You can turn in your Bibles to Acts 7 again. This morning we looked at anthropology. We did a study in anthropology examining various characteristics of the men involved in the stoning of Stephen. We looked at the murderers, the unbelieving Jews who unjustly put him to death.
We looked at Stephen, the martyr himself, the one put to death. And noted the various God empowered and God gifted characteristics of Stephen, our brother. And we also looked at the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the just judge and divine comfort that he brought to that account, that narrative in the book of Acts. We're going to look this evening at the theology. of the martyrdom of Stephen under five particular headings that we'll get to once we read Acts 7.51 to Acts 8.4.
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 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, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at Him with their teeth. 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, and said, Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord. 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. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 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.
Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time, a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. and devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word." Amen. Well, let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you again for this freedom and liberty to consider the word that you've given to us to open up the scriptures in this act of worship preaching. We pray that you'd be with us tonight, Lord God, as we always need the presence of the triune God, in order to learn rightly, in order to glory rightly, and in order to be well instructed.
And we just pray, Lord God, for that ministry of the Holy Spirit in instruction and in illumination. We pray we would leave this place all the better for having engaged in worship, and that we would go into this week glorying in Christ Jesus and seeking to live in a manner befitting those who can call themselves Christian. And we pray that you'd be with us now in Jesus' precious name. Amen.
Introduction: Biblical Theology
Well, as I said, we're going to look at the theology, the theology of the martyrdom of Stephen, a discipline in theological study is what's called biblical theology. You may have heard of systematic theology that is looking at what the Bible as a whole contributes to or looking at what theology comes from the Bible as a whole. The various doctrines says that the scriptures. And their characteristic of having the consent of all the parts, what it bears witness to concerning doctrine and theology.
Well, biblical theology is that branch of theology which considers a particular book and how it contributes to various theological concepts. For example, if we were to say, look at the book of John, how does John contribute or write concerning Christology, the doctrine of Christ? How does John write concerning soteriology or the doctrine of salvation? What is, if we looked at the Book of Jude, what is Jude's approach to eschatology or the doctrine of last things, that sort of thing?
Well, here now in this Martyrdom of Stephen, we're going to take this account, this narrative account, and look at the various, look at five, in fact, aspects of theology that are in the text and that come from the text. And those five aspects that we're going to look at are first, prophecy. Secondly, Trinity. Thirdly, covenant theology.
Fourthly, and I'll define this when we get there, hamartiology. Don't want to scare anyone off. And fifthly, soteriology. We'll explain those terms when we get there.
One has already been explained.
First Point: Prophecy
we're going to look first off at prophecy. And what I mean by that in this sense is prophecy in its predictive sense. In other words, the Word of God fulfilled. You can look with me at Matthew 23 for a moment when we consider first the trial of Stephen.
These unbelieving Jews bringing Stephen before the council in order that they might try him find him guilty according to their ungodly standards, and stone him to death. When we secondly consider the defense of Stephen, the fact that he, as a herald sent by Christ, is bearing witness to the Christ who sent him. Matthew 23, beginning in verse 31. These are words of imprecation or malediction.
Bad words being brought upon an audience by the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 31 of Matthew 23, speaking to the same audience, if you will, that Stephen is being stoned before. Therefore, you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.
Serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah. son of Barakaya, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
And then if you turn to the page a little bit to the right, Matthew 24 in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus announcing concerning the coming destruction of the temple and the destruction of Jerusalem tells his disciples. Now the audience is switched. Previously he's speaking to those murderous and unbelieving Jews. Now he is speaking to his disciples.
Verse 9, Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. Now, if we turn back to Acts 7, what we see in Acts 7, and not there only, but that's the text that we're dealing with tonight,
Prophecy in Trial and Defense
what we see in Acts 7 is the fulfillment of that very prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Somewhat concerning the same thing, but in Matthew 23, to the unbelieving Jews. In Matthew 24, to the believing Jewish disciples. And we see here that And we ought to glory in the fact that the Word of God is actually true.
God reveals things prior to the things taking place. And then when the time comes, those things that were revealed do take place. We trust in a God that has inspired perfectly the text of Holy Scripture. We don't approach our Bibles as a tome of inaccuracies. as a book of lies or as a book of maybe even partial truth.
