Some of us just don’t seem to learn from our mistakes.  So how can we keep from repeating the same old mistakes over and over again?  That is Stephen’s question to the nation of Israel.  It was his argument that the nation of Israel persistently refused to learn the lessons of history.  They lived in perpetual disobedience.  They made the mistake of allowing a relationship with God to degrade into ritual, ceremony, sacrifice, duty and legalism.  God is much more concerned with the state of our heart than the rituals and trappings of religion. 

Four main types of apologetics. 

Prophetic: Fulfilled prophecy demonstrates that you can trust the Bible

Evidential/Classical: logic and evidence make the case for Christianity

Presuppositional: Christianity has the most consistent belief system

Historical: History and Archaeology confirm biblical truth

Stephen’s historical argument. 

#1 You don’t need the temple to worship God. 

#2 You need to worship God in spirit and truth. 

Abraham obeyed God’s call 2-8

In Judaism, Abraham is considered the most revered figure in history.

The Abrahamic covenant promises the LAND, SEED, and the BLESSING! 

Abraham worshiped God before there was a Temple.

Abraham had no inheritance in the promised land! 

The Patriarchs Disobeyed God 9-17

The patriarchs had some serious failings. 

They were envious and sold Joseph into Egypt. 

Joseph was a deliverer just like Jesus and is a “Type” of Christ. 

Even without a temple, “God was with him!”  Verse 9

Moses Obeyed God 18-34

Moses had a bad start, but a great ending. 

He tried to deliver Israel his way instead of God’s way.

Even after a bad start, Moses obeyed God. 

Moses was well pleasing to God.  20

Even outside the land of Israel, the Lord appeared to him. verse 30

The Lord spoke directly to him.  Verse 31

Wherever God is, it is holy ground.  (even with no temple) Verse 33 –

The Israelites Disobeyed God 35-43

While Moses did good, Israel did evil. 

35:  They rejected Moses, their deliverer. 

40:  They worshiped the Golden Calf instead of the Living God. 

43:  they worshiped at the tabernacle of Moloch a detestable Idol! 

37:  Moses foretold of a greater prophet to come.  Jesus

David and Solomon Obeyed God 44-50

God gave Moses, David and Solomon a pattern for His house. 

This Pattern was a blueprint for how to approach God. 

God cannot be constrained or limited to the four walls of a building! 

God wants you to worship Him in spirit and truth. Joh 4:21-24;

The Great Sanhedrin Resisted God 51-53

Stephen’s speech was not calculated to win his hearers to Christ. 

His harsh words were reserved for those who opposed the work of God. 

This method is not our typical mode of operation for evangelism. 

There are times for harsh messages.  There are occasions when we Christians must recognize our message has been firmly rejected by false teachers who are preaching another way of Salvation and are shutting the door for others to hear the good news.  When that happens, we must firmly and soundly reprove them.  It's not a question of, “do I worship at the temple,” it is a question of, “do I worship from the heart.”  And that is the heart of Stephen’s message.

I make a lot of mistakes.  How about you?  In fact, what surprises me is that I keep on making same old mistakes over and over again!  Some of us just don’t seem to learn from my mistakes.  So here is the question that we have today to get us started.  “How can we keep from repeating the same old mistakes over and over again?”  And if we continue to fail, what are the consequences?

That is Stephen’s question to the nation of Israel, as he stood before the Sanhedrin making his defense of Christianity.  It was his argument that the nation of Israel consistently, persistently refused to learn the lessons of history.  They lived in perpetual disobedience.  They made the mistake of allowing a relationship with God to degrade into ritual, ceremony, sacrifice, duty and legalism.  And God forbid that you should ever step out of line and try to do things differently.

So the big idea that we are going to preach today is that those who fail to learn from history are doomed (condemned) to repeat it.  And drilling down into Stephen’s amazing message, we discover that the most flagrant failure of history is that we religious human beings think that if we chant a few songs, follow a few rituals, built a few temples, offer a few sacrifices or follow a few laws, that somehow that is good enough for God, and that we will have reached an exalted state of acceptance with the Almighty… when all along God is much more concerned with the state of our heart than the rituals and trappings of religion. 

