David Bahn – Reflections

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Acts 6:1-15 [NLT]

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

² So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. ³ And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. ⁴ Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

⁵ Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). ⁶ These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

⁷ So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.

⁸ Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. ⁹ But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. ¹⁰ None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

¹¹ So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” ¹² This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council.

¹³ The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. ¹⁴ We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵ At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.

My first experience within the Church Militant was a challenging one. I had recently graduated from the seminary and begun my pastoral ministry in Utah. The first circuit conference I attended proved to be a rude awakening. One of the pastors actually said, “You can’t equate the Bible with the Word of God.” There may have been a theological nuance there – the Word of God being the second person of the Trinity. But it seemed quite a rude challenge. Fortunately we learned to get along with mutual respect – if not a good bit of caution – toward each other in the coming years. We never doubted one another’s salvation or place in the kingdom of God. But we were not as united in spirit and faith that I would have hoped.

Then came my first experience at a national convention of our church body. A Christianity Today article many years ago described us and Baptists this way: Conservative Lutherans fight over doctrine and drink beer. Conservative Baptists fight over doctrine and don’t drink beer. We do fight over doctrine or at least practice around that doctrine. We are the Church Militant afterall.

The best definition of the Church Militant is, “those Christians on earth who are engaged in a continuous war against evil and the enemies of Christ.” And, make no mistake, we are in a battle. Sometimes, sadly, we wound our own brothers and sisters in the battle.

It’s most sad when brothers and sisters in the faith begin to question or challenge one another’s motives, ideas, or genuineness of of faith. That soon sets one or the other apart from the faith. Those from the Synagogue of the Freed Slaves, however, do just that. And Stephen will stand in the gap for the faith. We know it will cost him his life. His commitment to the truth of the Gospel is commendable.

As long as we are on this side of eternity, we will have to contend with those who wish to silence the truth. Hopefully it will not lead to our martyrdom. I am thankful for the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace that God has allowed me to experience over these past years. And I am thankful for those who uphold the truth of the Gospel for the glory of Christ and the blessing of their neighbors.