Living in Faith

March 24, 2024 Background Scripture: Acts 6 Lesson Passage: Acts 6:7 - 15 Growth is often accompanied by unforeseen challenges. Oftentimes it has been stated, "If only I knew from the start what I know now, I might have stayed where I was at." Growth can be wonderful, but it has its challenges! Chapter six of the Book of Acts twice describes the Jerusalem congregation of Christians as multiplying. It is fitting that the first real challenge for the congregation came from within. All the original Christian disciples were converts from Judaism. Among which were residents of Palestine and residents of the Grecian nations. Diversity also kindles challenges within a group. When the Hellenists (Grecian Jews) began to complain about the Palestinians, the apostles stepped in to resolve the dispute. The problem involved using the congregation's treasury to take care of the needs of the members. The apostles' solution was to identify Grecian Jews to take responsibility to oversee the physical needs of the entire congregation. This can be seen by noting the Grecian names of the seven men chosen by the congregation for this work. One of the seven, Stephen, quickly outgrew his assignment. The remainder of the chapter is about Stephen's evangelistic ministry. God used him to work miracles in the presence of others. Adherents of the Law confronted Stephen to prevent his ministry from prospering. Stephen was treated in much the same way the religious leaders of the Jews had treated Jesus during His ministry. First, they confronted him with religious arguments. When that didn't stop him, they encouraged others to tell lies about his ministry. The lies were enough to get Stephen arrested by the Jewish authority. However, Stephen's appearance before the Jewish council reflected the aura of a righteous person. Bear in mind that Stephen did nothing wrong—certainly nothing that would have warranted his arrest and trial! This all happened because Stephen was a man of good reputation who was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. These qualifications were given at the beginning of the chapter and used by the congregation to identify Stephen and the other six men. His persecution came because he chose to live as a person of faith. Living the faith of Jesus Christ causes a person's light to shine. The forces of darkness strive to eliminate light by using persecution. Much has changed in the approximately two millennia since the days of Stephen and the first Christian congregation. What does it mean to live in faith today? The phrase "living in faith" is seen very differently today. Rarely are righteous people persecuted for their righteousness today. We are more likely to think about "name it and claim it" as living by faith than we are to think of persecution. Christians are more likely today to be harassed by other Christians concerning their church attendance than to be persecuted by other religious faiths for their evangelism, Today, we are free to advertise publicly who we are without fear of retribution or persecution. Christians who made their religious faith known in the first century did so to their own peril. Today, we are free to advertise and recruit others to join us, and yet we don't feel compelled to do so. The Jerusalem congregation clearly expected Jesus to return in their lifetime. As a result, they followed Jesus' teaching to make disciples even in the face of danger. To them, it was a divine mandate. After two millennia, Jesus has not returned, and the local church sees weekly attendance as more a mandate than making disciples. Weekly attendance does not threaten the forces of darkness. If making disciples for Christ were seen as a divine mandate by the local church today, then living in faith would likely cause persecution. What does "living in faith" mean to you today? Robert C. Hudson March 18, 2024