If Christians are asked in what manner they would like to exit this world, most will say “the rapture.” I would rather go up to meet the Lord in the air, than meet death. We do not know how, or when we will exit, but here is one thing for sure and that is that we will all exit this life. Thankfully, our exit is in God’s hands and if we are in Christ Jesus we will be better off than we are today. Jan and I have stood in the exact spot in Oxford, England where Latimer and Ridley were burned for their faith in the year 1555. Today it is in the middle of a busy street, but the spot is marked. We naturally reflect on such incidents thinking how tragic they are, and yet, according to Scripture they are particularly blessed. Over the centuries thousands of Christians have been put to death for their faith and each incident appears from this side as disastrous, and yet to the contrary, Christ emphasizes that these martyrs are blessed (Matt. 5:10). If we think more broadly, we recognize that everyone who lived in those times all died and are long dead. The ones who put them to death are also long in eternity, but here is the difference. Those martyred for Christ’s sake died with a testimony and are now living gloriously.

We read about Stephen in Acts 7. He was following Christ fully and doing what the Lord had commanded him to do in preaching the Gospel. He stirred the lost religious people of his day by telling them the truth and their response was to go into a rage and stone him to death. Stephen’s words of truth destroyed their false religious ideas, exposing them as hypocrites. They, instead of being broken by the truth leading to repentance, became infuriated to the point of committing murder. Those unrepentant are filled with pride so much so that when the truth is presented, they lose all self-control. The scripture says, “They were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him,” (Acts 7:54). Yet it states by contrast that Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. This means he was under the influence or controlled by God the Spirit so that he was at peace. This was because he was focused upon God, upon doing His will and trusting in Him. The more we are walking with our Lord, the happier, calmer, and the less concerned we will be about what others think.  We will instead have the mind of Christ; the desire to do His will and carry the demeanor of our Lord!

From Stephen’s testimony we receive wonderful insight. It says of Stephen, “He gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, ‘Behold I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’” (Acts 7:55). By contrast, “But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse” (Acts 7:57). Stephen, while being stoned calls out to the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit, and then he further cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Stephen exited this life with the testimony of Christ! The unsaved neither live well nor die well and certainly have no future without the Savior. Stephen had it all because he was in Christ. This exemplifies Christ’s statement of “overcoming the world” (John 16:33).  Stephen overcame the world even to the point of calm while being murdered and praying for his murderers.

The Christian is other worldly. Our hope is not in the fallen world, but the new world promised of God. Some theologians call what Stephen experienced as dying grace. It is something God gives His own at death. I have been at the bedside of those dying and have witnessed unexplainable peace with those who have Christ. This scene is undoubtedly given as a prototype for all Christians to be encouraged! What we witness through Stephen is the defeat of death. As Paul says, “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54). Those opposing God’s message were trying in their rage to intimidate Stephen but to the contrary he was so focused upon his Lord that he moves graciously into His presence. What difference does it make what is going on in this fallen world if we have Jesus waiting to welcome us into His presence? Luke also informs us of a witness to this stoning. Those engaged, “Laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul” (Acts. 7:58). The reason this is recorded is that it had an impact upon this observing young man who would later become the Apostle Paul. We should be both encouraged by God’s truth for our own exit and be reminded to set the example before others of our steadfast confidence in our glorious Savior no matter our circumstances. We are seeking the things above where Christ is seated (Col. 3:1), and in the process are experiencing the peace of God.