Lesson
10
Persecution
of the Church
II. Persecution
of the Church
A. Stephen Chosen
In chapter six, the
church was increasing so rapidly that the disciples recognized the value of
sharing responsibilities. They could not do the relief work (Acts 4:35-36) and
still spend time in prayer and preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Seven
men were chosen to lighten the load of the apostles. One of these men was
Stephen.
1. Stephen's
Qualifications (Acts 6:8)
Stephen, "full of
faith and power," was one of the table servers. He was a man who not only did the specific job that God had given him,
but he looked for other opportunities to serve as well. God can always use
someone who has this kind of attitude. Stephen's work was so outstanding that
he was picked as a target by the enemies of the rapidly growing church.
2. Stephen On Trial
(Acts 6:10)
Stephen's opponents
were no match for his wisdom and spirit, so they tried by physical force to get
rid of him. They hired people to bear false witness against him and placed him
on trial before the Sanhedrin.
3. Stephen Preached
and Died (Acts 6:12-13)
Although the synagogue
had people to testify falsely against Stephen's conduct, they could not change his character. Great alarm was
registered when they beheld his face shining as an angel's as he preached to
them with a holy boldness. He delivered his sermon to them about the way God had
dealt with mankind through the Old Testament. He preached truths they could not
contradict, and he concluded with a dreadful accusation against his listeners
for having betrayed and slain the Son of God. In anger, they cast him out of
the city and stoned him to death. With the martyrdom of Stephen, the
persecutors of the church shed the first blood of Christian martyrs. One of the
leading men of this persecution was Saul of Tarsus, who was a witness to and
gave consent to Stephen's death. A wise man once appropriately said, "They
tried to stamp the fire of God out in Jerusalem, but they spread the embers all
over the world." This is exactly what happened. The truth spread into the
regions of Judea and Samaria and into all the world.
B. Saul's
Conversion
Chapter nine of the
Book of Acts introduced Saul, who later became Paul the apostle. He is a key
figure in much of the New Testament, and he wrote at least 13 of its books. Saul was a
bigoted Pharisee, and a passionate persecutor of the church. By the power of
God, he became Paul, the devoted apostle, the preacher to the Gentiles. The conversion
of Saul was so unlikely that a British agnostic of the last century thought it
would not be difficult to disprove. By so doing, he could show the rest of the
New Testament to be unworthy of any credibility. George Lyttleton wanted to show
how impossible it would have been for a man like Saul to change so drastically.
He included the results of his studies in his book entitled Observations on
the Conversion and Apostleship of Saint Paul. His amazing conclusion? "Paul's conversion and apostleship
alone duly considered, is a demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to
be a divine relation."
1. Saul the
Persecutor
When the Sanhedrin had
Stephen stoned, Saul was in agreement with their actions. He used that incident
to launch an all out persecution of the church (Acts 8:3). He obtained letters
of extradition from the high priest against the Christians in Damascus.
2. Saul on the
Damascus Road
On the way to the city
of Damascus, a bright light from heaven shined round about him. Then he heard a
voice asking, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" All sorts of
inadequate explanations have been given to explain away what really happened.
However, the conversion of Paul cannot be accounted for except by Paul's own
interpretation of the change it made in him. He saw Jesus and was fully
persuaded to surrender. He had a personal encounter with God.
Paul answered Jesus by
saying, "Who art thou Lord?" When Jesus answered, "I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest," Paul was convicted. His reply was, "What wilt
thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:5, 6). It is important to ask God, what He would have us do.
It will save a person from many unproductive, failing years. Saul asked this
question immediately upon contact with God. His life was never the same after
his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road.
3.
Saul Received His Sight (Acts 9:18)
Saul was blinded
by what he saw in the heavens. Others led him to Damascus, where the Lord told
him that he would find help. After three days of prayer and fasting and
blindness, the Lord prepared man with a message for him. A disciple by the name
of Ananias visited Saul and laid hands on him as he prayed. Immediately, Saul
received his sight and was filled with the Holy Ghost. Then Ananias baptized
him.
Saul
received physical and spiritual sight that day (Acts 9:18). Beginning to
witness immediately, Paul wasted no time in getting busy with the Lord's work.
A conversion like that of Paul's makes for an exciting and dramatic testimony.
Those conversion stories still occur today, although most people come to God
without a vision or any dramatic spectacular ordeal. The experience of the new
birth involves water and Spirit, and is in itself a glorious, transforming
miracle.