2013 Acts #13: an exposition of Acts 8:1-24. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, August 11, 2013.
Intro:
You know, as unlikely as it may seem, not everyone likes me! I just don’t get it. I’ve always thought to know me is to love me. The same thing can be said about you. Not everyone likes you. I don’t care how strong, how independent or stubborn you are – no one is comfortable with the idea that they are not liked. We all have a need to be wanted. We want to fit in. We are communal beings. Let’s face it even the Lone Range had Tonto! When John Wayne rode off into the sunset he had his horse. The desire to “fit in” and be part of the group is not just a longing of young people it is a part of all of us. It is this longing to fit in; this desire to get along that often causes us to remain silent when we should be speaking the Gospel.
There is that part of us that says, “Well I don’t want to offend.” “What if they get mad and I loose a friendship?” “What if it costs me a promotion or worse, I loose my job?” These are honest concerns. It is understandable that such questions would plague you. The issue is are these sufficient reasons for failing to obey the command of our Lord? Will they be sufficient in the Day of Judgment? Will they withstand the scrutiny of the sovereign judge of the universe? I don’t think so! What if it gets worse? What if society becomes so hostile to biblical faith that my life is actually threatened? Believers have faced this challenge since the beginning of the church. The answer of the church has been, “Whether I live or whether I die, may Christ be glorified in me.”
Obviously martyrdom is not an immediate threat in the United States. But society is becoming increasingly hostile to biblical faith. Our pluralistic culture has limited patience with our “exclusive faith.” To say that salvation is to be found in Christ and in Christ alone is to draw the ire of our “tolerant” society. To suggest that sincere practitioners of other faiths are sincerely wrong and will suffer eternal torment is to be labeled a hate monger and bigot. If some social engineers have their way, soon preaching the biblical Gospel could be labeled a “hate crime.” What are we to do? How are we to respond?
Thesis: In the face of threats, ridicule and hostility, the church must be willing to unleash the power of the Gospel.
Do we fight it out in the courts? Do we seek to mandate through legislation? As Americans I think we use the various means available to voice our concerns and to argue our point in the marketplace of ideas. We vote our conscience. We elect people who will represent our point of view but ultimately, as the church, we are to rely on the power of God and the power of the Gospel itself. I think we defend the Gospel in the same way Spurgeon said we defend the Bible. Spurgeon said, “You defend the Bible the same way you defend a lion. Turn it loose!” That’s how we defend the Gospel, turn it loose. Preach it. Believe it. Live it.
Do you remember what Stephen did when called before the High Priest and the elders? When asked if the charges against him were true? Stephen didn’t argue his case he preached the Gospel! He was not interested in defending himself he was interested in glorifying Christ. That is just what he did. He glorified Christ with his life, with his words and in his dying. Our text this morning picks up with the events immediately following the martyrdom of Stephen.
Text: Acts 8:1-24
The early church existed in an environment much like ours.
Roman society was a “pluralistic” society.
You can worship whatever gods you choose provided you acknowledge Caesar is lord!
The Christian insistence on Jesus alone as Lord led to incredible hostility.
Hostility from both the Jewish and Roman perspective.
As we explore the events immediately surrounding the martyrdom of Stephen and the beginning of Philip’s ministry we learn something of how we, through the Gospel, ought to respond to the pluralistic threats of our culture.
- We must realize that the Gospel enrages the ungodly. (8:1-3)
- The fury of the ungodly only serves to fan the flame of the Gospel. (8:4-8)
- The Gospel will not be subject to those who seek to prostitute its power for their own gain. (8:9-24)