God causes all things to work together for good”...).

Now that we know let's look at the scope or extent of this promise. It says that because we are absolutely assured of an eternal relationship in Christ, we can see that there is a limitless work of God in our lives. The scope of God's blessing is unlimited (Eph. 1:3 - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”) and if we are living in His blessings of His eternal salvation in Christ we see that God will be at work in our lives. It says in this verse that God causes all things to work together for good. God doesn't work the good out in some things but in all things. The extent is unlimited, there is nothing in our lives or that we face in our lives that God does not work His good in. It is God Himself that works out the good that comes to all that are His children. So when we see “all things” it is utterly complete, no limits, it's all-encompassing, and there is no restrictions or conditions in whatever experiences that we have in this life that God does not work in. what we read here is simply saying that whatever things we experience in our live that God allows to happen in our lives, be they good or evil, it says that God will ultimately turns those things into blessings. I know that there are those on TV, the false teachers that say if you are truly blessed by God then no bad will come into your life and if it does then you must have sinned or lost faith but they have ignored the saints of God on the Bible that have faced bad times and God had allowed it. Take for instance Job, God allowed Satan to tempt and try him but after Job had lost all that he had, his wealth and his children, Job still has faith in his God, that he still trusts God and we see this by his powerful affirmation of the goodness of God to him by him saying in Job 1:21, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD”. The book of Job gave no reason as to why God allowed Job to face what he faced other than to bring glory to God. Sometimes our suffering and hardships might have a reason like there was with Joseph. Joseph was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, was falsely accused by Pothiphar's wife because he would not sin against God by sleeping with her so he was thrown in prison. Joseph became the chief trusty in prison and through God interpreted the dreams of two men who had been close to Pharaoh. One was his cupbearer and the other his baker, Joseph told them through the revelation of God that the cupbearer would be restored and the other would be hanged in three days and that came to pass, but the cupbearer promised to Joseph to mention his name before Pharaoh to help get him out of prison. Well, the scriptures say that the cupbearer forgot for two years before the Pharaoh had a dream and then the cup-bearer remembered Joseph. Joseph through God revealed the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream of a great harvest of 7 years followed by a great famine of 7 years across the whole land. Joseph was promoted to 2^nd in command of Egypt and stored up enough grain to save Egypt and the surrounding countries and even the promised people of God, Joseph's family. In all the evil that seemingly befallen Joseph, he served God and God used his life and his circumstances to bring about God's will and God's glory. Joseph realized this after he had been elevated and placed to where he was in Egypt. Joseph could have sought revenge against his brothers for the hardships he faced but just like he always had in his hard life journey, he saw God's hand in it all for he says to his brothers in Gen. 50:20, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive”. Joseph realized that God is in control and that God causes all things to work together for good. Through this we see God's will is good, that His faithfulness is good even if we are unfaithful. If we as His children sin against Him, the Bible says that He will discipline us for our good because He loves us (Heb. 12:6,11 - “For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives”. “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”). Sometimes God allows sickness or death to come on us for our sins to warn us or others. Sometimes God may have to put us in the hospital to see the goodness of God and restore us to rightful fellowship with Him or death may come to some like Ananias ans Sapphira who as Christians lied to the Holy Spirit and God killed them but for what reason? The reason is found in Acts 5:11, “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things”. Whatever we face we have to face it with God and we need to be obedient to His will for us whatever we face, we are His. We need to be like Job and realize the work God is doing in us for our good and His glory. Job says in Job 23:10, “When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold”. Trials of fire refine the gold of our walk with Christ.

III. The Recipients (“...to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”).

To have the good of God in your lives, the blessings of God in every circumstance, and His ever present Spirit every where you walk and in everything you face; you have to be a child of God. You have to be a recipient of His love through Christ. You can face life alone and then face an eternity alone in eternal torment or you can know His love here in this life and into the eternity to come but you have to believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”). No other way to face the hardships and trials of life except with Christ. He will never leave or forsake you and you can face everything in your life in His hands.

Excuses of the Guilty (Rom. 1:18-21)

Excuses of the Guilty

(Rom. 1:18-21)

Last week, we dealt with what the wrath of God is and what that means in relation to mankind; that our holy God hates sin and because he is holy and just He must punish sinners. God has revealed to the entire world through the scriptures His wrath and His salvation from the condemnation of sin. Because of this knowledge God has pronounced judgment against sinful man. This verdict of His wrathful judgment against lost mankind has indicted all those who reject God and His remedy of mercy and grace found in His Son, Jesus Christ. The high, holy court of Heaven has called three defendants, representative of mankind, to stand and receive their day in court to answer for their sins. These 3 defendants are here in chapters 1&2 and they are the heathen man, the moral man, and the religious man.

Introduction: God’s indictment (v.18)

God’s fierce wrath is revealed against all ungodliness (sins against his Person) and unrighteousness (sins against his will). The first category is vertical (faulty relationship towards God) while the second is horizontal in nature (faulty living & faulty relationships with fellow man due to our faulty relationship with God). Because of our sinful nature we are unable to have a right relationship towards God and if we are unable to have a right relationship we certainly cannot live according to the righteous standards that God has set forth in His divine, moral Law. Because of our sins we are indicted under the wrath of God. The indictment against mankind is specifically listed in verses 18, it begins by saying they, mankind, “hold (or suppress, smother) the truth in unrighteousness”; in other words, men suppress the truth of God by steadfastly clinging to their sins. Man’s sinful nature desires to naturally oppose God and his truth. The truth that they are sinful and unable to not sin and need God to save them from themselves and the end results of their unrepentant hearts. All of humanity is under God’s condemnation and they are found guilty by two things: 1. God’s Law (2:12 – “For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law”; 2. their own deeds (2:6 – God “will render to each one according to his deeds”). You could say that ‘God’s Law’ and ‘their deeds’ are their jury. So let’s begin with our defendants.

