David Bahn – Reflections

“This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶ This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ ³⁸ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. ³⁹ Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, ⁴⁰ saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ⁴¹ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. ⁴² But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

When my sister and I would visit my grandmother who lived in the country, we would often ask her to tell us a story “about the olden days.” She would always agree to our requests, and we heard about a snake found on the path, a remarkable shot by one of our uncles who got a deer on their property, a dangerous encounter with a troublemaker who lived down the road. She even told us about a night when an unidentified car pulled slowly up her long gravel driveway. She was alone but not to be intimidated. She got her 12 gauge shotgun, pointed it heavenward and let loose with two shots! The car quickly fled the scene and she was never bothered again!

Most of those stories were short – 5 minutes or maybe 10 at the most, and she had a knack for spinning a yarn that would hold our attention. They marked us as children and gave us some important family roots and ties with this larger-than-life woman.

I’m not sure that the people who are hearing Stephen’s story are as rapt with attention as he recounts these events from the Old Testament. There may be a very good reason for that: Stephen is making a pointed point with these. I suspect that they are listening to him and realizing at the same time that he is moving closer and closer to their hardened hearts and will soon challenge them to acknowledge their own duplicity in the more recent events of Israel – specifically those surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Stephen’s point here is showing that Jesus’ ministry and place was right square in the middle of Israel’s current expression of God’s rule and reign. Theirs was faulty to a dramatically destructive degree. Jesus’ life, teaching, confrontations of proud religious leaders, mercy to sinners, and teaching of his disciples was the culmination of all that the Old Testament taught.

Two things are worth noting in Stephen’s message at this point. First, the good old days of Moses and Joshua were not all good. There was sin, punishment, failure, and judgment that the nation had to deal with. Second, it never stopped; Israel never got it right. The implied lesson: They had not gotten it right either. But Jesus had come to bring all things together under the loving, faithful, gracious, redemptive rule and reign of God. This is the kingdom of God: Jesus embodies it.

I’ve been thinking about what it means to “be saved” a good bit recently. There is more to this than these few words, but suffice it to say in the end it is simply to be under the rule and reign of Jesus, by his grace, through faith – the gift of the Holy Spirit. I look forward to developing this, but for now, consider this: As these men and women were listening to Stephen (spoiler alert: Saul of Tarsus is among them), all that would be “necessary” is for them to put themselves in the long line of Hebrew people who have sinned and repent and believe the Good News of Jesus’ salvation, and embodiment of the pure, perfect, eternal, and blessed rule and reign of God.

That call will come, but for now, let us all recognize our place in this story – both the Old Testament stories and these events as Stephen’s death approaches. Admitting that we have no answers as to how to right this listing ship, we simply cling to Jesus, and rejoice that God delights to write us into his story of redemption, salvation, grace, and truth.

“When [Moses] was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ – Acts 7:23-34

When I was in high school I was introduced to a less sanitized version of history. I learned that Thomas Jefferson had slaves and even an affair with at least one of them. George Washington, I was told, had his peccadilloes as well. Look behind every great man, moment, of movement and you will discover a dark secret or two; often even more.

This is certainly not glossed over in the Bible. Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David – to name just a few – had their failures. Some of them were larger than life and gravely harmful to themselves and others. As Stephen retells the story of Israel, and the greatest of all of Old Testament redemption stories (the Exodus), he makes no effort to hide Moses’ sin of murder. It is, in fact, part of the story: leading to 40 years of exile and a desert encounter with the Lord in the burning bush.

God will send this firebrand to redeem Israel. He will return to the very place from which he fled. God is holy, fearful, and faithful to his own. God is not some nebulous cosmic force or unknowable spiritual entity. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He cares about his people’s suffering. He will act.

What tarnish has covered you that would make you believe God cannot redeem you, or even work through you for his purposes? Is it time to take into account his faithfulness and redemptive nature as you are called to be part of his story?

“And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him ¹⁰ and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. ¹¹ Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.¹² But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. ¹³ And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. ¹⁵ And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, ¹⁶ and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷ “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt ¹⁸ until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. ¹⁹ He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. ²⁰ At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, ²¹ and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. ²² And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. – Acts 7:9-22

Early on in ministry, and early on Sunday mornings, I would go into the sanctuary, up into the chancel, and into the pulpit. There I would rehearse my sermon for an audience of whatever church mice or other spectators might have happened onto the scene. If someone else came in, I would stop. Self-conscious and a bit embarrassed, I didn’t want others to hear my preparation. I needed to get used to the space and the sound of my voice, and think through how this sermon thing was going to unfold. Over time I’ve abandoned that practice. I’ll rehearse in my mind, thinking about where I believe God wants me to end up with the message – or better yet, where I believe God want to move his people through his word through me.

