Please stay with us and at the end of the program we’ll let you know where to send your questions for Dave and Tom to respond to in a future Contending for the Faith. You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Now our final segment:
UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES
We resume our excursion through the Book of Acts. Here again are Dave and Tom: In this our Understanding the Scriptures segment we are in the Book of Acts, we are in Acts chapter 7, we finished with verse 51, here we are with verse 52: “Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.” This is Stephen, he is speaking as an angel, but he’s pretty tough, isn’t he?
Dave:
He is speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I would say without a doubt. That is a lot to consider, Tom. He is going to get killed and why couldn’t he be a little bit more diplomatic, save a little to say at another time. And that is the temptation that we have today, you know. I think he’s an example for us and we need to ponder his example.
Tom:
Well, it’s got to be not by might nor by power nor by some kind of idea that I have that may make it a little bit more effective, but it’s by my Spirit, says the Lord.
Dave:
Very often people say to me, Wow, you must have a lot of courage to say what you do, because we do bring a lot of correction. I think it’s biblical, we don’t compromise. I facetiously say, well, it’s not a matter of courage, I don’t have enough sense to know any better. But I shouldn’t make a comment like that because it is not to be taken lightly, we have a responsibility when we take the Bible in our hands, this is God’s Word, and we must speak it forth. If it offends, that’s God’s Word.
Tom:
Right, let not us be the offenders, let the Word strike the heart.
Dave:
Right, and Stephen is telling these men the truth. Now, how many of them were indicted in their hearts by that we don’t know, but we know one of them who was and he was present and that was Saul and it will tell us about him.
Tom:
He became the apostle Paul.
Dave:
Right. When he finally is arrested by Jesus, Jesus says, It’s hard for you to kick against the pricks. In other words, your conscience is be pricked, there is a sword driving through heart, your conscience that says, They are right and you are wrong, they are right and you are wrong. And as we go on in this chapter it says they are beholding Stephen’s face is shining like an angel, but I am getting ahead of it. But Tom, this is something for me and for you to ponder, and I would say it’s something for every preacher of the gospel, everyone who stands up to take the Word of God in their hands and to speak it forth, we need to think about this. We could think of it in terms of, remember the watchman on the wall, in the Old Testament. You give them a clear warning, their blood is not on your hands. If you don’t give a clear warning and the enemy comes and destroys them, their blood is on your hands. I would say that Stephen has delivered himself from the blood of these men. He has made it very clear exactly what the situation is and you remember in Acts 20, Paul says the same thing; he says, I am free, or clear, from the blood of all men—I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole council of God. So Tom, it speaks to my heart.
Tom:
And Dave, as we see evangelism being promoted in the church today, it’s sad sometimes because, although many, I’m sure, are very sincere they want people to come to the Lord or they want people to be saved, yet their approach many times, not all the times, but many times leaves out the kinds of thing that would truly convict a heart. It’s almost like you bring them in, you bait them in and then you switch, you give them something that they weren’t expecting but it’s still in an upbeat, kind of this is what God has for you sort of thing….
Dave:
Yeah, a wonderful life and so forth, which is true but that’s not how we come to Christ. We come to Christ in our need and as sinners unworthy, repentant and looking to Him for our salvation and thanking Him for it, believing in Him.
Tom:
And Dave, if not, then what’s the life change? I’m thinking God changes your life but my point is, unless we come to the end of ourselves and look to Him, how else can you have a commitment to somebody. Do you commit to somebody saying, oh, I’m going to commit to that person or to that thing because, Man, it’s just going to make my life greater. It doesn’t quite—and we’ve heard this before in some individual, It didn’t quite pan out, didn’t live up to the expectations I had. That’s not a person who has come to the end of themselves.
Dave:
Well, the exhortation is sins forgiven and a home in heaven. Anyway, they have a bad reaction, Tom, they are not going to take this lying down, they are evil men. You could say it’s even violating what Jesus said: Don’t cast your pearls before swine, or what Solomon said: When you find yourself in the presence of a person who is not going to heed, Don’t do it. Tom, I would have to say Stephen was led of the Holy Spirit to do this and it’s a lesson for us today. But it certainly wouldn’t have been the right strategy if he was trying to win them over, he wanted them to be convicted of their sin.
Tom:
Verse 54: “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.”
Dave:
They are really angry.
Tom:
“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.”