But rather, we approach our Bibles as a document given to us by God in loving condescension, wherein He reveals His will to us. And one of the aspects of what the Word brings to us is the fact that God, having decreed events before they take place, reveals the certainty that those events will take place in order to instruct, in order to edify, and in order to build up His people. and in order to warn people of the coming fury and the coming wrath of God, or in the case of the coming Christ, the coming of salvation to His people. And so we see in Acts 7 the fulfillment of prophecy. And it's a wonderful thing.
Jesus spoke words concerning what would come, and in time and in history, in redemptive history, those particular things are fulfilled. And I wonder if the unbelieving Jews as they were gnashing their teeth at Stephen. Well, first off, back in Acts chapter 6, as they were stirring up the people, as they were secretly inducing men to lie, as they were setting up these false witnesses, as they were beginning the beginning steps of this stoning of Stephen, if they remembered the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. There would have been many present here who were present before Christ when He gave them those words of imprecation.
There would have been many of the same people there. And I wonder, after that, when we get to the point where Stephen indicts them in verses 51-53, when they gnash at him with their teeth, when they cry out with a loud voice, verse 57, stopping up their ears and running at him with one accord, if they would have remembered the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. I will send you wise men, scribes, and prophets.
Some of them you will kill and crucify. Others you will scourge from city to city and in your synagogues." I wonder if they remembered that, because they were bringing to bear the truthfulness and the veracity of the prophecy that Christ gave to them. And also Stephen. Also, Stephen, no doubt he would have heard of the Olivet discourse.
No doubt it would have been passed on by the apostles. That he would be, by virtue of his call to the diaconate and by his function, by his heraldic role that Jesus had put him in, he would have been one of those ones who was marked by those words, then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by all nations for my namesake. Stephen, though his end was one, brought upon by violent murder and stoning, was nevertheless an authorized representative of the living and true Christ. And he himself fulfilled the prophecy, being one cent, though hated, proclaiming the riches and the excellencies of Jesus Christ.
So we have the fulfillment of prophecy in the trial and in the defense of Stephen. We also have the fulfillment of prophecy in the exaltation of Jesus Christ. We looked at that this morning, but notice again, verse 54 to 56, when they heard these things, Stephen's indictment, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 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 and said, look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.
This is significant in the fulfillment of prophecy because again, Christ brings no lying words. You can back up with me because it's good to see the interrelated text. Back again to Matthew. Matthew 26.
So we see the fulfillment of prophecy. And what's very interesting, as we'll read this text in Matthew, is that this same high priest was before Stephen. This same high priest that Christ spoke to would have been there as Stephen was bringing to bear the truth of the sending Christ to his unbelieving audience. This is Matthew 26, beginning at verse 62.
And the high priest arose and said to him, do you answer nothing? What is it these men testify against you? But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath by the living God.
Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said to him, it is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting, the right hand of the power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." It's an amazing thing that Jesus speaks these words of certain announcement. He declares to the high priest and to those within earshot present at that council that he would be exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high.
And he would be coming with the clouds of heaven. And in time and in history, this is ratified and confirmed. by an authorized representative of that same Christ who says, look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And it should always cause us to think it an amazing thing that three to five years ago, this Christ was a bloody massacre upon Calvary's tree. Isn't that an amazing thing?
You see, Christ to us is glorious wherever He is. Christ to us is chief among 10,000 and our beloved, our friend, when he is altogether lovely on that cross of Calvary. The outside world might think it a mad thing that we would glory in and count it a lovely thing, a battered and bruised Savior upon the cross. But we know why.
Because he is that substitutionary, curse-bearing, wrath-bearing sacrifice on our behalf. He's glorious when we consider Him in the resurrection, isn't He? His resurrected body eating broiled fish and honeycomb with His disciples so that they might know assuredly that He is the risen Christ and all that He said was true. And He's glorious to us.
He's altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 as the ascended Christ whom Stephen cast his eyes upon. But it's a shocking thing and it's a horrible thing for these unbelieving Jews to have this announced to them. This Christ stood before them and said, this is what's going to happen. I will be exalted to the right hand of the Father, the right hand of the Father that you say that you profess, that you say that you serve, that you say you're crucifying me in righteousness and according to his will and law.
But they would know three to five years later. I say that because we don't know the exact timing. But within a handful of years, they would see Stephen verify the words of this condemning Christ, that he is now seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, and he is now exercising dominion and rule. And lastly,
Prophecy in the Church's Growth
under prophecy, we have the growth of the church. The growth of the church. Look at chapter 8 and verse 4. Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.
