For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; (24) and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  (25) In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying “This cup is the new covenant in My blood.  This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”  (26) For as often  you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 

The first letter to the Corinthians  was written by the Apostle Paul in response to problems in the early church at Corinth – and our verses today are specific to the abuse of the sacrament of The Lords supper. Paul addresses this by exposing the abuse and beginning with verse 23, he writes of the proper method righting error.

The teachings of Christ were new and vast ideas – people were told to look differently of themselves, their neighbors; on their relationship with God: pretty much in all things. The ancient world’s custom of sharing a meal – including providing for the needs of poorer members – had been adopted by the  church in Jerusalem – And spread to Christians in Corinth.  It was common for Christians to eat together and each would bring something for  the  meal and after that bread and wine were passed around. But in Corinth the solemnity seems to have passed and the wealthy didn’t share the best food and didn’t wait for the common distribution of food.  Instead of feasts of the Christian church,  the practice of commemorating the Lord’s supper became profane and excessive.

Paul tells the Corinthians “I praise you not” and tells them that they are not taking the Lord’s supper and instructing that the only way to correct abuse was to return to Christ’s pure institution; to treat all as equal before God.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  (3) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  (5) Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

The letter to the Romans was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome. In our verses today, Paul is writing of the effect of being made right with God through the perfect and acceptable sacrifice of Christ Jesus – that peace with God is particular to justification by faith; if we had to rely on our works we would never be at peace because our efforts would never be enough. Our reconciliation with God depends only on Christ Jesus.

In adversity the faithful are comforted and consoled in our certain hope of eternal salvation.   Patience is not the natural effect of affliction – the natural state of man without the Spirit is discontent, anger and despair.  The strange teaching of the Bible tells us to exhult in trials – and this teaching is uniform throughout the New Testament.  God’s Book stands reason on its head  as this is not a standard human response to trials – this is God’s perspective, not ours and needs a deliberate focus. We are to be lights to the world and it doesn’t happen automatically – being sustained by hope doesn’t mean the denial of pain.  God uses trials to shape us and we  called to His purpose.

I was struck by todays verses compared to how alcoholics anonymous adresses the successful work of recovery from alcoholic drinking.   In what is called the Big Book of AA, the alcoholic is told aboutworking the steps:  “If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through.  We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.  We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.  We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.  No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.  That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.  We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away.  Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave us.  We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.  We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.”

Ponder the wisdom of Pauls words: “tribulation produces perserverance; and perserverance, character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint”.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord  on place.  (2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  (3) Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.   (5) And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.  (6) And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and were confused, because everyone heard them speak, in his own language.  (7) Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another “Look, are not all those who speak Galilleans?  (8) And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?  (9) Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, (10)Phrygia  and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, (11) Cretans and Arabs – we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

The book known as Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, historian of the early church  of Christ.  In today’s verses Luke records the events of the Pentecost immdiately after the death and resurrection  of Christ Jesus. Pentecost was one of the three major feasts of the Jewish people and it fell on the fiftieth day after the Sabbath of Passover.  Jews travelled to Jerusalem for Passover and often stayed for this feast of weeks – the first fruits of the wheat harvest  – so Jerusalem would have been filled with  visitors from all over the Roman Empire. When the sound came – as of a rushing mighty wind, it attracted the multitudes in the  city,  both residents and visitors.  Then the visual manifestation of God in the form of divided tongues of fire over the heads of those sitting in the house.   And then those with the tongues of fire began speaking of God and Christ to the multitude and the listeners were amazed at hearing the untaught Galilleans speak not just in Aramaic or Greek but they heard them speak In the dialects of the visitors.  Because Peter soon addressed the  multitudes and made no mention of the different languages I might assume the listeners were the ones who heard the different dialects rather that the disciples actually speaking different untaught languages.

in chapter one of Acts Christ tells his disciples that they must wait until he has ascended to God the Father in glory and then the gift of the Holy Spirit would be given them to empower them. The great commission arrived as told in Acts 1:  “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to ME in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Now the church is born and the testimony begins. In ages before people served God out of fear or consequences and now in this new age, we serve God out of love and power from the indwelling Spirit – it is from the Divine and individuals at the moment of faith receive the indwelling Spirit.

