One bystander, perhaps even a participant, to Stephen’s martyrdom is a man named Saul. Acts 7:58 even records that “the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul,” implying some sort of instigation on his part.
         The next chapter sets the stage for Saul’s story. At the very least, Saul consented to Stephen’s death. It was part of the great persecution that arose against the Jerusalem church, causing many believers to scatter throughout Judea and Samaria. The apostles, however, stayed put, determined to carry out their assignment.
         As for Saul, “he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). It is not clear whether Saul was part of the Sanhedrin, the functional equivalent of a supreme court in Jewish leadership. We do know that he was a Pharisee, one of the two dominant religious sects of the Jewish faith.
         Unlike the Sadducees who rejected the doctrines of resurrection, angels, and spirits, the Pharisees focused intently on observing the traditions of the elders, including the oral law in addition to the written law. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time were known for being legalistic and cold. They were definitely sincere, albeit misguided as to the purpose of the Law and God’s chronos times, including the New Covenant, despite the Old Testament prophecies.
          Before long, “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way [the popular name for Christianity then], whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1-2).
       Damascus, Syria was a popular destination for the scattered believers since it was just north of Galilee in northern Israel. So it makes sense that Saul set his sights on Damascus. On the way, he and the men with him see a very bright light and then a voice from Heaven, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Saul falls to the ground. I should say so!
         We have to give Saul credit for at least recognizing that the voice is that of the Lord’s.  “Lord, what do You want me to do?” The voice then instructs him to arise, go into Damascus, and await further instructions. As Saul stands to obey, he realizes he is sightless. His companions lead him by the hand to the city. He is sightless for three days, and does not eat or drink anything.
        In the meantime, God is dealing with a couple of men by the names of Ananias and Judas. Saul is staying with Judas (not Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus). Both men get specific directions from the Lord. To make a long story short, despite his understandable hesitance given Saul’s reputation, Ananias goes to Saul as directed, prays for his healing, and leads Saul to Christ and into the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
        Being a devout man of the Scriptures, Saul throws this same enthusiasm into studying the Word by the inspiration of the Spirit. He begins preaching the Gospel under the watchful eye of his fellow disciples. Acts 9:22 simply records, “But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.”
          In hindsight we know this to be a huge understatement in that Saul-who-became-Paul wrote at least thirteen of the New Testament books. In 2 Corinthians 12:2, Paul reports that he was caught up to the third heaven (God’s throne room) where he heard “inexpressible words.” It is widely believed that Jesus taught Paul the essential truths that we find in his books written to the Church.
          The Chronos Lesson: At its most basic level, Saul’s story reminds us never to judge anyone before the appointed time. On a more practical level, Paul’s unusual calling marks a key element of the New Covenant—the Gospel being preached to the Gentiles. 
         Paul reminds us that “He Who motivated and fitted Peter and worked effectively through him for the mission to the circumcised, motivated and fitted me and worked through me also for [the mission to] the Gentiles” (Gal. 3:8, Amplified Version).
          Jesus came to fulfill the Law. It was sufficient for its time (the Old Covenant) and its purpose: showing the futility of mankind’s ability to earn salvation. “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). And because of it, those who come to Jesus as their Savior receive His fullness, and grace for grace (John 1:16).
        “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4-6).
        Psalm 16:11 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” It is this joy and the power of His presence that our world needs to see right now through us. The book of Acts records over and over and over that wherever the Gospel message went, it brought joy to those who believed. Like the peace that the world cannot understand, this joy is beyond putting into words. It’s transformational.
       This is the power that understanding the times brings. “Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

     In Acts 6 and 7 we learn the story of Stephen, one of the men chosen for the ministry of helps in the burgeoning Jerusalem church. It’s noteworthy that we don’t get a lot of details in the New Testament as to how a local church is to be organized. Whenever this happens, we have to know that such information is purposely withheld. Perhaps it is because it is easy for believers to fall into legalism. Perhaps it is because God knew that the structure would have to be flexible in order to accommodate the many cultures across time and across the world.
       The one detail we do get is that Stephen is “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” This qualification is repeatedly emphasized throughout the New Testament letters. Acts 6:8 adds that “Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.”
       Before long, a dispute arises from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen. Their identity is not clear in Scripture. Some translations call it the Synagogue of the Libertines. Libertine is a Latin word that originally referred to people who had been enslaved by the Romans but had been set free. Their dispute with Stephen’s preaching shows us that they may have been freed from one type of slavery, but they were still slaves in another sense. “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey?” (Rom. 6:16).
       The chapter reports that the group is not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which Stephen spoke. So they secretly induce men to lie before the council, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
         Stephen’s response to their charges is recorded in Acts 7. Given the nature of the charges, Stephen’s sermon summarizes the history of the Jews as detailed in the Old Testament as well as their offenses against God. He ends by calling them stiff-necked hypocrites who persecuted the very prophets who foretold Jesus’ coming. Needless to say, this recounting of their rebellious ways doesn’t go over well.
          In a scene reminiscent of Christ’s closing words on the cross, the passage records, “But he [Stephen], being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into Heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ ” (vs. 55-56).
         The bystanders begin to stone the man of faith “as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep [died].”
       The Chronos Lesson: The early stages of the establishment of the Church after Christ’s ascension as recorded in Acts presents the pattern of the successful spread of the Gospel. It shows:

• People were the centerpiece of God’s plan, both as the deliverers of the Gospel message and the recipients.
• Prayer was the first step in every decision of the early Church, and the continual basis for every outreach.
• Scripture was the benchmark. The foundational apostles demonstrated their knowledge of and belief in the fundamental principles of the faith, which included an understanding of God’s chronos timetable and corresponding kairos signs (Heb. 6:1-2).
• The promised power of the Holy Spirit within believers was the only power source upon which they operated.
• Their task was to be eyewitnesses of what they had seen and heard. They spoke from personal experience. They walked the talk.