Dave:
They gnash on him with their teeth because they are cut to the heart, and yet their hearts are not right and they are not willing to face the truth, they are not willing to admit their guilt. They are filled with hatred for him. He is filled with the Holy Ghost and he’s looking up—amazing experience that he had, and God gives him a glimpse right into heaven. He sees the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, the right hand of the Father and he tells them this. Wow! This is something worth describing to his accusers. He said: Verse 56, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Verse 57, “Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.” So, Saul was there present, apparently he didn’t throw any stones, he wasn’t, maybe, in that category of one of the religious leaders, one of the Rabbis, but he is consenting, verse one, in the next chapter, Saul was consenting unto his death. In other words, he’s in favor of this.
Tom:
But it must have made an impression upon him, don’t you think, as seeds are planted and lives are given.
Dave:
Absolutely. That’s what I was saying, there is a voice inside of Saul that said: They are right, you are wrong. He saw the love of Jesus in this man. He saw proof that Christ was alive, had risen from the dead, you get that in the next verse, verse 60: “And he, (that is, Stephen) kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Well, of course, a picture of death.
Tom:
And of course, Saul went on to persecute the church in major ways.
Dave:
But he sees Christ in Stephen, the Christ, who as He hung on the cross, said of his murderers, tormenters, mockers: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. I don’t know how else you could explain it, Stephen wants these men, who are stoning him, he wants them to be forgiven, he wants them to have the forgiveness of Christ. And again, we don’t know specifically, the Bible doesn’t tell us, but I wouldn’t be surprised but what we will meet some of these men in heaven, they are there already, who stoned Stephen, because they could not get out of their minds, out of their conscience, the face of this man shining like the face of an angel, and he is asking God to forgive them, not to charge them with this sin. And that’s Christ Himself, and I would hope that a number of them came to Christ. Everyone would who was willing.
Tom:
Dave, that’s something that the world doesn’t understand about martyrs. You were friends with Jim Elliot, for example, and people would say, There he is, among these savages, basically, and his life is taken. So, what’s the point? How would God use something like that? But He did and He does.
Dave:
It’s an amazing story, Tom, and it really speaks to my heart. See, this is not a suicide bomber blowing himself up on a bus load of children. The so-called Muslim martyrs are murderers, they are killing other people, they think that gains their entrance into heaven. Stephen is not killing anyone, there is no hatred in his heart against anyone, he loves them. A Muslim murderer who kills Jews, or in Iraq they are killing one another. Sunni’s are killing Shiites and Shiites are killing Sunni’s—you don’t hear any of them saying, Oh, forgive them, they don’t know what they do. No, they have hatred, venom, vengeance in their hearts, big difference between the Qur’an and the Bible as the Word of God.
Dave and Tom will resume their discussion on the topic of salvation next week, we hope you can join us. This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call.
And now, to tell you more about our ministry, here is TBC Executive Director Tom McMahon: The name, The Berean Call, is taken from the Book of Acts, Chapter 17, verses 10 and 11, where we find the apostle Paul entering the synagogue in the Greek City of Berea after he had just come from Thessalonica. To these Bereans he preached that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah sent from God. They were commended for being noble, or fair-minded, not only for their willingness to hear what Paul had to say about the matter, but more specifically, because they searched the scriptures daily to find out whether or not what the apostle was saying was found in God’s Word. That’s what we hope to encourage through this ministry. Our mission is to encourage believers in Christ to unbiblical teachings and practices impacting the church. We want to exhort believers to give greater heed to Biblical discernment and truth regarding what they are accepting as spiritual. Our prayer is that we can be used of God to stimulate Christians to look to the Bible alone as their rule of faith, authority and practice in living lives pleasing to our Lord and Savior,
Gary:
If you are a serious student of God’s Word, we offer a wide variety of items that you will find helpful, from books and tracts to audio and video tapes, CD-ROM, our internet website and much more. For a complete list of materials, or to get a copy of today’s broadcast, write to us at PO Box 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708, call us at our toll-free order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereeancall.org. If you would like a copy of this broadcast, ask for Program #3505, and be sure to mention the call letters of this station. Get a pen or pencil ready, we’ll repeat our contact information in just a moment.
Next week we will continue our series of programs based on Dave Hunt’s new book, Judgment Day, and, What is the real cause of anti-Semitism? In Religion in the News, Is Christianity taking over the planet? We’ll take a look at that story and address the question: Are you in danger of quenching the Spirit? We hope you can tune in. If you have questions or comments about this program we urge you to contact our offices. Search the Scriptures Daily Radio Ministry is made possible by God’s grace, your prayers and your financial support. I’m Gary Carmichael, and for Dave, Tom and everyone here at The Berean Call, I would like to thank you for joining us and invite you to tune in again next week. In the meantime, if you desire to know God’s truth, search the scriptures daily. For more information about The Berean Call, write to us at PO Box 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708, call us toll-free at our order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org.
