Focal Passage: Acts 6:3-17
Bold faith always advances the kingdom of God. In fact, if the truism is true – “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” then Stephen planted by this death (Acts 7) what would be watered by the boldness of his fellow believers as the early church exploded with growth and spiritual power.
We discover Stephen in Acts 6 as the church attempted to solve the problem of how to minister to a growing number of widows who were coming the faith in Christ. Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid did not exist in the first century. Widows depended on their families and other concerned friends.
The answer to this problem was the selection of seven godly men (proto-deacons) to administer the daily distribution of food the church had collected (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37), Stephen being one of these men. What was it about his faith that stood out?
A Faith That Impacts Church and Community (Acts 6:3-7)

The description of Stephen speaks of a man with spiritual character. He was a man of stellar reputation, full of the Spirit of God with great wisdom (v. 3). Further, he was full of faith and the Holy Spirit (v. 5). Because of his leadership, Stephen and the other men chosen by the church enabled to Apostles to focus on preaching and prayer (v. 4) and empowered the church to move forward with the mission of the church – seeing lost souls saved and believers strengthened (v. 7).
Genuine, bold faith will have an undeniable impact on every sphere of life. When we trust and love Jesus good things happen in us and through us.
God Works Through Our Faith (Acts 6:8-10)
Stephen was a man of faith and peace. God preformed “signs and wonders through” him (v. 8). But the enemies of the cross are always present, both then and now. No sooner had Stephen helped solve a ministry problem in the church than some who opposed the advancement of the gospel set themselves against the church. How did they oppose Stephen and the gospel?
1. They disputed and argued with Stephen himself (v. 9)
2. They agitated the crowd (v. 11)
3. They made false accusations against Stephen (v. 11)
4. They stirred up the leadership of the synagogue (v. 12)
5. They accused him of being opposed to God’s work (vv. 13-15)
But verse 10 makes a remarkable statement about Stephen during this tumultuous scene – “But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he as speaking.” Faith in God produces spiritual character through which God works to accomplish great and mighty things.
Faith Meets Opposition (Acts 6:11-15)
Just because we have faith doesn’t always mean we will have peace. We can be thankful for seasons of spiritual tranquility. Yet faith is best seen when the pressure is on. Stephen was falsely accused (vs. 11-14). Yet he did not become angry or bitter; it caused him to be bold to the point of death (Acts 7).
Even now, in 2025, those who oppose the message of the cross seem to be gathering their powers to stop the advancement of the kingdom. What will we do? How will we respond? Let us respond as Stephen did – with faith, wisdom, spiritual power, grit, determination, and great confidence in God so that when they look at us they see what they saw in Stephen (v. 15): “all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” This is the kind of God-centered faith that changes everything. B&R