In this sermon, the preacher recounts the story of Stephen, a deacon who stood before a company of people and gave a powerful defense of his faith. Despite not having formal training, Stephen spoke with the wisdom and authority of the Holy Spirit, indicting Israel for their history of rejecting God. This enraged the listeners, and they stoned Stephen to death. However, this event was a turning point for Saul of Tarsus, who witnessed Stephen's unwavering faith and later had his own encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This sermon emphasizes the importance of a personal revelation of Jesus Christ, beyond mere words or religious practices.

As I bring you face to face with the two most important questions that a man has ever asked. If I were to offer to you as a theme this morning the most important question ever asked a man, I believe that many of you would understand the direction of my thinking and would correctly answer. That question was given by our Lord Jesus Christ on one occasion to his disciples. When having first inquired whom say men that I am, they replied some say thou are John the Baptist, some say you're Elijah, some Jeremiah, Isaiah, one of the prophets. Then the most important question that was ever asked a man, what who say ye that I am? Without any hesitation, the answer came from the heart and mind and soul and spirit of Simon. Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. This was correct. This is the only correct answer. This is the answer that has saving difference. This is the answer that makes the difference between heaven and hell, life and death. For that babe that was born in Bethlehem, cradled in a manger, is none other than God, the eternal son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, this same question was asked by our Lord to another company. What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? But this company wasn't prepared to answer. The difference lay not in the facts, but in the response to that which priesthood followed the facts. For we discover that when the wise men came to Jerusalem and asked Herod where he should be born would be king of the Jews. The Pharisees responded in Jerusalem, in Bethlehem, quoting the promise and assuring the visitors that if he were come at all, it would have to be in Bethlehem. But they themselves didn't care to go, for though they were looking for the coming of Messiah, they were not looking for him to come as a babe and to be born in a stable and to be laid in a manger. They weren't looking for this. They had certain facts, but the predisposition of their hearts was such that they were not prepared for revelation. Our Lord Jesus said to Simon, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjo, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee. This has not come from the teaching of the rabbis. This has not come from your reading of the prophets. Though the prophets clearly spoke of Christ and the rabbis clearly taught of Christ, but he said flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven, he has revealed it unto thee. Now there are many people in our churches at Christmas season that have the facts, that have the information, that are acquainted with the historicity of Christ and the prophecies concerning Christ and would want to be called as Christian. But the difference lies in the fact that they have been satisfied with information and the predisposition of their hearts is such they've never pressed through to revelation. And so all they have at Christmas season is the seminal journey back through the centuries to follow in the familiar paths that have been marked by poetry and hymns. But they know nothing of the living Christ. They know the great I was, the one who came and lived and died and ascended into heaven. They have some information concerning the great I will be, the one who will come to reign and establish his throne upon the earth. But they live in almost total oblivion of the great I am. Neither seeing him, nor hearing him, nor feeling and sensing his presence. But it is the great I am, the Lord Jesus Christ that makes the difference between Christmas being a pagan festival or Christian. To simply go to the creche and see the doll lying in the straw is but one aspect. If this can be accompanied by the revelation of Jesus Christ in the heart, then it has saving and Christian significance. But the question, who art thou, cannot be answered alone by the theologian, nor can it be answered by the historian. It can only be answered by the one whose hunger for reality is such that he has been prepared to submit and by the disposition of his heart and mind has been open for the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. Let me illustrate the difference between knowing Christ by common knowledge, by theology or by history, and knowing him by experience. You will recall that there was a man in our Lord's day who was born in another city some distance away and transportation being difficult and dangerous. The journey was probably not made by this young man whose life paralleled our Lord's. I do not believe that he ever heard him, that he ever saw him, but he heard about him. He was acquainted undoubtedly with the fact that in Galilee there was one who claimed to be the Messiah, who was healing the sick, even raising the dead, restoring strength to the cripples and making them whole. I am confident that Saul, while he resided in Tarsus, framed opinions from the hearsay, from the gossip, from the information that was carried by the caravans and the itinerant rabbis, the