It's a wonderful thing. We tend to think, not we tend to think, but it is the human response to a tragic death, if we can use that language, that all is lost. One wouldn't normally, as Christians, we know the story, we know the end and we know biblical revelation. But a man, a woman, a boy or girl wouldn't normally look upon murder and a violent one and count it a good thing.
But we see here that this is one of the means whereby the living and true God grows the church. Stephen is put to death. Great persecution arises against the church, which is at Jerusalem. And then, therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.
This is the impetus for the spread, the glorious gospel, of the blessed God. And how is this a fulfillment of prophecy? Again, if you're okay turning back to Matthew, because Matthew serves well to feed the announcement of prophecy and the fulfillment of it in the life and times of this martyr. Matthew chapter 16.
Matthew chapter 16. So we see the truthfulness of the Word of God in the fulfillment of prophecy. Matthew 16, beginning at verse 16, Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Jesus Christ promised to build his church, to build his church upon the proclamation of him, Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, as the Christ. And so in time and in history, this is what happens. Jesus Christ goes to the cross.
He performs that sacrifice ordained by God for the forgiveness of sins. He rises again the third day. He appears to over 500 brethren at once, to the disciples. He eats with them and teaches them Bible.
He ascends 40 days later and he empowers his authorized representatives to go therefore and disciple the nations. And the book of Acts could be summarized by two verses that we have in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 1 and verse 8 and Acts chapter 2, I believe it's verse 42. But we could summarize the book of Acts with these two verses.
You will be my witnesses first in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. That's a summary of the book of Acts. Christ's heralds Go forth and preach Him and the Lord according to amazing and victorious grace.
And His sovereignty adds to the church daily. Those who are being saved.
Second Point: The Trinity
Secondly, under the theology of the martyrdom of Stephen, we have Trinity. We have the doctrine of the Trinity. Notice at verse 54. Verse 54 of Acts chapter 7.
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart. and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 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. And said, look, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." This narrative is written by a Trinitarian author. Christianity is Trinitarian.
That is, we believe in the Godhead. the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We see in this narrative, we see God the Father, we see God the Son, and we see God the Holy Spirit, all active in this particular event in redemptive history.
Triune Aid in the Martyrdom
Stephen received divine and triune aid on this great day. He was not left absent. The Trinity, the living and true God, was fully active in this martyrdom of Stephen, for the doom of enemies, the judgment and condemnation of his opposers, for the glory of his own name, and for the advance of his message. We notice again the glory of God.
Stephen looks, and in this context, the glory of God is referring to God the Father. Whenever we read in our Bibles, God, when it's in the context of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it's normally a reference to God the Father. Elsewhere, if there's a reference to God, it could be a reference to the triune Godhead. But we ought not to try and confuse things.
Here in this narrative, we have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Stephen looks up and he sees the glory of God. What is the glory of God? You may have in your Bibles a definition of the glory of God as the brilliance or the manifestation of his presence.
And there's something to the glory of God where we are to see it as his purity, his holiness, the aspect of God as being majestic. As I said before, the brilliance in the manifestation of His presence. Revelation 15, we see something of this. This is in the context of God about to pour out wrath upon unbelief in Israel.
In Acts chapter 15 and verse 8, we read this. The temple was filled with smoke. from the glory of God and from His power. And no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. God and His manifestation of His brilliance is defined as the glory of God from His power.
No one being able to go in. We look back on, for example, Isaiah chapter 6, and we get a glimpse, an idea of what this glory of God is. Remember what's going on in Isaiah chapter 6 and the glory of God. We see the announcement that in the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord.
And what did he see? He saw the Lord high and lifted up, the train of his robe filling the temple. He was seated on a throne. And we notice that the glory of God is so brilliant.
The glory of God is so majestic that the angels have to hide themselves. from that glory, from the brightness of his majesty. But what's interesting is that Isaiah is able to cast his eyes upon the Lord. I've always been astonished at that. You have the angels, the elect angels, who are ethically pure in their spirit and in their being.
The elect angels never sinned. The reprobate or fallen angels did. And yet they are not the recipients of that loving condescension of God in redemption. Only men are.