I. Defendant #1: The Heathen or Pagan Man (vv. 19-32)

The heathen or pagan man is representative of those who claim ignorance of the knowledge of God. They are in different religions or they could be atheists or they just reject the Christian concept of God. The generation coming up today could be counted among these. They have decided to call this generation the “Y” generation. They are called this because they always say “why should we believe in God, especially the Christian God”. They have been brought up in homes that don’t go to church or read the Bible and have been brain washed in our public schools to believe only in themselves and whatever propaganda the TV and internet says is true. They are thought to question and be skeptical of whatever Christianity says is true. This “Y” generation is truly the ‘pagan’ generation that has forsaken the only true God of the Bible. This generation has chosen to serve a ‘god’ of their own choosing or even not to believe in anything at all. There has never been a time in our nation that we have had such a large percentage of people not in church of some kind. The percentage of people in the USA today are ignorant of what the Bible says and the real gospel message of salvation in Christ. In Amos 8:11-12, the Bible spoke of a famine of God’s word in the land. Here in our nation there seems to be a “famine of God’s word in the land”. There is a generation that does not know the Lord. A generation that wants to be ignorant of God’s truth and a desire to only smother their guilty conscious with false religion and in vile sins. They have chosen false religions and vain philosophies absent of the truth of God’s word. They have exchanged the holy glory of the one true God with the spiritual darkness of false gods and the giving of themselves over to evil desires and gross sexual sins. Verses 21-32 show their regression to viler and viler sins. The verses in 1:21-23 says, "although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man; and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things”. We see through history and even today people have chosen to serve a ‘god’ of their own making. Today, the New Age religions and atheists have chosen to worship themselves and the efforts of mankind. The ancient Greeks and Romans worshiped a pantheon of gods that were just as depraved as or worse than men. Ancient peoples like the Egyptians, had gods and goddesses that had features of animals and even considered certain animals sacred. Hindus even today worship animals. Our generation today considers themselves ‘spiritual’ but not specifically believing in any one religion. Modern man finds whatever spirituality that condones their sins and relieves them of the fear of consequences. They deceive themselves to believe that because of their supposed ignorance of God and His truth that He will acquit them of His judgment. Verses 1:19-20 refute their excuses. God’s twin witnesses of 1. Conscience (v. 19 – “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them”) and 2. Nature (v. 20 – “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead”; they witness of the existence and God’s law, “so that they are without excuse”. No matter how much they deceive themselves or numb their conscience with gross sin, it won’t stop His judgment.

II. Defendant #2 – Moral Man (vv. 2:1-16)

I like to call this 2nd defendant the ‘good ole’ boy’. The reason that this 2nd representative of judged man thinks he is not deserving of God’s judgment is because he’s not as bad as other men. Most of the time, he is a decent, moral person and not too sinful in his eyes and mostly law-abiding, hard-working, relatively moral person in comparison to the thief, murderer, crack head, or low-life of society. His excuse is that in comparison of his life to others that he is not as bad as society’s criminals (ex. - kid’s grade on a test-not as bad as Billy). I’m not as bad as others so I’ll be alright with God because God grades on a curve. But God refutes their excuse by they do the same things but in a refined way (hide their sins, etc.). God does not judge them according to man’s best but according to His own standard of righteousness and holiness. But they will not escape God’s wrathful judgment (2:1-4, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”).

III. Defendant #3 – The Religious Man (2:17-3:8)

The religious man Paul used as an example were the Jews. The Jews claimed to be the “people of God” solely on the fact that they knew the law of God and taught it, in other words they were righteous because they were religious (2:17-20 – “Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law”). They were outwardly religious but inwardly in the same condition as every other lost man. They did belong to those who had head knowledge about God but no heart knowledge (no personal saving relationship with God). But God refuted their feeble excuse by plainly telling them, “You don’t practice what you preach” (2:21-23 – “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, "Do not commit adultery," do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?”). Instead of trusting God to save them from their sins they trusted in their own good works of their religion (ex. RCC, baptismal regeneration, etc.).

What is seen through all these defendants is this simply this that all people regardless of race, creed, color, or social status, that all are under sin and in need of a Savior. God has graciously extended His hand of grace through His Son, Jesus Christ and He is not willing that any should perish in their sins but come to repentance.

Man’s Sinfulness: Doctrine of Total Depravity (Romans 3:10-17; 23)

Man’s Sinfulness: Doctrine of Total Depravity

(Romans 3:10-17; 23)

As we continue in our study of Romans, we see that we have looked at the wrath of God. We have seen that God’s judgment will be against all of those who do not receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, who are still bound in their sins. The question we want answered today is: how sinful is man; How does it affect us? Today we will look at man’s sinfulness and how it affects his character, conversation, and conduct.

