Letters From Grandpa #569

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 569

Dearest grandchild,

Todays letter will be about martyrdom. This English word comes from the Greek word “martur” which means “witness.” It refers to those who died as “witnesses” for what they believed.

The first Christian martyr was Stephen. We read about him in Acts chapters 6 – 7. When the Grecian Jews complained that their widows were neglected, the apostles wisely let these Grecian brothers select seven men from their own group to solve the problem. Obviously, the unity of believers is more important than money! The only stipulation was that these men be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Stephen is mentioned first. Luke wrote: “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.” (Acts 6:8-10)

Since these unbelieving Jews could not stand up against the wisdom of Stephen, they secretly persuaded false witnesses to accuse him of blasphemy. When Stephen eloquently defended himself “They covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was there giving approval to his death.” (Acts 7:57-8:1)

This “young man named Saul” became the Apostle Paul who would himself later die as a martyr. The death of Stephen must have made an indelible impression on his mind. It was, perhaps, a result of this memory that Paul established a policy of “dialoguing” with those with whom he disagreed. Paul did not “cover his ears” or “yell at the top of his voice” at them, he established a “dialogue”. Please consider: The Scriptures state that Paul “reasoned” with the Jews in Thessalonica (Acts 17:2). Paul “reasoned” in Athens with the Jews, God fearing Greeks, and those in the market place (Acts 17:17). Every Sabbath he “reasoned” in the synagogue at Corinth (Acts 18:4). So also he “reasoned” with the Jews in Ephesus (Acts 19:19). After returning to Ephesus from Antioch Paul “argued persuasively” in that same synagogue for three months and had daily “discussions” in the lecture hall of Tyrannus (Acts 19:8-9). Later, on the first day of the week, Paul “spoke” to the church at Troaz (Acts 20:7). IN EACH INSTANCE THE UNDERLINED WORD IS “DIALEGOMAI” FROM WHICH WE GET OUR ENGLISH WORD “DIALOGUE”.

One modern man who became famous for his dialogues is the late Charlie Kirk. In 2012, at the tender age of 18, Kirk founded Turning Point USA. His M.O was to challenge hostile audiences to “Prove me wrong!” Following the example of Paul he did not “cover his ears” or encourage a mob to “yell at the top of their voices”, he politely sought to establish a “dialogue”. In fact, if you disagreed with Kirk you were invited to the head of the line and were given a microphone. If the crowd tried to interrupt, Kirk treated each opponent with dignity and would raise his hand for silence. Sadly, Kirk himself was silenced by an assassin’s bullet on September 10, 2025. Noting that the official time of his death was 12:24 PM Dr. Ben Carson was reminded of the words of Jesus in John 12:24 - “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

Chuck Colson went to prison as a result of the Watergate scandal. He was converted to Christ in prison in 1973 and became an outstanding “witness” for Jesus. With reference to martyrdom, Colson wrote: “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”

Tertullian wrote in the 2nd century that “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church”. This is true! Today, for example, Anti Christian Iran has been labelled the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world. On February 2, 2018 U.N. human rights experts determined that “members of the Christian minority in Iran, particularly those who have converted to Christianity, are facing severe discrimination and religious persecution”. On June 18, 2024, however, Chelsea Rollman of Mission to the World wrote: “Over the past two decades, hundreds of thousands of Iranians have come to faith, making the Iranian Church the fastest growing in the world”.

At the time of Kirk’s murder Turning Point USA had about 900 college chapters and 1,200 high school chapters. Within only 7 days after Kirk’s martyrdom 54,000 students contacted TPUSA to sign up and join the movement. 90,000 people attended his funeral and Turning Point estimates that 100 million may have viewed the service on television. The Apostle John describe how believers overcame the devil in his day: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Revelation 12:11)

I love you, please be a good “witness” for Jesus,

Grandpa Boyce