Acts 7:51~60 51
“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him- 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” 54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 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. God loved man, so He decided to redeem man from his sin, death and hell. The sin in man originates from the devil. Anyone who commits sin before God cannot escape from the eternal punishment in hell, regardless of the severity of their sin. Protesting and making excuses about your sin will be of no use. The absolute standard of righteousness is God’s Word, so anything that is different from His Word is sin. The wages of sin is death, so all of us will suffer eternally in hell, “As it is written: there is no one righteous, not even one.” Romans 3:10. But God loved man, who was destined to suffer in hell, so He decided to save man’s soul from sin and death through Jesus Christ (John 3:16, John 6:38~40). Jesus Christ came to this world to save man’s dying souls by being whipped and by shedding His blood on the cross for them (Philippians 2:5~8). Therefore whoever comes to Jesus Christ must confess their sin, repent, and believe that His death on the cross has removed their sin. Then they won’t have to go to hell after they die, but they will be able to live in heaven forever. This is our faith and the message that we should tell others. Satan has challenged God from the beginning. His mission is to drag even one more person to hell by making them sin and not accept salvation (1 Peter 5:8, 1 Timothy 4:1~2). He ruthlessly persecutes and tries to kill those have been saved, who give thanks to God, and who try to evangelize dying souls by using people as the instruments of wickedness (Revelation 12:17). As Jesus suffered and died by shedding His blood for the sin of man, today’s church members have the mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus’ blood with a passion for winning souls so that not even one single person will go to hell. This is the reason why God has built the church by the Holy Spirit. Evangelism is the mission of the church and the inheritance of the co-heirs of Christ (Romans 8:16~18). Whatever persecution and loss we face in our faith lives by the devil, the Lord will greatly reward us in heaven (Matthew 5:11~12). Dear brothers and sisters, the purpose of the church is to reveal the life of Jesus on earth. Let us win souls with all our lives, just as Jesus Christ did by being nailed on the cross, and just as Paul and Stephen did. Let us enjoy the eternal glory with the Lord Jesus in heaven (Romans 8:18). The last words we should say should be those of evangelism (Acts 20:22~25, Acts 7:59~60).
