A significant event takes place in Acts 7, marking a trend in church history that unfortunately continues to this day: persecution. In this text, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, meets his death. This man is first introduced to us in Acts 6, when the leaders of the church choose deacons for the purpose of carrying out the ministry of the church. Stephen was among those chosen. He is described as a man "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit," and as a man "full of God's grace and power." Some enemies of the gospel opposed him, and ultimately arranged to have him arrested under false pretenses. During his trial, Stephen spoke of the history of Israel and how God had worked through his people throughout history. He concluded his message by telling them about Jesus, saying to these religious men that they had put to death God's chosen Messiah. His words infuriated them, and they dragged him into the street, then out of the city, and stoned him to death.

Today in America—and thankfully in most of the world—it is difficult for us to imagine this level of persecution. From time to time I hear alarmists talking about how bad it's getting in America—how persecution is beginning to set in. They usually have to stretch a bit to make their case. In one case, for example, a church having difficulty getting a zoning permit for their new building claimed that they were being persecuted by the city council. This type of overstatement diminishes the plight of those in foreign countries that are truly persecuted—those living under the threat of death, those forced to worship underground, those in prison for merely possessing a Bible. This is real persecution, and there have always been Christians who have suffered this way. Our minor inconveniences are nothing compared to the price that many in the church have had to pay over the years.

We don't face persecution like the early church did—our members aren't murdered in the streets of the city—but we do live in a situation increasingly similar to that of the early church. They lived in a society that was non-Christian, as ours is becoming. The difference is that the early church lived in a non-Christian society that over the years became increasingly Christian. The American church, however, exists in what has been considered a Christian society that is now becoming increasingly non-Christian. Frankly, we're losing our voice. Fewer people attend church today than did 10 years ago—in spite of all the seeker-sensitive services taking place each Sunday from from coast to coast. We see an increasingly non-Christian point of view being presented in the media and in public policy. This should be cause for concern, but our concern should be directed inward. Instead of demanding that society change to serve us, we need to ask ourselves "What can we do to better serve society? What can we do to make this world, this nation, this community a better place to live?" What do we need to do in order to have more influence here, and to better impact the world around us?

We've been asking these questions for the last four weeks as we've also asked questions about the early church. Questions such as: How are they different from us? What can we do today to be more like them? Here's a quick review of what we've come up with.

In week one, we looked at the mindset of the early church. If we want to be like them, we need to be immersed in the Spirit of God and we need to be committed to reaching people from all walks of life, regardless of color, age, gender, or socio-economic background.

In week two, we looked at the message of the early church. If we want to be like them we need to talk about Jesus and salvation and the fact that God's promises are for all people of all generations.

In week three, we talked about the methods of the early church. If we want to be like them we need to be committed to the Word, to fellowship, to worship, and to prayer—and these commitments need to be lived out seven days a week with one another, not just for an hour on Sunday morning.

This morning we will take a look at the mission of the church. Our mission is simple. We want to change the world. We want to make it a better place to live. We want to help people experience the abundant life that can be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ—as well as, of course, eternal life that comes through salvation in him. Our strategy is not political. Neither is it economic. It's spiritual. This message doesn't work only in the suburbs of America; it also works in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and the villages of Thailand and the streets of St. Petersburg. Anyone anywhere can experience fullness of life in Jesus Christ. American Christians need to remember this—our message is not political, it's spiritual. Our mission is to change the world by changing lives. We can do this even though we live in a society that doesn't fully endorse our message.

By the way, one reason our society doesn't fully endorse our message is because our society doesn't fully understand it. We're partially to blame for this. We've talked about politics and behavioral issues and economic matters as if this is what we're all about. Some outside the church equate being a Christian with being Republican, or being anti-gay marriage, or anti-abortion, and on and on. Do we have a stance on these issues? Yes, we do. But these issues do not define us. When you look at the writings and teachings of early church leaders—especially the Book of Acts—you see that they did not talk a great deal about social issues. They talked about Jesus. In Acts 2, the topic of Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost is that Jesus Christ is risen and is Lord of all. In Acts 3, the topic of Peter's sermon is that Jesus Christ is risen and is Lord of all. In Acts 4, we read that Peter and John were arrested for preaching that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. In Acts 6 and 7, in Stephen's sermon before the court, he outlined the course of Israel's history and concluded with a proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is what the early church talked about: Jesus Christ risen from the dead. Our message needs to be the same as theirs. Our mission is to help people make a life-changing connection with Jesus.

Let's look at the last part of Stephen's sermon. I want to make some observations that will help us discover who we are and what are called to do.

THE MESSAGE

First, let's talk about the message. Stephen ended his sermon with some pretty harsh words.

(v. 51-52) You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him...

Maybe harsh is an understatement. Peter's sermon in Acts 2 was equally hard-hitting.

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36)

In Acts 3, Peter said something similar.

You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. (Acts 3:15)

In Acts 4, after healing the man at the temple gate, Peter said:

Know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. (Acts 4:10)

In Acts 5 Peter said:

The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead —whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. (Acts 5:30)

And in Acts 6 and 7, Stephen continued this message: you are responsible for this death of Jesus, God's chosen Messiah. These are harsh words, but I want you to keep in mind who these harsh words are directed toward. Peter and Stephen were speaking to their own people, their own brothers, their fellow "church members," so to speak. Remember, at this point it was not yet a clear idea that Christianity would become a separate religion. It was considered by the Apostles to be the next step in Judaism. So when Peter, John and Stephen spoke such strong words, they were speaking to their brothers. They weren't attacking those on the outside; they weren't preaching about the sinfulness of the Greeks and Romans; they were denouncing the hard-heartedness of their own people, to their own people.