It's not a question of, “do I worship at the temple,” it is a question of, “do I worship from the heart.”  And that is the heart of Stephen’s message.

Now Stephen used a specific form of argument, in his defense of Christianity.  It is what is known as Historical Apologetics… or using history to make your point.  And for your information, it is not the only form of apologetics available to us.  In fact the wonderful thing about Christianity is that we have had 2000 years during which numerous wonderful, powerful arguments have been formulated to defend the faith.

You should know that Christianity is unquestionably, unparalleled in the amazing richness and depth of evidence that we possess in defense of what we believe.  I guarantee you that if you have a question, somebody has already spent years studying it, and that somewhere there is a powerful answer to your question. 

In fact there is an entire discipline dedicated to the defense of the faith called apologetics.  Last week we said that Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, “speak in defense of”) from 1 Peter 3:15, “But set apart the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you for a reason of the hope that is in you with gentleness and respect:”  The word “answer” is our Greek word ἀπολογία – a defense of the faith. 

There are some four main types of apologetics.  They are historical, prophetic, evidential, and presuppositional.  Each one defends the faith from a different perspective.  But together, they are an unassailable defense of truth. 

Prophetic:  Prophecy as apologetics.  Fulfilled prophecy demonstrates that you can trust the Bible.  There are hundreds of specific prophetic fulfilments in the Bible.  That can’t be a coincidence.  It is a formidable and powerful evidence of the truth of Christianity.

Evidential: or Classical apologetics uses reason, logic and evidence to make the case for the existence of God.  Creation points to a creator.  Design points to a designer.  (Psalm 19) The resurrection is evidence of Christianity.  If Jesus said he was going to be raised from the dead, and then he did it, I’m going to listen to him. 

Presuppositional:  Everyone has presuppositions -- ideas or assumptions they take for granted.  They may be true or they may be false.  (Examples are “there is a God, there is such a thing as right and wrong, the Bible is God’s Word, Jesus is the only way to God.”  Presuppositional apologetics is the concept that Christianity is the only view of life which makes consistent sense of reality.  Since the unbeliever’s worldview is false, it contains contradictions, logical fallacies and errors in thinking.  Presuppositional apologetics demonstrates how other views are contradictory, and how the Christian view is consistent and true. 

Historical: History as apologetics.  This is the appeal to history and scripture to demonstrate the claims of our faith.  Evidence from archaeology and history confirm that the Bible is a trustworthy historical document.  Renowned Jewish archaeologist Nelson Gluek confidently said that “It…may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.[i]

Stephen’s historical argument had a very specific point.  He argued #1 that you don’t need the temple to worship God.  In fact Temple worship was going to disappear.  #2 that what you do need to worship God is to worship Him in spirit and truth.  If you listen carefully to our reading of the Bible passage, you will hear that today. 

We have 53 verses to get through today, so we will be running at breakneck speed to make it to the finish line.  But I believe a quick survey is the best way to get the point across.  So here we go.  Everybody on the starting blocks.  Ready, Set!  Go. 

Let’s go back to chapter 6:13-14 “They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”

Here are the charges against Stephen.  #1 He spoke blasphemous words against the Holy Place (the Temple) and the law.  #2  He said that Jesus was going to destroy the Temple and change Jewish customs. 

So what Stephen is going to do is to clarify, the point of the Temple, and he will turn the tables on them, and show that it is they, not he who has rejected God’s Word.  And remember, Stephen has only been a Christian for several months at the most, and what he unpacks here in these opening verses is a stunning understanding of the Old Testament. 

Chapter 7 contains Stephen’s defense in front of the Sanhedrin.  It is the longest sermon recorded in the book of Acts.  But Stephen did something very interesting.  Steven does not really defend himself, instead he laid out a defense of Christianity.  It is a powerful argument detailing the long history of Israel’s rejection of God. 

