Acts 2:42, "They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer."
An essential in every sound biblically based church will be the devotion to God’s Holy written Word. It is sound theology that leads to sound belief, and sound living together. You cannot not have a sound church without sound preaching of the Word. You cannot have a solid church without those who are passionately interested in searching the Scriptures themselves not just as a Preacher, but the whole congregation out to study the Word of God themselves in light of the Pastors message that Sunday! A sound church is one that presents the Word, but then applies that Word into its community allowing that message to absorb into the fabric of its existence. It was this that the early church did, more than likely its key to success, it took seriously doing not saying, listening and acting upon what it knew. The early Christians did not have the knowledge of the Scriptures, or the understanding level that we today possess. They did not have seminaries to attend, other than Jewish or Roman schools to attend, but none Christian seminaries as we have today. A sound church will teach the whole Word of God, historically and theologically but yet practically to today’s setting. You cannot have a sound church without sound preaching. It was this basis that built the early church, the preaching of the Word of God.
Acts 2:43, “A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.”
Some have tried to discount the works of miracles in the ideal of another. To them I say that salvation is and of itself a miracle. Salvation while by grace is and of itself a work of healing. We are healed in a sense by Christ’s work on the Cross, our sins are forgiven, we are justified, and sanctified-God no longer remember our sins, but yet at the same time in the process of becoming like Him. This deep awe that they experienced is more like a total reverence. They understand that now life without Jesus was not worth living. They understand that a huge aching part of their heart wanted to believe in this Jesus, yet while crucifying Him was the answer they had to that aching, it was really this now that what they desired, salvation, and healing in the soul, not desiring to be dead spiritually anymore drowned in the passions of life, but in the newness of life. It was this awe of God this reverence of God that swept over them.
The next phrase ‘and all the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders’ has been used sadly by many commentators in the sense to make it seem as if God did not heal in this day and age. To them I say God is still in the work of healing, otherwise we would not be in the process of becoming like Christ who is the Master Healer in and of Himself, offering liberation from sin, but not freedom from our sinful nature. God offers in Christ a personal living relationship and a vibrant life, not bent upon expectations, rather driven by intimacy. If we say that God does not perform miracles then we are in fact denying the very existence of the work of Christ on the Cross. God is still performing miracles everyday, drawing people to Jesus Christ and the work of the Cross. That in and of itself is a miracle! So really the argument for the existence of miracles is based upon some fanciful idea that God does not do these things in this day and age. While many have claimed to have these abilities, many have proven false and shown to be false through medical examination. I feel honestly that salvation is healing, God justifies us by His blood, and God removes our sin from His memory, it is not that we will not sin and mess up daily, it is now that through Christ’s sacrifice that we can depend and rely upon the grace and work of that sacrifice to change us so that we will not make the same mistakes, if we are wiling to confess our dependence upon that very work that can and should change us everyday.
The early church here understood the importance of worshipping God. They were a worshipping community. As believers we are indwelled by the Spirit of God. We are a temple without boxes or buildings, the Church-the Body of Christ, God’s people are not bound within buildings but within the confines of the Body of Christ to attend church, to fellowship with one another. Let us worship God, and celebrate His name, calling on the name of the Lord, praising His Holy name for His goodness and His faithfulness endure forever. This is the mark of a sound biblically based church, one that worships God, is based upon His Word, and work will naturally in turn be motivated to worship God because of the miracles He is doing in there midst drawing people to Christ, and meeting every need everyday.
Acts 2:44, “And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had.”
The second characteristic of the early church was that they fellowshipped together. While I’m sure they spent time away from each other here, it says that they met together constantly. This means that they cared for each other, wanting only to edify one another. It was more than like that they shared everything they had because of there love for worship, because of the spiritual unity they felt with one another. It is hard to bind together a community of faith without some grounds. These grounds of course would be upon worship and now fellowship and others which will build upon as we continue today. The early church was a fellowshipping community. They were engaged in each others lives and cared about each other. The sense of the Greek here stresses the importance of fellowship being together, being open with one another, or being real with one another. It is only through this though that we can truly experience and deepening our love for one another and for God really cause Jesus said that we ought to love God primarily and love our neighbor. Fellowship is relational and interactive.
Once again fellowship is relational and interactive. Fellowship does not hold in life’s problems, but bears upon the likes of another believer in Christ the pains, struggles and afflictions of life. Life isn’t easy and as believers we need to bind together, join arms together to serve a God who comforts us in our midst. We cannot progress in Christ if we will not allow ourselves to open up to one another. Each believer has a different story and a different strength. It is only through being relational and interactive even on these sites online that we can truly experience God in a deep and meaningful way.
This is not to say though that one cannot experience God and enjoy Him by merely loving Him though. One can enjoy God and love Him. I am saying merely that if one wants to know God, they have to be involved in the lives of those around them, particularly there brothers and sisters in Christ. This is part of the relational and interactive nature of the Gospel. The Gospel has more to do with action than about sitting around, more about being obedient than being slack. Let us not just be listeners to God’s voice, let us do what that very voice says and in turn be blessed by Him. A church that is sound will preach the Word faithfully in season and out of season, but a church that fellowships, that loves one another will grow exponentially in numbers and in maturity, for its foundation is upon the premise of His Word that is preached faithfully.
