Acts 6:8-12 - Our spiritual battle
Scripture:
Acts 6:8-12
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen.
10 But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
11 Then they secretly induced men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God."
12 And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the Council.
NASU
NASU
Thoughts:
It's stunning how so often in the New Testament this same sequence of events or something close to it, takes place. God's spokesperson speaks to a crowd of wicked people. They are frustrated because they can't win the argument. So, they incite a mob of people to do what they couldn't do -- take the man down! Now, the real issue was that they could not combat what he said, but they resort to violence. It's the classic scenario, "if you don't like the message, shoot the messenger."
This reminds me that enemies of Christ are not held by the same sense of right and wrong that we as Christians are. These men are only concerned about looking right and saving face before people, not about being right before God. No wonder Jesus told us that we needed to be wise as serpents and yet gentle too! Clearly, those with which we are engaging in the battle for people's souls, will have no difficulty resulting to violence if they can get away with it.
Prayer:
Lord, help me not to be naive about the battle that's going on everyday. I shouldn't be surprised when a lost person behaves immorally. After all, if they listened completely to their conscience (assuming it's not been completely corrupted, already), then they would come to know You!
And truly, the battle is not against flesh and blood, meaning other people. The people who persecuted Stephen in this account and the people that I run into in my life, are just puppets in the hands of their master, the devil. Unknowingly most likely, but puppets none the less.
And Lord, thank You that this battle is truly Yours. And You always win, even when the enemy thinks he's won. I need only think of Your victory on Calvary to be reminded of this.
Amen
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