Faith’s Final Exam
“And Stephen, a man full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs
among the people.”–Acts 6:8 (NKJ)
How do you recognize priceless people? Just look at their price
tags! To know what someone is worth, notice what it takes to
buy them off. I wonder how you and I would do if we had to
face “faith’s final exam.” It is an exam that more than a few
Christians have had to face. It’s a soul searching test with only
one right answer.
Stephen, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:6),
faced this grueling test when “some men…rose up and argued
with Stephen…and dragged himaway” (vv. 9-12). They “looked
intently at Stephen” as they hurled false charges against him in
hopes of instigating his execution. Rather than capitulate to the
pressure and deny his faith—even when given the chance
(7:1)—he was fortified by faith and delivered one of the most
impassioned speeches in the Bible (vv. 2-53).
(Incidentally, that this speech contains such a massive amount
of accurate biblical data indicates that his faith was firmly
founded on God’s Word.) His speech wasn’t well received! In
fact,“when they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their
teeth at him…they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the
city and began to stone him” (vv. 54-58).
Faith’s final exam is simply this: “Am I willing to die for what I
believe?”We often sing about giving our all—even our life—to
the Lord. But what if stones were actually being hurled at us? It’s
hard to conceive but important to contemplate, because our
attitude about dying for our faith has much to say about how
we’ll live our faith!
Stephen was a priceless person who would not shrink back in
his faith no matter how intense the threat was. This made him
the first Christian martyr, although other ancient saints before
him were “put to death” for their faith (Heb 11:35-39). While
we pray that our families will never face that, may we also be
able to confidently say with Paul at the end of our life,whenever
that might be, “I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7)!
For Discussion: How do you think you might answer faith’s final exam?
FamilyActivity:Make up“price tags”for some things in your home.Let the
kids guess how much those things are worth before you tell them.
Next, ask themto put a price tag on a Bible, then themselves. Remind them
of the incalculable value of Scripture, their life, and faith.