Chapter 7:1 the high priest said to Stephen, “Are these things so?”  Let’s hear his Answer.  Let the History lesson begin.

Abraham obeyed God’s call 2-8

2 And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. 5 And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. 6 But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. 7 ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ 8 Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

In Judaism, Father Abraham is considered the most revered figure in history, seen as the founding father of the Jewish people and the first patriarch, making him a central figure in their faith and history; With him, God established the Abrahamic Covenant which is the basis of their identity as the chosen people.  God promised Abraham the LAND, SEED (of the Messiah) and the BLESSING! 

Stephen acknowledge all of that.  He wasn’t rejecting the Old Testament, nor God’s promise.  But listen carefully to Stephen’s first statement in Verse 2: “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia!” 

Now think on this!  Abraham worshiped God before there was a Temple, before there was a Mosiac law, before there was a Levitical Priesthood and the many sacrifices of the Law!  And as Stephen points out, to Abraham, the Promised Land was just a Promise!  God gave him no inheritance in the promised land, not even enough to set his foot on! 

So mark it down.  The Temple is not necessary for a relationship with God nor is the law a requirement for obedience.  Obedience and worship happen first in the heart, and then in the way we live.

The Patriarchs Disobeyed God 9-17

9 “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11 Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. 16 And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

I want to point out that Abraham had some serious failings.  Stephen did not point them out, but he did point out the sin and evil of the patriarchs – that is Josephs stepbrothers.  The were envious and sold Joseph into Egypt.  They cast him into a pit and wanted to kill him, but in a last-minute change of mind they sold him to slavers.  All because they didn’t like their stepbrother and his dreams. 

Please don’t miss the veiled inference that Joseph was a deliverer just like Jesus, and in this sense Joseph is a type of Christ.  And just like the patriarchs hated Joseph, so the leaders of Israel hated Jesus and crucified him. 

Also notice that, even though Joseph was in Egypt, his brothers were in the promised land.  Verse 9 says, “But God was with him!”  Just like Abraham, Joseph had no temple to worship in, and Joseph was not in the land, but even so, he, not his brothers experienced the presence and blessing of God.

The patriarchs are a bad example.  Now for our third example:

Moses Obeyed God 18-34

17 “But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt 18 till another king arose who did not know Joseph. 19 This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. 20 At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. 21 But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

23 “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.

30 “And when forty years had passed, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. 33 ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’

Now if you think the patriarchs were bad, we discover that Moses had a bad start, but a great ending.  In his early adult life, Moses was fully taken with himself.  He was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.  He hatched a plan to deliver his people and began a small revolution against Pharoah that failed.  His revolution killed one Egyptian!  This was vigilantism.  Moses looked both ways.  He knew it was wrong.  But he got caught doing things his way instead of God’s way and had to flee for his life.   The Lawgiver couldn’t keep the law.

Even so, Moses obeyed God.  And once again please notice a few key points.  #1 Moses was outside of the land of Israel.  #2  Neither the Temple, nor the tabernacle had yet been built.  #3 The law had not yet been given. 

And yet we find these amazing statements.  Verse 20 At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God.  Parents.  Grandparents, even your little children can be well pleasing to God.  And notice verse 30, even outside the land of Israel, the Lord appeared to him in the burning bush.  Verse 31, the verbal voice of the Lord spoke directly to him.  Verse 33 – even though he never set foot in the temple, God said, Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 

Can you see these themes that Stephen wove into his message?  Can you understand how his listeners might be picking up the inferences? 

The Israelites Disobeyed God 35-

As usual!

35 “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

37 “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’

38 “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, 39 whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 42 Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:

‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And because of that I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’

While Moses did good, Israel did evil.  Listen to the litany of problems they had.  Verse 35 They rejected Moses, their deliverer.  Even though Moses did great signs and wonders before the children of Israel, they turned their back on God.  Verse 40.  They worshiped the Golden Calf instead of the Living God.  Verse 43:  Instead of willingly offering sacrifices at the Tabernacle, they worshiped at the tabernacle of Moloch a detestable Idol! 

