Sunday, June 8, 2008: Good from Evil

Good from Evil
Acts 8: 1 – 8.

I. Introduction.

For the past several weeks we have read the earliest history of the Christian church found in the New Testament book of Acts. We believe the book of Acts is the second and final volume of history written by Luke. His first historical volume was the story of Jesus. This second volume records the story of how the original 12 Apostles received the Holy Spirit and then told the story of their experience with Jesus so that others could have the same experience.

For Luke, this part of the story began when Jesus spent forty days with his Apostles after the resurrection. These men had witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus, so there was no doubt in their minds that Jesus had literally and physically died on the cross. Therefore, the Apostles were a little skeptical at first. Luke tells us that Jesus provided his Apostles with “many convincing proofs” that he was in fact alive.

After forty days with the Apostles, Jesus gathered the group together on the top of a mountain so he could do two things. First, Jesus reminded the Apostles of everything he had previously taught them about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God cannot be contained in geo-political boundaries. Of course all good Jews of the First Century had difficulty understanding this. They thought the Kingdom of God was the same thing as the nation of Israel. They placed all their faith and hope in the conception of a Messiah who would become the military, political and religious leader for the people who lived on the patch of dirt known as Israel. But that is not what Jesus taught them about the Kingdom of God. On one hand, the Kingdom of God is bigger than Israel. It cannot be contained by any geo-political boundaries. It stretches across nations and oceans to include all men and women who place their lives under the sovereign rule of God as their King. On the other hand, the Kingdom of God is smaller than Israel. For the men and women who submit themselves to God as the Lord of their lives, the Kingdom of God exists within each of our hearts.

The second thing Jesus did on the mountaintop was to give his final instructions to his Apostles. In Acts 1: 4, Jesus said, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…” Then, in Acts 1: 8, Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We can paraphrase Jesus’ final instructions to his Apostles like this: “Stay in Jerusalem until you receive the Holy Spirit, then go tell the whole world.”

It is worth noting here that the book of Acts refers to Jesus’ original 12 followers as “Apostles.” That is not the only name for these 12 men. Sometimes, we know them as the 12 disciples. Disciple is the English translation of the Greek word that means “student,” “learner” or “apprentice.” At other times, we know these 12 men as the 12 Apostles. Apostle is the noun form of the Greek word apostelw, which means “to send.” Therefore, we can say that the very essence of their calling or purpose as Apostles is to be sent by Jesus. Sent people cannot stay in one place very long. Sent people must go somewhere…That is, if they are obedient to Jesus’ final instructions.

Until today, we have not witnessed the Apostles’ going anywhere. They have only followed the first half of Jesus’ final instructions. They stayed in Jerusalem and waited on the gift of the Holy Spirit. Once they received the Holy Spirit, they preached the story of Jesus within the city of Jerusalem. But they never ventured beyond the walls of the city. Today, we will watch as the Apostles go out for the first time.

Read Acts 8: 1 – 8.

This is the story about what happened after Stephen was executed for his faith in Jesus. Over the past several chapters, the violence and persecution against the church has escalated.

In Acts 3, Peter and John were arrested for preaching the Gospel in the common area of the Jerusalem Temple. When they were arrested, the police could not use force, because the common people loved what Peter and John were saying. It was only the religious and political authorities who had a problem with the message that Jesus is the promised Christ. After their arrest, the Jewish authorities released Peter and John with a simple warning: “Stop preaching about Jesus, and we will leave you alone.”

In Acts 5, Peter and John were arrested a second time. More and more common people had placed their faith in Jesus as Lord, so the authorities were once again afraid to use force to arrest them. Just like in the previous story, Peter and John stood trial in front of all the religious and political authorities. The authorities wanted to kill them and stop this threat to their power once and for all, but it would not have been popular with the common people. So, Peter and John were beaten with 39 lashes and released.

In Acts 6 – 8, another Christian was arrested. This time it was the Greek speaking Stephen. Stephen faced the same kind of trial Peter and John faced in front of the gathered Sanhedrin. He was falsely accused of blasphemy against God and preaching that the Jerusalem Temple would be destroyed. Peter and John were released with a warning after their first trial and were released with a beating after their second trial. Stephen was killed. There is one significant difference between these two different scenarios: the common people had changed their minds. While the people supported Peter and John, they joined with the religious authorities in condemning Stephen. The Christian church no longer had the support of the common people.
The violence against the church was not the only thing that escalated in this story. The anger of a man named Saul was also escalating. We watch him move from being a passive bystander to an active persecutor of Christians.

In Acts 7: 58, Luke introduced us to Saul: “Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.” We don’t know exactly what role Saul played in Stephen’s death. Was he the guy watching everyone’s coats while they stoned Stephen? Was he the cheerleader, who instigated the violence? Did he play some other significant role in commanding or orchestrating the execution? We don’t really know.

However, Luke intensified his comments about Saul. Acts 8: 1, “And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.” Then, Acts 8: 3, “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.”

More than likely, the phrase “house to house” indicates that Saul made a habit of finding Christian house churches and disturbing their Sunday worship services. When he found a group of Christians worshipping in a house, Saul would break into the house and bring people before the Sanhedrin for a trial similar to the trial Stephen faced. The violence against the church escalated and Saul’s role in that violence intensified. He moved from being present at Stephen’s execution to become the chief persecutor against the Christian church.

After telling us about the death of Stephen, Luke introduces us to another Christian preacher: Philip. Just like Stephen, Philip was not one of the original 12 Apostles. And, just like Stephen, Philip was a second generation Christian who had been converted as a result of the preaching and testimony of the Apostles who had lived with Jesus. Philip was also one of the seven deacons chosen from among the Greek speaking Christians to serve the Greek speaking widows in the church. But, Philip’s ministry obviously entailed more than simply serving meals to the elderly women in the church.

