When Truth Offends
Notes
Transcript
There is a kind of preaching that comforts…
and there is a kind of preaching that confronts.
And if we’re honest— most people today prefer a gospel that soothes,
Rather than one that exposes.
But Stephen didn’t preach for comfort.
Stephen preached truth.
And truth—when it lands on a hardened heart—doesn’t always produce repentance.
Sometimes… it produces rage.
Actually, a Spirit-Filled Life Will usually attract opposition
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 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. 13 They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
Stephen is introduced as a regular man: Not an apostle
But he was “Full of faith and power”
He was Doing “great wonders and signs”
He was Speaking with wisdom they could not resist
But notice this— his anointing didn’t attract applause…
Rather it attracted accusations and indignation.
They:
—Disputed with him
—But Could not refute him
—So what did they do? They resorted to lies against him
This is the pattern of the world:
When truth cannot be defeated, it is often distorted.
They accused Stephen of
—Speaking against Moses—Speaking against the temple—and Blasphemy against God
Sound familiar?
Because that’s exactly what they did to Jesus Christ.
Church hear me,
If you live boldly for Christ—You will be misunderstood— You will be misrepresented— and You will be maligned
Not because you’re wrong, but because truth is threatening.
Now, when Stephen is accused, he doesn’t defend himself emotionally—he defends truth historically.
He walks them through:
– Abraham being called by God
– Joseph being rejected by his brothers
– Even Moses being rejected by Israel
– And the Prophets that were sent to them in the past being persecuted and killed
Stephen was building a case against them:
Basically saying, “This isn’t new… this is what you’ve always done.”
God sends deliverers, and the people reject them.
Joseph → was rejected before he saves
Moses → was rejected before he leads
Prophets → were rejected before they warned
And now, they have done the same to Jesus Christ.
51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
This is where Stephen stops teaching them, and starts confronting them.
“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears!”
That’s not seeker-friendly language by any stretch.
That’s not what you usually what we hear from our pulpits today,
That is Spirit-filled boldness right there
He told them:
1. You resist the Holy Spirit
“Just as your fathers did, so do you.”
They weren’t ignorant, mind you—what they were was resistant.
Then he told them:
2. They were guilty of persecuting God’s messengers
“Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?”
God sent truth, and what did they do?
—They silenced it.
Next He told them:
3. You betrayed and murdered the Just One
That’s Jesus Christ is he was talking about
They didn’t just reject truth, — they crucified it.
He told them:
4. You received the law—but you didn’t keep it
That right there was the dagger that sealed his fate so-to-speak
Because they prided themselves on having the law of Moses,
but Church, this point is extremely important that you hear me and understand.
Possession of God’s Word is not enough, it is obedience to the Word that gets you saved.
In other words, Just having the Bible in your possesion is not enough for eternal life,
It requires Obedience to the Word
Now You can:
Carry a Bible
Sit in church with the Bible in your hands
You can Know theology better than your fellow congregants
and still not be completely submitted to God.
Understand this point Church,
—Knowing truth is not the same as obeying truth.
Now get ready all of you here, and especially those who come with us on our missionary journeys,
Because you will see it first hand,
When Sin Is Exposed, the Flesh Reacts with Rage—The people will react with rage against you
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
“They were cut to the heart”
The word used here in the Greek was Diaprio, Which is used to mean, cutting to the quick.
That phrase is critical.
Back in Acts chapter 2, when they were “cut to the heart” they cried out:
“Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
But here? — Its the Same conviction— but different response.
Now, there are two common reactions to Conviction
Brokenness → leading to Repentance
Or Pride → Leading to Rage
Their Response?
We’re told “They gnashed at him with their teeth.”
That’s not disagreement, — That’s hatred.
Why?
Because truth stripped them of:
Their religious pride
It stripped them of their false righteousness
And their control
But instead of surrendering, — they exploded.
Next we see a glimpse of Glory in the face of death
55 But he, being 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 said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
While they are enraged, — Stephen was transfixed.
He was gazing into heaven and saw the glory of God.
And he saw Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God.
Why Is Jesus Standing?
Everywhere else, He is seated.
But here? — He stands.
As if to:
—Receive His servant and honoring His witness and affirming His message
Now Church , listen to me
The Ultimate Rejection – is Silencing the Truth
(Acts 7:57–60
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
They:
Cried out loudly— Stopped their ears — Rushed him together
They didn’t want to hear truth anymore.
So what did they do? They killed the messenger.
And Here’s the Irony
They proved Stephen right, by doing exactly what he accused them of,
Killing the prophets sent to them accusing them of their rejection of God’s Word
But, as Stephen he is dying, he says:
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” & “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”
Brothers and sisters,
That is the voice of—Jesus Christ on the cross.
We should all, including us pastors, take a lesson from Stephen here,
Because, Stephen didn’t just preach Christ, he reflected Christ.
Now I ask you,
What Will You Do When Truth Confronts You?
This sermon is designed to force a decision from you
Because everyone in this room will fall into one of two categories:
Either: The Broken Heart—Making you:
Convicted— Humbled— and Repentant
When You hear truth, you surrender to it.
Or The Hardened Heart: — Making you
Defensive
Offended
Resistant
When You hear the truth, you reject it?
The difference is not in the message.
The difference is in the heart.
Listen
You can receive the Word, and still not keep it.
You can hear the truth, and still resist the Spirit.
