Stand Your Ground

In 2019 a Barna research report came out highlighting beliefs regarding evangelism among the millennial generation. There were a couple of interesting discoveries that came from this research. First, 96% of millennials consider being a witness about Jesus is part of their faith. 94% agreed that the best thing that could ever happen to someone is for them to come to know Christ. But perhaps a more startling statistic is that 47% agreed that it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith. So though being a witness is highly important, and the best thing that could ever happen to someone is for them to come to know Christ, sharing one’s personal beliefs in the hope that the listener will share that faith is wrong. Much of this stems from the embrace of postmodern thought, which rejects the notion that there is such a thing as absolute truth and the belief that all religions are basically the same. Therefore, no religion is better than the other. However, this is far from the truth. In spite of these things, we still have a clear biblical mandate to go out and make disciples. This is not a suggestion, but a command. To not follow the Great Commission is to be disobedient to God

The first Christians were persistent in the sharing of their faith as they were empowered by the Holy Spirit to go out and tell everyone about the resurrection of Jesus. In chapter five, Jesus’ followers continued to preach the good news in the temple coupled with signs of miraculous healing. People were coming to faith in Jesus in droves. This made the High Priest angry. Remember, from his point of view all these people coming to faith in Jesus were adopting heresy. So he threw the apostles in prison only for an angel of God to release them and send them back to the temple. Ultimately, the religious elites in Jerusalem decided to threaten them and release them.

We are then introduced to a man named Stephen and he becomes what we consider one of the first church deacons. He was a man appointed to the overseeing of meeting the physical needs of the people while the apostles further devoted themselves to study. Just like the apostles, the Holy Spirit was working wonders through him and people were coming to faith. This upset a group of Jews called the Synagogue of the Freedmen and they had him arrested for spreading false teaching. He is brought before the Sanhedrin, a group who served as judicial authority over Jewish matters, and he is permitted to defend himself. This is where we pick up in Acts 7.

Stephen’s defense before the Sanhedrin:

History of God’s covenant relationship with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (2-16)

History of the Exodus (17-45)

History of building the temple (46-50)

Charge of resisting the Holy Spirit (51-53)

Acts 7:51–53 NASB95

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

For Stephen to do this took guts. The church faced increasing hostility, but Stephen stood his ground. If we are to have courage like Stephen, we must remember three things:

We will face hostility to the gospel.

It is no secret that the world is hostile toward the gospel message. Christians all around the world face hostility simply to maintain their beliefs. We have enjoyed a long history of Christian foundations in this country. It has been easiest here to live out our convictions than anywhere on the planet. But a day is coming where that may no longer be the case. There are ideologies incompatible with the gospel that make it difficult for us to live out our convictions today. We have already seen how taking a stand for the truth about marriage, family, sexual orientation, and gender identity has done. All you have to do is go to the Alliance Defending Freedom’s website, www.adflegal.org, and read about some of the cases going to trial all over the country. There is hostility to the gospel because the gospel declares that we have all rebelled against God and face punishment for it unless we accept his offer of forgiveness through His Son Jesus, who voluntarily gave His life as a ransom for ours. This hostility comes from a desire to be the ones who set the standard for right and wrong, but this is not how God created this world. The supreme standard for right and wrong is God Himself.

But Jesus told his followers that the world would hate them.

John 15:18 NASB95

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

Any hostility the disciples faced was nothing that Jesus did not already face. Think about this: Jesus was the God of Israel in the flesh walking among them. He used miracles to substantiate His claims to be God. Through His teaching and his miracles, He showed Israel that He is their Savior. Instead of embracing what the disciples saw in Him, they killed Him. We should not be surprised that by preaching the same message that we are treated any different.

In the same night, Jesus assured his disciples that he would have trouble.

John 16:33 NASB95

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

We know that we will face trouble. Jesus said we would. But we have to remember that our hope is that Jesus has overcome the world. While trouble may find us, we must have the courage to face it, not run from it. In fact, the example set for us by the early church is that we don’t go looking for trouble, but we do not run from it when it finds us. Peter, John, the other apostles, and Stephen were not trying to stir up trouble. They were simply sharing what they had seen and heard and those who opposed them stirred up trouble for them. When we go out to share the hope of Christ, we will face hostility.

We must always be ready to share our hope.