Saul’s intense persecution of the church caused the early Christians to scatter. It was too dangerous for the Christians to remain in Jerusalem. So, Philip traveled into Samaria and began to preach the Gospel to the Samaritans.

This was an interesting move for the early church to make, but Philip was the right man for the job. It was interesting, because up to this point Christianity consisted entirely of Jewish men and women who accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. Even Stephen and Philip were Jews before they became Christians. They were more than likely Jewish proselytes, who had moved from their Greek speaking, Gentile homelands to live in Jerusalem so they could have access to the Temple and the Jewish tradition of festivals.

If Philip had been a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” he would not have wanted to have personal contact with the Samaritans. The Jews considered Samaritans to be an inferior class of people. They were considered racially inferior, because they were a mixture of several different races. They were considered religiously inferior, because they did not recognize Jerusalem as the Holy City.
Saul and the Jewish religious leaders thought that by killing Stephen, arresting Christians out of worship services, placing men and women in prison, and persecuting the church would stop the spread of Christianity. But it didn’t work! In fact, just the opposite happened. Persecution led to dispersion. Dispersion led to the fulfillment of Jesus’ final instructions: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

II. Was Persecution God’s Will?

Since the persecution of the church led to the fulfillment of Jesus’ final instructions, there is a temptation for us to say that it must have been God’s will for Stephen to die and for other Christians to be beaten and placed in prison. But, we have to be very careful at this point. I don’t believe we should say that God is responsible for the suffering of the church or for Stephen’s death.

Read Matthew 6: 9 – 13

I want you to notice two things that Jesus taught us to pray for in verse 10. Pray that the Kingdom of God would come. Pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
We could debate all day about the prayer for the Kingdom to come. But at the very least, most of us would agree that Jesus’ prayer is for the reign of God to break into the earthly realm. In other words, our prayer is to be that God would give us just a taste of heaven while we are still on earth. This includes judgment for the wicked and vindication for the righteous. It means that we should pray for God’s sovereignty to be known right here and right now.

Then, we are to pray for God’s will. Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will on earth to be just like it is in heaven. Now that raises an interesting question. Is there a difference between God’s will on earth and God’s will in heaven?

In heaven, there is no sin. In heaven, there is no fallen creation. In heaven, all the human beings live in the fulfillment of what God created us to be. In heaven, there will be “no tears, no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 21: 4 NIV).”

Yes! There is a difference between God’s will on earth and God’s will in heaven. Heaven is the only place where sinful humanity and a fallen creation have no effect on God’s will.

III. Paradoxes of Christian Theology.

There is an interesting thing about God’s will. This is perhaps the only theological category we hold which does not live in tension. Everything else we believe as Christians is described as an irreconcilable paradox. For example:

What do we believe about Jesus? Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100% man. Now, I wasn’t a math major in college, but it doesn’t take a math major to know that it is impossible for anything or anyone to be 100% of two different things. How can Jesus be fully God and fully man? It is impossible! But I believe it.

What do we believe about the Trinity? God is One, and God is Three. How is it possible for the same person to be One and Three at the same time? It is impossible! But I believe it.

What do we believe about Salvation? The Bible tells us that Salvation is offered to us by Divine Election, AND the Bible tells us that Salvation comes to those who respond in faith. Which one is correct: Election or Human Free Will? Both are correct. How can Divine Election be possible in a world where humans are free to choose? How can humans be free to choose if God chooses us for salvation? It is impossible! But I believe it.

What do we believe about the Kingdom of God? Jesus said the Kingdom of God is here, but Jesus also taught us to pray, “Let your kingdom come.” Is the Kingdom of God a present, earthly reality, or is the Kingdom of God a future place in heaven. It is both. Again, that is impossible! But I believe it.

What do we believe about the character of God? God is Mercy, and God brings Judgment. Mercy AND Judgment. Impossible! But I believe it.

And what do we believe about Scripture? The Bible is the inspired Word of God, but it was written by sinful human beings. Is that even possible? Impossible! But I believe it.

The only way we can reconcile these IMPOSSIBLE paradoxes is through faith. It takes faith to believe that Jesus is God and man at the same time. It takes faith to believe that God is One and Three at the same time. It takes faith to believe that our salvation comes through both election and free will.

God’s will is perhaps the only thing we believe that does not require faith. It’s easy to say that “everything happens as a result of God’s will.” Where is the faith? Where is the tension? Why are we so certain about the will of God?

IV. The Nature of Faith.

I have shared this once before, but I think it fits so well in this topic. Anne Lamott is an author and a Christian. I wouldn’t go so far as to say she is a Christian author, but she does write about her faith. I have read her book Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, and I went to a conference at Baylor where she spoke about expressing faith in art. This summer—I believe it was in June—I found a quote attributed to Anne Lamott that gave no reference to what work it came from. So I got on Google and looked up the complete quote.

The quote comes from salon.com, an online magazine that addresses politics, faith, art and a bunch of other stuff. She wrote an article about the Christian season of Advent. In it she tells a story about experiencing anxiety about taking her son to spend Thanksgiving with family:

…I prayed that I could just keep the faith. The thing is, I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something my Jesuit friend Tom told me—that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, and emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. Faith also means reaching deeply within for the sense one was born with, the sense to go for a walk. (Anne Lamott, “Advent 2003,” on Salon.com [December 5, 2003].)

V. Conclusion.

The problem we have when we talk about God’s will is that we are often too certain. Anything that is certain requires no faith. And if there is no need for faith…There is no need for God.