Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest

to what carnal preachers call the church, as they did in case of Stephen. If they had the co-operation
of the secular arm these defenders of what they call the church would kill us this day, as they did
Stephen and the mighty host of his successors. Beware of the clamor of church loyalty! That is the
very shibboleth that piled the rocks on Stephen, fed the martyrs to the lions and burnt them at the
stake. It is impossible to be loyal to God and disloyal to His church. When they talk to you about
loyalty to God, open your Bible and shout Amen! When they talk to you about loyalty to the church,
look out! that is the old hackneyed cry of persecution, from Stephen down to the present day.
15. “And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin, looking upon him, saw his countenance as the
face of an angel.” Now, remember, that the popular preachers, standing at the head of the churches,
persecute Stephen unto death. Why did they not desist when they see the very glory of God radiant
in his countenance? The solution is very simple, they did not have the discernment of the Holy
Ghost, hence they mistook the very glory of heaven radiant from his countenance for his own mean,
stubborn, self-willed, contrary spirit, which convinced them the more that he deserved to die for
disloyalty to the church.