As Stephen is rehearsing the story of God’s people, it has nothing to do with figuring out the sound of his voice or getting a feel for the space. Those are all very self-conscious things. In fact, this unrehearsed telling of the story of God’s people from Abraham through Jesus of Nazareth is for all to hear. And it is far from a children’s Sunday school lesson retelling. Not only is there meat on those bones, but there is an effort on God’s part, through Stephen, to bring people along in God’s story of salvation.

Some Christians focus on God’s sovereignty as the centerpiece of all God is and does. While God is sovereign – he rules over all things in heaven and on earth – I believe a more centered understanding of the nature and character of God is his grace and love shown in Jesus and intended to bring us to faith and give us eternal life. I believe the key to the meaning of the universe is found in a phrase in Ephesians 1:6, “to the praise of his glorious grace…in Jesus Christ.”

God is not just ruling the world in his sovereign power (though he is doing that!). God is writing a story of which he wants us to be part. These events of the Old Testament are not just boring flannel-graph events, they are the epic events of a divine drama which had culminated in Jesus’ life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension. They would be consummated at the end of all time when Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead, and raises our bodies to eternal life.

In Hebrew thought the idea of remembering is not a matter of finding data on the hard disk of our lives. Nor is it a matter of bringing the past into the present time. Remembering is putting yourself back into the story and taking your place in it along with those who have gone before. Stephen is inviting the people who are there to do just that: put yourself into the story, see where you belong. Be part of God’s grand story of redemption, life and hope.

Take a run again at these verses (above) of Stephen’s sermon. Where are you in that story? How does that connect with you today? We are often better able to seethe hope of the gospel from a perspective farther back in time than we can see it in the forest of our current plight.

And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” ² And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, ³ and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ ⁴ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. ⁵ Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. ⁶ And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.⁷ ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ ⁸ And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. – Acts 7:1-8

When I was in college, I sang in the college choir. It was a great experience with some really excellent musicians and wonderful music. One of the songs was a bit different: a more modern piece with the words something like this…

When in command, take charge.
When in trouble, delegate
When in doubt, mumble, mumble, mumble…

You might think that Stephen here is altering those words – especially the second line to, “When in trouble, stall…” You might think that’s what he’s up to. He is in the sights of the opponents of the gospel. They want to trap him, silence him, and make an example of his ill-advised insistence to proclaim Jesus’ death as the fault of all sinners, and his resurrection as the hope of forgiveness for all who believe. He won’t stop. But they surely do want to stop him.

So is Stephen stalling here? Is he trying to put off the inevitable? Not likely to my way of thinking. True, he was telling these Jewish people history they already knew. They probably could have had quite a discussion about the Exodus, circumcision, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve patriarchs.

Stephen is making an important point here: This Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth is not an isolated, disconnected, or novel idea. He is laying the groundwork for a powerful challenge and astounding claim: This was God’s plan from eternity. Abraham was the first in a long line of faith-filled servants of God. God’s salvation comes to those who look to him with the eyes of faith.

His speech will go on for a while. Luke’s account spans 52 verses. The works of God from the time of the Exodus to Joshua, David and Solomon. Soon thereafter the hammer comes down. (We’ll consider that tomorrow.) For now it is enough to be reminded that the truth we know has true implications. We cannot long pick and choose which facet of God’s story to believe and apply to our lives. What God has done long ago has eternal consequences. If we should choose to dismiss what we know because we think we’ve heard it all before, we are in danger of discovering that we fit into the story of God in a  way other than that we would wish or suppose.

Perhaps there is a Sunday school lesson that you need to dust off, and read afresh to learn just how God is working in your life today.

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.⁹ Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. ¹¹ Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,¹³ and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, ¹⁴ for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” ¹⁵ And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. – Acts 6:8-15

Some people will surprise you. You expect one thing from them, only to discover that they preform way beyond expectations. She starts in the outside lane only to end up winning the race. He is hired to help out with clerical tasks only to propose a solution that saves the company.

Stephen’s transformation is remarkable in and of itself: from one of the seven deacons who were chosen to care for the widows to one now who is witnessing and confounding the enemies of the gospel. Stephen, it seems, did not stick to caring for the widows. He is now doing great wonders and signs among the people. And when confronted by his detractors, Stephen confounds them. They are unable to silence him or prove him wrong. They had to resort to subterfuge – much like those who accused Jesus himself. The plot is thickening.

Two things do not align as we might think they should. Enemies of the gospel do not give up easily. Even after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, they continue to oppose God. And for a time they will appear to gain the upper hand. Stephen’s witness and ministry is not as you might expect. This “table-waiter” will go on to become not only a Spirit-filled man of signs and wonders, but also the first Christian martyr.