company of tradesmen that would have attended the ministry of our Lord. And this young man who was then probably the same age as the Lord undoubtedly had a reaction to information, just as the people that live in the building where you live and in the city where you live all have information concerning Christ. This thing is not being done under a bushel and it's not hidden. I mentioned the other day that when the board of managers meeting was on crossing Times Square with a raucous blaring, we heard the PA system blur out old little town of Bethlehem. And Dr. Tozer said, I wonder if the author ever anticipated when he wrote it, that it could have been played in such a setting as this. Well, undoubtedly he didn't, or it was written decades ago. But nevertheless, the community around us, this city is aware of the fact that associated somehow with Christmas is the history, the tradition, the teaching, whether they accept it is so or not, that a virgin conceived because around beyond virgin mother and child is the testimony of the song. They understand that Christians worship this babe that died and was said to have raised from, been raised from the dead. This is the feeling of the community. They aren't sure they understand that there are millions of people who do believe he is God and who worship him as God. And they associate Jesus Christ with the church in the community where they live. They associated with the people that they see in the trade shop on the weekdays going into that church on Sunday. They associate Jesus Christ, the tradition around his life, his birth, his life, his death with the people they know. And if you were to ask the average person in New York City about Jesus Christ, he would have formed his opinion on the grounds of hearsay. Something he's read in the subway on the bulletin board, something that he has seen in a department store, something that he has heard in a song that he's come to sing in school. He has a reaction to the historical Christ. But remember that Saul of Tarsus had a reaction to the historical Christ. His reaction was one of antagonism. His reaction was one of resentment. So I believe that this young man went to Jerusalem motivated by a deep-seated resentment that anyone would claim to be the Messiah and would thus seek to substantiate his claims by these miracles purported to be miracles, which he undoubtedly explained away and said were nothing but frauds. So on all that he heard, all of the testimony that was given, all of the gossip that was relayed, all of the teachings that were supposed to come from the lips of Christ, everything that had fallen upon Saul of Tarsus had predisposed him to hate Christ and to feel that Christ was a threat to the religious unity of Israel and that the church was a threat to the national existence of Israel. And therefore he felt there could be no higher dedication of his life and energy than to exterminate the memory of Christ and the organization which he had founded the church. And he gave himself to this end. Now obviously Saul of Tarsus knew the teachings and knew the claims. For his own testimony was, he pursued and persecuted Christians, he arrested Christians, he witnessed at their trials, he testified refuting their claims from the scripture that Jesus was the Christ. Now you understand that to do this, he must be intimately acquainted with the strongest arguments that could be presented concerning Christ. There could be no casualness about this. This man was an expert. He knew the promises, he knew the prophecies, he knew the claims. Perhaps this very reason is why he was able to immediately begin to preach after he arrived in Damascus. Because he had familiarized himself with all of this. But I submit to you that scripture is not enough, that testimony is not enough, that words are not enough, that miracles are not enough. There must be a personal revelation of Jesus as the Christ if there is to be devotion to it. Now the weakness of Christianity around the world is that in the second and the third generation, people are qualified by common acceptance to call themselves Christian, who have Christian parents and grandparents, Christian traditions, Christian ideas, Christian dogma, and Christian theology that have never met Christ. And thus the world, looking at this expression of Christianity, equates Christ with you and with each one who names the name of Christ. To them, you are Christ. To the world, this church is Christ. To this community, Christ is here. We are the only Bible they read, we are the only God they know, we are the only Christ they observe. And if you would like to find out the impact that we have made upon the community, I suggest that in the community roundabout, you go and visit. If you would like to find out the impact you've made, you go to the ones that have lived on the same floor in your apartment building, the ones that have traded with you, the ones that have served you and worked for you, and then you will find out what they think of Christ. Because what they think of Christ is what they think of you. Now, there was a blow that fell upon Solitasis, and I believe there's a blow that falls upon everyone. A blow that shatters these prejudices and ideas and attitudes. You know that for 35 percent of our New York community, it's a mortal sin to come into this church. One that must be confessed, and with it must go the promise of no repetition. You understand that. You recognize that there, to others, it's national treason to come to this church. And you recognize that for many, there are deep-seated antagonisms because