It's a wonderful thing that the pure angels, pure in their spirit, can't cast their eyes upon the glory of God. And yet God, in his loving condescension, lets a sinner, a wretch like Isaiah, who pronounced an oral curse upon himself, woe is me, for I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. Yet God lets him see his glory.
He gets to cast his eyes upon this one whose robe filled the temple and who was seated upon the throne. And also in this, we have Jesus. We have God the Son. And we noted this morning, God the Son active as judge over the enemies and as a comfort to his people.
And we have the Holy Spirit as the one empowering and giving wisdom. The Holy Spirit is active in this narrative. First off, we notice this at verse eight. Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
How does that happen without spirit-wrought influence? In verse 10, they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. But suffice it to say, Luke is a Trinitarian author, as all the authors of Holy Scripture are, bringing to bear the fact that Stephen was given divine and triune aid on this great day when he died for the cause of God. in truth.
Third Point: Covenant Theology
Thirdly, in this we have covenant theology, and very simply, that refers to the fact that God was pleased to deal with redemption and with mankind by way of covenant. We have the fact that God, before the foundation of the world, decreed that Jesus Christ would come in Simon in history to redeem his elect. And all of redemptive history is a collection of covenants bringing or coming to fruition in the coming of Christ and in the coming of his salvation. Remember, that's what Stephen is talking about in his discourse from 7.2 to 7.50.
He's bringing to bear the fact that God has dealt by way of these successive covenants, that God has revealed his glory throughout history, leading to Jesus Christ, his manifestation and the completion of that condescending covenant relationship. And it ought to be it ought to be noted here that there wouldn't need to be a treatment of Christ's fulfillment of old covenant religion if the dispensational scheme is true. We don't like to beat up people unnecessarily, but it's a legitimate polemic that we engage in when we oppose dispensational theology because they're wrong. The book of Acts here and Stephen in his apologetic defense, why would he need to go through a laborious examination of old covenant history if that was nothing, nothing to be brought to relevance with the coming of Christ and salvation by him?
Why? It's because God has always dealt by way of covenant. And to borrow a phrase, the Old Testament or the overall canonical trajectory of the Bible is Christ's word. From Genesis to Revelation, we have a Christ word trajectory and a Christ word focus focusing in on the Old Testament.
Specifically, the Old Testament was moving towards this coming great one who would bring salvation for his people. God has always dealt the same way throughout history with His people. That is, salvation has always been by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And up until the time of Christ, it was all anticipatory religion.
That is, the people of God anticipated the coming Christ by whom they were saved. And in the New Covenant, it is accomplished religion. Christ has come, He has died, and we look upon Him for saving faith.
Fourth Point: Hamartiology
Fourthly, hamartiology. And just to define that, hamartiology is the doctrine or the study of sin. Hamartia is the Greek word for sin. Hamartalos is the Greek word for sinner.
So we have hamartiology, the study of sin. Well, what does this tell us about sin? I think we saw much of that this morning when we looked at the murderers. but just to revisit from a different angle.
Sinners' Response to Truth
First off, we see how sinners respond to the truth. We see how sinners respond to the truth. Going back to Acts chapter 6, we notice that the response of these unbelieving Jews to the truth was to lie, to stir up, and to secretly induce men to speak negative things against this Stephen. So the response to truth is such that truth causes men to engage in more wickedness so that they might try to overcome it.
But as Acts 8, 4 bears forth, they cannot overcome the will and the power and the majesty. of the reigning Christ. So, sin is seen here in how men respond to truth. They do not like the truth, lest their deeds should be exposed, so they seek to prolong, to engage in, and to dwell in darkness.
Total Inability and Total Depravity
Secondly, we see that truth of total inability. The truth of total inability. Notice verse 51. You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears.
What is the issue behind the fact that sinners that sinners will not respond to the truth? Well, it's the fact that they cannot outside of amazing and victorious grace. He indicts them for he even doesn't say here, why haven't you responded yet after I've given you a perfect explanation of old covenant history and how it's fulfilled and ratified by Jesus Christ? He doesn't do that because he knows that a well-placed, a well-performed, a well-declared argument isn't something that causes one dead in their trespasses and sins to believe in Jesus Christ.
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. You know, Stephen knew that by his ability to speak, by his perfectly articulated argument, that they were not going to bend a knee to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. They were stiff-necked and uncircumcised and they always resist the Holy Spirit. It's good for us to always remember, because if we do not, well, we're Calvinists, we're Reformed Christians, so we never entertain this reality.
