THE WITNESS OF A MARTYR

THE WITNESS OF A MARTYR

Acts 6:8 – 8:1

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

September 18, 2005

He was an Englishman, born in 1517 and thoroughly educated in the process of time. Becoming fully acquainted with church history and the Scriptures, John Foxe eventually turned to the Protestant faith and made that faith his own. But it was a very difficult time to be a Protestant in England, particularly when so many Catholic kings and queens were passionately and vehemently opposed to such people of conviction.

John Foxe was indeed persecuted for his faith for a time, until the English Reformation took place. Then, in 1550, he was ordained as a minister in the Church of England, and his ministry included the writing of books. One such book became known as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. This book covers the lives of many martyrs, from the time of Christ to the end of the reign of Queen Mary, otherwise known to us today as “Bloody Mary.”

Untold numbers of Protestants have found renewed strength and inspiration in reading this book. In fact, in the early emigration to this land, there were some who had only two books with them: the Bible and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.

On the one hand, Christian martyrdom is not a pleasant subject. There are, perhaps, other topics for us as Christians to consider that are more appealing. But Christian martyrdom is a reality. In fact, it has been stated that there have been more martyrs for the Christian faith in the last century than in all the other centuries combined.

Christian organizations like Voice of the Martyrs keep us informed of places in the world where the Church is being persecuted today. They call us to be in prayer for them, and to do what we can in the defense of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The stories of their witness also inspire us to a deeper commitment to Christ. Their stories always do, it seems, even going back to the witness of Stephen, the very first Christian martyr.

Thankfully, persecution of Christians in this country is relatively mild compared to that found in China or the Sudan. But we can all still be inspired and instructed by Stephen’s witness, as we seek to be faithful to Christ today. As Christ calls each of us to be faithful witnesses for Him, what can Stephen’s witness teach us? Well, there are many lessons, but let’s consider at least three.

IN OUR WITNESS,

WE NEED TO REMIND OURSELVES:

“IT’S NOT ABOUT ME,

BUT ABOUT WHAT GOD DOES IN ME AND THROUGH ME.”

When we were introduced to the life of Stephen last week, we found him to be “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” In the opening verse of our passage for this morning, we find yet another description of him: “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.”

God’s unmerited love and favor was manifested in the power of the Holy Spirit, at work both in Stephen in an increasingly transformational way, as well as through Stephen in his witness to others. Supernatural signs and wonders did not come from Stephen, but rather by the Spirit through Stephen.

Similarly, in the description of his verbal witness, the source of his witness yet again becomes clear to us. Opponents from certain Jewish groups “began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” Note again the source: the Holy Spirit was at work through a human vessel named Stephen.

When it comes to the call of bearing our own witness before a watching and sometimes intimidating world, it is critical to remember such a lesson as this. It really isn’t so much about us, as it is a matter of what God does in us and through us, by the working of His grace and power in the Holy Spirit.

If you and I were to look carefully at the witness of some of the most influential Christians we could name, either in the past or present, we would soon find a foundational sense of utter humility and dependence upon God. No boasting of one’s own strengths, but rather the case of humble reliance upon God, and of God manifesting His grace and power at work in them and through them. That is how it must always be.

St. Francis of Assisi is a good example of one who clearly understood this principle. On one occasion, a brother once confronted him, asking him repeatedly, “Why you? Why you?” “Why me what?” Francis replied. “Why does everyone want to see you? Hear you? Obey you? You are not all that handsome, nor learned, nor from a noble family. Yet the world seems to follow you.”

Francis then raised his eyes to heaven, knelt in praise to God, and then turned to his dear brother and said:

You want to know? It is because the eyes of the Most High have willed it so. He continually watches over the good and the wicked, and as His most holy eyes have not found among sinners any smaller man, nor any more insufficient and sinful, therefore He has chosen me to accomplish the marvelous work which God has undertaken; He chose me because He could find none more worthless, and He wished to confound the nobility and grandeur, the strength, the beauty and the learning of the world. [i]

Now, if anyone had a deep respect for all of creation, it was Francis of Assisi. This included a respect for human beings who have been made in the image of God. But here also was a man who was humble before God and dependent upon God. He knew as we all must, that God works best in and through the lives of those who can say with the Apostle Paul: “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.” [ii]

IN OUR WITNESS, INTEGRITY MUST BE MAINTAINED,

EVEN WHEN FACING OPPOSITION.

