Sermon Tone Analysis

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)

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.

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.

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,

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:

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: