The reason for grace, the grace of God. That comes
from John chapter 1. The reason for grace is grace.
That's where you got that, isn't it? The grace of God. The grace of God we believe.
Turn to the book of Acts. Let me show you something here
just real quick before we look at it. Turn to chapter 15. Grace
for grace. All of salvation from beginning
to end is all due to the favor and grace, sovereign, free grace
of God. And Acts chapter 15 would have
this statement here in verse 11, that we believe through the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You want to know what we believe
here? Here it is, right here. We believe through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His blood sacrifice, His merit, the
sovereign favor, free favor of God, and it is God being gracious
through the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. We shall be saved. Peter here
is saying that God is going to save us the same way He saved
those Gentiles, by the free and sovereign grace of God. collecting grace, redeeming grace,
calling grace, fetching grace. He fetches us irresistible grace,
persevering grace, redeeming grace, sovereign grace. I'm never weary of hearing of
it. You know why? Because I'm a sinner.
I'm a sinner in need of grace, in need of the grace of God in
Jesus Christ. Now, Acts chapter 7. Don't get impatient. I'm not
going to preach all 60 verses here. We'll just pick up a few
points here and there and then camp on the last part of chapter
7. But we have a glorious story
here. If God will give me wisdom to
to try to bring a message that would be honoring and glorifying
to him. We see this faithful servant
of God. Faithful servant of God. His
name is Stephen. He was chosen to serve the church,
and in doing so, he was chosen to serve Christ. That's how we
serve the Lord, by serving one another. But God not only made
him a servant to the church, but also called him to preach
the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as he was doing so, to these
synagogues in Jerusalem, someone said there were over 400 synagogues
in that one city, and evidently Stephen went to several of them,
and when he was given the opportunity to preach the gospel, he stood
up and pointed those, his kinfolk no doubt, those acquaintances
and friends of his who were still in Judaism, who were still looking
to the law, still looking to the ceremonies to find salvation
and hope, and he stood up and he preached in those synagogues,
Jesus Christ, salvation through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and salvation by God's free and sovereign grace. Well,
when he started doing that, he had quite an opposition. They said because Stephen preached
that salvation is completed in Christ, that Christ is the end
of the law for salvation, that that covenant given to Moses
is put away, being fulfilled by Christ, they accused him of
speaking evil against the law. When he said that salvation is
completed, the Lord Jesus Christ completed salvation. No need
for that animal sacrifice. The Lamb of God has come. The
Lamb of God has died. The Lamb of God has honored God. They thought he was speaking
evil against the law of God, accused him of speaking evil
against God himself. As it says in chapter 6, verse
11, they said he's speaking evil against Moses and evil against
God, evil against the law, evil against his holy place. In essence,
what Stephen preached is that the Lord Jesus Christ is the
end of the law, for righteousness to everyone that believes. Stephen said, my friend, don't
look to the law. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ
who honored the law, who satisfied the law. In all the precepts
of that law, the Lord Jesus Christ honored God's law. That's the
believer's righteousness. And in his death, he satisfied
the penalty of that law. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law. The curse of that law says, don't
look, do. The law says, cursed is everyone
that continues not in all things, but to written in the book of
the law to do them. And Stephen said, Christ has
redeemed us from that curse, being made a curse for us, being
made sin for us. And Christ has taken away that
covenant that was first revealed and he brought in the everlasting
covenant. Now hold your place there in
Acts chapter 7. I want you to turn to Hebrews
10. Hebrews chapter 10. Here's what
he said. Now here's a key verse in the
book of Hebrews chapter 10, verse 9. Then said he, this is speaking
of the God-man mediator, the Lord Jesus, Hebrews 10 verse
9. Then said he, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God, He taketh away the first, being the fulfillment
of it, that He may establish that second covenant, and that's
the eternal covenant of grace. Those Jews couldn't understand
that. They were most religious, but
they were most lost. Look at verse 10 now. "...by the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ."
One time. One offering. He justified and
glorified God and justified His people in doing so. Now, having
said that, notice Acts chapter 7. When presented
the opportunity to preach the gospel, when this question was
posed to him in verse 1, then said the high priest, Are these
things so? Are they so? He does not hesitate. He does not flinch. He does not
hold back to declare all the counsel of God in salvation.
And he opens up with both barrels, beginning with Abraham, all the
way down through Solomon, showing to these people God's purpose
of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of these whom
he mentions Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Moses, Solomon,
all those believers had all of their hope of salvation totally
and completely in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. And what He's doing
here, He's taking these people with something they were familiar
with. These old Jews were familiar
with these things. They were familiar with the Old
Testament Scripture, but what he was pointing out to them,
God's purpose and His history in redemption and bringing in
the just one. And that's the bottom line that
he says down here in verse 52, which have showed before the
coming of the just one. The coming of the just one. Whom
did Moses write about? Whom did Abraham rejoice in?