I. Sinful Character (vv. 10-12 – “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."”)

Paul begins by seemingly answering the question “who is righteous” and the answer is very clear, Paul says, “There is none righteous”. No is sinless or righteous in the eyes of our holy God. Paul then goes on to answer another question that will naturally be brought up in relation to his previous answer, “well, what about Mary or Sister Theresa or Buddha or Gandhi or the Pope or Billy Graham, was she or he sinless or righteous” and his answer is an emphatic “no, not one”. There is not even one person there are no human exceptions. The only One ever born without sin was the God-man, the incarnate Son of God, our sinless Lord Jesus Christ. But other than Christ, mankind is universally evil and there are no exceptions. Paul is stating our absolute lack of righteous before God. Because of our sin nature our whole being is corrupt. The Biblical belief that our sin has tainted and corrupted our all that man is physically, mentally, and spiritually is call the total depravity of man. It doesn’t mean that we are as bad as we can be but that sin has infected every aspect of humanity. Sin has tainted and corrupted every thing we are and has made given us an inability to please God. There is no part of our being free from the stain of sin. The first thing it affects is our character. It has made us evil and separates us from acceptance with God. It affects in such a way that even the good that we humanly do is not even acceptable before God. The word ‘righteous’ that Paul uses is being understood as being right before God. Our evil, depraved nature robs us of pleasing God even in the best that we as humanity does. We have unsaved people that live pretty moral lives and that give help to the needy (like those helping in Haiti or Chile right now) but even in the best that humanity has to offer is still corrupted by our sin nature. There are great differences among people as to their love, kindness, generosity, honesty, etc. But even among the best there are none that come close to Christ’s righteous perfection. That is the standard that God demands, the righteous that God possesses, a righteous that was found only in Christ. Jesus Himself said in Matt. 5:48 – “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”. For man this is an impossible task. Our depraved, sinful nature prevents us from being perfect. Our inability to save ourselves from sin, to be able to be in a relationship with God is best seen in Rom. 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. It’s like trying to jump from the Hawaiian islands to the coast of California. There are some athletes that can jump 25-30 feet; there are more people that can jump 10-15 feet, or someone like me that are out of shape that can barely jump 3 feet. Although many can do better than me it remains that we are all incapable to jump thousands of miles to the coast of California. Even though there are those who might be morally better people than others, good hearted sinners that have done great things from humanity, the sad fact is that there is none righteous, not even one; all people fall short of the glory of God. It evens says that we are spiritually ignorant (v. 11a), we don’t even have the ability on our own to know the way without God’s guidance (“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” – 1 Co. 2:14). It also makes our character rebellious, spiritually useless (“dead in trespasses and sins” – Eph. 2:1), and morally corrupt. We are totally lost, blind, and spiritually dead in our sins. We are doomed and there is nothing humanly possible that can change that fact, apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

II. Sinful Conversation (vv. 13-14 – “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”.)

There is so much more we could say of man’s character but what reveals it best, is his conversation. Jesus said in Mt. 12:34, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”; and in Prov. 10:31-32, “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse”. There are so many, many more verses just on conversation that we don’t have time to quote them all but it suffices to say this that a person’s real character will certainly be revealed in their conversation. We can see the result of this in the filthy conversations and slanderous gossip on TV and radio. We can also see the results of depraved conversation in the deception of false teachers of cults and false religions. No other time in history has deception been more prevalent than in our times. Jer. 9:3-5 bests describes the deception on our land in these verses, “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me, says the LORD. Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers. Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies”. Today, even politicians are noted for their lying and commercials lie about the products they sell. People openly talk of their sins and immorality and talk of the need of people to accept their perverse lifestyles. Corrupt hearts always will produce corrupt conversation.

III. Sinful Conduct (vv. 15-17 – “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known”)

If sinful mankind’s character and conversation are corrupt then most certainly their conduct will be the same. The conduct of this lost and sinful and godless world is seen the daily news of the evils man has done against man and God. In the United States 3.2% of our population is incarcerated in our prison and jail systems, 1 out of 31 people, that equals roughly 22 million people in jails, prisons, or on parole/probation. That’s just against the laws of the land, the percentage of those sinful before the laws of God are 100%. We have seen great evil committed in wars (ex. Hitler), oppressive governments (Communist China, Muslim countries), and in the daily news (murders, rapes, robberies, etc.). Our own country has made killing unborn children legal, they say that woman have the right to murder their own unborn child. Three states have made it legal to have physician assisted suicide and some have made same-sex marriage legal. Our president on his inauguration day had a homosexual clergy pray for him and also had openly homosexual choir to sing in it. He has overturned by presidential powers the ban against gays in the military. The conduct of the people of this nation shows sins corrupt influence from the top down. The conduct of our nation and other nations are against the God of heaven whose Word condemns them all. God’s judgment is against all who profane and violate His holy Law. God will warn nations and people to repent before it is too late. I just hope that people’s hearts will turn to God in repentance. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The picture of mankind’s sinful heart is reveled in three ways: their character, their conversation, and their conduct. It’s true that the entire world is born into total depravity and a total inability to reach God in our own strength and righteousness. But through the work of salvation by Christ, we have the remedy for a sinful heart. The blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from all sin and deliver us from the eternal judgment of sin.

A Convenient Season

A Convenient Season
(Acts 24:22-27; 26:27-29)

Today, we will see two of the most terrible statements ever made in the Bible. One is from a man named Felix and another is from a man named Agrippa. The one thing that both have in common is a man named Paul who preached to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will read in these passages the most tragic words any man could ever utter. We will see today, two men who refused the Gospel call and the Spirit of God’s convicting power.

