The Early
Church Is a Far Cry From the Church of Today
[Acts
chapter 2, verses 36-47]
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Last
week when we left off in part 2 of Acts chapter 2 at verse 35, the
apostle Peter – filled with the Holy Spirit – was vigorously
explaining the sound of a hurricane-force wind combined with the
apostles and others present with them speaking in other languages,
which they had not previously known. This understandably bewildered
everyone within earshot, which was quite a few people considering
they were near the center of town. Seeing that the crowd that formed
outside the building where the 120 were staying was turning into a
mob, the Twelve (which now included Matthias) came out to address the
crowd. Peter quotes the Word of God liberally and with great
precision as he uses the Scriptures to explain what has just
occurred. This week as we finish up chapter 2, we will conclude our
examination of Peter's first 'sermon' followed by a quick look at how
the early Church operated. The differences between then and now are
striking!
“'Therefore
let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ.' When the people heard this, they
were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles,
'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized,
every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off –
for all whom the Lord our God will call.' With many other words he
warned them, and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this
corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.”
(Acts 2, verses 36-41)
Let
me paraphrase what the apostle Peter was saying to the crowd. It
would be something similar to this: 'Hey everybody, you know Jesus of
Nazareth, that dude you helped crucify on the morning of Passover?
You do recall the choice you made that day between him and Barabbas,
don't you?' Then Peter connects this with the scriptural quotes he
recited from the books of Joel and Psalms, which most of the crowd
understood since Jerusalem was mainly a Jewish city. Moreover, having
been on the periphery of Jesus' mock trial, Peter undoubtedly
recognized some of their faces as having been the ones who shouted,
“Crucify him!!” the loudest. “When
the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter
and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied,
'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Many of the people there were evidently devastated once they realized
who Jesus really was, that in fact he was the actual Messiah, the
salvation of his people the Jewish nation and all of humanity. Jesus
was the real deal and they had not recognized him for who he was.
Peter's
response to their reaction is the same as it is today when people ask
me what to do, seeking my advice, which I give out freely but only
when asked for it. 'Turn away from what you have done, all of you,
and be baptized with a water baptism like that of John the Baptist.
Then and only then will you receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.'
This simply means that water baptism must come first and Holy Spirit
baptism after that. I have heard some professing Christians give
testimonies about having received both baptisms at once, but I think
the above scripture disproves that assertion; plus, those words came
straight from Peter. The other thing we can take away from Peter's
words is that anyone who declines to be baptized – and we do have
the freedom to choose – cannot be saved and will find themselves
condemned with the very worst of humanity. They will burn along with
all the dictators, murderers, arch-criminals and habitual sex
offenders. That's how important the 2 baptisms are to those who
self-identify as Christians. Baptism of the water and of the Spirit
(see John chapter 3, verses 1-8) are essential to everyone's
salvation. What is also essential is that these gifts must be
received voluntarily. At no time does Jesus force anything on
anybody.
“The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off –
for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
This means it's for everybody, no matter what race, ethnicity, skin
color, nationality, age, gender or sexual orientation you are. God's
offer of reconciliation through his Son Christ Jesus is offered
equally to all no matter what. It also means God can call anyone to
serve him no matter who they are. He called Saul of Tarsus, a
persecutor of Christianity who later became the apostle Paul, and who
wrote one third of the New Testament. That being said, he has called
me as well, although I consider myself a servant rather than an
apostle – and, God can call you too. Has he? If he has and you
haven't yet answered, why not? What's keeping you?
“....he
pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.'
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were
added to their number that day.”
They all got baptized, all 3,000 of them. It's a good thing Peter had
the other Eleven to help him, or it would have been a very long
service! But what's not being said here is that there were at least
as many, or more, who rejected Peter's message despite the
overwhelming evidence of his truthfulness and the accuracy of his
statements. All this in spite of the fact that the message was
universal, for all of humankind. And now let's move on to the second
half of today's lesson, starting at verse 42.
“The
disciples were devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. A
feeling of fear came over everyone as many amazing things and
miraculous signs happened through the apostles. All the believers
kept meeting together, and they shared everything with each other.
