42And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Isn't that beautiful? They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, they were living it out. They were praying, communicating with God, and God was responding in signs and wonders. Then Luke spends the rest of the passage talking about this community. This community that ate together, share everything together, gave themselves away, and were happy about all that, joyous about doing that. Luke found this community of sacrificial love, giving one's self away, so important he repeats it in 4:32.
I was having a conversation with my co-workers the other day, another one of those conversations that proves to me that people want God, people just hate church. I was just sharing with them, as another perspective to their horrible stints with church, that the original church was as described in Acts 2. They all thought it was crazy, but they all thought it was good. People thought exactly the same back then too, 5:12, people thought they were nuts, didn't dare to join them, but held them in high esteem.
The priorities are exactly reversed in church goer's today. What do people want in a good church? Deeper teaching, good worship. Our church has focused on those for a long time. And there's nothing wrong with either of those, but really, what are important priorities for people's relationship with God has become people's sole focus in their relationship with the body of Christ. Church simply becomes a place for spiritual consumers to go and get what they want, with no regard to what God wanted of His royal priesthood, His holy nation. Luke didn't describe the first church as a school, or as a rock concert, or even as a building. He described the first church as a community, a community of Christ that was giving themselves away to each other and to those around them, giving ridiculously, insanely, and in the eyes of the rest of the world (as I sensed from my co-workers), retardedly.
The Acts 2 church heard the gospel, they received it. They repented. They were baptized and received the Holy Spirit. And in response they lived the "Fellowship of the Believers". The question that dawned on me was, if my life doesn't look like that then what does it say about where I am with the gospel? What does it say about my repentance? What does it say about my baptism? What does it say about where I'm at with the Holy Spirit?
Hard question. Harsh question. The period of time this year when I was angriest was when I was finally facing and wrestling with this question. If these people received the gospel and lived Acts 2 in response, then where am I in that? Where am I with God? The realities of the contrast between my life and the life of the Acts 2 church was starting to condemn me. I guess God saw that too, because He immediately brought my mind to Luke 18:18.
18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
19And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'"
21And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth."
22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."
26Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"
27But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."
28And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you."
29And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."
"Who then could be saved?" I'm glad someone asked that question to Jesus then because that was the question I was asking Jesus now. Jesus' response to disciple's question wasn't just grace; it wasn't just that rich people could go to heaven too. The church and the way they lived in Acts 2 confirms that Jesus was saying that it would indeed be possible, that God would help us, live with such insanity, such sacrifice, such love; that we are called, and would be transformed, to live Acts 2 to it's fullest.
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