SERIES #13: ACTS OF THE APOSTLES - Witnesses to Jerusalem
TOPIC: Sovereignty (of God); idolatry, sin (Victimless-), will (Providential - of God)
TITLE: ARE THESE THINGS SO? An application from the Older Testament!
TEXT: Acts 7:50-53 (1-53)
Stephen closes his proclamation with a quote from Isaiah 66:2 - "WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?" … then says …
Here is seen a perfect display of our three-fold theme in the Acts of the Apostles …
of Stephen and it reveals …
Stephen is asked: “Are these things so?”
Remember: Stephen not a natural Jew; a Greek convert to Judaism (or perhaps raised amongst the Diaspora)
However: his grasp of Jewish history and Old Testament teaching is flawless; not to mention his grasp of the meaning of texts
So: put yourself in the council’s shoes …
The Charge: accusers charge he is inciting an insurrection in order to …
Stephen's countercharges: his response is ... Religious Idolatry: four areas addressed (all of works, not grace) –
In Detail:
Interesting is how Sthephen uses parallels and contrasts to make his point …
FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What aspects of Stephen’s sermon are directly applicable to our situation in our context?
Stephen didn’t condemn his persecutors ...
Instead he condemned the veneration of these things above the Provider and Object of the things.
Stephen’s objective was to twofold –
Everywhere the Western church venerates ancestors, engages in uppity nationalism, covets and craves property, while pursuing a personal legacy ...
Legalism (in the form of legislative entitlements) is running rampant in every public and private venue; and it encroaches on the church ...
The building of mega-church complexes and communities (which suck life out of the authentic church) is continuous ...
Boundaries established by God in ages past are being moved or destroyed at will in this age ...
My concern is for what I call victimless-sin … sins like Israel’s … so egregious to the Father ...
Yet, to Joe Christian , they are viewed as harmless and not worthy of concern (e.g., homosexuality, Internet pron, recreational drugs and drinking, gossip, tale-bearing, backbiting, the "virtual" denial of Jesus as Lord, virtual-paganism, virtual-atheism, relativism, political correctness, aberrant worldviews, etc.)
How are we giving God glory for His eternal home, His grace, and His promises?
TOPIC: Sovereignty (of God); idolatry, sin (Victimless-), will (Providential - of God)
TITLE: ARE THESE THINGS SO? An application from the Older Testament!
TEXT: Acts 7:50-53 (1-53)
Stephen closes his proclamation with a quote from Isaiah 66:2 - "WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?" … then says …
"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?TRUTH CLAIM: Stephen clearly and pointedly attacks Israel's history of idolatry and rebellion from the Hebrew scriptures ...
“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."
Idolatry: “image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object”
[Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary]
The Preeminence of The Living LordThis is the only known sermon (Acts 7:1-53)
The Prominence of The Holy Spirit
The Power of The Authentic Church
a focus on Israel missing their Meshuah a stress on Spirit’s repeated blessings and warnings a fearless (powerful) witness from the authentic church
Remember: Stephen not a natural Jew; a Greek convert to Judaism (or perhaps raised amongst the Diaspora)
However: his grasp of Jewish history and Old Testament teaching is flawless; not to mention his grasp of the meaning of texts
So: put yourself in the council’s shoes …
they knew the older testament better, right? think of their years of study under Israel’s best this young, Hellenist-upstart threatened their power, privilege, position, and possessions
destroy the temple [believed to be a sign of God’s departure from Israel; 6:14] and change (do away with) the Law of Moses [believed to be essential to godly living and daily blessing; 6:13]
pointed (through the Word) powerful (through humility) patriotic (through faith) personal (through the Holy Spirit)
Their Lineage (worship of human ability; the flesh) [2-8] Their Land (worship of earthly Israel and her patriarchs) [9-38] Their Law (worship of the law; remember the law is for the lawless) [37-43] Their Legacy (worship of and hope in a temporal end) [44-53]
God calls and directs their fathers [2-16] God protects and delivers their fathers [17-41] God tries and tests their fathers [42-44] God delivers their fathers’ possession [45] God establishes roots for their fathers [46-47] God reveals His nature to their fathers [48-49] God reminds them who has done this [50]
- For example – similarity between Hebrew children’s rejection of Moses [39] (“ruler and judge”) and their rejection of Christ Jesus [51,52]
- Another – Aaron’s calf “the works of their hands” in the wilderness [40-41] and the temple “made by human hands” [47]
- Another – Solomon (the son) builds temple with human hands [47] rather than David (the father), contrasted with the Son of God building temple not made with hands rather than the Father [48]
I. THAT WE TOO ARE CALLED OUT! “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.'” John 8:12 "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” Ephesians 4:1 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps” 1Peter 2:21 II. THAT WE TOO HAVE PROMISES! III. THAT WE TOO HAVE"And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:49
“But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”2 Peter 3:13
“This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”1 John 2:25 … A Linage: “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’”Romans 8:15A Land: "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”John 14:2A Law: “If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. … So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty”James 2:8, 12A Legacy: “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” 1 Peter 1:4 IV. THAT WE TOO HAVE POTENTIAL TO SIN!
The presence and glory of God cannot be confined to a specific place, no matter how holy! God’s people have consistently and constantly resisted His messengers.
Even the most hallowed religious paraphernalia and rituals can be and often are abused.
Moses’ “Righteous One” of Israel is the target of the entire Law and Prophets … this is Jesus the Son of God, who we know as Father.The Father of “The Linage”, the Creator of “The Land,” the Giver of “The Law,” and the Lord of “The Legacy” which must be venerated!“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.” Hebrews 4:1-2
APPLICATION/CHALLENGE:
or insist the Jews had no right to possess the Promise Land, or or curse the desirability of a divine code to live by, or their having a house of worship …
Stephen’s objective was to twofold –
to counter charges with historical facts and to confront sin with truth [Swindoll]
Legalism (in the form of legislative entitlements) is running rampant in every public and private venue; and it encroaches on the church ...
The building of mega-church complexes and communities (which suck life out of the authentic church) is continuous ...
Boundaries established by God in ages past are being moved or destroyed at will in this age ...
My concern is for what I call victimless-sin … sins like Israel’s … so egregious to the Father ...
Yet, to Joe Christian
"So if you’ve been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is …. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ …. When Christ … is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. So consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed which amount to idolatry." Colossians 3:1-5 [my partial paraphrase]
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