We live in a world that is opposed to Jesus. With recent attempted and achieved political assassinations, it feels riskier than ever to speak about Jesus in public. As Christians, what should we do? Should we be quiet and wait until a more favorable season to speak about the good news of Jesus in public? The state of our world reminds me of the early church in Acts 7. The church in Jerusalem was growing. The religious leaders in Jerusalem placed themselves in opposition to Jesus and the growing church. They arrested an outspoken, courageous Christian named Stephen. They dragged him before the Jewish Supreme Court on false charges and asked him to defend himself against things he had never done. While we don’t need to get into the details of his words, know that he was unashamed to speak about Jesus in a place where everyone was violently opposed to Him. Stephen knew that he might lose his life, yet he courageously told the Jewish leadership about their sin and Jesus as their only hope to be saved. As a result, filled with rage, the Jewish leadership dragged Stephen outside the city, where they took his life by stoning. It is Stephen’s final words I want to highlight. He said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” With that, he breathed his last. Most of us would ask God to get even with our murderers. Why did Stephen pray for their forgiveness instead of revenge? Stephen wasn’t the first to do this. Jesus, while dying on the cross, prayed the same thing in Luke 23:34 for his executioners. Why did Stephen and Jesus pray for God’s forgiveness of their enemies, not for God to carry out justice against them? The reason may surprise you. We don’t need to pray for God to carry out vengeance against sin. God has already promised to carry out just judgement against all sin. In Romans 12:19, Paul reminds us that God says, “Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord.” The Bible tells us that when Jesus returns, he will carry out perfect justice against all sin. Nobody will get away with anything. Someone may escape justice in a court of law in this life, but they will never escape justice before God in the next life. It is never a question of if God’s justice will happen. It is only a matter of when. If it weren’t for Jesus and the forgiveness we are offered through Him, all of us would face perfect eternal justice. The Bible has good news. It tells us that Jesus died on the cross to pay for sin. He completely forgives all who trust in Him to pay for their sins. As it says in Romans 8:1, there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is why Jesus and Stephen prayed for the forgiveness of their enemies, not God’s vengeance. God already promised that one day He would carry out perfect justice against all sin. The good news is that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus to forgive them will not face eternal punishment. On the cross, Jesus suffered in our place, for our sins. This is why we pray for the forgiveness of our enemies through Jesus, not for God’s justice against them. God has already promised punishment for all sins. The only question is, will people turn to Jesus and be forgiven for their sins before it is too late and they face the just consequences? Amazingly, God answered Stephen’s prayer. In Acts 7, it is implied that one of the prominent leaders carrying out Stephen’s execution was a man named Saul. In Acts 9, Jesus appeared to Saul when he was on the road to Damascus. Meeting the resurrected Jesus, Saul realized the error of his ways. He repented, trusted in Jesus, and was dramatically transformed. He was so different that he took on a new name. That name was Paul. Paul became one of the greatest evangelists in history. I don’t know what you have done. I don’t know how far from God you have fallen into sin. But I know there is no reason for anyone to pray for God to carry out vengeance against you. That is guaranteed to come when Jesus returns. Instead, we should pray for our enemies' forgiveness. We should pray that they would turn to Jesus and experience the same forgiveness of sins and transformation of life that Paul did. If Jesus can forgive and transform the life of a murderer like Paul, he can do the same for you. (Written for The Dickinson County News, September 20, 2025)