Though it can get frustrating for us when we try to engage in evangelism. When we try and present Christ to people, it can get frustrating. Why don't you believe? After all the things I've told you, isn't this a glorious Christ?
And isn't this an amazing message? God is holy. You're not. Christ is the savior for guilty sinners.
What's the problem? We know the problem in our stiff neck and uncircumcised and hardened ears. But let us always remember the reality, this reality, so that we can gain much comfort in the fact that the God of amazing and victorious grace can overcome that stiff neckness, that God can overcome the uncircumcision of hardened ears. And it always amazes me when those who aren't of our flavor, if you will, for lack of a better term, of Christianity, get frustrated or get stressed out or get this feeling of defeat when people aren't believing in what they have to say to them.
It's because they have a wrong view of salvation and a wrong view of the power of sin. You see, sin is really that bad. Sin really is that powerful. Robert Raymond has a wonderful thing in his systematic theology.
I think it's in the section on the doctrine of God. But he says that when we bring the word of Christ to people, We do not bring it to the rational neutral man that that that is standing before us. We don't bring it to a rational and a neutral man, but rather we bring it to the spiritually blind, spiritually dead, spiritually hostile man that God says is standing before us. So when we bring the word of God to people, we're not bringing it thinking that we're going to convince, that we are going to compel, that they being rational and neutral will hear the word and in their wisdom respond.
We're not bringing it to a rational and a neutral man. We're bringing it to one spiritually dead, spiritually hostile, spiritually blind. And we need to have and we need to rely upon the fact that God in his appointed and accepted time will cause them to believe in the living Christ. We have the manifestation of total depravity.
Total depravity is that doctrine again, the T in our acrostic tulip that says man is fully affected by sin. All of his faculties are affected by sin. His will and all things are affected by sin and by transgression. We see the manifestation of that here.
And it's interesting that when there are no restraints, when there are no no restraints of a civil magistrate, in fact, this is in a sense the civil magistrate, though under Roman rule, whenever there are no restraints, total depravity manifests itself in almost an ultimate and a complete depravity. These, how do they suppress the truth? But by murder. How do they put an end to Stephen and his testimony but by stoning him to death?
They cry out with a loud voice, they stop up their ears, they run at him with one accord, and they stone him. The manifestation of sin, the manifestation of total depravity here is seen in murderous and bloody rage. And lastly, under the doctrine of sin,
The Approval of Sin
the approval of sin. Notice verse one. Well, notice, first of all, the end of verse fifty nine and fifty eight. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Chapter eight, verse one. Now, Saul was consenting to his death. You see, an attribute of sin or an aspect of sin is not only that we practice it, that men practice it, but that they also approve of those who practice it. And that's what Paul does here.
That's what Saul, this point in the narrative, does here. He heartily approves and gives commendation to the bloody murder of Stephen. So sin or the doctrine of sin is seen in how sinners respond to the truth in this narrative. In the truth of total depravity or total inability laid forth, they are stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart.
The way in which total depravity is manifested and in souls approval of this transgression, this manifestation of gross sin. And
Fifth Point: Soteriology
fifthly, soteriology. Theology of the martyrdom of Stephen, then we'll see something of application here for all five of these points. But soteriology, that's the doctrine of salvation, comes from the Greek word soterios, which means salvation. Soter means savior.
So soteriology is the doctrine of salvation. And we notice again here, we notice total depravity, but also irresistible grace. You may say, well, where do we see irresistible grace in this particular narrative? Well, we don't really see it yet, but we see it by implication of what follows.
Look again at verses 58B and verse 1 of chapter 8. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. Now Saul was consenting to his death. How does that teach us the irresistible grace?
Well, this is an amazing thing that this Paul consenting to the death of Stephen, giving that ethical thumbs up to his gross murder is, again, the greatest propagator of truth in the history of Christianity. See, God overcomes the stiff-neckedness and uncircumcision of heart and ears by irresistible grace, by effectual salvation, by His amazing and victorious grace. You may remember, because Jim and I quote this often from Matthew Henry. Matthew Henry, in his commentary on Acts 8, verse 1, is a great quote.
See, Paul here... most likely is feeding Luke the information concerning this narrative. Luke probably isn't getting it from any of the unbelieving Jews. Hey, tell me about the stoning of Stephen. Luke is getting this from Paul because Luke is Paul's companion in some of the missionary journeys.