Remember this well: God has a plan in mind that will not be thwarted by threats, enemies of the gospel, or even death itself. This is not merely a matter of God’s sovereignty. It is a matter of his redemptive plan, and an outgrowth of God’s desire that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth of his love and salvation in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will continue to work this out, come threat, persecution, or death.

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. ² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. ³ Therefore, brothers,pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷ And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. – Acts 6:1-7

Several times in my life I’ve had to make a choice. Would I attend seminary in St. Louis MO, or in Springfield, IL? Would I accept a call to Phoenix, AZ or remain at the churches I was serving in Vernal and Roosevelt, Utah? Would I root for the St. Louis Cardinals or the Texas Rangers when they faced off in the World Series? Sometimes you have to make a choice: Springfield, Utah, Rangers (the Rangers have never won a World Series Championship while St. Louis has won 11!).

Sometimes we think that life in the church is a matter of such choices: Contemporary or traditional worship? Reaching the lost or discipling the saved? Caring for the sheep, or seeking the lost sheep? Focusing on the mission or maintaining the traditions. Some people say you have to choose.

A look at this event in the Early Church proves otherwise. They show the clear application of Galatians 6:10, “Let us do good to all people, especially those of the household of faith.” The response of the church leaders to the complaint of the Greek widows was not to say: “Sorry. We can help only one group of people. You’ll have to choose.” Rather, they offered an opportunity for the people to provide care for all the widows so that the widows could be cared for, and the mission of God could go forward. The men they chose were key to caring for the widows and allowing for the mission to move forward unimpeded.

The result was just that: the widows were cared for, and the church grew. Even more significantly, now a number of priests became obedient to the faith. This is a truly remarkable moment. The message of Jesus was finally being embraced by the very ones who should have been first to believe!

Sometimes we do have to make choices. When it comes to caring for the saved and seeking and saving the lost we must do both. Having said that, however, it would be good to remember that those outside the church – the ones who need Jesus’ salvation, who need to be sought and saved – have few advocates inside the church. There are many who will speak for the members (mostly the members themselves!). As we care for one another within the church, our ears need to be tuned to listen for the voices outside who also may have needs which God has equipped his people to provide.

Jesus himself came to seek and save the lost – thanks be to God, for that includes you and me!

When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. ³⁴ But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.³⁵ And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. ³⁶ For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. ³⁷ After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. ³⁸ So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; ³⁹ but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, ⁴⁰ and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹ Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. ⁴² And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. – Acts 5:33-42

Three dynamics combine in these few verses to support the continued spread of the gospel on this occasion. The first is the dedication of Jesus’ followers – even in the face of fierce opposition, threat of death, and physical violence, all of which were designed to put a stop to their preaching. While there are times when opposition and threat will impede the message of the gospel. But sometimes God uses such opposition to embolden his witnesses. Such was the case here.

Then comes the wise counsel of Gamaliel. Past performance is never a guarantee of future returns. But past experience ought to teach us something. And in the case of failed movements of the past, Gamaliel’s advise is right: if this is from man, it will fail. If it is of God, it ought not be opposed – unless you want to oppose God himself.

His counsel is remarkable in that he opens the door to the possibility that Peter and the others are actually serving the cause of God. He is allowing the possibility that Jesus actually did rise from the dead, and that he is the Savior, the Christ of God. Such an allowance opens up a channel for the Holy Spirit’s work – even in the hearts of those who are opposed to the message of Jesus.

Add to all that the influence of the Holy Spirit who inspires these witnesses to rejoice that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of Jesus’ name. This attitude is not from man. It will not go away. It is from God and will sustain these followers of Jesus through their ministry.

So much of this applies to the specific situation and challenges Peter and the others were facing at this time. But perhaps we can take note of these lessons and seek in every way possible to align ourselves with God’s purposes, and plans. His plans are most often discovered only in retrospect. But his purposes are clear: the bring the Good News of Jesus to all people everywhere, with the call for us all to repent and believe in Christ who is Jesus.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸ saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” – Acts 5:27-32

A  couple of years ago I was invited to pray at the beginning of the Harris County Commissioners Court. I was given few guidelines and allowed to offer my prayer as I saw fit. Before going, however, I very politely informed the person through the request had come that I would be praying in the name of Jesus. “I hope that’s OK,” I said. Her reply was refreshing and encouraging: “It certainly it. I’m glad to hear that.”

When the time came, I offered the prayer as seemed appropriate, and ended by saying, “This I ask in Jesus’ name.” I didn’t presume to say, “we ask in Jesus’ name,” though I’m certain that others there would likely agree to invoking Jesus’ name.