The opposition clearly acted against Stephen maliciously, bringing forth false witnesses and trumped up charges. One by one, they railed against him, accusing Stephen of heresy and blasphemy. Yet there was no retaliation on Stephen’s part, we are told. “All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”

Stephen continued to show integrity by holding to the truth of Scripture, making a solid defense - and a courageous one at that! In fact, all the way through to the very end, Stephen maintained a Christian demeanor of integrity, even showing the heart of Christ by following the example of Christ in praying for his murderers. His final words, echoing from those of Christ on the cross, were: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And with that he died.

That’s the way it must be for our own Christian witness. There must be some consistency to our witness, some integrity to it that others can see.

Proverbs 10:9 states: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” [iii] One of the worst kinds of witness we can then bring to the world is a witness of questionable integrity, when we fail to match our talk by our walk. The watching world really wants to know if we have the heart of Christ by following the example of Christ. The watching world wants to know if God the Father is real, by seeing his resemblance in His children.

Max Lucado once shared a flight with an orthodox rabbi who told a wonderful story. The story involved a large corporation where the daughter of the CEO had an office in the building. She took advantage of everyone, interrupting their jobs to have them do her special favors, such as getting a muffin, vacuuming her office carpet, and many other selfish diversions. She never used leverage in saying, “My Dad said …” She didn’t have to. And everyone wondered about the man upstairs. Looking at the daughter, they wondered: what kind of CEO was he!

The story turns around, however, with the question: What if she acted differently? What if she gave a muffin as a gift to a coworker who arrived too early to eat breakfast? What if she went out of her way to help a woman with an armful of documents? What if a number of generous acts made up her day without ever mentioning her father?

The CEO, her father, remains upstairs, unseen by the others.

But “because they think highly of her, they think highly of her father. They’ve not seen him. They’ve not met him. But they know his child, so they know his heart.” [iv]

That is the way it is, and that is the way it should be in our witness. To walk in integrity as a Christian is to reveal to the world the heart of the Father, by having the heart of Christ in following the example of Christ!

III

IN OUR WITNESS, WE MUST REMAIN CONFIDENT

THAT GOD’S KINGDOM WILL ADVANCE, EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS THAT IT WON’T.

God was doing such great and mighty things through Stephen’s witness. But his burning and shining witness was extinguished with his martyrdom. Why would this happen? Why would God permit this to happen? The hurling of stone after stone seemed to make finished work of Stephen’s witness. Or did it?

There is a good reason to believe that Stephen’s death was not the end of it all. Look at what happened to one individual in particular. There was a young man named Saul at whose feet those throwing stones had laid their clothes. Yes, he was there, giving his approval to Stephen’s death.

That picture never left Saul’s mind, even long after he’d become a Christian himself, and had also become a most impressive witness for Christ as the Apostle Paul. [v] We can be sure that this very picture inspired him, even to the day of his very own martyrdom in Rome.

The witness will always continue, and God’s kingdom will always advance, even when all the forces of evil are rallied against it. Who, after all, can stop the Almighty? And if the Almighty is in the very midst of His kingdom, who can stop it? It is unstoppable!

You may recall the story of Martin and Gracia Burnham, who married with a sense of God’s call to mission work in both of their hearts. In fact, for seventeen years, they served in a ministry aviation program in the Philippines. But on May 27, 2001, while celebrating their eighteenth wedding anniversary at an ocean beachside resort, they were kidnapped and held hostage. Their captors were terrorists, a militant group related to Osama bin Laden.

Over one year later in June of 2002, Philippine Rangers sought to free the Burnhams. But the raid on the camp brought the Burnhams into a crossfire. Gracia was injured with a bullet to her leg, and Martin was killed.

Many wondered about the apparent end to any advancement of the kingdom after this. How could God permit such a thing to happen, along with all the prayers that had been said on their behalf? But, you see, there was advancement, for because of Martin’s death, the name of Jesus Christ was lifted up before a watching, attentive world.

All around the world, news channels and newspapers and magazines and other forms of media picked up the story as to why this couple had been in the Philippines. People heard of the reason why they had labored for so long in the Philippines and why they had been willing to put their lives at risk.

A world-wide witness for Christ was given! And even though there were still some questions, the world heard the testimony of family and friends who said that, though they did not understand everything completely, they nevertheless knew that God would get them thru this!

Dear friends, if we would but be attentive to look and listen, God’s victory can be seen, even when the darkness seems to prevail!

The witness of the first Christian martyr is impressively recorded for us in the Bible. There are many lessons, more than I have mentioned this morning, that flow from Stephen’s life. But here there are enough lessons to give us due cause to think and reflect, and to give our own renewed commitment toward being witnesses for Christ today, as a people of faith … and of faithfulness!