I. Foolish Felix (Acts 24:25- And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.)
Here in Acts 24, we see Paul is a prisoner in the Praetorium of Caesarea, the Roman capitol of the Judean province, and Paul has been called before the appointed Roman governor Felix. The Apostle Paul is called to the audience of Felix and his wife Drusilla (Bible refers to her as a Jewess). Paul had earlier in this chapter defended himself against false accusations of the Jews earlier but now is given audience to Felix and Drusilla to hear him explain his ‘new‘ religion “concerning the faith in Christ”. They were interested in hearing about the miracle worker Jesus Christ, I’m sure they had heard the stories and what attracted people to this new religion. But Apostle Paul always recognized an open door of opportunity from God and he begins to preach the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. I imagined it was not as they expected, they were expecting a nice little presentation of a new philosophy but what they got was the uncompromised preaching of the Word of God. The Bible says as Paul preached that Felix trembled. Paul is the one on trial and in chains and imprisoned. Paul is the accused and prisoner standing at the bar and Felix is the judge. But Paul is not the one who is trembling, it’s Felix. Felix is the one who is in the position of power and influence whose subjects lives are in his hands but he is the one trembling that day. He is trembling before Paul because of the message about the condition of his soul as seen before the God of heaven and earth. Felix and Drusilla were expecting Paul to recount some kind of new mystical religion. Some kind of new age experience or philosophy that would tickle there ears and stroke their sinful egos. They wanted to be entertained by some fantastic story of this prophet and troublemaker named Jesus that Paul worshipped. But Paul simply and powerfully preached the holy Word of God. It says that as he preached that “he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come”. The Apostle Paul although he was before the one who was an earthly judge over him became the one who brought Felix before the One who stood as Judge over all. Paul revealed through the scriptures just how Felix stood spiritually before God and that was like anyone else, he stood before God as a sinner. A sinner that was in need of a Savior because we all will stand before God when we die and we will be judged (Heb. 9:27 - “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment ”). Paul preached the Gospel to this man and showed him the One that could save him from his sins and the judgment to come and it says that Felix trembled at the preaching of God’s Word. The Spirit of God was convicting Felix of his sins, the Holy Spirit was drawing this man to a place of an eternal decision, and He was telling Felix that this was his day and hour to come to Christ. Felix trembled under the mighty call of the mighty God. It came to the time of decision and what was Felix’s answer? It would have been glorious if he said, “Paul, I give my heart to Jesus!”, but those words never came from his lips. Felix’s answer was one of the most terrible words that can be spoken by anyone, it was his answer, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee, some other time Paul, some other day. When the time is right for me but not right now”. Felix simply refused the hand of God’s mercy and grace that was extended to him through the convicting power of God’s word and God the Holy Spirit. Paul presented Christ the Savior for his soul and Felix refused the Son of God. The opportunity of grace and mercy with God’s arms open wide to receive him through Christ and he refused the his appointment with destiny. There is no record of Felix ever coming to a saving knowledge of Christ but the Bible says that two years later he was replaced by Festus. Other historical sources record that Felix was recalled back to Rome in disgrace by Emperor Nero where he was never again given any title or position and that he ended his life by suicide. Felix’s convenient season never came. God’s call to repentance came that day, God’s day of salvation was offered to this man, and the conviction of that man’s heart was that day and he refused the Spirit of God. What a dangerous thing to do and how easy the words came, “No, some other day God”. He preferred to be lost and without God, willfully and foolishly rejected the call of the Spirit of God, and went into eternity to his judgment in Hell. Hebrews 10:26-27 says this, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.” This was the result of Felix missing God’s convenient season.
II. Almost There Agrippa (Acts 26:28 - Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian.")
Paul was imprisoned at Caesarea right around 3 years and Paul used every opportunity to preach Christ to the lost. When given another opportunity to testify on his own behalf before governor Festus and King Agrippa II, Paul used it to give his personal testimony of how Jesus saved him. Paul boldly preached Christ to these two powerful leaders. Paul told of his training as a Pharisee, how he persecuted the church, about how he met and talked with Jesus on the road to Damascus, and how he was saved through faith in Christ. Festus openly mocked Paul and did not believe Paul’s testimony of Christ. But Agrippa’s remark to Paul was interesting. Paul directly asked Agrippa this question, “do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe”. Paul appealed to Agrippa’s raising in Judaism to bring him to a place of decision spiritually. Paul had preached to him the Gospel of Christ and now directing him to a place to believe in Jesus as Savior. Agrippa’s answer was this, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian”, so close yet so far away from the One who could save his soul. Agrippa is like so many who are in churches today hearing the gospel message of Christ. They know and believe God’s word but never came to the place of decision to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. They’ve been raised in church, still go to church, and probably like the preacher but they are as lost as a goose. They have been so hardened to the gospel that they hardly even hear it anymore, their almost persuaded.
III. God’s Convenient Season (2 Co. 6:2b - Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 6:2, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”. I think he wrote that in remembering all the times those who so foolishly rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When Jesus is preached that He suffered and died on that old rugged cross to shed His blood to cleanse us from our sins and three days later physically arose from the tomb alive forever more to save us from our sins and give us eternal life in Him that’s the Gospel message. Romans 1:16 says that the gospel of Jesus Christ “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes”, and in Rom. 10:17 tells us that, “…faith (saving faith) comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. The Holy Spirit moves upon the hearts of men by convicting us through the preaching of God’s word. That’s why when we Christians heard the gospel of Jesus Christ that we were drawn by the Spirit of God to saving faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit brought us to the cross of Christ and produced in us the faith to receive salvation in Christ. When people refuse the word of God and the Spirit of God they are putting themselves into dangerous place. When God calls you and draws you to Christ that just might be the last time. We don’t know our appointment with death. When God calls you that is the day of salvation. Salvation is not on your terms or in your time, it’s when God calls your name because your not promised another call. Today if God is calling you to salvation in His Son Jesus Christ don’t refuse Him, don’t harden your hearts (Heb. 3:15 - Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts). Listen to these words from the hymn “Almost Persuaded”:
“Almost persuaded” now to believe;
“Almost persuaded” Christ to receive;
Seems now some soul to say,
“Go, Spirit, go Thy way,
Some more convenient day
On Thee I’ll call.”