Sadly, however, such political incorrectness is not welcome everywhere. A colleague was invited to pray for a Boy Scouts of America event, and was told he could not invoke Jesus’ name. US military chaplains are being challenged in their public performance – outside of regular church services – to refrain from calling on Jesus’ name.

It’s not necessarily true that such prohibitions pit us in a must obey God rather than man situation. We can in good conscience decline any invitation that would limit our freedom to call on Jesus’ name. But any time we are told we cannot pray in Jesus’ name is for me a “we must obey God rather than man” moment if we have been invited to pray.

Of course the issues are bigger than that; it’s not just a matter of prayer. What of holding to traditional understandings of marriage, sexuality, decency, or morality? What of those times when we are invited or even tempted to go along with the crowd on a path of sin and ungodliness? Gossip. Sexual immorality. Embezzlement. All these offer opportunities to obey the whims of man rather than follow the ways of God.

This is not just a matter of obedience, or doing the right thing. It is an outgrowth of what God has done for us in Jesus. As Peter tells us: Jesus has been raised from the dead, exalted to God’s right hand, and offers the opportunity for us to repent and be forgiven of our sins. He has given us the Holy Spirit so that we may follow Jesus’ ways and not give in to the temptations of man.

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy ¹⁸ they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” ²¹ And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. ²² But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, ²³ “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” ²⁴ Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. ²⁵ And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶ Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. – Acts 5:17-26

You know you’re making an impact when people try to silence you. If you’re sounding the alarm at work and people are trying to shush you up, you can be sure that there is something alarming going on. When you are trying to make an unpopular point and people loudly dismiss you, it might be that your point is hitting closer to home than you had thought. Perhaps that is what was going on at Notre Dame earlier this week when a number of students walked out on Vice President Mike Pence as he began his commencement speech.

Certainly the attempts of the Jewish leaders to silence Peter and the other disciples indicate that they were making quite an impact in their teaching, miracles, and by preaching the resurrection of Jesus.

They will not, however, be stopped. These men were powerfully-touched and shaped by ministry with Jesus for three years. They were deeply-impacted by Jesus’ death on the cross, and delightfully-relieved by Jesus’ resurrection from the grave. They had been commissioned by the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth, and empowered by the work and presence of the Holy Spirit. They were not going to give up. They were wholly given to the mission of God and would not demure.

I’m wondering if there are things to which I am similarly committed. Politics? I have my thoughts and ideals, but am not willing to be all in on any particular political party or philosophy. I don’t have a hobby horse to ride or a windmill at which I feel compelled to tilt. But the message of God’s love in Jesus Christ is something to which I am fully committed. I hope I never have to be freed from jail by an angel in the middle of the night. I hope I am never warned not to speak in Jesus’ name. But should it come to that, I pray that I would have the same boldness that the disciples show on this and many other occasions. Because of their boldness the Word of the Lord has grown and continues to change lives and save souls.

After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.⁸ And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” ⁹ But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰ Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. – Acts 5:7-11

I do not have “NO FEAR” tee shirts. I don’t proclaim that I have no fears. But to be honest, I don’t make my fears as well known as perhaps I should. Perhaps I should let people know that I fear God, and want to avoid his displeasure or discipline. This is true even though I know my sins have been forgiven, that God loves me unconditionally, and that nothing I have done or will do will change that.

I am secure in my faith. But sometimes security in faith becomes nonchalance in life. We act so cool – as though we are ever unfazed by even the most tumultuous turn of events. “Never let them see you sweat” is a byword for many today.

This is likely because we know that evil people will take advantage of weak and fearful people. Those who desire to dominate, harm, or take advance of us are quick to smell the fear in the air, and like sharks sensing blood in the water they are quick to hone in on those who let their fears be known.

Except when it comes to the fear of God. If someone truly fears God he is strong and – to a great degree – invulnerable. She who fears God in the face of efforts of a co-worker to coerce her into unethical or illegal activity has a great strength. When it comes to the fear of God; fear is not only a good thing. It is a thing of power, clarity, and peace.

Sapphira had no such fear of God. She feared her husband’s disapproval. She feared not having enough money. She feared not being seen as one of the more generous members of the church. But she did not fear God. When it came time to confront the truth she turned aside. Rather than fearing God she feared getting caught in her deception. So she payed God, seeking to create a world that did not exist by using words that were not true.

When she had paid the ultimate price, people’s hearts were brought to fear. Perhaps we need to take hold of that same fear of God, holding to his ways, seeking his honor, and embracing his truth each day.

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” says Hebrews 10:31. But it is a good place to fall. A place of ultimate rescue, grace, and salvation. Honing our hearts to fear, love and trust in God above all things we become more and more like Jesus who did that perfectly. He is our righteousness, hope and salvation.