Israel disobeyed God… and at this point Stephen craftily weaves in a prophecy about Jesus.  Verse 37:  Moses, said that one day, The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’  Moses is considered the greatest prophet in all Jewish History.  And he foretold of an even greater prophet to come after him.  But did they listen to the greatest prophet of all time? 

Jesus did signs and wonders, but did they listen to him?  No.  Instead of worshiping the living God, they transformed the temple into an Idol that they worshiped!  The Jews were guilty of Temple Worship.  Stephen is turning the tables on his accusers.  It is not him that is guilty of perverted worship, it is them.  It wasn’t that Stephen spoke against the temple, but against the way Israel worshipped the temple of God instead of the God of the temple.

David and Solomon Obeyed God 44-50

44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 45 which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, 46 who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. 47 But Solomon built Him a house.

48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 49 ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, Or what is the place of My rest? 50 Has My hand not made all these things?’

Now Stephen gets to the conclusion of his message.  God gave Moses, David and Solomon a pattern or a design for the temple.  Woven into this Pattern was a blueprint for how to approach God.  Each element of the tabernacle, from the outer court to the Most Holy Place, held specific symbolic meaning related to approaching God, including obedience, cleansing, sacrifice, and the ultimate presence of God. 

But God cannot be constrained or limited to the four walls of a building!  They forgot the meaning of the Temple, which was to point to the creator of the heavens and the earth.  The temple itself was designed, not to be a trinket or an idol, but only a pointer, an arrow, an indicator and a teacher of a greater truth.  If you want to know the almighty, you need to know him in the temple, and outside of the temple, in every aspect of your life. 

Stephen was just preaching what Jesus taught in Joh 4:21-24; “Believe Me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem …but the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Here is what Stephen taught was this:  You don’t need the temple to know God, you need the Holy Spirit!  The old order of things was passing away and a new order was coming.  The temple, though cherished by the Jews was destined to pass away, and Stephen seemed to sense that. His speech is a transition speech that paves the way for presenting the gospel to the Gentiles,

As you can guess the Jewish authorities did not take kindly to this idea. 

The Great Sanhedrin Resisted God

51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 You who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

Now there is some powerful conflict evangelism going on here!  Whew!  Stephen was just slaying them before the Lord!  “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised hypocrites!  You always resist the Holy Spirit.  Flame on! 

Before you adopt this form of evangelism as your own, I want you to notice that Stephen’s speech was by no means calculated to secure an acquittal before the Sanhedrin.  Nor was it calculated to win his hearers to Christ.  It is simply not a good method of evangelism!  That was not its purpose. 

But just like Jesus, Stephen’s harshest words were reserved for the hard-hearted religious leaders who opposed the work of God.  There is no winning going on here.  There is only powerful, impactful reproving.  There are times, for harsh messages.  There are occasions when we Christians must recognize our Message has been firmly rejected by false teachers who are preaching another way of Salvation, and are shutting the door for others to hear the good news.  When that happens, we must firmly and soundly reprove them.  That’s what Stephen did. 

But this message is not our typical mode of operation.  Even when we disagree, we are to do so lovingly.  And usually when we spread the good news, we do so with kindness and gentleness. 

the nation of Israel consistently, persistently refused to learn the lessons of history.  They lived in perpetual disobedience.  And let me warn you that those who fail to learn from history are doomed (condemned) to repeat it.  the most flagrant failure of history is that some people think that if we chant a few songs, follow a few rituals, built a few temples, offer a few sacrifices or follow a few laws, that somehow that is good enough for God, and that we will have reached an exalted state of acceptance with the Almighty… when all along God is much more concerned with the state of our heart than the rituals and trappings of religion. 

It's not a question of, “do I worship at the temple,” it is a question of, “do I worship from the heart.”  And that is the heart of Stephen’s message.