New Road Church Unknown

This is the first in a four-part series about four reforming kings of Judah. The first is Asa, and his heart was said to be wholly towards God. Why he serves as a good example for us to look to is because of his failings. He was still accepted by the Lord, but he went astray, and we can use this to take care of our own walk in Christ.

Big changes were taking place. The age-old project the Lord had undertaken with the Hebrew people was coming to a close.--A great contrast is presented here, with the recent story of the noble persecuted being followed by the great persecutor, Saul himself. Gamaliel had been partly right- after the death of their master, the Christians had indeed been scattered. However, the persecution drove the believers to the very regions which Jesus told his disciples, i.e. Judea and Samaria. This was nothing less than an milestone in creating a worldwide church with one Lord and one Spirit.--Simon, the great sorcerer, was held in such high regard that, according to Justin Martyr, they erected a statue of him on the banks of the Tiber. He was held to be a high god. Yet he soon discovered the real power in this world- the Lord Jesus Christ.--We use his apparent conversion to consider two types of positive response to the gospel. We start with a true conversion to Christ, with belief in the gospel and its subject, and repentance. The credibility of the profession is enhanced by a baptism and a following of the leaders in the church. All this seemed to be present in Simon's conversion experience.--However, we can see what happened next as undermining that credibility in his case. He no doubt thought he could enhance his great reputation even more by being granted this great gift of giving the Spirit, and he therefore tried to buy it from the apostles. He was rebuked in no uncertain terms. Yet prayer was enjoined on him, as there was potentially forgiveness available. It reminds us that even believers rest in the same forgiveness which the repentant sinner seeks in his true conversion.

Having taken on Stephen in debate, the Jewish religionists realise they cannot take the theological high-ground. Instead, they resort to breaking their own law even further by stirring up hatred via the mob and recruiting false witnesses.--Stephen gives a potted history of Israel. By this, he shows his credentials as a Jew. However, towards its end he turns the story into a polemic against his audience, accusing them of killing their Messiah and those who predicted his coming- the prophets. He further tells them that they are breakers of the Mosaic Law.--His exclamation that he was seeing a vision of the Son at God's right hand was too much, and the crowd drags him away to kill him.--We can view the cause of his murder as a clash between his godly attributes and their wicked ones. We notice too the parallels between Stephen's death and that of Jesus. Finally, the definition of -martyr- is explored, and it is discovered that all God's people are to -martyr- themselves through daily sacrifice in God's service.

Either through the baggage of prejudice, carried over from their former lives, or by simple ignorance, a group of believers had been treating others unfairly. The distribution of welfare was not being done equitably.--In response to the problem, the apostles direct the disciples to select seven men to oversee the welfare system. Their selection reminds us of a similar problem-instruction-implementation event with Moses, when his father in law urged him to delegate responsibility.--The seven met the qualifications for the role, the influence of the Holy Spirit being manifest in their lives. They were inducted, and are probably to be considered as the forerunners of the deacons.--The apostles did not think that the other ministries were beneath them- they simply wanted to focus on those duties they felt led by God to fulfil. They would have us find our place of service in the kingdom. We might find that some natural ability leads us to a certain role, or we could be pointed by circumstance to be involved in something outside of our comfort zone. In all cases, we serve humbly, not considering the smallest of roles insignificant in the eyes of God.--The determination by the apostles to focus on the core duties of prayer and the word are a great challenge to preachers of righteousness and an equal challenge to congregations to ensure that they do not over-burden their pastors.

The Christian who dedicates their life to service in the cause of God should expect opposition. Yet God never abandons them, no matter how it might appear. The Spirit of God remains, and this explains how saints like the apostles here can be joyful even when going through trials.--To strengthen us, we have a promise of God that our final victory is assured. We are still to fight, and some will suffer and die in the battles of this life, but the outcome of the war has already been established by God. Our great hope, our resurrection, spurs us on to serve with this victory mindset.

The apostles find themselves in court again. Their excuse for ignoring the ban on preaching Christ-- -We must obey God rather than men.- We hear an outline of the gospel message, and we see that this gospel is a trinitarian work.-However, it is always Jesus Christ which everything is in reference to, and we see here Jesus described as killed, risen, exalted, and taking on the twin role of prince-leader and saviour.-Finally, there is a reminder about the Holy Spirit's work in the believer which can be observed outwardly. For the apostles, it included sign-gifts, which we do not have the power to do- whereas for us, it involves the whole canon of scripture, which they did not possess. Thus we see the various works of the Spirit of Christ done through his people throughout different ages and situations.