Whom did the sweet psalmist of Israel, David, look unto for
salvation? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. All those that he mentions here,
they all found their hope of salvation totally and completely
in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. They wrote about Him. They wrote
about the Lord Jesus Christ. Didn't they? Solomon. His writings,
we have Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Solomon wrote
about the Lord Jesus Christ. David. What did David write about? All through the Psalms. His whole
message was that of the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation that's
in Him. Twice in the book of Psalms it
says that salvation is of the Lord. It's all of God's doing. All of God's grace. He believes
exactly the same thing that Peter believed and said, we believe
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that we shall be
saved. You see, God has always saved
sinners, always from the first one, Adam, by grace being justified
freely by his grace through the redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's how God saved Abraham.
Before the law was ever given. God said he was a justified man.
Before circumcision was ever given. He believed God and it
was counted to him for righteousness. That should show us and teach
us that salvation is all of grace. All in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now why do these fellas get so
upset and so enraged, so much so, that they ran on him with
one accord like a pack of wild animals, like a pack of wild
dogs, and began to gnaw on him like a vicious wild animal. What so enraged them that they
take up rocks in their hands and shed their clothes and start
rocking and stoning Stephen? Why were they so upset? Because
what he said, exposed their refuge as a refuge of lies. And he exposed
them when he calls them down here, he says, you stiff neck,
uncircumcised in heart, you do always rebel against God just
like your fathers in the past. Which, our Lord said, which of
the prophets have not your father stoned and cast out? As I said earlier, when he mentions
all these men, these believers, he begins with Abraham. Abraham's
hope of salvation. You remember what he said? Our
Lord said, Abraham, rejoice to see my day. This is our Lord
speaking to those Jews. Abraham rejoiced to see my day.
He saw it and he was glad. He was glad. Abraham's testimony
was the Lord will provide a lamb. Jehovah, Jabba, the Lord will
provide. Now, hold your place there and
find Romans chapter four. Here's what God says of Abraham.
You see, these believers of old, you know, Abraham, if you look
at his story, Abraham was in the land of idolatry. He wasn't
seeking God. He was an idolater and grew up
in a house of idolatry. And one day God called him by
His grace and called him out of that land and told him to
go into the land to which I will show you. And in Romans chapter
4, verse 1, What shall we say then that Abraham our father,
as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? Now Abraham had found
this. For if Abraham were justified
by works, he were of the glory, but not before God. For what
saith the scripture, Abraham believed God. God gave Abraham
faith. God gave Abraham life, justified
him in Christ Jesus, called him to himself, called him to the
true and the living God. Abraham believed God. It was
counted, credited, imputed to him for Righteousness. Abraham believed God. Isaac. He mentioned Isaac in
verse 8 of Acts chapter 7. Isaac is a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. In Isaac shall thy seed be called. And then he mentions Jacob. Jacob
is a glorious picture. Turn to Romans 9. Jacob is another
glorious picture of God's sovereign saving mercy. Just like Isaac,
that special, special son. His birth is a miracle of God's
power and grace. When Sarah being old, and Abraham
being a hundred years old, and God told Abraham, you're going
to have a son, and I'm going to raise up a Messiah out of
that sea, and I'm going to bless a multitude of people in Isaac. And that's all of God's grace
here in Romans chapter 9. You go from Abraham to Isaac
to Jacob. It's all showing the line of
grace and the mercy of God's purpose in calling sinners to
himself. In Romans chapter 9, look at
verse 11, Romans 9, 11. For the children, being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God, according to election, might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth. It was said to her, The elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved."
You see, again, he is displaying his sovereign mercy in Abraham,
in Isaac, in that special birth of that special son, in Jacob. It is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Well, God forbid. For he said
to Moses, he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have
mercy. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but it's God that would show mercy. You see, Abraham is an
example of God's sovereign mercy. Isaac is an example of God's
sovereign grace and power. Jacob is a picture of God sovereignly
loving him with an everlasting love of covenant mercy. And then
he mentions Joseph. Joseph was a type of picture
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Joseph believed God's promise. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Brother
Milton Howard brought us a message Wednesday night about Joseph
from Psalm 105. But Joseph here believed God's
word, believed God's promise. He raised this one up, made him
a governor in the land of Egypt to preserve his people. That's
God's grace. That's God's power. But Joseph
here, it says in Hebrews 11, verse 22, by faith, Joseph, when
he died, made mention of the departing and the children of
Israel, and he gave commandment concerning his bones. Joseph
believed God, and faith is the gift of God, the grace of God,
the purpose of God. So he mentions Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses. He mentions Moses. Turn back
to Acts chapter 7 and look at verse 37. This is that Moses
which said unto the children of Israel, You see verse 37,
a prophet. A prophet shall the Lord your
God raise up, like unto you of your brethren, like unto me,
him, him, him you shall hear. A prophet shall the Lord God.
