The Faith of Abraham
Acts 7:1–5 (NASB95)
1The high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ 4“Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5“But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him.
Acts 7:1-5 opens Stephen’s defense by reframing Israel’s history. Like Jesus, Stephen faces false charges and responds with a prophetic survey of Israel’s history to expose hypocrisy. Both Jesus and Stephen’s ministries highlight how religious leaders rejected God’s messengers, prioritized institutional power over divine truth, and misunderstood worship’s heart. Like Jesus’ teachings, Stephen's speech redirects focus from physical temples to God’s sovereign presence.
To make sense of Stephen’s defense, we must remember what he has been charged with. The charges are blasphemy against:
Moses
The Law
The Temple
And God
Stephen begins his defense with Abraham, making the point that he was chosen from outside the promised land (Mesopotamia) to challenge the Sanhedrin’s narrow focus on Jerusalem’s temple. God’s promise to Abraham—“this land will belong to your descendants”—was not fulfilled in Abraham’s lifetime, yet he trusted God’s faithfulness. Stephen argues that God’s presence and plan were never confined to a single location, even in Israel’s earliest days. Stephen will develop this argument further as we keep reading chapter seven. Stephen’s argument is essential as the book of Acts shifts to focus on the Gentile mission outside of Jerusalem and the temple.
This has multiple applications for us today. We need to be adaptable in our mission as well. Stephen’s critique of localized worship urges the church to prioritize Spirit-led missions over rigid traditions. Like the early church’s shift from Jerusalem, modern believers must steward the gospel beyond ethnic/cultural comfort zones, engaging diverse communities and tactics to grow God’s Kingdom. This does not mean the message changes, but this does mean that how the message is taught should adapt to the community's needs and our audience. This can be challenging as each of us likely has our worship preferences. The question we should constantly revisit, though, is whether our preferences work within the community in which we serve. We should not cling to traditions and preferences at the expense of those we are trying to serve.
Remember, people are the mission.
Blessings,
Ryan Goodnight