“Almost persuaded,” harvest is past!
“Almost persuaded,” doom comes at last!
“Almost” cannot avail;
“Almost” is but to fail!
Sad, sad, that bitter wail—
“Almost,” but lost!

Friends, today is the day of salvation in Christ. Today is the day that He can change your life. Don’t be a Foolish Felix or an Almost There Agrippa. Come if Christ is calling you today.

Sermons from Galatians - Truth Positive (Galatians 3:1-5)

Truth Positive

(Gal. 3:1-5)

May 31, 2009

Paul continues the defensive argument of the gospel message to the Galatians.  Here in Chapter 3, Paul’s reaction is still of bewilderment why they would leave the truth of the Gospel for the Judaizers’ false teachings of religious works.  Today we’ll look at how Paul deals with their abandonment of the truth by him asking key rhetorical questions to make them remember the truths he had taught them.   

I.  Crystal Clear Picture of Christ (Gal 3:1 - “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?")

A. “O foolish Galatians”- Paul begins speaking to the Galatians with a strong statement, “ You foolish Galatians”, it sounds as if he is claiming these believers have a mental deficit of some sort, but that is not the case.  The problem was not a mental deficiency but a mental laziness, they had been careless with the truth of the Word of God.  They failed to test these teachers with God’s Word.  Paul wasn’t calling them stupid, he was letting them know that they were not applying the true Gospel teaching they had received from him, that they had stopped even believing it, that’s why they had fallen for the Judaizers’ lies.  So, the problem was not just mental, it was spiritual.  It created in them a lack of faith and severely hindered their judgment in regards to God’s truth.  A good example of this is the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, when the resurrected Christ walked with them, they did not know who He was, and because of their lack of faith and knowledge about Him in the scriptures and He began to explain the scriptures about him- Lk. 24:25-27- “Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”  Although they had spent three years with Him, they failed to understand that Christ had to die for their sins and rise from the dead.  Jesus used the same word for foolish in Greek that Paul used for mental carelessness and laziness.  If they had sufficiently studied and believed the prophecies in scripture they would known that Christ’s death was not the end, that He would rise again from the dead.  They believed the modern and popular teachings of some rabbis and not the truths of the word of God.  It seems that the popular false teachings of the Judaizers were also taken for face value instead of believing God’s word.  They had so foolishly fallen for the false teachings of the Judaizers’ legalism that they quit believing and utilizing the Gospel truths that Paul had faithfully taught them.  These were Christians that had failed in staying faithful to and applying in their lives God’s Word of Truth. They  willfully and sinfully neglected these God-given resources found in God’s Word and were foolishly caught into their web of lies.  

B. “Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”-  Paul continues with the questioning by asking, “who has lured you away from the foundational truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”.  Bewitch here gives the idea of being lead away by flattery or emotional persuasion.  What it means is that they were enticed by the feeling of fleshly pleasing religious works righteousness.  They ‘felt’ there was something else besides faith alone in Christ. They ‘felt’ that something was missing and they had to add to their salvation to make it complete, that faith alone was not enough.  False religious works always appeal directly to the flesh and want you to forsake using your mind to accurately handle the Word of Truth, “2 Tim. 2:15 - “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.  What was the truth they were “bewitched” from?  The truth was of the Person and work of Jesus Christ, which means that faith alone in the fact that only Jesus Christ can save us and that He saved us through the death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. That’s the truth of the gospel and Paul is saying to them, “remember, Christ was clearly and truthfully preached and taught to you and salvation was clearly seen as being accomplished for us by Christ alone”.  This tells us they were faithfully taught the word of God by Paul and the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ was believed, received, and by faith salvation was wrought out in their hearts by the Holy Spirit of God.  Instead of residing and abiding and staying in that glorious truth they chose to believe a lie.  One thing I learned from my instructor in the study of Cults is that it is always easier to believe a lie than the truth.  This lie caused them to deny the absolute saving power of Jesus Christ and it dishonored His atoning death on the cross.  It is always the truth of the Cross that “sets us free”.

II. Faith Alone (Gal. 3:2-4 - “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain; if indeed it was in vain?") -  Here Paul asks some more rhetorical questions.  These were questions they should have asked of themselves from the beginning these false teachers began to assert themselves into this body of believers.  To answer the first question, to receive the Spirit of God you must be saved by faith in Christ (Acts 2:38 - “Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”).  We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ by faith.  There are many so-called Christian groups who claim that salvation is earned by religious works and faith like those who believe in baptismal regeneration.  That means they falsely believe that one is saved or “regenerated” only when one is baptized (hard-line Churches of Christ, Catholics, Oneness cults [UPC, Apostolic] etc.).  But the false teachers ignore more than 60 times in the New Testament where it explicitly states that our eternal salvation in Christ is through faith and/or repentance alone with no mention of water baptism or any other religious works associated.  Well, Paul goes on to say, you have begun by the truth of Gospel, you were saved because of the truth of the Gospel, are you now believing that it is by your legalistic works, by your own effort, you are now trying to keep yourselves saved?  They had begun in the truth and the joy of grace but now are grudgingly trying to maintain their salvation.  They went from freedom to bondage.  If we cannot save ourselves then we cannot keep ourselves saved.