of previous contact with Christianity and the church. And the consequence of that is this, that today it is imperative that there be a revelation from God that shatters all of these firmly fixed attitudes and ideas and dispositions, if people are to ever meet Christ. Now, the simplest way to approach this is to say, well, what we need to have this shattering effect is miracles. Now, I recognize that Paul said that from Jerusalem to Illyricum, he fully preached the power of the gospel through mighty signs and wonders by the power of the spirit of God. And I realize the shattering effect of miracles, that the intervention of Christ does often break this crust and predispose the heart to a sensitive hearing of the truth. But I also remind you that there was no such display under Paul's ministry as under Christ, and it was those that had observed most of his miracles were them who were most vociferous in calling for his death. So we cannot say that this revelation begins merely with the supernatural event. It itself is supernatural. It itself is something that God does by his own sovereign grace and power. The awakening of a sinner, the piercing of his heart. Let me illustrate. You recall one occasion, Saul of Tarsus, drew a company of people of who I perceived from reading that he was probably the leader. And they called out the young man, Stephen, a deacon, a man who'd been attracting considerable attention by the miracles that attended his preaching and his ministry. Stephen stood before them and gave one of the most startling defenses that have ever been recorded. For this man, not schooled, not trained, having no opportunity for the kind of training that would have qualified him for such forensic display, stood before them and I believe that this is a record of prophetic utterance. The Holy Ghost speaking through him. Indicts Israel going back to their history, synthesizing, drawing together as only a genius most intimately acquainted with the history could have done. But he did it by the enabling of the Holy Ghost. And it so enraged the hearers that they forgot all of the usual procedure to be followed in such case. For you recall that they were calm enough when they met Christ to say it is forbidden to Israel to execute judgment by punishing with death. And so they turned the matter over to Pilate. But when they came to Stephen, the presence of God and the wisdom with which he spake and the power of his words was so devastating that they forgot all about this prohibition of Israel exercising capital punishment. This was reserved only to Rome. They drew him outside of the city. They picked up stones and root. And when they came to the place they said was far enough away so that his cries couldn't be heard by the soldiers on the parapets, Paul stood there and held their garments lest they should be soiled by the dust while he as a representative of Judaism with charge with official authority consented to this lawless act of stoning to death. One who had been guaranteed by Rome a measure of religious freedom. And so here he stood. And the stones pelted the young man one and then another. And they bruised him and they hurt him until skull bleeding and scalp oozing blood, eyes blackened, nose broken, bones protruding. He fell to the ground and should have expired there in weakness. But Saul of Tarsus is startled beyond words or he shakes the stones from him, stands up and in vigor and in clarity declares, I see Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Overwhelming. Overwhelming. Then he says, Father, lay not this to their charge. They don't know what they're doing. They die. He died. Now, I believe that this was the beginning blow of revelation, breaking through the trust, breaking through the prejudice, breaking through the antagonism, breaking through the opposition. And I do not believe that anyone ever knows Jesus Christ until this happens. Words aren't enough. Theology isn't enough. Doctrine isn't enough. Tradition isn't enough. Ritual isn't enough. There must be that blow of God upon the heart that cracks, that opens the fissure of the adamant human spirit. Then a few days later on the road to Damascus, there is the encircling presence of Christ. There is the light that shines from above. And Saul walking, treading on the road, though his staff might have supported him, but overwhelmed by this revelation, he falls to the ground. Now notice, Saul knew that the one who appeared and he recognized it was one, that the one who appeared was good, was of God. For he used the term which would be used of an angel, which would be used of Moses, someone of great authority, or would be properly used of God himself. Now he knew that this was a supernatural event. For he's falling to the ground, lying there, blinded by the overwhelming revelation of this person. He declares, Lord, he doesn't know who it is, but he knows that he is to be reverenced. He knows that he is to be feared. He knows that he's to be listened to. And remember, he's a Pharisee that believes in the existence of angels and angelic visitation. Lord, who are thou? All he needs to have is identification, for he knows that this is of God. Ignorant, he doesn't associate this one that has caused this awe, this fear, this dread, this grief, with the one that, with whom he's so familiar. Lord, who art thou? The silence is broken, and from the light, the voice speaks, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecuted. Now the Lord, he's recognized him as divine or a divine messenger. He's realized that this is an encounter with God. And he says, he