What is the church??  We the faithful are the church.

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, (56)  and said “Look!, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God,”. (57) Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; (58) and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.  And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. (59) And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  (60) 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. 

The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke as a history of the early church – a precious and accurate history of the explosive spread of Christianity which really began on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit changed everything – forever.

The reading today is the story of Stephen who was appointed by the apostles for administrative work in that early church. The apostles needed to teach and not “serve tables” and they chose seven men, “full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” for these tasks. Stephen was one of the seven men.

The Jewish elders and council had been disturbed, to put it mildly, for some time when people were unable to resist the gospel.  Their snares fell on Stephen, who was arrested and brought before the council on charges of blasphemy.  When questioned, Stephen began his response with a history of the Jewish nation beginning with Abraham. As Stephen used the Old Testament to show that all of scripture pointed to Jesus Christ as Messiah, he abruptly switched from a history lesson to accusing the council of being “stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears!”  He went on to tell them they had not kept the law and were the murderers of Jesus Christ, the Just One.  The response of the elders – we are told in verse 54 – was these educated and respected leaders of Israel gnashed their teeth. Just like wild animals, they gnashed their teeth in rage and frustration.  We are being told that the entire council is totally out of control – gnashing of teeth is a phrase used biblically to indicate the damned. There is an enormous contrast being drawn between the council and Stephen: the elders – the statesmen, the judges, the witnesses of Israel – who proceeded to rush at Stephen as one mob without thought and conscience are contrasted with Stephen; who was full of the Spirit .  And beloved of Christ.

It’s a very powerful message of good and evil. And the real victim here is not Stephen, but those who murdered him.  The council had willfully and totally rejected Jesus Christ. At some point grace runs its course and indeed runs out and God gives people over. The Jewish elders didn’t so much hate Stephen as they hated Jesus and the trial of Stephen brought it to a point where they had one choice:  to either kill Stephen or believe him, which for them was no choice any more at all.  Satan is real.

This is really a tragic story of terrible loss and warning to us of the reality of evil. But a wonderful side-story to Luke’s account is we are told that ” the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.”  This young man, clearly supervising the murder of Stephen, was later known as the apostle Paul who was called as an apostle by God.  I read a wonderful quote when researching today’s lesson:  from Stephen came Paul – from Paul came the world.

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (2) Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and leaders, about this question.  (22) Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.  (23) They wrote this letter by them:  The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:  Greetings.  (24) Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”- to whom we gave no such commandment -(25) it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, (26) men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (27) We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.  (28) For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than the necessary things:  (29) that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.  If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, friend and companion of Paul, physician and historian of the early church. Our verses today record the Jerusalem council – the first church council, probably in 48AD or 49AD — less than 20 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most of the apostles were still alive; men and women who had seen the risen Christ were alive; there was the extraordinary presence of the Holy Spirit, and still there appeared in the midst of this controversy and dissension that resulted in the Jerusalem Council.

The problem had  do with the doctrine of salvation and there could be no compromise. The church – and Paul and Barnabas –  taught that we are saved through faith in Christ Jesus. But men arrived in Antioch where Paul and Barnabas were preaching and claimed to be sent from the mother church in Jerusalem.  These Judaizers claimed that it was not enough to have faith but also circumcision and adherence to the law of Moses was necessary for salvation.  The arguments were basic to the gospel:  either Jews and Gentiles must keep the law of Moses OR Jews and Gentiles are both saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

This doctrine is central to the church. It is Gods choice that all are included in salvation. And, salvation is not earned. There is nothing that man can do to earn heaven. Religious Jews and all their ceremonial law keeping makes no difference. It all hinges on saving faith in Christ.  And the instant of belief is the moment of forgiveness for all sin – this justification is not the beginning of a process; there is nothing to be added

In a letter to the early church from James there is a verse – chapter 2:17 – saying that “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”.  In light of today’s verses I interpret this sentence to mean that true faith (which is saving faith) is accompanied by the desire to reflect that faith in actions. We behave as we believe and not to earn heaven as salvation is always of the Lord. And we had better not forget this.