Killed By Religion 

March 31, 2025

READ ACTS 6:8-15 FIRST!!

The Synagogue of the Freedmen is mentioned only once in the Bible: “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” (Acts 6:8–9). The Synagogue of the Freedmen is called the Synagogue of the Libertines in the KJV. The word libertine is from the Latin and originally referred to a man who had been a slave but had been set at liberty. Some scholars believe that these persons were slaves of the Romans who had been freed, became proselytes of the Jewish religion, and had a synagogue in Jerusalem. The NLT calls this group the Synagogue of Freed Slaves.

Other scholars contend that these freedmen were not Jewish proselytes but Jews by birth who had been taken into captivity by the Romans and then set free and subsequently called liberti or libertini. There were many such Jews. Some have speculated that among these zealous members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen was Saul of Tarsus, who would have been more than capable of disputing with Stephen in matters of religion.

Whoever the Freedmen were, one thing is clear: Stephen’s proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the miracles he performed caused great animosity. Remember, these were religious people Stephen spoke to. When you stand for truth instead of religion, the events in ACTS 7:54-60 can take place.

SCRIPTURE READING

MATTHEW 10:28

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“TRUTH OVERIDES TRADITION ALL DAY, EVERYDAY!”