Acts 7:1-8
Teaching Notes
As we move into Acts 7:1–8, we step into Stephen’s bold and Spirit-led defense before the Sanhedrin. Standing in front of the most powerful religious leaders of his time—men who held his life in their hands—Stephen doesn’t flinch. Instead, he begins to walk them through the story they all claim to know: the story of Abraham. But Stephen isn’t just giving a history lesson—he’s declaring something far more significant. He’s showing that God has always been at work, unfolding a plan of redemption that begins with grace and calls for faith.
Stephen reminds them—and us—that Abraham didn’t become the father of faith because he had it all figured out. He simply trusted God. When God called him to leave everything familiar and follow Him into the unknown, Abraham obeyed. That’s the kind of faith God honors—not a faith built on religious rituals or status, but a faith rooted in trust and obedience. It’s a faith that says yes before all the details are laid out.
That same faith is what we hold onto now. And it’s the faith the religious leaders lost. They placed their trust in tradition, in rituals like circumcision, in the temple itself—but not in the God who gave the promise. Stephen exposes the danger of misplaced trust. It’s possible to be deeply religious and still completely miss the heart of God. It happened then. It still happens now.
What’s striking is how Stephen, even in confrontation, shows deep respect. He addresses them as “brothers and fathers,” appealing to their heritage and identity. But he doesn’t water down the truth. With clarity and conviction, he points them back to Abraham—not just to honor him, but to hold up the example of real, living faith. Abraham trusted God’s promise, even when he had no child, no land, and no visible reason to believe. He lived like a stranger in this world because his eyes were set on a better country—an eternal one.
And that’s the call for us too. To trust God’s voice over our comfort. To follow His lead even when the road ahead is uncertain. To walk by faith, not by sight. God isn’t confined to a temple or a tradition. He meets us in the middle of our mess, calls us out of darkness, and invites us to follow Him into something far greater.
This passage reminds us that salvation has always been by grace through faith. Abraham’s story is our story—not because of lineage or law, but because of a shared faith in a redeeming God. And like Abraham, we’re called to leave behind the old life, step out in obedience, and set our eyes on eternity.
So let’s ask ourselves: Are we following Christ by faith, or just going through the motions? Are we living for what’s seen, or for what’s eternal? Stephen’s boldness, Abraham’s obedience, and God’s unwavering grace all call us to live lives that say yes to God—even when the details aren’t clear. Because when we do, we step right into the middle of His redemptive story.