       Oh how the world needs to see this same “real-life pattern.” The world needs to see and hear the Spirit of Truth speaking through us for each and every situation we encounter. We can set aside our legalistic, religious rules because we know that God’s Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and Grace.

     While we’re on the topic, let’s answer this question in case it’s rattling around in the back of your mind. It’s right up there with the question as to why God allows suffering and evil. If you’ve been following these blogs, you know that God did not create evil. Evil came about as a consequence of choices made by angels and mankind. All spiritual beings, whether or not they have a flesh and blood body, were created with a will because love and service require a choice.
       You may also remember that when God created Adam and Eve to be His ruling representatives on the earth, He gave them delegated authority to make decisions based on God’s ways. Unfortunately, they decided to believe a serpent who talked them into questioning God’s Word and His love for them. From that life-changing decision, life on earth changed.
       Why didn’t God intervene and stop Satan, especially since He knew the horrible havoc the Devil would wreak on the earth? You may not like the answer. It is because He is just. To take back the authority over the earth would go against His Word, and God will not do that. The reason for this is given in Psalm 115:16. The earth belongs to God—He has ownership—but He has given it to mankind. He will not violate His Word. He is a God of His Word.
        This is why Psalm 78:41 says that our words and actions are what limit Him. Yes, He is the supreme God, yet in His sovereignty He has chosen to give delegated authority to mankind. Following the Genesis pattern of Creation, we are still in the six great Days allotted to mankind. This is why Jesus had to come as the perfect man in order to redeem mankind.
       This truth may shock some people who believe in a redefined sovereignty of God in which God controls everything that happens on the earth. According to the biblical definition of the word, God is the supreme ruler, the Most High God. He is the righteous and just ruler who will not violate His Word. Hebrews 6:18 says it is impossible for God to lie. Psalm 89:34 says He will not break His covenant or His Word despite our actions. That is why the New Covenant is a better covenant because it was made between the perfect and supreme God the Father and the perfect and sinless Son of God—Jesus Christ.
       Since our salvation, forgiveness, and righteousness are based on this blood covenant, we don’t want God to go against His Word. Our hope of glory depends on it! However, because God is just, He has appointed a time when this evil will be dealt with for all eternity. Just as the benefits of this earth, such as the rain and the sun that make growth possible, fall on both the wicked and the righteous, so do the negative consequences of the choices of mankind.
        Is this fair? Yes, when we acknowledge that we are all responsible for the choices we make. It’s called accountability. Since mankind has rejected God and yielded to Satan, he is now the god of this age. If mankind wants to blame someone other than themselves, they need to blame Satan.
      Remember that God has provided a safeguard, as we saw in Psalm 91, through Jesus Christ. But the very people who reject God for causing evil and suffering, are more than happy to live apart from Him. They bewail Christianity for being exclusive when we say that Jesus is the only way. In doing so, they automatically submit to the Devil’s evil ways and give the evil one full sway on the earth. And then they have the audacity to complain to God about it! 
        The Chronos Times: The bottom line is this: justice will be served when the transgressors have reached their fullness. God must allow the lawlessness that results from choosing evil over God to run its full course. Otherwise, those who preach a utopian paradise by the power and enlightenment of mankind will call “fowl” if God intervenes before they’ve had a chance to prove their superiority—or more accurately, their lack of it. We have the assurance that God will intervene before the forces of evil—both spiritual and human—destroy this earth. It is God’s after all!
       I’d like to bring up a side note here that hopefully will shed some light on another reason why God allows persecution. Constantine the Great was the emperor of the Western Roman Empire from AD 306 to 337. In the midst of one of his conquests to secure the empire, it was recorded that he saw a vision of Christ and converted to Christianity. The vision and the conversion were suspect to many. Still, one of his first acts was to proclaim the official end of the persecution of Christians called the Edict of Milan. It granted Christianity equal status with all the other religions that enjoyed freedom under Rome’s rule.
       Of course this reprieve came as a huge relief to the Christians. But over time it led to further problems. It politicized the faith in the years that followed, as it became the preferred religion. The state and the Catholic Church merged into the Holy Roman Empire. Many people “converted” in order to gain status and power. Whether their decision was for real, only God knows. But the fruit that resulted definitely did not reflect God’s Kingdom ways. True faith always stands the test of time, as seen in the innumerable martyrs who have chosen to lose their life instead of denouncing their Christian faith.
     Whenever the Gospel is watered down to make it more acceptable, we run the risk of making pseudo followers. Like the so-called “friends” on social media, these followers have very little personal interaction with the Lord they “follow.”  Persecution has a way of exposing those who do not fully hold to the truths in God’s Word. They value their livelihood and social status more than their relationship with Christ. That is why we see so many departing the faith when the going gets tough.
         If nothing else in this time of persecution and division, it’s time to do a heart-check so that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are Christ’s. Its time do a walk-check to see where we are in our journey with Christ-likeness—for our sake and the sake of those with whom we share the Gospel.