Whom did Moses write about? Whom did Moses rejoice in? You
remember what we read last week? If you would have believed Moses,
You wouldn't believe me. Why? Moses wrote about the Lord
Jesus Christ. This prophet here that he's writing
about and telling us about that's coming, someone's coming, is
the prophet, the priest and king, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
his hope. Now, turn back to Romans chapter
4. Romans chapter 4, and look at
this. And then he mentions in, Stephen
mentions in his sermon, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses,
and then he moves on to David. What was David's hope? Was David's
hope that he was, you know, David was specially chosen to be the
king in Israel? But was David's hope that he,
of salvation and his righteousness before God, was it the fact that
he was the king? Or was it Christ the king? Well, let's read here in Romans
chapter 4. In Romans chapter 4, look at verse 6. Even as David,
this is the sweet psalmist of Israel, who was used of God to
pen many of the psalms, not all of them, but many of them, even
as David also described the blessedness of the man to whom God, this
is from Psalm 32, God to whom God imputeth righteousness without
works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven.
whose sins are covered, blessed is the man to whom the Lord will
not impute sin." Now that's a blessed man. Stephen was telling these
Jews that David's hope of salvation was not that he was a writer
of scripture, not that he was a king in Israel, not that he
was used of God in a mighty way, not that he had defeated many
ungodly armies, but David's hope of salvation was in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, this is what he's saying.
And then in Acts chapter 7, he mentions, lastly, he mentions
Solomon. Solomon, verse 47. David found
favor with God. David desired to build God a
temple, but God wouldn't let him do it. But he raised up another
one named Solomon, and Solomon built the temple, the first temple. But you know Solomon's hope wasn't
the fact that he built a temple. Solomon's hope of salvation was
in the Lord Jesus Christ. You read the book of the Song
of Solomon and it's all about the Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ
being accepted in the Beloved. Solomon's testimony is the same
testimony as we read of Paul in Ephesians chapter 1, excepted
in the beloved. My beloved is mine and I am his. And then he says in chapter 5,
he's altogether lovely. This one, Solomon found all of
his salvation in the Lord our righteousness. You see what he's
doing here? And this is all of our hope.
All of the believer's hope is totally in Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in the Lord Jesus Christ, the believers,
we stand complete in Him, being completely justified, completely
redeemed, all of our sin put away, and we rest in Christ,
Christ alone. In Him we rejoice. We are the
true Israel. We are the true circumcision,
which worship God in the Spirit. that rejoice in Christ Jesus
and have no confidence in the flesh. Philippians chapter 3,
verse 3. Now, having said all that, notice
verse 51, and we'll pick up here in verse 51. The second thing
that he brings out, now the first point being and showing that
all the patriarchs of the past, all these that he mentions from
Abraham down through Solomon, These all believe salvation of
God by grace and in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he brings
out and declares unto them their problem. Verse 51, he declares
their true character. And this is all of us by nature.
All of us fit this category. Verse 51, he mentions four or
five things here. He said, first of all, the reason
you don't see this and the reason you don't believe that salvation
is all of God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ is the reason
you don't see this is because you're stiff-necked, you're hard-hearted,
and you're uncircumcised in heart. You know what he's saying here?
He's saying that you're sinful. He's saying here that you're
guilty. He's saying here that you have an unbelieving heart.
