Acts 8:1-3

Now Saul was consenting to his death. 

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 

³ As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 


Saul threw Christians into prison and watched while at least one was stoned for his beliefs, Saul was wrong. He turned his life around through the intervention of Jesus Christ but many were persecuted in the wake of his early life. We are fallible humans and we need to have laws that protect freedom of religion for all people. God alone is the judge and He has the power to bring about His will without us.  The battles we fight are spiritual not physical battles and we fight them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for God’s hand in our life, the life of our Nation and in the world! You either trust Him or you don’t...choose who you will serve!

The church father Augustine wrote that the church owes Paul to the prayer of Stephen. Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, never forgot the way Stephen died—he also did not conceal that he was in full agreement with the killing. 

Saul had all the legal papers he needed to direct this persecution, and he had the authority to put people to death. Saul was arresting the Christians, men and women, and taking them to prison. After Saul was converted to Christ, the Lord appeared to Ananias, instructing him to go minister to Saul. However, because Ananias had heard about the tremendous pain and suffering Saul had afflicted upon the Jewish believers, he was afraid to go.