Stephen’s Example of Forgiveness – Acts 7:34-60
Illustration:Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!
Today in the Word, March 1989, p. 8.
How can we learn to forgive as Stephen forgave those who stoned him for preaching Jesus Christ?
Stephen gives one of the greatest examples of forbearance, fortitude and forgiveness in Acts chapter seven.
Full of the Holy Spirit, Stephen exhibited supernatural self-control and said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Even while the men of the Sanhedrin were stoning him, Stephen prayed for them saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Only the power of the Holy Spirit can give a person the ability to forgive in such situations.
Let us learn to help people realize that the Lord knows how to control our fears, anger and self-destructive vengeful feelings with His power of forgiveness.
Trust the Lord to help everyone in your group grow in their ability to forgive all persecutors.
Stephen is a great example of a man who allowed himself to be controlled by the Holy Spirit regardless of the provocative situations he faced. Stephen spoke the truth in love, but was persecuted by so called religious leaders of the Sanhedrin.
Sometimes the people who we think would be most responsive to God’s truth become our worst critics. No doubt, Saul, who later became known as Paul the apostle, used Stephen as an example, for refusing to be overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good.
Only the Lord is able to know the reasons why He allows persecution to come into our life.
However, Paul wrote, “All those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12)
Let us examine this important passage to learn how the will of God often directs us to speak the truth regardless of the ramification it may have on us personally.
Ask the Lord to help you imitate the forgiving attitude of Stephen who knew that God’s purposes are worth dying for regardless of whether people recognize it or not.
What are some of our human reactions to provocation? Hurt, anger, and frustration are usually at the top of the list.
We all need the Holy Spirit’s love, peace, patience and self-control when we are persecuted.
It is significant that Dr. Luke focuses on how the Holy Spirit helped Stephen love his enemies.
The Holy Spirit provides speakers of truth with a gracious attitude in the face of harsh persecution, criticism or rejection.
What do you do and how do you feel when someone throws a rock at you or accuses you of doing something wrong?
What do you think Jesus would do if someone throw a stone at Him?
Why does Jesus want us to turn the other cheek when we are abused?
How did the Holy Spirit helped Stephen love, forgive and pray for those who were stoning him? Let us examine the text.
First, it is impossible to forgive another unless we are empowered by the Holy Spirit’s power.
Jesus Christ is our chief example for one who knew how to forgive those who nailed Him to the cruel cross on Calvary. Stephen learned how to follow the example of Christ who said, while hanging on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
2. Stephen learned how Christ like love enables one to love people who abuse us, scorn us and say all kinds of evil against us. When we speak the truth in love we are apt to be misunderstood and criticized.
By acknowledging the fact that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution we prevent ourselves from being caught off guard when we are persecuted.
Prior preparation tends to prevent poor performance in the face of adversity.
3. Stephen’s demonstration of a forgiving attitude in the face of a hostile attack shows how the Holy Spirit can help us not over react to provocation.
Instead of returning evil for evil, Stephen chose to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
4. He blessed those who persecuted him by the leading of the Spirit’s poise. Meekness does not have to be a sign of weakness.
5. The Holy Spirit gave Stephen the courage to speak the truth when he said, “You stiff necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your Fathers. You resist the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 7:51)
Few people are bold enough to communicate the truth in a prophetic manner, but God directed Stephen to speak the words that many needed to hear.
When people less by fear and more by faith they are liable to be misunderstood by less spiritually mature individuals.
6. The Holy Spirit enabled Stephen to remain encouraged to love even when angry men were seeking to kill him.
Only the Spirit of God can help you replace feelings of anger, hostility and resentment with love, concern and forgiveness. Stephen allowed the Holy Spirit to remain confident that the will of God could even be accomplished through his death.
When a person has completely yielded their rights to the Sovereign Lord, we are not likely to react with animosity to our attackers.
7. Stephen allowed the Spirit of God to guide him to have a greater influence for the kingdom of God with his death than even with his life.
Sometimes, the Lord asks us to go all the way to Calvary for Him. “The Lord’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts.” (Isa. 55:6-9)
Do not doubt God’s ability to carry out all of His purposes for your life regardless of your circumstances, feelings or critics.
8. The Holy Spirit gave Stephen a mature mind to handle the attacks from his enemies.
God’s all sufficient grace is always able to take us through the dark valleys of the shadow of death if we will trust and obey Him. Stephen showed amazing diplomacy in the face of intense assaults with the leading of the Spirit’s calm.
Only the Spirit of God helps us remain full of peace when we are unjustly assaulted. God is able to deliver us from any and all problems according to His perfect will.
9. Stephen saw how God could use his enemies to propel him to greater heights.
Instead of becoming resentful at your enemies allow the Spirit of God to give you vision of where He will promote you.
The Lord is able to give you new perspectives to see things that are invisible to others as you pass through various trials. God’s insights transcend our circumstantial problems.
Here are some questions to ask yourself when you struggle to forgive others:
How the Holy Spirit give you sufficient wisdom, strength and love during times of unjust persecution?
How can you become more like Stephen and less apt to return evil for evil?
Memory Verse – “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
Conclusion: On the Lord’s day a group of missionaries and believers in New Guinea were gathered together to observe the Lord’s Supper. After one young man sat down, a missionary recognized that a sudden tremor had passed through the young man’s body that indicated he was under a great nervous strain. Then in a moment all was quiet again. The missionary whispered, "What was it that troubled you?" "Ah," he said, "But the man who just came in killed and ate the body of my father. And now he has come in to remember the Lord with us. At first I didn’t know whether I could endure it. But it is all right now. He is washed in the same precious blood." And so together they had Communion. It is a marvelous thing, the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Does the world know anything of this?
H.A. Ironside.
Prayer: Ask the Lord to help you to not over react to provocation. Trust the Lord to help you have the same attitude as Jesus and Stephen when they were being unjustly killed for the sake of righteousness.
At Home: Encourage your family members to take more of the attitude of Stephen instead of a vengeful spirit the next time you are incorrectly criticized or take it too personally.