You don't have a heart like Abraham, a new heart, or a heart like
David, or a heart like Jacob, looking to Christ. He said you
have an unbelieving heart. That's why you resist God. That's why you rebel against
God. It's because you have an unbelieving
heart. And that's all of us by nature. All of us by nature. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. By nature, we love darkness rather
than the light. Let's just be honest. Faith is a miracle of God's grace. In Jeremiah 17, it describes
our wicked heart, deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
And this is what he's declaring unto them. He's saying that you
need salvation because you have an unbelieving heart, a wicked
heart, a desperate heart. And your ears, he said, your
ears, you don't hear the Word of God. Now, you hear audibly. They heard what Stephen was saying
because they got angry. But they did not hear the Word
of God with power. Now, here's what I'm talking
about. Turn over here to 1 Thessalonians 1. They had the Word. They heard
the Word. They read the Word. But they
didn't have life in Christ, and that the Word of God was not
the power of God unto salvation to them, because they were dead
in sin. They had no life to hear God's
Word. You see, my friend, we can hear the Word and hear the
Word and hear the Word, and that's good. But unless God quickens
that Word by His Spirit and sends it to our heart in power, all
we will hear are just words. Look what he says here in 1 Thessalonians
1 verse 1. 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 1. Knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God, for our gospel came not unto you in word only,
but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance,
as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake,
you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received
the word. in much affliction with joy. They heard, but they heard with
power. God took that word to the heart
of some, and many believe the gospel, but God leaving us to
ourselves. We have an unbelieving heart,
we have deaf ears because we're dead in sin, and the fruit of
that is rebellion. Rebellion against God. Leave
a man to himself. And all he will do is kick against
the priest. As the Lord Jesus Christ said
of Saul of Tarth, it's hard to kick against the purpose of God.
Now, this doesn't mean here, and someone might say, well,
you know, you preach the irresistible call of God's grace. And here
it says that you can resist God. Now, put this in context. What
he's saying here is you have a heart of rebellion just like
your forefathers, and just like all of us do. By nature, we rebel
against God. But I tell you, by grace, I tell
you what God does by His grace, He makes His people willing in
a day of God's power. He draws us with irresistible
grace to Himself, making the Lord Jesus Christ irresistible. And we must have Him. But God
leaving us to ourselves, we'll just rebel against God. We won't
bow to God. He said no man can come to Me
except the Father which sent Me. Draw him, and I'll raise
him up at the last day. Man by nature, my friend, is
a rebel. Rebel against God. The natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, their foolishness
to him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. Well, my friend, when God does a work of grace in the
heart and He melts that old stubborn will and stubborn heart and makes
us new creatures in Christ, He gives us a new nature, a willing
nature, a sweet attitude, a humble spirit. He's nigh unto them of
a broken heart. Save us such as be of a contrite
spirit, but leaving us to ourselves, nothing but rebels against God's
cause, against God's purpose. And that's what he's bringing
out here. You're just a bunch of uncircumcised, unbelieving,
deaf ears, rebels against God. And that's all of us by nature.
And then he brings out this, he says, you're guilty before
God. Verse 52, which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted
and killed? And then he says, the ultimate
charge, you've slain them which the fourth showed the coming
of the just one whom you have been now betrayers. You've betrayed God in selling
out The Lord Jesus Christ. You've been betrayers and murderers
of the just one. He stuck his finger right in
their face and said, you're guilty of the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what he's saying here.
Betrayers and murderers. Pilate brought the Lord Jesus
before that crowd that day and he said, should I crucify your
king? Remember what they said? Away
with him! Crucify him! We have no king
but Caesar. Betrayers and murderers. Away
with him! Crucify him! You see, rebels. Left to ourselves. Rebels and
guilty before God. Guilty before God. You know,
this is the same thing that Peter said. Turn back over here to
chapter 3 of the book of Acts. Chapter 3. Verse 13, Acts chapter
3, verse 13, The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the
God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son, whom you delivered up,
and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined
to let him go. Three times Pilate said, I find no fault in him.
But you denied the Holy One. Who is this Jesus Christ? He's
God. He's the holy one and the just
one. He's just before God, before
God's law. He's just and holy. And you desired
a murder to be granted unto you, and you killed the Prince of
Peace. You killed the Prince of Life, whom God raised from
the dead, whereof we are witnesses of these things. Guilty before
God. And then lastly, he comes with
this, verse 53 of Acts 7. He said, You were privileged
to have the very law of God delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ on Mount
Sinai, surrounded by angels. And you didn't keep it. You didn't
keep it. You remember when Moses went
on the Mount and He delayed his coming when God was giving him
the law. And they began to complain unto Aaron, we don't know what
happened to Moses. Let's make us another God. And
they took off their jewelry and cast into the fire. And Aaron
was a participant in that. They came out of that golden
calf and they said, these be thy God, O Israel, with the liberty
out of Egypt. rebelled against God, did not
honor God. They had the very Word and Law
of God. And it says down here, verse
39, "...to whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust Him from
them, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt." We've
seen that through our study, haven't we, in the book of Numbers
and in Exodus. How many times they rebelled
against God. Now, verse 54, here's my last
point. Verse 54, when they heard these things,
they got angry. They were cut to the heart. Now,
not cut with brokenheartedness, and not cut with humility. They
were cut with anger. They were cut with malice. They
were cut with rage. They were full of anger. and
they gnashed on Him with their teeth." Now, I want you to notice
something here, and I won't keep you much longer. But notice in
these closing words, I want to show you a contrast between grace
and nature. Between depraved flesh and nature,
and the difference the grace of God makes. And there's a sharp
contrast. The first one we see is this.
