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.

I love Martin Luther’s explanation to the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come.” He asks, What does this mean? Then he answers: The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.

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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.

They’re not my favorite people, but they made a Pizza Hut commercial years ago that I still remember. Deion Sanders and Jerry Jones are talking, after a few baseball-football, offence-defence questions, comes the Pizza Hut, “Meat Lovers or Stuffed Crust pizza?” The answer is both. Then Jerry asks, “What do you say, Deion? Will it be $15 million or $20 million? (Deion had just signed a $35 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys). “How about both?” Deion says. Jerry asks, “Both?” Deion answers, “Both.”

Some people want to be so spiritually-minded that they become no earthly good. They want to focus on prayer, mercy, grace, heaven, and the life of the world to come apart from applying the Gospel message to their everyday lives. They disassociate life on earth from life in heaven. They are spiritually-minded and earthly thoughtless.

That is not the way of God. When the issue of the distribution of the food to the widows comes before the apostles, they don’t say, “That’s none of our business. That’s not a matter for the church.” They realize they must attend to this concern. The care of widows and orphans is of the essence of true religion (cf. James 1:27). But neither do they abandon the mission of God to preach the gospel to all the world. They are to be witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, redemption, and kingdom call to the ends of the earth.

When Jesus began his ministry, he announced, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15) The kingdom of God is not just a pie-in-the-sky experience. It’s an eternal reign and rule of Jesus in the hearts of believers that begins at the moment of conversion and never ends. The culmination of all that will be the new heaven and the new earth in which every sin, sickness, sorrow, or influence of Satan will be totally erased. It will be glorious.

We properly speak about the life of the world to come. It will be truly glorious where we will have glorified resurrected bodies and enjoy the perfect paradise of God, the garden of true godly pleasures. We look forward to that, truly. But we still live here for a purpose. We must not ignore the needs of others, hiding behind a thin veil of spirituality. God cares about our needs now and throughout all eternity. We must remain heavenly minded while we do all we can on earth to serve our neighbor. We must do both.

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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.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

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.

According to Wikipedia, “The World Council of Churches is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism.” Today’s World podcast had a segment on the WCC on this, their 75th anniversary year. [Note: I highly recommend this podcast for a biblically-based worldview version of NPR’s All Things Considered.] They quote the World Council of Churches General Secretary: “We are a Council of Churches, not the Council of the one undivided Church. Our name indicates our weakness and our shame before God, for there can be and there is finally only one Church of Christ on earth.”

They end the segment with this telling comment:

The WCC has come under fire from many of the world’s largest evangelical denominations for leaving the true faith as expressed in its founding documents that reminded its members of Ephesians 4: that God Himself gives the church gifts for the equipping of the saints and the edifying of the body of Christ. Declaring that the unity of the faith only comes through the knowledge of the Son of God.

We might imagine that the Early Church didn’t have these kinds of squabbles, theological, or doctrinal issues. But it would be true only in our imagination. Even among those who claimed Jesus as their messiah there were challenges to the true faith – the Party of the Circumcision being the most notable. But there were also gnostics, as well as other groups and individuals who were in error and had to be corrected.

We see that clearly here in Acts 6. Issues of fairness and even-handed favor between Jewish and Greek believers threatened to divide the church. It would also divide the Apostles’ attention or distract them completely from the Mission of God. But Luke helps us to understand the true focus needed for God’s people then. This section of the account of God’s work through the Holy Spirit in the Early Church begins with a reminder. The believers were rapidly multiplying in numbers. The message of Jesus was being spread from Jerusalem, into Judea and Samaria, and soon it will spread to the ends of the earth.

And with that will come conflict, challenge, misunderstanding, and struggle. We all wish it were not so. It would be so good if we could all just get along. But until Jesus returns we will be a part of the church militant. We will struggle throughout our days. And we will need the Holy Spirit’s succor to sustain us in faith, hope, and love. May it be so!

Please pray these psalms with me on this Lord’s Day

Psalm 20:1-5

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
    May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
² May he send you help from the sanctuary
    and give you support from Zion!
³ May he remember all your offerings
    and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

⁴ May he grant you your heart’s desire
    and fulfill all your plans!
⁵ May we shout for joy over your salvation,
    and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

Psalm 50:12-15

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    for the world and its fullness are mine.
¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
¹⁴ Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
    and perform your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Psalm 80:1-3

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
²     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
    and come to save us!

