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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
The words we hear must be weighed. An old and wise adage says, “Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.” This is not a Bible verse, per se, but its truthfulness is borne out by many illustrations. Another way of putting this has to do with the value of words apart for supporting evidence. Another adage says, "Words are cheap!” Today's devotional will explore a couple of biblical incidents and how they point out the value of demanding more than mere words upon which to base our decisions.
“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. Then they secretly induced men to say,'We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.' And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. They also set up false witnesses who said, 'This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.'” (Acts 6.6-14).
The people who believed the perjured witnesses regarding Stephen's character were without excuse. They had all the evidence that any human being could want and yet, they failed to look at it. Notice the very first sentence of the previous text: “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” God had given Stephen the power to perform miracles (deeds of supernatural origin and explainable only in terms of the supernatural). These were more than events that couldn't be explained; they were events that could ONLY be explained in terms of God and His actions. This is how God confirmed the truthfulness of His critical messages and credentialed His messengers of previous ages. Signs and wonders vouched for Stephen; scoundrels and suborned liars testified to the contrary. Anyone who wanted to know the truth could have known it. The mob that hailed Stephen was a mob because they wanted to believe the worst!
Consider another case; Paul wrote: “Now I plead with you, [contentious and divided] brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1.10-13). Paul cited his sources and apparently had every reason to believe their credibility. Though it is not stated, it is more than reasonable to believe that he checked out the factual basis for the serious accusations made against the brethren at Corinth. Unlike the rumour mongers who condemned Stephen, Paul knew beyond a reasonable doubt the truthfulness of the carnal actions of which his beloved Corinthian brethren were guilty.
Perhaps the adage to believe nothing you hear is a bit extreme; maybe better advice would be, “ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy——meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4.8).
Questions:
1. What proofs were available to demonstrate the truthfulness of Stephen's messages?
2. Though not stated in the Bible, what motives do you think were behind those who testified against Stephen and also those who believed their perjured words?
3. What evidence did Paul offer for his conclusions regarding the divided condition of the Corinthian congregation? How credible were his sources?
4. What disciplines are required if we are to successfully meditate only on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report?
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