Bible Chapter: Acts 7

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    This is the story of Stephen, the first person to die for their faith in Jesus, as he was accused and stood to give his defense.  We know the first martyr, we don’t know the last.  Stephen’s “defense” wasn’t anything like many people might think it would be.  He doesn’t try to defend himself or try to appease the accusers so they will let him go. Instead, he gave an amazing history of their nation and God’s involvement.  He challenged them with their history of not doing what God commanded.
    Stephen strongly affirmed the truth of God.  He didn’t compromise or tolerate false doctrine.  He  proclaimed truth and challenged the accusers with their weak and distorted faith in God.  He ended his defense with the challenge that they were resisting God.  This caused the group to rise up and kill him.  And, even in the process of being murdered Stephen’s Christ-like spirit remained strong.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the compromiser?
    We live in a day of compromise and tolerance.  That is tolerance for everyone except those who proclaim the teachings of Jesus.  This tolerance is defined as being careful to not offend anyone and allow everyone to believe whatever they want.  Truth is all relative.  Truth is only what you make it. We are all supposed to get along by not allowing any conflict.  We are not supposed to be dogmatic about anything except tolerance.
    What I see in Stephen is that he rejected this kind of mush.  God gave us the Bible with His eternal truth revealed.  It says that there will always be those who reject it.  We are not to go along with the crowd, but stick with divine truth.  There is a difference between being loving to people and compromising truth.
    I need to apply truth in life.  I need to stand for right and eternity even if it is not popular.  I, and all who claim to believe in Jesus, cannot compromise truth.  We need to carefully study the Bible for what it really says.

3.  How can I help someone?
    I can help people see truth.  I can help them see the One who is the Truth, Jesus.  I can help them see the confusion of taking a portion of the Bible and then applying it in a way to defend a lie.  For example, many people have heard of the Golden Rule.  The compromisers make it say that we should allow people to do anything they want because that is how they want to be treated.  That is an abuse of the Bible and not the intent of the teaching. People need to see what the message really was meant to say.  This is true for the whole Bible.