And you can even be confronted with your sin,
and either fall on your face, — or rise up in anger.
You choose
Altar Call Movement
Altar Call Movement
Don’t silence the truth.
Don’t resist the Spirit.
Don’t walk away unchanged.
Because the same truth that saves, is the same truth that will judge.
Church, let me press this just a little deeper…
Because it’s easy to read about Stephen and say, “Man, those people were wicked.”
But the real question is:
What do you and I do when truth confronts us?
It’s like the mirror we don’t want to look into
I say this because, Truth is like a mirror.
But you don’t get mad at the mirror, because it shows you something wrong.
But that’s exactly what people do with God.
Imagine waking up in the morning, hair a mess, face rough, eyes half-open,
You look in the mirror, and instead of fixing yourself,
you grab the mirror and smash it because you don’t like what you see staring back at you
That’s what they did to Stephen.
They didn’t like what they saw, so they destroyed the one reflecting it.
Application
Some people don’t reject solid preaching because it’s wrong,
They reject it because it’s accurate.
Let me bring it into everyday life.
Say you’re driving down the highway, speed limit is 55
But you’re doing 75.
You look down at the speedometer, and suddenly you feel convicted.
Now you’ve got two choices:
Slow down
Or get mad at the speedometer
Nobody says, — “This car is being judgmental!”
But spiritually?
That’s exactly what people say about God’s Word.
“The Bible is too harsh.”
“That preaching is too strong.”
No, it’s just telling you the truth.
Stephen wasn’t condemning them for sport
He was confronting them for repentance.
There’s a difference:
Condemnation says:—“You’re guilty—stay there.”
Conviction says:— “You’re guilty—come out of it.”
But that parasite of old, —pride —can’t tell the difference.
If you go to a doctor, and he runs tests, and finds cancer,
Would you rather he:
Tell you the truth so you can live
Or lie to you so you feel comfortable
A good doctor will risk offending you, to save your life.
Stephen was that kind of preacher.
He wasn’t trying to win a popularity contest, he was trying to save souls.
Church hear me, A church that never offends, especially in this generation,
Is a church that has stopped telling the truth.
Let’s break down why they were so enraged.
Because this wasn’t just disagreement.
Rather, this was explosive fury.
The Truth Exposed Their Identity
They believed:
“We are God’s people”
“We have the law”
“We are righteous”
Stephen said:
“You have the law, but you didn’t keep it.”
That statement, shattered their identity.
Truth Removed their control
As long as they got to define righteousness, they were in control.
But when truth comes in, Only God defines righteousness.
And now they are accountable.
Truth Demanded a Response
Here’s the real issue:
Truth never leaves you neutral.
You must either:
Accept it
Or reject it
And rejecting truth often comes with emotion.
Picture a courtroom.
The evidence is overwhelming.
The jury is convinced.
The verdict is guilty.
Now imagine the defendant, instead of accepting the verdict,
He explodes in anger.
Starts yelling—Starts cursing—Starts blaming everyone else.
Why?
Because truth cornered him.
That’s Acts chapter 7
They were cornered by truth, and instead of surrendering…
They lashed out.
Let me speak plainly, to you all church.
We are living in a time where:
Truth is softened
Sin is rebranded
Conviction is avoided
Why?
Because people don’t want to feel uncomfortable.
But listen—Salvation begins with your discomfort.
Nobody ever gets saved until they realize they’re lost.
And Nobody runs to grace until they see their sin.
If your house is on fire, and someone kicks in your door yelling:
“Get out! Your house is burning!”
You don’t say: “Wow, that was aggressive.”
You didn’t have to beat my door in and scare us all to death
No, You say: “Thank you for saving my life.”
Stephen was sounding the alarm, and they killed him for it.
Let’s not ignore this church,
Truth cost Stephen everything.
His reputation
His freedom
His life
But notice this: — It did not cost him his peace.
He had peace under pressure
—While they were screaming,
—Stephen was seeing heaven.
—While they were raging
—Stephen was resting in glory.
That’s the difference:
The world reacts
But the Spirit reveals
Now, don’t miss this detail,
As Stephen is being stoned, there’s a young man watching.
His name is Saul of Tarsus
And he’s approving of the execution.
Holding the coats.— Watching it all.
But what he witnessed that day, would follow him the rest of his life.
The funny thing is,
You never know who is watching, how you respond to truth.
Stephen died, but his witness lived on.
That is his earned legacy.
How would our’s turn out?
You see, every time truth is preached, there is a fork in the road.
There are Two paths:
Path 1: Humility
“Yep, Lord, that was me.”
“Forgive me.”
And “Change me.”
Then there’s
Path 2: Pride
“That’s not me.”
“I don’t like that.”
“I reject that.”
Same truth, different destination.
Let me ask you directly
What do you do when truth offends you?
Do you:
Shut down?
Get defensive?
Blame shift,? that’s a common one
Do you just Walk away?
Or do you say:
“God, —you are right.”
The same truth that:
Cut them to the heart,
Exposed their sin,
Provoked their anger
Was the very truth that could have saved them.
So today, don’t silence the mirror.
Don’t smash the speedometer.
Don’t reject the diagnosis.
Don’t ignore the warning.
Instead:
Let truth break you
Let grace rebuild you
Let Christ save you
Because when truth offends, it’s not trying to destroy you,
It’s trying to deliver you.
