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Acts 7 – Preach the Scriptures
While reading a gospel magazine, I kept noticing I wasn’t reading something. Most every article has the same void. In fact seventy-five percent have the same flaw – no scriptures. And remember, this was supposed to be a gospel magazine.
So I e-mail the editor of the magazine. His response is that scriptures never prescribe how many scriptures to use. While true, isn’t that response hilariously ironic? He is using Scripture to defend his not using Scripture!
Specifically, he defends himself saying Jesus often speaks sans scriptures, simply telling stories, called parables (Lk.15). True, with one minor oversight – when Jesus speaks, he speaks scriptures! His parables are God-breathed.
My response also mentions that first century preachers use miracles to confirm that their spoken words are truly from God (Acts 3:12). Today, we don’t use miracles for such confirmation. We use scriptures. I too like to use stories, jokes, humor and serious anecdotes; but none of these matters unless I prove from scriptures their truth.
“But what about Paul’s sermon to the Athenians (Acts 17)?” Yes it is true Paul does not use scriptures. Why? Those Greeks don’t believe the Bible, let alone the God of the Bible. Therefore, not using scripture is definitely the exception, not the rule. And also, aren’t the majority of the readers of that gospel magazine that began this discussion already believers in the Scriptures?
Peter’s sermon (Acts 2); Stephen’s (Acts 7); and Paul’s (Acts 13) serve as models for us today. Stephen does not perform miracles, he preaches scriptures.
Once, I asked a group of Christians to advise preachers using Stephen’s sermon. Many good ideas came forth such as preaching with boldness, debunking false concepts, making application, and being clear. No one mentioned quoting scriptures. The reason is that these people couldn’t conceive of a sermon with scriptures. Isn’t it sad so-called gospel magazines can?
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