Divine Dichotomy

Divine Dichotomy

  How do Christians react to adversity? How should Christians react to adversity? Man’s fallen nature is evident in the fact that those are, unfortunately, two separate questions. But our study in Acts 6 & 7 paints a beautiful portrait of the options available to us. We should start with the positive example, not only because it’s nicer to do so, but by doing so, we draw the clearest possible distinction between the two.

  The early Church in Acts 6 faced a bit of a dilemma. There was a faction of the church that believed, quite likely with good reason, that members of their group were being done a disservice. The slighted group did not lash out, nor did they accuse, blame or defame. They brought their concern to the leadership, which listened to them attentively and empathetically. Not only did the apostles recognize that harm was being done they took active steps to rectify the issue immediately. They did not convene a commission to study the problem or ask someone else to “look into it.” They took action and asked the congregation to choose from within their own ranks those “who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.” (Acts 6:3b). The Church responded to this obediently and found afterward that not only was this division healed, but also that the Church was stronger than it was before. “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7)

 This is a wholly Biblical response that did not give in to despair and dramatics, was completely free of ego, and kept focus on ministering to God’s people. The apostles did not let this division divide the Church, distract the people, or dilute the message. Please also allow this brief side note. There can be times when we wonder if our service is sufficient. To those that serve in the church, it is easy to become disheartened or believe, especially if not recognized or appreciated, that the work is in vain or wasted. To be sure, the workaday nature of what these men were asked to do, ensuring the daily distribution of food to the widows was done justly, doesn’t sound tremendously important. But this should be a lesson that there does not exist an insignificant member of God’s Kingdom, nor a thankless task in service to it.

  All of this activity, of course, took place against a backdrop of persecution. One of the very men named to aid the Church in this first problem became even more notable immediately later in our study. If the members of the church were given the task to find amongst themselves men of wisdom and the Holy Spirit, the remainder of chapter 6 and all of chapter 7 proves they had chosen wisely in Stephen. This raises an important point in that none of these early Christians allowed fear to quell their faith or their practice of it. The attention paid to the widows of the Hellenic Jews is more astounding with the background of persecution members of the church were facing and the climate of violence that was soon to follow. Today we know the stakes of practicing our faith openly, and they are decidedly less dramatic than what Stephen faced in the Sanhedrin. Worry, anxiety, apprehension, angst, and nervousness are merely window dressings for fear. If the early church would withstand the great paralytic that is fear, then we have every reason to do the same and to proclaim the Word boldly and proudly.

  As stated at the beginning, we began with the correct response to adversity. The early Church provided for us the example to follow, now let us examine the folly of man’s Godless leadership. The Sanhedrin of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, fellow Grecian Jews like Stephen himself, could finally take no more of his evangelism. They decided upon themselves to silence him. At first, they tried to silence him through debate. “These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” (Acts 6:9-10) When faced with a truth they could not ignore and a messenger they could not cow, they resorted to the desperate and the extreme. They began in secret, and whereas the apostles addressed their problem publicly in front of all the people, the Sanhedrin persuaded men to lay charges of blasphemy against Stephen. And they produced these false witnesses and charged Stephen to speak in his own defense.

  Stephen’s response, which comprises the bulk of chapter 7, explains to the Sanhedrin, and by extension, us, the importance of the history of the Jewish people. He specifically highlights Abraham as a man of faith who did not find God in a specific land but was led to a Promised Land by God. Stephen is trying to highlight that our God is boundless, without borders or limitations. God was never confined to Israel but called out Israel to be His own. God’s faithfulness is the story, not man’s achievement. Stephen also highlights Joseph, a man whom God had shown favor, who was rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery. Stephen takes pains to explain that this slavery in Egypt was foreseen by God, again hammering home that man’s actions do not sway the future but that God is truly in control.

  Highlighting Moses next, Stephen begins to drive the main argument. That the traditions of the Sanhedrin shared more in common, not with these heroes of the faith, but with those that acted against them. Not Joseph but his insecure brothers, not Moses but those fickle wanderers who demanded a golden calf. Not the faithful like David, but those who later served in a Temple but neglected to serve the God the temple was dedicated to. It was right about that point that the Sanhedrin partook in their own particular brand of “problem-solving.” In a fit of absolute mindlessness, they rushed Stephen from the chamber, out of the city, and stoned him to death. This behavior tells us much about the strengthening power of faith.

  Ellie pointed out that wisdom from faith is achieved through humility. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5). The men of the Sanhedrin here had their faith tied up completely in their own understanding. And in the perfect irony of human nature, it was they who were overcome with fear and allowed that fear to drive them to murder. But this admittedly rather grim object lesson should be a reason for the encouragement! God continually shows His willingness to guide those who seek Him. We cannot find, much less begin to understand Him, on our own. “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45). It is only through a relationship with God through His Son Jesus that we have an opportunity to understand as Stephen did, which helps us to believe as fervently as Stephen did.

  The Sanhedrin, believe it or not, were given a choice. Self-reflection, humility, penitence, and chastisement. Or death. They opted for death. But it wasn’t Stephen who died that day; he lives still in the same Paradise promised to us. He was given a vision of precisely where he was going. It was those who set themselves up as antagonists to the church that signed their own fate. The refuge of the faithless became violence. They sought to prove through force of will what they could not with reason or Scripture. An element of that remains today; it is a human reaction that even the church is not immune from. Their choice is ours as well; it’s also the same choice presented to every soul inhabiting the world today. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). It’s difficult to sum up our culture better than that. Shall we leave them to their fate? There is no insignificant duty in God’s Kingdom, there is no reason to give in to fear, and there is no argument, force, or legion that can stand against us. The lesson of Stephen and the early church here is that nothing under Heaven or on Earth can halt God or even slow Him down. That train is moving. You can either hop aboard or watch it pass. What’ll it be?

Jordan Williamson