From time to time, they sold their property and other possessions and
distributed the money to anyone who needed it. The believers had a
single purpose and went to the temple every day. They were joyful and
humble as they ate at each other’s homes and shared their food. At
the same time, they praised God and had the good will of all the
people. Every day the Lord saved people, and they were added to the
group.” (Acts
2, verses 42-47)
I
am absolutely sure that the four things listed that the disciples
were devoted to are listed in their order of importance. Not that any
one is unimportant, but the teachings of the apostles came first,
since their teachings are that of Christ Jesus, who is the Son of
God. Second was what the Bible calls “fellowship”, which is an
antique word for friends hanging out together to watch a ball game or
have a cook-out, or maybe both. Except that in this case it was what
we call 'church' today. A church service back then was a
celebration. Today, it's all over and done with in an hour or two.
That's it. And then churches today wonder why they are having a hard
time keeping people in the pews! Maybe what we need to do is get back
to basics. You know, like less pomp and circumstance and more
celebration! We need less emphasis on conservative politics and more
on community involvement, like setting up a soup kitchen or
distributing donated clothing and furniture. And let's not forget
less emphasis on money and more on Spirit-filled preaching, fewer
demands for tithes and prayers forevermore for the healing of souls.
“A
feeling of fear came over everyone as many amazing things and
miraculous signs happened through the apostles.”
In other words, the apostles performed miracles that literally scared
the onlookers, but not to the point of scaring anyone away. Also,
notice that the breaking of bread was not about coming to a free
meal, it was about Holy Communion. And prayer, which is fundamental
and crucial to anyone's Christian faith, is given equal footing with
the breaking of bread -- meaning every time we pray, our prayers are
another form of communion as we converse with the Lord in reverence
and humility. Soon, a form of communalism was established. Like Jesus
said to the rich young man, these people sold whatever they owned and
pooled the proceeds. Jesus also taught us not to collect treasures
upon earth, but in heaven (see Matthew 6: 21). There was no lacking
for anything, and everyone loved and looked after each other
unconditionally.
“All
the believers kept meeting together, and they shared everything with
each other. From time to time, they sold their property and other
possessions and distributed the money to anyone who needed it.....
They were joyful and humble as they ate at each other’s homes and
shared their food.”
Contrast this with our situation today, and we find a stark contrast
indeed! The majority of people today, based on personal observation,
are convinced that life is all about seeing how much they can get,
and what they can attain in areas of human achievement. In fact, life
is all about the legacy we leave behind after we're gone. What they
did back then would be like people today selling their properties,
their cars and SUV's, and cashing in their investments, and then
turning around and giving away the proceeds. Today people like that
are called philanthropists, and they are all very wealthy. But in the
days of the early church, everybody was doing it, and that, my dear
people, makes all the difference in the world! The time has come for
everyone to cease being servants of only themselves, and to begin
becoming servants of everyone else. It's about proper priorities,
people!
“....they
praised God and had the good will of all the people. Every day the
Lord saved people, and they were added to the group.”
Every day they went to the Temple, every day they had a sunrise
service there as they praised God, and everybody evidently really
loved these early Christians for who they were and how they lived.
Those that were able-bodied enough to work did so, and still others
owned businesses. They took in the sick, the homeless, the alien, the
mentally ill and the elderly, plus widows and orphans and looked
after them, no questions asked. I'm sure you have noticed that at
least a few so-called “conservative Christians” would recoil at
the very idea of lending a helping hand to a Mexican migrant worker
or a homeless person.
The
early Christians who truly lived their faith as a lifestyle weren't
caught up in the ''rat race' like we are today. If fact, the early
Christians couldn't have cared any less about their careers, their
investments, and making sure they have the best of everything all the
time like we do today. They weren't materialistic like we are today.
It was about a people and a faith, a church with a whole new way of
living and a fresh paradigm of thinking. You know, like the kind of
church we need today? The church we urgently, desperately need? Let's
all contemplate different ways to put that into action in our own
lives, and next week we'll start on chapter 3.
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