They were rebelling against God, and Stephen was rejoicing in
God. The way of the flesh is rebellion.
The way of grace is rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 54, they were full of rage
and anger. And what he said of them was
true, demonstrated by their actions against them. While on the contrast,
it says in verse 55, they were full of rage and anger, but Stephen
full of the Holy Spirit. Full of the Holy Spirit. You
know what he found his delight in? That comforter. Our Lord
said, when the comforter has come, he will comfort you, he
will lead you, he will guide you into all truth. He'll take
the things of mine and show them to you. Stephen's delight, a
man that's full of the Holy Spirit, finds his delight of salvation
and righteousness before God in Christ Jesus alone. They were
full of rage and anger. That's the way of the flesh,
the way of grace. Stephen was full of the Spirit
of God, rejoicing in Christ Jesus. They were full of malice, malice,
hatred. Verse 57, they cried out with
a loud voice, and they stopped their ears. I guess they stuck
their finger in their ears and said, we don't want to hear any
more. And they ran upon him with one accord, and they gnashed
on him with their teeth. They were full of malice. The
contrast between nature and grace. Stephen was full of mercy. Mercy. It says in verse 60, he prayed for them. Lord, lay
not this sin to their charge." How could he pray that way? Well,
he's full of mercy. Full of mercy. Here's another
contrast. They were full of fear. Full
of fear. They stopped their ears. They
cast him out of the city. They gnashed on him with their
teeth. Being full of fear. Stephen was full of faith. Full
of faith, wasn't he? Look at verse 55, Stephen being
full of the Holy Spirit. He was a man full of faith. It
says in chapter 6, verse 8, that he was full of faith. Full of
faith, he looked up steadfastly into heaven, and he saw the glory
of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. He was
full of faith in his last dying breath. God gave him a glorious
vision of the glory of God. Where is the glory of God seen?
Where does it shine? In the face of the Lord Jesus
Christ. God who commanded His light to
shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give us a light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of the Lord
Jesus Christ. You see, true faith looks to,
just as Stephen did here, the Lord Jesus Christ. exalted and
victorious, full of faith. True faith is always looking
to the risen, glorified Christ. True faith calls upon the Lord
Jesus Christ. Notice in verse 59, as they were
stoning Stephen, as they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, saying,
and notice, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. True faith looks to
and calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the object of faith,
that saving faith, looking to Christ. You see, they were full
of fear. He was full of faith. They were
full of persecution. They were full of persecution.
Verse 52, For which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?
They were full of persecution. They stoned this man to death.
What a gruesome thing. I can't even imagine. I can't
even imagine such a thing. I don't think I could ever do
such a thing, but I certainly have that depraved nature that
if God let me go, I would certainly do that. They were full of persecution. Stephen was full of prayer. He
kneeled down, verse 60, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, God
took him to glory. Well, it doesn't say that. He
said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. To be absent from the
body is to be present with the Lord. I believe that. I know
Stephen's body, dead and cold. I said, his body. But Stephen
wasn't there. Stephen went to be with the Lord.
To die, to live is Christ, but to die is gain. Death to the
believer is not a punishment, it's promotion. You wonder why
God didn't keep this faithful servant around to preach more
sermons? I have no idea, but I know this,
and I'm not going to question his sovereign purpose. Stephen
preached, as far as I know, this one last glorious sermon. And God took him to glory. But
you know what? Out of this sermon, now this
confession, and out of this prayer, there was a man here by the name
of Saul, a young man, who stood and gave agreement to the murder,
the brutal murder of Stephen. And yet God made this man, we'll
see in weeks to come, God raised up this rebel, this stiff neck,
this uncircumcised of heart and made him a new creature in Christ
and sent him to preach the gospel. And he said, I was before a blasphemer
and a persecutor. Remember we read earlier, but
by the grace of God, I am what I am. I'm the chief of sinners,
but I'm a sinner saved by the grace of God. God raised him
up to be a faithful servant, preaching the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And when God unforced him and
put him in the dust, he said this, Lord, what will you have
me to do? Well, he was willing. You see,
he was willing in the day of God's power. Well, I pray the
Lord will bless his Word to your heart and cause you to Read that
chapter again and see those believers rejoicing
in our Lord Jesus Christ.