hears the voice say, I am the Lord. I am Jesus. Just a few days before, he had heard one dying and in vigor say, I see Jesus. Now he sees Jesus. I believe that no one is truly Christian until they've had a revelation that the Babe of Bethlehem, the man of the carpenter shop, and the victim of the cross, is God. But he is God, not just from God, but he is God. Oh, it's one thing to say it, but it's another thing to have your heart cleaned by the revelation that the Babe of the manger is God. I'm Jesus of Nazareth. Now, retaining the same word, the same reverence, the same obedience, the same total capitulation, the same entire abandonment. His word is, Lord, what will thou have me to do? You tell me you're a Christian because you can quote scripture. It isn't good enough. It isn't good enough. The devil can do that. You tell me that you're a Christian because you've made a decision. It isn't good enough. It isn't good enough. Judas made a decision, but he died down. You tell me that you're a Christian because you've observed ritual and tradition. It isn't good enough. You tell me you're a Christian because you followed taboos and have abstained from forbidden things. It isn't good enough. I cannot believe that you have ever asked, Lord, who art thou? And heard the answer, I am Jesus. Unless, following that revelation, you've asked the second most important question that ever fell from the lips of man, Lord, what will thou have me to do? He only knows Christ, who has abandoned himself to Christ. He knows about Christ, who's abandoned himself to the church, to activity, to tradition, to ritual, but he only knows Christ, who has abandoned himself to Christ. Lord, what will thou have me to do? It isn't asked once and then answered and forgotten. But the evidence of the genuineness of the life is the fact that it is asked at every day and at every crossroads in every day and at every interval in every day, at every point of decision. The next 35 years testify to the genuineness of the revelation of Christ in Paul. So, referring to this day on the Damascus road, he said, when he pleased God to reveal his son in me. Didn't say to me. Christ had been revealed to him when he was a young man studying up in Tarsus. By the caravan traders that had stopped in Galilee at the throngs and eaten the bread that he'd multiplied, seen the dead raised. He'd been revealed to Christ long before he was revealed in Christ. And Christ could be revealed to Paul and Paul of Tarsus could be the utter unreconcilable enemy of Christ because of the revelation to him. And so you, by your rebellion, your treason, your selfishness, your unbelief, your murmuring, your complacence can have the identification with Christ's name of Christian and be an unswerving foe of Christ. The only one who is the friend of Jesus Christ is the one who's had the revelation of Christ in him. And with that revelation, there is one hallmark of genuineness that can't be counterfeited. It is utter, irretrievable, absolute abandonment to the sovereignty of the Son in every area of life. Lord, what will thou have me to do? Has no qualifications, has no limits, has no restrictions, has no bottom, has no sides, no top, no end. Absolute. He only has had a revelation of Christ in him who has asked and answered by a lifetime of obedience. Lord, what will thou have me to do? I ask you tonight, this morning, what have you done about the two most important questions in all the world? If you are not convinced in your heart that Jesus Christ is God, there's no reason why you should be chastised or whipped or disciplined because you haven't abandoned all to him. No one can wisely abandon all that he has to an unknown person. No greater folly is observed by older people than to see young people marry without properly understanding each other and properly preparing themselves for marriage. No one can abandon themselves to a person of whose character and nature they're not sure. And so if you've not answered the question, who art thou Lord, we do not indict you. But if you have answered the question to the satisfaction of your intellect, and then you have not answered the second question by your obedience, you are indicted because you are, as Saul of Tarsus with information, a perpetual, ceaseless, relentless enemy of Christ. For Christ has suffered more from the hands of his friends, his professed friends, than he ever has from his enemies. He is the most devastating enemy of Christ, whose intellect is convinced of theology, whose life is filled with ritual and tradition, and whose walk is marked by taboo, but who in his heart of hearts has not submitted to the sovereignty of God's Son. The most relentless enemy, because continuously by life, by word, by deed, is seeking by every action and word to exterminate the memory of Christ and the church he founded. He only is part of the church, and he only is the friend of Christ, who having been convinced by revelation that Jesus Christ is God, has by utter abandonment looked into his face and done the only appropriate thing that one can do for God. Lord, what will thou have me to do without strings, without qualifications, but an absolute abandonment and a lifetime of obedience to prove the genuineness of that encounter? Has it pleased God to reveal his Son in you? The answer isn't by what you say. The answer is by your obedience daily, hourly to his will, his word. As you come to this Christmas, two questions you need must ask. As you gaze upon memory and tradition down the avenue of the past, who art thou, babe of Bethlehem? Who art thou, man of man?