As we see by the example of the early church, challenges, hardship, or hostility does no exempt us from our biblical mandate to share the gospel with others. So if our mandate has not changed, we must be ready. Peter writes in his first letter,

1 Peter 3:15 NASB95

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

First, Peter says to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts. To sanctify means to make holy, or set apart. Jesus should have the number one position in our lives, not just by priority, but because He is Lord. This means He is our master, our boss. He is in charge. Because we are subject to Christ’s commands, we must always be ready to share our hope. Here it speaks of making a defense. It means a reasoned response. It is to state our case. When someone asks you why you are a Christian, it means that you have a reasoned response ready for such a time. Doing so must be with gentleness and respect. We have to be careful about not being jerks for Jesus. We should gently and reverently offer the reasons for why we believe and let the Holy Spirit do His work through us. We are not here to win arguments. We are simply here to share the truth.

Paul, in 2 Timothy 4, instructs Timothy, his protege, pastoring the church in Ephesus:

2 Timothy 4:1–2 NASB95

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

The primary command here is to preach the word. While this command is given to a young pastor in Ephesus, we must remember that it is not solely the responsibility of the clergy to execute such a task. We are all ministers of the gospel. Some are vocational, most are not. This command to preach the word is applicable to all of us. We must be ready to do so in season and out of season. When it is popular and when it is not popular. When people love you or when people hate you. When it is favorable or when it is not favorable. No matter the spiritual climate of the day, our job is to herald the message of God our king to the people at any moment.

We must always be ready to share the hope that is in us. Stephen knew what was beginning to happen to the people who took a stand before the powerful religious elites. He knew he could have simply said no when they asked him if the accusations were true. Instead, he gave them a history lesson and accused his accusers of a worse sin than their fathers. But he was given an opportunity to present the truth and he took it. We must be ready at any moment.

We must be ready regardless of personal cost.

We get to the end of this chapter and see the outcome of this defense Steven gives in front of the Sanhedrin beginning in verse 54:

Acts 7:54–60 NASB95

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.

We see this chapter end in tragedy as Steven becomes the first recorded martyr of the Christian faith. From this point everything changed. It is one thing to be called names. It is one thing to be arrested on false accusations. For the first time, the Great Commission has resulted in someone’s death. Things just got serious for the church. Verse 54 says the men of the Sanhedrin were cut to the quick. They became extremely zealous. Stephen catches a glimpse of Jesus at the right hand of God. Then the men proceed to stone Stephen. For those of you who don’t know, this was the process by which a group would throw rocks at somebody until he died. It was a terrible form of execution. While rocks are being thrown at his head, Stephen is still saying with his last breath, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

It is highly unlikely that Stephen expected to die that day. Maybe he thought he might be questioned, threatened, and flogged like those before him. But when they began throwing stones at him, even then he did not plea for his life. Instead, he asked God not to hold this sin against them. Stephen was willing to share the truth regardless of personal cost and so should we.

If Stephen had that kind of courage, what keeps us from sharing with our neighbors?

As I read this story, it reminds me that we have the greatest news in all of history to share with others, yet we don’t do it as we should. Far too often we treat the Great Commission as the great suggestion. Stephen shared the truth with some of the most powerful men in Israel and they killed him for it. The likelihood that you and I as Christians in America will face similar treatment is slim. We are laughed out of the room and called a bunch of obscene things, but when was the last time someone in America was killed for preaching the gospel? If Stephen had that kind of courage, what keeps us from sharing with our neighbors?

If eternity is forever and Hell is hot, and that is where people go if they do not place their faith in Jesus, then we must get serious about sharing Jesus to the world. The reason we have such a hard time with this is that we simply don’t care enough. We believe we have more time or we believe that they won’t listen to us anyway, or we are afraid that they will simply say no. But to neglect our duty to intentionally share the good news of salvation is sin and it is one we all need forgiveness from.

What is it going to take for us to care enough to share with people regardless of whether we face hostility? What will it take for us to share the hope that is in us whether it is favorable or not? What is it going to take to share the truth regardless of personal cost? It requires a change of heart. A change of heart will change our thinking. A change of thinking will change our behaviors. Let us come to the throne of grace and ask the Lord to change our hearts so that we might take sharing Jesus to the world more seriously.