Rob Morgan - The Paradox Of The Christian
The Paradox Of The Christian
A Pocket Paper
from
The Donelson Fellowship
______________
Robert J. Morgan
July 9, 2000
During these summer Sunday mornings, we have been studying the life of a man in the Bible named Stephen who rose to the forefront of Scripture in the sixth chapter of Acts. The church had grown so quickly that it wasn’t adequately caring for some of the elderly widows, and a round of complaining had broken out. The Apostles gathered everyone and said, "It isn’t right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word in order to distribute food. Choose seven men, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and let’s put them in charge of food services." So the church chose Stephen, Philip, and five others.
But Stephen quickly advanced in the ministry, and he was soon preaching the Word with the same intensity and effectiveness as the Apostles themselves. He particularly appealed to repatriated Jews in the synagogues, and his preaching stirred up a storm, for his message that Jesus was the Messiah was not well-received by some. Stephen was seized, dragged before the Jewish Ruling Council (the Sanhedrin), and there he was accused of blasphemy against Judaism. In reply, Stephen preached a lengthy sermon before the Jewish elders. It is recorded in Acts 7, and in it he reviewed the history of Israel, pointing out how the people in Old Testament times had repeatedly rejected the deliverers and prophets God had sent. Stephen ended his message with these words:
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him--you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
A paradox is an apparent self-contradiction that proves true after all. And that, it seems to me, is a good definition of a Christian. Jesus once said that we’re like the wind. No one knows quite where we’re coming from, and no one knows exactly where we’re going. We move through this world like a mystery, and the world doesn’t always know what to do with us.
When you look at Stephen, you see a series of paradoxes that helps us understand the mystery of the Christian life.
Gracious But Assertive
In Acts 6:8, Stephen is described as a person full of grace. As we’ve already seen, he was a gracious man. He had a concern for people that led to his being chosen to minister to the widows. He had a burden for souls that led to his preaching in the synagogues. When attacked by a stone-bearing mob, he willingly forgave his persecutors. And yet he was in their face, calling them stiff-necked and uncircumcised. This is one of the bluntest and boldest sermons you’ll ever read. "You are just like your fathers," Stephen thundered. "You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?"
We can learn from this that mature Christians are a strange mixture of mercy and moxie. They are both tough and tender. They are humble, but never intimidated. They are full of grace, but sometimes in your face.
The world doesn’t know what to do with people like that.
Stoned, But Enthroned
But there’s another paradox here. Stephen was stoned, but enthroned. He was rejected by the Jews, but received by the King of the Jews. Look again at verse 54ff: When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
This is the only time we see Jesus standing at His heavenly throne. We’re told that when Christ ascended back to heaven following His resurrection, He took His seat on the throne at His Father’s right side. But here our Lord stands up, as if peering over the banister of heaven, ready to receive the soul of His first martyred saint. And at the very time Stephen is being stoned by the Jews, he is being enthroned by the King of the Jews.
I had a friend, a roommate in college, who went home for Christmas break on the bus. He was dirt poor and only had money for his bus ticket. He didn’t even have much money for snacks along the way. But in the washroom of the bus station, two men pulled a gun on him, demanding his money. He almost laughed at them. "Boy, did you pick the wrong person," he said. "I don’t have a dime." They threatened to shoot him, and he said, "Go ahead. You’ll just send me straight to heaven." They didn’t know what to do with him, so they turned and fled.
What do you do with people like that?
Grief, But Glory
We also see the paradox here of grief, but glory. Look at verse 59: While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
There are several things to notice about those words. First, they echo two of the seven last words of Christ Himself, but with a difference. On the cross, Jesus asked His Father to receive His spirit. Luke 23:46 says: "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit." But Stephen asks Jesus to receive His spirit." This indicates that Jesus is God the Son who represents us to the Father, and we come to the Father through Him. Then Stephen, like Jesus, prayed for his executioners to be forgiven.
And having offered those two prayers, he fell asleep. That is, he died. Why does the Bible sometimes use the term "falling asleep" to describe death? Well, as we said a few weeks ago, when we die our soul or spirit goes immediately to be with Jesus. It remains awake and aware of things and alert. But our bodies sleep until the resurrection day when they will be awakened, clothed with glory, and reunited with our souls.
For us, the whole thing is tinged with glory. When my mother died a few weeks ago, I thought of the verse that says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I tried to picture her in heaven, being received by the Lord Jesus, being reunited with my father, with her brothers and sisters, with her family and friends who have gone on before. The old hymn that puts it well:
When all of my labors and trials are o’er
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,
Just to be near the sweet Lord I adore
Will through the ages be glory for me.
