Acts 6:1-15

Acts 6; Acts 7

Stephen.

From the history of Stephen we learn:

I. That fidelity to truth provokes antagonism; holiness and sin are mutually repellent; love and selfishness are the opposites of each other; and sooner or later the followers of the one will come into collision with the votaries of the other. The opposition of the ungodly is one of the seals to the genuineness of our discipleship; and if we bear ourselves rightly under it, who can tell but that it may be the occasion of blessing to multitudes? The banner which hangs in idle folds round the flagstaff in the sultry stillness of the summer noon, is fully unfurled by the wild rudeness of the wintry wind; and men may see in the latter case the emblem and inscription which were invisible in the former. Even so the antagonism of our spiritual adversaries is valuable, in that it brings forth anew those traits of Christian character and points of Christian doctrine which otherwise would have been unobserved.

II. The deep interest which the glorified Redeemer has in His suffering followers. He cannot sit in such an emergency, for He is Himself persecuted in His dying disciple, and must go to soothe and sustain Him. Our foes can strike us only through our Saviour's heart. He is our shield and buckler, our high tower and our deliverer.

III. The peacefulness of the believer's death. "When he had said this, he fell asleep." These words tell of the peace that was in the martyr's heart. You cannot go to sleep with anxiety fretting your spirit; but when your mind is calm and undisturbed, then the night angel comes to you with her gift of forgetfulness and her ministry of restoration. So when we read that Stephen fell asleep, we see through the words into the deep unbroken quiet of his soul.

IV. Words which seem to have been in vain are not always fruitless. Stephen's defence was unsuccessful so far, at least, as securing the preservation of his own life was concerned. But his argument was not lost, for when not long afterward the zealous Saul was converted on his way to Damascus, this address, I have no doubt, came back upon him, and became the means which, in the hands of the Holy Ghost, were used for his enlightenment in the significance of the gospel of Christ.

W. M. Taylor, Paul the Missionary,p. 1.

References: Acts 7:2. E. M. Goulburn, Acts of the Deacons,p. 80. Acts 7:9. Preacher's Monthly,vol. iv., p. 61; E. D. Solomon, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xxvii., p. 235.Acts 7:9; Acts 7:10. J. N. Norton, Old Paths,p. 104.Acts 7:13. Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes, Gospels and Acts,p. 183.Acts 7:20. F. W. Robertson, The Human Race,p. 51.Acts 7:22. H. Wonnacott, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xiv., p. 46. Acts 7:30. Ibid.,p. 59. Acts 7:35. J. B. Mozley, Sermons, Parochial and Occasional,p. 182; C. J. Vaughan, Church of the First Days,vol. i., p. 244.Acts 7:35; Acts 7:36. Christian World Pulpit,p. 75.Acts 7:37. E. M. Goulburn, Acts of the Deacons,p. 126; H. Melvill, Pulpit,vol. iii., p. 1627. Acts 7:38. E. G. Gibson, Expositor,2nd series, vol. iv., p. 427. Acts 7:39. H. P. Liddon, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xxx., p. 152; Ibid., Contemporary Pulpit,vol. v., p. 129; Ibid.,vol. vi., p. 129.