So Paul is most likely, again, feeding Luke the historically accurate information that we read in the narrative here. Luke is the author of Acts. Well, Matthew Henry, in commenting on verse 1 of chapter 8, now Saul was consenting to his death, says concerning Paul, he fed his eyes on this bloody spectacle in the hopes that it would put an end to Christianity. Matthew Henry says again, Paul fed his eyes on this bloody spectacle in hopes that it would put an end to Christianity.
Paul was looking upon the murderous stoning of Stephen and cheering for the end of Christianity. And what Matthew Henry goes on to say is glorious. We have reason to believe Paul ordered Luke to insert this, for shame to himself and glory to free grace. Irresistible grace is here in this narrative because this violent enemy of Christianity, notice verse three, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
One of the worst enemies in the history of Christianity is transformed by sovereign grace to one of its greatest propagators, one of its greatest heroes, one of the greatest exalters of Jesus Christ by word and deed in the history of the church. The interesting thing, though, is that the enemies of what we call irresistible grace, the I don't know if that's strong words, really, but those who oppose the doctrine of irresistible grace, will come to verse 51 and they'll say, well, there you go. There is the end of irresistible grace. You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did.
So do you. Which of your fathers or which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? So there you see, you see the opposite of what you Calvinists teach. They always resist the Holy Spirit.
Exactly. They always resist the Holy Spirit in their denial of irresistible grace. They prove our point on total depravity. Another doctrine that they deny.
Yeah, they always resist the Holy Spirit because they need the irresistible grace of the Holy Spirit. So as not to confuse things, this resisting of the Holy Spirit refers to what they're doing with Stephen, putting him to death. Which the context demands that understanding which of the prophets did your father's not persecuted and they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one. Just like your father's you're resisting redemptive history the declaring. of redemption by the Holy Spirit by putting to death those empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring the Word.
And again, it's very interesting, I find, that in their efforts to cast down Calvinism, they prove our point by arguing for total depravity. They always resist the Holy Spirit.
Application
Now, in closing, I want to look at application for each of these points, because we often are not we, but Christians can often think or shy away from theology because it is of no practical use. If we don't have theology, though, then there is no practical Christianity. Our practical engagement in our religion is built upon glorious theology. First off, with regards to prophecy, what is the application of our theology in the martyrdom of Stephen as it pertains to prophecy?
It is to love the word and to glory in it. We have something here, and hopefully you see this as we read Acts and as we briefly considered it. We have the Word of God fulfilled, and it's veracity argued for. Jesus announces something that's going to happen.
It takes place. God, through the prophets, announced things that are going to happen. They take place. God's no liar.
Christ is no liar. We have prophecies rendered according to the decree of God, and we have prophecies fulfilled according to God's governing providence. And we ought to love that Word, and we ought to Consider that as one of the many attributes of the Word of God that testifies to its truthfulness and its perfection. And we ought to hold the Word close to us.
We ought to love it. We ought to read it. We can often be found in a languor and in a coldness with regards to our Bibles. But let it never become dusty on the shelf.
Spurgeon said, your dust covered Bibles contain your God or something to that effect. So why would you not brush off the dust of your Bible, open it up in glory, in the living and true God? Remember, he didn't need to give us his word. He could have left us condemned by general revelation.
He could have left us condemned and damned by the fact that his creation testifies to his glory, yet we reject him. But in loving condescension, he gave us the Bible. He gave us the word wherein disclosed is Christ and salvation by him. So love the word.
Secondly, with regards to the Trinity, Spurgeon said, endeavor to know the Trinity. We ought to do that. I think it very often we can forget the Trinity. In fact, James White wrote a book, Dr.
James White, a Reformed Baptist brother, The Forgotten Trinity. We can forget that our God is triune, that there are three persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and in glory. Endeavor to know the Trinity, to glory in the God whom Stephen cast his eyes upon, God the Father, brilliant in his manifest presence. Jesus Christ, the just judge condemning his murderers and offering comfort to him, receiving his spirit and the Holy Spirit who empowers, who illuminates, who instructs and who provides strength and peace to his people.
Under covenant theology, what's the application? Glory in the God of condescendence and consistency. What do I mean by that? Well, in condescending glory, God has dealt with us by way of covenant, revealed it in his word, and has brought that upon our souls in salvation by Jesus Christ.