The correlation for us today is obvious. We need to save our hardest hitting sermons for ourselves. Unfortunately, that's not the reputation we have. Society, for the most part, sees the church as being quite smug and self-satisfied while we point our fingers at all that is wrong with the world outside. There are those who contend that we judge everyone but ourselves. We need to make sure that perception isn't true. The sin we need to speak about is our own—the sin that is "in here," not the sin that is "out there." We need to stop judging the world and start judging ourselves.

For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God. (1 Peter 4:17)

SAME MESSAGE, DIFFERENT RESPONSE

We also need to remember that just because the message doesn't get the desired response, we don't need to change the message. This is probably the greatest misconception that Christians have about seeker-sensitive churches. They think that the message of the gospel has been changed to fit the mood of the people. That's not true. The message is the same, the methods have changed. Different music, different architecture, different order of worship—maybe even a different style of preaching—but our message must remain the same as it was for Peter and John and Stephen:

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

This is our message. It must never change. When the church tries to soften this message to accommodate the whims of modern culture, we become weak and ineffective. Our challenge is to remain faithful to the message, even when we don't get the response we want.

When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, the Bible says:

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37)

When Stephen preached a similar message, the Bible says:

(v. 54) When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.

Same message, different response. We don't change the message, regardless of the response we get. We continue to preach Jesus and salvation through faith in him alone. When the crowd became furious at Stephen's words, he continued his message. He went on to say, in effect, "I see Jesus standing next to the throne of God." In other words, "I'll say it loud and clear: Jesus is Lord of all." And the response became worse. Take a look at what happened next.

(v. 57-58) At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

I've never been dragged out of the city by a hostile crowd, but I have seen a number of people cover their ears (so to speak) and refuse to hear the Word of God. I have known a number of people who, when confronted with their sin, start yelling at the top of their voices. We don't always get the response we want, but we must remain faithful to the message regardless.

A SAUL IN THE CROWD

(v. 58) Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

I love this little detail. Saul, who later became Paul, the apostle Paul, the champion of Christianity, the one who wrote so many books of the New Testament, was there that day, in the crowd, watching Stephen be put to death. No one could see, at that moment, the potential of this young man. To them, he was just one of the bad guys.

When Chuck Colson went to prison in the early '70's, no one could guess his potential, either. He was one of the bad guys—one of the reasons our government is so corrupt. But in prison Chuck Colson met Jesus Christ and his life was changed. Today he's one of the good guys. His ministry has done more for prison reform than any other, and he is one of the most influential Christians of our time. But this isn't how we saw him at first. We must remember that there might be a few Sauls in the crowd.

I have heard Christians speak so disparagingly of certain non-Christians that I fear they have eliminated any chance that the person will ever give serious consideration to the Christian faith—simply because they have been so alienated by Christians. We need to remember when we face our toughest critics that there just might be a few Sauls in the crowd. We tend to view the world as us vs. them.But we need to remember that many of us used to be one of them, and many of them will eventually be one of us. Keep this in mind when you consider the "bad guys."

EXTENDING THE HAND OF RECONCILIATION

(v. 60) While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

I'll be blunt, at the risk of sounding disrespectful toward a dying man's final wish. Whether or not God holds this sin against them is not Stephen's call to make. God's law is not like the American legal system in which you have the option of whether or not to press charges. Stephen's prayer, of course, is similar to the prayer Jesus prayed on the cross:

Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34)

I think that Stephen's prayer was spoken for the benefit of the church—for the benefit of those who witnessed this event. Even though earlier he spoke the truth with such force that it resulted in his death, his dying words were words of mercy. His final message was a message of forgiveness.

Let me tell you something. We need to stand for the truth—there is no question about that—but it's not necessary that we have an adversarial relationship with those who are not on our side. To treat non-Christians—even those who wish us harm—with gentleness and respect does not in any way compromise our commitment to truth. We don't have to be enemies with those who don't agree with us. In fact, we should do everything we can to make sure that they know that we're not interested in pursuing a battle.

Some Christians object, 'If we don't stand up for ourselves and fight for our rights, we'll be taken advantage of." Of course we'll be taken advantage of. Where did you get the idea that it would be otherwise? Jesus told us to prepare for this very thing. He said, "A servant is not greater than the master. Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you." (John 15:20 NLT) He warned us that such mistreatment is pretty much guaranteed. He also said, "If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other, too." (Matthew 5;39 NLT) Just like Jesus did with those who were his enemies, just like Stephen did with those who murdered him, we need to extend a hand of reconciliation and forgiveness to the world around us. We need to make sure that the world understands our message: "You are not my enemy. Even when we disagree, even when you attack me, I will offer you the hand of reconciliation."

CONCLUSION

The mission of the church is to change the world by changing lives—not creating change with political policy and economic muscle, but with simple acts of mercy. Our job is not to judge those on the outside. Our job is to judge ourselves and love those on the outside. We don't need to condemn them, we need to tell them about Jesus, because...

There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12 NAS)

If we want this church to be like the original, we need to get in the habit of lifting up the name of Jesus, because (as the song says) it's all about him. And we need to let everyone outside these walls know that we're not here to fight them, we're here to love them...until the very end. Our goal is to be a church that loves one another, that loves others, that loves Jesus, and exalts his name above all else. That's the way I want our church to be, just like the early church, as it was in the beginning

Steve May has been a pastor to pastors for more than 20 years, helping preachers and teachers to become more effective communicators of the gospel.