Why is there so much anger, bitterness, and hatred evident today? And why a sudden increase in anti-Christian sentiment in a nation founded on a Judeo-Christian foundation?

I’ve wondered if part of the cause of anti-Christian feeling is because people with low morals react to Chritians’ judgment of them. In many cases, I believe that could be part of the problem.

When Christians oppose and publicly condemn them, it isn’t surprising that they would react by turning against those who judge them as well as the God they claim to represent.

I gained new insight into another possible answer while reading in Acts. In chapter 6, it was said of Stephen that he was “full of faith and power” and “did wonders and miracles among the people” (v. 8).

Some of the religious leaders were displeased and disputed with Stephen. “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.’” (Acts 6:10-11).

However, that doesn’t seem to be the case with Stephen, and these verses indicate a more basic issue. There is no indication that Stephen was judmental. He spoke with faith and power and did miracles, and those who saw and heard him could “not resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.”

Rather than reacting to judgment, they were convicted by the faith and power they witnessed in Stephen.

However, instead of falling on their knees before the Son of God, they sought to destroy Stephen and convinced men to tell lies about him.

Is that not what is happening today? There is a segment of the society that is actively seeking to destroy Christians. Furthermore, they stir up others to their cause and even lie about them.

In the 1960s there was a counter-culture movement that championed personal freedom and sexual revolution. The loosening of morality has continued to escalate. Consequently, activities which were unacceptable twenty years ago are now declared the norm.

They may be declared, and even legislated as normal and good, but I suspect that many people who advocate for sexual freedom know in their hearts that God disapproves. Testimonies from those who once lived a loose lifestyle indicate that the majority know it is sin.

Like those who heard Stephen, today, when people living a lifestyle of sin are confronted by faith and power would they not be convicted by God? Is it hard for them to resist wisdom, the Spirit, and their burdened conscience? The nature of mankind has not changed. Why would it be different today than in Stephen’s time?

Do people fight God, His messengers, and anything that reminds them of Jesus—such as public display of crosses, and the Ten Commandments because they are moved by the Spirit of God? Is it is a threat for Christians to live by their convictions, because they are finding it hard to resist conviction themselves?

Stephen’s detractors stirred up the people, took him to court (the council) with false accusations, ran him out of the city, and stoned him to death. All because they “were not able to resist.”

This passage may give answer to the question of why so many are fighting God, but it also speaks to those who love Him and seek to serve Him. Stephen spoke with wisdom and the Spirit..

He told about their common history, then shared about Jesus. He spoke with boldness, even though he knew he was a target of their anger and schemes. He didn’t mince words, but he spoke out of His love for and relationship with Jesus.

Acts 6:15 tells us that while Stephen was at trial, “All that sat in the council looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.”

Stephen was so firmly attached to Jesus—that the love and light of the Lord shone through him while he was under attack.

The question for us is whether or not we are walking in faith and the Spirit so that those who are lost and walking in darkness will be convicted and drawn to the love and light of God.

If we are so full of faith and power so that it shines through our lives, some of us may suffer for it, but many people will see the love and light of God and be drawn to the living Light.

Our lives are impacted by the changes in our culture and many around us are without hope. As Christians, we need to understand so we will better know how to respond to the changes.

More important than understanding, we need to be plugged into the power source, abiding in Him. Then, like Stephen, we will be ready to share the reason for the hope and faith that is within us. (See 1 Pet. 3:15-17.)

It impacts me that an interaction with me may be somebody’s only opportunity to experience the love and life of Jesus.  I want the heart of God to so evident in me, as it was in Stephen, that it draws people to Jesus rather than my flesh and judgment driving them away.

Frankly, that concerns me. I don’t see that kind of love, faith, or power in me and my walk. How about you? (See 1 Pet. 3:15-17 for more on being ready to give a defense.)