In his consistency, God doesn't deal in dispensations where we're saved by one means, we're saved by another means. Another administration revoked, another administration revoked, and finally the dispensation of Christ in grace. No, God has always dealt consistently as that is a character of his being, immutability. He deals in a consistent manner with saints from Adam to the last saint before he comes again.
God deals by salvation through Jesus Christ, by grace, through faith and that alone. With regards to the doctrine of sin or homology, what's the application? The application is to be humble, to be marked by humility. You see, we can build up in our Christianity and the fact that we are Christ's people.
We have an attachment to Stephen as our brother who died for the cause of God and truth. Yet were it not for amazing and victorious grace, we would have flew the banner of Caiaphas and Annas and all of their cronies. We would have flown the banner of the synagogue of the freedmen and shouted out, gnashed our teeth at Stephen. We would have been right there, thumbing up with Saul, giving confirmation and assent to the stoning of Stephen.
So let us never be puffed up in the fact that we walk with Christ and that we are his. But rather, let us be laid low that outside of the grace of Christ, outside of the grace of God, we would have been those who with venom and rage came against Stephen to murder him and to put him to death. And fifthly, though, in that humility, rejoice in salvation by Jesus Christ. If you're a saint here tonight, we rejoice because we were once a Paul or we were once a Saul, but now we are all Paul.
If you mind that language, we were once those who would have given affirmation and consent to murder. But we are now those who glory in the Christ of this Stephen, who glory in the Christ of this Paul converted and changed into the one of the greatest propagators and protectors of the Christian faith. So in that humility brought about by the reality of our former selves and the reality of remaining corruption, we glory in the fact of salvation by Jesus Christ, our precious Redeemer. If you're here tonight, young or old, and you don't know this Savior, once again from the pulpit, believe in him because he is your only hope.
He is your only hope. Don't be counted among those like these unbelieving Jews who fly the banner of madness and unbelief, who fly the banner of Christ's opposition. You might not be gnashing your teeth. You might not be stopping up your ears.
You might not be running at any one of us to put us to death. But nevertheless, you are just like they are. Just as vile. Just as wretched.
Just as wicked. Christ's opposers. Christ's enemies. And on that day, on that final day, there won't be time for you.
There won't be a moment for you. There won't be a second chance after you enter, after you cast off this mortality and come before the judgment seat. There won't be time for you to say yes to Christ. At that time, you'll still be totally depraved and you won't want to.
So we plead, knowing that the grace of God is powerful to save you, knowing that God has His ministers, knowing that God has the divine activity to bring about your salvation, we plead with you to believe. Bend an E to the Christ. Bend an E to this One who Stephen looked upon, setting aside all the madness of persecution, setting aside those who were about to murder him to death. He doesn't look upon them.
He casts his eyes upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and he glories in Him. We plead with you to glory in that Christ and to leave this place. saved to leave this place, having an inheritance that does not fade away, to leave this place, having a Christ who keeps a place for you when you enter into glory and sing his praises for all eternity.
Closing Prayer
Well, let's pray. God, we thank you for this day of worship. We thank you for this day that you've given to us. We thank you for the Christ that we've considered today and for the truths of your word that we've considered today.
And we would just pray, Lord God, He would help us to take what we've learned, to take what we've heard, to take what we've sang, to take what we've prayed about, Lord God, and that we would glory in all the things that you've revealed. We would glory in those things that you've given to us concerning Christ and the gospel, these things concerning sin and salvation, concerning the way that you deal throughout history with people and with your truth. We pray that we would approach the Scriptures as something that is perfect, that is God-inspired, that is inerrant and infallible. We pray, Lord God, that we would hold it dear to our hearts, that we would love Your Word, and that we would most certainly love the Christ to whom Your Word points, and that we would walk in Him daily.
We pray, Lord God, for those who do not know You, that they would know You by amazing and victorious grace. That they, having previously raised a fist, would bend a knee now to our precious Christ. And we pray for us again, Lord God, who are your people by grace, that we would go into this week seeking to live our lives in a manner consistent with your word and consistent with your glorious gospel. So we just go with us now, Lord God, help us to do all that we do to the praise of your name and that we might build each other up in this church, be unified in the things of Christ and seek to engage in the fellowship of the gospel to the praise of your name.
We pray in Christ's name. Amen.