   

III. Power Encounter (Gal. 3:5- “Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”) - Paul was appealing not only from a standpoint of the scriptural revelation of Gospel truth but he was also appealing to the genuine experience of the gospel of grace.  The greatest miracle, the greatest demonstration of the power of God ever seen is salvation of a sinful man.  Paul was saying to them, if you remember the day your were saved by putting your faith in Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you’ll remember it was not done by you being baptized, or you joining a church, or receiving communion, or any kind of good deeds or religious works.  It was done by the power of God alone, through the Person and work of Jesus Christ alone, and through faith alone in Christ alone.  It was because you heard the powerful Gospel message, the Spirit of God convicted your heart, and your were given the saving faith needed to receive Christ as Lord (Rom. 10:17- So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God) and not the human works righteousness that was powerless to save you from sin (2 Tim. 3:5 - “…having a form of godliness but denying its power").  

The power of the Gospel is found in the powerful work of salvation in our powerful Lord Jesus Christ.  The gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” and it is found only through faith in Christ alone.  

 

Sermons from Acts: Paul at Athens

Paul at Athens

(Acts 17:16,17)

As we continue in the book of Acts, we come to Paul in the famous city of Athens.  We see Paul looking at the city of Athens, seeing the city full of idols of false gods, and the Bible says that his ‘spirit was stirred within him’ because it seemed every place he looked were these idols.  Because of this Paul began preaching Jesus in that city and he again used the strategy of going to the synagogues first preaching to the Jews and the ‘God-fearers’ (God-fearing Gentiles) then to the heathen of that city.  Today, we will discuss what Paul saw, what he felt, and what he did to reach that pagan city.

I. What Paul saw. (v. 16- “…he was beholding the city full of idols.)

   Paul was in the philosophical and educational center of the world at that time and it greatly influenced the Roman Empire. There waiting on his friends and fellow workers in Christ, Paul looked around him and saw in every corner, nook and cranny, anywhere someone could put an idol there was an idol.  Temples to false gods, huge statues, groves, and towering above it all was the Parthenon, which was the one of the greatest buildings of architecture that housed the massive statue of the patron goddess Athena.  It was the epitome of paganism and idolatry and here Paul is witnessing this massive city that is supposed to be the most educated and enlightened city in the world and it is one of the spiritually dark places in the world full of people that are spiritually blind to the true light of the Gospel.  

   Athens was the center of the world for it’s culture, art, intellect, and ideas.  This city influenced the whole Roman Empire in every area of life, politics, philosophy, and religion.  But in all its educational and cultural achievements it was a place of great spiritual blindness.  Could there have been places of worse condition than Athens? Probably so, but it was one of better examples of paganism and spiritual corruption.  One thing we can learn about this place is that it shows that without a doubt it is a place that is in absolute need of Divine revelation. Leave a man in society without a Bible and he will make a religion of some kind to try and fill the great void in their soul but it will be a corrupt religion that usually worships the creation rather than the Creator.  We see that Athens worshipped the works of their own hands.  They had a religion without peace, without light and without hope.  Something we can learn from what Paul saw at Athens is that irregardless of the highest intellectual minds and the highest excellence in the material arts that these things will not reveal  the true light of God’s love or salvation from sin.

   If you were to ask the greatest philosopher’s in the world and the most intellectual minds the question ‘What must I do to be saved?’, they could give no answer that could cleanse a soul from sin.  Of all the great artistic and architectural wonders of Athens although it may be pleasing to the eye it could not bring the joy and peace that comes from knowing the love of Christ.  Only through the Word of God proclaimed by the Spirit filled Christians can may know and see the glorious light of God’s love in Christ.  This is a picture of the modern western world today. Though we may not have all the idols of stone, wood, and metal we have the idols of worldly success, wealth, political power, fame or pleasure.  This is what Paul saw then and it is what we see now.

II. What Paul felt (v.16- his spirit was stirred in him…).

   In verse 16 we see that the sight of this city provoked Paul’s soul.  What does that mean?  It shows that the gross idolatry angered and grieved Paul.  This was a place of pagan worship and it usually involved perverted sexual practices, mutilation, drunkenness, or mind altering drugs.  Of course, any worship of a false god or goddess has a demonic spiritual involvement of some kind (basically worship of a demon).  The gross perversions and pagan idol worship angered and sickened Paul.  We must be like Paul when it comes to our society and be angered and sickened at the perversions that are going on around us.  Drug and alcohol abuse at an all time high, the party lifestyle of the rich and famous in Hollywood being played out all over the T.V.; the Paris Hilton’s and Lindsey Lohan’s addictions and immorality glamorized by the media.  The homosexuals parading around and flaunting their perverted lives out in front of the cameras and those who speak out and condemn their actions are shouted down by saying they are hate mongers.  Couples living together and thumbing their noses at God who has ordained marriage and marriages dissolving in divorce because of spouses who can’t obey the vow of fidelity commanded by God.  Young men and women who have children out of wedlock and don’t have fathers and being raised by grandma and grandpa because mom and dad refuse to raise them.  Sexual immorality destroying lives and STD’s at an all time high and the world thinks the problem can be fixed with a condom or a birth control pill.  

   Are we like Paul? Is there something stirring in your soul that is sick and tired of all the sin and perversion that is flooding our world and damaging our society.  Does it still anger you that this sewage of sin is flooding our homes through the TV, radio, internet, and other media outlets.  We were once a society that cared about our neighbors and cared about the people in our cities and towns and the condition of peoples souls.  Today, we don’t care who lives next door, if they stay out my business then I’ll stay out of theirs. A good neighbor was once someone we could depend on and help out if they needed help, today a good neighbor is someone who minds their own business and stays out of mine.  We once got up in arms if stores opened on Sunday and now they sell beer and liquor on Sunday.  Today, people would rather speak down on the church and Jesus and if the church openly condemns anything sinful we are told not to judge.   

