Examining Acts 7:51
Last Update: 2024, December 05
“[a] You men—stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears—[b] are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” (LSB)
When the Gospel is presented, why does one gladly accepts it, and the other rejects it? The answer to that can be found here. In this post you’ll find out exactly why the External Call of the Gospel is rejected.
NCs often quote Acts 7:51 in their attempt to refute Irresistible Grace. One of two things will usually happen when this verse is quoted:
The first part (a) is left out and only the last half (b) is quoted.
If the whole verse is quoted, the NC is unaware of how [a] explains [b], and that taken together as a whole, Acts 7:51 actually supports and strengthens the reformed position.
Reformed Soteriology doesn’t deny that grace in general can be resisted. For instance, believers do grieve the Spirit from time to time (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19), so how much more when it comes to unbelievers without a new heart? Lost sinners always resist the Spirit because of their uncircumcised heart and ears. However, this resistance to the Spirit of grace by a lost sinner can be conquered by Almighty God if He decides to when the time is right (cf. Psalm 102:13, 115:3; Proverbs 21:1). Take Paul, for example; he was there when Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 22:20). What Stephen says here in Acts 7:51 applies to Paul as well. Paul resisted the External Call of the Gospel when he consented to Stephen’s death (Acts 8:1). However, on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, Christ met him and overcame his resistance (cf. Acts 9:1-4; Daniel 4:35; Jeremiah 20:7).
There will always be two groups of people: those in the flesh—uncircumcised in heart and ears, always resisting the Holy Spirit, and those in the Spirit (Philippians 3:2-3). Paul was circumcised in the flesh (Philippians 3:5), but his heart wasn’t (cf. v.3). A Jew is not one who is outwardly circumcised and physical, but inwardly, a matter of the heart, by the Spirit (Romans 2:28-29). Paul was one of those “who handle the law” but “did not know Me” (Jeremiah 2:8). And “desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm” (1 Timothy 1:5-7). He had zeal, but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2). He was taught by men (cf. 2 Timothy 3:7), and not by God (John 6:45 [cf. Galatians 1:11-12; Matthew 16:17]). He resisted and persecuted Christians until he received a circumcision made without hands.
When God seeks to convert a lost soul, “the Spirit of grace and supplication” that God pours out (Zechariah 12:10) can’t be resisted because Christ is irresistible—once the sinner has his eyes opened to behold the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-7). To those with opened eyes, they can’t help it but hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him (John 10:27). Like a blind man receiving sight, he can’t help it but be transformed and moved by what he sees (cf. Acts 4:20).
In the Old Testament, national Israel as a whole can be said to be a stiff-necked people (cf. Exodus 32:7-10; Deuteronomy 9:24, 31:19-21). This is speaking collectively because not all Israel is Israel (Romans 9:6). But here in Acts 7:51, under the inspiration of the Spirit, Stephen gives us the real reason behind their rejection: A explains B. “[a] You men—stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears— [b] are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.”
Verse 39, “Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him [Moses], but rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt…”
Why do people reject the External Call of the Gospel? The biblical answer is: uncircumcised heart and ears. They will always resist until God gives “a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear…” (Deuteronomy 29:4).
What we have here in Acts 7:51 is a perfect example of what happens to lost men if left to themselves. They became even more enraged after hearing what was said about the true condition of their hearts, v.54, “When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.” Paul would have them locked up, and he tried.
Their hearts were cut or pierced in a non-salvific way by the message they hated. This is where Acts 2 comes in. There we see another cut…
Acts 2:37 > Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
This time by God! Why did I say by God? It’s not obvious at first. The key is in v.41, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” Who added them? The Lord! God was building His church.
Acts 2:47 > “…And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
No matter where you turn to in Scripture, this is the consistent theme. When studied together (Acts 2 and 7), you’ll see the reason for people’s rejection of the Gospel, and how only God can overcome this resistance. The disobedience and obedience of Paul proves this.