Acts 2:45, “They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need.”
A sound church is one that preaches God’s Word faithfully that fellowships together, but a solid church is also a church that sacrifices together. Sacrifice seems to be a scary word in today’s culture. We would rather say not to sacrifice to give of ourselves or our time, because well, in some way our rights will be violated, or we would be demeaned. Look at the example Christ gave us, in coming down from the gates of heaven, suffering during his life, and dying for us on the Cross. The richest man in the world pails in comparison to the riches that Jesus left in heaven to come down for us. In some way if we love Him, we will sacrifice something in our lives, presenting it before the Master to use for His eternal purposes and glory.
Warning you that if you sacrifice as a community God will be honored. I warn you of this because Satan hates it. Satan is described throughout the Bible as a lion who prowls around. What do lions do? They kill, eat and devour. Satan wants to kill, eat and devour our finances, our lives and our walks with God. Satan does not want us to sacrifice our lives as a living sacrifice unto the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords nor does Satan want us to sacrifice some of our time in service of the King. Nor does Satan want us as believers in Christ to be active in serving Him from the bottom of our hearts. Yet here the community of faith gave sacrificially sharing with those who had needs themselves. It is this that is the foundation of the Church, because it is in sacrifice that we experience the true meaning of what love is.
If the Church is to be anything, if the Body is to be anything, it must love one another. Love is the cornerstone and head of the Church. If we have not love Paul describes us as a clanging symbol, and John would describe us as spiritually dead, and depraved. Jesus in the Book of Revelation rebukes the Ephesians for losing there first love. Revelation 2:4, “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” You see its not about the things that we do its about the way we do them. Are they based upon an ideal of performance or upon the ideal of intimacy? Cause if our work for God is only based upon performance we are wrong, and doing it in our own strength and way, for no sacrifice is required just is viewed as business. If we are doing it for intimacy sake, because we love our Lord, it is a true sacrifice, a sweet aroma to God. If we love God, we will be driven by intimacy of Him in our ministries, in our prayer lives, and in our time in His Holy Word. It is not about the works it is about the work and how it is done. If we desire to do God’s Work that is a good thing, but we must develop the intimate knowledge that is knowing God so well intimately that we can run unto Him when the wolves come, and the sheep need protection. Let us as believers run into His arms of love. A community of sacrifice will honor God because God accepts the sacrifices of those who truly sacrifice something with the right intentions, and motivations.
Acts 2:46-47, “They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-- all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.”
The early church was a church that praised God, but yet grew because of its love for God and its love for people as an expression of that very love as Jesus instructed His people to love Him first and foremost and then love there neighbor in Matthew 22:37-39, “37Jesus replied, " `You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[1] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39A second is equally important: `Love your neighbor as yourself.’[2} If we have not love for one another how then we have love for God? If we have not love for God then what is our motivation in evangelism? This mission of the church is mission focused. Love God then you will be able to love your neighbor. Loving your neighbor doesn’t mean being all buddy, buddy, but it does mean being proactive in praying, in sharing, in being involved in some sense, in some way at this hour and age in which God is operating and moving amongst us.
A sound church will be a church focused on teaching of God’s Word from its historical and theological perspectives, it will be a church that worships God out of love and reverence for His sacrifice, a church that sacrifices because of the love of God, but lastly it will be a church as a result of these things that is a church of evangelism, because of the things that have occurred before this. The foundation of the church is missions focused, focused upon loving God, and loving its neighbor. John 13:35, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” A sound church that loves God will love one another, and obey the commands of the Lord. By loving God, love for others will spill out of that to overflowing; however if we have not love we are but merely a social gathering or club for that matter. Love is the foundation of the church, and it is that love that the world is aching for.
If we are to be the church then we ought to love God so supremely and completely that we are willing to sacrifice our lives on the altar of sacrifice, renewing our minds and our lives under God’s guidance. The early church was such a community a community focused upon loving God so well that the love of God flew from there hearts as an arrow upon the community sparking revivals the likes of which has not been since sense. It is only through loving God, through reading His Word and getting to know Him that we will do this. It starts with me, and it starts with you, as the reader deciding today, to be a sound believer in Christ. Sound churches are made up of sound people, dedicated to preaching the Word and fellowship, but worship of His name supremely and foremost.
The Church is aching and moaning because of the loss of these truths. It is only recently discovering its first love once again. May our churches be sound and may the people attending our churches be in turn sound Christians focused on the study of God’s Word, fellowship with the saints, sacrifice for God, and love for one another. A sound church starts and ends with sound believers focused on loving God, loving one another, and loving the community around it; yet all the while focusing on preaching His Word faithfully, praying faithfully, fellowshipping regularly, and loving God supremely. A sound biblical church equals sound biblical believers focused on running the race towards the face of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Jenkins
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