   Do we still get provoked in our souls at the unrighteousness around us.  But most of all, are we burdened by the souls of the lost around us.  To see our neighbors and fellow citizens walk down the path of destruction blinded by sin and Satan does it stir our soul to tell them about Jesus (Mt. 7:13 ‘…wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”).  This world and the god of this world wants to keep the lost in spiritual darkness and keep them blind to the glorious truth of the Gospel (2 Co. 4:3-4, “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.)  We should be stirred by the same love and compassion of Christ that He has showed and given to us, because many are on that road to destruction.  It is true that we must guard our hearts and homes from the evil around us by the power and the word of God but we must also change our society by proclaiming the truth of God’s word and reaching mankind one soul at a time.  This sinful, idolatrous city provoked Paul to action and now we will discuss what Paul did.

III. What Paul did (v. 17)

   You have heard what Paul saw and you were told what Paul felt and now we will see that Paul did. He was active with his faith in Christ.  He just didn’t sit around and moan about the condition of the world around him.  He went and began to change his world around him and the way he did that was by the powerful, world changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul had a plan that he knew could change the lives and souls of that sinful city. It involved teaching, preaching, discussing, and sharing the gospel message.  It always had an impact on whatever city he went to.  We see it in Acts 17:4-6, we see Paul was teaching and preaching the Word of God and preaching Jesus is the Christ and Savior of mankind and we see the impact, “4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. 5 But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

6 but when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too”.  

   We see two things that happened when the word of God is preached: 1. People are saved and 2. People are offended.  This glorious gospel is what Romans 1:16 says is “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes”, but it will offend the reprobate and sinful society.  When we tell people about Jesus it condemns the sinner because it shows he needs a Savior.  Those who reject the message of Christ will usually hate us for Christ’s sake.  Remember what Paul did and what he preached Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected, we see that in verse 18.

   Remember, God uses His children to reach the lost.  When the early church here in Acts was persecuted, His children went into different countries and lands taking the message of the Savior with them and changing the world.

   We must see and follow the example of the Apostle Paul.  When we see the sinful and idolatrous world around us openly defying God and His word, we must allow the Holy Spirit in us to stir our hearts and souls to action.  God can use all of us to change the world around us by His power; all we have to do is allow God to use us to accomplish His will through us.

Sermons from Acts: The Stoning of Stephen

The Stoning of Stephen

(Acts 7:51-8:1a)

We all know of Stephen, how he was the first martyr of the Church. We often read this passage and think about the seeming tragedy of his death. But, I want us to look at this passage in a different light. The tragedy that day wasn’t the death of Stephen but the crowd that stoned him. Stephen was not the victim that day, in fact he is not the victim at all, he wins. In death he is the victor, and though they live, they became the losers. Today, we will see that Stephen was a man who had grace to live and grace to die.

I. Stephen Before the Accusers- (Acts 6:9-7:1)

A. What we know about Stephen- Acts 6 tells of Stephen that he was one the seven men (of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom) chosen by the Apostles as the first deacons of the church. It goes on to tell us that Stephen was one who was “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit”, and that there were signs and wonders done among the people through Stephen. Stephen was a witness for Christ by sharing the Gospel and the life he lived before others. Stephen evidently went and taught and preached in some of the synagogues because certain leaders of the synagogues tried to debate with Stephen (many against one) but they were not successful, we see this in Acts 6:10, “And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke”; they could not handle his wisdom or his spirit. All their minds put together were no match for one Spirit-controlled mind. So we see that Stephen was a man of God who was full of the Spirit, full of faith, and wisdom and knew scripture and was able to effectively communicate it and was a Christian man that was held in high esteem by the church and the Apostles.

B. The False Accusations- We talked how the Jewish religious leaders lost a debate to Stephen and they did what many people do when they lose a debate and a confrontation with the truth, they slander and lie on Stephen (Acts 6:11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God”). They accuse him of blasphemy by hiring false witnesses against him to say so. When telling them about Jesus, Stephen does so with great courage and does not water down the Gospel message. But they falsely accuse him of blasphemy and have to hire false witnesses because they could not dispute truth, so they determine to silence the proclaimer of truth.

C. The Council- just like Jesus we see that they have falsely accused Stephen of blasphemy and not only that they seize him (false arrest-sound familiar) and they have convened a Council (kangaroo court) (Acts 6:12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council).

And here at this council they, just like they did Jesus, bring in the false witnesses (had to be two) and they tell their lies against him. These Jews mean to kill Stephen, because if they pronounce him guilty of blasphemy they can stone him. They bring the false accusations against him and they have this mockery of a trial and after all the false statements and lies of accusing him of being an evil blasphemer they look at Stephen and as they behold his face verse 15 says, “And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel”. Facing this fake trial and false accusations and the possibility of death, we see Stephen full of the Holy Spirit with the glory of God shining on his face. God rebukes them through his servant Stephen by allowing the manifest glory of God to shine on his face.