³ Restore us, O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Psalm 110:1-4 [This is a Messianic Psalm]

The Lord says to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”

² The Lord sends forth from Zion
    your mighty scepter.
    Rule in the midst of your enemies!
³ Your people will offer themselves freely
    on the day of your power,
    in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
    the dew of your youth will be yours.
⁴ The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

Psalm 140

Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
    preserve me from violent men,
² who plan evil things in their heart
    and stir up wars continually.
³ They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

⁴ Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵ The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net;
    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

⁶ I say to the Lord, You are my God;
    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
⁷ O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸ Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

⁹ As for the head of those who surround me,
    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰ Let burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹ Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

¹² I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
    and will execute justice for the needy.
¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    the upright shall dwell in your presence.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016.
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

In the late 1960s Andy Warhol famously said: “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” Someone recently observed – in regard to that idea – “Who would have ever thought, more than 50 years later, the idea would be absurd… since no one has the attention span to focus on anything for 15 minutes?!” I’ll one up that comment: With 7 billion people inhabiting the world, there are many unknown folks who will never be noticed, never have even 15 seconds of fame.

Gamaliel, Pontius Pilate, Nicodemos, Caiaphas, Caesar Augustus, Herod, and King Agrippa each had their moments. They even intersect Jesus’ life and ministry. But each of some of these men are foils for the larger story of Jesus. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Salome had their moments of. We could make a long list of other people throughout history who had their moments of fame and glory.

But only one is the focus of all of history. Only one has split the calendar into BC and AD. Only one died for the sins of the world and rose again for our justification. Jesus is that one. He is the Messiah. He is the only one worthy of our worship. He is the only one we must remember in the end.

I like to say that I know 12 people. It’s obviously an overstatement. But I don’t keep up with many actors, musicians, celebrities, or sports figures. The other day I had to ask Diane about an actor, “It’s Matt Damon,” she reminded me. I can learn the name of a new person and forget it 15 seconds later. But I’ll not forget Jesus. He is eternally famous, and outshines every other star of the universe. No one else holds a candle to him.

As I serve churches, helping them call new pastors, I often use the line, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” It gets a chuckle – which is the intent. But although I’m not from the government, I am a representative of the Texas District of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. And I do have some helpful information and insights to share. Sometimes I even have advice to offer. I try to make it clear that I am there to help them, and that I may have some wisdom and insight that they would find helpful.

Most often they gladly listen and follow the advice I offer. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes church leaders think they know better and chart their own course. Some completely bypass any help from me or any other District staff. Others listen politely and simply ignore the advice. Still others take a more incremental and cautious approach.

When Gamaliel offers his advice to the Jewish leaders it is partially followed. That is true even though Luke tells us that they “took his advice.” But then, “they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.” Gamaliel’s counsel was to “keep away from these men and let them alone.” Beating them hardly seems to be keeping away from them. They apparently felt they had to do something to show how large and in charge they were.

Only they weren’t large or in charge in the face of God. Gamaliel had it right: “If this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” They didn’t believe their actions were actually opposing God.

There are likely too many places in our lives where we are much like the Jewish leaders. We take the advice of godly and mature believers advisedly. We pick and choose what of God’s word we will obey and believe. We go part way down the path of discipleship. But we keep our eye on the escape routes along the way.

Better we should listen to all God has said, align our lives with his laws and ways, and seek his mercy and forgiveness when we fail. We have been redeemed. That should mean something when it comes to obeying the One who has redeemed us.

Her full name was Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. She had a powerful presence. When she walked into the room people noticed. It wasn’t her appearance as much as it was her state of being. She was famous, but diminutive. She spoke quietly, but directly. And people could not dismiss her when she spoke. She didn’t just talk the talk. She lived her faith. You likely knew her as Mother Teresa.

The Jewish leaders were almost entirely the opposite in their demeanor and appearance. They wore long robes with long tassels. Here’s Jesus’ description and warning about these people:

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. ⁶ And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. ⁷ They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ – Matthew 25:5-7

But their power is limited to intimidation and threat. They have no real power. In fact when it came time to get rid of Jesus all they could do was to convince Pilate and the crowds to execute Jesus. They couldn’t do it themselves.

They are displaying the true signs of weakness. There is a godly weakness, the kind that Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 12, “When I am weak then I am strong.” Theirs was not that kind of weakness. It was the kind that must disguise itself with hubris, arrogance, threat, and show.

