Discern True Hope Series

Life Truths from the Chief of Sinners

DISCERN TRUE HOPE Acts 7:54-8:3

Introduction

First message in a series: Life Truths From the Chief of Sinners.

1 Timothy 1:15 NKJV This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

You might wonder why we would want to listen to a sinner who says “I am the worst.” (NIV)

We know much about the life of the man from Tarsus who went on to write more than half of our New Testament.

As we look into Paul’s life, we will be looking for life truths - lessons that will help us to walk closely to Christ.

I don’t know if you would think of yourself as one of the worst sinners, but we do all deal with sin. If we learn anything from any human, we are learning from a sinner.

We first meet the Chief of Sinners in a brutal and deadly scene. Stephen is full of faith, the Holy Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3, 5). Acts 6:7 NRSV "The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith." In this dynamic atmosphere, enemies of Jesus falsely accused Stephen and he is arrested and brought before the council. Acts 6:15 “And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” Stephen began to testify to them about the history of Israel, the stories of Abraham, Moses, Joshua - reminding them that the message was of a coming Messiah - but Israel did not believe. “They killed those who foretold the coming of the

Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.” (Acts 6:52)

Acts 7:54-8:1

Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together[a] at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

In this grim scene we read that those who threw stones laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul … and Luke tells us in 8:1 that “Saul approved of his execution…".

Acts 8:3 "Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison."

This does sound like the chief of sinners, doesn’t it? How did God plan to use such a violent person?

1. Qualities of the Man From Tarsus

He was from a multicultural city. He was a Roman citizen from Tarsus (Turkey). Tarsus could trace its history back two thousand years. World-class generals like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar had recognized its strategic importance. It was a city of culture, politics, philosophy, industry. Among those industries was a thriving textile business, producing material made from goats’ hair, used often to make shelters.

He learned a living trade from his father. We know from other Scriptures that Saul is the son of a Pharisee, a people deeply devoted to the God of Israel. The family business was tentmaking, in which Saul had been apprenticed and which he continued to practice.

He was likely an unusually gifted child. He read biblical Hebrew fluently. He spoke the Aramaic of the Middle East in addition to the Greek, which he spoke and wrote. He probably had at least some Latin.

He was zealous in his devotion to the God of Israel. Most likely in his teens he made his way to Jerusalem. He was trained at the feet of Gamaliel- one of the greatest rabbis of the period. Galatians 1:14 "I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers."

He was familiar with Jesus. “The best guess has him a little younger than Jesus…” (Wright) He was hearing of a Galilean self-styled prophet who was causing a stir. He heard that the prophet was arrested and handed over to the Roman authorities to be killed. But now his followers were claiming that he had been raised from the dead! One of them even claimed to see Jesus standing at God’s right hand! So they crushed him with rocks…and Saul approved. His other followers were scattered out, establishing groups and Saul, in his zeal, knowledge, youth, and strength, set out to try to get rid of them. (Acts 8:3 “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”) William Neal says Saul was convinced “that the survival of Judaism depended on the extermination of these new radicals among the Nazarenes.” (South)