II. Stephen Answers and Defends the Gospel (Acts 7)

Acts 7 stars out with this verse, “7:1 Then said the high priest, Are these things so?”, they so ‘graciously’ let Stephen answer and address his accusers, to defend himself. By the time he is done defending himself, they become the ones on trial for blasphemy. In his sermon, he says, in effect, "I believe in God, but you put God in a box. I believe in Moses, but you continually break the law that he gave us from God. I believe in the Temple, but if your forefathers hadn't desecrated it with worshiping idols, it wouldn't have been destroyed by pagan, godless peoples. This now in your third Temple, and guess who doesn't believe in Herod's temple?...God, who has had to keep wiping them out." So he turns the tables on them completely and indicts and condemns them. This sermon builds until it climaxes with the confrontation in verses 51-53, "51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it". He tells them the truth about the condition of their heart and how they failed to recognize the Messiah was in their midst, performed sign and wonders and miracles and they were so spiritually blinded they did not recognize their salvation, Jesus Christ. And they killed him just as they had killed the prophets sent to them from God before Him. He again tells them that they again are resisting the Holy Spirit and refuse to believe in the word of God and the Son of God, in fact he calls them betrayers and murderers. Stephen courageously speaks the Word of God boldly and proclaims the only Lord and Savior of all, he does so knowing full well of the consequences and still he does not flinch or apologize for the message of truth.

III. From Death To Life (Acts 7:54-8:1a)

A. Rejection- So what was the result of them hearing this message of truth? Where they convicted by the Spirit? Verse 54 says that, “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth”; it seems they heard the message and fully understood what he was saying. But the reaction was one who was convicted but not repentant. The ‘cut to the heart’ shows that the saw of conviction had ripped them through the middle. They knew that everything he had said was true. The ‘gnashed on him with their teeth’ shows the great rage and frustration they felt. They could not verbalize their hatred and anger and just ground their teeth in fury. Instead of repenting and yielding to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit they ground their teeth in fury at Stephen and at God. It reminds me of the verse in Matt. 24:51- And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. In there spiritual blindness they chose to reject the glorious light of salvation. They hardened their hearts time and time again to the revelation of God’s salvation found only in Christ. They had rejected the Savior Jesus and now again they rejected the Gospel of Christ. Just like Pharaoh they hardened their hearts and rejected the word of God and just like Pharaoh God now hardened their hearts and rejected them. After the death of Stephen you see that the Gospel being preached to the Samaritans and Gentiles away from the Jews.

B. Full of Anger or Full of the Spirit- As Stephen is facing this hatred and anger, the Bible says that he was ‘full of the Spirit and looked into heaven’. He faced evil just like any Christian, through the power of the Spirit and looking unto Jesus for his help and strength. We can face life challenges and problems the way Stephen did or the way the Sanhedrin did (angry and blaming God), it’s up to you. Looking at these couple of chapters that describe Stephen, it’s clear that whenever it’s talks of him it said that he was ‘full of the Spirit’; it shows that he yielded every part of his life to the control of the Spirit of God. We need to heed the example of Stephen.

C. Vision of Christ and Derision of the Mob - now what was it that really pushed them over the edge to kill Stephen. (Acts 7:55-58, 55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him). The situation was getting tense and Stephen looked to the Lord, the only place to look at such times and he beheld a sight that only very few had seen, the glory of God and Jesus at the right hand of the Father. The Bible says in Hebrews that after Christ had accomplished redemption, He went to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. Well, what is He doing standing up here? He sat down in terms of redemption (finished) but always stands up when His children are in trouble. It shows a wonderful truth, that Jesus has an active interest in His servants, it was as if Jesus was saying, “Stephen, I’m coming to your rescue!”. The proclamation of that vision to the Sanhedrin, pushed them over the edge. To proclaim that Jesus was at the right hand of the Father shows that He was the Messiah and risen from the dead and that He was God in the flesh. Maybe they remembered what Jesus had said at His mock trial, Mk. 14:61b- Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. They saw this as blasphemy and pronounced the death sentence for Stephen. It says that they, “57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord 58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him”, this really showed the condition of their hearts, they so resisted the Gospel message that they put their hands over their ears so as not to hear Stephen. They all ran upon him as a mob and took him outside the city to be stoned.

D. Stoning and Death of Stephen- Acts 7: 59 And they stoned Stephen- In Lev. 24:14, it says that stoning to take place outside the city and 24:16, says that stoning is the punishment for blasphemy. They also had to have the testimony of two witnesses for an execution to take place. Deut. 17:7 states that “The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people”. That what was needed by Law to stone a person. In the Rabbinical tradition of Jewish law, it tells us that drop from the stoning place was twice the height of a man. A precipice of ten feet with rocks below and one of the witnesses would push the criminal off into the stoning place from behind so that he would fall face first. Then, he would be turned over on his back. If he died from the fall, that was sufficient. If not, the second witness was to take a large stone and drop it on his heart. If this caused death, that would be the end, but if not, then the accused would be stoned by all the congregation of Israel. We see from the account they laid their garments at the feet of Saul, they did this so they didn’t have anything to hinder them from throwing the stones.

Verse 59, says that as they were stoning him, he called upon God to receive his spirit. He knew to be ‘absent from the body is to be present with the Lord’, and in verse 60 we read the Stephen’s forgiving farewell. So much of the love of Jesus was in him that he said, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge”, he asked Jesus to be merciful to them. He said in effect, Father forgive them; only a Christian could love like that, because the love of Jesus is shed abroad in his heart (Rom. 5:5). Lastly, we see what a peaceful passing Stephen had, “And when he had said this, he fell asleep”, fell asleep and awoke in the arms of Jesus in those hallowed halls of Heaven. Stephen faced evil and death and won the victory because he faced it with Jesus. He didn’t return evil for evil, but he faced it with the truth, forgiveness and grace of God. He is a great example for us as Christians.

The Apostle Paul said in 1 Co. 11:1 to “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ”; we see the example of Stephen as he followed Jesus and he did plant the seed of salvation in one heart that day (read 8:1a), Saul. From Stephen’s uncomprising stand and death came Paul. St. Augustine said, “The church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen. From Stephen came Paul, and from Paul came the world. What will come from us, what will we do for God?