I read about the so-called Freedmen in Acts 6:8-11: “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.”
“Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, ‘We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.’”
Not only were the Freedmen not free – the chains of the Father of Lies are apparent even down through the ages – it seems they were unable to tolerate anyone else’s freedom. They seem to be one of those groups bent on forcing everyone to conform to their vision of the world.
But they had a problem: they were up against a man, Stephen, who was full of God’s grace and power. He was a good man, who did good things for other people. So their tactic is a not unusual one when bad people can’t find anything to hang on good people. They made something up.
I doubt they realized that in pushing their opposition to Stephen’s good deeds and Good News, they were actually eroding the freedom their name suggests they were after. Satan’s schemes seem to work that way, pulling us from one lie or dirty trick to the next. There’s no satisfaction in pulling it off, just more bitterness.
I’m tempted sometimes to use those methods. Even though I know them to be a snare, even though I know this idea - that getting even will feel good enough to justify the lies – to be a lie itself, sometimes I want to. This morning, I’m reminded that the opposite of freedom waits down that road. True freedom is found only at the cross of Jesus.
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