I have felt weak at times. I’ve not known what to say in the face of a direct challenge to the faith or a brazen flaunting of God’s ways and commands. I’ve failed to resist temptation and given in to peer pressure when I should not. I’ve struggled to keep faith and trust God fully. These things drive me to the cross of Jesus, and an ever-growing sense of my need for God’s mercy and grace.

But weakness that hides behind bluster and brashness keeps us far from God. And though the bluster and manipulation may work for a while, it will not prevail. God’s true power is readily embraced by those who know and admit that they’re weak. But those who hide their weaknesses behind facades of bravado will experience God’s power when he brings them down from their self-made thrones.

The saddest verse in the Bible is not, “Jesus wept.” It is Judges 2:10, “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.” There are times I fear that is the case today. Every study I see replicates this same conclusion: the coming generation is leaving the church (and many the faith) at record numbers. Fewer and fewer people are finding their way into the church these days. It is an alarming reality.

It is also a clouded view of reality. I don’t mean to gloss over the alarming decline in the numbers of people not connected to the church these days. But it is not this way everywhere. The Christian church in Africa and South Asia is growing at remarkable rates. There are thousands of 7000 who have not bowed their knees to Baal.

Our vision is clouded because of our affluence and likely also because our faith has been largely a faith never tested. We have not faced persecution or resistance as did the Early Church believers. Tertullian famously said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” By that he meant that when people give up their lives rather than abandon their faith, or even more pointedly rather than cease witnessing to Jesus, they plant seeds of conviction. People begin to conclude, this Christian faith, this message of Jesus must be true and important if people are willing to die for it.

Consider the opposite actions and their attendant conclusions. When people force their convictions on others, and put others to death in their zeal for their cause it may frighten people into compliance. But it does not engender true faith. The Christian faith is not built on coercion, guilt, threat, or demand.

The apostles threaten no one, and are willing to face severe consequences for continuing to witness to Jesus’ death and resurrection. And in the words of Luke, “the Word of the Lord grew” (Acts 19:20). Years ago televangelist Pat Robertson formed the 700 club. It was a select group of 700 people who pledged $10 per month to support his program. Today I’m inviting people to join the 7000+ club, not with pledges to donate money, but with a resolute faith in God’s promises and desire to do whatever we may do to see to it that the next generation does not grow up knowing nothing of what God has done in Jesus of Nazareth. I wonder what it will take to see that happen. 3

We’ve come to the end of a vacation in Europe, and I’ve noticed something during our travels. There are people with various markings everywhere we look. Whether it’s tattoos, burqas, Louis Vuitton bags, or New York Yankees ball caps, everywhere we turn we see signs of various affiliations, loyalties, and convictions. More distressing even than the many burqas, hijabs, and Janeus is the presence of so many many people on our(!) Sunday morning trip to the Frankfurt Zoo. There were people everywhere. Not in church. Europe offers only a faint echo of its former religious past.

Thankfully there are also signs of Christian convictions. We saw several people wearing crosses. And surely if someone has three crosses tattooed on his neck it must mean something. Just now there is a woman reading her Bible sitting across from me in the waiting area. And we saw several Roman Catholic sisters and a few priests as well. That’s a good reminder that God does preserve his church. There surely are many more than 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal (cf. 1 Kings 19:18).

But I’ve been wondering what is the clearest marking of a follower of Jesus Christ. It certainly is not success. Success is neither a mark of faithfulness or a lack of it. It may not necessarily be a nun’s habit, or a priest’s collar; although that is a good clue to be sure. The fruit of the Holy Spirit certainly marks one as a follower of Jesus. And this may or may not be be outwardly obvious to many.

A constant faithful and unwavering faith in Jesus is the clearest sign and marking of a follower of Jesus; even in the face of trouble and opposition. Most of us don’t have to face such direct attacks as did the early disciples and apostles. Perhaps, then, our biggest challenge to remaining faithful is the kind of affluence that affords us grand travel opportunities, or constant weekend distractions. We managed to worship in our small group of travelers and our families while we were away from our regular church home. I notice from this text that the apostles continued to teach and preach in the temple where people were gathering each day to honor and worship God. Seems that too is a mark of being a Jesus follower. I you will join your brothers and sisters in Christ this Sunday to worship and honor him, and to encourage others in their walk of faith.