Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, these closing words of Stephen's speech are a doozy. He lambastes his audience, almost as though he knew that they were going to murder him and thereby prove him right. But one of the things he has said as he attacked the Sanhedrin has taken on a life of its own in the theological debates of today. If you have heard of "Calvinism," as Reformed Theology is (often derisively) dubbed, you may be familiar with the term "irresistible grace." And if you know the term, then you can instantly see how Stephen's statement that the Sanhedrin and their fathers always resist the Holy Spirit is prima facie evidence against any doctrine called "irresistible grace." But what I hope to show you this morning, by God's (resistible) grace, is that Stephen's statement is not a proof text against Calvinism. It's a warning to you and me to bow to God and circumcise our hearts.
