Stephen— A Faithful Servant

And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. customs...: Or, rites And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. - Acts 6:8-15

    Stephen was a Hellenistic Jew, a Jew by birth, but one born in Greece. The apostles were all Galileans. They were, in the eyes of men, a crude, uneducated rabble of fishermen and tax collectors. When Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4, they were perceived to be 'unlearned and ignorant men'. But Stephen was a preacher of a different kind. He was from another culture. He was a man of learning, education and refinement. He was a man of rank and reputation. Some of the historians tell us that, like Saul of Tarsus (before whom he boldly defended the gospel of Christ, Acts 7:58), Stephen was trained at the feet of Gamaliel. As we study the history of his death, we learn the dominant character of his life. Stephen was a faithful man, faithful to the gospel, faithful to the church of God, faithful to Christ, faithful unto death. He is an example of faithfulness, held up for all who would honour God to follow (Heb. 13:7). Here are four lessons set before us by God the Holy Spirit in this portion of his Word.

    1. Faithfulness is the one thing God requires of his servants and the one thing God honours in his servants (6:8)

    Stephen served God first as a member of his church, then as a deacon, then as a gospel preacher. As he had been faithful and diligent in serving tables, he was faithful in preaching the gospel. He was a man with uncommon gifts, talents and abilities. Yet he thought it was an honour to serve as a deacon in God's church, an honour to distribute food to the poor. Stephen used the office of a deacon well and thereby purchased to himself a good degree and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 3:13).

    God's people are his servants in this world. It does not matter what our service is, where our service is, or who is aware of our service. The only thing that matters is that we faithfully serve our God (l Cor.4:2). Be faithful in the place of your calling (l Cor. 7:20-23), in the work God has given you to do and with the possessions God has entrusted to your hands (Prov. 3:9-10). Honour God in all things and with all things, and he will honour you (1 Sam. 2:30). There is much that you cannot do but, by the grace of God, you can be faithful (Matt. 13:12; Luke 16:10).

    Stephen was a man 'full of faith'. That is what the word 'faithful' means—'full of faith'. He believed God. He knew and believed the Word of God, trusted the Son of God, obeyed the will of God and found contentment with the providence of God. Because he was full of faith, he was 'full ...of power'. He preached the gospel, taught the people and defended the truth of God with power, boldness and courage. Faith makes naturally timid men courageous and bold. And the confidence of faith makes gospel preachers powerful. The man who believes what he preaches is a powerful preacher. Being full of faith and power, Stephen 'did great wonders and miracles among the people'. In this way God confirmed his work. You can be certain that if God sends a man to preach the gospel, he will confirm that man as his messenger and confirm his word from that man in the hearts of his people.

    2. Every word spoken for God and every work done for God accomplishes its purpose (6:9-10)

    Saul of Tarsus was probably the chief spokesman of those with whom Stephen was disputing. Tarsus was in Cilicia. And Saul was present at this time (Acts 7:58). Though Stephen convinced none, though none was converted at the time, though none believed the gospel, though the preacher himself was stoned to death, this faithful servant of God had successfully accomplished what God sent him to do. Only eternity will tell, but I suspect that Stephen's sermon never stopped ringing in Saul's ears, until he found himself in the dust crying, 'What wilt thou have me to do, Lord?'

    Two things, and two things alone, determine the success of any man's or any church's labours for the glory of God and the souls of men: the purpose of God and the power of God (Isa. 55:11; 2 Cor. 2:15-16; 3:5-6; 4:7). We are entirely dependent upon God! If we are God's servants, doing God's service, failure is an impossibility. No one serves God in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). Sometimes a man preaches one sermon in the power of the Spirit and thousands are saved, as on the Day of Pentecost. Sometimes a man preaches thousands of sermons in the power of the Spirit before one sinner is saved, as was the case with the missionary Adoniram Judson in Burma. Some times the preacher is killed and the one God saves turns out to have been one of his murderers, as was the case here. God does his will, even when he obscures it from sight (Prov. 16:33).

    3. The gospel of Christ is offensive to men (6:11-14)

    When these religious men were convinced that Stephen's doctrine was the truth of God revealed in Holy Scripture, when they could not resist his arguments, they still would not yield to the claims of Christ. Instead, they hired false witnesses to twist and pervert Stephen's words.

    Nothing has changed. Until a sinner's heart is changed by the regenerating grace of God, he will not receive the gospel of the grace of God. Salvation by grace, through the merits of a crucified substitute, received by faith alone, without works, is both foolish ness (1 Cor.1:22-25) and offensive to him (Gal. 5:11). It offends his pride, his religious notions, his love of self and his self-righteous ness. Any man who boldly declares the gospel of Christ to lost, unbelieving followers of religion will be marked by them as a hard man and a bitter enemy (Gal. 4:16). When the pearls of the gospel (free forgiveness, effectual atonement, imputed righteousness and infallible, irresistible grace) are cast before swine, they will trample the pearls in the mud to get at the one who preaches God's free grace in Christ, and will destroy him if they can.

    4. God is faithful to his faithful servants (6:15)

    Stephen's conscience was pure and free from guilt with regard to the charges made against him. Therefore, he had nothing to fear. What he had said and done had been for the glory of God. He knew he had done nothing but serve the honour of God, the will of God, the interests of his kingdom, his gospel and his people. Therefore, in the face of death, he was calm and courageous—so much so that his face looked as bright, happy and radiant as the face of an angel. In the hour of his greatest trial he did not forsake his God and his God did not forsake him (Heb. 13:5-6).

    What an example Stephen is! Let us be faithful servants to Christ, our God and Saviour. If we willingly serve him in all things, he will use us as he sees fit for his glory. He will give us grace to do his will. He will crown us with life everlasting (Rev. 2:10).