Be Faithful to the Point of Death
The Bible is a record of God’s faithfulness: from the very beginning when God promised Adam and Eve that he would send a Savior to the promise that Christ will return in glory. God is perfectly faithful and keeps his promises. But God has also given us some promises that cause us to struggle: the promise that we will face opposition and hatred for our faith in Jesus and the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus warns us of this quite clearly, “You will be hated by all people because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.” This has been the truth for God’s faithful people ever since the fall into sin. Wherever the truth of God’s Word is proclaimed in its truth and purity there has been opposition. Satan, the world and our own sinful natures despise being reminded of their wickedness and rebellion. People respond with anger when they hear that they are sinners and Jesus is the only way to salvation. We see this anger and rage demonstrated in the story of Stephen.
The story of Stephen gives us a powerful example of what it means to remain faithful to Christ in the face of persecution and even death. We will face hatred and persecution for our faith. We will be tried and tested. We will be hard-pressed on every side. But our Savior has also promised that our struggle is not in vain. Our victory is assured by his death and resurrection. We boldly confess his name because we trust his promise, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
In the opening chapters of the Book of Acts, we hear about the rapid growth of the Christian church. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit had come on the disciples, and they began boldly confessing that Jesus Christ had died and risen from the dead. The Jewish leaders fiercely opposed the preaching of the disciples. They had arrested the disciples several times and commanded them to stop preaching, but the disciples continued their bold confession even in the face of mounting opposition.
The Holy Spirit worked through preaching the Gospel, and many people now believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior. But there was a problem in the church. There were so many people that some of the day-to-day ministries of the church were being overlooked, especially the daily distribution of food to the widows. To deal with this problem the congregation chose seven men who were filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom to assist the Apostles in the ministry of the church. One of these men was Stephen.
Stephen was filled with zeal for the Gospel of the Lord. He wanted others to know that by his perfect life, Christ had fulfilled all the requirements of the law. His death had been the ultimate sacrifice that paid for the sins of the whole world. But the bold proclamation of Stephen sparked fierce opposition. Many of the Jews in Jerusalem were deeply offended by the message of Stephen because he was speaking against their culture. They didn’t understand that he was proclaiming that the Law of God had been fulfilled in Christ or that God had freed us from the burden of sin and guilt by the death of his Son.
These men were not able to directly refute the message that Stephen was speaking so they began to lie and make false accusations against him. Satan still uses this attack against Christians today. The world claims that Christians are foolish if they believe that the entire Bible is God’s true inspired word. After all, science has proven that the world came into existence through evolution. Satan slanders Christians by claiming that Christians are hateful and bigoted when they preach the truth of God’s Word. He claims that it is unloving to preach the Law and show people their sins. After all, if God were truly a God of love he would not send anyone to hell. Satan also tries to undermine the truth that the only way to salvation is through Christ alone. Surely a loving God would provide many paths to salvation especially if someone is doing their best. Anyone who teaches that Jesus is the only way to salvation is clearly hateful and unloving.
What do we do in the face of these false accusations dear friends? I think all too often we stay quiet. We don’t want to be labeled as hateful, bigoted, or ignorant so we don’t confess our faith. We don’t want to be thought of as weird or strange, so we don’t talk about our savior. We are far too willing to make compromises with the world. Instead of talking about Jesus, we go along with the crowd. Instead of honoring God’s institution of marriage, we laugh or tell dirty jokes to fit in. Instead of honoring God’s name, we curse and swear so that others will accept us. Instead of defending our neighbor’s reputation, we join in when others are gossiping and making fun of others. Jesus says of his people, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” And yet far too often there is very little that distinguishes us from the world.
How did Stephen respond to these false accusations? He was dragged before the ruling council, the same council that had condemned Jesus to death, and made a bold confession. He proclaimed God’s law to them. He reminded them how their ancestors had killed God’s prophets and how they had done the exact same thing to Christ! “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him.”
Put yourself in Stephen’s place. Imagine that you are in a room filled with people who hate you and hate everything you stand for. People who want nothing more than to silence you at any cost even if that means killing you. Would you be able to boldly proclaim the message of God’s law? Would you be able to confess your faith even to the point of death? That situation seems farfetched in our day and age and yet this has been the reality for God’s church since the fall into sin. We will face opposition to our faith. We will be hated and persecuted for the truth we confess. But like Stephen will make a bold confession because we know the glorious victory that is ours in Christ.
The leaders of the Sanhedrin were filled with murderous rage at Stephen’s words. They were even more enraged as Stephen confessed his faith. Stephen gazed into heaven and received a vision of Christ. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Stephen was confessing before the very group that had murdered Jesus that he now sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen knew and believed the message of the Gospel. He knew that Christ was both true God and true man. That he had offered his life as a sacrifice to make full and complete payment for the sins of the entire world. Stephen knew that he had been washed clean of all his sins by the blood of Christ.
This is the promise that is ours as well. Your sins have been washed away with the blood. Your debt has been paid and you have been declared not guilty of all your sins by God. All of this has been given to you as a gift of God’s grace through your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Stephen knew this truth. Stephen also knew that by the resurrection of Jesus death no longer had any power over him. Even if he was killed for his bold confession he knew that he would receive the crown of life. This is why Stephen could confidently pray at the moment of his death, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” This is the certain hope that we have through faith. We are faithful to our Lord because he was faithful to us. God has kept all his promises, and he will keep his promise to give the victor’s crown of eternal life to us as well.
The story of Stephen seems like a story of defeat and not victory. Stephen was killed for his confession. But it is truly amazing how God uses things that look like defeat to the world to prove his victory. The Jewish leaders did not win that day. They killed Stephen, but he received his eternal reward. The congregation in Jerusalem was scattered, but that allowed the message of the Gospel to spread out from Jerusalem to the very ends of the earth. And we also see the impact that the death of Stephen had on another person. There was a young man named Saul who stood and gave approval to Stephen’s death. That young man would become the Apostle Paul whom God would soon use to be his champion proclaiming the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles. God will use our confession as well to impact the lives of others. We are God’s messengers and witnesses, and we know that we do not need to fear the attacks of Satan or the world because we cling to the promise of Christ, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.