Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Passage: Acts 7:1-53
Focus: “You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” Acts 7:51.
You have probably heard the quip that says, “IF WE DO NOT LEARN FROM HISTORY, WE ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT.” Another related quip says, “HISTORY PROVES THAT MAN DOES NOT LEARN FROM HISTORY.” In his defense before the Sanhedrin, it would seem that Stephen is establishing the same idea as he rehearses an overview of Israel’s history. Things seemed to be going OK in his presentation…not telling them anything they didn’t already know…until he came to the end and connected some important dots. The bottom line conclusion that Stephen draws, as will be confirmed in the next reading, was absolutely unbearable for his hearers. Their stubborn duplicity was identified…and they didn’t like it one bit…ignorantly repeating their own ugly history with impunity.
This failure to learn from history is all too often repeated on a personal and practical level. For example, when we watch a person continue to fall into the same failure over and over again, he is giving strong evidence that he is a very poor student of his own history. It’s a condition that afflicts Christians as well. He may know his particular weakness, he may understand the cause and affect of his violation, he may remember the pain of a guilty conscience, he may remember the horrible consequences, but if he fails to make use of his God-given brain of intelligence and learn ways of correction, figuring out a way to avoid the same mistake, and take deliberate measures to strengthen his life where he knows it is weak, well…I have to call it like it is…he is living STUPID! God calls it FOOLISH. And Stephen calls it STIFF-NECKED. I think it’s all the same. And Solomon warned, “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed…without remedy” (Prov. 29:1).
Please don’t follow the example of some who like to quote that “God forgives and forgets.” Too often they use that as a coping mechanism for their guilt rather than going the way of Biblical repentance and forgiveness. Too often they want you to totally ignore their glaring record of foolish failure. That is a very unwise and unprofitable use of history. Please, by all means, repent of your past. Please seek forgiveness of God and man (which is not always possible on the human side). Please make restitution wherever possible. Please rejoice in God’s goodness, grace, and mercy. But please don’t eject your record of failure from your memory…or you will most likely repeat it.
“Past failures are guideposts for future success.”