But now look at Acts 8:2: Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. There is a strange amalgamation of grief and glory. There is sorrow, yet rejoicing. That is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian life. But when you see a mature Christian, you see someone who is gracious, but assertive. Stoned, but enthroned. Sometimes grieving, but full of glory.
Tragedy, But Strategy
Finally, we see in this story of Stephen a strange combination of tragedy and strategy. Look at the way chapter 8 opens: On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem.
The tension had been building for weeks and months, and Stephen’s blunt sermon before the Sanhedrin, and his assertive, unflinching words, became the catalyst that triggered the first wave of persecution in Christian history. The Jewish officials determined to wipe out Christianity, and a great persecution broke out against the church…
…and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Now, that may sound like a tragedy, but maybe not. Maybe it is a strategy. Do you remember Acts 1:8? Jesus told the disciples, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria….
Here the Christians, who have been evangelizing Jerusalem, are scattered by persecution throughout Judea and Samaria. Verse 4 adds: Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. And verse 4, as it continues, introduces us to Philip, one of Stephen’s colleagues, who became the first cross-cultural missionary in history, going not only to Samaria, but becoming a link in the evangelization of Africa and to the Gentiles in other parts of the world.
This is what we call Providence. This is what we call The Sovereignty of God. God rules and He overrules. He works all things together for good. He orchestrates and intervenes. He checkmates the devil at every turn. What appears to be tragedy in our eyes may be strategy in His.
For example, it is very, very difficult to get the Gospel into some of the hardcore Islamic nations of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is among the worst. The holiest sites of Islam are in Saudi Arabia, and they are extremely closed to the Gospel. There are reports of Saudis becoming Christians, but they must go to extreme lengths to keep their meetings secret. There is a special branch of the police that tracks down every rumor of religious conversion.
But I was reading just the other day something that happened last year in connection with the terrible shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth. You may remember that there was a rally there for students connected with "See You At The Pole." A gunman entered the building and began firing, and several people were killed. Among them was a lovely young lady named Kim Jones who was a dedicated Christian. Her slogan in life was "Whatever He wants." She had a radiant smile and was very involved in the ministry of Christ.
Kim’s father, Stan, is an executive with an oil company named Aramco, the Arab-American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia. Because of that, Saudi Arabia allowed CNN to broadcast Kim’s funeral live throughout their nation, and in that funeral service, the Gospel was preached. Not only that, but Kim’s mother, Stephanie, was interviewed and she gave a bold witness for Christ.
The devil thought he had shut up a Christian witness, but instead he succeeded in having the Gospel broadcast throughout one of the most closed nations in the world. Who knows how many Saudi’s Kim won to Christ by her death.
What seems like human tragedy is very often divine strategy. This week I was reading in Ephesians, and I came across this verse: In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan by him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.
Notice those four words: He works out everything. It’s similar to Romans 8:28--All things work together for good." He works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.
Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China and Thailand, once wrote a book called In the Arena. She said that the difficulties and tragedies in life are really platforms for our message, arenas in which the grace and gospel of Jesus Christ are revealed.
Just think of what a ministry Corrie ten Boom had because of her experiences in the Nazi Death Camps. Think of what a ministry Joni Eareckson Tada has had due to her diving accident and resulting paralysis. Think of what influence Charles Colson has had for Christ in our country due to his being convicted of crimes connected with the Watergate Scandal and sent to prison where he was converted to Jesus Christ.
Jesus works everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.
Paul told the Philippians that the things that had happened to him--his arrest and imprisonment--had served rather to advance the Gospel of Christ, and that’s the way it is for Christians.
Missionary Fred Hersey once told me about a man that his wife Evelyn had tried to win to the Lord. The man wasn’t interested. And then Evelyn developed cancer, and as she was dying of cancer here in the States, she called the man. Shortly after her death, he became a Christian. It had been the radiance and love she had shown in her suffering and difficulty that had moved him to receive Christ.
So think of yourself as a paradox, a mystery--someone who combines mercy with moxie, grief with glory, who may be stoned only to be enthroned, and in whose life human tragedy is swallowed up by divine strategy. Let the difficulties of life become arenas for your witness. Turn every problem into a pulpit, every trial into a testimony.
Just like Stephen, we are here on assignment. We can stand on the promises without losing our footing. The stones may fly, but God has a way of using them to build His church.