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Dying Well — Acts 7:60

Jim Butler · 2022-11-06 · Acts 7:60 · 446 words · 2 min

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Summary

Expository

Stephen's death demonstrates that the people of God die well because they belong body and soul to their faithful Savior Jesus Christ, whose providence, atonement, and Spirit are their only comfort in life and in death.

Acts 7:60 records Stephen's death, and this clip draws out what his martyrdom demonstrates: dependence on the triune God, courage in the face of violent death, and a deliberate imitation of Christ's own words from the cross. The exposition closes with Heidelberg Catechism Question 1 — 'What is your only comfort in life and in death?' — as the doctrinal frame for why the people of God die well: they belong, body and soul, to their faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who has paid for their sins, broken the tyranny of the devil, and by his Spirit assures them of eternal life.

Key quotes

That ought to be our prayer, that in death we don't dishonor our blessed master.
Christ is our only comfort in life and in death — it has been well said of the people of God that they die well because of the God of the people that is poised to receive the Spirit when we separate from the body.
Stephen teaches us glorious truths. God demonstrates glorious things in this passage. And while it is bloody, while it is brutal, while it is wretched... it does evidence the grace and the mercy and the goodness of our God.

Applications

  1. Pray earnestly that in the moment of death or persecution you would not dishonor Christ by recanting or shrinking back.
  2. Cultivate courage in trial by meditating on Stephen's example of bearing up under affliction without appeal to self-preservation or personal rights.
  3. Rest your hope in the total belonging the Heidelberg Catechism describes: that you are not your own but Christ's, and that this assurance must shape how you live and how you die.

Questions this sermon answers

What is the Heidelberg Catechism's answer to 'What is your only comfort in life and in death?'

The catechism answers that believers belong body and soul, in life and in death, to their faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who has fully paid for their sins, delivered them from the devil's tyranny, watches over them by the Father's will, and assures them of eternal life by his Holy Spirit.

How did Stephen imitate Christ in his death?

Stephen's dying words — asking the Lord not to charge his killers with sin and committing his spirit to Christ — deliberately echo what Christ himself said from the cross, demonstrating conscious conformity to the Savior in the moment of martyrdom.

Why do the people of God die well?

The speaker argues that believers die well not because of their own strength but because of the God who is ready to receive their spirits when they depart the body, as Stephen's death illustrates.

Stephen's Dependence on the Triune God

in terms of preaching and missionary endeavor and the epistles that he wrote. But I want to end on the final note with reference to Stephen. He ultimately demonstrated dependence on the triune God. Brethren, that ought to be our prayer.

We ought to want to just finish well. I don't want to abandon the Lord. I don't want to recant. I want to be able to deal with and bear up, I'm speaking for all of us, with whatever it is they throw at me, with whatever it is they hurl at us.

That ought to be our prayer, that in death we don't dishonor our blessed master. He expressed courage in the face of martyrdom. He doesn't shrink back. He doesn't cry out.

He doesn't run from there. He doesn't say, well, what about my rights? I'm not getting the case or the jurisprudence that I stand in need of. No, he bears up under this with great courage.

As well,

Christ-likeness in Trial and Death

he evidences Christ's likeness in his trial and affliction. He imitates the Savior. Lord, do not charge them with this sin. Lord, receive my spirit.

These were what Christ did on the cross, and Stephen imitates that. But

Heidelberg Catechism Question 1

I want to underscore finally with something that's very familiar to at least half or three quarters of you, Heidelberg Catechism number one. What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood.

He has delivered me from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven. In fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

Christ is our only comfort in life And in death, it has been well said of the people of God that they die well because of the God of the people that is poised to receive the Spirit when we separate from the body. Stephen teaches us glorious truths. God demonstrates glorious things in this passage. And while it is bloody, while it is brutal, while it is wretched, and while it is definitely Contrary, in terms of any approach to law abidingness on the part of people, it does evidence the grace and the mercy and the goodness of our God.

Study notes

Confessions & catechisms

  • Heidelberg Catechism Q1

Theological terms

  • Comfort×2
  • Dependence on the Triune God
  • Imitation of Christ
  • Martyrdom×2
  • Providence